During his 1868 – 1871 lecture series, "Introduction to the Study of  History," Swiss historian Prof. Jacob Burchardt explained his thesis that there are "three powers" in history — the state, religion, and culture. Burchardt, whose book "The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy" became a classic, went on to define culture in general as "the realm of the spontaneous," …

  I have often wondered why we, as a nation, cannot progress as rapidly as our neighbour – India. Any political analyst would of course heap the blame on the politicians and the political authority. I have pondered whether in fact this was true. All politicians are voted to power by us and we sometimes condone their activity. When Monnekulama was …

The ghost of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is rising from his grave to haunt Israel and the Americans. A devastating investigation by Qatar’s al-Jazeera has found mounting evidence that Arafat’s death in 2004 was caused by the poisonous radioactive substance Polonium 210. Arafat’s widow, Suha, is now calling for his body to be exhumed and sent to the Swiss scientific …

Why Is the Libor Scandal So Important to You? There have been numerous big banking scandals recently. But the Libor scandal is the biggest financial scam in world history.  See this and this. The former CEO of Barclays said today that banks across the world were fixing interest rates in the run-up to the financial crisis .   Professor of economics and law Bill Black notes: It is the largest …

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Paperback, 158 pages Published June 1st 1993 by International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) (first published 1992) Reviewed by Abdul H.Azeez A mere four hundred years after the demise of the Prophet (pbuh) the political fragmentation of the Islamic world had already begun, and continued in the centuries after. The Muslim ummah, once united along lines of faith, has over these centuries …