General Issues

Since the very beginning of Buddhism over 2500 years ago, Buddhist monks and nuns have depended on alms food. They were, and still are, prohibited from growing their own food, storing their own provisions or cooking their own meals. Instead, every morning they would make their day’s meal out of whatever was freely given to them by lay supporters. Whether …

Warning about the pitfalls of operating in a secular imposed order, ZAfAR BANGASH, Director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought , argues that the Islamic movement must be clear about its goals as well as methods in bringing about change in Muslim societies. Muslim scholars, Islamic movement activists and even ordinary Muslims agree that the only natural habitat for …

Close on the heels of the government crushing the world’s deadliest terrorist organization, the LTTE , its now flushing out Jihad militants operating in the East. Intelligence sources reveal that there are an estimated 500 Jihadi militants in the East. They allege that Batticaloa itself houses about 250 of them. Sources said that although earlier accusing fingers were pointed at …

Ali Sina Balkhi a legendary Persian scholar better known in the West as Avicenna was born in 980 AD in Afshana a village near Bukhara in Transoxiana and died in Hamadan in modern Iran in 1037 AD. Avicenna’s achievements are extraordinary indeed. He was a scholar that gained recognition and honour as an authority in several disciplines. He became famous …

‘Does God Hate Women’ by Jeremy Stangroom and Ophelia Benson cites attitudes to women and criticises Mohammed’s marriage An academic book about religious attitudes to women is to be published this week despite concerns it could cause a backlash among Muslims because it criticises the prophet Muhammad for taking a nine-year-old girl as his third wife. The book, entitled Does …