Islam in Southeast Asia
All topics-
Pakistan turns 75
Islamabad has serious issues
Seventy-five years ago, Pakistan emerged, along with India, from the British Raj. A country with potential – were it not for the ongoing tensions with India and many home-grown economic problems. Haroon Janjua reports from Islamabad
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"The Kashmir Files"
Serving up Indian propaganda
The highly controversial Indian blockbuster "The Kashmir Files“, on the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus in the 1990s, is characterised by unilateral representations, negative stereotypes and historical inaccuracies. By Dominik Muller
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Indonesia's ties with Russia and the West
Jokowi's tightrope walk
With its traditions of neutrality and non-alignment, Indonesia has had to tiptoe around the Ukraine war debate. Pro-Russia sentiment in the region complicates Jakarta's foreign policy challenges. By David Hutt
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Behind the veil
The double life of Pakistan rapper Eva B
Pakistan's breakthrough rapper Eva B has racked up millions of views online, but walking through the labyrinthine streets of her Karachi neighbourhood, she is anonymous. Her hair covered with a hijab and a veil falling below her eyes, she evades the attention of fans and detractors
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Menstruation in Pakistan
What every girl should know
Pakistan needs to start removing the stigma society attaches to menstruation, argues Mahwish Gul. She has been instrumental in developing #HelpSaira, a new digital app aimed at teenage girls that offers constructive and value-free information and advice
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Rooh Afza, the 'drink of love'
Pink refresher unites wilting Indians and Pakistanis
Pakistan and India have fought three wars and countless skirmishes, but as summers get hotter with climate change, their peoples are united by love for a cooling 115-year-old pink libation with a secret recipe
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Narendra Modi's ruling BJP
Middle East furore at Indian official's Prophet remarks
Anger in the Middle East is spreading over comments made by an official of India's ruling BJP about the Prophet Muhammad, with various countries summoning New Delhi's envoy and a Kuwaiti supermarket removing Indian products
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Islam in Southeast Asia
Autocratic versus democratic Islam
Indonesia has become a primary battleground between democratic and autocratic visions of Islam in the 21st century, with Nahdlatul Ulama pitted against Abdullah bin Bayyah, a Sunni high priest who provides UAE autocrats with religious legitimisation. Commentary by James M. Dorsey
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Hindutva target Muslims
Mumbai mosques forced to turn volume down
Follwing demands by a regional Hindu leader that mosque loudspeakers to be turned down in Mumbai, local police intervened to ensure compliance. The row is the latest point of tension between India's Muslims and Hindus, despite repeated assurances by Narendra Modi's ruling BJP that it does not discriminate against anyone
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Indonesia's good governance
The genius of Jokowi
At a time when even some rich democracies are electing con men as their political leaders, the success of Indonesian President Joko Widodo deserves wider acclaim and appreciation. "Jokowi" is providing a model of good governance from which the rest of the world can learn. By Kishore Mahbubani
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India state elections
India's BJP revives Hindu-Muslim dispute
Hindu monk and chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath, up for re-election in key state polls next month, has turned his attention to a revered religious site in Mathura, situated next to a mosque, suggesting he will champion the Hindu cause in a long-running dispute with Muslims over who owns the site
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The Global Qur'an
Searching the suras
Research project "The Global Qur'an", brainchild of Professor of Islamic Studies Johanna Pink and sponsored by the European Research Council, analyses the history and dissemination of Koran translations while examining the role of nation-states and missionary movements. By Arnfried Schenk