Bringing Inter-Faith Marriages On An Even Keel (original) (raw)
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Stories Varied - A book of short stories
Stories Varied delve into the possibilities of woman’s life in the man’s world. While Ilaa’s Ire takes one back to woman’s life and times in the Vedic age, ‘200’ Qualms depicts her predicament when torn between trust and duty. If “?” addresses woman’s marital stress in an alien land, Cupid’s Clue is about her acting on a rebound in the native place. Even as Autumn Love enables a woman to discover the void late in life, A Touchy Affair renders her amenable to her man’s other woman well in time. Just as Love’s How’s That inflames her old flame, A Hearty Turn brings the female lesbian leanings to the fore. As Love Jihad bridges lovers’ religious divide with a secular plank, Tenth Nook creates a marital gulf on the material plane. If Eleventh Hour is about woman’s lust for love, Twelfth Tale underscores her quest for power. Book Review by Melissa Tanaka for Readers' Favorite - "Stories Varied: A Book of Short Stories is a wonderful collection written by BS Murthy. The stories focus on the avenues women must go through in order to succeed in a world that favors the male point of view, whether it is in regard to love, marriage, or simply a woman’s own sense of self and independence. Murthy utilizes both first person and third person points of view, extending the overwhelming emotions of the characters onto readers with varying degrees, depending on which perspective is used, and proving them to be successful in both. One thing I really liked about Stories Varied was that the stories were incredibly diverse, taking readers back in time to a small rural village called Sauviragram or staying more modern day with a drink at Starbucks. Although the influx of characters and settings that change from story to story can be somewhat confusing, Murthy’s rich descriptions help readers make an easier transition from one story to the next. Some of my favorite stories include Cupid’s Clue, which is about a woman who is afraid her husband is having an affair and seeks revenge by beginning an affair of her own. Murthy’s dialogue shines especially in this story, relaying the conversation in a way that is both entertaining and realistic. In addition, Eleventh Hour is about a woman who has fallen for a man, only to discover that he has a wife she knew nothing about, and the chaos that follows, even some years down the road." This book is Dedicated to readers - past, present, future, of my body of work, in full or in part(s).
On one hand, this ‘book of logic ‘n reasoning’ appraises the Islamic faith shaped by the sublimity of Muhammad's preaching in Mecca and the severity of his sermons in Medina, which together make it Janus-faced to bedevil the minds of the Musalmans. That apart, aided by “I’m Ok – You’re Ok”, the path-breaking work of Thomas A. Harris and Roland E Miller’s “Muslim Friends–Their Faith and Feeling”, this work for the first time ever, psycho-analyses the imperatives of the Muslim upbringing that has the potential to turn a faithful and a renegade alike into a fidayēn. On the other, this work, besides appraising the monumental rise and the decadent fall of Hindu intellectualism, analyses how the sanātana dharma came to survive in India, in spite of the combined onslaught of Islam and the Christianity on Hinduism for over a millennium. Also, besides providing a panoramic view of the Indian history, this thought-provoking book appraises the way Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Azad, Ambedkar, Indira Gandhi, Narasimha Rao, Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Narendra Modi et al made or unmade the post-colonial India. Possibly in a new genre this free eBook is a book for our times. Contents Preface of Strife Chapters 1. Advent of Dharma 2. God’s quid pro Quo 3. Pyramids of Wisdom 4. Ascent to Descent 5. The Zero People 6. Coming of the Christ 7. Legacy of Prophecy 8. War of Words 9. Czar of Medina 10. Angels of War 11. Privates of ‘the God’ 12. Playing to the Gallery 13. Perils of History 14. Pitfalls of Faith 15. Blinkers of Belief 16. Shackles of Sharia 17. Anatomy of Islam 18. Fight for the Souls 19. India in Coma 20. Double Jeopardy 21. Paradise of Parasites 22. The Number Game 23. Winds of Change 24. Ant Grows Wings 25. Constitutional Amnesia 26. The Stymied State 27. The Wages of God 28. Delusions of Grandeur 29. Ways of the Bigots 30. The Rift Within 31. The Way Around 32. The Hindu Rebound 33. Italian Interregnum 34. Rama Rajya 35. Wait for the Savant
(Journal of Asian Civilizations, Islamabad), 2016
The Chishti Silsilah is one of the earliest sufi silsilahs introduced and popularized in India by Khwaja Mu'in al-Din Chishti of Ajmer (d. 627/1230). It is considered the most popular as well as most Indianized of all the sufi silsilahs of South Asia, as its sufi masters vernacularized the message of Islam and Sufism in local context. What made them particularly endearing was their conviction in 'love for all' and religious inclusiveness. However, the Muslim nationalist historical works in Pakistan selectively highlight the role of sufis (especially the Naqshbandis) in South Asia. The sufis are presented as 'missionaries' or proselytizers of Islam, and as reformists fostering separate Muslim identity and consciousness. There is historiographical silence on Chishti Sufism in these works, as none of the celebrated Chishti sufi masters find any mention in them, nor their contribution in developing a social ethos reflecting religious harmony and cultural assimilation of the elite Turco-Persian and the local popular Indian culture is acknowledged. The nationalist narrative tends to view the past through the lens of the present day values, norms and contemporary circumstances. In a bid to justify the Two-nation Theory based on Hindu-Muslim separatism, it cites select historical evidence, and presses data in the service of a nationalist agenda. Marred by reductionism, it projects a much distorted view of the past, completely ignoring the role and contribution of the Chishti sufis in South Asian social and cultural history. The present study investigates why there is historiographical silence on Chishti Sufism in Muslim nationalist historical narrative, and undertakes its critical analysis to explore its underlying assumptions and misrepresentations of the historical role of the sufis.
Pakistan's lurch towards ultra-conservativism abetted by Saudi-inspired pyramid scheme
Pakistan has been for at least four decades a major theatre of operations in the global struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran for dominance in the Muslim world. The stakes for both regional powers are high given that Pakistan borders on Iran; shares with the Islamic republic the restless region of Baluchistan that potentially allows Saudi Arabia and Iran to stir the pot in each other’s backyard; and is home to the world’s largest Shiite minority viewed by the kingdom as an Iranian fifth wheel. To counter potential Iranian influence, Saudi Arabia has poured billions of dollars into supporting ultra-conservative forces in Pakistan that despite doctrinal theological differences with Wahhabism, the ultra-conservative worldview that underwrites the rule of the Al Saud family, adhere to an equally puritan, literal interpretation of Islam that is inward-looking, intolerant and supremacist in nature. Saudi funding, a pillar of the kingdom’s more than 40-year long public diplomacy campaign, the world’s largest dedicated effort of its kind, has helped weave ultra-conservatism into significant segments of Pakistani society as well as key branches of government and the state that have fostered an environment capable of sustaining itself, expanding its reach, and spawning institutions that target specific societal groups. It has also enabled institutions that are inspired by Saudi ideology but not necessarily financially or otherwise associated with the kingdom. No social group or class, including Pakistan’s political and military, has proven to be immune to the spread of ultra-conservatism as a result of Pakistani government policies and Saudi encouragement. Al-Huda International Welfare Foundation, a religious school with branches in numerous Pakistani cities as well as in North America, Europe and the Middle East has emerged as the leading institution in persuading large numbers of upper and middle class Pakistani women, many of whom had adopted liberal lifestyles, to change their ways and adhere to an ultra-conservative interpretation of the faith akin to Saudi ideology that Al Huda projects as the only true Islam. In doing so, Al Huda contributes not only to Pakistan society’s drift towards ultra-conservatism, but also to acceptance of a worldview that wittingly or unwittingly serves Saudi geopolitical goals in a key country at the crossroads of the Middle East and South and Central Asia.
Names and Identity in Pakistan
This is the first study of names as they are connected with identity and power in Pakistan. It explores the Islamization of names in the country since the early years of its birth. It also explores how names got modernization under colonial influence. In the case of religious minorities their names can expose them to personal danger. Hence they often adopt Muslim names. This, and a number of other social phenomena, are explored in this study.