Search: For - Islam

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India, Pakistan: Friends again?
Dec 08, 2015

India, Pakistan: Friends again?

The Modi government came to power in New Delhi pledging a muscular approach to relations with Islamabad. But now, the government has realised that while it can control the narrative at home, it cannot do so abroad. Most countries saw New Delhi's actions as somewhat over the top.

India-Pakistan relationship - the Punjab angle
Apr 14, 2011

India-Pakistan relationship - the Punjab angle

It is important for both countries to think outside the box and create constituencies of peace outside New Delhi and Islamabad, especially in the two Punjabs. While Punjabi tarka can not be the core of India-Pakistan relations, it must not be overlooked either.

India’s outreach to the Taliban: Engage, don’t endorse
Jun 08, 2022

India’s outreach to the Taliban: Engage, don’t endorse

India should not press brakes on its Afghan policy and should seize the important strategic and security opportunities offered by Afghanistan.

Indo-Pak Dialogue Process: Moving Forward
May 19, 2004

Indo-Pak Dialogue Process: Moving Forward

The process of rapprochement between India and Pakistan began during the SAARC summit at Islamabad in January 2004. The two estranged neighbors set aside the bitterness of the recent past and decided to work together for peace and stability. That such a beginning could be made is itself a major achievement.

Indo-Pak relations and the Chinese model
Apr 10, 2012

Indo-Pak relations and the Chinese model

The pressures to change in Pakistan are real. It is not inconceivable that over a period of time, Islamabad will recognise that there are alternatives for Pakistan to exercise regional influence.

Insurrection in the ‘other’ Kashmir
May 16, 2024

Insurrection in the ‘other’ Kashmir

Although the current uprising PoJK is predominantly centred around economic issues, there is a deeper underpinning of issues of political economy and

International  Jihadi Terrorism: An Indian Perspective
May 21, 2005

International Jihadi Terrorism: An Indian Perspective

No Indian terrorist group is co-operating with the international jihadi terrorist movement headed by Al Qaeda.However, certain Pakistani jihadi terrorist organisations, which are members of bin Laden's International Islamic Front (IIF), are being used by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for organising terrorist attacks in Jammu & Kashmir (J) and other parts of India.

Introducing Kashmir to the New Geopolitical and Regional Realities
Oct 20, 2021

Introducing Kashmir to the New Geopolitical and Regional Realities

Militants, most probably backed by the Pakistani state, are trying to entrap India in a three-front war

Is India Policy Pakistan-Centric?
Sep 03, 2011

Is India Policy Pakistan-Centric?

Manmohan Singh is sometimes accused of focusing too much on Pakistan. Perhaps he could try paying a visit. Also consider visiting towns outside Islamabad and Lahore, such as his own ancestral village, which is waiting with open arms to welcome its prodigal son.

IS may not survive for long: Dr. Bernard Haykel
Mar 19, 2015

IS may not survive for long: Dr. Bernard Haykel

Islamic State (IS), metaphorically a "baby" of al-Qaeda, may not survive for a long time when public fascination with it wanes, says Dr. Bernard Haykel, professor of Near Eastern Studies and director of the Institute for Transregional Study, Princeton University, USA.

Is OIC a dead horse?
Oct 31, 2003

Is OIC a dead horse?

The Organisation of Islamic Conference, often called (inappropriately though) the Islamic UNO, had, ironically, never visualized its purported role as the defender of the faith. Over the years, so diffused had its role become that several disillusioned leaders, like Libya¿s Colonel Gaddafi, termed it a Dead Horse, a nomenclature that describes the conference aptly even today.

Is Pakistan serious about talks with India?
Feb 22, 2023

Is Pakistan serious about talks with India?

Pakistan's persistent anti-India stance and unreliable dialogue offers from the civilian leadership in Islamabad have rendered the relationship insign

ISIS’s new target: South Asia
May 03, 2019

ISIS’s new target: South Asia

The Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka have brought the island nation to the forefront of the global terrorism discourse. The attacks further demonstrate the change in the Islamic State from a territorial group to a sponsor of terrorism worldwide.

Jihadi Terrorism in Indonesia
Dec 12, 2003

Jihadi Terrorism in Indonesia

As I was driven into the heart of Jakarta from its international airport, I could hardly believe I was in the capital of a Muslim country, with the world's largest Muslim population. I noticed very few external signs of the Islamic character of the country in the form of mosques, calls to prayers over powerful loudspeakers, quotations from the Holy Koran written on the walls, men with beard and a white cap and women with their heads covered .

Junctions and roadblocks in Arab politics
May 05, 2005

Junctions and roadblocks in Arab politics

THE DISTURBING aspects of Arab democracy, wrote a columnist in Haaretz recently, "are its implications for Israel." These were listed: advent of democracy in Arab countries would make Israel lose its unique character and the "shared values" with America emanating from it; given the freedom of choice, Arab voters might elect Islamist "extremists"; Arab opinion, as per the most recent Arab Human Development Report

Kashmir attack: Ominous signs
Jun 26, 2013

Kashmir attack: Ominous signs

The apparent role of Lashkar-e-Tayyeba in the terrorist attack in Srinagar on June 24, killing 8 jawans, has raised several questions which may sour the tone and tenor of New Delhi's renewed engagement with Islamabad.

Kashmir blackout: Counterterrorism and an increasingly challenging role of the internet
Sep 04, 2019

Kashmir blackout: Counterterrorism and an increasingly challenging role of the internet

The security challenges posed by the online sphere today are not new, nor is India in Kashmir the only state facing questions on the use of the intern

Kashmir saved, and then drowned Imran Khan
Oct 07, 2019

Kashmir saved, and then drowned Imran Khan

The diminishing returns are starting to set in for both Imran Khan and his “selectors”.

Kenya's war: No end in sight
Jan 24, 2012

Kenya's war: No end in sight

On January 16, 2012, the Kenyan troops completed 90 days of their presence in Somalia where they had gone to fight the al-Shabaab militants. The initial aim of the invasion, which began as a reaction to a spate of kidnappings and raids on Kenyan border by the Islamic militants, was to secure the border between the two countries.

Kurdish militants take control of border crossing
Oct 31, 2013

Kurdish militants take control of border crossing

Kurdish militants in Syria seized a border crossing with Iraq from Islamist rebels linked to al-Qaeda which had held the crossing since March, according to activists and an Iraqi official.

Law Commission for religion-wise amendments to address issues like ‘triple talaq’
Sep 07, 2018

Law Commission for religion-wise amendments to address issues like ‘triple talaq’

As per Islam, triple talaq (even as standard procedure) is most despicable, reprehensible act.

Lebanon: Caught in the Regional Crossfire
Aug 23, 2023

Lebanon: Caught in the Regional Crossfire

Lebanon, the smallest nation in continental Asia, is also one of the most populous. A relatively stable, secure and democratic state, its geographical location and the growing regional crisis are leading to pressing internal and external threats that Beirut must face. This issue brief examines these contemporary threats to Lebanese security: the Syrian Civil War, the rise of the Islamic State, domestic terrorism and sectarianism, and the nation's

Lessons from Turkey's irony — Democratically elected leader destroying democracy
Jan 09, 2018

Lessons from Turkey's irony — Democratically elected leader destroying democracy

Turkey is split down the middle between the secular followers of Ataturk who oppose Erdogan and his supporters who are mostly the Islamist nationalist

Libya in Turmoil: Khalifa Haftar and foreign powers
Jul 09, 2019

Libya in Turmoil: Khalifa Haftar and foreign powers

The threat of Islamist groups has apparently bolstered Haftar’s push against the UN recognised Government of National Accord.

Libya: Anatomy of a Disaster
Mar 09, 2015

Libya: Anatomy of a Disaster

It was the latest carnage by the Islamic State (IS) that finally brought Libya to world attention. Largely unnoticed, this ruthless predator had created space for itself in Libya in the New Year.

Locating the Madrasa in 21st-Century India
Apr 01, 2021

Locating the Madrasa in 21st-Century India

Madrasas in India offer basic literacy to millions of mostly poor Muslims, generally free of cost; they also serve as safe spaces for the preservation of Islamic culture. In many areas across the country, madrasas are the only option for poor Muslim families to provide their children basic education. This brief evaluates current madrasa education in India and identifies specific weaknesses that hamper its modernisation. It recommends remedial mea

London eye: Wave of Muslim migrants spells doom for Europe
Jul 04, 2018

London eye: Wave of Muslim migrants spells doom for Europe

The increase in the Muslim population since the last census has prompted alarmist coverage in some sections of the media.

Lt-Gen Rizwan Akhtar, the new ISI boss
Oct 24, 2014

Lt-Gen Rizwan Akhtar, the new ISI boss

The post of Director-General (DG) of Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), believed to be the second most important post in the country's military set-up now, has a designated successor to the outgoing Lt-Gen Zaheerul Islam.

Maintaining animosity with India will be too costly for Pakistan
Jul 09, 2012

Maintaining animosity with India will be too costly for Pakistan

The absence of a clear centre of power in Pakistan raises a serious question mark on the ability of the government in Islamabad to execute any agreement with India in letter and spirit.

Maldives: Backing India at OIC, a new high in bilateral ties
May 26, 2020

Maldives: Backing India at OIC, a new high in bilateral ties

This is not the first occasion in recent times that Maldives figures prominently regarding Pakistan’s attacks on India.

Maulana Azam Tariq
Oct 13, 2003

Maulana Azam Tariq

There are quite a few things which are known about Maulana Azam Tariq, chief of the banned Sunni extremist group, Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP), who was shot dead in broad daylight in Islamabad on October 6. What is not so well-known is that the Maulana and his organisation had a cosy working relationship with Pakistan's intelligence and security forces for more than a decade.

Military approach not enough to deal with IS
May 11, 2015

Military approach not enough to deal with IS

Only a military approach is not enough to solve the problem of Islamic State. A crucial part of the overall strategy to deal with the IS should include creation of an inclusive state apparatus inside Iraq and Syria, felt speakers at a conference on "Transformations in West Asia: Regional Perspectives" organised at ORF.

Military-mullah nexus wins another round in Pakistan
Dec 07, 2017

Military-mullah nexus wins another round in Pakistan

The military-mullah alliance is fundamental to the pervasive role of the army in Pakistan’s polity. This trend has led to many Islamist and terrorist organisations seeking the status of political parties, a move dubbed as ‘mainstreaming of terrorists.’

Modi government has two choices in dealing with J&K’s Pulwama attack
Feb 15, 2019

Modi government has two choices in dealing with J&K’s Pulwama attack

Given the state of India-Pakistan relations, India doesn’t have much diplomatic leverage with Islamabad at this juncture.

Modi's cricket diplomacy: Renewing political contact with Pakistan
Feb 13, 2015

Modi's cricket diplomacy: Renewing political contact with Pakistan

Cricket has always come in handy for India and Pakistan leaders to break political ice at difficult moments. And this World Cup has provided Modi with an opportunity to end the current diplomatic impasse. Modi called up Sharif to wish Pakistan well in the Cup and offered to send the new foreign secretary to Islamabad.

Modi's diplomatic master stroke
May 28, 2014

Modi's diplomatic master stroke

India has signalled that it will embed its regional policy within the framework of SAARC. This should reduce the disquiet among our neighbours arising from the sheer size of India and its economy. This has a history since India's Pakistan policy of today is rooted in Vajpayee's visit to Islamabad to attend the 12th SAARC summit.

Muizzu’s Maldives is missing the ‘Geo’ in geopolitics
Jan 11, 2024

Muizzu’s Maldives is missing the ‘Geo’ in geopolitics

The island nation has bigger problems than tourism and India-Out—it is getting crushed in an Islamist-China pincer

Musharraf's Frankensteins Come Home To Haunt Him
Dec 30, 2003

Musharraf's Frankensteins Come Home To Haunt Him

The two assassination attempts in quick succession on Gen.Pervez Musharraf, the President of an Islamic state, who is a key ally of the United States in the war in Afghanistan, came at a time when the US-led coalition forces in Iraq were rejoicing over the capture of Saddam Hussein, the enemy number two only after Osama bin Laden.

Myanmar-Bangladesh-India: Grappling with the Rohingya crisis
Sep 25, 2017

Myanmar-Bangladesh-India: Grappling with the Rohingya crisis

Bangladesh has seen massive demonstrations in favour of the Rohingya refugees, particularly from Islamist parties and organisations whose sympathy is driven by religious affiliation.

Nationalism in Pakistan: Dimensions of Failure
Jul 22, 2023

Nationalism in Pakistan: Dimensions of Failure

Pakistan has for long been grappling with several fundamental problems without any visible signs of overcoming them. Its economic, social and political indicators are amongst the lowest in the world. In its conflicts with India, which it perceives as its sworn enemy, all its tactics have proven to be of insignificant success, as has its intrusive attempts to control Kabul so as to gain strategic depth in Afghanistan. The successive governments' m

Nawaz Sharif and India
Jul 17, 2013

Nawaz Sharif and India

Nawaz Sharif's return as the Prime Minister of Pakistan in early June this year marks a signpost from where a more meaningful relationship between India and Pakistan could be forged. The bilateral relationship had of late been mired in mistrust and often meaningless rhetoric. The previous civilian government in Pakistan was paralysed by its own ineptitude. An equally incoherent position in New Delhi has allowed the crucial relationship to drift.

No table for three
Aug 21, 2014

No table for three

As the NDA government recalibrates India's Kashmir and Pakistan policies, Delhi must do a much better job explaining the logic behind the cancellation of the foreign secretary talks, widely seen as abrupt.It must let the international community, especially Pakistan's friends, including the US, China and Saudi Arabia, know India is not abandoning the peace process with Islamabad.

OIC and Myanmar
Aug 16, 2012

OIC and Myanmar

The tragedy of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar has got much attention from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation and a leader of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has sought to promote a constructive engagement between the OIC and Myanmar, which is a member of the ASEAN, on the Rohingya problem.