Saima Sher Fazal

The unconventional conventionality: In a desperate effort to break with tradition and herald a new beginning, the Muslim skeptic’s enthusiasm has indeed eluded his intellect. He conveniently forgets that to usher in modernity, a mere denial of the conventional is never enough. It requires a far more consistent and rationale pursuit of that which is elusive. There is no denying that without wholeheartedly embracing concepts of modernity there can be no progress. That is precisely why it is vital to revisit our understanding of modernism in a Muslim society and all that it entails. “.. being modern is more than what it is not. Recognizing and dealing head on with the problems of the day while striving for a better future is modern. Self-expression in many ways and in many platforms is as modern as rejecting the over exposure of the self. Accepting others’ experiences and making room for them in the human tapestry is modern. Being technologically savvy doesn’t necessitate modernit

Dont "Beat me"! Pakistani women have responded quite strongly to the UN women 'beat me' campaign on the social media. Owning its problems and finding their solutions is the main characteristic of an empowered community. It doesn’t take others to make it realize what’s wrong with it and how to right that wrong. While the world wants Pakistani women to embrace their 'unbeatable' self. A significant section of Pakistani women can’t relate to this paradoxical innuendo; 'beat me'. This campaign like many others before it tries to break the stereotypes by showing women from different fields of life challenging men to beat them at their specific talent. The real questions that we need to ask ourselves are: why do we as women need to challenge men, why do we need to compete?. Is the notion of empowerment directly related to a showdown with men? Also how exactly will challenging men help an already violent, intolerant and polarized society? The underlying

The current course of events surrounding the women protection bill and its culmination in the “Mullah vs Feminists” battle is a typical portrayal of the simplistic mindset, our religious and secular elite reflect whenever religion and law is brought together .This polarization has not only been quite evident for some time now but is also predictable as they are but small players in a global game of politics and power. The real casualty of this dogmatism is the very “woman” and “family”, both claim to stand for. Professor Tariq Ramadan cited as one of the hundred most influential people by Times magazine and by the Foreign Policy Magazine as one of the top hundred global thinkers tends to view this dogmatism as an intellectual limitation. In his book Radical reform he tackles head on the issue of revival and reform in Islam and Islamic law. He talks about the need of “reforming thought” and not the “scriptural sources”. He writes: “Muslims must at a particular time in history b

A mother's quest: These are trying times for the Muslim ummah. Raising Muslim children in this age of fitan is not an easy task, especially when the fitan is of bloodshed and confusion. Unfortunately, being a Muslim is not that simple anymore. War and economic deterioration has made it difficult to follow Islam even in Muslim countries while many different issues have made it difficult in the West. This makes a parent’s job harder than ever.  The relationship between child and parent, is such that the choices we make for our children can be decisive in building their character. Since these are times when the Muslim ummah is in need of strong and productive people more than ever, what better way to do that than to raise children with strong characters filled with iman, tolerance, integrity and patience? We need to remember that children are a trust as well as a trial from Allah (subhanahu wa ta’la) for their parents in particular and society at large. They are

“We have certainly created man in the best of stature.” (Qur’an 95:4 ) God acknowledges that the human being is the best of His creation. Thus, to desire the best is intrinsic to human nature. It is this very urge to achieve excellence that drives all men and women and enables them to traverse the vicissitudes of life. In the past few centuries, this very instinct has led the female half of humanity to strive and distinguish its role from that of the male. The new feminism, a form of difference feminism, asserts that men and women have different strengths, perspectives and roles, while advocating for the equal worth and dignity of both sexes. It emphasizes belief in an integral complementarity of men and women. In 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, Hilary Clinton emphasized the responsibility of women in developing the family and, ultimately, the nation. In an article in the July 2012 issue of The Atlantic, Anne-Marie Slaughter confessed how hard it can b

The Dynamism of Islam The notion that Islam is inherently hostile to innovation is untrue because no system of living could possibly prevail or prosper for so many centuries if it was hostile to innovation. Throughout world history, civilizations unable to initiate or adapt to progressive change (whether it be ideological or technological) were destroyed by Nature and replaced by other more innovation-friendly civilizations. This universe and everything in it as we can clearly see is governed by divine laws. One of those laws deals with the rise and fall of civilizations. The sunnat of Allah (swt) has been made quite clear in the Holy Quran. He says: “And if Allah had not been repelling one set of people by means of another, the earth would have been filled with chaos. But Allah is bountiful to the world (and so repels chaos in this way)” (2:251) And in other place in the Holy Quran it is mentioned: “Had Allah (swt) not repelled one people by means of another people, monaste

THE COAL MINE OR THE STAR STUDDED SKY:                                                                                                                        Every deen has an innate character. The character of islam is modesty.” Al Muwatta 47.9 The mania of emancipating the Pakistan woman from the “alleged restraints “of religion and custom seems to increase with every passing day. The solution it seems, for our liberalists is quite easy. Complete denial of everything the least bit religious, be it the most logical and correct mode of behavior but since that is what religion demands, it has to be done away with! Everything which was good and simple is now orthodox and impractical. Modesty is no more considered a virtue with most of the Pakistani gentility. Modest men and women are becoming an endangered species. This fashionable disease of abhorring all that is good, simple and virtuous is spreading at such an alarming rate that even the middle and lower classes are catching i