Tag Archives: muslim

Some 200 protesters gathered Sunday at Donald Trump’s New York City headquarters, accusing the US Republican presidential hopeful of “fascism” and “racism” following his call that Muslims be barred from entering the United States. “Say no to fascism. Say no to Trump,” read placards held by some of the demonstrators …

Nobel Peace Prize-winner Malala Yousafzai condemned Donald Trump’s views on Muslims on Tuesday, at a sombre ceremony to remember the 134 children killed in a Taliban attack on a Pakistani school a year ago. “Well, that’s really tragic that you hear these comments which are full of hatred, full of …

California’s Muslim community expressed its horror on Wednesday at the mass shooting that killed at least 14 in San Bernardino, after a local Muslim man was widely identified as a suspect. Syed Farook, a US citizen who worked for the town’s health department, is believed to have been killed in …

This is by far…the best response to the Paris Attacks.  EVER. ‘Nuff said.   UK Asian

“I was born into a practising and very devout Muslim family in East London. My mother wears the niqab and my father keeps a long beard.  Both my parents are fundamentalist Salafi-Wahhabi Muslims. I was brought up in a household where music and TV were not allowed.  I was taught …

From the legendary guitarist Jimmy Page through American Vice President-turned-environmental campaigner Al Gore all the way to Barack Obama, American documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim has turned his lens on some of the most fascinating characters of our times. But while Guggenheim’s made films on rock music, climate change, immigration, U2 …

The St Peter’s XI In a first for world sport, the Vatican cricket team took on an all-Muslim side from England Saturday with the home squad clinching narrow win in the final minutes. “It is not about who wins or loses,” priest Eamonn O’Higgins, manager of the Vatican team told …

Bollywood veteran Naseeruddin Shah claims he has been targeted by Social Media users over his support for a Pakistani author because he is a Muslim.

Shah was repeatedly trolled on Twitter on Wednesday after he urged people in India to extend the same kind of welcome to Pakistanis visiting India as Indians travelling to Pakistan.

Speaking at the Mumbai launch of a book by former Pakistani foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri – whose visit to the city has angered the likes of the Hindu nationalist Shiv Sena – Shah said: “I went to Pakistan several times but never has a performance been disrupted, disturbed or even threatened. I have never had to carry any security.” 

Khurshid’s presence in the city has angered the powerful Shiv Sena group which claims that Pakistanis should not be allowed in India owing to what it says is Pakistan’s support of terror groups that have carried out attacks in India and continued tensions in Kashmir.

Khurshid’s visit to Mumbai was organized by the independent think tank Observer Research Foundation whose chairman Sudheendra Kulkarni was attacked and had black paint thrown on him by Shiv Sena activists on Monday.

Speaking at the book launch, Shah added: “I wish we could have accorded Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri the kind of welcome I received when I visited Lahore.  I would only like to tell hate-mongers and those who prefer confrontation over debate and discussion that they look for the differences between India and Pakistan rather than the similarities.”

Scores of people took to Twitter to attack Shah with some even calling him a terrorist sympathizer.

A visibly upset Shah then appeared on a national TV channel to claim that his religion was behind the attacks.

“My name is Naseeruddin Shah and I believe that’s why I was targeted.  It really pains me to say this.  I have never ever been aware of my identity until now.  Four generations of my family have lived in India. I am proud to be an Indian and I will not allow anybody to question my patriotism.”

He also questioned why praising anything about Pakistan is deemed to be ‘anti-Indian’, saying, “If I say Imran Khan is great, does that make Sunil Gavaskar any less of a cricketer?”

The award-winning actor was asked if he would follow the example of the writers who had returned the national ‘Sahitya Akadmi’ awards in protest at growing intolerance and attacks on intellectuals.

“Awards mean nothing to me and therefore I won’t bother returning them. I wish those writers, instead of returning their awards, had written more strongly on what is happening to India in protest”, Shah said.

Ironically enough, Kasuri’s book is described as the first “comprehensive” account by a Pakistani Foreign Minister who contributed to moving the peace process with India forward.

Among the contentions Kasuri makes in the book is that the history of the region would have been wholly different had Mahatma Gandhi and Mohammed Ali Jinnah had had their own way and not partitioned India in 1947.

A Japanese farmer shot dead by suspected extremists in Bangladesh was buried in a Muslim graveyard on Tuesday after a cleric testified that he had “converted” to Islam, officials said. Hoshi Kunio was shot dead by three men on a motorbike who stopped his rickshaw on a dirt road last …

A British-Pakistani local councillor who became Britain’s first female Muslim Lord Mayor has been suspended following allegations she was involved in “financial irregularities”. Bradford Labour Party councillor Naveeda Ikram was suspended by the party after she was reported to police in West Yorkshire. In a statement, the force said: “We …