Saad Hafiz

It is no exaggeration to state that women have lived under centuries of arbitrary androcentric traditions and religious intolerance. An early illustration is the tale of Hypatia of Alexandria, a female philosopher and mathematician, born in Alexandria, Egypt in 370 CE. Hypatia was the daughter of the mathematician Theon, the last professor at the University […]

In the aftermath to the country’s independence, Mr Jinnah clearly articulated the role of the military: “Do not forget that the armed forces are the servants of the people. You do not make national policy; it is we, the civilians, who decide these issues and it is your duty to carry out these tasks with […]

The exit polls had it right. India, the world’s most diverse democracy with numerous ethnic, linguistic, religious and caste communities, delivered a resounding verdict for change. The Narendra Modi (NaMo) led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and allies are set to take power, drubbing the ineffective Congress-led UPA government. The elections showcased the maturity, inherent vitality […]

The theological ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr summed up his arguments on democracy and religion in two powerful sentences: 1) “Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary”; and 2) “Religion is so frequently a source of confusion in political life and so frequently dangerous to democracy, precisely because it […]

Benito Mussolini’s infamous quote on fascism, adapted to Pakistan, reads, “Everything for the Taliban, nothing outside the Taliban, nothing above the Taliban.” The quote accurately captures the remarkable hubris of fascism, its frightening, xenophobic and coercive impulses. Fascism brings with it a thick set of assumptions about the world’s past, present and future. It represents […]

It is hard to argue against the notion that Pakistan is a fertile ground for extremist Islam, its causes and conflicts. Pakistan’s status as an ideological state has resulted in the proliferation of Islamic political groups of all kinds. The country’s constitution states that it is an Islamic state, religion is a way of life […]

Between phases of strident nationalism and armed conflict, India-Pakistan relations have mostly remained in deep freeze from which there still appears to be no hope of recovery. Historically, bilateral ties have been dominated by shrill jingoism, xenophobia and a quest for absolute justice at the expense of national interest and political realism. National leaders, instead […]

Dramatic reporting and exposés on western news channels suggest that Islamic radicalism is flourishing in the member states of the EU and in North America. News items tend to focus on a small segment of Islamic activists who espouse extremist and radical ideologies, and who have resorted to violence and terrorism against both Muslims and […]

Pakistan’s main ideological foundations were based on a separate nationhood, culture and civilisation identified by Islam. The founding fathers envisaged Pakistan as one unified, centralised nation, with one religion, one people and one language. What began as an obvious attempt to use the emotional attachment of the Muslim masses to religion also became the building […]

The sectarian schism, which leads to unending violence, is probably the most deadly of Pakistan’s list of self-inflicted problems. The historic manipulation of religion by the state for political purposes has sowed the seeds of hateful intra-religious sectarian division. Sectarian violence is not only pervasive, it also accentuates divisions within Pakistan and underlines the ineptness […]