Syed Kamran Hashmi

Ever wonder what made Steve Jobs, the most celebrated chief executive officer of Apple, Steve Jobs? He was neither a scientist nor a mathematician, neither an engineer nor a telecommunication expert. He did not even have a college degree. Then why was he so successful? Instead of traditional university degrees, his talent rested in the […]

Thousands of people thronged the streets of Karachi last week to attend the funeral of Amjad Sabri, a renowned qawaal (devotional music singer), and the son of legendary qawaal, Ghulam Farid Sabri, who even after his death continues to mesmerise the nation through the timeless words of Bhar Do Jhholi Meri Ya Muhammad. This is […]

The real transformation occurred in Pakistan when the focus of religion shifted from personal salvation or social justice to the “redemption” of people around you. When instead of introspection everyone used faith as a tool to judge others. When appearances mattered more than actions, when piety was defined by the length of beard, when daily […]

How should Muslims treat their women? This question in one form or another grabs the headlines every few weeks. From a moral point of view Islam does not leave any ambiguity for its followers. Islam holds the highest respect for a woman as a mother, with paradise lying beneath her feet. No matter how well […]

  Ideological differences aside, the contrast in their physical appearances grabs your attention too: one tall and lean, the other short and round; and one modern, fashionable and western, the other simple, traditional and conservative. Politically speaking, if one holds the other responsible for financial irregularities and monetary misconduct, the other fires back by blaming […]

Had courage been defined as the ability of some politicians and self-proclaimed defence analysts to raise voice against corruption, they would have been declared as the contemporary Salahuddin Ayubi. Had it been defined as their ability to deride parliament or mock democratic institutions, the group would have been nominated for the Nobel Prize for gallantry. […]

If asked about one of the worst days of your life, you as a Pakistani — aside from health-related emergencies or a financial crisis — would almost always recount the time you were humiliated in a government office while applying for a passport, filing a complaint in the police station, getting the electricity bill fixed, […]

Broadly speaking, Muslims respond to a terrorist attack in three different ways. Let me first say, before we talk about those that condolences to families of victims, and calling it a human tragedy on electronic media does not correspond to what I call a response. My understanding of a response deals with the opinion of […]

Through a private video taken after his death, Aftab Ahmed, a close aide of Farooq Sattar, the parliamentary leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), makes his first appearance on national television. As a dead man, he is not saying anything in the short clip. But his exposed body tells us a long story, a […]

Recently, most Muslims have adopted an unequivocal stance against terrorist attacks in which non-Muslims are targeted. Earlier, their response used to show confusion, lack of sympathy and sometimes, even admiration instead of condemnation. One of the most shocking things was their cruel and cold reaction to the September 11, 2001 attacks, a great human tragedy. […]