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Muhammadﷺ, example for all times
They say that reading biographies is perhaps the best way to learn real life lessons. That is because a biography is a record of practice. Of what worked and what didn’t. The life of Muhammadﷺ is perhaps one of the most well documented in human history. Having said that one may ask why his life…
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Be Resourceful
‘No’ does not mean ‘Never’. It merely means, ‘Not in this way.’ Or ‘Not just now.’ That’s what makes frustration fun ‘No’ does not mean ‘Never’. It merely means, ‘Not in this way.’ Or ‘Not just now.’ So invent new ways. That way frustration becomes fun. There are too many incidents in my life where…
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Dealing with a political problem called ISIS
This is truly one of the saddest pictures that I have ever seen. You can see how she is holding back her tears. What have we adults done to our children? I defend Islam. Not those who call themselves Muslim but go against Islam. ISIS is a political problem. Not a religious one. So trying…
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Accepting Freedom
Many years ago, I wrote a piece which I posted on my blog called, ‘Same Chairs, Different Bottoms’. Here it is for those who may not have read it. It is necessarily full of Indian (and Hindi) idiom which is not translatable so I apologize to those who don’t understand Hindi in advance. Also you…
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Democracy in practice
slavery. Today as I write this (July 18, 2016) a coup happened in Turkey but the people defeated it. So democracy apparently has more meaning in Turkey than it had in Egypt. But now what? And what really is the position of democracy in the Muslim world? A brief, even cursory look at the history…
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Don’t lie to yourself
There is a belief among a large number of Muslim organizations that they are very successful and are on the path to change the world. From my perspective of having been in the area of global leadership development and my experience of working with major name international corporate leadership universities, I thought it would be…
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All hands on deck – it’s time to stand together
There is a tendency in reporting and speaking about things like the deplorable so-called cartoons of Charile Hebdo and other similar things and say that they are offensive to a certain group of people. I consider this an insult to my humanity and my sensibilities as a civilised, global citizen. Thankfully there are others who…
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If I were President of Egypt
The first thing that I would remind myself is that in politics facts mean nothing. Statistics less than nothing. Spectacle, impression, symbolism and communication mean everything. Symbolism, visibility and public eye are the platform on which politics runs. In politics being truthful is less important than being believable. That is the basis of all mythology.…
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Freedom of Expression or Freedom to Blaspheme?
Freedom of expression must not be confused with freedom from the consequences of expression. Exercising freedom and abusing it are not the same. The latter forfeits the former. Just because we are free to express ourselves, it doesn’t free us from the responsibility for what we express. We are responsible for what we say and…