The “Ground Zero Mosque”: Ignorance, Prejudice and Historical Precedents –...
“It is rash to condemn where you are ignorant.” Much has recently been said about the proposed Cordoba House facility in New York, dubbed the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque”. As is now widely known, CNN...
View ArticleThe “Ground Zero Mosque”: Ignorance, Prejudice and Historical Precedents –...
(This article is an immediate continuation of Part 1. Readers are therefore strongly advised to read that part first before continuing below). Indian history and “the Sikh 9/11” Firstly, during India’s...
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American church in Memphis welcomes neighbouring Islamic Centre
As is now known worldwide, there has been a huge amount of publicity about the now-cancelled “Quran-burning” by Terry Jones, a pastor in Florida who not only attempted to link his own anti-Islam...
View ArticleAyodhya ruling sees site shared between Muslims and Hindus
Ayodhya, the site of communal violence in 1992 when Hindu extremists destroyed a 16th century mosque, has been under a heavy security presence in the last few days in anticipation of today’s court...
View ArticleThe East India Company today
Reading the Sunday Times Money section, I was surprised to learn that not only is the East India Company still trading, but that it is owned by an British-based Indian, Sanjiv Mehta. Mr Mehta bought...
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After Remembrance Day: the contribution of the British Indian army
contribution by Jahan Mahmood, cross-posted from The Samosa In Britain’s hour of need, when she faced the might of the German Army, it was not America that came to her aid but the fighting men of the...
View ArticleHow Gandhian Are Obama’s Politics?
This is a guest post by Rita Banerji The news of President Obama’s admiration for Gandhi preceded his visit to India. How Gandhi has inspired his life, and how a portrait of his hangs in his Senate...
View ArticleLocating Gandhi (part one)
This is a guest post by KJB. There was an interesting post on PP recently by Rita Banerji, entitled How Gandhian Are Obama’s Politics? First of all, it would seem to be a fairly obvious yet fundamental...
View ArticleLocating Gandhi (part two)
This is a guest post by KJB. Part one is located here. Yesterday I examined Gandhi’s motivations and character. Now I want to turn my attention to how he is viewed in the modern day and why. Rita asked...
View ArticleThe Daily Mail 100 years ago*
Reading through Professor Andrew’s history of MI5, I came across a story about anti-German propaganda in the run up to the first world war. In 1906, a popular author, William Le Queux, published a...
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Merry Christmas
According to Christian tradition, today marks the birthday of Jesus Christ. Christianity actually has a very long history in the subcontinent; there have been settled communities of Christians in India...
View ArticleBBC stars ‘blacked up’ controversy
Having watched Little Britain once, briefly, I have been fortunate to have escaped it ever since. It came across as unpleasant and unfunny, and it seems that the show’s creators have continued in the...
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Dara Shukoh and the fate of Pakistan: Part 1
The recent murder of the Governor of Punjab in Pakistan, Salman Taseer, and the increasing escalation of visible religious extremism in that country brings to mind a notable historical precedent,...
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Dara Shukoh and the fate of Pakistan: Part 2
This article follows on directly from Part 1, which detailed the Mughal crown prince Dara Shukoh, his philosophy and his interpretation of Islam. Readers are therefore strongly advised to read that...
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Bulleh Shah, “blasphemy”, and Pakistan
Shehrbano Taseer, the daughter of Salman Taseer (the assassinated Pakistani Governor of Punjab), recently wrote a poignant Guardian CiF article about her father’s murder which also mentioned Bulleh...
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My Grandmother’s Memories: Breaking The Silence
This is a guest post by Rita Banerji. My grandmother’s story is perhaps the story of thousands of Indian women even today. As a vivacious, young woman, she had attended college more than 73 years ago,...
View ArticleThe British monarch who could write Hindi and Urdu
I have been enjoying the latest research by Shrabani Basu into Queen Victoria and her relationship (almost certainly non-sexual) with her Indian tutor, a young Muslim named Abdul Karim who arrived in...
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Happy Vaisakhi
Today is Vaisakhi. In Sikhism, it commemorates the anniversary of the founding of the Khalsa in 1699 by the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, depicted here. Readers may wish to refer to last year’s Pickled...
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Eid Mubarak
Pickled Politics would like to wish our Muslim readers “Eid Mubarak”, as today marks the end of Ramadan (or “Ramzan”, as we South Asians pronounce it). Some suitable music to mark the occasion: A live...
View ArticleShared war experiences
This is a guest post by Haroon Ravat. Many observers trace the origin and development of the English Defence League to a poppy-burning publicity stunt staged by the group Muslims Against Crusaders...
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