On television ..

Some of you visited my blog for summaries of the books I promised I would summarize. I am sorry I have not had time yet. But in the meantime this review should help:
Review of Jerry Mander’s
Four Arguments For The Elimination Of Television
by Ron Kaufman
“Winston turned a switch and the voice sank somewhat, [...]

And I smile..

Smiling is sadaqah, according to the Prophet, and it is reassuring to see it making a difference whenever it is used. Whenever I am going out I ensure I am not without it; it has gotten me out of many a fix. I am not a good driver and for most of my adult life [...]

Heirs of the Prophet – Barnaby Rogerson

A very good introduction to the early history of Islam. Unlike books by other western scholars who at times suffer from prejudices against Muslims, Barnaby Rogerson is fairer in his telling of the story of Islam. This is not to say that it is completely devoid of such elements, but I was pleasantly surprised [...]

On Sufism – Abdal Hakim Murad

THE POVERTY OF FANATICISM
‘Blood is no argument’, as Shakespeare observed. Sadly, Muslim ranks are today swollen with those who disagree. The World Trade Centre, yesterday’s symbol of global finance, has today become a monument to the failure of global Islam to control those who believe that [...]

A very thought provoking lecture by Neil Postman

Members of the faculty, parents, guests, and graduates, have no fear. I am well aware that on a day of such high excitement, what you require, first and foremost, of any speaker is brevity. I shall not fail you in this respect. There are exactly eighty-five sentences in my speech, four of which you have [...]

Think about technology with a critical eye!

Anyone who has studied the history of technology knows that technological change is always a Faustian bargain: Technology giveth and technology taketh away, and not always in equal measure. A new technology sometimes creates more than it destroys. Sometimes, it destroys more than it creates. But it is never one-sided. The invention of the printing [...]

Aangan Tehra ..

Some time ago I accidently came upon the old Pakistani Drama Aangan Tehra.
For all those who have grown up like me in the 1980s this drama is a very integral part of our popular imagination. We may not admit it but the characters of this drama are part of our subconscious and shape our [...]

Yusufi