kouf

I always knew that one day I will keep beard, even when I was a little kid. When during my 8th grade I made my first website even then it was based around a man’s bearded face with navigation buttons around it. And no it wasn’t that I was influenced by my surrounding. My father is still a clean shaven man – and before me I cannot even recall cousin or Uncle who kept a beard.

Though I wasn’t “born” with a beard but started shaving as soon as I got a few hair on my face, like a ritual to enter the adulthood while my father trying to tell me that hey you can avoid few more years of misery if you stop shaving and just stick with a trimmer. But well a boy needs to do things his way to be a man. It was only quite later when I finally realised for myself what an annoying cycle it becomes to shave every morning.

Around end of my second semester during my undergraduate I decided to keep a goatee (to be told that I look like a Qadiyani!), then a line beard (to be told that I look like a Jew!) to finally a proper small beard (to get more criticism). The series of misplaced criticism including on my small beard was that it is not good enough – the length is short and I should be keeping a longer beard, at least a fistful! Interestingly the criticism on my hair which cover my face always came from people who were clean shaven and practically had no experience of keeping a beard. Perhaps even more interestingly one of the Read more…

If Islam is the perfect religious and social model of life with high emphasis on fairness for all, where does it go when it comes to the women? To an outsider and thinking insiders, Islam today dictates a patriarchal society where women take a back seat in every regard while being reminded that it is for their own good. Women are easily objectified and are without hesitation compared with walking piece of meat if not properly dressed and termed as the reason for Man’s temptation. She cannot travel without permission and custodian, but worse of all does not have equal access to legal system as in case of Rape which unfortunately even to this date is not defined in religious jurisprudence and falls in the category of adultery.

It is easy for anyone to be repulsed by these things and it is even rightly so what should be expected out of any sane person, because this does hint at a very serious problem in Muslim world – the disappearance of women from Religious life.

To understand what has happened let us take it from the start. Islam comes in the time when women did not have any rights, access to inheritance, even other two Abrahamic religion were not in favour of divorce and especially in region Read more…

Somewhere in 2000 I am rushing to mosque for Zuhr (afternoon) prayers, I grab few friends with me as I know it is a good deed to invite more people to a noble cause. Especially calling those you love to the right path; after will you like your younger brother burning in hell fire?

I notice there is a man with long beard, wearing army camouflage jacket with a lean-slender physique in the first row just behind the Imam (prayer leader). After prayer the Imam announces that a Commander has joined us today and will like Read more…

Exactly what is wrong with Pakistan is what is wrong with Muslim world in general but just on steroids thanks to the various artificial injections. Almost all of the Muslim world is sunk in a pessimist state; with their generation after generation reading the chapters of glories now lost which they cannot see in sight – while they swing ideology from one war and chaos into another!

Obvious choices have ranged from state of total distancing to the quest for finding reasons and eventually dissent. But as with anything else the ever so resilient house of Shem has problem admitting the Read more…