Muslim Pakistan

Gbodo Ygor, 28, came to Pakistan last week to participate in the light welter weight category in the Benazir Bhutto International Boxing tournament. But he will be returning to his homeland, the Central Africa Republic (CAR), as Ali Akber after having embraced Islam along with eight other boxers from the Central Africa Republic and Cameron. “Though, I could not win the title, I have won something much bigger than that. I am by the grace of Allah a Muslim now,” he told IslamOnline.net in an exclusive interview. “I cannot forget that moment. I feel that I have achieved my destination,” said a twinkling-eyed ...

As many as 69 percent of Pakistanis believed that Christians in Muslim countries like Pakistan should be allowed to construct churches for worship, a survey said on Friday. The remaining 31 percent either did not support the idea or gave no response, according to a Gilani Research Foundation survey carried out by Gallup Pakistan. The question was asked in the wake of the news that a majority of the Swiss voters had supported to ban the building of mosques with minarets in its neighborhoods. A nationally representative sample of men and women from across the country were asked “In your opinion, in Muslim ...

The Central African Republic team coach, Mohamed Kalambaye said the six boxers had decided to convert to Islam after being impressed by the spirit of Islamic culture and friendly attitude of the locals. ‘All the six boxers are Christians and they had no intention of converting to Islam at all before coming to Pakistan. It is basically the unity and brotherhood in Islam which impressed them. But the most important thing is that there is no discrimination in Islam. Once you say Assalamo Alaykum, then you are accepted as a brother no matter what is the colour of your skin, or ...

BY AZHAR ASLAM AND SHERMEEN BANO (Cross-post from Vision21) Every Identity has a history and so does that of Pakistan. It is short but tumultuous, although some say it was born with the conversion or settlement of the first Muslim in India. In truly modern sense though India was only itself born, when British firmly established their rule from Afghanistan to Burma, by 1890s. In the process of doing this however, they sowed the seed of national consciousness in the minds of Indians. British influence moulded Indian nationalism by omissions and commissions. However it inevitably also laid the seed of communalism, ...

The traditions of Ashura -- a holy day Shi'ite Muslims will observe Sunday -- started in the Middle East and spread to Iran and South Asia, where they have been practiced for centuries. But in recent years, the ceremonies have become more popular in other parts of the world as populations of Shi'ite Muslims grow elsewhere. From metro Detroit to Europe and Japan, some people cross national boundaries to commemorate the 10 days that lead up to Ashura. Ashura commemorates the 7th-Century death of the grandson of Islam's prophet. Imam Hussain died in Karbalaa, Iraq, at the hands of an unjust ruler. "It's about ...

Last week, I took the Euro Star from St Pancras International station in London to Paris. Just after clearing immigration, I was stopped by a security officer. Nothing unusual in that, except I was the only one he stopped and questioned in literally thousands of passengers. I had some time to kill so I stood beside him to watch who else he interrogates . In 40 minutes, he only stopped two other people. The first was an old man clearly recognisable as a Muslim: beard, cap, badly-fitted suit, Arab (I guessed Tunisian) origins. The other was a person who strikes ...

By Shahid Husain (Karachi) Political scientist and chairman Pakistan Study Centre, University of Karachi, Dr Syed Jaffar Ahmed believes that the Founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah was in some ways greater than Mustafa Kemal Attaturk but at the same time he was also the most misunderstood leader. “As a student of contemporary world history, I would say Jinnah was the biggest Muslim leader in the 20th century. In certain respects I would put him ahead of Attaturk because he achieved his goal through political means while Attaturk had to rely on the army for the realisation of a republican Turkey,” ...

By Salman Mansoor Muhammad Ali Jinnah, also known as Quaid-e-Azam in the history of India, is not only a great leader of Muslims of Indian sub-continent but he also holds an important position in the row of world politicians. The thing that distinguishes him from others leaders of the world is that he used Britains constitution to defeat Britains and won independence for his nation although he had to face stiff resistance from British government and great opposition from the Hindus’ Indian National Congress. Muhammad Ali Jinnah was born in Karachi on 25th December 1876. His father’s name was Poonja Jinnah, ...

Pakistan, one of the largest Muslim states in the world, is a living and exemplary monument of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. With his untiring efforts, indomitable will, and dauntless courage, he united the Indian Muslims under the banner of the Muslim League and carved out a homeland for them, despite stiff opposition from the Hindu Congress and the British Government. Muhammad Ali Jinnah was born in Karachi on December 25, 1876. His father Jinnah Poonja was an Ismaili Khoja of Kathiawar, a prosperous business community. Muhammad Ali received his early education at the Sindh Madrasa and later at the Mission School, ...

There is amongst the non-Muslim world the misconception that Islam is a religion of violence. This is due to their lack of knowledge. Muslim is defined as a person who is obedient and subservient to all the dictates of God as given in the Holy Quran. In performance of the orders of God, the life he leads is called Islam. There is only one God in whom all the power and the driving force for running the universe lies. Therefore all the believers of God fall within the definition of Muslim. However, various religions have their own holy books. Why then, ...