Love is spiritual. It is a spiritual feelings that “rips through our soul like a powerful hurricane, uprooting our usual attachment and habits. It causes joy as well as pain, ecstasy as well as longing. ” What is the spiritual significance of true love? Using an example of true love between a woman and a blind man in London, Mubashar Hasan, explains the divine aspect of true love.
The current conflict between the Shia and Sunni factions has seen Jihad being used and manipulated by both sides to give a religious legitimation to their ongoing violent acts. Since the attacks of 9/11 as well as many other Middle Eastern regions, Iraq has been at the centre of Shia Sunni conflict. The centrality of Iraq with Islamic history is important to acknowledge as this was the place where Imam Hussain was martyred by one of Yaseed’s soldiers Muawiyyah, in the battle of Karbala. Therefore, Iraq, can be argued to have been a site of turbulent sectarian violence between Shia and Sunni factions, not only throughout history, but in the twenty-first century as well, which has thus resulted in the use of Jihad as the ‘choice of religious justification’ to be used.
Gaza is perhaps one of the most dangerous places in the earth to live. Lives here are torn apart in politics, conflict and blockade. It is rare that we hear positive news from Gaza. Even from this hopeless situation, our regular contributor Rasha N. AbuShaaban sent us an amazingly uplifting story. A story about inspiration, hope and happiness in Gaza. A story of defying odds, a story of bravery and love.
The use of ‘advanced’ technology to suppress dissent can be seen as far back as Britain’s Licensing of the Press Act of 1662, specifically targeted at “frequent Abuses in printing seditious treasonable and unlicensed Books and Pamphlets” or German Volksempfänger radios, designed only to receive those messages pre-approved by Goebbels. However, since the widespread adoption of the internet, and more recently the smartphone, repressive authorities have increasingly had the means not just to control the message, but to stymie any activists trying to promote one.
Global public opinion surveys continue to show that China is perceived fairly favorably by large swathes of the world’s populace, from the Asia-Pacific to Africa and Europe. China has garnered cooperation from a diverse group of states in areas such as trade, tourism, education and infrastructure development, and Chinese statesmen are sure to be given a warm welcome in almost any foreign capital. These developments are both causes and effects of Chinese soft power.
Unfortunately, there is a belief among some Scots that ‘if you are English, you are bad’. This attitude is sometimes manifested through verbal, physical and emotional abuse, coupled with giving Scottish nationals preference over English nationals in the job sector. A perhaps accepted behaviour in Scottish society is to use racist language against the “English people”; and anti-English sentiment is quite openly displayed.
Alochonaa (Dialogue) 