Last week we covered some of the initiatives that “moderate” Muslims are undertaking to marginalize the jihadists that undermine the religion. The concept of fatwa has much abused of late. There are non-clerics issuing Fatwas left and right, there are even TV stations where viewers can reque
03.5.2010 | Asia, Pakistan | Stuart Ford
To many Westerners Pakistan is an enigma. They are served simplistic picture by the media of a complex country told that is extremely poor, a sometime ally, nuclear armed, but suspected of having a sympathy for the Taliban and an age old grudge against India. . Even the most well-informed We
In the world of foreign relations, there is no such thing as absolute black hats and white hats. In relation to any specific area of co-operation or sanctions, all is dictated by the national agenda of the day, where one’s enemies can also help advance the issue. Such is the complex, multi-fac
In the current partisan environment every issue becomes politicized even without merit. It is surprising therefore that the trial of Pakistan scientist Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is gathering such little coverage in the mainstream press. The potential for other admittedly more high profile cases being t
02.3.2010 | Afghanistan, Americas, Asia, Pakistan | Stuart Ford
Pakistani human rights activist Asma Jahangir among others is quite outspoken that major funding and support of the Taliban in her country comes from the Saudi Wahhabis. So given this Saudi influence on the Taliban, the large number of Saudi-funded madrassas apparently spreading radicalizati
The US has been critical of Pakistan’s efforts to root out insurgency leadership in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas(FATA). Much of the worst criticism has been reserved for Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) long suspected of offering covert support and sympathy to the ins
While much of the Western military action is confined by nominal national boundaries, the insurgents and jihadists they fight have no such restrictions. The West is committed to an outdated model. It is engaged in Afghanistan, for example, but the forces they fight there are a transnational move
There are many that demonize Hamas’ governance of the Gaza; however, they fail to realize things may well be catastrophic if the Hamas falls. Hamas has so far kept the more extreme jihadists in check that have snuck into the territory as well as home grown extremists. There is no doubt that Al
It is no great secret that the most extreme madrassas of Pakistan and Afghanistan mark the front line of the battle against radicalization of young Muslims and the potential to stem the flow of ready recruits for the insurgent groups. A recent development though is an increase in the thousands o
12.23.2009 | Afghanistan, Asia, Editorials, Middle East, Pakistan | Stuart Ford
America is sometimes held up as a paradigm of democratic governance, a system so close to perfection that it should be exported, even if that means at the point of a gun, to other nations. It positions itself as a force of moderation for populations in the grips of battles with fundamentalists s
