Author Archives: Ayesha Malik

Decembers are a poignant time of year, as we reflect on the receding shores of time, it is as if with each year one wave of our life disappears into the distant horizon. This December, my reflection took me down … Continue reading →

In his recent piece in The Times, Matt Ridley speaks of how Muslims are “turning away from Islam.” In a scathing and passionate article, he chastises jihadism and militant Islam and suggests humanism and secularism as antidotes to the same. … Continue reading →

I had just come out of an enriching and thought provoking discussion on whether religion is really violent in Saint Anthony’s College Oxford, delivered by the witty yet incredibly persuasive Karen Armstrong, when news of the deadly attacks in Paris … Continue reading →

The Malaysian Court of Appeal has ruled recently that the word “Allah” falls unreservedly within the Muslim faith, precluding the Catholic Church in the country from using the term in its newsletter, The Herald. The appeal, which was led by … Continue reading →

 “I hardly know another scientist who invokes the same deep admiration, from the widest possible scientific community, as does Salam.” (K. R. Sreenivasan) The two-bedroom derelict bungalow appears rundown and abandoned. Situated in the small shantytown of Jhang in Pakistan, … Continue reading →

(The following essay is a modified version of a speech the author delivered at an interfaith seminar held on 22 June, 2013 in the UK) In a poetic inversion of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’ paradigm with respect to the life … Continue reading →

It has been almost 66 years since the Founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, proclaimed the following words in his first address to the Assembly of Pakistan: “In due course of time, Hindus will cease to be Hindus and Muslims … Continue reading →

Pakistan’s election hype is both remarkable and ironic. The rather dramatic and bloody (the elections being termed as the bloodiest in the country’s history) run-up to the polls has come as a vivid depiction of the pernicious ideology that has … Continue reading →

The surrealism of Switzerland’s serenity  It is a picture of heaven on earth. Streams snaking through lush green mountains, with smoky snow-capped tops sprinkled in the background, and a thicket of trees splashed across sun-bathed greens, and sleepy cottages nestling … Continue reading →