Broken Bangles: The Soul of Humanity is Broken

  A Case For Refugees We have been witnessing a right-wing surge against accepting refugees. The latest in a series of refugee-related decisions, and the gravest of all rather, Donald Trump and his team have begun random deportations of "illegal" migrants in the name of his 'America first' policy. Yet, the reality constantly signals that all countries must revise their refugee policies generously and prepare to take in as many refugees as possible if we still claim our share of humanity. Understandably, people are afraid of their country taking in refugees in hundreds and thousands. The fear that a huge influx of people outside their cultures into a country might destroy its financial security, reduce their job opportunities, and change the familiar social fabric is real.  This fear fails to consider our long cultural history of accepting people from outside cultures.  Our ancestors, wherever their homeland was, shifted from one place and settled in another for many r...

Ahmed al-Sharaa ( Abu Mohammed al-Julani) is a former Al Qaida leader with USD 10 million designated as a reward by the US for information on him. He is the leader of the organisation, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Organisation for the Liberation of the Levant, which works for freedom for the entire Levant. He has been declared a terrorist by the US, the UN, and many countries.  If we look closer, we will realise that his personality as a Middle Eastern leader has been transforming as he has walked a path of fire his entire life as a foot soldier of Islam and the Middle East’s self-determination. Despite checking all the boxes for being a terrorist as defined by the West, his life reflects the complex socio-political situation that every citizen of a Middle Eastern country faces. Hence, it demands a better understanding from those who believe in freedom and democracy.  In so many words, he has often claimed to have changed himself from an extremist to a moderate in his journ...

  The new rebel coalition, HTS, after taking over the control of Syria and ousting the dictator, Bashar al-Assad, has claimed that women’s rights will be protected in the country. The HTS and its leader Abu Mohammed al-Julani are true followers of Sharia law. How will they reconcile women’s rights and a conventional interpretation of Sharia law? Will the HTS include women in the new government? People responded to the journalists’ questions expressing hope that the new regime would not oppress women, they would let the girls study and not meddle with what women want to wear. Many women expressed fear about how things would unfold. Women activists have demanded that women get due representation and a significant role in nation-building.  Syria can surprise you with its great cultural diversity and the different ways women live, presenting a wide spectrum of lifestyles from ultra-orthodox to ultra-modern. Very few people remember that Syria had an all-women private militia that ...

Naeema Mea'bed, a Palestinian woman in Gaza, opened Gaza’s first cat cafe , "MEOW Cat Cafe", in August 2023. Reuters cited her telling their reporter that she wanted to bring joy and pet awareness to the people constrained to the open prison of Gaza.  The cafe was fully cat-themed. Offering fourteen resident cats’ company, cat posters on the walls, cat perches, cat swings, a children’s play area, and more, this cafe was a complete feline experience for families, especially children. The breeds in the cafe included Persian cats, Turkish Angoras, and hybrids.  The cafe charged $1.30 per hour for the feline experience. On Sundays, long queues waited in front. Naeema Mea'bed told the press covering the story that she had a passion for cats from childhood. Naeema used to say that cats were natural antidepressants.  Since the Israel-Gaza war had started only two months after the cafe was opened, in October 2023, nothing was heard of Naeema Mea'bed and her cats on the ne...