The fact is that the `ulama’ are not a respected group in society. The respect that they are given is primarily sentimental because of the emotional attachment that all people have to their religious and cultural background. That background in all societies without exception, until the last century…

I generally avoid commenting on political issues, because in my experience doing so only serves to complicate and multiply the weaknesses of my fellow Muslims. I prefer to focus on  matters which can waken people to a strong realization that they have…

Any phobia has two directions from which it arises. One direction is from the person himself who is suffering the phobia, some cause in him, psychological or cultural. The other direction is from that which the phobia is about. In this case, Muslims should realise and admit to…

The Qur’an is not revealed to human minds and hearts cut off from their pasts. It is not revealed to blank minds, but to minds already shaped and constrained by their culture (inherited from their ancestors) and by present, ongoing relations and commitments.

It should be ordered and coherent, with a clear direction of argument. The listener or reader should be able to make sense of, to understand, the speech or writing as it moves along. (That is one reason why specialised terminology and technical subject-matter are not compatible with balaghah.)