Dana Nawzar

At times, exposure to negativity, abundant in our times, creates the illusion of responsibility. A person is only responsible to what he can control, no more. Trying to control what is beyond control ends in sorrow. “Don’t grieve yourself to death over them” (Quran, 35:8)

Kurdish pundits are gold. Each time Trump fires someone, they say ‘told you so’. They also have Facebook screenshots to prove it. Having said that, Hawleri taxi drivers are better analyses than many DC think tankers. Take a ride with them if you don’t believe.

Actually, it was dropping that hadeeth out of nowhere which made the remarks more problematic Can strong arguments be made for or against political revolutions? Yes. But not by chanting an miscontexualised ayah repeatedly (as the khawarij used to do)

When spiritual leaders go apolitical, they better do so full time. You can’t be apolitical regarding (powerful) rulers but too political but even politically incorrect regarding (powerless) nations. Apoliticisim with consistency isn’t too bad.

I would love to have a calm and clean discussion with Sheikh Hamza Yusuf in a setting of his choosing, private or public, to explain why his current approach isn’t wise (since he seems to be making his judgments of the recent events based on wisedom).

“Yüz kere tövbeni bozmuş olsan da yine gel."

Those of us who want a democratic Middle East value institutions like the British Parliament in ways others can’t do. Many take them for granted but we don’t. And Bercow was the ultimate embodiment of oratory, manners and principled politics. He deserved a much better exit.https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1171073832980926465 …

The concept of ‘clean for clean - impure for impure’ in the man-woman relationship set in Quran 24:26 is an amazing one. The application or dismissal of this law has a wide range of social, genetic, neurological and psycological consequences.

Moses, whose victory over Pharoah we celebrate today, had many fears including fear of public speaking and confrontation yet they never stopped him from doing the right thing. In fact, his life was the most adventurous amongst all Prophets. Mark the fear as a sensation and act.

Negativity has a magical power. It takes years of careful planning and execution to build something but much less to destroy it. We have a collective crush on drama, gossip, victimisation, lies and exaggeration. Neuance and moderation doesn’t sell well. Is this inevitable?

Grief or huzn seems to have been a constant theme in Prophet’s life, both in private & public. Hence most orders to him are about ‘do not grieve’. But it certainly takes a man of Muhammed’s calibre to reveal that to his followers, friends and enemies alike.