Munaeem's Blog

 The history of the Sephardim is more than a distant memory. In Spain, Jews once held high office, even the governorship of Granada. Within a short span, they faced the full force of the Inquisition. Men and women were accused of practicing Judaism in secret, punished, and expelled. A moment of acceptance gave way to suspicion and cruelty. That change was swift, and it left scars that never healed. The Fragile Shield of the Dhimmi Under Islamic rule, Jews were not singled out. The dhimmi status covered all monotheistic faiths outside Islam. It placed limits on their freedom, but it also carried protections. A special tax was collected, and rulers often found value in keeping these communities intact. Conversion was not always enforced, because the tax revenue mattered. Jewish and Christian sects survived, not because of pure tolerance, but because they were useful. Survival Measured in Relativity For pagans, the reality was harsher. They lacked the legal shield that came with ...

  The images out of Punjab don’t look real. Villages half-underwater, families perched on roofs, children clutching pots instead of toys. More than two million people displaced, and the water keeps rising. You can call it a natural disaster, but the politics are impossible to miss. Pakistani leaders are asking the question many whisper: did India deliberately unleash this flood? The sky did its share First, the rain. Relentless monsoon clouds parked over the subcontinent and poured down harder than usual—26 to 27 percent more than last year. No human could have stopped that. Dams in Indian-controlled Kashmir swelled beyond safety limits. In such conditions, dam operators had little choice but to release water. If they didn’t, the walls themselves could have burst, endangering their own citizens. That much is fact. The monsoon was fierce, and water had to go somewhere. But mistrust fills the gaps Here is where the story turns darker. India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty ...

  Our daily staples – from a bowl of rice to a serving of breakfast oats – might be hiding unseen dangers. A recent episode of TRT World’s Just 2 Degrees highlights alarming new research: rice grains are accumulating a toxic, cancer-linked element due to rising greenhouse gases, and popular cereals contain traces of banned pesticides that even show up in human urine. Below, we unpack the key findings, the health risks, what experts are saying, and how consumers can protect themselves. Greenhouse Gases Making Rice More Toxic (Arsenic Uptake) Climate change isn’t just raising temperatures – it’s also increasing arsenic levels in rice , a staple food for billions. Arsenic , a naturally occurring toxic element, lurks in many rice-growing soils and water. Flooded paddy fields create low-oxygen conditions that free up arsenic, which rice plants then absorb earth.com earth.com . New research shows that as the planet warms and CO₂ levels rise , this effect intensifies: future climate ...

  A woman at her first taharah whispered prayers over a stranger’s body, while her hands trembled at the coldness of lifeless skin. Somewhere else in the world, a Muslim daughter prepares her mother for ghusl al-mayyit , her tears falling into the rinsing water. Two faiths. Two languages. Yet the gestures look almost the same. Washing as an Act of Love In Judaism, the Chevra Kadisha washes the deceased limb by limb, keeping the body covered, whispering verses, moving slowly so dignity is never broken. In Islam, relatives or close community members wash the body three, five, or seven times, uncovering only the part being cleansed. Both call this moment purification. Both see it as mercy, not duty. When Muslims pour water across the whole body, or when Jews complete the ritual stream of washing, the feeling is identical — a return to God in a state of purity. The White Shrouds Jewish tachrichim . Muslim kafan . Plain white, simple, no jewelry, no silk, no marks of status. T...

Assalam-o-Alaikum. My name is Umar Bhatt. Have you ever thought of buying a plot inside a river ? It sounds like a joke. Yet in Pakistan, it is real. Advertisements have appeared in newspapers offering land on riverbeds. This is not clever marketing. It is fraud against nature itself, and when nature is betrayed, it has its own way of taking revenge. This year’s floods have brought the issue back to life. A Housing Society on the Ravi When the Ravi River swelled, videos surfaced of Park View Society in Lahore. Its outer wall stands against the riverbank. No country in the world allows such reckless construction. The society belongs to politician Abdul Aleem Khan, who also owns SAMAA News . The project is formally called Ravi River Edge Society, Phase Two. Aleem Khan’s political career has spanned the Q League, PTI, and now Istehkam-e-Pakistan. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan was accused of treating him and Jahangir Tareen as “ATM machines.” In Pakistan’s politics, sponsors fund leader...

  A missile tore through Kyiv’s night sky and left a diplomatic mission in ruins. Men, women, and children were killed. The European Union’s response came quickly: “Russia’s strikes on Kyiv will only strengthen Europe’s unity and Ukraine’s defiance.” Strong words. But do they match reality? Was Europe ever truly united? Unity or just the illusion of it The idea of a united Europe has always been more fragile than Brussels admits. In moments of crisis the statements sound bold, yet history shows the cracks. In 2003, Europe split wide open over Iraq. Tony Blair marched with Washington. Jacques Chirac bristled and said of smaller states backing the war, “They missed a good opportunity to keep quiet.” Germany’s Gerhard Schröder flatly refused to join the invasion. The supposed unity of the continent collapsed into rival camps. The refugee crisis in 2015 told a similar story. Angela Merkel told her people “Wir schaffen das” —we can manage. Viktor Orbán of Hungary built fences an...

  Donald Trump has revived his tariff hammer, and this time India is the nail. A 25% levy on Indian goods was already in place. Now another 25% has been added, taking textile tariffs close to 50%. The official excuse? India’s purchase of Russian oil. But India is not the only one. China is buying far more Russian crude. Yet no similar penalty has been placed on Beijing. Why single out New Delhi? Political, Not Economic Trade experts in New Delhi point out the obvious. The reason is not economic. It is political. Sharon Ray of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations put it plainly: “India seems to be the only large country impacted by this tariff, even though China is also buying Russian oil.” This is not the first time. During Trump’s first term, India was picked out over Iranian oil. Tariffs were threatened then too, though not imposed. The pattern is familiar. India is treated as the easy target when Washington wants to look tough. Why India, Not...

  Pakistan has long claimed the moral high ground on Palestine. Its leaders thunder in speeches about Gaza, condemn Israeli bombs as genocide, and call themselves defenders of the oppressed. Yet, a quiet ceremony in Islamabad has pulled the curtain back on a contradiction too sharp to ignore. The government awarded a prestigious military medal to a U.S. general described by critics as “Israel’s favorite.” This is the same officer who built his reputation on close security ties with Tel Aviv, and who was involved in shaping America’s military support for Israel. To many, he stands as a symbol of the very war machine that has ravaged Gaza. A Strange Choice in a Time of Bloodshed The timing makes it sting even more. As the images of destruction from Rafah and Khan Younis still burn across television screens, Pakistan’s act feels like betrayal. Critics, such as Fatima Bhutto writing in Zeteo , did not mince words. To honor a man so tied to what she called Israel’s “holocaust of Gaz...