Signs of Shia courage (by Sayed Mahdi Al-Modaressi)

Despite the latest wave of suicide attacks in Iraq, millions of Shia Muslim pilgrims continue to flock to the shrine of Imam Hussein.... ..read more

India's New Face

If the spirit of modern India has a geographic heartland it is Gujarat, the northwestern state bordering Sindh, in Pakistan. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the mahatma - Sanskrit for 'great soul'- was a Gujarati, born in Porbandar, on the Arabian Sea, in 1869 ..read more

When the Shiites Rise

By toppling Saddam Hussein, the Bush administration has liberated and empowered Iraq's Shiite majority and has helped launch a broad Shiite revival that will upset the sectarian balance in Iraq and the Middle East for years to come. This development is rattling some Sunni Arab governments ..read more

Nasrallah Redefined Islamic Politics

Former CIA Operative Robert Baer said there was an American military veto in attacking Iran, dismissing what some analysts believe that Israel’s wars on Lebanon and Gaza would end with attacking Iran ..read more

Karbala, an Enduring Paradigm of Islamic Revivalism

The martyrdom of Imam Husayn ibn 'Ali ('a) and his companions in Karbala' proved to be the beginning of the downfall of the Banu Umayyah dynasty which had usurped the Islamic khilafah by deceit, repression, and corruption of the Muslim community ..read more

Umm ul-Momineen Khadija tul-Kubra a.s.

Today, Islam is the greatest force in the world. Its enemies cannot do it any harm. It is like a mighty oak which the storms of the world cannot uproot. Yet there was a time when this mighty oak was a tiny sapling, and desperately needed someone to protect it from the hurricanes of idolatry and polytheism which threatened to uproot it ..read more

What is taqlid?

Taqlid literally means "to follow (someone)", "to imitate". In Islamic legal terminology it means to follow a mujtahid in religious laws and commandment as he has derived them. A mujtahid is a person who is an expert of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh); he is also called a faqih. In order to see where and why the practice of taqlid gained acceptance in the Shi'i world, it is necessary first to explain it in some detail. ..read more

The Prophet's (May Allah be well pleased with him, his followers and his progeny) preaching of Ramadan

O people! A month has approached you laden with blessing, mercy and forgiveness; it is a month which Allah regards as the best of all months. Its days, in the sight of Allah, are the best of days; its nights are the best of nights; its hours are the best of hours. It is a month in which you are invited to be the guests of Allah, and you are regarded during it as worthy of enjoying Allah's Grace. Your breathing in it praises the Almighty, and your sleeping adores Him. Your voluntary acts of worship are accepted, and your pleas are answered. ..read more

Eid: A Time of Worship or Partying?

As Ramadhan begins, Muslims all over the world prepare themselves for a month of fasting and worship. Truly this month is filled with blessings from our Lord, who has granted us thirty days of limitless potential in which to please him. In Ramadhan, the gates of Jannah are wide open and Shaitan is imprisoned. Fasting is amongst the most of beloved acts to Allah (SWT). ..read more

The Saudis' relentless drive to destroy the historic sites of Islam

"The important question is why there is such indifference among Muslims to the destruction of the symbols and sites of Islam."
Muslims are under attack on almost every front, from the military to the cultural and areas in between. Not only are tens of thousands of Muslims being slaughtered by foreign forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and Chechnya, but in many Muslim countries (Pakistan, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, for instance) their own armies are attacking them as well. The military assaults are compounded by cultural attacks from the West. But perhaps even this grim reality pales into insignificance when compared to what the Saudis are doing in the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah ..read more