In the midst of an impassioned mob at the New York Yankees ticker tape parade, I came across an unexpected sight. A few feet from me, with an equally obtrusive view of Broadway, stood a tall Caucasian man holding an Urdu newspaper, the words ‘Pakistan Times’ in a bold Arabic script across...

We, as people of the subcontinent, have recently started campaigning against the racial discrimination meted out to us in new pastures – particularly North America and Europe, and especially post-9/11. While the world still grapples with the fine line between civil liberties and security, and Latinos...

The line is painfully long and I can see tired, nervous, first-time-students-to-the-UK as far as the eye goes. It’s going to be a long day. Most of us weren’t even aware of the ‘new student line’ that we now find ourselves queuing up for at the British airport; few of us knew to carry the relevant...

Toronto’s Gerrard Street was ablaze with a cacophony of familiar sights and sounds. Was this really Canada? It was hard to tell. This was the second time I had joined the joyous melee of chaand raat on foreign soil. The boisterous scene was enjoyable, but anyone present in the vicinity could be forgiven...

New York City is home to a significant Muslim population, and the community is a reflection of the city itself: vibrant, diverse, and colourful. Muslims in New York are South Asian, Middle Eastern, African, East Asian, European, and African-American, all speaking an array of languages and practicing...

It’s that time of the year again: Eidul Fitr. For many of us this will mean our Rooh Afza bottles will gather dust until next Ramadan and the smells of samosa, pakora and jalebi will be all too infrequent in the ensuing months. Our fitness and nutrition goals, understandably put on hold, will have...

Eight years ago, two planes flew into two towers and the world changed. The United States initiated a ‘war against terror,’ which even today shapes foreign policy and ordinary lives from Washington to Baghdad, Kabul to Khartoum. With the war came game-changing rules: on one side suicide bombings...

Walking around any college campus in North America or the UK, one can easily spot South Asians clustered in nationally and ethnically monolithic groups. Within these groups, there are two distinct types of desi. One is the desi (a recent immigrant or international student who has spent most of his/her...

Kabul-based Maysam Najafizada describes how Afghanistan’s second presidential election is unfolding in Kabul. On the day of the presidential elections in Afghanistan, Kabul city was quiet early in the morning, around 6:00 a.m. local time. There were very few cars on the streets and tight security...

A few months ago, I came across a (now infamous) YouTube video about changing demographics of the Muslim population in Europe. The tone was ominous as it warned of the dawning of an Islamicised Europe. In 39 years, the video claimed, France will be an Islamic republic. In 15 years, half the population...