Asia

The Christian Allah

October 2013 – Muslim and Christian bigots who don't speak Arabic believe that “Allah” is only for Muslims. They are wrong: Allah is God and God is Allah.

Angela's angels and the political patriarchy

October 2013 – Despite the “Merkel miracle”, the political patriarchy remains strong. However, more women are exploiting and even defying it to lead their countries.

For Buddha and country

September 2013 – The toxic Buddhist-Sinhala supremacism and triumphalism in means the country's fragile “peace” is just the prelude to another war.

Hitler: Arab hero or villain

May 2013 – A shop called Hitler in Egypt raises some uncomfortable questions about Arab perceptions of the dictator.

The clash within civilisations

March 2013 – This year marks the 20th anniversary of the clash of civilizations theory, but Samuel P Huntington was wrong.

Half-baked rules that take the biscuit

January 2013 – Half-baked rules about homemade biscuits say a lot about the sort of society we live in and undermine community spirit.

Just say moo

December 2010 – Animal rights activists are calling for global vegetarianism, but the Middle East is not ready to sacrifice its meat-eating lifestyle.

No place like home

July 2010 – A return to an ancestral homeland is a dream that's long inspired diasporas – often with troubling results.

Pangs for simpler times

February 2010 – Island retreats are like rich ice cream… lovely until you become lactose intolerant. One place has all the creamy pleasure and none of the hype.

For Allah's sake!

February 2010 – Christians across the Muslim world use ‘Allah' to refer to ‘God', so why has this led to violence and controversy in Malaysia?

Making globalisation pay

February 2010 – Big corporations are using the banking crisis as an excuse for exploiting cheap labour. Is it time for a global minimum wage?

Australia's great outdoors?

January 2010 – Like shrimps on the barbie and hard yakka*, the great outdoors is one of the binding contracts of being Australian. Except it really isn't.

Good grief!

November 2009 – There is something of an inner circle to mourning whose circumference varies from culture to culture. Knowing where you fit in takes some research.

Honour: Made in China

September 2009 – The ‘Chinese hymen' may make pre-marital sex safer in a patriarchal society but a woman's honour should not lie between her legs.

EU election monitoring… junket, joke or both?

September 2009 – “The Afghan elections were fair, but not free,” declared European election monitors. Meaningless sound-bite or what?

Faith and desire in Albert Square

August 2009 – EastEnders is breaking new ground on gay issues by exploring what happens when Muslim boy meets boy – but marries girl.

Pakistan: stifled from birth

May 2009 – Why does , despite its size and diversity, seem so much more stable than Pakistan?

Pale imitations

November 2008 – Why is fairness so coveted in societies with darker skin?

Paradise forsaken

October 2008 – With the separatist movement committed to non-violence, now is a good time to visit Kashmir.

The human cost of cluster bombs

September 2008 – Cluster bombs continue to hurt people and their livelihoods years after they were dropped.

 

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