For drinkers, Ramadan brings a special kind of thirst
Ramadan is the time of year when hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world abstain from food or drink. But one group of fasters suffers a special variety of thirst this time of year: Muslims who drink alcohol.
Read MoreFICTION: Escaping terror firma, Part 2 – Breaking out of the fish bowl
We live in a fish bowl. It would be more likely for a pink elephant to fall out of the sky than for me to get Faris alone somewhere. But the pink elephant somehow managed to land right next to me.
Read MoreFICTION: Escaping terror firma, Part 1: Hell from the heavens
Poetry and song talk of soaring free as a bird, but the heavens are where hell resides. People talk of taking wing, but, me, I’d rather take fin, be free as a fish.
Read MoreLiving in a selfie-centred world
The selfie fad has reached epidemic proportions, but we don’t live in more narcissistic times. Selfie-absorption is as old as civilisation itself.
Read MoreA successful caliphate in six simple steps
ISIS really doesn’t get what restoring the caliphate means. Here’s how in six simple steps, from Caliphornian wine to cultural melting pots.
Read MoreA drinker’s guide to Islam
Although alcohol is ‘haram’, Muslim societies have rarely managed to stay on the wagon, and vital parts of their culture have developed under the influence.
Read MoreThe Arab man’s burden
Some in the west are more likely to believe in elves in Middle Earth than in Arab men in the Middle East who are secular and do not oppress women.
Read MoreDo no haram
A new search engine claims to filter out ‘haram’ (sinful) content for the faithful. Should non-believers now demand their own version – let’s call it Godpile – that blocks religious content?
Read MoreRamadan for drinkers
With booze in short supply, the month of fasting can be a thirsty wait for some Muslims.
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