#book set in pakistan

[girlinaswing]

My Bookish World Tour- ASIA

12 done and 38 to go… YemenChinaSouth Korea JapanPhilippinesTajikistanUzbekistanKazakhstanKyrgyzstanNorth KoreaMalaysiaThailandMyanmarNepalBangladeshPakistanAfghanistanJordanCambodiaLaosVietnamTurkmenistanSri LankaIndonesiaBruneiArmeniaHong KongAzerbaijanBahrainCyprusEast TimorPalestineIranMaldivesTimor-LesteLebanonIraqSaudi ArabiaGeorgiaBhutanSingaporeIsraelKuwaitQatarOmanSyriaUnited Arab…

[secular-jew]

Please share and help stop propaganda and educate people.

I was born to hate jews. By Kaseem Hafiz

It was part of my life. I never questioned that. I was not born in Iran or Syria. I was born in England. My parents moved there from Pakistan. Theirs was the typical immigrant story: Move to the West hoping to create a better life for themselves and their children.

We were a devoted Muslim family, but not extremists or radicals in any way. We only wanted the best for everyone - everyone except the Jews. The Jews, we thought, were aliens living in stolen Muslim land, occupiers involved in a genocide against the Palestinian people. Our hatred was therefore justified and just. And it left me and my friends vulnerable to radical extremist arguments. If the Jews were as evil as we've always believed, shouldn't those who support them - Christians, Americans and others in the West - be just as evil?

All of this had its desired effect. At least it did on me. It changed the way I looked at the world. I began to look at the suffering of Muslims, including in Britain, as the fault of Western imperialism. The west was at war with us, and the Jews controlled the west. My experience at the university in the UK only reinforced my increasingly radical conviction. Hating Israel was a badge of honor. Set up an anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian rally, and you were sure to attract a huge, approver

While in uni, I decided that the protests and propaganda against Israel were not enough. Real jihad requires violence. So I made plans to join the real fight. I want to drop out of college and join terrorist training camp in Pakistan. But, fortunately for me, fate intervened - in a bookstore.

I came across a book called The Case for Israel by Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz. The case for Israel? Which case could that be? The title itself infuriated me, and I started reading the pages almost like a travesty. How ill-informed, how stupid, can this guy be to defend the defenseless? Well, he was a Jew. That must have been the answer

👉Still I am reading. And what I read challenged all my dogmas about Israel and the Jews: I read that it was not Israel who created the Palestinian refugee crisis, it was the Arab countries, the UN and the corrupt Palestinian leadership. I read that Jews did not exploit the Holocaust to create the state of Israel; the movement to create a modern Jewish state dating back to the 19th. century, and eventually to the beginning of the Jewish people almost 4000 years ago. And I read that Israel is not engaged in genocide against the Palestinians. On the contrary, the Palestinian population has actually doubled in just twenty years.

👉What I saw with my own eyes was even more challenging than what Dershowitz had written. Instead of apartheid I saw Muslims, Christians and Jews coexisting. Instead of hate, I saw acceptance, even compassion. I saw a violent, modern, liberal democracy, full of flaws, for sure, but fundamentally decent. I saw a country that wanted nothing but to live in peace with its neighbors. I watched my hate melt before my eyes. I knew just then what I had to do.

Too many people on this planet are consumed by the same hate that consumed me. They have been taught to despise the Jewish state - many Muslims through their religion, many others by their university professors or student groups.

So here's my challenge to anyone who feels this way: do what I did - seek the truth for yourself. If the truth can change me, it can change anyone.

I am Kasim Hafeez from Prager University.

[angelicguy]

pakistan tekken is so crazy its taken me a really long time to even kind of realize how it works. because korean tekken its really defensive obviously- if i had to condense it its "play defense and use good movement, let your opponent show their habits, and make reads from their habits/step and whiff the moves they throw out" with the idea being that you take as little risk as possible while still taking the damage as it comes. thats a huge generalization, and obviously people play different, but its how they are known to play (aggressive players like ulsan notwithstanding)

but pakistani players absolutely blast their asses every time. because (and this is what i THINK but its also what ive seen) pakistani players have this insane calculated aggression that they apply that completely breaks thru that defensive playstyle- you can see it in their choices of nina, feng, drag, etc. they find these characters that have moves that have a safe answer for every defensive option that there is (quick tracking moves, unseeable lows, long range mids) and just fucking pitbull the hell out of you with very low passive risk to themselves (by passive risk i mean they dont use punishable moves or duckable strings that can be seen/punished on first or second use). like this weird blender of attacks that absolutely decimate the defensive playstyle, because DEFENSIVE READS are based off of thinking "oh he did this last time/ he only has a set of options here, i can answer that with a specific option" but since they rotate thru their options so well they just scissor them to death. they do not wait or back up for the first 2/3rds of the set. theres nothing to whiff punish cuz they dont whiff, and you cant play patient because if you stand still they just kill you!

but the most DEVILISH thing about them is that they still have incredible movement and defense. atif butt vs keisuke and book at CEO showed this really well- he would just mog them endlessly for the first match, and about halfway thru the second match once they start catching on to their baseline offensive pace and start hitting back with the requisite counter offensive, they go SUPER defensive and start making those korean style reads back at them. its crazy. its like they have that defensive style as a fallback when the aggression starts biting them- but then their OPPONENT becomes too secure in the idea that theyre fighting aggro, and once they pick up on that they use their opponents responses against them its fucking evil

[helianthus-tarot]

What would you think about showing your support for Palestine?

I don't understand the question. What would I think? What do I think about showing my support specifically, or about other people showing their support?

I support Palestine of course. Below are some links:

🟡 Information

If you know nothing about the history of the Palestine-Israel conflict, you can start with Decolonize Palestine website; particularly the Palestine 101 section. It won't take much time. Also the myths section; the myths address most of the typical zionists' arguments.

Palquest also seems good if you want to understand the chronology of what has happened on the land since the Ottoman Empire, it was set up by the Institute for Palestine Studies and the Palestinian Museum. But I haven't explored everything yet since it's massive.

If you think those are too biased or whatever, you can supplement them by googling more info yourself about things such as The First Zionist Congress, Balfour Declaration, Great Palestinian Rebellion, Nakba, 1948 Arab–Israeli War, creation of Hamas, etc. Read multiple websites for each one of these. Compare and contrast the info.

I also suggest you watch videos from anti-zionist jews on tiktok; search #jewsagainstzionism #antizionistjew.

🟡 October 2023

You can refer to this post, there are links that talk about the recent October events. This is also a brief summary on how Hamas-Israel October 7 impacted Gaza.

To get recent updates:

People: Motaz Azaiza (a photographer who provides video updates of what's happening in Gaza). Plestia Alaqad (a journalist who also provides updates in Gaza). Click on their IG stories.

News: AlJazeera English, Eye On Palestine.

Others: Chris Kunzler, Subhi.

That list is not comprehensive of course, but you can use those as a starting point. You can also follow the #palestine or #gaza tags on tiktok and tumblr. I suggest tiktok since news travel a lot faster there.

🟡 What can you do

Rallies: Join Palestine solidarity rallies in your country if you can; this is a list of rallies from October 28 to November 5. But make sure you read guidelines and know how to behave during a rally, also pay attention to what is lawful and what isn't in your country.

Demand a ceasefire: For those who are in the USA, in the UK. I don't live in those countries so I don't know much, feel free to explore the tags. Americans really have a reason to be mad, your gov use your tax money and army to help the IOF kill kids. I don't even want to begin talking about Britain.

Boycott: Refer to BDS Movement to know what main brands to boycott, there are several like HP and Siemens. There are also other brands, you can find the info on tiktok; but from what I know people are currently focusing on Starbucks, McD and Disney.

Donate: This is long-term help, since people can barely get aids into Gaza at the moment (except for the recent 20 trucks). But some of them are still taking donation, so check. Palestine Red Crescent Society, Palestine Children's Relief Fund, Medical Aid for Palestinians, Baitulmaal, Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan.

🟡 Others

I haven't tried these yet for personal reason but these are highly recommended by people.

Life in Occupied Palestine documentary by Anna Baltzer, who is a Jewish-American.

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine book by Ilan Pappé, an Israeli historian and socialist activist. He has also written an article about what happened recently.

Another list of published books you can read to learn more. Edit: I couldn't link it. Go to tiktok and next to tiktok(.)com/, paste this: @book.butch/video/7293673677256903982?lang=en

Double check the info and the links. I might have missed something, so if there's wrong info or any correction needs to be done, kindly let me know.

If you have questions about the conflict, don't ask me; follow the links and people I've listed above. I am dealing with fatigue and emotional exhaustion, the issue has been triggering anxiety attacks.

Zionists do not interact.

[timelesslords]

I’ve been meaning to make a post like this for a while, so here are some fiction anti-colonial/anti-apartheid/anti-genocide books that I read for the cultural studies concentration of my literature degree, that I think are super readable/accessible and don’t see recommended often:

1. The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan

A novel about a boy who was a victim of a terrorist attack as a child and how he becomes radicalized by the same terrorist group that killed his friends as a young adult.

Additional/background reading:

2. The Story of a Brief Marriage by Anuk Arudpragasam

a 24 hour snapshot of the last few weeks of the Sri Lankan civil war where the Sri Lankan goverment bombed a no fire zone, killing as many as 70,000 civilians, the vast majority of whom belonged to the Tamil ethnic minority. (this book is extremely graphic but very worth reading imo)

Background/additional reading:

3. White Teeth by Zadie Smith

A post-colonial novel spanning several decades centering on two WWII veterans living in Britain; one a white Englishman, one a Bangladeshi immigrant.

additional/background reading:

4. An Imperfect Blessing by Nadia Davis

A novel about the Indian community in South Africa, told primarily through the lens of a teenage girl and taking place during the dissolution of the apartheid state.

background/additional reading:

5. Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

A modern retelling of Antigone set in post-9/11 Britain and Pakistan.

additional/background reading:

[geminipixels]

A bookworm and her finance bro older brother.

Meet the Sharma siblings, Rahul and Rima. I wanted to make some more ethnically diverse sims for my game. Ethnic wise, these two were inspired based upon South Asia, specifically India and Pakistan. Below are their download links if you're interested in adding them in game. Feel free to change them to fit your sim style, or use them as townie’s for your saves or to populate worlds.

Also, credits and much love to all the CC creators whose custom content was used 💞.

Download Rima here.

Rima is an aspiring journalist and self-proclaimed author pursuing a degree in Communications. While socializing isn't really her thing and she can be a bit clumsy, she has a creative heart of gold. Although she hasn't had any real life romances, she definitely has a few book-tok lovers somewhere on her bookshelf...

Download Rahul here.

Rahul is a typical finance bro. He spent his years at university investing his parents money, arguing over stocks and drafting up business plans. Graduating with honors in business, he plans to become a CEO of a mega-corporation somewhere in Bridgeport. Though he'll always make time to be there for his little sister.

Sidenote: Only their everyday looks have Custom Content. Every other outfit used packs and base game.

They may appear slightly different in your game due to my personal gshade preset, lightning mod, default eyes and skin and slider. My slider settings are set to 2 for facial and 1 for body, below are some links of my sliders and skin I used on the siblings.

My sliders are all from OneEuroMutt found here.

My default eyes are from here by Brntwaffles.

My default skin is made by @nectar-cellar found here. Though for these specific sims I used a skin by Brntwaffles called Fresh Blue found here.

[sadmezcalita]

2024 Book Review Post

Was making this on bsky, but I hate character limits so here we are

Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart: I have nothing to say on this that probably wasn't already said much better. It was absolutely gutwrenching and I want to read more of Achebe's work.

Toni Morrison, Sula - My first Morrison and it was amazing. She's such a master of perspective, when that first person comes out, it's like a flower unfurling into an overpowering fragrance. Every character is a world in their own, and even the town feels like a person. Totally haunting and need to reread to appreciate it more.

Simin Behbahani, A Cup of Sin - exquisite. I discovered Behbahani while I was in Pakistan but couldnt find her poetry avaialble anywhere online or in person so it was the first book I RUSHED to buy when I came to the states. Each rich line drips with imagrey that mixes decadent luridity and beauty. I have a vivid memory of my first horror movie, an indian soap where a woman reached inside a mans chest and squeezed it so he bled from his mouth then licked it up. That's what how I feel when I read her poems (whether I feel like the man or woman is more confused.) I want to learn farsi so bad. Planning on scanning and uploading it so no one suffers without it like I did.

Iraj Pezeshkzad, Hafez in Love - I have a very vague memory of this honestly. I didn't find the prose or plot very but I recall being entertained by court poet drama. It was ok.

Cheon Meong-Kwan, Whale - Im wary that anything described as "sweeping intergenerational drama" is gonna be a dull booker prize bait but wow, this beat the expectations that cliche description set up. Very unique and immediately captures you, I LOVED the honey bee womans plot. Just that one chapter got me. I'm usually good with depictions of sexual violence (done tastefully!!) but I had to stop bc of the gratuitous teen rape. I'll probably try to read it again once I get that archipelago books subscription I want so bad.

Toni Morrison, Recitatif - my second Morrison.. a short story where I spent more time reading essays and reviews on it than the work itself! That's how you know it's good. A race blind story where the author dares you to make presumptions so you can ask yourself why. Even I couldn't help myself from trying to figure out the character's races, then asking why I thought thwt. The cruelty all are capable of in the right conditions.

[headlock8222]

The time is now

We are entering the times of a dictatorship

Hang on to your beliefs and values you might lose them in the scuffle

Run as far as you can to the nearest shuttle

Before the brainwashing powers kick in and make you wonder “Has every tan person lived in mexico while every black man has lived in a Ghetto?”

Hide from the army men who “Didn’t remember their oath.” One they took to protect and serve the people, even the ones they care about the most

But by the end of the dictatorship it’s execute anyone thats not familiar with the White christian nationalists weekly bible quote

Grab everything that means something to you even if that just means knowledge and the truth

Take your books and hide them well before the temperature reaches 451 and is history is is no longer in the peoples use

Don’t let them approach you with blessed be the fruit approach them with its not George Orwell’s 1984 and we will let them know that will be our truth

Rosa parks once said I will not move so do not Budge from your seat till the right section disapproves

We do not look for your approval but instead what sets you off, disappointing you right winged bigoted fucks

we are the true american people standing up for basic human rights

to be able to do what we want with our bodies and practice our own religious rights

Now with 34 charges you would think we would have a women in charge and an orange pile of lard but instead he's the president who likes to pull the trump card

could've at least sat in a cell with Diddy and talked a while but instead we got a smile and the end to his trial.

With all those white parties there's no denying the truth

Through and through Donalad trump is a rapist and he doesn't love you

You can bet your tax dollars that he hides it from you

Just ask stormy daniels but remember the 130,000 incase you want to barry it to down too

Oh wait there's news, that 130,000 dollars was our tax revenue

washed down the drains used as hush money you all know it's true

all so stormy daniels could look pretty but not you

You think your money is going to be better used

just wait till he attacks canada it will be all over the news

Right now though the talk is on Elon musk's “rockets” he claims they will be unmatched and will power through even though it blew up over turks and caicos everyone left can see he's a fool.

Especially with his hand gesture Hitler used to do

Which is strange because hitler would have hated you putting you back with the rest of the black triangled men Now musk can’t cause any more feuds

Your body my choice is a wild statement especially for a man who doesn't have a wife, was doxed online and supports a white supremacy group oh was that to much for you

How does it feel to not be able to get away, to feel trapped in life with no way of escape Nick's statement means more to women, more than you think

Women who have been forced to give birth, raped, and beat people who have had to de-transistoin and hide there true self because people like him want to control them.

That's why four years ago the rights were pissed

They lost their dictator and got there panties in a twist

Breaking into the capitol not minding if they broke the security guards wrist.

This was the big unjustest on capitol hill that day

That Two boys were kissing and were being gay

Not focused on the problem at hand like the millions of families being killed almost by the years. While you eat at a restaurant were you and your wife sit drinking fancy wine and beers

Ukraine, pakistan and more are losing their homes and lives because of a war

But still are focus shifts to the murder of a billionaire killed by someone who was just trying to even the score

Trump won't do anything for the sake of his friendships even if the are Communists finest princess

For the people who are left and know the truth get ready for the war its upon you

[acmoorereadsandwrites]

Books to Try if You Loved Miraculous Ladybug

The way I have always viewed media is that it’s stories, first and foremost, and then the medium comes next. Medium can make a lot of difference in how stories are told, with visual media working quite well for the superhero genre and interiority shining in the written format. I want to draw attention to books that I think lovers of certain stories would also enjoy while also throwing in a few extras along the way and highlighting a diverse range of authors and genres.

If you loved the romance between a biracial artist and someone who likes science, try:

Red String Theory by Lauren Kung Jessen

Rooney Gao grew up the daughter of a famous artist and wants to make a name for herself in the art world independent of her mother, going by the moniker Red String Girl. Drawing from Chinese folklore about the red string of fate, Rooney also follows ideas of destiny in many aspects of her life, including love. Jack Liu is a scientist at NASA who is perfect for Rooney, but his own insecurities and resistance to fate might be enough to keep them apart.

If you loved the Parisian setting and strong fashion components, try:

If I Promise You Wings by A. K. Small

A. K. Small spent part of her life in the Sacré-Cœur of Paris and you can feel the city come alive in her story of grief and moving on. Alix Leclaire has graduated high school and lands her dream job at the Mille et une Plume, a feather boutique that plays a part in the haute couture fashion scene. Despite her happiness, the loss of her best friend is still a fresh wound for Alix to heal from.

If you loved the Parisian setting and the exploration of a character with anxiety, but want more of the Eiffel Tower and a Queer historical bent, try

The Paris Affair by Maureen Marshall

Fin Tighe is working for Gustave Eiffel as they work to build the Eiffel Tower in time for the World’s Fair. But as the illegitimate son of an English earl with no other heirs, the guardian of a ballerina cousin who wants to focus on her craft, and the love interest of a member of the Parisian elite, Fin and his anxiety are going to be tested in ways he never thought possible.

If you loved the dynamic of Adrien coming from a famous family and Marinette coming from a working class family with the struggles of making friendships, try

Love at First Knight by Megan Clawson

When Daisy Hasting, LARPer enthusiast from a family of LARPer enthusiasts, is volunteered to be a temporary knight at the Tower of London for a summer camp, the last thing she expects it to find love, let alone with a member of the royal family.

If you liked the secret identities but want a more grounded romance, try

Maya’s Laws of Love by Alina Khawaja

School teacher Maya Mirza has agreed to an arranged marriage with her friend from college, but on her way to Pakistan, she Sarfaraz, a Pakistani-Canadian divorce lawyer who is cynical towards love and romance. Both keep meeting up as roadblock after roadblock appears on their way to Pakistan.

If you loved the magical girl elements, but want an adult POV, try

A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon trans. Anton Hur

When the protagonist is told that she is the legendary Magical Girl of Time, she’s thrust into the world of women with superpowers. From job expos to credit card debt to discussions around climate change to conversations surrounding grief and loss, this is the perfect book for people who grew up on the magical girl genre.

Bonus:

If you liked the monsters being people the MCs know and are impacted by strong feelings, try:

Princess Tutu

When Ahiru is transformed from a duck into the magical girl Princess Tutu to save Prince Mytho, she has to fight her own friends and grow closer to enemies to accomplish her goals, even at the risk of breaking her own heart. A metacontextual examination of opera, ballet, fairy tales, and broader storytelling, Princess Tutu scratches the Miraculous itch while also doing something wholly new.

You can also find this post on substack under:

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Andrew Doyle

Published: Dec 12, 2023

Towards the end of Christopher Marlowe’s play Tamburlaine Part Two, our marauding anti-hero burns a copy of the Quran, along with other Islamic books, as a kind of audacious test. “Now, Mahomet,” he cries, “if thou have any power, come down thyself and work a miracle.” Two scenes later, he is dead.

We might see this as a cautionary tale for our times. After all, it isn’t only Turco-Mongol conquerors who find themselves punished for Quran-burning. Last week, the Danish parliament voted to ban the desecration of all religious texts following a spate of protests in which copies of the Qur’an had been destroyed. Inevitably, the new law has been couched as a safety measure. This burning of the book, claims justice minister Peter Hummelgaard, “harms Denmark and Danish interests, and risks harming the security of Danes abroad and here at home”.

He has a point. Even unconfirmed accusations of Quran-burning can be sufficient to prompt extremist violence. In 2015, being accused of defiling the holy book, Farkhunda Malikzada was beaten to death by a ferocious mob in Afghanistan while bystanders, including police officers, did nothing to intervene. Many filmed the brutal murder on their phones and the footage was widely shared on social media. In 2022, a mentally unstable man called Mushtaq Rajput was similarly accused and tied to a tree and stoned to death in Pakistan. Earlier this year in Iran, it was reported that Javad Rouhi was tortured so severely that he could no longer speak or walk. He was sentenced to death for apostasy and later died in prison under suspicious circumstances.

But while we might anticipate that the desecration of the Quran would be proscribed in Islamic theocracies, it is troubling to see similar laws being passed in secular nations such as Denmark. The government had not been so faint-hearted when faced with similar problems in 2005. After cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed were published in Jyllands-Posten, a global campaign from Indonesia to Bosnia demanded that the Danish authorities take action. The government stood firm and the judicial complaint against the newspaper was dismissed.

In a free society this is the only justifiable response, albeit one that takes considerable courage. And the climate of intimidation that has descended since is a product of our collective failure to defend freedom of speech against the demands of militants. When the Ayatollah Khomeini pronounced his fatwa on Salman Rushdie for his novel The Satanic Verses, one would have hoped for a unified front on behalf of one of our finest writers. Instead, much of the literary and political establishment abandoned or even censured him. In the Australian television show Hypotheticals, the singer Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, implied that he would have no objections to Rushdie being burned alive.

That a work of fiction such as The Satanic Verses could not even be published today gives us some indication of the extent to which we have forsaken the principle of free speech. If we are so squeamish about the burning of Qurans, why were so many of us indifferent to the burning of Rushdie’s book on the streets of Bolton and Bradford? Yusuf Islam’s remark about the author’s immolation might have been flippant but, as Heinrich Heine famously wrote: “Where they burn books, they will in the end burn people too.”

The ceremonial burning of books in Germany and Austria in the Thirties has ensured that the act will always have a unique charge, and a disquieting, visceral effect. It is why, for instance, the most memorable scene in Mervyn Peake’s Titus Groan is when the villain Steerpike sets fire to his master’s library. It is a gesture designed to repudiate the very heights of human achievement, to hurl his victim into a spiral of despair. When Rushdie saw his own novel publicly incinerated, he confessed to feeling that “now the victory of the Enlightenment was looking temporary, reversible”.

The burning of the Quran leaves many of us similarly troubled. We do not need to approve of the contents to sense that the destruction of a book is symbolic of a desire to limit the scope of human thought. When activists post footage of themselves gleefully setting fire to copies of Harry Potter, one cannot shake the similar suspicion that they would happily substitute the books with the author herself.

But while many of us find the burning of books instinctively rebarbative, to outlaw this form of protest is essentially authoritarian. And to reinstate blasphemy laws by specifying that only religious books are to be protected is fundamentally retrograde. Of course, such laws already exist in most Western countries in an unwritten form. In March, a 14-year-old autistic boy was suspended from his school in Wakefield, reported to the police, and received death threats after he accidentally dropped a copy of the Quran on the floor, causing some of the pages to be scuffed. He may not have committed a crime, but many people behaved as though he had.

And the same unwritten laws are in force in the fact that few would be brave enough to publish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed after the massacre at the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in 2015. Five years later, the schoolteacher Samuel Paty was beheaded on the streets of Paris simply for showing the offending images during a lesson on free speech. Closer to home, a teacher at Batley Grammar School in West Yorkshire is still in hiding after showing the images to his pupils and stirring the ire of a righteous mob.

The failure of the school’s headmaster, as well as the teaching unions, to support this man against the demands of religious fundamentalists is revealing. Why must those who claim to be defending the dignity of Muslims treat them as irascible children? At the same time, as Sam Harris recently pointed out, there is an oddity in the fact that so many Muslims do not appear to be alarmed that “their community is so uniquely combustible”.

The bitter reality is that terrorism works, particularly when so many governments across the Western world are seemingly willing to fritter away our bedrock of liberal values. This has been actuated, in part, by an alliance of two very different forms of authoritarianism: ultra-conservative Islamic dogma and the safetyist ideology of “wokeness”. The latter has always claimed that causing offence is a form of violence, and the former has been quick to adopt the same tactics. This is why protesters outside Batley Grammar School asserted that the display of offensive cartoons was a “safeguarding” issue, and the Muslim Council of Britain criticised the school for not maintaining an “inclusive space”. The same censorious instincts have been updated, and are now cloaked in a more modish language.

In a civilised and pluralistic society, the burning of a holy book might provoke a variety of responses — anger, disbelief, or just a shrug of the shoulders — but it should never lead to violence. Back when The Onion still had some bite, the website satirised this “unique combustibility” through the depiction of a graphic sexual foursome between Moses, Jesus, Ganesha and Buddha. The headline said it all: “No One Murdered Because Of This Image”.

Freedom of speech and expression still matters, and if that means a few hotheads and mini-Tamburlaines might burn their copies of the Quran then so be it. It is unfortunate that we have reached the point where Islam must be ring-fenced from ridicule or criticism, whether due to fear of violent repercussions or a misguided and patronising effort to promote social justice. But for this state of affairs we ultimately have only ourselves to blame, and in particular our tendency to capitulate to religious zealots when they seek exemption from the liberal consensus.

==

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Police in eastern Pakistan arrested more than 100 Muslim men and charged them under anti-terrorism laws for attacking a Christian father and son over allegations they desecrated pages of Islam’s holy book, officials said Monday.

The mob went on a rampage Saturday after locals said they saw burnt pages of the Quran outside the two Christian men's house and accused the son of being behind it, setting their house and shoemaking factory on fire in the city of Sargodha in Punjab province, said senior police officer Assad Ijaz Malhi. They also attacked the son...

[harryforvogue]

how do i write if i am stationary all my life? all of the novels i read take place in italy, spain, pakistan, japan, finland. i want to write a setting i don’t know, but i’ve never been so how can i? these books have the culture and areas written like a bloody travel guide, that’s how well the authors know what they’ve written about.

[knarangg]

Good but could have been better

Tiger 3 (2023) : I had higher expectations from this but still I would keep it in my good books. Many positives were there, but negatives were there too. Salman Khan did well but the MVP of this movie was Katrina Kaif for me. Her action & her story were good👌👌

I liked the way they connected things to the past and gave a connected feeling although not sure what Tiger 3's events set up for the future. Zoya's past, Aatish's past with both Tiger & Zoya and Vienna Peace Summit connections were good.

Although the movie increases stakes by killing character but it had negligible effect. And the whole saving Pakistan plan & National anthem at the end might have been too extreme. But one good thing was that the movie did not have any unnecessary songs in between.

The direction in the bike chase scene at the start was a little creative, wanted something more from that Towel fight scene, VFX could have been improved & ofc, cameo of Pathaan , the banter of these two is always enjoyable.

And lastly, the post-credit scene, I was expecting to see JrNTR in it & it was a surprise to see Hrithik Roshan going rough & rogue and now I am excited to see what happens in War 2 . To conclude, Tiger 3 is a movie that looks good on paper but could have had better execution.

[richincolor]

Review: Seven Days by Rebeka Shaid

Publisher's Summary: This is a story about Noori and Aamir. A story about grief, family, and the unexpected turns life can take. A story of first love.

Noori has it all sussed out. She may only be fifteen and a Bollywood fanatic with an incredible lack of foresight, but she knows a thing or two about life and its messy heartaches. When she runs into Aamir, a scruffy desi dude with tea-stained eyes, her confused soul turns upside-down. There is something about him she can’t work out.

Aamir is trying to escape a misunderstood and painful past. When his world collides with Noori’s, life gets even more complicated. Invisible threads connect them. Will they both realize what's at stake, before they run out of time?

My Thoughts: Can you fall in love in a week? The question is posed on the cover of the book. Is it possible? This story attempts to provide an answer through the eyes of Noori and Aamir. There are cute rom-com tropes and humorous moments within their journey, but there is also grief and pain to be found.

Noori believes she knows what she needs next in life and is pretty set on her path. She's finding comfort with Rumi quotes and her dream to go to school in Pakistan. Before she can actually set her plan in motion though, she and Aamir cross paths.

As you might guess from the title, the book is divided a part for each day with one additional portion at the end. It is further divided between the main characters. It was very helpful to have the dual perspective as we can learn about each character through their own thoughts, but also in the way they are viewed by the other. The author still managed to provide slow reveals of their backstories though.

Both of them are having issues with their families and as they spend time with each other and share, they help each other see things they may not have been considering. The storyline is somewhat predictable, but in a comfortable way for the most part. The ending has a twist and then skips to the future kind of abruptly, but otherwise, it followed a typical rom-com arc.

Recommendation: This is a romance, but is also a book about identity, family, hope, and how to move through the world even when things seem out of control. Readers who have faced loss may connect with the characters and anyone can appreciate the smiles and chuckles along the way.

Extra: Interview with author at PaperBound Magazine Publisher: Walker Books Pages: 299 Pub date: January 2024 Review copy: Purchased

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A tourist has been dragged from a police station and killed by a mob in north-west Pakistan after being accused of blasphemy.

The police had been attempting to protect the man from the large group in the town of Madyan, a town in Swat district.

The mob had gathered after the man was accused of desecrating the Quran, Islam's holy book, on Thursday.

Lynchings are not uncommon after an accusation of blasphemy, which is punishable by death in Pakistan.

A Christian man was attacked last month after being accused of burning pages of the Quran, dying shortly afterwards.

Video of this latest incident has prompted outrage on social media in Pakistan. Footage shows the man's body being paraded through the streets and then set alight.

Police confirmed that the tourist had been "torched" and some 11 people were injured in the incident.