religious strife

Hopeful but Homesick in Peshawar Schools

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
“I miss my mother and cry every night,” eight-year-old Afaq Ali tells IPS. He is a Class 5 student at the University Public School in Peshawar, capital of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the administrative centre for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to its west.

Religious Groups in Brazil Condemn Attacks on Islam

By Fabiana Frayssinet
The Brazilian Commission for Combating Religious Intolerance (CCIR) condemned the film “Innocence of Muslims" as “disrespectful” of the prophet Mohammed, and organised a mass protest demanding respect for freedom of religion in this country.

Taliban Need No Education

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
Samina Afridi, a lecturer at the University of Peshawar, regrets that down history the leaders of the Pashtun (also Pakhtun) tribes have conspired to keep them away from education and literacy. The Taliban are only the latest example.

Hazaras in Pakistan Caught Between Persecution and the High Seas

By Zofeen Ebrahim
It will be no less than a miracle if Nadir Ali makes it to Australia, where he planned to seek asylum. But with each passing day, since his boat went missing over two months ago, hopes are dimming.