Uzbekistan lives comfortably in several centuries but is also a forward-looking nation, Deepa Gahlot discovers on a visit to this Central Asian country.
Radiocarbon dating found the manuscript to be at least 1,370 years old, making it among the earliest in existence.
It also said that the Indian public was "not gullible or silly".
'We will teach them about our idol Mohammad Sahab and all the great men of other religions as well -- about Shri Ram, Krishna, Yeshu, Bhagwan Mahavir.' 'We want children from the madrasas to become doctors, engineers, scientists, soldiers and walk in the footsteps of Dr A P J Abdul Kalam.' 'That is why we have named the modern madrasas after Dr Kalam.'
"In celebration of the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and in conjunction with 'Sewa Pakhwada', the historic and world-famous 'Big Shahi Deg' at Ajmer Dargah Sharif will once again be used to prepare and distribute 4000 kg of vegetarian 'Langar' food, continuing a tradition that has been upheld for over 550 years," an official statement from the Dargah authorities said.
Condemning the plans of an American Pastor to burn the holy Quran, the United States on Friday said such "disruptive and disrespectful" attempts hurt efforts to counter "blood thirsty elements" and terror attacks like those in New York and Mumbai.
A military probe has so far found no evidence that interrogators at the Guantanamo prison "had placed Qurans on toilets, and in at least one case flushed a holy book down the toilet."
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was given a rousing welcome by thousands of people, including United Democratic Front leaders and workers, at Kalpetta in Wayanad on Wednesday as she prepares to make her electoral debut by filing nomination papers for the coming Lok Sabha bypoll.
The Sachar Committee report is not sacrosanct like the Quran and has to be looked at with a critical eye, Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said. "The Sachar Committee report is not Quran. It could be wrong and its recommendations and observations need to be looked at with a critical eye. The recommendations should not be seen as a special thing given to Muslims," he said. The Rajinder Sachar Committee was appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
"Show respect to cows as it is the leader of all bovines. Its milk, ghee and butter have therapeutic properties and its meat is the cause of several diseases," translates the verse on the hoarding
United States President Barack Obama has condemned the burning of the holy Quran by a US pastor as "an act of extreme intolerance" and said the killings in Afghanistan triggered by the incident were "outrageous".
The United States on Thursday issued a global travel alert to its citizens and urged them to exercise caution, amid fears of violent reaction by radical groups against the proposed burning of the Quran by a Florida Pastor.
Describing "knowledge" as the focal point of all religions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said South Asian region will be left behind if it does not embrace modernity.
The Supreme Court on Monday termed as "absolutely frivolous" a petition filed by former UP Shia Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi seeking the removal of 26 verses from holy Quran and dismissed it with a cost of Rs 50,000.
'We regret that we got any part of our story wrong, and extend our sympathies to victims of the violence and to the US soldiers caught in its midst,' Newsweek editor Mark Whitaker wrote in a note to readers.
Md Jamil Khan, a member of the Anjuman Committee, said it has welcomed the court verdict.
Captain Sharan and Flight Engineer Anil Jaggia both confirm that the hijackers seemed to know a lot about flying an aircraft. Without help from the ISI or the Pakistan army, it was impossible, points out Utkarsh Mishra.
United States President Barack Obama warned that a Florida pastor's plans to torch copies of Quran during the anniversary of 9/11 attacks could lead to a "recruitment bonanza" for Al Qaeda as he asked him to "listen to those better angels" and call off the "stunt".
If found guilty of the charge, the couple could face a death sentence.
The United States has issued a global travel alert asking its citizens to exercise caution in the wake of a Florida pastor's plan to burn copies of Quran on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, warning that it could trigger violent protests in many countries.
Within hours of his announcement about cancelling his plans to burn 200 copies of Quran on anniversary of 9/11 attacks on Saturday, pastor Terry Jones said he was "rethinking" his decision as a Florida Imam had "lied" to him that a planned Islamic centre and mosque near Ground Zero in New York would be moved to some other place.
The United States will hand out administrative punishment to its six soldiers for their role in desecration of Holy Quran in Afghanistan early this year, an incident that had caused wide-spread protests and riots in the country and forced President Barack Obama to apologise.
The White House has said that the Quran story published in Newsweek has affected US image abroad.
Several persons including a deputy inspector general of police were injured in a violent clash between the police and local Muslims in a village in Moradabad district near Lucknow on Wednesday.
Responding to the threat from small town church Pastor Terry Jones (of Gainesville, Florida) to mark the 9th anniversary of 9/11 as 'Burn the Quran Day, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said, 'My God and is a tolerant god, and that's what we want to see in this world."
'In Mecca and Medina, cow slaughter is not allowed'
Pakistan wanted to be constitutionally communal, India wanted to be secular but is communalising itself. All three nations share a penal code, but they have amended their laws to enable the State to specifically target minorities, points out Aakar Patel.
"About one thousand angry mobs vandalised and set ablaze at least 13 Buddhist houses and five temples in Merunloa village in Cox's Bazar district," Faruk Ahmed, a senior police officer, told Xinhua from Cox's Bazar district, some 391 km southeast of capital Dhaka.
A high-ranking Pentagon official on apologised to the Afghan leadership for the burning of the Quran by United States military personnel and also discussed the reconciliation process in the war-torn country.
The United States and Afghanistan have completed their joint fact-finding investigation into the incident of desecration of the Quran by US soldiers last month, the Pentagon has said.
The Afghanistan ministers of defence and interior have cancelled their scheduled visit to the United States this week to focus on controlling the spiralling tensions back home in the wake of the burning of Qurans at a US-run military base.
"The others were tortured by the gunmen," Rezaul Karim, father of Hasnat Karim who was held hostage inside Holey Artisan Bakery in the diplomatic zone for over 10 hours was quoted as saying to The Daily Star.
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack begins by asking why the hijack lasted seven days and ends in wondering if the good guys fought the bad ones hard enough, observes Sukanya Verma.
Crucial reforms in Muslim personal law, especially laws related to inheritance and adoption, need to be initiated forthwith; historically speaking, without the State's backing, hardly has any reform taken place or allowed to prevail, asserts Mohammad Sajjad.
"I follow Ramayana, Quran, Bible and Guru Granth Sahib... I do not do drama by visiting poor people's homes to eat food brought from outside," she said.
After a meeting of its working committee in New Delhi, the board adopted a resolution which stated that the recent judgment of the Supreme Court on the maintenance of Muslim divorcee women is "against the Islamic law (Shariah)".
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances