On Friday, the Bombay high court reversing the ban imposed on women entering the inner sanctum of the Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai said, "The ban is contrary to articles 14, 15, 19 and 25 of the Constitution of India. Women should be permitted to enter the dargah on par with men." The news brought much cheer and joy to petitioner Zakia Soman who is also the founder of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan. Zakia spoke to Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf on what made this verdict historic and how it will bring about a change in the future.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called on Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Expressing anguish over the move to recite "Hanuman chalisa" at an AIDS awareness programme, the Bombay high court has asked the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Nagpur Municipal Corporation if, according to it, "India is for Hindus only".
There were no immediate reports of any loss of life or damage to property.
A sixth of AAP's 67 MLAs in Delhi are either out on bail or behind bars in cases ranging from domestic abuse to sexual harassment, to desecration of holy books, to corruption charges.
The Madras high court on Monday banned all unauthorised 'Sharia' courts functioning from mosque premises in the state of Tamil Nadu.
Actors Nana Patekar and Makrand Anaspure distributed cheques of financial aid to as many as 113 families of farmers from Latur and Osmanabad districts of Marathwada, who have committed suicides, owing to drought and indebtedness.
Stating the reason behind her decision, the 18-year-old said she is not happy with her current line of work, which has silently and unconsciously transitioned her "out of imaan".
Modernisation of Madrasas is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan that he laid out in run-up to Lok Sabha elections in 2014.
In a Facebook post, Jaleel himself confirmed that he had put in his papers. "I am happy to say that those who had been baying for my blood can be relieved for now. I have submitted my resignation to the chief minister. Since the past two years, I have been facing a media onslaught," Jaleel, second minister in the LDF ministry to resign on nepotism charges, said in the post.
Nigeria's militant Islamist group Boko Haram has left the world dismayed with the kidnap of 257 schoolgirls from a secondary school. The abductions have spurred a global online #BringBackOurGirls campaign, with the hashtag hitting over a million. But the plight of the girls continues to haunt Africa's most populous nation. The story so far...
The billions India invested in dams, schools, etc in Afghanistan will be gone. The Hindu and Sikh population of Afghanistan has already shrunk from some 200,000 to about 500, points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
A u-turn by the BJP will be an apocalyptic occurrence in Indian politics and society, argues Amulya Ganguli.
'Who is the government to decide about my religion?' 'We are governed by the Constitution. The Constitution has given me the independence to follow my religion.'
Miss World Muslimah was launched three years ago as a protest against Miss World. This year's winner is Obabiyah Aishah Aijbola of Nigeria.
We invited you to share your Ramzan photographs -- here's a fresh set of responses.
The last time a prime minister attended an event at AMU was Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1964. Before him, then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had visited the AMU four times.
Dr Muhammad Tahirul Qadri, who threatens to uproot the government in Pakistan with his pro-military stand and support of thousands, is definitely taking the political centrestage. Tahir Ali puts forth the story of the firebrand cleric, who has vowed to change Pakistan with debatable methods.
'Dr Abdullah is the oldest and tallest leader in our current political landscape and it was very kind of him to come and see us.'
Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda has equated the manifesto of his party, the Janata Dal-Secular, for the upcoming Karnataka assembly election to a Bhagwad Gita, Quran and the Bible.
Desai requested the Dargah's trust to not move the Supreme Court against the HC's judgment.
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who was injured in a fall at an election meeting, has made a dramatic appeal to the people from his hospital bed to vote for his party in the May 11 polls and help build a "new Pakistan".
The Jammu and Kashmir high court has held that a Muslim man's power to divorce his wife is not "unrestricted or unqualified". Justice Hasnain Masoodi in his 23-page judgment extensively went into details of the Shariah law and Koranic injunctions to hold that a "husband cannot have unrestricted or unqualified power to pronounce the Talaaq."
The United States on Friday cautioned its citizens in Pakistan to keep a low profile and avoid large gatherings ahead of a planned rally by cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, who has been pressuring the government to carry our electoral reforms.
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has stated that it is willing to declare ceasefire if the Pakistan government withdraws from the US-led war on terror and forms a new foreign policy in accordance to the holy Quran and Sunnah.
AIMPLB member Zafaryab Jilani on Wednesday said the proposed mosque in Ayodhya following last year's Supreme Court verdict is against the Waqf Act and 'illegal' under the Shariat laws.
Right-wing politics all over the world seeks to victimise the weak and powerless by falsely claiming victimhood, says Shivam Vij
A bipartisan group of six American Senators has written a letter to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, asking him to address the growing religious intolerance in his country and release the minor Christian girl arrested on a blasphemy charge.
Religious places including mosques have been closed for over a month now. And with clerics advising all to stay home and social distancing becoming the norm, people are unable to get together for prayers and Iftar, a ritual of breaking fast every evening, that are a key part of Islam's holiest month.
An innocent Canadian Sikh journalist was wrongly accused of being involved in the Paris attacks after his photo-shopped image went viral on social media and a Spanish newspaper printed the snap identifying him as a terrorist.
The Pakistan high court has dismissed the blasphemy case against Rimsha Masih, a 14-year-old Christian girl who was accused of desecrating pages of a religious text. Though it was a first of its kind judgement, the blasphemy law has been often used against the minorities, says Tahir Ali.
The US will be secretly happy if Pakistan is forced to fight on two fronts (Indian and Afghan) in 2014, says Colonel Anil Athale (retd).
Over 100 Muslim clerics, groups and individuals in the UK have made a united appeal to the Islamic State terror group to show mercy and release a British hostage under their captivity.
The two-day meet of the 120-nation grouping, which began with the national anthem of Iran followed by the recitation of the verses from the holy Quran, was inaugurated by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the leaders' Summit hall in Northern Tehran.
A minor Christian girl arrested on a blasphemy charge in Islamabad continues to be held in a high-security jail despite her case being taken up by Pakistan's ruling Pakistan People's Party.
Get prepared to be floored by their architecture.
Rediff.com gives you a sneak peak into the life of the American soldiers battling in Afghanistan as efforts are made in Washington to end its longest foreign war.
The bench had made it clear that it would examine whether the practice of triple talaq among Muslims is fundamental to their religion.
The judges in the minority verdict said that if the Centre does not bring a law within six months, then its injunction on triple talaq will continue.
A Pakistani Christian girl accused of desecrating the holy Quran is a minor and suffers from some form of mental impairment, a medical board has concluded, according to rights activists on Tuesday.
