India has a sizeable population of Sunni Muslims, and the Intelligence Bureau fears more young men will be drawn to the ISIS.
Talmiz Ahmad is a former Indian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE. In an interview with Aditi Phadnis, he says the disequilibrium in Iraq will continue to prevail. Ahmad also says there are indications that the US is now anxious to avoid intervening militarily in West Asia, and that this is the appropriate moment for Asia to assume responsibility for its own security. Edited excerpts:
Saudi Arabia on Sunday came under attack globally a day after it carried out mass execution of 47 people, including Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr who was a vocal critic of the government and the Saudi monarchy.
Eleven people died in sectarian violence in Pakistan's largest city today, taking the overall death toll in two days to 18 as unrest spiralled out of control on the eve of the Islamic holy month of Muharram.
'It was always anticipated that the return of the Taliban would embolden armed Islamists including anti-India groups like the Lashkar and Jaish.'
China, the Ukraine crisis and Quad will dominate the discussions, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
The blast was claimed by both the local affiliate of the Islamic State terror group and by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
The decision, they said, has given new hope to Muslim women.
Remember the US withdrawal agreement was signed in February 2020. In the intervening period, a proper evacuation plan ought to have been in place. It was not. Consequently, tens of thousands of Afghans who had worked as interpreters, drivers, suppliers of goods and services, etc, face brutal retribution from the Taliban, Virendra Kapoor points out.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called on Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has emerged as the single largest party in the legislative assembly elections in the strategically-located Gilgit-Baltistan region.
The Geneva agreement is a signal, which at least Saudi Arabia and Israel are so reading, that normalisation of relations between US and Iran is not merely about the nuclear fuel cycle, says K C Singh.
The United States military has conducted a humanitarian air drop in the besieged Iraqi town of Amrili, home to thousands of Shia Turkomen who have been cut off from receiving food, water, and medical supplies for two months by the militants of the Islamic State, the Pentagon said.
Islamic State group jihadists have claimed responsibility for twin explosions.
'Islam says the person who has been hurt has the right to pardon the accused. So don't ask me on whether I will pardon Narendra Modi or not. Go and ask this question to Gujarati Muslims who have been hurt.' 'Secular and non-secular is not an issue for Muslims. The day Muslims become strong, the non-secular guys will become secular. And if Muslims are weak, the same secular guys will cut the throats of Muslims.' 'The secular character of India can never be finished. India is secular by its nature. Whoever comes to power, he will have to become secular to rule,' Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad Naqvi tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com
To the extent the nuclear race in West Asia is slowed down by the Iran nuclear deal, the world as a whole has reason to be happy, says Virendra Kapoor.
ISIS' advances in Iraq and Syria are not just tactical but strategic victories -- born of US errors and confusion
Both the separatists in the Valley and the Indian establishment have failed to fathom that the world's alignments have changed, writes Col Dr Anil Athale (retired).
Standing amid the rubble left by the now defeated Islamic State terrorists in Iraq, Pope Francis on Sunday said that hope is 'more powerful than hatred and peace more powerful than war'.
The alacrity with which regional States responded to Delhi's invite signals that expectations are high regarding an Indian role in the efforts to stabilise the situation in Afghanistan, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'It is to be fervently hoped that a person as rational and brilliant as Hamid Ansari will not be allowed to wilt and simply wither away.'
How long can Pakistan remain neutral in the Saudi Arabia-led Yemen conflict?
Rouhani said people who think Islam is a religion of "violence and terrorism" are wrong in their assessment.
'Tension is being created in society because of this green flag, which is not even an Islamic flag.' 'There is no history of such a green flag being used in the Muslim world.'
Sources in the prominent Muslim body Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind said it was not in favour of filing a review petition and wants the matter to end.
Leaders of Muslim world are suffering from an "acute inferiority complex", which stems from the "legacy of the colonial era", Justice Muhammed Al-Ghazali of Supreme Court of Pakistan said.
'This Ram Navami -- the birth anniversary of Lord Ram -- presents the majority community an opportunity to shed its minority complex and offer an olive branch and discrimination- free society to the minority,' suggests Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
In 11 countries with significant Muslim population people hold overwhelmingly negative views about the Islamic State with the exception of Pakistan where most people have no definite opinion on the terror group, according to a new research.
Muslim scholars on Friday trashed as "cheap publicity gimmick" and "childish" Bahujan Samaj Party leader Haji Yakub Qureshi's alleged statement hailing terrorists who truck at French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and demanded strict action against him.
'What we are today witnessing is the final act of the Pakistani army trying to retain its turf,' argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
At least 11 people were killed and many more wounded on Monday when a powerful bomb exploded in a passenger bus in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, local officials said.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board on Thursday said there was no scope of change in the triple talaq system and rejected the suggestion by some community outfits for building a consensus on making a three-month period mandatory before finalisation of divorce.
'China is likely to help Pakistan in keeping the fire burning in J&K to bleed India for its own interests.' A fascinating excerpt from Lieutenant General K Himalay Singh's Making of a General: A Himalayan Echo.
'Nobody knows what they teach in madrasas.' 'If we do not adapt to the ways of the modern world, how will we progress as a community?' 'How will these children compete in the modern world?'
Both the victims -- Rizwan Husain, 31, and Ibne Abbas, 25, -- were taking part in the prayers when they died.
Muslim Personal Law Board has criticised Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy for his recent statement that mosque is not a religious place and can be demolished any time, saying it was intended to divert people's attention from "failures" of the Centre.
'The Pakistani military has encouraged and supported terrorist organisations, especially in Kashmir, as a means of waging proxy war against the Indian military and the country's superior economic resources.' 'The evidence is irrefutable with the recent killing of 46 paramilitary troops being just the latest example.'
Shivaji made sure that his soldiers respected the sanctity of mosques and the Quran Sharif to ensure that his fight against the Mughals did not become fight against Islam, explains Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Al Qaeda, the Islamic State or Daesh, as it is also called, will continue to exploit the fault lines and the many contradictions in the approaches of different countries, says Hardeep Puri.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances