Shahram Vahdany has breathed his last

-- Nasir Khan, January 30, 2019

With a heavy heart and great sadness, I inform all friends of Dr Shahram Vahdany (aged 59) that he died two days ago in a hospital in Vancouver (Canada). I was informed about his death last night by a friend. The condition of his liver had worsened over the last few months, and no transplant or operation was possible because his physical condition did not allow it. It was only a question of time when he expired, and it happened two days ago.

I am deeply sad over the death of a noble and great friend who had devoted his life to the cause of truth, peace and justice. His well-known website Media With Conscience contributed enormously to inform about the issues that weak and oppressed people and nations suffered at the hands of the powerful and oppressive powers and regimes.

Thank you Shahram what you did, and what you stood for. You knew that you would not live for long, as you had written to me a few months ago about it, but you faced the situation calmly and bravely. We all thank you. We will miss you. You will live in our minds and hearts.

The Chinese poet Wang Wei (699-761 AD) expresses the feelings of one who was parting company:

AT PARTING - Poem by Wang Wei

I dismount from my horse and I offer you wine,
And I ask you where you are going and why.
And you answer: "I am discontent
And would rest at the foot of the southern mountain.
So give me leave and ask me no questions.
White clouds pass there without end."

---

Saudi kings, Israel and Palestinains

The following article is from 2015. What I said about the former king is also true about his successors. Now the effective ruler of Saudi Arabia is Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) because of his father, King Salman's ill health.

The Palestinians are being killed and victimized by Israel as before. The Saudi rulers remain indifferent to what happens to the occupied and colonized people of Palestine. 

The Saudis have been busy in the war in Yemen, with the help of their allies for the last four years, causing immense suffering and destruction, while doing their utmost, with the help of Israel, to instigate America to attack Iran, thus paving the way for the total Israeli hegemony over the whole region with the support of Saudi Arabia.
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On the death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

Nasir Khan, January 23, 2015

All the devils in Hell were much excited today to welcome a newcomer. Guess who was coming? A great king was coming to join them. When the short worldly sojourn ends here a long and upward journey to a new life starts, I was told as a child. Today was one such day for a great king to go upward.

So that was the end of that short worldly sojourn for the mighty king. There will be no more displays of gold, diamonds and emeralds to please any. That will be a task for his successor now. But any fabulous gifts of golden chains and garlands with diamonds were only for the influential and the mighty ones. Not for any ordinary people. No worker from Asia or Africa received any such gift. They were mere workers, the raw material to keep the oil industry going.

The children of Gaza, hundreds of them, and thousands of adults were massacred by Israel in the summer of 2014. There was not a single concrete step taken by the great mighty king of Saudi Arabia to stop the killing of the Palestinians of Gaza. Netanyahu knew the great king was his ally, not an opponent. So the job of killing a besieged people and destroying Gaza's infrastructure - its buildings, homes, hospitals, mosques - and causing misery in a captive people could go ahead unhindered. And it did.

Netanyahu wanted to do it. He had the support of America and his Arab allies, including the mighty king. So Israel did what it wanted to do. The reactionaries were all on one side. They had no fear from any quarter. Everything was crystal clear for the kill, the big kill. No problem. Some voices around the world? Some bloggers and internet activists included. But who cares when you have America and Saudi Arabia on board. Therefore when Israeli military and air force were in 'full action' the great king, didn't stir a finger to stop the massacres and destruction of Gaza.

But his friends may have something to add. I have nothing more to add today. Sometime later, perhaps.

Interaction between Hindus and Muslims in the Indian Subcontinent

A former Facebook friend, Mr Kushal, once commented that Jejuri (Hindu) Temple seemed more like an Islamic piece of architecture than a Hindu building. This was my reply to him:

--- Nasir Khan

Both Hindu and Islamic architecture have influenced each other in many ways. By its appearance, Jejuri Temple seems to be a clear example of this interaction in architecture.

Regarding your views on the division of Hindus and Muslims, my reply is: If these people, Hindus and Muslims, regard one another as human beings first where people's religious beliefs are left as their personal matters and nothing more, then a common human and humane bond will emerge that will allow cultural diversity but wherein all people will stand for common humanity and common political, social and economic rights and obligations.

But in India and Pakistan things are working in the reverse order. In these countries, the first consideration is towards religious identity while what is obviously common, our common humanity and our oneness as human beings, is pushed out of sight! The result is fanatics and fundamentalists in Hindus and Muslims have made living for ordinary people difficult.

The Hindutva fanatics in India have poisoned the minds of vast numbers of Hindus and have made them anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan by their continuous propaganda. Many feel that is the only way to make India a purely Hindu state by preaching the mantra of Akhand Bharat. There is so much hatred against Muslims and Islam in Indian right-wing Hindus, which I find hard to believe.

In Pakistan, the right-wing religious and political parties have equally viciously poisoned the minds of millions of people for establishing a theocratic state instead of a modern democratic state.

Consequently, their continuous indoctrination and misleading information against the non-Muslims has relegated religious minorities in Pakistan to a secondary status. The victimization of some innocent people for having violated the so-called blasphemy laws of Pakistan under concocted charges is a living proof of the cancerous fanaticism and primitive mindset that once flourished in the early middle ages.

Blasphemy Laws of Pakistan and Religious Minorities

-- Nasir Khan

On January 4, 2011, Pakistani politician and governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer was assassinated by an Islamist fanatic. Mr. Taseer opposed the infamous blasphemy laws and stood for the rights of the underprivileged, socially downgraded and politically powerless Christians in a predominantly Muslim country, who have been frequently targeted by anti-social Muslim religious extremists. For his bold political stand and public views, his life was in danger; he was apprehensive of an attempt on his life at the hands of any misguided extremist. As we know, a vicious and brainwashed extremist goon killed him. His death reminds us of the deplorable fanaticism, intolerance and apathy in Pakistan.¨¨

But the best way we can pay our respects to this noble son of Pakistan is that all democratic, revolutionary and politically active people unite on some common points and struggle against miscreants and religious extremists who personify evil and inhumanity. They are not only a constant threat to the level-headed and just people who dare to speak against the injustices inflicted upon the people under the blasphemy laws but also an affront to the basic principles of human fraternity and respect towards the followers of other religions under Islam.

The so-called blasphemy laws of the brutal dictator General Zia strengthened the hands of religious maniacs in Pakistan. We demand that all these barbaric laws be annulled and all people of Pakistan irrespective of religion, creed, or ethnicity be treated equal in law and in society. This should happen not by pious wishes but in practice. At present religious persecution, oppression and religious discrimination in Pakistan is growing. This destructive and insidious phenomenon violates basic human rights of the citizens of Pakistan and also violates the UN Charter.

On Martin Luther's prescription to inculcate the Bible on the youth

-- Nasir Khan

"I am afraid that the schools will prove the very gates of hell, unless they diligently labour in explaining the Holy Scriptures and engraving them in the heart of the youth.”

― Great church reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546).
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The great church reformer, Martin Luther, would be glad to know if someone can pass on this information to him, no matter wherever he may be at present, or in whatever form he may be, that schools and the educational systems in many European countries have faithfully followed his 'pious prescriptions' for many centuries. However, some independent thinking was also allowed in European educational system because of the great struggles in the last century by educationists and thinkers.

Meanwhile in other parts of the world - especially in Asian and African countries - people have followed the age-old teaching methods where children and youngsters have been taught in their old dogmas and stories as eternal truths. Such a schooling had and still has a lasting effect on them that can’t be shaken off. Because of such a traditional indoctrination, for most people dogmas and dogmatic thinking are more like their second nature; they cannot liberate themselves from such ways of thinking. Any dogmas internalized at a young age take a permanent hold on the minds of the people.