I bought and read the book in conjunction with a free online SAAS course with www.coursera.org. Together with the video courses I completed five chapters of the group which made brilliant reading explaining the philosophy of hardware vs software testing and the whole focus on TDD (Test Driven Development). For someone like me who comes from a network based background this TDD approach is pretty far fetched at the moment. But I found the concepts interesting to know at the least.
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Sunday, 23 September 2012
Them by Jon Ronson
Very interesting read. Jon sets himself the task of trying to understand the fundamentalist viewpoint by taking them seriously. He discovers a certainly logic behind various viewpoints, a modern world controlled by a clique of Jews and Jew-like people or capitalists. Not only does he believe them but he actually tries to follow their tips right into the heart of the secret Druist ritual in America. At various stages I even felt that the whole conspiracy theory was actually real. I see a lot of parallels between these conspiracy theories in West and Pakistan. Was Osama really killed or not? What difference does it make? For me that idiot was a waste of space. Blind trust will lead to these stories appearing real. How we can trust such fantastic assumptions when we cannot even trust our own eyes sometimes?
Tuesday, 18 September 2012
The hand of Fatima by Ildefonso Falcones
A definite 5 stars from me. It has to be one of the most thoroughly researched and detailed account of the Moriscos (new Christians or Muslim converts) set in 16th century Spain. I was taken into a world where a defeated Muslim community is forced to chose between survival and their old faith. The main character is a bastard son of a Catholic priest and a Muslim girl who struggle through a civil war and makes it to the higher echelons of Spanish society, only to be unceremoniously chucked out because of his uncertain credentials by a Royal decree. I lived the various dialogues between the very faithful Christians and Muslims in the story. I thought that the era was very nicely captured by the author, though at times the flow is slightly repetitive. It was news for me that the initial Muslim conquest was not really seen as a Muslim victory per se by the vanquished as they thought the Muslims to be another version of the the various Christian sects residing across the pond for about 30 years. I really enjoyed the focus on the ordinary and the downtrodden in the story. This particular method of encapsulating factual history in a story is the best way of enjoying mundane history in my opinion.
I loved the way the whole story climaxes as well, only 960 pages later.........
Thursday, 13 September 2012
An Introduction to Islamic Law by Joseph Schacht
How I wish some of our own (Muslim) scholars would take matters into their own hands instead of leaving a huge gaping void in knowledge which is being slowly filled by Western and Secular academics. The way information is help back from us is very pretentious I find, what do they think we are little kids who need to be protected?
This book is a great example of a western scholar using analytical techniques to portray the history of the Sharia and the Sunna. Some of the points picked up by me in the book are......
The Arabs due to the quick nature of their initial conquests had to rely on heavily on tradition and precedent of their elders, as they found themselves masters of alien very well developed cultures in a decade. The Arabs regarded the Sunna as precedent laid down by a person only recently, but then this person was their Imam, their greatest spokesman and leader, so therefore the Sunna although a recent innovation in itself was used to discredit everything new or different. So initially the newly construed Sunna was used to bind the community together. Once the aim was achieved the Arabs resorted back to their traditionalism using the Sunna as precedent.
The author also maintains that the Sharia is not exactly divine but very much made by men and cites similar contemporary laws from the Romans, Jewish and Sassanid cultures, whom the Muslims had subdued in a matter of a decade. I find the argument pretty plausible as the link of Sharia to the Quran is pretty tenuous.
There are holes in the study as well, for instance when the author maintains that the Sharia was generally decided by the majority opinion of the scholars which generally went against the majority opinion of the masses. How he came about this conclusion is not exactly justified as this trend goes against the practice of making changes in the modern law.
Sharia is based on Umayyad system of governing provinces based from Kufa, very similar to the English Law based on the King James Bible from London in the 16th century. In the second century of Islam, the Iraqis converted the Sunna from a political and theological into a legal context, which gave the impression that Sunna was divine in nature and every act of the Prophet was meant to be followed and interpreted as a living tradition, which still exists to this day.
The various schools of sharia formulation are also contradictory, which also points to the men-devised-sharia argument. In short through the ages, the Sunna evolved from a political and theological study to a legal one, which transformed into a tradition verses 'ray' (opinions based on reason), ultimately culminating into Ibn-Taymayyah's famous decree in the wake of the tremendous Mongol defeat of the Baghdad Khilafat to sanctification of the traditions into a pure unbreakable idol. Since than, there has been no need to alter the Sharia as the lands and laws of Muslims were slowly encroached by Western powers with their own set of laws, basically marginalizing Sharia forever. Moreover, this traditionalist approach also helps foster the romantic notion of going back to the time-of-the-Prophet, an ideal epoch, a perfect time, a necessary must for every rightly believing Muslim to try and achieve.
This book is a great example of a western scholar using analytical techniques to portray the history of the Sharia and the Sunna. Some of the points picked up by me in the book are......
The Arabs due to the quick nature of their initial conquests had to rely on heavily on tradition and precedent of their elders, as they found themselves masters of alien very well developed cultures in a decade. The Arabs regarded the Sunna as precedent laid down by a person only recently, but then this person was their Imam, their greatest spokesman and leader, so therefore the Sunna although a recent innovation in itself was used to discredit everything new or different. So initially the newly construed Sunna was used to bind the community together. Once the aim was achieved the Arabs resorted back to their traditionalism using the Sunna as precedent.
The author also maintains that the Sharia is not exactly divine but very much made by men and cites similar contemporary laws from the Romans, Jewish and Sassanid cultures, whom the Muslims had subdued in a matter of a decade. I find the argument pretty plausible as the link of Sharia to the Quran is pretty tenuous.
There are holes in the study as well, for instance when the author maintains that the Sharia was generally decided by the majority opinion of the scholars which generally went against the majority opinion of the masses. How he came about this conclusion is not exactly justified as this trend goes against the practice of making changes in the modern law.
Sharia is based on Umayyad system of governing provinces based from Kufa, very similar to the English Law based on the King James Bible from London in the 16th century. In the second century of Islam, the Iraqis converted the Sunna from a political and theological into a legal context, which gave the impression that Sunna was divine in nature and every act of the Prophet was meant to be followed and interpreted as a living tradition, which still exists to this day.
The various schools of sharia formulation are also contradictory, which also points to the men-devised-sharia argument. In short through the ages, the Sunna evolved from a political and theological study to a legal one, which transformed into a tradition verses 'ray' (opinions based on reason), ultimately culminating into Ibn-Taymayyah's famous decree in the wake of the tremendous Mongol defeat of the Baghdad Khilafat to sanctification of the traditions into a pure unbreakable idol. Since than, there has been no need to alter the Sharia as the lands and laws of Muslims were slowly encroached by Western powers with their own set of laws, basically marginalizing Sharia forever. Moreover, this traditionalist approach also helps foster the romantic notion of going back to the time-of-the-Prophet, an ideal epoch, a perfect time, a necessary must for every rightly believing Muslim to try and achieve.
Monday, 3 September 2012
The Koran: A Very Short Introduction by Michael Cook
This is book is a very concise and relevant view of issues related to the Koran. The Koran is a scripture, not a treatise or dogmatic theology.
The author points out some of the known issues in the Koran, like the issue of abrogation of verses. How can all powerful Allah not know? The author does not delve too much in the many explanations given by Muslim apologists defending or denying abrogation, but I guess it is very difficult to defend the resulting contradictions due to the many abrogations listed in the Koran.
The other issue was introduced by 13th century scholar of Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah, who argued that all Muslims shall have to learn Arabic in order to really understand Islam. Suffice to say, this completely impractical suggestion is pretty relevant even to this date where a number of scholars argue its many merits, leaving me flabbergasted generally.
The next issue was relevance of Koran when juxtaposed with modernity values of science, religious tolerance and women rights. With science, the author quotes studies profiling Koran in light of modern science. The obvious disadvantage being that science will move on, thus making the Koranic justifications redundant. Religious tolerance is also an issue with many Scholars declaring non-Muslims subservient in the light of Koranic verses. Similar stance is taken when women are considered through the Koranic lens. I think the author has made a pretty valid point as Koran fares very well when compared to the Bible and other scriptures but lacks when judged against modernity. More efforts have to be taken by the Islamic scholars to modernise the Koran, I guess otherwise it could be resigned to obscurity like other previous scriptures.
The other issue is whether to consider the Koran literally or metaphorically? other issues discussed are...
- Should the Koran be bought or sold like the Jews?
- How to dispose a worn out or used Koran properly? Wipe off the ink from the paper maybe? But what to do with the inky water? the author cites the example of the Taliban who banned all paper bags in Afghanistan in fear that the paper may contain Koranic verses.
- How to make sure that the text remains accurate? Engrave it on the rock for longevity? The Chinese Hun did it but that too could not last for more than a decade. There are no master copies of the Koran.
All in all the author likes the way Koran was preserved, with all errors intact, the way how the Koran was broadcasted across the ages.
Finally the tradition of numbering the verses has been pretty recent and the naming of Surahs is also man made, not divine.
The author points out some of the known issues in the Koran, like the issue of abrogation of verses. How can all powerful Allah not know? The author does not delve too much in the many explanations given by Muslim apologists defending or denying abrogation, but I guess it is very difficult to defend the resulting contradictions due to the many abrogations listed in the Koran.
The other issue was introduced by 13th century scholar of Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah, who argued that all Muslims shall have to learn Arabic in order to really understand Islam. Suffice to say, this completely impractical suggestion is pretty relevant even to this date where a number of scholars argue its many merits, leaving me flabbergasted generally.
The next issue was relevance of Koran when juxtaposed with modernity values of science, religious tolerance and women rights. With science, the author quotes studies profiling Koran in light of modern science. The obvious disadvantage being that science will move on, thus making the Koranic justifications redundant. Religious tolerance is also an issue with many Scholars declaring non-Muslims subservient in the light of Koranic verses. Similar stance is taken when women are considered through the Koranic lens. I think the author has made a pretty valid point as Koran fares very well when compared to the Bible and other scriptures but lacks when judged against modernity. More efforts have to be taken by the Islamic scholars to modernise the Koran, I guess otherwise it could be resigned to obscurity like other previous scriptures.
The other issue is whether to consider the Koran literally or metaphorically? other issues discussed are...
- Should the Koran be bought or sold like the Jews?
- How to dispose a worn out or used Koran properly? Wipe off the ink from the paper maybe? But what to do with the inky water? the author cites the example of the Taliban who banned all paper bags in Afghanistan in fear that the paper may contain Koranic verses.
- How to make sure that the text remains accurate? Engrave it on the rock for longevity? The Chinese Hun did it but that too could not last for more than a decade. There are no master copies of the Koran.
All in all the author likes the way Koran was preserved, with all errors intact, the way how the Koran was broadcasted across the ages.
Finally the tradition of numbering the verses has been pretty recent and the naming of Surahs is also man made, not divine.
Chaos by James Gleick Chaos: The Making of a New Science by James Gleick
Although this is a scientific book explaining a new scientific faculty, but the author manages to keep novices like me pretty entertained. It is a story about iconoclast breed of scientists going against the grain. What amazed me that all of the pioneering scientists was not the non-understanding of their papers and presentations bu the amount of hostility they faded by their peers. The deep hostility and prejudice is due to two reasons, the re-discovery of traditional accepted scientific facts in a new light, and the threat to their own works of science which they all relied on for their day to day existence.
Very similar to the experience faced by most prophets preaching their new religion to peers. true heroes.
Very similar to the experience faced by most prophets preaching their new religion to peers. true heroes.
Aag Ka Darya by Quratulain Hyder
What a novel, I cannot believe any Indian Muslim would be capable of writing such literature after growing up in a very conservative, Islami, Zia Ul Haqqi Pakistan. No wonder Quratulain Hyder left Pakistan to settle back in India. The novel starts from 2000 yeas ago, in the time when Alexander the great and Darius third were fighting it out. Her first hero is a Brahmin barmachariya, who is a talented artist who finds inspiration in a failed romance. The next hero is a Muslim soldier katib, the jumping a couple of thousand years who is looking to document the history of the land they have become masters off, but are completely frustrated by the lack of any written records of history. History does not seem to be very important with the local people, who only seem to be occupied with accepting all vagaries of life, all masters, abhorring conflict, content to spend their lives in trying to find the meaning of life.
Raised the very important question for me, what have gained by severing ties with India? How can we forget our forefathers and their efforts? Creating nations based on ideology has put us in a constant state of unrest. After all, any ideology is perfect, absolute which unfortunately makes it very unachievable as well. The great religion of Islam is just one of the other great religions to inhibit the great land mass of India. It has had its peak, but also its low with the British taking away all its glory. Trying to resurrect the spirit of Islam in India is a lost cause for me, as we have forgotten the skill to rule as well as severed all links with global Islamic super power of that time. What is the use of harping about unity of a weak and miskeen Ummah? We are a nation without a nation, flying in the air without a base to return to. How long can we fly aimlessly?
The 'river of blood' is used to string the novel together as the heroes change over time. The third progenitor is an English who comes to India with the famous East India Company to make a fortune. But the next change in scenario winds to the all familiar Lucknow which is Qurat's specialty. Suddenly the smooth description of the progenitor disappears as a myriad of characters suddenly come to the fore, confusing the whole story very badly. I can understand why Qurat could have messed this bit up as this was her own era so she was capable of presenting a lot more but this change in style is very confusing for the reader. Wish we had proper Urdu publishing industry in India/Pakistan who would have been able to correct this massive anomaly.
It is two novels in one. The first one is brilliant followed by longish one set in the elitist circles of 1940's Lucknow. The second one is an exact copy of 'teri bhi sanam khaney' which I found tough going as most of the characters were going through their lives without much excitement or action. Qurat's problem is that she reckons Lucknow to be at par with London, Paris, New York. The cultured girls of Lucknow seem to be in hot demand of eligible bachelors the world over. The music, the culture, the dance the political awareness is above everyone else in all of India, especially the Punjabis who in contrast are are great spoilers of culture, who are nothing in front of Luckow wallas. The second bit of the novel has brought the rating down to 3 stars.
Raised the very important question for me, what have gained by severing ties with India? How can we forget our forefathers and their efforts? Creating nations based on ideology has put us in a constant state of unrest. After all, any ideology is perfect, absolute which unfortunately makes it very unachievable as well. The great religion of Islam is just one of the other great religions to inhibit the great land mass of India. It has had its peak, but also its low with the British taking away all its glory. Trying to resurrect the spirit of Islam in India is a lost cause for me, as we have forgotten the skill to rule as well as severed all links with global Islamic super power of that time. What is the use of harping about unity of a weak and miskeen Ummah? We are a nation without a nation, flying in the air without a base to return to. How long can we fly aimlessly?
The 'river of blood' is used to string the novel together as the heroes change over time. The third progenitor is an English who comes to India with the famous East India Company to make a fortune. But the next change in scenario winds to the all familiar Lucknow which is Qurat's specialty. Suddenly the smooth description of the progenitor disappears as a myriad of characters suddenly come to the fore, confusing the whole story very badly. I can understand why Qurat could have messed this bit up as this was her own era so she was capable of presenting a lot more but this change in style is very confusing for the reader. Wish we had proper Urdu publishing industry in India/Pakistan who would have been able to correct this massive anomaly.
It is two novels in one. The first one is brilliant followed by longish one set in the elitist circles of 1940's Lucknow. The second one is an exact copy of 'teri bhi sanam khaney' which I found tough going as most of the characters were going through their lives without much excitement or action. Qurat's problem is that she reckons Lucknow to be at par with London, Paris, New York. The cultured girls of Lucknow seem to be in hot demand of eligible bachelors the world over. The music, the culture, the dance the political awareness is above everyone else in all of India, especially the Punjabis who in contrast are are great spoilers of culture, who are nothing in front of Luckow wallas. The second bit of the novel has brought the rating down to 3 stars.
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