baithak: Baithak Desi Jun 21: Kamila Shamsie-Ayesha Jalal, DT on Anchors, News & Views, Cartoons

It's particularly fascinating to read how Mawdudi's hardline ideas developed from his notion that Islam had been maligned as a "religion of the sword" by an increasingly influential and militaristic western world which controlled the production of knowledge. Those who view him as just a step or two away from the militants of today miss one crucial distinction - Mawdudi believed it was the duty of the state, not the individual, to declare jihad. The interpretation of contemporary radicals, in declaring it a matter of individual conscience, is "without parallel in the Islamic tradition". But the drawback of a book with such a wide scope is the limited opportunity for delving deeply into any one character - it settles instead for a broader but shallower look at a number of key players. Partisans of Allah is a dense read, and it certainly helps to have some background in south Asian history and Islamic thought before embarking on it. But while it has some frustrating omissions and elisions, it remains an erudite and thought-provoking study of the interplay of religion and politics, with some particularly interesting things to say about the history of south Asian Muslims' focus on the "outer husk" of religion, often to the detriment of "inner faith". Kamila Shamsie reviews Ayesha Jalal's Partisans of Allah

The patriotically “partial” TV anchors began by opposing a military ruler and are now caught in a situation of political bias under democracy because of the dictates of their partiality. The 2008 elections have delivered a political battlefield where elected parties are trying to move together despite their different recipes and solutions. What should the TV anchors do now? Normally, they should have moved back and become neutral, letting the discussions be fairly judged by the viewers, but they continue to pose as arbiters and decide on their own such matters as the “mandate” of the 2008 elections, the “immorality” of the NRO, and the rough dismissal of President Musharraf from his job. But when matters are in dispute between elected parties and in parliament, it is the duty of the media to remain impartial in order to allow the people to make their own judgements. Editorial DT: Regime of ‘hostile’ TV anchors

News & Views

Billionaires Agree: PML-N to support 29-judge SC
Point to ponder: KARACHI: Rs1.6 billion collected from liquor sale
and this tongue in cheek heading from DT
Absolut-ly [il]legal? : MPA asks if liquor revenue can be used
From Islamabad: Islamabad airport, Murree Road, RGH to be named after Benazir
From Karachi: Only 10 pints for BB?A young spirit shows the way!
Nahid Khan Happy birthday, Bibi
In Urdu - Kishwar Nahid
Also in Urdu - Hasan Nisar