Muslims in America There are all types of Muslim communities in US. If you limit yourself to dhaiR eent ki masjid and its mullah then of course you'll be disappointed--but at the same time THERE ARE a lot of volunteer/outreach organizations within Muslim communities who reach out to other communities be it of different religion/elasticity. It's only a matter of trying to find an organization where you feel you are a fit.

The way I see it is that there are all types of muslims migrated to US from various countries with various backgrounds. Most of them are just simple worshipers and all they want to do is just go to a mosque and worship and be part of the identity--so most mainstream mosques will cater to their needs. It's like supply and demand. It is true that when it comes to religion (any religion) most emphasis by worshipers is put on just worshiping/spiritual or identity part of it--the other aspects require more ambitions and practical efforts. And that fact is evident from your experience.

Privatization of PTCL: The Redundant Employees I have known PTCL employees who don't even show up for work and get paid. It's about time PTCL gets privatized and smell the corporate air. Only then there is a chance that resources won't be wasted and money will be put to good use. ie further investment in products and services.

Fox off! #21 kullo, in case you didn`t know I`m a life time subscriber of Der Speigal and usually have it spread under my chapati during lunch hour. also, you`re a sick individual for having a friend like chaltahai and having lunch date quickies with him. all I gotta say is that there is another hazrat-ay Loott in the making to straighten your wrinkled ass!

Fox off! kullo, as usual you`ve made this into a total black and white thing. as if saying either you`ve commercialism or not. for you there is no centerism. also, paracha is not really preaching anything. he`s merely saying that usually fox-like channels work better when they are pro-government AND the centerist channels like BBC (I agree with ana, CNN is not a ``centrist`` channel; it`s more like geo with sattelite technology + hot chics + better english) still have more impact even though their veiwership is not as huge as geos of the world.

chaltahai, why are you so stupid? and pretentious?

Pakistan: Cricket World Cup 241 was still a reasonably doable score. The key things I think, based on as much match as I was able to see, were thowing away opening tickets. Very irresponsible plays by Imran Nazir, Imran Hafiz, and Younis Khan.

All these opening batsmen had to do was to stay on the wicket for 10-15 overs playing safe with singles. There was no need to try to play that stupid shot that younis did...I mean, early overs, new ball, swinging away, outside the off-stumps..OUTSIDE THE OFF-STUMPS, and he`s hooking it towards mid-on???? what the heck??? Same thing with Imran Hafiz. Was there a point to play that shot??

Yousaf and Inzi had to take a big responsibility. There was only one reliable batsman left behind (Shaoi. If they didn`t have as much pressure on Pakistani side as they had, even that would have been enough wickets in hand but the didn`t.

The Modern Bogeyman I guess the point of this whole long article was ``our fascinations are becoming increasingly morbid. Instead of fearing nothing but God, we fear everything but God.`` Which I don`t why should make such a long article unless there are some compelling passionate personal reflections or some twisty turning style that keeps readers` interest somehow.

Ahmadis – The Forgotten People To answers the question many interactors, specifically Stuka, brought up that why Ahmadis have to insist on calling them Muslims if this is against the central belief of Islam (finality of Mohammad). Someone mentioned in one of the posts that Islam is like an onion. It`s a very true analogy. It actually applies to any faith for that matter. It`s a paradox. The more you dig deep the more contradictions you find and more questionable it becomes.

How do we know Quran was not altered and is purely word of God? It`s only matter of faith. Chances of a book written 1400 years ago and still maintain it`s ``purity`` is quite susceptible. How do we know that history was not maligned to twist the words on finality of Mohammad as the last prophet? Or any other tenants of Islam for that matter? It`s all a matter of belief and people who hold that belief are free to do so as much as those may interpret the ``finality`` differently.

Ahmadis should be allowed to call themselves Muslims without fear of persecution even if their beliefs are not aligned with the mainstream Muslim beliefs of Sunnis etc. Their beliefs should not be dictated by interepretation of other sects. It is so because everything in the faith held by any other sect is also contradictory or questionable. There is no single centrality to Islam. It is proclaimed so in an effort to ``perserve`` it as pure which leads to conflict which exactly what it is. It`s more of an effort to set a ``standard`` for the sake of identity (being Muslim) than actual practice and there is no single identity to begin with. So by that virtue Ahmadis should also be considered a legitimate sect of Islam like Sunnis, Shias, Wahabis etc.

An Alternative Spelling of Eed Finally something worth reading amongst the boring banal stuff that usually occupies the space.

No offense taken.

Malka Pukhraj I remember back in college days we `chanced` upon a tape of Malika`s collection ghazals. After listening to the tape I was completely overtaken by her art. There was just nobody else remained who could provide that `fix` which was so natural with Malika`s gayeiki.

The Diary of a Pretty Young Thing That was almost a coyly satiric piece of crap. I say almost as I couldn`t read the whole thing.