KARACHI, Pakistan: To generations of young Pakistanis before the tragic events of 9/11 the British Council meant books: great books, pages and pages of both historical and contemporary literature that could be borrowed from or read at the many libraries that the Council maintained in the country. To these generations the British Council was a [...]

HAR ADAR, Israel: The link between Judaism and Islam is profound and is at the root of both religious cultures. Islam sanctified and interpreted sacred Jewish texts and incorporated principles from Jewish law (Halakha) and Rabbinical sources into Islamic law (Sharia). Judaism owes Islam a huge debt for the emergence of the Jewish philosophical oeuvre [...]

CAIRO: A report issued by the Information and Decision Support Center of the Egyptian Cabinet revealed that 88 percent of Egyptian families do not read. It also said that in addition to this, none of the vast majority of family members in Egypt read any type of books other than the textbooks at school. The [...]

CAIRO: The Cairo International Book Fair saw security and government forces rear their ugly face on Friday, when a Libyan author had his book confiscated and banned from the festival. According to local reports, the publisher of the text critical of the Libyan government, was also arrested. The book, “The Leader is cutting his hair,” [...]

CAIRO: The books are in place on the shelves and thousands of Egyptians and foreigners scour the titles, searching for a deal that will make it worth buying one of the millions of books at the 2010 Cairo International Book Festival, which kicked off last Thursday. Russia is the invited guest, but for many, it [...]

WASHINGTON, DC: “Where are the moderate voices from the Arab world?” This common lament often leads to nostalgic evocations of the Golden Age of Islam. US President Barack Obama recently harked back to this period of Islamic enlightenment, innovation and tolerance in his June 2009 Cairo speech, in which he attempted to redefine the relationship [...]