Iranians for millennia have been doing business with the world during imperial and nation-state eras in good and troubled times. Iran has been under American and western sanctions for almost fifty years but it has developed sophisticated mechanisms to survive by using a shadow infrastructure. Iran has developed a complex web of shell companies, middlemen,…
On 31 July 2024, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyah was killed in a bomb blast in Tehran where he had arrived to attend the swearing ceremony of newly elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. While Israel has not acknowledged but it is understood that Israel conducted the strike. Israel has been conducting targeted assassinations even before…
Iran and Israel are engaged in an undeclared war in the last two decades. It is mainly a proxy war revolving around Iran’s attempts to acquire nuclear capability and Israel’s attempts to thwart these efforts. Since Iran is unable to match the military, diplomatic and economic strength of Israel it has used the strategy of…
From time immemorial humans all over the world have designated rocks, rivers, trees, and mountains as sacred. Pilgrimage sites and rites are shaped by stories and legends passed down through generations. People embark on journeys to a sacred place or shrine for fulfillment of their religious beliefs. It holds profound meaning for the believer as…
Fasting is found in every religious tradition as a form of penance, purification, and spiritual discipline. It is undertaken with the understanding that physical discomfort elevates spiritual status. In Christian, Hindu and Buddhist traditions, extreme form of ascetic practices with prolonged seclusion and fasting is used as a vehicle of purification. Judaism and Islam are…
“Prayer is God’“Prayer is God’s backstage pass into a personal audience with Him”. Tony Evanss backstage pass into a personal audience with Him”. Tony Evans Judaism and Islam has a complex relationship over the centuries. On the one hand, there is mutual acceptance of basic tenet of monotheism and soundness of divinely inspired ethical standards…
“Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.” – Anne Lamott The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and the Quran are two sacred texts considered revelation from God by Judaism and Islam respectively. Both sacred texts are considered foundational stones of faith. The Tanakh is acronym for Torah…
Individual and collective social evolution is an interesting area of study. Famous historian Will Durant summarizes this process as “in ages of poverty and chaos, the will to believe is paramount, for courage is the one thing needful; in ages of wealth, the intellectual powers come to the fore as offering preferment and progress; consequently,…
“Conflict is drama, and how people deal with conflict shows you the kind of people they are.” Stephen Moyer The current Israeli-Hamas crisis is making the headlines, but a side show is also playing in the Red Sea area. Yemeni militant group Ansarullah (Friends of God) also known as Houthis is attacking commercial shipping that has significant negative…
“The quality of our lives depends not on whether or not we have conflicts, but on how we respond to them.” Thomas Crum Israel has a multi-layered missile defense system to counter rockets, artillery, missiles, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). This national missile defense program is called Homa (Hebrew for Fortress, Wall), which is a layered, active defense…
