A few days ago I attended a debate in London entitled, "Do Women Need Feminism". One of the panellists - a leader of a UK political party - argued that the continuing poor levels of female representation in the country's parliament and political system constituted one reason why feminism was still needed in the 21st century. She is not alone in her belief. Earlier this week, while addressing an event…

Lately, Iran has made headline news in a variety of ways. The Jewish entity regards Iran as an existential threat, the West continues to fret over Iran's nuclear programme, the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) bitterly complains about Tehran's interference in Bahrain and Yemen, and Syrians blame Iranian forces for the slaughter of civilians. Yet there is one piece of news that has only attracted a cursory mention and that is…

01 March 2013, Russian President Putin within the framework of spreading extremism in Russia has instructed his government to develop unified standards for teaching Islam in higher education, reports the Izvestia Journal. Today in Russia, four secular and two religious universities prepare specialists in Islam. Russian Islamic University in Ufa and Moscow Islamic University are considered higher Islamic educational institutions in Russia. However there are no unified training programs for…

On Wednesday February 27 2013, The Standard newspaper reported that Jubilee presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta and his CORD counterpart Raila Odinga faced an acid test as they confronted land issues that have dogged their presidential bids. During the presidential debate on Monday night, the two candidates were hard pressed to defend themselves against accusations over alleged land impropriety. Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua kicked off the storm when she stood…