Democracy doesn’t have to be Western-style, nor the development template
by Rashmee
Posted on September 19, 2020
Veteran foreign policywallah Kishore Mahbubani once wrote a piece for The New York Times titled ‘How Strongmen Co-opted Democracy’. He should know. Mr Mahbubani was, from 2004 to 2017, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (National University of Singapore). His country knows all about strongmen. That’s not to be snarky, just … Continue reading “Democracy doesn’t have to be Western-style, nor the development template”
Read MoreGeopolitics and conscious uncoupling – up to a point
by Rashmee
Posted on September 18, 2020
‘Conscious uncoupling’ became famous – both as a term and a concept – in 2014, when actress Gywneth Paltrow and singer Chris Martin were in the throes of a divorce. But the neologism was coined much before, and not by Ms Paltrow. In fact, it was California marriage and family therapist Katherine Woodward Thomas who … Continue reading “Geopolitics and conscious uncoupling – up to a point”
Read MoreFrance and Italy are food and beverage superpowers
by Rashmee
Posted on September 15, 2020
There’s no question that Europe’s food and beverage superpowers are France and Italy. Half of the products on the 100-strong list of unique European products that China agreed to protect (on Monday, September 14) come from France and Italy. The list has 200 products altogether – equal numbers from China and the European Union (EU). … Continue reading “France and Italy are food and beverage superpowers”
Read MoreBack to the culture wars then
by Rashmee
Posted on September 14, 2020
The gains from the Greek-to-Arabic translation movement were many. It proved to be a great investment for the Arabs. Not only did they create a vibrant environment of intellectual enquiry, they were able to use their very appetite for Hellenic knowledge as a cultural cudgel against their rivals next door, the Christian Byzantines. Interestingly, Muslim … Continue reading “Back to the culture wars then”
Read MoreWhat was the logic of the Greek-to-Arabic translation movement?
by Rashmee
Posted on September 13, 2020
Why did the second Abbasid Caliph Al Mansur (r.754-775) initiate the Greek-to-Arabic translation movement? He was no scholar but there was a very particular reason to lay claim to the fruits of Hellenic thinking. Al Mansur had an interest in astrology and may have been keen to form a dynastic ideology. This was to be … Continue reading “What was the logic of the Greek-to-Arabic translation movement?”
Read MoreThe Greek-to-Arabic translation movement: no expense spared
by Rashmee
Posted on September 12, 2020
The 200-year-old Greek-to-Arabic translation movement begun by the Abbasid Caliph Al Mansur (r.754-775) has no equivalent in world history. Never before and never since has one culture tried to import the knowledge of another in so sustained a manner as the Arabs did with Hellenic thought. It was an expensive business too, creating its own … Continue reading “The Greek-to-Arabic translation movement: no expense spared”
Read MoreCulture wars and cultural gaps: the Hellenic equation
by Rashmee
Posted on September 11, 2020
The culture wars between the Muslims and the Byzantines had decided effects. Often, they left the Byzantines feeling small and with the sense that they were late-starters. Consider this interesting story recounted by British archaeologist and academic of Late Antiquity Judith Herrin. The Byzantines were trying to brush up on their knowledge of math and … Continue reading “Culture wars and cultural gaps: the Hellenic equation”
Read MoreDon’t despair over the culture wars. They’re benign compared to 8th and 9th centuries
by Rashmee
Posted on September 10, 2020
Not too long ago, British sociologist Frank Furedi wrote a piece on the culture wars in the US and UK. He asserted that the culture war was historically “set in motion in Western societies by a powerful impulse to detach the present from the past, which emerged at the turn of the 20th century”. He … Continue reading “Don’t despair over the culture wars. They’re benign compared to 8th and 9th centuries”
Read MoreIs there an inherent Islamic hostility to representation?
by Rashmee
Posted on September 3, 2020
The issue of Islam’s attitude to free expression is back in the news with the trial having begun of 14 alleged accomplices of the gunmen who massacred ‘Charlie Hebdo’ staffers in January 2015. The massacre, remember, was supposed to be revenge for ‘Charlie Hebdo’s’ 2006 republication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, which were … Continue reading “Is there an inherent Islamic hostility to representation?”
Read MoreIn France, it’s yesterday once more with ‘Charlie Hebdo’ Prophet cartoons and a terrorism trial
by Rashmee
Posted on September 2, 2020
Except for the pandemic, it feels like 2015. The French satirical magazine ‘Charlie Hebdo’ has republished cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, deemed blasphemous by some Muslims. And the trial has begun (Sept. 2) of 14 alleged accomplices of the gunmen who massacred ‘Charlie Hebdo’ staffers in January 2015. The magazine’s cover featuring the cartoons bears … Continue reading “In France, it’s yesterday once more with ‘Charlie Hebdo’ Prophet cartoons and a terrorism trial”
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Rashmee has lived and worked in several countries in the past decade, including Afghanistan, India, Haiti, Tunisia, the UAE, US and UK