Say Pakistan and many will reply: A hiding Osama bin Laden, a besieged Pervez Musharraf or a Benazir Bhutto on her way home.Great names of great - uuuh, lets call them interesting - characters.
But a name many times overlooked in and outside Pakistan is that of Pervez Hoodbhoy. Pervez who? Well, you might have never heard of him. But this truly remarkable Pakistani professor is, by far, one of the smartest people around in the muslim world. Try to get a copy of his book Islam and Science: Religious Orthodoxy and the Battle for Rationality. Although written some years ago, a true eye opener.
I had the honor of interviewing him twice during my stay in Pakistan. And I'm telling you: If you (like me) are getting bored (and annoyed) hearing the Chomsky's and the Fisk's "informing" the world about the problems between Islam and the West, try Pervez Hoodbhoy's articles. Progressive, realistic, non-dogmatic and unapologetic.
Start here.
Continue here.
Harald Doornbos
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