For those who yearn for negotiations to resolve world issues attached is a video courtesy Mr. Nasik

Dear Nasik –
This morning a powerful conservative lobby group is kicking off its annual convention in D.C. Already rumors have emerged that they’re trying to revive the Menendez sanctions bill or introduce a new anti-diplomacy resolution. All with the intention to tie the President’s hands during the negotiations with Iran and lead us down the path to another senseless war in the Middle East.
They’ll get a bunch of attention this week, but our movement for peace and diplomacy is winning right now. We helped create the political space for President Obama to have a phone call with Iran’s President and get a temporary agreement signed. Our phone calls and actions helped put the Menendez bill on ice.  We know our voices and stories are powerful. We need to make sure we continue to be part of this debate, especially in the upcoming days.
That’s why we created a video highlighting the stories of everyday Americans who support diplomacy with Iran. Will you share the video far and wide so we can expand our movement and show politicians that, despite the noise in DC this week, the majority of us don’t want to see another war?




Yes – I’ll watch and share the video.

There are still a lot of people who don’t know what to think about this issue. This week, as they read about prospects for diplomacy with Iran, let’s make sure they hear the pro-diplomacy voices loud and clear.
When you post the video on social media or share it via email, you create an opening for your family and friends to talk about peace and avoiding another war. More importantly, you’ll show them that so many Americans from all walks of life are standing up for diplomacy. That’s the most effective way for us to cut through the noise.
Yours with hope –
Sara Haghdoosti and Roshanak Ameli-Tehrani on behalf of berim.org
PS – Don’t use social media? Spread the word about this video by forwarding this email to your friends and family.



Weekly Qata’a

قطعہ

جس طرف نکلے غبارِ زندگی درپیش تھا
گردِ ہستی میں ہمیں خاکِ پریشاں ہی ملی
گرچہ فطرت میں تھی شہبازی و پروازی رچی

گردشِ دوراں میں اشرف خاکساری ہی ملی

اشرف

” Satanic Verses” of Hinduism

Few days ago Penguin Books withdrew all books of ‘The Hindus: An Alternative History” from India in face of a lawsuit. It is being compared to banning of Satanic Verses in India by Rajiv Gandhi. The Penguin Books was expecting an adversarial decision by the court and a nightmarish scenario if Narenda Modi is elected Prime Minister in upcoming elections. Some excerpts from article in NYT;

In “The Hindus,” Author Ms. Doniger wanted “to tell a story of Hinduism that’s been suppressed and was increasingly hard to find in the media and textbooks,” she said. “It’s not about philosophy, it’s not about meditation, it’s about stories, about animals and untouchables and women. It’s the way that Hinduism has dealt with pluralism.”

“Ms. Doniger said of her source material, “I didn’t make this stuff up,” adding, “The stories are very human, and the gods are very interesting, because they have emotions, and they get in trouble and commit adultery.”

The novelist Hari Kunzru said Ms. Doniger’s opponents were “particularly exercised by her wish to reinstate sexuality at the center of Hinduism.” The original legal complaint, filed by Dinanath Batra of the group Shiksha Bachao Andolan, described a “hidden agenda to denigrate Hindus and show their religion in poor light” and called Ms. Doniger’s approach to Hinduism “that of a woman hungry of sex.”

One example of the material for which Ms. Doniger has come under fire is her writing about the Shiva linga, a large stone image that appears in many Shiva temples and is worshiped with offerings of water and flowers. Ms. Doniger approaches the linga as an abstract symbol and as the sexual organ of the god Shiva. (As she writes in “The Hindus,” “sometimes a linga is just a linga — or, more often, both a linga and a cigar.”) She compared its dual meaning to that of the cross in Christianity: “To say that the Shiva linga has nothing to do with the body of Shiva is the same as saying the cross has nothing to do with the passion of Christ, it only means God and love.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/17/books/author-resigned-to-ill-fate-of-book.html?hp

Posted by F. Sheikh

” A Historic Perspective on Sectarian Violence in Pakistan” By Zafar Khizer

A worth listening  video by Zafar Khizer on religious sectarian violence in Pakistan.Click link below to listen to video. The video is in Urdu.
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Founder & President
http://getup.org.pk
Posted By F. Sheikh