Religion – Brown Pundits

🕊️ On Iran, Israel, and the Right to Self-Defense

June 18, 2025June 18, 2025X.T.MBRAHM, Geopolitics, Global South, Iran, Middle East, Peace, Politics, ReligionBaháʼí Faith, BRAHM letters, Gaza, Geopolitics, International Law, Iran, Iran-Israel conflict, Israel, Middle East, Middle East escalation, Netanyahu, Peace, peace and dignity, Religion and Politics, Reza Pahlavi, rules-based order, sovereignty, Tehran, unilateral warfare, World War lessons, Zan Zendegi Azadi19 Comments

Why loving Israel, believing in peace, and opposing regimes means defending Iran’s right not to be bombed.

Dear Friends,

I don’t usually write about politics. And when I do, I try to centre peace — not provocation.

Anyone who knows me knows I have always believed in the dignity of Israel, the rights of Palestinians, and the intertwined destinies of both peoples. I love Israel. I love Iran. I believe in Palestine. I believe in peace. And I believe that each nation — each people — has a right to their own story, their own future, and yes, their own defense.

Which is why I write today, with care and some sorrow, in response to the recent Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Let me be clear: I oppose the Iranian regime. Vehemently. I stand with the brave women and men who chanted “Zan, Zendegi, Azadi” — women, life, freedom. But I cannot condone this unprovoked assault.

Read the rest at this link and please subscribe to my newsletter.

Why Iran Is Not Iraq

June 17, 2025June 17, 2025X.T.MGeopolitics, History, Iran, Middle East, Religion, Warcivilizational resilience, fortress nations, Geopolitics, history, Iran, Iran history, Iran vs Iraq, Iranian identity, Israel-Iran conflict, legitimacy in warfare, Middle East, Mossad limits, Pahlavi dynasty, Religion, Shia Islam, war11 Comments

These reflections are evolving, and may shift without warning. The winds of change—Divine or otherwise—do not move by human forecast.

In the Western imagination, the idea that Iran could somehow be “dealt with” like Iraq is a dangerous illusion—one rooted not just in hubris, but in historical illiteracy.

Yes, Iraq was once the cradle of civilization. From Ur to Babylon, and later Baghdad under the Abbasids, its glories are undeniable. But geopolitically, Iraq is a lowland nation—deeply enmeshed within the Arab Mashreq, itself a corridor between Egypt and the Persianate world, susceptible to invasions, internal fragmentation, and competing powers.

Iran, by contrast, is a fortress civilization.

Continue reading Why Iran Is Not Iraq

Review: Siren Song

June 15, 2025June 16, 2025KabirBlog, Book Reviews, Civilisation, Culture, Gender, Islam, Pakistan, ReligionBlog, book reviews, Civilisation, courtesan culture, cultural studies, Culture, devadasi, Ethnomusicology, Farida Khanum, Fawzia Afzal-Khan, female agency, feminism in Pakistan, gender, gender and music, Ghazal, Hindustani Classical Music, Hindustani Music, Iqbal Bano, Islam, Islam and music, Malka Pukhraj, music and nationalism, Muslim women artists, Noor Jehan, Pakistan, Pakistani music, Pakistani society, performance theory, postcolonial feminism, Religion, respectability politics, Roshan Ara Begum, Siren Song, Thumri, women singers14 Comments

Understanding Pakistan Through its Women Singers by Fawzia Afzal-Khan

This review was originally published in SAMAJ on July 19, 2022

As a student of ethnomusicology trained in Hindustani classical music, I was intrigued by Fawzia Afzal-Khan’s latest book Siren Song: Understanding Pakistan Through Its Women Singers. Afzal-Khan – a professor of English and Gender Studies in the United States as well as a vocalist trained in the Hindustani tradition – uses case studies of selected female singers to explore some of the contradictions of Pakistani society. On the one hand, Pakistan is a conservative Muslim-majority state where many people believe that the performing arts in general are contrary to religious injunctions and that women singers are not “respectable” women. Yet, divas such as “Madam” Noor Jehan (1926-2000) are widely celebrated and have legions of fans. Afzal-Khan thus wanted to provide a more nuanced depiction of Pakistani society at a time when many people in the West have a very stereotypical image of Muslims and particularly of Muslim women, whom they believe lack all personal agency and are completely covered by the burqa. Clearly, the truth is not that simple. In this book, Afzal-Khan explores the ways in which great singers like Malka Pukhraj (1912-2004), Roshan Ara Begum (1917-1982), and Noor Jehan employed their personal agency within the constraints of a conservative Islamic society to fulfill their ambitions to become performing artists. Continue reading Review: Siren Song

Ongoing | Israel-Iran Escalation | Open Thread

June 13, 2025June 16, 2025KabirGeopolitics, Middle East, Open Thread, Politics, Religion, Warescalation, Gaza war, Guardian liveblog, Iran, Iran-Israel tensions, Iranian perspective, Islamic Republic, Israel, Middle East, Middle East conflict, Middle East geopolitics, military strikes, preemptive strikes, US-Iran negotiations, war crimes, Western foreign policy, X.T.M commentary, Zionism102 Comments

Editor Note: as this is still sadly ongoing I've made this top of page.

Overnight, Israel launched unprovoked (according to them “preemptive”) strikes on Iran. Troubling times are ahead for the entire Middle Eastern region.

To lay my cards on the table: I am on Iran’s side on this issue. Though I am not a fan of the “Islamic Republic”, there is no excuse for this kind of unprovoked attack on an entire country. If Israel’s aim was to sabotage the ongoing US-Iran negotiations, it has certainly succeeded in doing so. Further, escalation with Iran will distract the international community from the ongoing war crimes occurring in Gaza.

A good resource for further information is this liveblog from The Guardian

I am curious about others’ perspectives on this issue particularly those of X.T.M due to his part-Iranian heritage.

🕯️ Saving Adam

June 11, 2025June 11, 2025X.T.MBlog, Geopolitics, Politics, ReligionAdam al-Najjar, Alaa al-Najjar, Blog, civilian casualties, Genocide, Geopolitics Gaza, humanitarian crisis, Israel-Palestine, Israeli airstrike, Italy evacuation, Khan Younis, Middle East crisis, moral clarity, Najjar children, names of the victims, pediatrician, Politics, refugee trauma, Religion, Saving Private Ryan, war and children9 Comments

I don’t often comment on the Israel–Palestine conflict, and I try not to be reactive. But there comes a point where neutrality becomes its own kind of indulgence.

Alaa al-Najjar, a pediatrician, lost nine of her ten children, and her husband, in an airstrike on their home in Khan Younis. Her surviving son, Adam, 11, had his hand amputated and was flown out of Gaza to Italy, where he says he hopes to live in “a beautiful place… where houses are not broken and nobody dies.”

The children killed were: Sidar (7 months), Luqman (2), Sadeen (3), Rifan (5), Raslan (7), Jubran (8), Eve (9), Rakan (10), and Yahya (12). May they rest in the Highest Heaven. Continue reading 🕯️ Saving Adam

💔Sana Yusuf Did Not Have to Die

June 4, 2025June 4, 2025X.T.MCivilisation, Culture, India, Islam, Pakistan, Politics, Religion, X.T.MBahá’í perspective, civilizational crisis, cultural critique, elite violence, Feminism, gender violence, honor killing, Khadija Siddiqui, male entitlement, misogyny, modernity and tradition, Noor Mukadam, Pakistan, patriarchy, Qandeel Baloch, religious reform, Sana Yusuf, South Asia, TikTok, Zahir Jaffer167 Comments

The Pakistani Crisis Is Not Just Legal—It’s Civilizational

By X.T.M

As I write this, the news of Sana Yusuf’s murder is barely 48 hours old. A 17-year-old TikTok creator with over a million followers, she was gunned down in Karachi by a 22-year-old stalker. She was a rising star—funny, expressive, beloved. And now, she is dead.

We’ve been here before. Qandeel Baloch. Noor Mukadam. Khadija Siddiqui. Now Sana.

Every few years, Pakistan reels in collective shock at the killing of yet another woman by a man convinced of his right to possess, control, or erase her. And every time, some voices insist “this is not our culture.” But what if it is?

📍Not an Anomaly—But an Outcome

Sana’s murder is not an aberration. It is the predictable consequence of a society structured around honor, control, and male entitlement. Patriarchy in Pakistan isn’t just cultural—it’s systemic, generational, and fiercely defended. Continue reading 💔Sana Yusuf Did Not Have to Die

The Elder Race and the English-Speaking Heat

June 4, 2025June 4, 2025X.T.MAmerica, Civilisation, Culture, Geopolitics, Politics, Race, Religion, X.T.MAmerican States, Anglo-Americana, Brexit, Brown Pundits, Catalonia, Class, Cultural Assimilation, Cultural Decay, Culture & Identity, Demographic Decline, Diaspora Politics, Diaspora Reflections, Elder Race, Empire & Memory, English-Speaking World, EU, Europe vs America, Global South vs Global North, Harvard, identity politics, Immigration, India, Letters from the Field, New England, Pakistan, Politics & Society, Rob Henderson, Scotland, WASP26 Comments

As I write this from Dublin, waiting to board my connecting flight—I’d nearly missed it in Newark, too absorbed in writing to hear the gate call—I’m struck by how a Euro sign or EU flag can alter one’s sense of place. Technically, I’m still in the British Isles. But culturally—unmistakably—I’m on the Continent. A sensation I never quite feel in England.

It’s a strange feeling, this flicker of European belonging. In the early millennium, I was a passionate Brexiteer—young, angry, seeking change. By the time of the referendum, a decade later, I found myself morally conflicted. I knew the EU was not a good fit but as a Bahá’í, I knew I could never advocate for disunity, of any sort. I abstained. Ironically, Commonwealth citizens could vote, but EU nationals couldn’t—a bit of imperial gatekeeping that deeply irritated my liberal British-Irish friend. (“Why can Indians vote, but not the French?” he asked.)

Today, standing in Europe, I feel the contrast sharply. The Continent is genteel, even decadent, locked into postwar consensus. Meanwhile, the English-speaking world feels like it’s on fire—politically, culturally, psychologically. It’s not just the UK or the US. India, too, belongs to this hot zone of rhetoric and reinvention. Pakistan, by contrast, while elite-driven in English, remains emotionally and socially an Urdu republic. Continue reading The Elder Race and the English-Speaking Heat

Denial Isn’t Just a River in Egypt—It’s a Dammed Indus Too

June 2, 2025June 3, 2025X.T.MCivilisation, Culture, Hinduism, India, Islam, Pakistan, Politics, Religion, X.T.Mcaste, denialism, Dr. V, elite hypocrisy, Hinduphobia, India-Pakistan, Muslim commentariat, Pakistan, pseudonym culture, South Asian diaspora, X.T.M159 Comments

By X.T.M | Acting Editor, Brown Pundits

“Qureshi” has glibly informed me that caste doesn’t exist in Pakistan, and that had I not deleted his comment, I would have seen his thoughtful explanation on why his ancestors would (or wouldn’t- tough to follow) have “embraced caste.”

Let’s address both claims.

I. Denial, and the Geography of Amnesia

First: the deletion. The reason I removed Qureshi’s comment was simple—it referred to “when the Hindus left Pakistan in 1947.” As if they left. As if it were a long vacation. That turn of phrase is emblematic of a deep, disturbing historical erasure—a civilizational amnesia that’s not just inaccurate, but actively offensive.

To phrase the violent dislocation of millions as “leaving” is a textbook case of internalized Hinduphobia—a posture so normalized in Pakistani elite discourse that it barely registers as cruelty.

This is not about word policing. It’s about confronting the inherited violence buried in euphemism. Continue reading Denial Isn’t Just a River in Egypt—It’s a Dammed Indus Too

Is It Indian Culture or Hindu (Brahmin) Culture that creates excellence?

June 1, 2025June 1, 2025X.T.MAmerica, Blog, Civilisation, Culture, India, Pakistan, Race, Religion, X.T.MBangladesh, Brown Pundits, civilizational ethos, cultural inheritance, diaspora dynamics, Faizan Zaki, Hindu culture, Indian Americans, Indian Muslims, minority excellence, Pakistan, Spelling Bee71 Comments

On Faizan Zaki, Spelling Bees, and Civilizational Osmosis

Another year, another Spelling Bee crown for an Indian American. But this one, the 100th Scripps tournament, is different.

Faizan Zaki—young, brilliant, and by name Muslim—just became the latest in a long line of Indian-origin champions of America’s most idiosyncratic intellectual ritual. Faizan is the 32nd Indian American to win—meaning they’ve claimed 32 out of the last 40 Spelling Bees. But he is very likely the first Muslim American to do so.

Which raises an old but essential question: Continue reading Is It Indian Culture or Hindu (Brahmin) Culture that creates excellence?

The eyes have it

May 29, 2025May 30, 2025xperia2015ancient india, Caste, Civilisation, Culture, Hinduism, History, India, ReligionAASI, Adivasi traditions, Ammoru, anthropology of religion, Bhoot Kola, cultural memory, Culture, eye gods, folk Hinduism, Hindu syncretism, Hinduism, history, Jagannath, Kabuki eyes, Kantara, lizard brain, Munda culture, possession rituals, pre-Vedic religion, Religion, South Indian folk religion, trance rituals, tribal rituals, visual symbolism8 Comments

Let me preface this with a disclaimer: these are the observations of a layman; feel free to criticise and disagree at will.

Back in boarding school, my roommate, a Tulu boy, used to have a picture of the gods local to his area. They were a pair of rough spheres containing gigantic eyes. He told me they are referred to as ‘Bhoot’ but were gods, definitely not ghosts. I suppose they had a connection to the Bhoot Kola made famous by the excellent movie Kantara.

The Bhoot Kola itself is a possession ritual performed by lower caste men and reminiscent of African tribal religions

Much later in life I saw these figures again – worshipped in Orissa as Lord Jagannath. The giant eyes placed in a circular setting was unmistakable. Jagannath however is wholly subsumed by the vedic/brahminical form of hinduism, surrounded by priests, bejewelled and receiving regular milk and ghee offerings.

Continue reading The eyes have it