The year 2011 saw me at my erratic worst. The biggest reason is that developments in the economics, finance and business space multiplied to levels unforeseen — as the credit crisis continued, Occupy movements gathered momentum and finance suddenly became evil. My preoccupation with matters of money overwhelmed those of religion, which were less volatile. In any case, here are the 10 stories around religion that dominated 2011. Read more

By terming the strikes against Libya as a ‘Crusade’, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has turned a foreign policy issue into one of religion. Read more

The fact that it is not religion but personal interests of despots and western powers alike that has kept West Asians trapped in dictatorships for almost half a century and more is getting clearer. Read more

For those who are worrying that the overthrow of Egyptian dictator for 30 years former president Hosni Mubarak would mean a return to an Islamic state, exhale. Read more

With a global revival in religion and the general interest in it rising with every passing crisis, I am surprised that the two credible institutions that can hold forth on such matters — education and media — have not kept pace. Read more

While in school, I had followed the work of British journalist, philosopher, mystic and traveller Paul Brunton (also known as Raphael Hurst and Hermann Hirsch). I was very impressed with his 1934 treatise A Search in Secret India, Read more

While examining the religious and spiritual aspects of the Egyptian uprising, I have ended up with questions of which the answers, if any, would be evasive and esoteric. I find them mystic in their presence, occult in their action. Read more

Her voice muffled
Her light dim
Her body frail
But Freedom cried Read more

A lot of people have commented on my post yesterday, where I wondered whether the Egyptian uprising was Islamic. Read more

Because Egypt is an Islamic nation, debates are starting around the revolution in the country having a religious texture. Read more