Debates and Discussions
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Counter Narrative | A Culture that Silences Men or Men with a Culture Silenced?
An article, appearing in Kashmir Observer, laments Kashmiri men’s silence as a cultural flaw, failing to realize that this very critique is shaped by Western therapeutic individualism. It sees emotional restraint not as a form of self-discipline (a classical virtue) but as repressive pathology. This betrays its underlying ideological commitments—secular humanism, psychologism, and gender-neutral egalitarianism—which define the human being as a bundle of expressive needs rather than a moral actor bound by higher purpose. But traditional Kashmiri culture, steeped in religion and spirituality, never denied emotional reality. It simply ordered emotions hierarchically: grief in prayer, pain in sabr, joy in shukr. The Prophet Muhammad (saw) wept, yes—but in balance, in…
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Counter Narrative | Soft Feminism, Hardcore Destruction
A reflection on a post that came to my knowledge Someone posted on facebook, in a noble and thoroughly confused moment, that feminism is a “theory for women to produce” but for men, it’s about cultivating kindness and empathy—so they may eventually be disarmed of their inner colonizer. To the casual scroll-through eye, it reads like an Instagrammable revolution. But when you slow it down, pour yourself a cup of strong qahwa, and think—really think—you start to feel the full gravity of what this line of thought entails. Spoiler alert: it isn’t gender justice. It’s civilizational evaporation. Let us begin with the smuggled premise: that man, by practicing “traditional manhood,”…
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Counter Narrative | The Velvet Knife: A Civilizational Critique of the Sentimental Modernist Discourse on Marriage and Parenting in Kashmir
I A certain article, recently circulated in public discourse, presents itself as a compassionate diagnosis of the ailments afflicting Kashmiri marriages, parenting, and youth. It laments the emotional emptiness within households, the disconnection between generations, the burdens of ritual and custom, and the disillusionment of young men and women adrift in a sea of anxiety, ambition, and virtual overstimulation. Yet beneath its gentle tone and emotionally disarming language lies a devastating philosophical sleight of hand. Its deepest betrayal is not that it critiques the state of our society—indeed, critique is welcome and needed—but that it prescribes as cure the very poison that caused the sickness. It offers the language of…
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Q&A: Why is Atheism bad and Atheists and the West outsiders?
Asalamualikum Sull Kaak, I was just engaging with your article, ‘Ancient Religiosity and Modern Atheism.‘ It’s so beautifully written, though the latter part of the article is mere rhetoric. The central argument was that belief systems and cultural practices (Nature worshipping/ holding nature in great esteem) emerged in ancient civilizations, not because they were just afraid of nature, but because they were keen observers who would reflect on the complexity of nature, providing them with transcendental insights, etc. So it’s not their ignorance or their lack of knowledge that led to the erection of the edifice of faith, but their spirituality and robust engagement with nature( And there is an…