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On 6 February 1992, Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Shanryar Khan lifted the veil of ambiguity surrounding his country's nuclear programme when he admitted that Pakistan possesses the components and know-how to assemble at least one nuclear device. The author discusses the personal and institutional incentives for Pakistan to 'go nuclear' and the prospects of nuclear non-proliferation in South Asia. (DÜI-Sen)

In this brief article, the author deals with the phenomenon of feminism in Pakistan and highlights its specific and yet not so specific nature. Women's role in the independence movement for Pakistan, attempts made in the country to improve conditions for women, women's response to the introduction of the process of Islamisation, the presence of orthodox feminism etc. are discussed. (DÜI-Sen)

Portrayals of Islamic teachings in mass media often present Muslim women as victims of patriarchal norms. Often covered in a full veil, and without individuality, they tend to be depicted using a monochrome image, across Muslim countries and regions. It does not portray the social reality and expectations of Muslim women, which are in fact diverse and contextual. This book consists of articles that attempt to answer the question, are Muslim women merely passive objects in constructing their role, despite the spread of social media and the Internet, the increased demands of earning disposable income for their families, and their migration to non-Muslim countries around the world? It closely examines women's agency in negotiating their role in Muslim-majority societies and in new places of settlement (Australia). These articles analyse Muslim women's narratives in a wide range of economic, political, social and cultural milieu and their relationship to identity construction and portrayal in the new millennium"

Drawing upon original case studies spanning North America, Europe and Australia, Muslim Citizens in the West explores how Muslims have been both the excluded and the excluders within the wider societies in which they live. The book extends debates on the inclusion and exclusion of Muslim minorities beyond ideas of marginalisation to show that, while there have undoubtedly been increased incidences of Islamophobia since September 2001, some Muslim groups have played their own part in separating themselves from the wider society. The cases examined show how these tendencies span geographical, ethnic and gender divides and can be encouraged by a combination of international and national developments prompting some groups to identify wider society as the 'other'. Muslim and non-Muslim scholars and practitioners in political science, social work, history and law also highlight positive outcomes in terms of Muslim activism with relationship to their respective countries and suggest ways in which increasing tensions felt, perceived or assumed can be eased and greater emphasis given to the role Muslims can play in shaping their place in the wider communities where they live

Hagerty, Devin T.: South Asia's Big Bangs. Causes, consequences, and prospects. - S.19-29. Malik, Mohan: Nuclear proliferation in Asia. The China factor. - S.31-41. Yasmeen, Samina: Pakistan's nuclear tests. Domestic debate and international determinants. - S.43-56. Chellaney, Brahma: India's nuclear planning. Force structure, doctrine and arms control posture. - S.57-69. Thakur, Ramesh: Non-compliance. Who decides, what to do? - S.71-81

In society women serve as the foundation of social structure. Historically women have provided the critical links in structuring social and political organization. The role and status of Muslim women surfaced at the end of the nineteenth century as part of the large anti-colonialist movements. The role and status of the women are not isolated social phenomena and women's struggle does not take place in a vacuum. Both are determined enhanced or impeded, by the social, political and economic development of the people's history. If the present Islamization, campaign in Pakistan seeks to curtail women's rights and if in resistance a women's movement has been formed, both are the result of ongoing process and have to views as such. Research paper in hand encompasses the struggle of women to felicitate their constitutional rights, which unfortunately were not recognized and realized by the "colonial elite".

Introduction: the spirit of Wasatiyyah democracy / Lily Zubaidah Rahim --. - Religious secularity: reconciliation between political Islam and secular democracy / Naser Ghobadzadeh --. - The spirited voices of Muslim women in Islamic reform movements / Amina Wadud --. - Progressive Islam and Quranic hermeneutics: The reification of religion and theories of religious experience / Safdar Ahmed --. - Democracy for Muslims: Javed Ahmed Ghamidi / Samina Yasmeen --. - Muslim support for secular democracy / Pippa Norris --. - Secularism and religious freedom: challenging the postsecular / Bronwyn Winter --. - The crisis of state-led Islamization and authoritarian communal governance in Malaysia / Lily Zubaidah Rahim --. - Sisters in Islam: engendering Islamic law reform in Malaysia / Ratna Osman and Catherine Hirst --. - Religious pluralism, inclusive secularism and democratic constitutionalism: the Indonesian experience / Nadirsyah Hosen --. - Voices of dissent: social movements and political change in Egypt / Tara Povey --. - Militant laicists, Muslim democrats and liberal secularists: contending visions of secularism in Turkey / Christopher Houston

South Asia is today the region inhabited by the largest number of Muslims—roughly 500 million. In the course of its Islamisation process, which began in the eighth century, it developed a distinct Indo-Islamic civilisation that culminated in the Mughal Empire. While paying lip service to the power centres of Islam in the Gulf, including Mecca and Medina, this civilisation has cultivated its own variety of Islam, based on Sufism. Over the last fifty years, pan-Islamic ties have intensified between these two regions. Gathering together some of the best specialists on the subject, this volume explores these ideological, educational and spiritual networks, which have gained momentum due to political strategies, migration flows and increased communications. At stake are both the resilience of the civilisation that imbued South Asia with a specific identity, and the relations between Sunnis and Shias in a region where Saudi Arabia and Iran are fighting a cultural proxy war, as evident in the foreign ramifications of sectarianism in Pakistan. (Publisher's abstract)