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Mehdi Hasan vs Ram Madhav Al-Jazeera Head to Head

Mehdi has criticised Islamists constantly rips into the Saudis. Even questioned a Qatari minister on Al jazeera about their govts link to ISIS. These same trolls were probably loving it when he was ripping to the Pakistani govts policy on drone strikes the double game with the taliban etc. But God forbid he question India. Surely BJP have a better mouthpiece than that guy. The your ISIS comment was pathetic when Mehdi is closer to India than ISIS. And being a Shia he is Isis number one enemy.

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1.I am not concerned about what he did to anyone else.

2.He has been given too much significance on twitter by Indians.He has his agendas and he should have been ignored.
 
1.I am not concerned about what he did to anyone else.

2.He has been given too much significance on twitter by Indians.He has his agendas and he should have been ignored.
What are his agendas then in your opinion.

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Whatever they are they should have been ignored.Too much publicity for him due to the attention Indians gave him

well its been done and Indians are whining on twitter :))

btw I dont agree with him generally either. He has his agendas. (Also he is anti Pakistani btw)
 
Just because he is Shia doesn't mean he uses Taqiya.

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A Practicing shia who Backs homosexuality and Gay Marriage?, A big oxymoron, But no surprise taqiya is part of the shia deen.
 
When academics use language like that what can u expect the common man to do.

We often meet them here and they stuff like.
"keep whining" "Red carpet, red carpet and red carpet and some more red carpet".
Well we all know who are fascits in India and globally. So just enjoy the show but lets not go there. If it helps wake up and smell the coffee, read world views about what world thinks who real fascits are.

East or west...problem is one and only my friend. :)
and
IDK why people take Mehdi Hasan seriously.He has his agendas.Too much significance given to him on Twitter.Glad that most of the Indian Media has ignored the man.
 
A Practicing shia who Backs homosexuality and Gay Marriage?, A big oxymoron, But no surprise taqiya is part of the shia deen.
He self identifies as a Shia but he is secular He has written article talking about his issues and conflicts with homosexuality and abortion. What's with the anti Shia diatribe. Without any evidence it's unreasonable to say he is committing Taqiya.

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A Practicing shia who Backs homosexuality and Gay Marriage?, A big oxymoron, But no surprise taqiya is part of the shia deen.

Muslim activist Linda Sarsour is Palestinian, hijabi, proud Muslim, and she supports the rights of homosexuals and same-sex marriage.

Because she is not a hypocrite like many of you who demand rights yet so quickly to deny it to other groups you don't like.

That is the crux of hypocrisy. Kudos to our American Muslim civil rights activists who acknowledge the ground realities on the floor here.
 
Muslim activist Linda Sarsour is Palestinian, hijabi, proud Muslim, and she supports the rights of homosexuals and same-sex marriage.

Because she is not a hypocrite like many of you who demand rights yet so quickly to deny it to other groups you don't like.

That is the crux of hypocrisy. Kudos to our American Muslim civil rights activists who acknowledge the ground realities on the floor here.
She has no authority in the religion.
 
She has no authority in the religion.

She doesn't claim to be one to begin with. She's just not a hypocrite who demands special rights for herself and her community while ignoring or denying it to others.

And quite frankly, she's done A LOT more to prove that American Muslims do care just as much about local and national issues as they do about international issues. She is showing the world that we are not self-absorbed hypocrites like many of the "free Palestine, save the Rohingya" crowd tend to be.
 
She doesn't claim to be one to begin with. She's just not a hypocrite who demands special rights for herself and her community while ignoring or denying it to others.

And quite frankly, she's done A LOT more to prove that American Muslims do care just as much about local and national issues as they do about international issues. She is showing the world that we are not self-absorbed hypocrites like many of the "free Palestine, save the Rohingya" crowd tend to be.

Same sex marriage is wrong Allah has said so there is no room for debate in this matter. Can you list these these special rights?, the scholars have said if you can not practice your religion than you must migrate to other lands. What some Americans want is a Yankee Islam fake and synthetic much like the food Americans eat and the music they listen too.
 
When Mehdi Hasan was grilling Asad Durrani and HRK Indians were hailing him as the greatest thing to ever hit journalism but when the tables are turned and he asks tough but perfectly valid questions of an Indian guest then the cyber Bharat army engages into battle. So basically nobody should ever question the Indian government, never ask tough questions and if you do then face massive personal abuse online, be accused of "having agendas" and you must be a Pakistani agent. Guess what, in a democracy politicians are meant to be held accountable. Damn right they should be grilled so stop crying about it.

As for Mehdi's "agenda" is concerned - he's on the British left but even then when he has left-wingers on his programmes he still plays Devil's Advocate for the sake of fairness. But the Cyber Bharat Army see a Muslim named journalist and of course draw their own conclusions that he must be pro-ISIS Islamist etc. This is despite the fact Mehdi has done AJ programmes where he criticises political Islam and grills Muslim guests !

Notice how right-wingers display a common pattern of behaviour - be it from Modi fans, Netanyahu supporters, Trump diehards, Erdogan loyalists and Putinistas - ALWAYS attack the messenger and not the message. Any opposition is "unpatriotic" - only right-wingers love their country.

In the UK we actually have journalists who do their homework and have standards expected of them - unlike in the SC (and I'll include Pakistan in this) where any dimwit has a TV show and a "news programme" where instead of having substantive discussions engage in a game of who can shout the loudest.
 
Same sex marriage is wrong Allah has said so there is no room for debate in this matter. Can you list these these special rights?, the scholars have said if you can not practice your religion than you must migrate to other lands. What some Americans want is a Yankee Islam fake and synthetic much like the food Americans eat and the music they listen too.

And where do you live? Has it occurred to you that no matter where Islam has spread throughout the centuries, it was able to adapt and blend in with the territories it was a part of? It's the reason why Islam itself is not monolithic, since Islam in Indonesia or Bosnia is not the same as Islam in Saudi Arabia, or Islam in Brazil is not the same as Islam in the UK and so forth.
 
When Mehdi Hasan was grilling Asad Durrani and HRK Indians were hailing him as the greatest thing to ever hit journalism but when the tables are turned and he asks tough but perfectly valid questions of an Indian guest then the cyber Bharat army engages into battle. So basically nobody should ever question the Indian government, never ask tough questions and if you do then face massive personal abuse online, be accused of "having agendas" and you must be a Pakistani agent. Guess what, in a democracy politicians are meant to be held accountable. Damn right they should be grilled so stop crying about it.

As for Mehdi's "agenda" is concerned - he's on the British left but even then when he has left-wingers on his programmes he still plays Devil's Advocate for the sake of fairness. But the Cyber Bharat Army see a Muslim named journalist and of course draw their own conclusions that he must be pro-ISIS Islamist etc. This is despite the fact Mehdi has done AJ programmes where he criticises political Islam and grills Muslim guests !

Notice how right-wingers display a common pattern of behaviour - be it from Modi fans, Netanyahu supporters, Trump diehards, Erdogan loyalists and Putinistas - ALWAYS attack the messenger and not the message. Any opposition is "unpatriotic" - only right-wingers love their country.

In the UK we actually have journalists who do their homework and have standards expected of them - unlike in the SC (and I'll include Pakistan in this) where any dimwit has a TV show and a "news programme" where instead of having substantive discussions engage in a game of who can shout the loudest.

And ironically, they are the ones that rant about "PC culture" and lament how thin-skinned their opponents are.... while ignoring how thin skinned they are themselves.
 
And where do you live? Has it occurred to you that no matter where Islam has spread throughout the centuries, it was able to adapt and blend in with the territories it was a part of? It's the reason why Islam itself is not monolithic, since Islam in Indonesia or Bosnia is not the same as Islam in Saudi Arabia, or Islam in Brazil is not the same as Islam in the UK and so forth.
That is a given but this is the first time we are seeing the blatant violation of the shariah not once did adaptability mean accepting gay marriage and homosexuality.
 
That is a given but this is the first time we are seeing the blatant violation of the shariah not once did adaptability mean accepting gay marriage and homosexuality.
It's about treating gay people with respect she campaigns on behalf of minorities be it religious racial or gay people . It's hypocritical when u get people who are minorities crying out for religious rights but want to deny others their rights.

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When Mehdi Hasan was grilling Asad Durrani and HRK Indians were hailing him as the greatest thing to ever hit journalism but when the tables are turned and he asks tough but perfectly valid questions of an Indian guest then the cyber Bharat army engages into battle. So basically nobody should ever question the Indian government, never ask tough questions and if you do then face massive personal abuse online, be accused of "having agendas" and you must be a Pakistani agent. Guess what, in a democracy politicians are meant to be held accountable. Damn right they should be grilled so stop crying about it.

As for Mehdi's "agenda" is concerned - he's on the British left but even then when he has left-wingers on his programmes he still plays Devil's Advocate for the sake of fairness. But the Cyber Bharat Army see a Muslim named journalist and of course draw their own conclusions that he must be pro-ISIS Islamist etc. This is despite the fact Mehdi has done AJ programmes where he criticises political Islam and grills Muslim guests !

Notice how right-wingers display a common pattern of behaviour - be it from Modi fans, Netanyahu supporters, Trump diehards, Erdogan loyalists and Putinistas - ALWAYS attack the messenger and not the message. Any opposition is "unpatriotic" - only right-wingers love their country.

In the UK we actually have journalists who do their homework and have standards expected of them - unlike in the SC (and I'll include Pakistan in this) where any dimwit has a TV show and a "news programme" where instead of having substantive discussions engage in a game of who can shout the loudest.
Great post

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She doesn't claim to be one to begin with. She's just not a hypocrite who demands special rights for herself and her community while ignoring or denying it to others.

And quite frankly, she's done A LOT more to prove that American Muslims do care just as much about local and national issues as they do about international issues. She is showing the world that we are not self-absorbed hypocrites like many of the "free Palestine, save the Rohingya" crowd tend to be.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/apr/02/muslims-step-outside-antiwar-comfort-zone basically this applies to a lot of British muslims too.

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The worst people are those who cry out for minority rights themselves or people from the same religion or race are being oppressed. but then when they are in the majority or people from their own group are doing the oppressing they support the oppression of a minority or deny minority discrimination exists. This is a common factor with Islamists and right wing hindutva lovers.

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That is a given but this is the first time we are seeing the blatant violation of the shariah not once did adaptability mean accepting gay marriage and homosexuality.

Um you do realize that homosexuality existed in previous Islamic empires?

And here's one example in Indonesia:

N.U., which has an estimated 50 million members across Java, follows traditional Javanese Islam, with its generally relaxed interpretations of Islamic law and emphasis on tolerance.

Institutions affiliated with the organization have provided the school with Muslim teachers and connected Ms. Shinta with sympathetic religious leaders and faculty members throughout Java, the island where more than half of Indonesia’s people live.

The irony that a transgender prayer academy is supported by Indonesia’s most prominent traditionalist Muslim group is not lost on Ms. Shinta. “It’s because Javanese culture is far more open to gender issues, because Javanese people were already introduced to transgender women well before Islam arrived,” she said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/23/world/asia/indonesia-transgender-muslim.html
 
To accept it as OK within Islam is wrong, if you push for gay rights don't lie and say it is perfectly fine and compatible with Islam.

lol a bit hypocritical, don't you think? you want rights for muslims but oppose gay rights :asif
 
The muslims in general, who are discriminated against in the west or any other place, don't they ask for equal rights as citizens?
It's futile they have no power if the state wants to promote homosexuality than it will do so regardless of some peoples opposition.
 
I enjoyed the Madhav interview. He might look like a buffoon to some, but he's a lot cleverer than people might think he is. Considering the questions he was faced with, this was his best option.

Slipped up though with his 'your ISIS' comment because that was an aspect of his 'lumping together prejudices' he wasn't too keen about exposing.

Mehdi is of Indian heritage? Makes sense. :)
 
The nation booted Atal Bihari out in 2004
and only 2 years since Modi took over, we have already realized we got fooled twice in a decade by Sangh Pariwar and its right wing hindu outfits. Never again will a BJP led coalition ever storm into the sacred place we call parliament of India

Secular congress is booted out from majority of states,only big state in India its in power is Karnataka.
 
Secular congress is booted out from majority of states,only big state in India its in power is Karnataka.
I am unable to understand why are you using the word secular like a slander. Do you want India to be like Hindu Taliban?Where you will be forced to go to temple. And I will be banned from eating onion and garlic as I am bramhin by name. We may have differences in opinion but we can't compromise in secular ethos of the country. And just because someone is criticizing Modiji it doesn't mean he is automatic Rahul or kejri bhagat.
 
I am unable to understand why are you using the word secular like a slander. Do you want India to be like Hindu Taliban?Where you will be forced to go to temple. And I will be banned from eating onion and garlic as I am bramhin by name. We may have differences in opinion but we can't compromise in secular ethos of the country. And just because someone is criticizing Modiji it doesn't mean he is automatic Rahul or kejri bhagat.

I guess you only like how Congress party uses secular word.
 
I guess you only like how Congress party uses secular word.
No I hate congress party and never voted for them. I even voted for Modiji despite Gujarat as he talked about development. But O am not blind. I can see with my eyes goons in NCR border holding lathis for protection of cow. I dont want riots in my country(maybe for selfish reasons as Ihave family).If today he kicks out Yogi adityanath,giriraj singh etc it will allay a lot of fears.
BTW You didn't answer my question. Do you want India to bee Hindu rashtra?
 
No I hate congress party and never voted for them. I even voted for Modiji despite Gujarat as he talked about development. But O am not blind. I can see with my eyes goons in NCR border holding lathis for protection of cow. I dont want riots in my country(maybe for selfish reasons as Ihave family).If today he kicks out Yogi adityanath,giriraj singh etc it will allay a lot of fears.
BTW You didn't answer my question. Do you want India to bee Hindu rashtra?

India should be a Hindu nation. There are cathlolic, islamic, buddhist, secular nations, but not one hindu nation. The third largest religion deserves better. A country where the religion can be protected and hindus dont have to be apologetic for being hindus.
 
No I hate congress party and never voted for them. I even voted for Modiji despite Gujarat as he talked about development. But O am not blind. I can see with my eyes goons in NCR border holding lathis for protection of cow. I dont want riots in my country(maybe for selfish reasons as Ihave family).If today he kicks out Yogi adityanath,giriraj singh etc it will allay a lot of fears.
BTW You didn't answer my question. Do you want India to bee Hindu rashtra?

I have seen communal riots (with different religions instigating it in different times) from last 20 years in my native place so don't preach me about country suddenly going to change.

You wrote whoever criticises doesn't become Congress Bhakths same way whoever defends Modi doesn't become Bhakths or Hindu goons.
 
India should be a Hindu nation. There are cathlolic, islamic, buddhist, secular nations, but not one hindu nation. The third largest religion deserves better. A country where the religion can be protected and hindus dont have to be apologetic for being hindus.

Name a Catholic nation.
 
When Mehdi Hasan was grilling Asad Durrani and HRK Indians were hailing him as the greatest thing to ever hit journalism but when the tables are turned and he asks tough but perfectly valid questions of an Indian guest then the cyber Bharat army engages into battle. So basically nobody should ever question the Indian government, never ask tough questions and if you do then face massive personal abuse online, be accused of "having agendas" and you must be a Pakistani agent. Guess what, in a democracy politicians are meant to be held accountable. Damn right they should be grilled so stop crying about it.

As for Mehdi's "agenda" is concerned - he's on the British left but even then when he has left-wingers on his programmes he still plays Devil's Advocate for the sake of fairness. But the Cyber Bharat Army see a Muslim named journalist and of course draw their own conclusions that he must be pro-ISIS Islamist etc. This is despite the fact Mehdi has done AJ programmes where he criticises political Islam and grills Muslim guests !

Notice how right-wingers display a common pattern of behaviour - be it from Modi fans, Netanyahu supporters, Trump diehards, Erdogan loyalists and Putinistas - ALWAYS attack the messenger and not the message. Any opposition is "unpatriotic" - only right-wingers love their country.

In the UK we actually have journalists who do their homework and have standards expected of them - unlike in the SC (and I'll include Pakistan in this) where any dimwit has a TV show and a "news programme" where instead of having substantive discussions engage in a game of who can shout the loudest.

I have to disagree here. I found the British media to be one of the most biased ones in the world. They have too much agenda that it's not even funny. If I'm honest, I have found the Dawn far better and neutral than some of the best British tabloids. That's just my personal opinion though.
 
No I hate congress party and never voted for them. I even voted for Modiji despite Gujarat as he talked about development. But O am not blind. I can see with my eyes goons in NCR border holding lathis for protection of cow. I dont want riots in my country(maybe for selfish reasons as Ihave family).If today he kicks out Yogi adityanath,giriraj singh etc it will allay a lot of fears.
BTW You didn't answer my question. Do you want India to bee Hindu rashtra?
Giriraj and Sadhvj Jyoti will be kicked out of ministry.Wait for a month.
 
I have to disagree here. I found the British media to be one of the most biased ones in the world. They have too much agenda that it's not even funny. If I'm honest, I have found the Dawn far better and neutral than some of the best British tabloids. That's just my personal opinion though.

I was about to type the same although BBC isn't all that bad but they probably have skeletons in their closet as well.
And DAWN is probably the best paper in the whole SC even The Hindu is biased now.
 
I think the way the British put forth their point in the very language which is native to them is what makes everyone assume they are the best.Not saying any SC new corp or paper are good but neither is British media.
 
haha sounds like sour grapes man.

Indians on twitter were doing bhangra when he grilled Hina Rabbani Khar eventhough she handled him much better than this guy who ended up looking like a fool

Our Indian friend has a basket of sour grapes he consumes regularly. The RSS and the BJP were hikariously exposed in this interview.
 
Our Indian friend has a basket of sour grapes he consumes regularly. The RSS and the BJP were hikariously exposed in this interview.

Exposed to whom?You believe the world opinion will change about Modi or BJP because of this interview?You believe tommorow world leaders will stand up againist India?

This interview will do nothing to harm India or Modi.which is why i dont know why some idiots gave it so much importance and trolled Mehdi Hasan.
 
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Exposed to whom?You believe the world opinion will change about Modi or BJP because of this interview?You believe tommorow world leaders will stand up againist India?

This interview will do nothing to harm India or Modi.which is why i dont know why some idiots gave it so much importance and trolled Mehdi Hasan.

To many people who still think India is a liberal tolerant place it's liberal as long as you have the largesse of the majority community. A country that has an ingrained system of discrimination can never be tolerant and will always have to face such accusations. The VHP and RSS are evil intolerant organisations. They should be banned abroad and their fundraisers arrested.
 
To many people who still think India is a liberal tolerant place it's liberal as long as you have the largesse of the majority community. A country that has an ingrained system of discrimination can never be tolerant and will always have to face such accusations. The VHP and RSS are evil intolerant organisations. They should be banned abroad and their fundraisers arrested.
Some interview and trolling will not change the view of people on India.As long as the laws of the country protect the citizens equally its going to be OK.

Accusations can be made.What matters is how much weight they actually hold and how much the decision makers and opinion moulders take it seriously.

Why not start with your own country?Go to your courts.
 
The bigotry of RSS and BJP fascists has been exposed to the entire world.
 
It is relevant,those comments show how easily people can fall for propaganda or spread propaganda.

Just like the Indians blaming Pakistan for every incident that occurs in their country. Cant look beyond blaming Pakistan for their own internal hiccups.
 
Just like the Indians blaming Pakistan for every incident that occurs in their country. Cant look beyond blaming Pakistan for their own internal hiccups.

Why should we look beyond Pakistan when militants entering from there??
 
No one in Pakistan cared that Mehdi grilled Pakistan's ex Foreign Minister a week before (she actually did quite a good job, I think), but God oh God, Indian trolls really exposed the level of intolerance in their country and spread of extreme Hindutava ideology by abusing Mehdi left, right and centre. The poor man is still in a state of shock.

Yeah let's abuse the host and pass judgments about him, but not that extremist bigot and his audacity to say the things he had said. Pathetically embarrassing.

But glad to know that Akhnad Bharat brainwave got international exposure. Indians used to jump up and down over Lal Topi's Ghazwa e Hind fantasy, but have no words for the fact that Akhand Bharat got their political/government's patronage.
 
The same people who were hailing Mehdi Hasan for grilling Hina Rabanni are suddenly cursing him when he expose their country and it's intolerance :))
 
Anyone could have done better than the Madhav fool making a mockery of himself
 
2.He has been given too much significance on twitter by Indians.He has his agendas and he should have been ignored.

Good Job with the ignoring. Really are leading from the front.joshilla.jpg

Whats it like not being able to sit down since Mehdi exposed your ideology in front of the world?
 
Good Job with the ignoring. Really are leading from the front.View attachment 63345

Whats it like not being able to sit down since Mehdi exposed your ideology in front of the world?
Do read my posts just not the numbers.

And as i told another poster,Mehdi is insignificant.His show is going to do nothing to Indias image.LOL.For being exposed.
 
Madhav is not the representative of anyone , wishful thinking to expect India has been soft of exposed :))
 
The panelist guy would have done a better job than Ram. He was well out of his depth.

Mehdi drowned him easily.....
 
Mehdi trolls everyone , doesnt deserve to be taken seriously.
 
Lol the responses of some Indians here is hilarious to say the least

I think the real killer for anyone watching or in audience was to see a Kashmiri Hindu lambasting India and Modi again and again
 
This RSS goon with his 'POK' diatribe @ 1:00. The gall of this baharat mathian. Daffay, daffay. The Bengalis were damn proud of their language/culture and were able to liberate themselves. The valley Kashmiris should take a leaf out of their book.
[utube]WPp-_Lmy1sg[/utube]
 
Mehdi trolls everyone , doesnt deserve to be taken seriously.
Holding politicians to account and asking tough questions = trolling ?

What a warped idea of journalism you have. Maybe the world's media should just do 24/7 pro-Modi propaganda to satisfy the cyber army that supposedly "doesn't care about the interview" they keep commenting on !
 
Ram madhav must be really a special idiot to lose to Mehdi Hasan, who is not bright himself.

If Ram Madhav is a special idiot then why is he BJP National General Secretary ? Or do they make any special idiot the BJP Secretary ?

As far as your jab at Mehdi goes, they don't let any special idiot into Oxford University let alone anchor a programme on one of the world's biggest media stations. Though these responses are to be expected from the cyber army - don't discuss the issues of substance but attack the messenger.
 
Holding politicians to account and asking tough questions = trolling ?

What a warped idea of journalism you have. Maybe the world's media should just do 24/7 pro-Modi propaganda to satisfy the cyber army that supposedly "doesn't care about the interview" they keep commenting on !


Mehdi got lucky though..Ram Madhav isn't too bad substance wise but his thick accent makes him look like a yob.He should have had Subramaniam Swamy from the BJP on.That is one interview I would pay to watch.Both of them going at each other with their sharp back and forths would be a spectacle to watch.

Mehdi Hassan is no doubt a closet islamist but his cross examining makes for good TV.
 
Mehdi got lucky though..Ram Madhav isn't too bad substance wise but his thick accent makes him look like a yob.He should have had Subramaniam Swamy from the BJP on.That is one interview I would pay to watch.Both of them going at each other with their sharp back and forths would be a spectacle to watch.

Mehdi Hassan is no doubt a closet islamist but his cross examining makes for good TV.

lol anyone who calls Mehdi an Islamist or sympathizer or whatever clearly is clueless and makes me laugh

Im not the biggest fan of the guy but he is the farthest thing from such Infact organizations which he is purported to have sympathies would most likely call for his head considering he is Shia who is openly anti Saudi Arabia and Wahabbism
 
Madhav is not the representative of anyone , wishful thinking to expect India has been soft of exposed :))

Official spokesperson of RSS and National General Secretary for BJP, the party which won a landslide victory
 
Mehdi got lucky though..Ram Madhav isn't too bad substance wise but his thick accent makes him look like a yob.He should have had Subramaniam Swamy from the BJP on.That is one interview I would pay to watch.Both of them going at each other with their sharp back and forths would be a spectacle to watch.

Mehdi Hassan is no doubt a closet islamist but his cross examining makes for good TV.

I don't think Ram Madhav was even that bad bar a few stupid statements. But all this crying about tough questioning is incredible - did people want Madhav to be given flowers and chocolate during the show. These sorts of grillings and cross examinations are normal for western politicians.

As far as your "closet Islamist" remark goes - please don't make statements you can't substantiate. If you have any familiarity with his writings you'll know Mehdi Hasan opposes the concept of an "Islamic government/state".

To his list, I would add “Islamic state”, because, contrary to popular Muslim opinion, there is not a shred of theological, historical or*empirical evidence to support the existence of such an entity. Its supporters tend to mumble vaguely about this or that verse from the Quran, or make vacuous references to the*life example of the Prophet Muhammad. But the Quran prescribes no particular model of government, nor does it detail a specific political programme that Muslims must adopt. In fact, the concept of the state appears nowhere in the Quran.

And why would it? In his new book, Islam and the Secular State: Negotiating the Future of Sharia, the Sudanese-born academic Professor Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im points out: “You will not find any reference to an Islamic state or to state enforcement of sharia before the mid-20th century – it’s a post-colonial discourse based on a European-style state.”

Many Muslims fall back on a romanticised view of the very first community of believers in 7th-century Medina, ruled by the Prophet himself, and cite it admiringly as their precedent for an Islamic state, but this approach is flawed. First, any historical precedent that revolves around the presence of a divinely guided prophet-as-political-leader seems wholly irrelevant, in an era in which we have no divinely guided prophet to lead us.

Second, the Medina “state” should be seen as a purely political and pragmatic, rather than Islamic or religious, construct. The celebrated pact that the Prophet signed with the various tribes of Medina involved the non-Muslims of the city – chief among them the Jews, who were granted formal equality with the Muslims – recognising only his political and temporal, rather than his religious or spiritual, authority. As the historian Bernard Lewis puts it: “Muhammad became a statesman in order to accomplish his mission as a prophet, not vice versa.”

Third, Medina lacked fixed borders, a standing army, a police force, permanent civil servants, government ministries, foreign ambassadors and a public treasury. To pretend that it can serve as a practical model for the large, complex, post-industrial societies of the 21st century is fanciful.

Today it is difficult, if not impossible, to identify a Muslim-majority nation that could plausibly be identified as a modern, viable and legitimate “Islamic state”. Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran both loudly proclaim themselves to be such, but to each other they are heresies; they are also dictatorial regimes with terrible human-rights records. How about the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, blighted by military rule for much of its history? Or Sudan, accused of committing crimes against humanity among its own Muslim population in Darfur?


Not surprisingly, Professor An-Na’im concludes that “the Islamic state is a historical misconception, a logical fallacy and a practical impossibility”.
 
If Ram Madhav is a special idiot then why is he BJP National General Secretary ? Or do they make any special idiot the BJP Secretary ?

As far as your jab at Mehdi goes, they don't let any special idiot into Oxford University let alone anchor a programme on one of the world's biggest media stations. Though these responses are to be expected from the cyber army - don't discuss the issues of substance but attack the messenger.

In politics, either you must be able to bring votes, or be close to powerful people, at least in India. Being articulate or quick thinker is not a necessity. A lot of people like that have had successful political careers.

Next coming to Mehdi. Yes he articulates himself well, and those who speak well are seen as winning the argument. I can never win with someone who speaks very fluent english. He can deliver more jabs at me in the time I think of a comeback.

In such debates it does not matter who is right. It only matters who presents himself well. Funny that you talk of substance, when it is all about style. I knew Mehdi is not so bright himself the day he said that it was al khwarizmi who invented algorithms, and if it was not for muslims there wont be any computers. Yes, he actually said that.
 
I watched the first 10 minutes of the interview and i didnt find this Mehdi Hasan guy to be convincing at all. Interrupting the interviewee constantly is not professional. He also is quoting wrong figures and taking a very aggressive stance.

Madhav definitely loses out for having a thick accent. Would comment more after watching the whole video. So far, i feel Madhav is being fair with his answers and Mehdi has an aggressive posture.
 
Okay now, Dr Nitasha speaks really well. She is making solid arguments with proper data. I dont like the fact that Madhav and the FM advisor basic line of defence is that they are disputed and data is not correct and all that. This shows they have an escapist line of argument. I do agree on the point that these mobs dont represent all of the hindus in India.

Mehdi in the second act is actually speaking quite well and NOT interrupting. Well, thankyou sir. Quoting golvalkar and him being inspired by Nazi fascism was an interesting point that Mehdi brought up. Madhav is lying on his face though. I feel after 10 minutes in the program, madhav loses it. All over the place.
 
Palestine advocates decry MSNBC’s cancellation of Mehdi Hasan news show

MSNBC has cancelled Mehdi Hasan’s weekend TV programme, sparking anger from many Palestinian rights supporters who consider the progressive host a rare critic of Israeli policies on United States cable news.

The decision, first reported by the news website Semafor on Thursday, came amid what advocates describe as a crackdown on criticism against Israel in the media, at universities and in the arts. The country is currently conducting a military offensive in Gaza that has killed more than 15,000 Palestinians, prompting human rights concerns.

Left-wing Congressman Ro Khanna said cancelling the show during the conflict is “bad optics” for the network.

“As a strong supporter of free speech, MSNBC owes the public an explanation for this decision,” Khanna wrote in a social media post. “Why would they choose to do this now?”

Semafor reported that Hasan’s show will be replaced by extending news anchor Ayman Mohyeldin’s self-titled programme to two hours. Mohyeldin, who is Arab American, is also a critic of the Israeli government.

Hasan will be retained by the network as an on-screen analyst, US media outlets indicated.

In a note to staff quoted by the publication The Hill, MSNBC President Rashida Jones said the reshuffle aims to “better position” the network as it heads into the 2024 US elections. MSNBC did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

Palestinian American human rights lawyer Noura Erakat called the programme “more needed than ever”.

A persistent interviewer known for confronting guests about false claims and past statements, Hasan previously worked as an Al Jazeera host. He also was a senior columnist at The Intercept, a news website.

This month on his programme, he deployed his trademark interviewing style to question Israeli government adviser Mark Regev about false claims promoted by Israeli officials. In one example, Hasan pointed to an instance in which a calendar in a Gaza hospital was presented as a list of Hamas operatives.

“We shouldn’t blindly believe anything Hamas says. But why should we believe what your government says, either?” Hasan asked.

After a lengthy back-and-forth, Regev acknowledged that Israel may have committed “mistakes” in putting out such information.



 
Mehdi is a proper journalist and the Israelis used their power to get him removed. Mehdi can give local politicians a tough time and all was halal but as soon as he took on the real sacred cow, he was moved on.
 
Mehdi Hasan announces he's leaving MSNBC during his final show

In a surprise announcement at the end of his final Sunday show, Hasan revealed that he would be leaving the network after being there for three years.

"As we begin 2024, with an election coming, a war still ongoing, and too many Trump trials honestly to even keep track of, and with this show going away, I’ve decided that it’s time for me to look for a new challenge," Hasan said.

"Tonight is not just my final episode of ‘The Mehdi Hasan Show.’ It’s my last day with MSNBC. Yes, I’ve decided to leave. To be clear, I am so, so proud of what we’ve achieved on this show on this network, and I can’t thank you enough for tuning in and for your support, and for your feedback. But as they say, new year, new plans," he continued.



 
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