Global Voices Online

Dhaka Dweller comments on the various festivities celebrated in Bangladesh: “In this secular country, where Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists and ethnic minorities live side by side, where both religious and cultural events are celebrated with great fanfare, and where Western culture has slowly permeated Eastern traditions, life is a nonstop celebration of festivals.”

Chinese communities in Thailand are celebrating the annual Vegetarian festival. Check out these interesting photos.

The Pakistani Spectator says : ” ‘War on terror' never became popular within Pakistan and it never got any support from public. One of the main reasons for people not supporting ‘war on terror' is the concept where people believe that this is America’s war against Muslims – or to be more precise, against Islam.”

M. J. Akbar ponders whether the renewed rise of despair amongst the Muslim population, due to some negligence and discrimination by the government, has a link to the recent terrorist attacks in India.

Ria writes about Islam and the confusion about Ramadan in Senegal: “Thus for some, Ramadan ended yesterday; for most it was today, declared a national holiday by the Government. One final confusion: the festival to mark the end of Ramadan is called Korité in Senegal, but is known elsewhere in the Muslim world as Aïd-el-fitr.”

“The term ‘difference' is a fairly new one to the Caribbean workplace and it generally applies to obvious aspects such as race, gender, age, religion, physical ability, etc. However, our international reputation is largely being tainted by our strident relationship to gays and homosexuality”: Francis Wade blogs about “the not-so-diverse” Jamaican workplace.

Bahraini blogger Cookie hates Eid, for one because it gives family members a chance to catch you and settle old scores; she says, “Prepare your speech of revenge with your clothes.”

Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah discusses the Islamic Sunni and Shia sects in this post.

From Jordan, Ahmed Humeid shares his thoughts on Ramadhan, hypocrisy, freedom and disrespect after the closure of a popular cafe for serving alcohol in Ramadhan in this post. Find out why when you click on the link.