INDIA
Indian pilgrim says all Muslims love Madinah
Mohammed Zainuddin Ansari, an Indian pilgrim, expressed his appreciation at the Kingdom’s efforts aimed at facilitating the Haj season as well as providing pilgrims with all means of comfort while performing Haj. A pilgrim could sense the amount of efforts the government provides from the moment of their arrival in Saudi Arabia. He expressed happiness of being in Madinah, the city where Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him lived. Performing Haj and visiting Madinah has been one of his dreams come true.
BANGLADESH
60% of remittances are from Saudi Arabia
An economic report revealed that 60%of Bangladeshi remittances come from Saudi Arabia, according to the Bangladeshi Financial Express. According to the report, the remittances are from around 1.3 million workers in the Kingdom,at SR13 billion annually. It said the Kingdom presents the most prominent façade to Bangladeshi working abroad. At present, more than 10 million expat work in the Kingdom from dozens of countries.
SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi student makes it to front pages of Canadian newspapers
Photographs and articles on Saudi student Maaz bin Nabil Abu Aisha were prominently displayed on the front pages of Canadian newspapers for one of his most important innovations. He has designed and made artificial limbs for children who are victims of wars and conflicts. Many Canadian newspapers interviewed the 23 year old Abu Aisha, who is studying computers and intelligent systems. He produced these artificial limbs with the use of 3D printing technology. Abu Aisha, who is studying at Ontario’s Western University, said that he opted for this path to help children who are victims of war.
Pokemon mania near Holy Kaaba slammed
Even the holiest of all places is not spared by the Pokemon Go craze. The mobile game has taken the fight between its characters to the Holy Kaaba, and points of collection are being found on the gates of the Grand Mosque. Opinons are rife about the game saying it is a violation of the sanctity of the Grand Mosque in particular and all other mosques, because some of its characters are inside mosques and the game spies on users. NawafShaheen,a gaming expert said, Pokemon Go has also used a data ban from another game called Ingress. It wants the players to determine important locations in their cities. Among these places are hospitals, mosques and markets. He said that some people do not even know the content of the game and its subject.
Hamper movement outside Prophet’s Mosque
Vendors have taken over the sidewalks and pathways in the central area near the Prophet’s Mosque and are hindering pedestrian movement and causing a traffic crisis. Despite the allocation of stalls for vendors to display their products, most of them refuse to rent these stalls and told Al Madinah that the high prices of those stalls made a lot of vendors leave. The transportable stalls on moving wheels usually increase during the Haj and Umrah seasons in the markets and on the sidewalks near the Prophet’s mosque.
No Mosque sermon without permission
A forum entitled Fiqh of Loyalty and Citizenship, organized by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance in Taif over a span of two days with the participation of imams and preachers, recorded varying knowledge of some of the participants on familiar challenges that threaten all societies, including facing takfirist thought, the promotion of citizenship, belonging and obedience and other issues. The forum was designed to encourage community members to maintain the gains of the Kingdom and activate the role of preachers and employees of mosques.
OIC condemns France Killing
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has denounced the seizure of hostages in a church near the French city of Rouen and the murder of an old priest. It reaffirms the barbarity and brutality of the perpetrators of this act who attacked innocent civilians and assaulted the sanctity of a place of worship, the organization said. OIC Secretary General IyadMadani strongly condemned the heinous attack and expressed the OIC’s solidarity with the French government.
To host 1,000 Palestinian Haj pilgrims
Saudi Arabia will host nearly 1,000 Palestinians this year for Haj under the Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques Haj Visitors Program. Most of them are relatives and family members of those who have been martyred. The visitors’ program directorate has mandated early training as a way to provide best services to the pilgrims in coordination with the authorities concerned. Under the program, the Kingdom has hosted 13,000 Haj visitors from Palestine in the last seven years.
164 Expatriates Convert to Islam Everyday
The number of foreigners working in Saudi Arabia who converted to Islam over the past year, stood at 46,000 males and females, at the rate of 164 per day. Males accounted for 65% of the total. Riyadh had the highest number of new Muslims 25,642 (i.e., 56%). The Eastern province with 8,424 new Muslims came second, followed by Makkah with 7,495 converts. Hail had 892 new Muslims during the same period. With thirteen, Jazan recorded the least number. The data came from the Organization of Islamic Call, Guidance and Foreign Communities, which has 45 centers across the Kingdom.
Kiswa Artisans are Given Special ID
Artisans working in the Kiswafactory are listed in the national register of artisans and craftsmen by the National Handicraft Program (Bari), which aims at achieving a sustainable and balanced development in the handicraft sector: Kiswa is the cover of the Ka’aba. Each artisan registered is provided with an ID, updated periodically, that can be used in various events inside and outside the Kingdom. The registered artisans will be the focus of every event, workshop or handicraft investment project.
KUWAIT
Stop Fanning Sectarian Hatred Online
Kuwait’s ruler warned against the abuse of social media to stoke sectarian tensions in the Gulf Arab country,which has a mixed Sunni and Shite population. Historically, relations between Kuwait’s Sunnis,who make up between 70 and 85% of the country’s 1.4 million citizens, and its minority Shite community have been mostly amicable according to Reuters.
QATAR
To Pay Gaza Salaries
Qatar has pledged to pay one month salaries for public sector employees in Gaza to help alleviate the suffering, caused by the Israeli blockade, state media said. The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, has ordered paying a total of 113 million Rials (USD31 million), which is the total wage bill for one month in the strip ruled by Hamas. QNA state news agency said recently. This is to alleviate the sufferings of the brothers in the Gaza Strip and ease the severe financial hardships they are facing due to the unjust blockade imposed by the Israeli occupation. Gaza has been subjected to a stringent Israeli blockade since 2006, with constructions materials tightly controlled for fear that militants could make use of them to forge arms or build fortifications.
SUDAN
Parliament Allows Kingdom to Raise Crops
The Sudanese Parliament recently approved a new law that will allow Saudi Arabia to plant and develop an area of one million acres in the northeastern parts of the country. The project will require a USD10 billion investment from the Kingdom in the first phase of the agro project for the construction of the requisite infrastructure, for which the total implementation period will be ten years. After the completion of the first phase, Saudi Arabia will embark on the development of the land for farming. There are currently more than 395 agro projects in Sudan with a capital value of more than USD11 billion.
CUBA
Muslims Yearn to Learn, Defy Odds
They speak little Arabic and don’t have a real mosque, but Cuba’s small Muslim community practices the faith and quietly marked the end of Ramadan as best as they can. In Havana’s old quarter, one can see a green and white minaret atop an old colonial style building. It is here where Cuban Muslims have gathered for the past year to pray. The copies of the Qur’an have been translated into Spanish. There as as many as 10,000 Muslims in Cuba, making up less than 0.1% of the island nation’s population. According to experts, Islam was introduced to Cuba by Muslim students who came from countries such as Pakistan in the 1970s and 80s. Cuba’s Muslims have been clamoring for their own house of worship for 25 years.
UNITED KINGDOM
Al Sudais Opens Mosque in UK
Head of the Presidency for the Two Holy Mosques and Imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, has opened the Mosque and School of Al-Salam (Peace) in the city of Preston, United Kingdom. He stressed the importance of the mosque in disseminating the message of Islam and its impact on enhancing security, peace and love being cherished by all nations and peoples.
UNITED STATES
US Professor Memorizes Part of Qur’an in Jeddah
An American academic recently travelled all the way from Virginia to Al-Thanian Al-Masani Mosque in Jeddah so that he could start the process of memorizing the Qur’an. Omar Khashmoon, a 53-year-old dermatologist, said that he wanted to learn more about the Qur’an after spending many years studying medicine and working at New York and Maryland University in the United States. He said he was following the injunction of the Prophet (peace be upon him) who said, “The best of you are those who learn and teach Qur’an. I have memorized certain chapters and pray Allah (swt) helps me to memorize all of it,” he said. He said there are many Qur’an teaching centers in Virginia, but it was much better in the Kingdom because of the spirituality of the place. Muslims in Virginia enjoy Ramadan, attending Taraweeh prayers and reciting the Qur’an, which has a soothing effect on them, he said.
NYPD to Review Beard Policy
The New York Police Department says it will examine its policy banning beards after a federal class action lawsuit was filed last week on behalf of a Muslim officer who was suspended for “violating the rule.” Officer Masood Syed, who was suspended during Ramadan for refusing to shave his inch long beard, has been reinstated. City attorney, Michael Fleming, had said the limit on facial hair is necessary for gas masks to fit tightly on officers’ faces. Police legal officials say a review of the rule should take about 120 days. The NYPD will also examine how it handles disciplinary cases and exemptions involving the rule.
US Muslim Girls Fighting Off Stereotypes with Poetry
Four girls from Vermont are using their voices and powerful performance poetry to get their message out about being Muslim in America, stereotypes and other issues near to them. Five months after forming their slam poetry group, Muslim Girls Making Change is completing this week in the Brave New Voices international youth poetry slam competition in Washington D.C. “We write poems about things that we can’t keep inside of us anymore, so things that we care so much about,” said Kirin Waqar, 16, of South Burlington. The girls said that they talk about common stereotypes and like Muslim countries and culture versus religion, almost anything it was wide range, she said. With titles like ‘American Dream,’‘Welcome,’ and ‘Chameleon,’ the girls address their parents expectations coming to this country, the Syrian refugees and their own challenges balancing their American identity with where their family is from.
Compiled By: Syed Nehal Zaheer
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