The Muslim World

The recent 5th International Women Health Update Conference in Jeddah was aimed at promoting the idea that prevention is better than cure. Dr. Lina Bissar, head of the organising committee and consultant of internal medicine, spoke about the status of women’s health in Saudi Arabia. “Women here are sedentary and not used to exercise. Most of them travel in cars and barely do any walking in malls,” said Bissar. Economic boom that began in Saudi Arabia 50 years ago has dramatically changed the lifestyles of Saudis. While people are wealthier, they also suffer from poor health related to lack of exercise and poor diet. Smoking, too, has become more acceptable for women that it used to be. Today women can be seen puffing cigarettes and shisha (flavoured tobaccos smoked in water pipes) in Saudi cafés.

A ‘woman only’ hotel will come up in Riyadh. It is being set up by a group of Saudi women who find it inconvenient to book a hotel room without there being a male guarantor. Saudi laws allow women to stay in hotels only as family members of males. The initiative comes closely on the heels of approval of an all-women industrial city that will host training centres and employ approximately 10,000 women at more than 80 factories.


The Saudi Ministry of Education recently appointed 27 women in senior positions in accordance with its plan to reserve top jobs for women. Five posts of deans have been reserved for women as part of the government’s effort to place women in top positions and give them more autonomy concerning women’s education. 

Saudi Arabia plans to transform the international airports in the Kingdom into state owned companies. After the current expansion of the King Abdul Aziz International Airport, Jeddah, it will be able to receive 80 million passengers annually and 63 aircraft of varying sizes daily. Al-Mabani Company is upgrading aviation facilities at the Jeddah Airport.  Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s first private airline ‘NAS Air’ started its operations on February 25 with three daily flights to Jeddah from Riyadh.

A landmark coalition government uniting rival factions took power on 17th March 2007, vowing to end a year-long international boycott that has crippled the economy of the Palestinian territories. The new government that unites the secular Fatah party with the Islamist Hamas movement seemed unlikely to meet international demands, however, as prime minister Ismail Haniya defiantly proclaimed the Palestinians’ right to resist against Israel. As the sanctions wreak havoc on the Palestinian economy, international resolve has begun to crack. Norway announced that it would now recognise the Fatah-Hamas government. Forty-one members of the 132-member parliament are in Israeli prisons and another four were absent from the vote.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Federal Education Directorate for a $3.4 million three-year programme to strengthen teachers’ education in Pakistan. Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the programme will establish a new framework for teachers’ accreditation and management in basic education. Implemented by UNESCO, the project will fundamentally reform approaches to policy, organisation, institutional roles and classroom delivery at all levels. Speaking on the occasion, the USAID Pakistan Education Office Director, Dr Randy L Hatfield declared the programme a critical step towards improving teachers quality of education and professional development in Pakistan. Based on consultations with the Education Ministry, USAID’s education programme in Pakistan is designed to increase quality education for all Pakistanis.

A Muslim woman hoping to train to be a life-guard in Oxford has said faith should not stop people learning how to swim. Maryam Ramzy spoke after a row broke out when a Muslim woman was allowed to take a sauna and then swim while wearing a full-length robe and headscarf at a city leisure centre. Mrs Ramzy, who lives in Cowley, helps run a monthly Muslim-women only swimming session at Blackbird Leys pool. She said: “At the swimming pool, the lifeguard and teacher are both women and we swim as Muslim women all together. So, as there are no men there, we don’t have to wear headscarfs and, while we don’t wear swimming costumes, we can wear T-shirts and leggings.


“It’s very important for us to keep fit and keep healthy and that’s why we have set up this facility. You come across an awful lot of people who simply can’t swim because they haven’t had the opportunity to do it in a ‘halal’ environment.”

Muslims in Britain are currently subject to a great deal of attention that has often focused upon questions of citizenship and integration. One key issue has concerned the position of the Muslim schools, which are often seen as an obstacle to social cohesion. The study, ‘Muslim schools in Britain: challenging mobilisations or logical development?’ by Nasar Meer, Research Assistant in the Department of Sociology and the Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship at Bristol University, reveals why some Muslim parents are seeking Muslims schools and where this fits within the broader history of schooling in Britain. Muslim children of school age are disproportionately present in the British education system and comprise nearly 6 per cent (500,000) of the school population from the entire Muslim population of 3 per cent (1.8 million). There are, however, only seven state funded Muslim schools compared to over 4,700 Church of England schools, 2,100 Catholic schools, 37 Jewish and 28 Methodist schools.

Envoys from most of the 57 member nations of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) have launched a Washington forum to discuss common concerns and act as a key link between the Muslim world and the United States.

The Laudium Cancer Care Group began as a small group of Indian women volunteers in 1988 to provide support to the victims of the cancer- afflicted and HIV affected people. The Laudium Cancer Care Hospice now has a 5- bed facility located at Laudium Community Health Centre in Laudium. The Hospice provides services to all patients who require hospice care, including cancer patients, other terminally ill patients and HIV/AIDS patients. The Indian community in Laudium, a suburb of South Africa with approximately 45,000 population has around 193 cancer patients and out of that 80% are Muslim women. For further details, contact: Laudium Community Health Centre 0027-12-374 6650 or Mrs Fazila Hassim, Chairperson 082-5227863., laudiumhospice@gmail.com.

Islamic Careline in Johannesburg was started  by Suriya Nawab, a social worker with the assistance of the  Jamiatul Ulama in 1992-93, a registered Non-profit organi-sation.  The Careline provides marital and family counselling, for abused women and children, HIV/AIDS counseling, trauma debriefing through telephone and face to face. The Islamic Careline has trained counselors consisting of a team of social workers, psychologists and other social science professionals.


The increase in statistics of drug abuse, infidelity and promiscuity amongst the Muslim community as seen by the Islamic Careline raises important concerns Some of the projects of Islamic Careline relate to life skill development, drug de-addiction and support for divorced women. Islamic Careline, P.O. Box 42863, 32 Avenue Road,Fordsburg 2033, Johanesburg, South Africa, Tel: +2711 3738080, islamiccareline @islamsa.org.za

Jermaine Jackson (aka Mohammed Abdul Aziz), revealed to the Editor of The Muslim News, Ahmed J Versi, in an exclusive interview that his brother Michael Jackson may soon convert to Islam. He said that Michael has shown a lot of interest in Islam. “When I came back from Makkah, I got him books and he asked me lots of things about my religion and I told him that it’s peaceful and beautiful. He read everything and he was proud of me that I found something that would give me inner strength and peace. I think it is most probable that Michael will convert to Islam.” Jeramaine believes if Michael converts, he would do a lot for Muslims. “He could do so much, just like I am trying to do. I think it’s time the young Muslims today should be proud and stay focused and not to fall in the pits of ridicule from the Western world and media and not to let these extremists try to label them as extremist and terrorist.”


Jermaine converted to Islam in 1989 when he met Ali Gamber’s family in Bahrain. “All the family, especially the children were so respectful and peaceful. I was overwhelmed by the love of the children.” He realised that it was Islam that made the children the way they were. “I was searching for something to make my life complete.” Jermaine then went to Jeddah with his friend Ali where he converted to Islam