The Muslim World

India has invited businessmen from Saudi Arabia’s Asir province to visit the country for trade opportunities and joint ventures.


An Indian festival was recently held in the province showcasing catalogues of leading Indian companies and a road show by Indian Tourism.


Speaking at the festival, Indian Ambassador M O H Farook lauded the historic and deep-rooted relations between the two countries and highlighted the great potential existing in the two countries, especially in the field of tourism and investments.


Consul General Ausaf Sayeed invited local businessmen present at the festival to visit India for trade opportunities.


He also suggested that a MoU could be signed between the Saudi-Indian Business Network (SIBN) and the Abha Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) to give more attention to the Asir region.


The three-day Asir India festival was organised by the Consulate General of India, Jeddah in association with the Asir administration. A presentation on the educational opportunities in India and a photo exhibition on India’s Monuments by Riyadh-based photographer K N Wasif were highlights of the event.

Most internet users in the UAE have been denied access to Orkut, following reports that the site contains sexually explicit material and is being used for ‘immoral activities’.


The UAE also has a ban on social networking websites flicker and Hi5, and only recently lifted a ban MySpace and video-sharing site YouTube. The Emirates’ monopoly internet service provider Etisalat banned Orkut.com recently upon orders from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).


The TRA issued a formal letter to the UAE’s internet service providers to block the site after receiving complaints - flagged by the UAE’s Gulf News newspaper - that the site posted ‘objectionable’ material.


Google-owned Orkut claims to be designed to reunite old friends, and help users keep in touch and meet new friends. However recent reports have claimed that thousands of users in the UAE were joining sexually explicit communities which some say are plentiful on the website.


Google executives have said they will try and negotiate with UAE authorities after they blocked the website. “We’re disappointed that Orkut is being blocked because it’s a great way for people to meet, socialise and share interests. We will be reaching out to the authorities to try to resolve this,” a Google spokesperson said.


The move has fueled speculation among UAE internet-users and fans of popular social sites as to whether networking giant Facebook - the second most visited such website and with 28 million members worldwide - is next in line to get the axe.

Malaysian Muslims have called for a ban on the new film Evan Almighty saying it is offensive to their religion.


Malaysia’s Muslim Consumers association (PPIM) said the comedy, which is based on the story of Noah’s ark and features actor Morgan Freeman as God, was insulting to Islam.


“The movie refers to the big flood during the time of Prophet Noah, but this has been turned into a comedy which is insulting to Islam,” Secretary-General Maamor Osman told media. “Featuring a human being as God in the movie is also against Islam,” he added.


Meanwhile Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin, Information Minister said. Muslims in the country should exercise wisdom in addressing religious issues and not become hysterical when confronted with something seen as challenging their faith or belief like a film.


The film “Evan Almighty” has actor Morgan Freeman playing the role of “God” in which he ordered Evan Baxter (played by Steve Carell) to build an ark to avoid a big flood expected to hit New York.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has ordered for air conditioning to be fitted in the entire Haram Mosque in Makkah for the benefit of pilgrims and worshippers, said Sheikh Saleh Al-Hussein, head of the General Presidency for the Two Holy Mosques Affairs. He said the project would be carried out within a short period of time without affecting regular prayers and rituals such as tawaf (circumambulation of the Holy Kaaba) and sai (the walk between mounts Safa and Marwa). He also thanked the king for his gesture. Currently, air conditioning is only available in that part of the Haram which was built during the reign of King Fahd.

Dr. Abdullah Al Turki, secretary general of the Muslim World League (MWL), received here yesterday Sheikh Abdel-Raziq Zuheir Al-Turkamani, president of the University of Ahlu Al Sunnah in Iran. They reviewed issues pertaining to the activities of the university which teaches Islamic sciences in line with the school of Ahlu Al Sunnah.


Al-Turkamani reiterated keenness on cooperation with the Islamic Jurisprudence Council, an affiliate of the MWL. On his part, Dr. Al-Turki expressed the readiness of the MWL to cooperate with the Iranian university.

Qatar Charity is building residential units to house 210 tsunami victims in the north of Indonesia. The first phase of the project comprising 100 housing units was completed a few months ago, Qatar Charity said in a press release. The next phase consists of 70 units. The residential units are being built in the Indonesian province which was worst hit by tsunami. The families are living in makeshift camps.


In another development, Sheikh Jassem bin Jabr Charity is building 143 apartments and the revenues from its rentals will be used to benefit people of special needs, widows and orphans. The charity has inked a deal for the project which is to cost QR 130 million and tipped to be ready by the end of next year. The project (New Mirqab) will be built by demolishing a complex of eight villas the charitable body owns. (Courtesy HA/ IINA)

Al Jazeera English has over 20,000 subscribers in the US for its internet service, with American viewers making up 60% of the Doha-based channel’s online audience.


Its subscriber base has helped the English-language news channel side-step US cable operators who were hesitant to carry the channel, overshadowing its launch last November, according to the Financial Times.


Online viewers in the US pay $6 per month for a 24/7 live stream of the channel, while others watch clips of Al Jazeera on YouTube. Al Jazeera signed a distribution deal with the popular video-sharing website in April.


After a series of delays, the 24-hour channel was launched in November with an impressive line-up of broadcasters, including Sir David Frost and former BBC correspondent Rageh Omaar.


It is the world’s first English-language news channel headquartered in the Middle East. Following in the footsteps of Al Jazeera English, Iran last month launched its own English-language news channel in a bid to ‘show the other side of the story’ in the Middle East.


The new 24-hour channel intends to ‘counteract the lies of the western media’, Mohammad Sarafraz, vice-president of Iran’s state broadcaster Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) said this week.

The father of the Cameroonian Siamese twins, Phambom and Shefbou, who were separated at King Abdul Aziz Medical City (KAMC) in April this year, embraced Islam at a simple function held yesterday at the hospital in the presence of selected guests. The father, James Akumpu, became Abdullah Akumpu and recited the kalima after Dr. Sheikh Ibrahim. “We are very happy to accept Akumpu into the fold of Islam,” Dr. Ibrahim told guests. He explained the basic principles of Islam and told Abdullah to adhere to them and be an ambassador of Islam in his own country. “I am proud to embrace this noble faith and become a part of the prestigious Muslim community whose rich traditions attracted me to make this decision,” Akumpu told reporters after his conversion. He said the decision to convert was his own and was carefully taken during his four months’ stay in the Kingdom.


“It is because of the magnan-imity shown by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz that my infants were separated at no cost to us,” he said that the monarch’s action symbolizes the attitude and approach of Islam toward those that are less fortunate. “I have been attracted by Islam and delighted to be a partner of this great community that preaches real brotherhood, equality and tolerance,” he said.


Akumpu’s wife, Emmevena Nyamale, was also present at the meeting and appeared happy with her husband’s decision.


Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, chief executive officer of the National Guard Health Affairs and chief surgeon at KAMC, said that, “While welcoming Akumpu to our community, we feel happy that the services rendered under the instructions of King Abdullah are bearing fruit in several ways.”


The twins, who were successfully separated on April 21, 2007 after a 16-hour-long operation, are now at the general pediatric ward and are doing fine and are being prepared for discharge in a few weeks’ time. “They will require a period of physiotherapy and rehabilitation to enable them to function normally. Both twins are now interacting cheerfully, smiling, and playing with their parents and hospital staff,” Dr. Rabeeah added. (Courtesy HA/ IINA)

Saudi Arabia’s third mobile phone operator is negotiating the world’s largest Islamic loan to raise $3.7 billion.


A consortium including Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommu-nications Co. (MTC) will itself put up the rest of the $6.11 billion licence fee for access to the telecoms market of the world’s largest oil exporter.


Marwan al-Ahmadi, the consortium’s chief executive, told reporters in Riyadh that the loan will be structured as a “Murabaha” facility, under which a financier buys a commodity and sells it to the customer at a higher price, complying with Islam’s ban on lending with interest.


The consortium will also raise money by selling a 40 per cent stake to the public and 10 per cent to government funds after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, The company will compete with state-controlled Saudi Telecom Co. and Mobily, an affiliate of Abu Dhabi-based Emirates Telecom-munications Corp., for a potential customer base of 24 million.


About 65 per cent of Saudi residents have mobiles and the overall penetration rate is 85 per cent - a figure which could grow to 120 per cent by 2011, Dubai-based investment bank Shuaa Capital said in March.


The new Saudi operator plans to invest up to $2 billion in its first three years to build its network and should make its first profit by 2009, he said. The consortium, which includes Saudi dairy firm Almarai, expects to start operations in 2008, Ahmadi said.

Over 450 non-Muslims working in local hospitals and medical centers supervised by Saudi Arabia’s Health Ministry have embraced Islam in the past year, thanks to the efforts of the Islamic Guidance Department, the Health Ministry announced. Employees working for the Islamic Guidance Department visited 235,000 patients last year and distributed 67,000 gifts to special care patients in various parts of the Kingdom. In addition, the department distributed 1.5 million Arabic booklets for patients and visitors at hospitals and health care centers. Another 48,000 booklets were printed in English for non-Arab readers.


The Islamic Guidance Department was established in 2001. Officials in the department coordinate with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Guidance and Endowment and the Supreme Council of Islamic Scholars. Among its several missions is to illustrate to non-Muslims working in the health sector the noble teachings of Islam. It also creates awareness among Muslims about cleanliness and shows disabled and sick people the method of performing prayers. Officials from the department also visit critically ill patients, encouraging them to keep faith and maintain high spirits. The department also arranges symposiums on religious topics for health employees. (Courtesy HA/ IINA)

The Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Shoura Council Dr. Saleh bin Humaid has been named president of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA), an affiliate of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). His appointment will be announced during an IIFA meeting, scheduled to begin in Putrajaya, outside Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia tomorrow. Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi will open the meeting. Sheikh Bin-Humaid, who is also imam and khateeb of the Haram Mosque in Makkah, replaces Sheikh Bakr Abu Zaid, who has chaired the academy for about 20 years. Bin-Humaid has previously worked as the head of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques Affairs before his appointment as Shoura Council chairman in 2001, Arab News reported.


Based in Jeddah, the IIFA was established on the recommendation of the third Islamic summit conference in Makkah, which was held on Jan. 25, 1981. Its members include highly knowledgeable Islamic scholars, who are well versed in various topics and who issue Islamic rulings on contemporary issues on the basis of the Holy Qur’an and Tradition of the Prophet (Pbuh). Dr. Hassan ibn Basfar, an expert at the academy, said a large number of Islamic scholars from different parts of the Muslim world would take part in the meeting to discuss a number of issues facing Islamic communities around the world.


The issues to be discussed by the Putrajaya meeting include the rights and duties of Muslim women; activation of Zakat to combat poverty; human resource development in the Islamic world; the need to consider Shariah’s objectives while setting out Islamic laws and regulations; time sharing; and cosmetic surgery. During past meetings, the IIFA has dealt with issues such as test-tube babies, milk banks, life-support machines, Zakat on rented farmland, Zakat on corporate funds, rates applicable to Zakat on currencies, Zakat on debts, Zakat on properties and land leased for non-agricultural purposes, Zakat on assets such as machinery, Zakat on leased properties, and Zakat on salaries and wages.


Other topics discussed include men unnecessarily engaged in midwifery while Muslim female doctors are available; prayer and fasting in places where there is a marked disequilibrium between day and night; and rules regarding restricting the number of pilgrims in line with the capacity of the holy places.

In his address to the Islamic Center of Washington, President Bush thanked the board of governors of the Islamic Center for inviting him and said he appreciated their friendship. He remembered President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who offered America’s hand in friendship to Muslims around the world more than fifty years ago by dedicating the Islamic Center site to Muslims in Washington, D.C. He quoted Eisenhower of together committing “to peaceful progress of all men under one God.”


He said the freedom of religion is the very first protection offered in America’s Bill of Rights under which, people of faith agree not to impose their spiritual vision on others and in return practice their own beliefs as they see fit.


George Bush announced a new initiative to improve mutual understanding and cooperation between America and people in predominantly Muslim countries; by appointing a special envoy to the organization of the Islamic Conference. The special envoy will listen and learn from representatives from Muslim states and will share with them America’s views and values. This would be an opportunity for America to demonstrate to Muslim communities their interest in respectful dialogue and continued friendship.

In the framework of cooperation between the OIC and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), two officers from the OIC participated in a UNDP capacity-building program in New York from May 21- June 21, 2007 where they had the opportunity to visit its different bureaus and offices. The two officers benefited greatly from the experience and recommended cooperation between the two organizations in various areas such as poverty alleviation, environmental programs and agriculture, migration and refugee issues, disease control programs, and other developmental and humanitarian programs.


In Brief

* The OIC attended on June 25, 2007 the conference in Paris on the situation in Darfur at the invitation of the French Government. Ambassador Mahdy Fathalla, Director of Political Affairs, attended on behalf of the OIC Secretary General Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, and spoke about the OIC’s position on Darfur and its willingness to contribute in any joint efforts.


* The Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organisation transported humanitarian aid under the banner of the OIC that was provided by Muslim countries to the residents of Gaza in order to help them overcome the economic embargo imposed on them by Israel. The 30 trucks contained food and medical aid weighing 450 tons.


* Turkey made a voluntary contribution of $1.5 million to the budget of the OIC General Secretariat in addition to its regular annual budgetary contribution.


* OIC Secretary General Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu strongly condemned the roadside bomb attack that took place on June 24, 2007 on the peacekeepers of the United Nation’s Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which resulted in the tragic loss of five Spanish and Colombian peacekeepers and wounded five others.