THE MUSLIM WORLD

Debate is growing over a proposed mosque in Temecula. The proposed 24,950-square-foot mosque would sit on four acres next to Calvary Baptist Church. Calvary Pastor Bill Rench says he is worried the mosque is too large for the site, as well as what he calls "the whole issue of Islam and what it stands for." He says it is a religion "contrary to Christianity."

The Islamic Center of Temecula Valley's imam says his group is peaceful and only seeks more room to serve its members. Temecula planning director Patrick Richardson says politics and religion will not figure in the city's review, but air quality, noise and traffic will.

The Temecula Planning Commission is scheduled to review the proposed mosque on Aug. 18.
Temecula is home to a diverse array of Christian churches, from upstart evangelicals to traditional congregations. The city of 105,000 also has a conservative reputation; a majority of Temecula voters in 2008 sought to ban same-sex marriage and a portrait of a nude woman was removed from a city-owned building earlier this year.

Mosque construction plans have encountered resistance nationwide in recent months. Proposals to build mosques in Tennessee, Wisconsin and near ground zero in New York have all been met with protests.

"When churches decide to expand or build facilities, what's the purpose behind that?" asked Affad Sheikh, civil rights manager with the Greater Los Angeles Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "Why is this question being asked of the Muslim community?”

Most people in the UK associate Islam with extremism and the repression of women, a survey has suggested. The online YouGov poll found 58% of those questioned linked Islam with extremism while 69% believed it encouraged the repression of women. The survey of 2,152 adults was commissioned by the Exploring Islam Foundation. The organisation has launched a poster campaign on London transport to combat negative perceptions of Muslims. BBC home editor Mark Easton says the survey, conducted last month, paints a negative picture of British attitudes to Islam. Asked if Muslims had a positive impact on British society, the YouGov poll found four out of 10 disagreed with the statement. Half linked Islam with terrorism, just 13% thought it was based on peace and 6% associated it with justice. Some 60% admitted they did not know much about the religion, but a third said they would like to know more. The Exploring Islam Foundation hopes to challenge the negative views of the religion with its Inspired By Muhammad project. It will feature posters of Muslim professionals, displayed in central London locations such as bus stops and tube stations, alongside messages emphasising the ways in which Muslims balance religious tradition with contemporary human rights and social responsibility. This campaign is important because it can help non-Muslims to better understand the faith that inspires and guides their Muslim friends, neighbours and colleagues. Remona Aly, campaigns director for the Foundation, said many Muslims were concerned about the way their faith was perceived by the public. “We want to foster a greater understanding of what British Muslims are about and our contribution to British society. We are proud of being British and being Muslim,” she said. A spokesman for the Quilliam Foundation, the counter-extremism think tank, welcomed the campaign, describing it as a “timely step to help improve relations and foster deeper understanding between British citizens”. “This campaign is important because it can help non-Muslims to better understand the faith that inspires and guides their Muslim friends, neighbours and colleagues. This initiative also helps British Muslims reclaim the Prophet Muhammad as a time-honoured guide for peace, compassion and social justice from those who seek to twist his teachings.” (Source: www.euroislam.info.com)

Anne Arundel County (Maryland-US): The Anne Arundel county administration has decided not to hold tests in schools on two major holidays this year: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Local Muslim leaders had been requesting the change for two years, arguing that students who practice Islam and are granted excused absences on those days shouldn't have to miss exams.

School officials finally complied in the calendar for next year, acknowledging that it makes sense in light of the growing number of Muslim students.

Other religions are also acknowledged in the school calendar, most notably through the Christian holidays of Christmas and Easter. And about five years ago the schools began closing for two major Jewish holidays: Yom Kippur, and Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year.

But no Muslim holidays have appeared on the school calendar - until now. The County will not hold exam on September 10, Eidul Fitr and November 17, Eidul Azha this year. (source: Capital Gazette)

The Bangladeshi government has ordered mosques and libraries. across the country to remove all books written by Syed Abul Ala Maudoodi, the founder of Jamaat-i-Islami. According to BBC, the chief of the government-funded Islamic Foundation said the books by Maulana Maududi encouraged "militancy and terrorism". Books by Maulana Maudoodi, who died in 1979, are essential reading for supporters of the Jamaat-i-Islami. Born in India , the Pakistani scholar is considered to be a prominent theorist of Islam in modern South Asian history. But Bangladeshi officials say his writings promote radicalism and his ideological goal was to capture power in the name of Islam.
"His writings are against the peaceful ideology of Islam. So, it is not correct to keep books of Mr Maudoodi in mosques," Islamic Foundation director-general Shamim Mohammad Afjal told the BBC. The government has now ordered nearly 24,000 libraries attached to mosques to remove his books immediately.(source: www.dawn.com)

Spain's Parliament has rejected a proposal to ban women from wearing in public places Islamic veils that reveal only the eyes.

The proposal was debated on July 20. 183 lawmakers opposed the ban, 162 lawmakers voted for it and two abstained.

The non-binding proposal had been put forward by the leading opposition Popular Party, which portrayed it as a measure in support of women's rights. The ruling Socialist Party opposed the ban.

Other European countries have also debated banning body covering clothing such as burqas or niqabs. Within Spain, the city government of northeastern Barcelona and some neighboring town councils have banned the wearing of such garb in public buildings such as town halls and hospitals.
Opponents of a ban say it will harm democracy and violate religious rights while supporters say it is a matter of national security and of adaptation to local customs.

Young Saudi men are complaining that there is nothing to do for them during the long vacations in the Kingdom. The summer vacation has just started and will last for two months, including Ramadan. For those two months young men are likely to have nothing on their agenda that could be classed as fun.

“I used to look forward to summer vacations when I was little as I used to go out with my family and have lots of fun and activities, but I have outgrown them now,” said high school student Abdullah Madani. “I no longer find playing at the arcades or even riding my bicycle in my backyard as fun now that I'm older. I want to be involved in something more masculine with my male friends.”

He added that any activities he does with his friends are often met with disapproval from people around him, even if they are harmless.

“We need a place to have fun, where we can spend hours not worrying about what families and fathers would think of us,” he added.

Malls in Saudi Arabia are perceived as for families only. Men usually cannot enter without the company of a woman, making it difficult for them to shop.

“I was once told by a religious policeman that shopping was perverted and I should be ashamed for asking them to be let in a mall,” said resident Jameel Saleh. “He also told me to let my wife or mother do it for me because shopping is for women only and I should behave like a man.” Security guards at shopping malls think it is unfair to bar men from going to shopping centers.

“I sometimes sneak in some men early in the morning so they can buy what they need from the shops because this is ridiculous,” said a security man at one of Jeddah's shopping centers.
“Authorities say that men who go inside malls are troublemakers and that's why they want to stop them from entering in the first place. But that's the reason we are around, so we can stop trouble from happening. But these are the rules and I cannot do anything about them.”

“My friends and I tried a couple of times to just hang out by the beach and enjoy the view, getting a small carpet to sit on and play cards,” said high school student Mohammed Taher. “But every time we go there a religious cop comes and asks us to leave, claiming that we are bothering the families around us. That's why we then shifted to malls and public parking lots because there are not many families around. Even then they think we are annoying them.

“What do you expect us to do? Where do you want us to go? It's like they are saying if guys are gathering together then they are up to no good.”

It appears sport is the only activity that Saudi men can enjoy without being bothered by families or policemen. “All I do on my off days is go to the gym and play football with my friends. Other than that I have nothing to do. I just spend hours playing games and lifting weights so I can pass time and then go home to get some rest and do the exact same thing the next day,” said college student Ahmed Zaki.

“I tried jogging in a public place, but people started staring at me as if to say I had an ulterior motive for being there. I really did not want to flirt or bother the ladies who were walking around. I just wanted to enjoy the sun and jog outdoors for a change.” Families need to invest in their children's summer by encouraging them to take courses and attend seminars, according to Dr. Adnan Mufti, consultant psychiatrist and hospital director at the mental hospital in Jeddah.

Top religious scholars in Pakistan have declared suicide bombings as un-Islamic and against humanity and urged the government to launch effective campaign to defeat the terrorists. "Whosoever kills a Muslim has nothing to do with the religion, Islam," the scholars said in a meeting in Islamabad last fortnight. Religious scholars also met in Karachi and said that Islam does not allow killings of innocent people in suicide attacks. The scholars showed unity three days after the July 1st two suicide attacks inside a shrine in Lahore which killed 43 people and injured 175 others.

Religious scholars from different school of thoughts met in Islamabad and Karachi and were unanimous in condemnation of the bombings in shrine “Datta Darbar” and urged the government to come heavily on terrorists.

A group of scholars met Interior Minister Rehman Malik and vowed to join hands with the government to foil any terrorist bid, launching sectarian harmony and making efforts for banning arms display. They also decided to 'observe a day' against terrorism to show solidarity among their ranks. They reiterated their 'fatwa' or religious decree declaring the suicide attacks as against the spirit of Islam and humanity.

Malaysia 's Islamic Shariah courts have appointed their first women judges — a move praised by women's rights activists as a boost for a judicial system often accused of favouring men. Suraya Ramli and Rafidah Abdul Razak, formerly officials at the government's Islamic judicial department, were named Shariah court judges for Kuala Lumpur and the administrative capital of Putrajaya in May, but the appointment was only announced last month by Prime Minister Najib Razak. Najib said the step was meant to "enhance justice in cases involving families and women's rights" in Malaysia, where nearly 55 per cent of the country's 28 million people are Muslims. Women have long complained they face discrimination in cases involving divorce, child custody rights, inheritance, polygamy and other disputes in Islamic courts, which handle matters involving family and morality for Malaysian Muslims. Rights activists have said they receive hundreds of complaints each year from women because Shariah courts are slow to penalize ex-husbands who fail to pay child support. Men are also known to find it relatively easy to divorce their wives while taking a greater share of the couple's property. Norhayati Kaprawi, a prominent Malaysian Muslim women's activist, said the appointments were long overdue.

Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, Lebanon 's most influential Shia cleric, passed away in Beirut at the age of 74. Fadlallah was born in 1935 in Najaf, the centre of Shia scholarship in Iraq. He spent more than two decades studying Islam there before moving to Lebanon, where he spent most of his adult life. He attained the status of marja, or "source of emulation," the highest level of authority amongst Shia clerics. Fadlallah had a wide following, not just in Lebanon but among Shia communities in the Gulf and Central Asia. Many of his sermons, widely distributed on audiotapes in Lebanon in the 1980s, helped to spark increased political awareness among Lebanon 's Shia population.

Fadlallah was also a staunch critic of American foreign policy in the Middle East, accusing it of bias in favour of Israel. "I have not found in the whole long history of the Arab-Israeli conflict even one neutral American position," Fadlallah said in a 2009 interview with the Wall Street Journal. He wrote a letter last year to the US president Barack Obama, in which he accused US policies of contributing to "the loss of the Palestinian cause". Fadlallah was widely known for his views on women, describing men and women as equals, and issuing a ruling in 2007 which encouraged women to defend themselves against violence. He also issued a ruling banning female circumcision. His extensive charitable works added to his popularity. Fadlallah established a network of schools and orphanages in Shia suburbs of Beirut and in southern Lebanon.

Syria has banned the face-covering veil from the country's universities to prevent what it sees as a threat to its secular identity, as similar moves in Europe spark cries of discrimination against Muslims. The ban shows a rare point of agreement between Syria 's secular, authoritarian government and the democracies of Europe : Both view the niqab as a potentially destabilizing threat. "We have given directives to all universities to ban niqab-wearing women from registering," a government official in Damascus told The Associated Press. The order affects both public and private universities and aims to protect Syria 's secular identity. Hundreds of primary school teachers who were wearing the niqab at government-run schools were transferred last month to administrative jobs. The ban, issued by the Education Ministry, does not affect the hijab, or headscarf, which is far more common in Syria than the niqab's billowing black robes.

Iran has developed a new human-like walking robot to be used in “sensitive jobs.” Soorena-2, named after an ancient Persian warrior, was unveiled by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last month. It is 1.45 metres (4.7 feet) tall and weighs 45 kilograms (99 pounds).“Walking slowly like human beings with regular arm and leg movements are among its characteristics.” Such robots are designed and developed to be used in sensitive and difficult jobs on behalf of a person or as help.

Career diplomat Roza Otunbayeva was sworn in as conflict-torn Kyrgyzstan 's president last fortnight, making her the first woman leader in the history of ex-Soviet Central Asia. Standing before an audience of more than 1,000 cheering onlookers in a packed Soviet-era concert hall in the capital Bishkek, Otunbayeva solemnly took her oath and promised a new political era for increasingly-unstable Kyrgyzstan. “As president, I will spare no effort to create a new political culture for the country based on a strict adherence to the rule of law,” she told the assembled crowd.

A former foreign minister and ambassador to Britain who was swept to power in a wave of bloody street riots in April that ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Otunbayeva takes office at a delicate moment. Kyrgyzstan has been wracked by violence and political instability in recent months, and the inauguration comes just days after the approval of a new constitution making Kyrgyzstan the region's first parliamentary democracy. Otunbayeva will serve as the country's caretaker president until after 2011 presidential elections, a position granted to her by a referendum, under which she has no right to stand in the next presidential polls. Her government must also work to ease tensions in the south of the country, where deadly clashes between ethnic majority Kyrgyz and minority Uzbeks in and around the cities of Osh and Jalalabad may have killed as many as 2,000 people last month.