Muslim World

Muslim sportspersons won 7 gold medals at the Beijing Olympic games held between August 8 and 24. In a reckoning made by the London based The Muslim News, following received the medals:
Gold
R. Ramzi, Bahrain 1500 metre race
B. Sarsekbayev Kazakhstan Boxing
H. Saei Iran Taekwondo
O. Mellouli Tunisia Swimming
M. Nazyr Russia Wrestling
IB. Albiev Russia Wrestling
R. Sani Turkey Wrestling.

Silver
M. Mekhissi France 3000 metre steeplechase
J. Gharib Morocco Marathon
I. A. Ismail Sudan 800 metre race
A. benikhalef Algeria Judo
E. Mammadli Azerbaijan Judo
A. Zhitkeyev Kazakhstan Judo
A. Tangriev Uzbekistan Judo
D. Safina Russia Tennis
R. Bayramov Azerbaijan Wrestling
V. Rahimov Azerbaijan Wrestling
A. Mambetov Kazakhstan Wrestling
T. Tigiyev Kasakhstan Wrestling
K. Begaliev Kazakshtan Wrestling
S. Ozkan Turkey Weightlifting

Bronze
H. Benhassi Morocco 800 metre race
S. Imranov Azerbaijan Boxing
K. Djelkhir France Boxing
S. Yerkubalan Kazakhstan Boxing
S. Haddad Algeria Judo
M. Miraliev Azerbaijan Judo
H. Mesbah Egypt Judo
R. Boqiev Tajikistan Judo
R. Sobirov Uzbekistan Judo
R. Nikpai Afghanistan Taekwondo
A. Chilmanov Kazakhstan Taekwondo
S. Tazegul Turkey Taekwondo
A. Tannikulu Turkey Taekwondo
E. Khilko Trampoline Uzbekistan
K. Gaziyumov Azerbaijan Wrestling
M. Gaidrov Belarus Wrestling
S. Mohammadi Iran Wrestling
N. Tengibazayev Kazakhstan Wrestling
R. Tiumenbayev Kazakhstan Wrestling
Y. Abdulsalamov Tajikistan Wrestling
A. Nazmi Turkey Wrestling

The US government is currently studying the salient features of Islamic banking to ascertain how far it could be useful in fighting the ongoing world economic crisis, Robert M. Kimmitt, US deputy secretary of the Treasury told Saudi journalists on October 6.

Kimmitt, who was on an official visit to the Kingdom, also held discussions with Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf. He also met Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) Governor Hamad Al-Sayari, Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) Governor Amr Al-Dabbagh, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of the Kingdom Holding Company, and Saudi investors and bankers. He said that the agenda for the G-20 summit to be held in Washington on Nov. 15, has to be carefully prepared since important topics are to be discussed in just one day. “I am not sure that Islamic banking will also be itemized in the agenda, but it is a subject that is often dwelt in the public and private sectors,” he noted. He said that experts in the US Treasury Department are currently learning the important features of Islamic banking. 

However, he added that his country is focusing on activities of various governments and central banks in tackling the economic issues. He pointed out that the member countries in the G-20 also includes Islamic countries such as Indonesia and Turkey, besides the Kingdom which has been a member for the past 10 years. Representatives from these countries could present their experiences of Islamic banking in the light of the prevailing situation. 

He hoped the G-20 summit will provide an effective platform for the member countries to exchange their views on the current economic problem and lay out a plan for the countries to draw out their respective national plans to ease the situation. 

Commenting on his meeting with Al-Assaf, Kimmitt said the items that could be included in the agenda were also discussed. “The geographical representation from member countries would provide a broader view of the crisis and would also benefit the non-member countries through their experiments,” he added. (Source: Arab News)

Mosque authorities have avoided installing amplifiers keeping in view the criticism and comfort of residents.

One of Germany’s largest mosques with room for 1,200 was inaugurated on October 26 in the western city of Duisburg with none of the recriminations that have soured a mosque building plan in nearby Cologne. Christian leaders spoke at the ceremonial opening and the City of Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra played along with Turkish bands.

Police, who estimate that some 6,000 people attended Sunday’s ceremony, said there were no protests.

In an inaugural speech, the premier of North Rhine Westphalia, Juergen Ruettgers, affirmed the right of 3.3 million Muslims in Germany to build mosques as big as they liked.
“We need more mosques in this country, not in inner courtyards, but visible and recognizable ones,” he said.

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The opening of the mosque could not have been more different from the controversy surrounding a planned one in nearby Cologne. In that city, some civic leaders have charged that a planned mosque is “too big.” The city witnessed violent rioting last month as rightists vainly attempted to hold an anti-Islam rally.

Officials say ethnic Turkish Muslims form a major group in gritty, working-class Duisburg, an old coal and steel town, as opposed  to their affluent, middle-class counterparts in Cologne, 55 kilometers away.

In the Duisburg suburb of Marxloh where the mosque was built, Muslims make up about one-third of the 18,000 residents.

The designers of the 7.5-million-euro ($9.4 million) complex forestalled German criticisms by including plate-glass windows to make the mosque’s inner workings more visible.

There will also be no muezzin calling to prayer by loudspeaker from the Duisburg mosque’s 34-metre minaret, a practice that some anti-mosque groups elsewhere have seized on.

The state government and the European Union pumped in 3 million euros in subsidies for the complex, which includes a community centre, café and the mosque itself capped with several Ottoman-style domes.

Another 4 million euros were contributed by Muslim faithful in an international fund raising drive.

A fatwa by the National Fatwa Council prohibiting Malaysian Muslims from practising yoga has disappointed some Muslim groups and practitioners who deny it is a Hindu religious practice.

“I don’t think it has caused any Muslim to convert to Hinduism, neither has it weakened their faith,” says Norhayati Kaprawi, program manager at the Sisters in Islam (SIS) group. Citing its Hindu mantras and elements of worshipping, the National Fatwa Council prohibited the practice of yoga by Muslims. The fatwa is not legally binding to Muslims, who comprise about 60 percent of the country’s 26 million population. Norhayati, whose group champions the rights of Muslim women, said many Muslims in Malaysia practice yoga to stay healthy. She noted that SIS had been holding weekly yoga classes for their staff for the past year, adding that it had no problems continuing with it.

The impoverished Gaza Strip, home to 1.6 million, sinks into total darkness every night over the lack of fuel supplies to feed its sole power plant. It’s not the first time Gaza plunges into darkness under the Israeli blockade. Even before the November cut off, electricity supply in Gaza ran 30 percent below demand. Human Rights Watch has slammed Israel’s power cuts to the people of Gaza as a violation of the law of war.

Despite international criticism, Israel remains adamant on maintaining its Gaza closure. Gaza officials warn that if the power cuts continued, the situation would turn into a full-blown humanitarian disaster. “The magnitude of the disaster will engulf all aspects of life,” said Saheel Sakik, head of the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company (GEDCO). Many hospitals have partially stopped working due to power and medical shortages. The Hamas government warned that patients at al-Shifa hospital and Gaza European Hospital, the largest medical facilities in the Strip, could die as the two hospital face closure due to the lack of power.

In relations with the Muslim world and in our joint fight against global terrorism, Obama does have a singular opportunity to signal a new era and send a new message of hope and constructive engagement across the Muslim world.

Barack Obama’s campaign victory was epic-making in America and across the Muslim world. On November 4, as soon as the election was called for Barack Obama, I began to receive congratulatory emails from friends in the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, and Europe. Some had stayed up through the night to hear the final results. Of course, I wasn’t surprised at the global interest and support, which had been evident on recent visits to Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Wherever I spoke, regardless of the topic, someone in the audience would ask me a question about Obama and his prospects. Privately, it was the topic of conversation. So what will all this mean?

In the Muslim world, as in Europe and much of the world, Obama is welcomed as an internationalist president. His Kenyan father, early schooling in Indonesia, race and name, symbolize for many a unique internationalist presidential profile, one that contrasts sharply with his predecessor. Indeed, he is seen as the antithesis of George W. Bush-internationally informed, experienced, aware and sensitive, a measured and articulate statesman-not, as Bush is often regarded, as a swaggering Texas cowboy.

Despite its democratic rhetoric, the Bush administration continued to look the other way in its relations with authoritarian Muslim allies. It refused to accept the election of Hamas. America condemned Hizbullah, but sat on the sidelines as Israel carpet-bombed Lebanon, destroying much of its infrastructure in a war whose victims were overwhelmingly Lebanon’s civilian population. Many Muslims today expect Obama to live up to the principles of self-determination, justice and human rights that they associate with America and break with the Bush administration’s (and for that matter, previous administrations’) double standard in not promoting democracy and human rights in the Middle East.

For majority of Muslims, who admire the West’s freedom, technologies, and rule of law, the major issues are respect for Islam and Muslims and Western, especially American, foreign policies. Many will be looking for an American administration that emphasizes diplomacy and dialogue.

The policies and legacy of the Bush administration have left Barack Obama and his new administration with many formidable political and economic challenges, some seemingly intractable. However, in relations with the Muslim world and in our joint fight against global terrorism, Obama does have a singular opportunity to signal a new era and send a new message of hope and constructive engagement across the Muslim world.

A major survey shows most want to marry their soulmates and enjoy high street fashion, while keeping a delicate balance with their Islamic values.

A thousand British Muslim women have responded to the biggest lifestyle study of Muslim women undertaken in the United Kingdom. It appears to show that Muslim women have established a delicate balance between a desire to live a contemporary lifestyle and tap into consumer trends while simultaneously sticking to values underpinning the Islamic guide to life.

The survey shows that 58 per cent of Muslim women do not think the racial background of a partner matters, although two-thirds believe it is very important for their man to be knowledgeable about Islam.

Success to 37 per cent of women means being a good Muslim, while 32 per cent say it is about combining work with family life, with 52 per cent wanting to run their own businesses.

When asked which Muslim causes were most important, 70 per cent of women said matters affecting Muslims in their own community or in the UK were a priority against 21 per cent who said that the Middle East was the most important issue facing Muslims today.

Egypt’s highest Islamic authority has approved a woman’s right to fight back if her husband uses violence against her.

The declaration by Sheikh Abdel Hamid al-Atrash, who heads Al-Azhar University’s committee for fatwas or religious rulings, comes after similar rulings by clerics in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

“Everyone has the right to defend themselves... all human beings are equal before God,” Atrash said. Domestic violence accounts for 35 per cent of the deaths among Egyptian women each year.

Saudi Sheikh Abdel Mohsen al-Abyakan says a wife should use the “weapon” her husband uses against her. Turkish Sheikh Fathallah Julun says a woman should return two blows for each received.

The editorial and advisory team of the “Voice of Saudi Women” website said the Saudi Telecommunications Authority had blocked its site, saying the action did not fit the authority’s role “as being responsible for providing knowledge and openness to the world.” This action makes the authority just another dark force that stands against anyone who wants to move forward with our homeland,” the group said in a statement published on a different website, Afaq, which means “horizon” in Arabic.

The Voice of Saudi Women website had been functioning until it was blocked.

“This is a national website that monitors the achievements of Saudi women, and focusses on the negative things which hinder women from taking an effective role in our society,” added the statement.

The Kingdom is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive. But some activists are now publicly campaigning for changing the law.

In a report published earlier this year, the Human Rights Watch group said that there are discrimination policies against Saudi women’s basic rights, such as working, traveling, or even having access to healthcare.

Saudi Arabia maintains a strict segregation of the sexes outside the family home, where women are required to always be with their legal guardian.

The Kaaba is to receive a new Kiswa, the specially adorned black silk cloth covering the entire structure on Dhul Hijjah 9. Saleh ibn Abdul Rahman Al-Hosayen, head of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques handed over the new Kiswa to the Kaaba’s senior keeper, Abdul Aziz Al-Shaibi, at the Kiswa factory in Makkah on Nov. 29. The Kaaba is draped in a new Kiswa every year during the Haj. Expert artisans embroider the cloth with gold and silver threads to create calligraphy using the verses from the Qur’an. The Kiswa is made of approximately 670 kilograms of pure white silk, which is later dyed black, and around 150 kilograms of gold and silver. It costs more than SR20 millions and is considered one of the most exquisite works of Islamic art.

The Kiswa is composed of three parts: a Sitaar (curtain) of the Kaaba door, an inner lining curtain inside the Kaaba and a Hizam (the belt). It is manufactured at the Kiswa factory, which is located in Makkah’s Umm Al-Joud suburb. More than 240 people work in the factory. Skilled craftsmen use a combination of the latest technology, ancient looms and artistic calligraphy to produce a work of exotic beauty. The Kiswa consists of 47 pieces of cloth and each piece is 14 meters long and 101 cm broad. The Kiswa is wrapped around the Kaaba and fixed to the ground with copper rings. Because of the spiritual significance of the Kaaba, an official Kiswa factory was established during the reign of King Abdul Aziz in 1926 with Sheikh Abdul Rahman Muzhar as its first manager.

During the time of the Prophet Muhammad(Pbuh), the Kiswa was made of cloth from Yemen; it was changed and renewed twice a year — before Ramadan and during Haj. Later, during the reign of the four caliphs, providing the Kiswa was formally undertaken as a state obligation.

Unlike major European players, Germany remains reluctant to embrace Islamic finance within its legal and tax systems though the globally-thriving industry is already making inroads into its economy.

“The German legal and financial system is not yet geared towards the development of Islamic finance,” said Zaid el-Mogaddedi, president of the Institute for Islamic Banking and Finance in Frankfurt. Despite the impressive strides Islamic finance has achieved in many European countries, particularly Britain, Germany remains wary to adapt its laws to the Shari`ah-compliant industry. “Politicians are very wary,” said Mogaddedi. Officials claim certain Islamic funds are shaky and sometimes lack in transparency.

Germany is home to some 3.2 million Muslims, over half of whom are of Turkish origin.

The American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT) released the results of a poll indicating that almost 90 percent of American Muslim voters picked Barack Obama. That survey of more than 600 American Muslim voters also indicated that just two percent of respondents cast their ballots for Sen. John McCain.