The Muslim World

Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf vowed to empower women and outlaw forced marriages. “A bill is being considered to remove unjust social practices against women and it should be passed by the parliament,” he said. Musharraf was addressing a large gathering of women at the Jinnah Convention Centre recently to commemorate the passing of the Women’s Protection Bill. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Minister for Women’s Development, Sumaira Malik also addressed the gathering of hundreds of women. Unveiling a five-point plan for the empowerment of women, Musharraf urged them to reject those who deny their rights and to vote for moderate forces in the next general election. Musharraf said the government was planning legislation to outlaw forced marriages, including a practice of marrying off women to settle disputes, and to amend unfair inheritance laws. Musharraf reiterated a keen desire to empower women politically and economically so they could play their role in national development. “Our government has brought legislation banning honor killings, and an ordinance issued by me has provided for the release of about 1,300 women from jails,” he said.

Taking a cue from Bangladesh, Pakistan has decided to distribute contraceptives at mosques and also involve clerics in spreading family planning awareness. Pakistan Population Planning Minister, Chaudhry Shahbaz Hussain said that, currently Pakistan’s birth rate was 1.86 per cent, which his ministry wanted to bring it down to 1.3 percent by 2020.


Hussain said that contraceptives of different kinds, medicines and literature, would be made available in mosques. According to him, around 22,000 clerics, including 6,000 women scholars, were being appointed to raise awareness about family planning.


Hussain said that the main reason for the ministry’s failure to control population was that it had no social security service and in old age, parents were dependent upon their children. He said this was the reason for large families. “We have to tell people that they can rely on two well-educated children,” he added.

The Religious Affairs Ministry of Pakistan has formed a sub-committee on moon sighting with the mandate to plan rules and regulations for the Central Ruyat-e-Hilal Committee. “We have formed a sub-committee consisting of religious and professional experts to recommend rules and regulations for the Central Ruyat-e-Hilal Committee,” said Federal Religious Affairs Minister, Ejazul Haq. He said that a meeting held at the ministry tried to evolve consensus on celebrating Eid across the country on the same day.

The first Intern-ational conference titled, “Prophet and School Curriculum’ will be held on May 7th and 8th 2007, in Tehran. The conference, to be organised by the Iranian Ministry of Education, in cooperation with the Research and Islamic Propagation Organization, aims at including Prophet’s characteristics in school curricula, using the Prophet’s life and comparative studies on the ways of introducing the Prophet in school curricula. Those interested, can send their articles with reference to this topic, to the conference secretariat, by January, 20, 2007. Email: prophetsireh@roshd.ir

Muslims in Europe face discrimination in education, employment and housing, and often fall victim to verbal and physical abuses, a monitoring group said in a report released recently. Racial attacks against Muslims in Europe are “under-documented and under-reported” according to the report by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC).”The report makes it clear that Muslims frequently suffer different forms of discrimination which reduce their employment opportunities, and affect their educational achievement,” said Beate Winkler, director of the Vienna-based EUMC. About 13 million Muslims live in the European Union, making up 3.5 percent of the entire EU population, the EUMC report said. The report, titled, “Muslims in the European Union: Discrimination and Islamophobia”, is the first to cover Muslims across the European Union. The study also found that European Muslims were “over-represented in low-paying sectors of the economy,” living in poor housing conditions, with below-average education leading to low-qualified jobs or unemployment.

An international conference on the Personality of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), called on the Western world to deepen its understanding of the universal message of the Prophet of Islam. “This issue is very important in the contemporary world and it is universal. The Prophet addresses the whole universe,” Iran’s Ambassador to Germany, Mohammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh said in his opening address at the conference. Several foreign diplomats, international scholars and researchers attended the conference, organised by the Cultural Department of Iranian Embassy. A leading German scholar told the conference that the West has “always had its difficulties with Islam.” “Most of the causes are to be found in the West,” said Peter Heine of Berlin’s Humboldt University. He pointed out that there had been positive reactions to Islam in the West, dating back to the early 19th century when Germany’s most famous poet Johann-Wolfgang Goethe called for a “real dialogue” in his writings. “Goethe condemned articles which were critical of Islam,” added Heine. Goethe hailed Prophet Muhammad’s teachings in his poetry, showing his “fundamental respect for Islam”.

The postures used during the Islamic prayer (Salat) have significant health benefits, according to a new study carried out by a top Malaysian university. Prelim-inary findings of a research project, prepared by University Malaya’s bio-medical engine-ering department, showed that the positions taken by Muslims during their prayers benefit the heart and spine. Malaysian Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, said the research reaffirmed the power of prayer in every Muslim’s life. “The study investigates the physiological interactions and effects of the Salat postures on the human body,” said Abdullah.

Wrapping up the Second Conference here recently, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Environment Ministers decided to establish an environment institution and an Islamic media information network specialised in the environment. They also drew up a twelve-point plan. The conference approved the setting up of the Executive Islamic Environment Office and the Islamic Network for the Environment. It also approved a program to cope with natural disasters.


The proposed environment institution would deal with political strategies and frame policies for the protection of environment. The office would also be responsible for following up on activities, initiatives and decisions approved by the Rabat-based Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO). Prince Turki ibn Nasser, chief of the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment Protection (MEPA), would head this institution. ISESCO Director General, Dr. Abdul Aziz Othman Al Tuwaijri presented the framework for the so-called Prevention from Danger of Natural Disasters Program. The two-day event was organised by the General Presidency of Meteorology and Environment Protection (MEPA) in collaboration with the Rabat-based Islamic Organization for Education, Science and Culture. Environment ministers from 57 Islamic countries or their representatives as well as a large number of scientists and experts, regional and international organisations working in the field of environment and sustainable development took part in the conference.

The World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) has extended 828 scholarships to students in a number of Muslim countries for continuing their higher studies in universities, according to Dr. Abdul Wahab Noor Wali, assistant secretary general of WAMY. He said that students from 42 countries were benefited from WAMY scholarships. Among these students, 12 male and female students are doing their doctoral degrees, while another 22 are studying for post-graduation courses. The majority of 794 students are doing bachelor degrees, Noor Wali added.

The Kingdom will spend over SR32 billion ($8.6 billion) on research and development as part of its 20-year National Science and Technology Plan, according to.


Al-Athel, president of King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Al-Athel said the government would install in the near future the so-called “technology incubators” at five Saudi universities as part of its program to promote applied research in the Kingdom. Buildings for the project, costing SR15 million each, will be established at King Saud University (Riyadh), King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (Dhahran), King Faisal University (Dammam), King Abdul Aziz University (Jeddah) and King Khaled University (Abha). These incubators will be acquired as part of KACST’s National Science and Technology Plan to promote scientific research in the Kingdom with the collaboration of the private sector. The research project, in its initial stage, will be conducted at the academic level by researchers, for which funding will come from the private sector.

As part of efforts to preserve the Islamic heritage and antiquities in the holy city of Madinah, Crown Prince Sultan has instructed the authorities to stop demolition works on the historic Salae Mountain, located northwest of the Prophet’s (Pbuh) Mosque.


The crown prince has also ordered the formation of a committee to study the present condition of the mountain and expropriate real estate properties near the mountain to complete the ring road surrounding it. Prince Sultan instructed authorities to restore the centuries-old, Osaifreen Mountain in Madinah. “Salae and Osaifreen mountains are great historic sites as they have witnessed a number of important Islamic events,” the governor said, adding that a number of tourism projects would be established at the historical sites in the near future. The historic Khandaq Battle took place near Salae Mountain in the fifth year of Hijrah. The commander of the Muslim force took position on top of the mountain where Prophet Muhammad and many of his companions had their camps.


Prince Sultan stopped demolition of the historic site in response to the demand of people living in the area who wanted to preserve the location.

The foundation-stone for the National Museum Project in Muscat was laid recently in a ceremony held under the auspices of Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, minister of heritage and culture. Sayyid Haitham said the National Museum Project in Muscat would be a distinguished civilisational and cultural landmark which introduces Muscat identity, the capital of Omani history and heritage. “Museums are carriers for civilisations and highlight people’s identity and Oman has deep-rooted and ancient history over the ages. The museum will include a number of pavilions and sections, which tell about Oman’s past ancient history and its Islamic role, particularly that the Sultanate is rich in Islamic cultural treasures and heritage,” he said..


Haitham pointed out that the museum, whose construction will take four years, will include pavilions to exchange exhibits with other countries and will be of tourist attraction. Jaspir Jacob, consultant of the project, said “Omani heritage style is taken into consideration when designing the museum.”

Muslim countries urgently need to agree on a common standard for halal products to capitalise on a growing industry already worth $2.1 trillion globally, said Malaysian officials. The chief executive of the government’s newly formed Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC), Jamil Bidin, said achieving one standard was “critical” to the industry and for multinational companies trying to cater to Muslim consumers. “It will be much easier, because we have been getting a lot of enquiries,” he said. Jamil said halal standards varied between Muslim nations such as Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Iran. Differences of religious interpretation confused companies and forced them to seek halal certification for products in several countries, he added. Applying halal standards stretches beyond food to include products such as cosmetics, which may contain animal-derived ingredients, and conditions under which products are prepared and stored.

Varied spelling of the name of Prophet Muhammad ( Pbuh), are ascending the charts of favoured baby names in Britain. “Muhammed rose one place to number 22,” according to a survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) of the favoued top 50 boys’ and girls’ names picked by parents in England and Wales in 2006. “New boys in the top 50 are Muhammad which climbed 12 places to number 44,” the survey added.


In 2006, 2,833 new babies were named Mohammed and 1,422 were given the name Muhammad. The total exceeds the number of Georges (3,386) and Josephs (3,755).


There were 3,732 boys given the name Muhammed or one of its seven other variants in 2000. Britain is home to a sizable Muslim minority of nearly 1.8 million, with 1.1 million over 18. The rise of Muhammed as a name is linked to continued immigration from Pakistan and Bangladesh. There were also waves of new arrivals from Muslim countries or countries with high Muslim populations in the Middle East and Africa. The increasing popularity of the name may also reflect deepening loyalty among British Muslims to their faith.

Hartford Semi-nary in U.S.A will receive a gift of $2 million from a Muslim community in Turkey to advance the study of contemporary Islam, reports courant.com.


This is the largest gift from the Muslim community in the history of Hartford Seminary, said David S. Barrett, director of public and institutional affairs at the seminary.


The donation, announced by the seminary will be used to fund a faculty chair bearing the title of professor of contemporary Islamic studies. The donor, Ali Bayram, a Turkish scholar and representative of the Muslim community made up of followers of Turkish theologian and religious leader Fethullah Gulen, said he hopes the chair will help in the understanding of contemporary Islam. “For many unfortunate reasons, Islam has been greatly misunderstood, “Bayram stated in a release issued by the seminary. “Neutral scholarly knowledge on Islam is missing from the discussion and not highlighted.” A key aspect of the gift is that, in accordance with Islamic principles, it will not be invested in companies or funds that are based on the sale or promotion of alcohol, gambling or tobacco. Hartford Seminary houses the Macdonald Center for the study of Islam and Christian -Muslim relations. The chair will be housed in the Macdonald Center to enhance its program.