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The film ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ produced by Ridley Scott and released here in the first week of May has generated a good deal of debate in the United Kingdom. Some critics have found it unduly favourable towards Muslims while tarring the image of Christians. They have accused the producers of portraying the Christians as ignorant and uncouth. Prof. Royal Smith, an expert in the history of Crusades and a history teacher at the Cambridge University feels that the film would encourage the Muslim extremists and presents a version of history that would suit people like Osama bin Laden.


The film ends on the re-conquest of Jerusalem by the Muslims in 1187 AD under the leadership of Salahuddin Ayyubi. The fact that the two rivals appreciate the strong points of the adversaries and seem agreeable to negotiations has not found much appreciation by all critics. Mr. Jonathan Jones, film critic at The Guardian has lauded the film and says when he probed certain aspects of the film after watching it, he found the accounts credible. He has particularly been appreciative of the fact that a character known as Balian had averted enough blood-letting on the eve of the re-conquest at the hands of the Muslim commander Salahuddin Ayyubi.


He said history bears witness that while lot of Muslim blood was spilt when the Xian forces took over Jerusalem around 1100 AD, Salahuddin (remembered as Saladin in Western history) wrested the Holy City without any bloodshed. He said he allowed Christian population to evacuate the city before re-conquest and avoided wrecking vengeance. Jones said the film greatly assuages the feeling of hurt in the Western hemisphere in the wake of September 11 attack on New York and is a lesson in tolerance

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The film is being titled as “The Crusades” in the United States.


Ridley Scott has dismissed the criticism against the film and has said that much heartburn against the film is owing to the fact that Christians have been shown being defeated at the hands of the Muslim forces. He said ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ does not have any political message. It only depicts the history. But sometimes it does help or hinder political interests. He said his film ‘Black Hawk down’ was released immediately after production in United States because the authorities felt it would greatly boost the ‘War on terror’ in Afghanistan. But the same circles were worried now as ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ fosters a favourable image of Muslims and Islam.


Crusades were the battles fought between Islamic forces of the Middle East and the Christian forces from several European countries under a joint command around 12th century with Jerusalem being the chief bone of contention.

In one of the biggest e-projects in the Muslim world, Al-Azhar has launched a long-awaited Web site featuring digital copies of its huge and rare library. (www.alazharonline.org).


“The project enables Internet users worldwide to have access to the 42,000 manuscripts and 1,28,000 books of Al-Azhar’s library, Egypt’s second biggest library after the Bibliotheca Alexandrina,” said Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Mohamed Sayyid Tantawi. The five-million-dollar project offers digital translations in different languages of Al-Azhar’s manuscripts, some dating back 1400 years, in tandem with Al-Azhar’s Faculty of Languages and Translation. Dr. Abdullah Al-Karam, the Executive Director of the Dubai Knowledge Village and Manager of the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Information Technology Education Project, said the digital library is the biggest scanning project worldwide. “The Website will be the gateway for people from across the globe to learn more about the Islamic heritage and civilization. Al-Azhar has recently revealed plans to launch a satellite channel to counter anti-Islam onslaughts and highlight the true essence of Islam as a religion of peace and tolerance.

In a move to protect endangered animal and plant species, Saudi Arabia has stepped up its conservation efforts, and plans to set up 16 wildlife protection areas. The move will ensure conservation of the rich biological diversity of the Kingdom - an arid country that is home to 450 bird species, 2,250 plants and a number of endangered species. “The National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD), chaired by Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defence and aviation, is currently investigating some candidate sites for establishing protected areas,” said Dr. Abdul Aziz Abuzinada, the commission’s secretary-general. Saudi Arabia has also the largest fenced protected area at Mahzat Al-Sayd in Taif, which is home for several endangered species. NCWCD has set up the Saudi Wildlife Fund (SWF) to raise money to meet shortfalls in the allocations for implementing environmental projects.

Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan has been appointed the Chancellor of University of Bradford. Vice Chancellor Chris Taylor has welcomed the appointment and hoped that it would strengthen the bonds between UK and South Asia.


It may be recalled that Bradford has a large number of people from the Indo-Pak subcontinent. Imran was born in 1952 and was taken into Pakistani team in 1970. He was educated at Oxford University and was a classmate of former Pak PM Benazir Bhutto.

Saudi Arabia has ratified the world’s first tobacco control treaty, which came into effect in February this year, becoming the 65th country to ratify the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Dr. Abdullah Mohammed Al-Bedah, supervisor of the anti-smoking campaign at the Ministry of Health, said that the Kingdom has deposited the ratification document at the United Nations. The ratifying nations will impose a ban on tobacco advertising, place graphic health warnings on cigarette packets, take measures to protect non-smokers from second-hand smoke, increase the cost of tobacco products and make efforts to stop tobacco smuggling.


The ratification of the treaty is significant as Saudi men and women consume 15 billion cigarettes worth SR633 million annually, according to a report released by the executive office of the GCC Health Ministers Council. Saudi Arabia is the world’s fourth largest importer of cigarettes, it added.

Renowned journalist, Riz Khan, will host one of the world’s most interactive interview shows for Al Jazeera International - the new 24-hour, English-language news and current affairs channel, which is to go on air from early 2006.


Khan’s new show, ‘Live Daily from Washington DC’, will feature world leaders, newsmakers and celebrities in a question and answer format led by viewer’s participation.


The managing director of the Al Jazeera International, Nigel Parsons, made the announcement as part of the on-going development of what he called, “The most exciting television news and current affairs project in decades - one which will revolutionise the global news industry by offering viewers across the world a fresh perspective on news.”


After an extensive journalistic career at the BBC, Khan helped to launch BBC World Service Television News in 1991, hosting the very first show as the channel went on air.


He was then head-hunted by CNN in 1993, where he became a senior anchor and launched his world renowned, interactive “Q&A” format.

Syrian first lady Asma Assad opened the country’s first international women’s business conference with a message on the importance of reforms, education and transparency for building a stronger economic market for Syria and opportunities for women. “We need to see more far-reaching political and institutional reforms,” Assad told a crowd of more than 1,000 at the Omayyad Conference Palace just outside Damascus. The two-day conference was organised by Women in Business International with the cooperation of the British-Syrian Society and Modernizing and Activating Women’s Role in Economic Development (MAWRED) - a Syrian non-profit women’s organization. Women in Business International, a non-profit organization aims to build networks and partnerships between Arab businesswomen in the U.K. and the Arab world, develop skills and promote investment in Syria and other Arab countries.

The Lahore High Court has ruled that one could not be punished under Hudood Ordinance for adultery on the basis of DNA test result. The High Court recently ruled that charges of adultery require four eye witnesses. A Pakistani resident in the US, Syed Imtiyaz Ali had filed a case against his wife and another person known as Azhar that they had illicit relations during his absence from the country which resulted in the birth of a girl-child. He said that a DNA test of the new born in the US revealed that it did not match with his DNA leading to the conclusion that the new-born was not his child.


Based on the result, he filed a case against his wife and her paramour in Pakistan. Later a DNA test of the new born and the accused Azhar in Pakistan revealed she was the child of Azhar. However Azhar pleaded that DNA test could not be conclusive proof of adultery. The court observed that while the DNA test could be proof of parenthood of a child, it could not be a proof for establishing adultery. It said under the Islamic Law, four eye-witnesses were necessary to prove commission of adultery. It further said, the four eye-witnesses should come before the court to depose as witnesses and should qualify for their witnesses to be accepted under the Islamic law.

A humble-looking man in his 20s sits in his studio with a mask covering his mouth and a spray can in his hand as he begins to cover a canvas with different colours.


The shades merge, and in the midst are beautiful letters in Arabic spelling a single word - salam, which means peace. Mohammed Ali is no ordinary artist. For the 26-year-old from Birmingham, United Kingdom, art is a fusion of ancient Islamic script mixed with a modern edge, adding appeal to a younger generation of art lovers. Ali also has a message. “Spreading salam is a powerful, strong message. I choose words that inspire me but keep the art form as graffiti,” he said. He chooses words such as dhikr (remembrance), sabr (patience) and ilm (knowledge) – words he says have a universal meaning regardless of race and religion. “These are negative times for Muslims, so we should use all platforms - art is a universal means of communication; we need to create bridges between cultures and religions.

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