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The preliminary results of a worldwide survey of Muslim countries says most Muslims condemn terrorism and extremism. The Gallup organisation released the results during a news conference in Washington recently.


The Gallup polling organisation released the first round of findings based on a worldwide survey of Muslims from countries ranging from North Africa to the Middle East, to South-east Asia. The data shows a generally unfavourable view of the United States and Britain, as well as a distrust of American intentions to establish democracy in the Middle East and South Asia.


Georgetown University Religion and International Affairs Professor, John Esposito says the results indicate a deepening gulf between Muslim countries and the West. “At times it looks like we do have a clash of cultures or certainly a clash of cultures that is looming very close to us. Anti-Americanism remains very strong and in some areas is growing. Terrorism is growing. In the West we see an increase in negative attitudes towards Islam and Muslims, both in America and Europe,” he said.


The executive director of Muslim Studies for Gallup, Dalia Mogahed, says the survey also shows a strong majority of those polled in Islamic countries oppose terrorist attacks on civilians.


Mogahed says the results of the Gallup survey show that technology and political freedom are the most admired aspects of life in the West. The survey indicates a majority of Muslims want a system of government that combines democracy and their Islamic faith.

The world’s first automatic wudu (ablution) and drying machine will be available soon, with an impressive efficiency of water and time. “We are in the process of a concluding agreement to distribute Auto Wudu’ Washers (AWWs) to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain,” said Anthony Gomez, inventor and designer of the new infrared-operating machines. He said he has received so far, 600 requests from all over the Muslim world to buy AWWs. The AWWs is made of a purpose built ear, mouth and facial washer unit, a forearm and elbow washing unit and a foot and ankle washing unit all of which are incorporated in a single system. Gomez, the Chairman and Managing Director of Australian AACE Worldwide PTY Ltd. Company, said no price has been fixed yet for the machine, but it would be “affordable.” “It will not be only for the well-off, but for everybody as we are trying to make it affordable as possible,” said Gomez, an Australian citizen of Malaysian origin. Gomez, whose company is specialised in manufacturing aircraft compo-nents, said the new machine is fully computerized. “You don’t have to touch any tap, but it is operated by infrared sensors based on Australian techno-logy,” he explained, adding that the assembly line is based in Malaysia.


“In the next stage, we are going to produce a domestic AWW, which will be like a huge refrigerator,” he said.


Gomez said he first had the idea of manufacturing AWWs when he was on a ferry journey from Egypt’s Taba to Jordan’s Aqaba. “It all started when our team was contracted to supply cockpit doors to an Egyptian airline in Taba,” Gomez said.


He said they decided to visit Aqaba after having the job done, but they missed a fast ferry and had to take the slow one carrying Muslim pilgrims going to Makkah to perform ‘Umrah. “The toilet was dirty and very crowded,” he said, “and many pilgrims were performing their ablutions putting their legs in the wash basin and then stand on the dirty floor, which is not hygienic at all.”


Gomez said when he went back to Australia, he decided to produce a sophisticated wudu machine based on state-of-the-art technology to ensure water and time efficiency.


“Makkah and Madina are often very crowded, and imagine up to two million people doing the wudu, it’s very difficult”, he noted.


Gomez said that he consulted the Islamic Council of Australia first before going ahead with his innovation. “The Islamic Council of Australia has issued a fatwa approving the new machine,” he said. Commenting on Gomez’s invention, prominent Egyptian scholar Sheikh `Abdul-Khaliq Hasan Ash-Shareef said he sees nothing wrong in using the AWW as long as the basic pillars and requirements of ablution are strictly observed in a right and precise way.

(Reported by Ahmad Maher and Sayed Amin, islamonline. net)