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Israel plans to build more than 6000 homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank this year.The reported settlement expansion project of the Israel Lands Administration (ILA), a government agency, would coincide with Israel’s plan to pull out of the Gaza Strip this summer and defy US calls for a freeze in “settlement activity”.


The US-backed “road map” requires a halt to settlement building on land Israel captured in 1967 and where Palestinians want statehood. Palestinians are worried that Israel wants to quit Gaza only to annex areas around more populous West Bank settlement blocks.


Settlements built on occupied Palestinian lands are deemed illegal under international law. But Israel disputes this. The Yediot Ahronoth Daily reported that the ILA’s working plan for 2005, calls for 6391 homes to be built in existing West Bank settlements. The newspaper said Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz had given the go-ahead for the marketing of the housing projects. In addition, Yediot Ahronoth said the government planned to “legitimise” 120 unauthorised settlement outposts in the West Bank that it has promised the United States to dismantle. Palestinian chief negotiator Saib Urayqat urged US President George Bush to press Israel “to make sure such a plan is not implemented and that his call for a freeze in all settlement activity is implemented”.


Yediot Ahronoth said a third of the new Israeli homes planned this year in the West Bank would be built just outside Jerusalem in Maale Adumim, Israel’s largest settlement, which has a population of 30,000.

The failure on the part of governments to cooperate has led to a sharp decline in trade among the Muslim world, said Aqeel Al Jasem, Secretary-General of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry.


“The enormous potential of the Muslim world has not yet been properly harnessed,” said Aqeel Al Jasem, adding that this failure to harness Muslim potential is rooted in “a lack of clear policies from institutions operating within the ambit of the Organisation of Islamic Conference, a lack of modern technology and a lack of political will, among other things”. “In addition, a large portion of the wealth generated in the Muslim world is not even invested in Muslim countries,” he said.


Islamic countries have “an obligation to come together and replace these weaknesses and dependencies with economic strength and unity,” he said. Al Jasem made his remarks during the opening ceremony of the tenth Islamic Trade Fair and the 11th Private Sector Meeting for the Promotion of Trade and Joint Venture Investment among Islamic Countries.

Every Friday at a penthouse hall above the Dag Hammarskjold Library at UN headquarters in New York, one can hear the Adhan. Muslim UN staff members and delegates can be seen arriving at the penthouse hall to offer Friday prayers. The arrangements have been made specifically for Muslims affiliated with the United Nations, who wish to offer Friday prayers. The weekly arrangements for Friday prayers at the United Nations are under the auspices of the Islamic Cultural Society of the United Nations, whose President Yehia Abu Alam of Egypt, holds the position of technical adviser at the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs. He said those offering prayers at the United Nations include all nationalities. Women offer prayers at the same time and in the congregation as men.

Bahrain has broken a new record for the world’s largest candle during the Ashura procession. The 3,000kg, 73-metre candle was made by the Hussaini Painting Society to stress Islam’s message of peace. Thousands of people, including officials from the Guinness Book of Records, witnessed the lighting up of the horizontally-laid 3,000-kilogram candle. The public took turns to light up the candle’s 14,000 wicks.


“The project is aimed to send a message of peace to the whole world, stressing that Islam is not a religion of violence. It is a religion of peace, tolerance and fraternity,” said society president Abdul Nabi Al Hamer. The project cost the society less than $1,000 (Dh3,680) as most of the candles have been contributed by the public, he said.

A 104-year-old Saudi in Madinah, Mohammed Awwad, has turned the table on the municipal election commission which states that the voter should not be under 21 and over 100 years. He sprang a surprise on the poll officials at the election center No. 440 in Abdul-Aziz Al-Rabe’e secondary school when Awwad showed up there to register himself as a voter. Besides, the computer was refusing to record his name as he was above 100 years old. The technical group insisted on changing the entire program to enable the computer to record all voters above 21 years without an upper age limit. Meanwhile in Jeddah, 101-year-old Ahmad Al-Garni has registered himself as a voter in the forthcoming elections. The chief of the election center No. 475 north of Jeddah said Al-Garni was keen to participate in the poll which he saw as his national duty. Moreover, Al-Garni encourages the youth to participate in the balloting in order to serve their country. He also said that he intends to get married although he is too old “so that my children and grand children will participate in the service of the country.”

Since the release of photos in April 2004 of detainees being tortured by U.S. troops at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, international human rights groups have criticized what they say is the Bush administration’s inadequate response to evidence of torture at U.S.-run prisons abroad. At recent meetings of the board of Human Rights Watch, there has been “a lot of unhappiness” about the Pentagon’s refusal to submit to scrutiny, said Khaled Abou el Fadl, a UCLA law professor and a member of the board of Human Rights Watch. Also a presidential appointee to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and a scholar of Islamic law, Abou el Fadl said human rights organizations are frustrated by the administration’s insistence on investigating allegations of torture by U.S. soldiers internally. Human rights groups allege that the use of torture by U.S. interrogators was widespread at the detention centers in Guantánamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and others. And new allegations of abuse continue to surface. In the face of widespread allegations of torture, international organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say the Bush administration has been unwilling to take the necessary steps to stop it.

A project has been launched in Hail city, in Saudi Arabia, which seeks to facilitate the marriage of physically disabled girls, through giving special privileges, such as ownership by the girl of real estate, which could only be sold after her death, by her heirs. The apartment would be furnished anew, while the husband would be provided with useful employment, if he doesn’t have a job already, so that he is able to meet the domestic commitments. The scheme would not only confine itself to the marriage of disabled girls to disabled men, but would also seek to join them to able-bodied men, after all she has the same feelings, emotions, and desires just like any other girl.

A multi-party group of European legislators submitted a written declaration on religious freedom to the European Parliament. The United Sikh organisation in the UK also contacted the London-based Assembly for the Protection of Hijab to join the drive which seeks a European Parliament resolution against banning religious symbols. The Written Declaration on Freedom of Religious Expression maintains that a ban on the Christian cross, Jewish skullcap, Muslim hijab and Sikh turban is an infringement of human rights, in particular Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.


The written declaration is co-sponsored by the Assembly for the Protection of Hijab, which was founded in 2004 in response to a growing anti-hijab campaign worldwide.

Saudi Intelligence chief Prince Nawaf has resigned his post. He is now being appointed special advisor. He was also a minister earlier. Now 70, he is a step-brother of King Fahad. He said he is leaving the post on his volition.

Recipients of the Aga Khan Award, 2004, the world’s largest architectural cash prize, were named recently.. Of the 378 projects presented for consideration, outside experts reviewed 23 on site. An independent Master Jury selected seven Award recipients that are notable for having attained the highest international standards of architectural excellence while reflecting the values of the primarily Muslim societies the projects are intended to serve. The 2004 Awards, marks the completion of theninth cycle of the programme, which has a triennial prize fund of $500,000, the world’s largest architectural award.


The seven projects selected by the 2004 Award Master Jury are:


Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt Primary School, Gando, Burkina Faso Sandbag Shelter Prototypes, various locations Restoration of Al-Abbas Mosque, Asnaf, Yemen Old City of Jerusalem Revitalisation Programme, Jerusalem B2 House, Ayvacik, Turkey Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia


Two of the projects - Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt and the Petronas Towers in Malaysia - are the results of important international architectural competitions for high-profile landmark buildings.


A third project - the Sandbag Shelter Prototypes- is an experiment for self-built housing that employs earth-filled sandbags stacked atop each other to form domed and vaulted spaces.


The provision of housing is an important aspect of the Old City of Jerusalem Revitalization Programme that also includes components for the restoration of historic monuments and for the creation of public and community facilities, schools, and playgrounds.


The Primary School in Gando, Burkina Faso, goes far beyond its educational program to exemplify high-calibre architectural design employing locally available materials and techniques, training, and community participation and empowerment.


B2 House, located in a small village on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, extends architectural design to a poetic level, establishing dialogue between nature and building, inside and outside, and public and private.


The Restoration of Al-Abbas Mosque in Yemen represents attainment of the highest standards of restoration and conservation while, at the same time, investigating the nature and contemporary importance of a sacred site.


The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established by the Aga Khan in 1977 to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Islamic societies.

The Dubai Radio Network (DRN) will soon launch a radio station dedicated to Islam for English language speakers. The idea of launching an English language radio station dedicated to Islam has been in DRN’s agenda,” said Abdul Latif Al Sayegh, Chief Executive of DRN. “We are just in the process of finalizing the format of the station and hopefully we will be able to kick off the Islamic channel within a few months.


“The station will cater to both Muslims and non-Muslims. There has always been a demand for such a radio station. An English language Islamic radio station is important because it helps to remove the misconceptions about Islam that are being spread by some foreign media organizations. Such a station is the need of the hour. It helps to open dialogue between Islam and different religions.

Poverty exists in many parts of the Saudi Kingdom, often as a result of unemployment, a nationwide survey has revealed. The survey which was conducted by Prince Abdullah Foundation for Housing also revealed a growing crime rate in some parts of the country, especially in Al-Laith and Yalamlem (south of Jeddah).


Stealing sheep is rampant in Adham and Jaiza, villages of Al-Laith, while Yalamlem is notorious for drug-related crimes. Drug abuse and smuggling are also on the increase in Haqel, close to the Kingdom’s northern border. Housing conditions in Qunfudha, a town on the Red Sea south of Jeddah, are generally very poor. In some areas of the town, as many as 10 people live in a single room. Officials who conducted the survey blamed unemployment and inadequate social security allowances for the poverty. The officials noted a lack of infrastructure utility services - such as electricity, water, schools and roads, in Asfan near Jeddah Despite its large industrial zone, many people in Yanbu suffer from unemployment and poverty, the survey found. There are also dilapidated buildings and badly-maintained houses in Al-Wajh in the Tabuk region. The survey found that poverty was rampant in bedouin areas of Al-Baha which lacks roads linking many of its villages. The Prince Abdullah Foundation, a charity established by the crown prince, has embarked on a project to build emergency housing units for the poor in six villages on the Kingdom’s western and eastern coasts.

A new strategy drafted by the consultative Shoura Council in Saudi Arabia gives top priority to women’s employment. It calls for restructuring women’s higher education in line with job market requirements. The strategy, prepared by a team of experts calls for the expansion of education, training and jobs for Saudi women “in a way that suits her nature and does not violate Shariah.”


It calls for the expansion of women’s technical education and vocational training and facilitating women’s jobs in all areas. It also urges the Manpower Development Fund to include women in its training and employment programs. The strategy insists that jobs in government departments dealing with women be restricted to Saudi women. Public bodies and agencies extending services related to women should also have women’s units.