ISLAM IN THE WEST

Number of mosques in France has gone up from 1,000 to 2,000 in past decade.
According to Mohammed Moussaoui, the president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith, 100-150 mosques are currently being built in France. Moussaoui said that most are financed by the worshipers and very few from abroad. French Interior Minister, Claude Guéant, has said that in the past decade the number of mosques increased from 1,000 to 2,000 in the French territory.
According to Moussaoui, 17-23% of French Muslims go to Friday prayers, which he says distinguishes between the practising and non-practising Muslims. He repeated that prayers in the streets were outrageous, but stemmed from lack of places in mosques. Guéant wants to stop Friday prayers in the streets. According to a senior official, there are 17 mosques in Paris, all filled up, and they can’t accommodate more than 13,000 people, which is insufficient.

French survey says there are more practicing Muslims now in France

French newspaper La Croix has released survey data that suggests that there are more practicing Muslims in France than 20 years ago. An IFOP poll shows that 71% France’s Muslims intend to fast for the entire month of Ramadan. The survey suggests that the intention to participate in Ramadan has increased strongly, rising by 10 points since 1989, the date of the first French survey. Fasting is especially prevalent among the 18-24 age group, which also scores highly for visits to places of worship. The picture of the French Muslim population that emerges from the survey is of a “young” (62% are aged under 35) and traditionally left-leaning community. According to the deputy director of the polling agency IFOP, this political bias has been boosted by the recent government sponsored debate on French identity, which alienated many Muslims.

French researcher Professor Vincent Geisser has said that terrorism attacks in Europe are a result of the climate against Muslims. Geisser, who said that Europe expresses its societal ills through Islamophobia, warned that there is a risk that Norwegian-like individual acts against Islam might become widespread in Europe. According to Geisser, professor at the Aix Political Sciences Institute of France, populist right-wing politicians like French President Nicolas Sarkozy also has a role in legitimization of anti-Islam rhetoric.

A dentist in the Hague is opening his clinic at night during the month of Ramadan to serve patients unable to attend his practice during the day. Fasting, including refraining from swallowing saliva, during daylight hours prevents some Muslims from attending the dentist. After speaking with a local Imam Peter Thiel decided to open his clinic after sunset, and he accepts emergency cases all night.

A new Islamic investment bank to open next year in Bahrain is planning to raise $100 billion in its first 10 years to fund projects in Muslim countries and challenge the top underwriters in the sukuk market.
The lender, scheduled to begin operations in January, will start with $10bn of capital and help provide financing for “profitable” ventures among the 57 member nations of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Abdulmohsen Linjawi, general manager of the Business Owners Union, an OIC unit, said.
The lack of institutions within the $1 trillion Islamic finance industry capable of handling large deals that conform to the religion’s ban on interest spurred Malaysia to announce last month it will issue a license to Asia’s first Sharia-compliant “mega” bank.
Offerings of Islamic bonds, known as sukuk, more than doubled this year to $16.8bn, and the debt has returned 6.7 % in 2011, compared with 6.4 % on other developing-country bonds, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co’s Global Emerging Markets Bond index.
During the lifetime of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, Delhi saw the reign of seven kings. Emperor Alauddin Khilji wished that Hazrat Nizamuddin visit him and help him in running the kingdom. But Hazrat refused to see him. On another occasion, the King sent a message to Hazrat about his visit to him in his shrine. At this Hazrat said: if the King is coming, he will leave Delhi and go away. Alauddin’s son Qutubuddin succeeded his father on his death and he too started troubling Hazrat. While retuning from one of his conquests of Bengal, Qutubuddin ordered Nizamuddin to leave Delhi before his arrival. Hearing this Hazrat Nizamuddin said: Hanooz Dilli door ast (Delhi is still far off). The King died before reaching Delhi. These words became so popular that even today they are uttered when people want to express remote possibility of something happening.

Mustafa Bakkach El Aamrani, founder and president of Spain’s Renaissance and Union Party (PRUNE) has died. The PRUNE was legalized in July 2009 and is the first Islam-orientated political party in Spain.