By Rafia Zakaria dawn.com New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, center, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, fourth from left, and members of local religious institutions stand in front of the Statue of Liberty for a news conference in New York, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2010. The political and religious leaders were there to show their support for a mosque and Islamic cultural center planned in lower Manhattan. – Photo by AP. On Aug 3, 2010, the Landmarks Preservation Commission of the City of New York voted unanimously against allowing historic protection status to a building at 45-47 Park Place in Lower … Continue reading Fear, faith and 9/11

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, executive director of the Cordoba Initiative, addresses a gathering as groups planning a proposed mosque and cultural center near Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan to be named Cordoba House showed and spoke about their plans for the center at a community board meeting in New York . Imam Rauf will be heading to the Middle East soon as a special state-sponsored trip by the United States. – AP Photo WASHINGTON: The imam behind controversial plans for a mosque near the site of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks is being sent by the State Department on … Continue reading US govt sending ground zero mosque imam to Mideast

By Mahir Ali dawn.com There is anecdotal evidence that Jinnah, when faced with the consequences of his separatism, was both appalled and contrite. He may well have realised before he died that his ideal of a secular Muslim-majority state was no more than a chimera. – File Photo. “I have considered from every possible point of view the scheme of Pakistan as formulated by the Muslim League,” Maulana Abul Kalam Azad proclaimed in a crucial statement issued some 16 months before India was partitioned in August 1947. “As an Indian, I have examined its implications for the future of India as … Continue reading The burden of history

In this photograph, an Indian Zoroastrian or Parsi woman walks by figures of ‘knights’ at a fire temple after offering prayers on Parsi New Year ‘Navroze’ in Mumbai. Zoroastrians, who follow the prophet Zarathustra and worship Ahura Maza as the creator of the universe, fled persecution in ancient Iran and arrived in India in the 10th century. – AFP Photo Sci-Tech Scientists find new superbug spreading from India Scientists find new superbug spreading from India MUMBAI: High in the hills of western India, Homi Dhalla looks around the Bharot Caves complex, pointing out the cracked and crumbling stone in the … Continue reading Racing against time to preserve India’s Parsi past

The four-faced clock, atop the Abraj Al-Bait Towers, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia stands over the holy Kabaa. -AP Photo Media Gallery Preparations for the Holy month Preparations for the Holy month RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will test what it is billing as the world’s largest clock in the holy city of Mecca during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, the official news agency reported Tuesday. The four-faced clock tower will top a massive skyscraper that when completed will be around 1,970 feet (600 meters) tall, the second tallest in the world after Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. The clock will dwarf London’s Big … Continue reading Saudi to test giant clock in Mecca during Ramadan

This article is from the http://www.saudiwoman.wordpress.com site which I have just read up on – please check on this link for more superb articles and help spread the site. The man of the hour Great controversy is brewing in Saudi Arabia and it all starts and ends with Sheikh Ahmed Al Ghamdi. Al Ghamdi is a 47 year old PhD holder in administration and strategical planning and also has spent 15 years studying Islam. The whole issue began when Okaz Newspaper published a lengthy article last December written by Sheikh al Ghamdi in which he proclaimed that there is no such … Continue reading Sheikh Ahmed Al Ghamdi – The man of the hour

This article is from the http://www.saudiwoman.wordpress.com site which I have just read up on – please check on this link for more superb articles and help spread the site. The Origins of Saudi-American Relations My father just finished his book. It’s published by the Arab Scientific Publishers and this is what it’s about: It’s a real labour of love. As he had spent extensive time at the Public British Records in London, The National Archives in Washington D.C. and King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives in Riyadh. He brings a unique perspective to the table, with an American PhD degree … Continue reading Origins of Saudi-American Relations

This article is from the http://www.saudiwoman.wordpress.com site which I have just read up on – please check on this link for more superb articles and help spread the site. Since the passing away of the two major sheikhs of Sunni Islam in Saudi Arabia, Shiekh Bin Othaimeen and Sheikh Bin Baz, no one has been able to take their place. Their extremely conservative interpretation of Islam has gone unquestioned throughout the 1990s and until now. They were the ones that issued the religious decree that women should be banned from driving cars. They also prohibited women from several things; showing … Continue reading Saudi disillusionment with the religious establishment

Islamic schools and branches From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Islam tree of different denominations within Islam Part of a series on Islam Beliefs Allah · Oneness of God · Prophets · Revealed books · Angels Practices Profession of faith · Prayer Fasting · Charity · Pilgrimage Texts and laws Qur’an · Sunnah · Hadith Fiqh · Sharia · Kalam · Sufism History and leadership Timeline · Spread of Islam Ahl al-Bayt · Sahaba Sunni · Shi’a Rashidun · Caliphate Imamate Culture and society Academics · Animals · Art Calendar · Children Demographics · Festivals Mosques · … Continue reading Islamic branches

Islamic schools and branches From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Islam tree of different denominations within Islam Part of a series on Islam Beliefs Allah · Oneness of God · Prophets · Revealed books · Angels Practices Profession of faith · Prayer Fasting · Charity · Pilgrimage Texts and laws Qur’an · Sunnah · Hadith Fiqh · Sharia · Kalam · Sufism History and leadership Timeline · Spread of Islam Ahl al-Bayt · Sahaba Sunni · Shi’a Rashidun · Caliphate Imamate Culture and society Academics · Animals · Art Calendar · Children Demographics · Festivals Mosques · … Continue reading Islamic sects