IIC Chairman, Imam Syed Naqvi, to deliver Friday Prayers at the Capitol
|  Imam Syed Naqvi, Islamic Information Center Chairman of the Board of Directors, will be delivering Friday Prayers, or Jumah Salaat, as the Guest Lecturer, or Khateeb on May 16, 2008.
The service takes place every Friday and Imam Naqvi's lectures will be continued on a scheduled basis at the Capitol. Stay tuned for more details!
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| Muslim call to adopt Mecca time |
April 21, 2008
Muslim scientists and clerics have urged to adopt Mecca time to replace GMT, arguing that the Saudi city is the true center of the earth, where all Muslims turn to pray. The idea was first proposed at a conference held in the Gulf state of Qatar where one geologist pointed out that Mecca's longitude, unlike others, was in perfect alignment to the magnetic north. He also stated that the English had imposed GMT on the rest of the world by force when Great Britain was a formidable colonial power, and that it is just about time that it changed. |
Shi'ite Scholar Court Scheduled Appearence This Past Tuesday
|  Imam Safdar Razi, a prominent Shi'ite scholar was arrested in early April at his Plano, TX home. Imam Razi was legally seeking political asylum when he was suddenly arrested for "immigration charges" according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. No further explanation was offered. In response Muslim and Intrafaith leaders have started efforts to secure Shaikh Razi's release. Imam Razi's court appearence was last on April 29, 2008
FreeSafdarRazi.com has the latest updates on Imam Razi's case.
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| Ancient Key to the Holy Kabah Sold in Auction |
April 10, 2008
A 12th-century iron key to the holiest site in Islam, the Ka'ba in Mecca, was sold for £9.2 million at Sotheby's in London to an anonymous consumer and the rarity of the piece was the highlight of a week of Islamic sales in London. The key is 37 centimeters in length (15in) and was previously in a private collection in Lebanon, dated from 1179-1180 with the engraving: "This is what was made for the servant of . . . God during the time of our lord the Iman, son of the Iman al-Muqtadi Abu Ja'far al Mustansir Abu'l-Abbas 575". |
| Methodist Student Panel States that Islam Respects Women |
April 18, 2008
A three-woman panel that has been put together by the United Methodist Student Movement Ministry Team spoke about women in the Muslim culture in the fourth installment of a six-week lecture series on Christianity and Islam. Speaker Brenda Meneses states how there is very little understanding of the Islamic religion in the Western world, which is why Muslims often have been subjected to scorn and ridicule because of misconceptions that they have an oppressive attitude towards their women. She further asserts that people often confuse cultural behaviors with the actual theology and Islam really preaches equality and respect for everyone, including women. Some external practices, she says, are misinterpreted as oppressive such as the wearing of headscarves because of limited knowledge about the religion of Islam and its practices as well as beliefs. |
| Italy to Establish New Federation of Mosques |
April 28, 2008
Givliano Amato, the interior minister of Italy, has been working on his proposed federation of mosques in Italy, which will replace the current Consulta Islamica. A central mosque in Rome would head the federation and there would be twenty-two mosques in central Italy and twenty-five more in North Italy. Many members of the Consulta Islamica support this proposal.
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Pakistani Lawmaker Plans to Counter Anti-Islam Film with his own Documentary
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April 24, 2008
When Dutch filmmaker, Geert Wilders, made a sixteen-minute film called "Fitna," Muslims around the world responded with protests because the film interpreted Quranic verses as calling Muslims to "destroy enemies of the faith." The film claimed a link to these verses and the terrorist attacks in the U.S. and other western countries. Pakistani Senator Babar Awan feels the need to respond by making a documentary that will "spread the true message of [Islam]."
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| Islam-Christianity Dictionary Being Written |
April 22, 2008
Around sixty religion professors, priests, imams, and interfaith experts from around the world are currently drafting a dictionary on commonalities and differences between Islam and Christianity. It is being made as a focus for the discipline of Christian-Muslim relations internationally. It will have up to 900 alphabetically arranged entries on people, places, theologies, denominations, scriptures, and other core texts. It will also include an introductory essay, bibliography, and appendix material such as chronology. The Cambridge University Press slates it for a release in 2012.
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| French Show Bans 9 Year old boy because his name is "Islam" |
April 22, 2008
A nine year old boy in Paris, France passed an initial selection stage during a casting process in February for a French Kid's show "In ze Boite" (In the Box), but was prevented from appearing on screen due to the fact that his first name is Islam. The casting executive told the boy's mother that he could not participate lest he changed his first name on grounds that it has "a religious connotation and "[represents] a religion that isn't liked by the French." Islam's parents plan to file a lawsuit with French prosecutors for racial discrimination. Representatives of French digital kid's channel claimed that the incident was the misplaced action of an individual employee, which did not reflect company policy.
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| Catholic Bishop Speaks out Against Anti Islamic Propaganda |
April 17, 2008
Azad Marshall, The Bishop of Iran and the Gulf, and the National Council of Churches in Pakistan (NCCP) have condemned the publication of the anti-Islamic caricatures and film by Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders. Both expressed concerns over "the mischievous acts, maligning the Islamic faith in the name of modernization, secularism, and so-called freedom of expression." Marshall stated that such acts are against all decent norms and demonstrate lack of respect for other religious feelings, accusing the West, which looks to bridge gaps between different faiths, but creates rifts by such actions. He demanded that the United Nations develop a code of ethics that all religions be treated with same respect and dignity. |
| Dutch critic of Islam Hirsi Ali to publish hate filled children's book |
April 21, 2008
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Dutch critic of Islam, will publish a fictional children's book about a twelve-year-old Muslim boy who faces many difficulties after befriending a Jewish girl. It is unclear as to what her motivation is for advocating such false and bigoted views that Muslims are opposed to Jews, when it is clearly stated in the Quran that Muslims and Jews come from the same "Family of the Book". The Quran also speaks highly of Abraham and Moses, insisting that they were righteous Prophets of God.
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| Hamas Meets with Former President Carter Again |
April 19, 2008
Former President Carter met again with the exiled leader of the militant Hamas group, defying all U.S. and Israeli warnings. Both governments have criticized his meetings with the group, in one of which he recently discussed a possible prisoner exchange with Israel, as well as how to lift a siege imposed by the Jewish state in Hamas-controlled Gaza. He is trying to secure the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, but Hamas has said that Shalit would not be freed until Palestinian prisoners are also released in an exchange. |
Justice for Darfur Campaign Launched
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April 25, 2008
On April 27, 2007, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued two arrest warrants against Sudan's former State Minister of the Interior Ahmad Harun and Janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb for 51 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Today the two men facing charges of persecution, rape, and killing of civilians in four West Darfur villages remain free because the Sudanese government has publicly and repeatedly refused to surrender either Ali Kushayb or Ahmad Harun to the Court. Instead the government has actually promoted Ahmad Harun to State Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, responsible for the welfare of the very victims of his alleged crimes, while releasing the other suspect, Ali Kushayb due to "lack of evidence." Because of the Sudanese government's blatant disregard for the victims of the men's brutalities, human rights organizations around the world, including Amnesty International, are launching a "Justice for Darfur" campaign on 27 April, calling for the two to be arrested. |
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