14th May; Message of the Prophets (URDU) - A Talk By Sheikh Zafar Ul Hassan Madani

The Prophets of Allah (Peace be Upon them) are the greatest men that ever lived. They are the role models for humanity.

Their hearts were the purest, their minds were the wisest, and their deeds were the most righteous.

Next Friday 14th of May, we invite you to take a journey with Sheikh Zafar Ul Hasan Madani to relive the past and delve into the beauty of the one common message these great men shared (peace be upon them all)

This is a Fantastic opportunity for all English speaking muslims and non-muslims who understand URDU to grasp an indepth understanding from one of the finest scholars of our times, Sheikh Zafar Ul Hasan Madani.

Visit www.kalemah.org to learn more and to Register

3rd Bienniel Muslim - Christian Dialogue in Knowledge Village

Some of the students of UOWD are organizing the 3rd Muslim - Christian Dialogue this coming Monday night from 7pm to 10pm in the Knowledge Village Freezone Auditorium. Jumeira Islamic Learning Center sent an announcement recently as well. The topic is "Who is God and How are We Saved?".

Four years ago the group invited Thabiti Anyabwile and Sheikh Tahir Khalid to speak together. Two years ago they invited Pastor Anyabwile and Ahmed Hamed. This year Bassam Zawadi will speak from the Muslim perspective.

The purpose of the event is to foster friendly dialogue and peaceful understanding between Christians and Muslims. All are welcome but especially students. A 60 minute audience question and answer portion will be a part of the program.

Directions: Enter Knowledge Village from Al Sofouh Rd near the base of the Palm Jumeirah and Dubai Media City. Parking is available adjacent to Al Sofouh Road. Auditorium is in Block 1 KV Conference Center near the central KV roundabout.

If approaching from Shaikh Zayed Rd, please take exits to KV and proceed to the parking area next to Al Sofouh Road.

Landmark To Launch 10 Shariah-Compliant Hotels By 2010

Landmark Hotel Management LLC has announced that it will be launching 10 world-class Shariah-compliant hotels and serviced apartments in the UAE and KSA by the end of 2010. The move is in line with the company's strategy to cater to the increasing demand for Shariah-compliant projects in the Middle East.

Six of the ten upcoming projects will be launched in Dubai, two in Abu Dhabi, a four-star hotel in Fujairah and one hotel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. All the projects will operate on Islamic principles, which means that they are alcohol-free, serve halal food, and provide a percentage of their profit to charity.

S.M. Sadique, Managing Director of Landmark Hotel Group, highlighted that Landmark Hotel Management is keen on increasing the mass appeal of Shariah-compliant hotels. 'Presently, the general perception is that Shariah-compliant hotels are only meant for Muslims; which is certainly not the case. There are several non-Muslims, especially with families, who thoroughly enjoy the quieter and cleaner ambiance offered in Shariah-compliant hotels. Through our forthcoming projects we are determined to broaden the appeal of Shariah-compliant hotels across the Middle East.'

Read Also:
Landmark Hotel Group to launch ten Shariah-compliant hotels by 2010 (Emirates News Agency)

Sheikh Zayed Mosque Pictures?

Someone passed this on to me in a forwarded email. Pretty amazing as I've monitored the mosque progress over the last 5 of so years on sporadic trips to Abu Dhabi.

Does anyone know if the pictures are genuine as well as the information on the second slide? Also, do you know if the mosque is open for anyone to visit? If not do you know what the restrictions are? Who's been?

If they someone else's property (I checked the salsabeel website and found nothing) we can take this down as well.

Click here to view slideshow

Sheikh Mo in Tony Blair's Speech

An interesting speech by Tony Blair today at the "Islam and Muslims in the world today" conference, hosted by the University of Cambridge.

Important topics of education, (education, education - is there an echo in here, Tony), Islam and integration were touched on.

But the role of education goes much wider than simply religious education. At the recent Middle East World Economic Forum, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced the creation of a groundbreaking $10 billion foundation to promote education in Arab countries.

The foundation will focus on human development, supporting and empowering young minds and focusing on research, education and investment in the infrastructure of knowledge. It will provide scholarships for study at world-reputed institutions. In neighbouring Qatar, the Government has invited top international universities to develop an "Education City" with the aim of becoming the beacon of educational excellence in the Arab world.

Many of these initiatives are designed to tap into the ages-old tradition of Islam where - in line with the Koran - knowledge is revered and Muslims urged to pursue it.

The transcript is here.

Muslim and Muslima – The Fundamentalist Couple

Part 2 - About Sex Education in United Arab Emirates Schools and Else where

Recently, the couple had heard of children getting into illegal sexual activities at schools. They had also read about the growing concern to educate children about sex in various newspapers by people advocating Sex Education for students in UAE schools and other countries.

Their concern on the matter led to the following discussion. Read Further..........

OPEN DOORS OPEN MINDS

It is very important for us to understand religion and cultures of the country we live in. The Shaikh Mohammad center for Cultural understanding has been set up to bring down barriers between people of different nationalities, and to help understand the traditions, customs and religion of the UAE.

I hope people living in United Arab Emirates atleast visit once, Open the Doors to their hearts and Open their Minds. I have come across lot of people who chose to live here for monetory reasons but in their hearts don't respect the culture and religion of UAE. Here is the chance for some of them to learn and understand...

http://www.cultures.ae/index.php

Interesting Article - Gulf news

Captured POWs were shot dead for 'daring to drink water'

This interesting article was published in Gulf News, It made me ask few questions to myself ....How can man become so sick ? Why only blame muslims all the time? Who will answers for these crimes?and should we judge all the jews for crimes committed by some of them, just like they blame muslims?

Does anyone has a answer to my questions? I think not.......Anyways

I hope humans stop commiting crimes like these, no matter what religion or race they are from..it only leads to hatred ...

As the law says “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”.

http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Egypt/10111380.html

And also visit Updated ..Rediscoverislam

Romance and Islam

I have been bombarded with lots of questions from my friends since I left my past behind, everyone thinks that when you turn to religion life becomes boring… All good Muslims do is fight, say this is forbidden and that is forbidden. One of my friends asked me what is your idea of Romance since you started to take your religion seriously. I told him nothing much has changed since I chose the path I am on, its just that few changes here and there sort out everything for me…. Then I had to give him an example to make him understand few things and I thought of sharing it with you all…..

To Read Further Click Here....

Muslim or Humans?

One of the Emails I received and I thought I should further elaborate on it, are we Muslims and is it right to judge people by its race, religion and nationality? Do people like these which are mentioned below link represent Islam?

Ellie saw this story on the BBC News website and thought I should see it.She Asked me : ** Message **Does this really go on? It's the 2nd article I hear n it's pretty sick,especially when the court orders it. Aren't u guys supposed to be Muslims?** Six arrested over Pakistan rape **Police in southern Pakistan arrest six men in connection with the kidnap and rape of a 16-year-old girl.

Read Further......

Its Hard, Its Easy- It’s a state of mind

I was born Muslim, to Muslim parents. Growing up was easy, easier was falling for the worldly life. Longing for good clothes, nice car, and wasting money was part of life, alcohol and women were things of entertainment.

Without realizing where I was heading, I continued for years until it became a habit, things started going out of control, was cursing myself for the failure which came my way until I realized that I, myself was the reason for my self destruction. Read More.....

Muslim and Muslima – the fundamentalist couple

Up Close and Personal Conversations of a fundamental Muslim couple married for few years, their life behind the veil and the beard.

Read more.....