45th Annual ISNA Convention

August 29 – September 1, 2008

Columbus, Ohio – Shaaban 29 1429/ August 30, 2008 – Tens of thousands of Muslims from across the US and Canada came together in Columbus, Ohio to attend the 45th annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) which kicked off yesterday. Delegates resumed deliberations on the second day of the three-day event today about a number of key issues such as spirituality, community service, economic development, family, Islamic banking and outreach. The convention is themed “Ramadan…a Time for Change.”
Renowned scholars like Jamal Badawi and Hamza Yusuf and Zaid Shaker, politicians like Congressman Keith Ellison, academics like Dr. John Esposito and businessmen like Dr. Yaqub Mirza are addressing the meet. The convention also features a bazaar with more than 500 booths, a matrimonial banquet, an Islamic art exhibit, a film festival as well as a Qur’an recitation competition. ISNA will organize tomorrow evening what is tipped to be the largest Taraweeh prayer in American history, led by Sheikh Abdul Kareem Edghouch.
America is home to between six to seven million Muslims making up less than three percent of the 300-million population. Dr. Robert Dickson Crane, a prominent Muslim scholar and America’s first Muslim ambassador under President Ronald Reagan, agrees the convention theme reflects a need for change in Muslim thinking to address contemporary issues of conscience. “The task of ISNA and Muslims in America is to help their fellow Americans change the world by promoting peace, prosperity and freedom through compassionate justice,” he told IslamOnline.net.
ISNA, which is the largest umbrella organization for Muslims in America, represents several other groups, such as the Muslim Student Association (MSA), and hundreds of mosques in the US and Canada. It has been a valuable agent for change for almost three decades. ISNA President, Ingrid Mattson, reflects the change in contemporary Muslim thinking. She is the first women, first convert and first North American-born person to head such a major Islamic organization.
Dr. Crane, who has been attending the convention since the early 1980s, praised the role played by its organizer. “ISNA has played an invaluable role in helping Muslims of all different ethnicities and schools of thought integrate into American society so that they can better join the best of Islam with the best of America in order to secure a better future for the world.
HA/IINA

Continue reading ‘ISNA Conference kicks off in Ohio’

Continue reading ‘Preparing Yourself for Ramadan’

Cologne City Council has voted in favor of building Germany’s largest mosque despite a fierce opposition from right-wing groups, reported Der Spiegel on Friday, August 29.

“We are building this for all the people of Cologne, not just Muslims,” said the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) in a statement.

Continue reading ‘Germany’s Largest Mosque to See Light’

By  Mohammed Safwan Jolak, IOL Correspondent

KIEV — Muslim organizations in Ukraine are racing time to prepare for the fast-approaching holy fasting month of Ramadan with plans for religious lectures to re-charge people’s spirituality and brochures to introduce Islam to non-Muslims.

Continue reading ‘Ukraine’s Spiritual Ramadan’

Makkah – Shaaban 24 1429/ August 25, 2008 – The holy city of Makkah geared up to receive hundreds of thousands of Umrah pilgrims who flock to the Haram Mosque from all over the world during the holy month of Ramadan. Municipal authorities have made all the arrangements for the huge influx of pilgrims and visitors to the holy city during the holy month, said Makkah Mayor Dr. Osama Al Bar. “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has instructed the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs to give the city’s hygiene services a facelift during the holy month,” the mayor said. Various branches of the Municipality across the city have already started implementing the King’s instructions with a package of improvements aimed at making Makkah look cleaner and healthier in the forthcoming Ramadan for the expected influx of more than two million visitors to perform Umrah, Al Bar said. “As part of the clean-up effort 5,600 workers, 600 street sweeping machines, and garbage trucks will work around the clock to keep the city clean,” he noted.
A team of more than 100 workers equipped with trucks and sweeping machines will be kept on stand-by to meet any possible emergency. The mayoralty has provided 145 pressurized garbage containers to keep trash secure and contain any bad smells. Fifty of them will be placed around the Holy Mosque. In addition, specially equipped vehicles will spray insecticide to combat diseases spread by insects. Health inspection committees have also been formed to inspect various locations such as restaurants, open-air markets, slaughterhouses, and water pumping stations to ensure all health and safety standards are being met.
Inspectors will take samples of food for testing as well as checking worker health certificates. Veterinarians check the lungs and liver of every animal at slaughterhouses for diseases like Tuberculosis before they are sent to the market for distribution. Any establishment failing to meet the requirements will be fined, Al-Bar said. The city’s roads, sewage, water networks, and public toilets will be closely monitored by the mayoralty, the mayor said. Six parking lots set up around the holy city have been equipped with mosques, baths, and cafeterias. Buses have also been organized to take visitors to the Haram Mosque. Visitors may not be allowed to drive their vehicles to the premises of the Holy Mosque to avoid traffic congestion during Ramadan. “We thank Allah for the exhaustive efforts of the civil authorities have helped us avoid an epidemic over the last few years,” he added.
Makkah Governor Prince Khaled Al Faisal has instructed officials to put more efforts to upgrade the services provided to Haj and Umrah pilgrims. Chairing a meeting of the Central Haj Committee in Jeddah recently, the governor underscored the need to improve the performance of people who work in pilgrim-related industries, particularly in light of the growing number of pilgrims during Ramadan. Large numbers of domestic pilgrims are currently visiting the holy city making use of the summer vacation.
HA/IINA

Continue reading ‘Over three million Umrah visas issued, says Haj Minister’

Jerusalem – Shaaban 23 1429/ August 24, 2008 – On August 21, 1969, an Australian Jewish extremist identified as Michael Dennis Rohan set the Al Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest shrine, on fire. The mosque is one of the three most holy and most important places in the hearts of Muslims worldwide. The mosque burnt and the flames were spreading but the determination and persistence of Muslim and Christian Palestinians who stood together, managed to put the fire out. Eyewitnesses said that the Israeli police cut the water supply immediately after the mosque was set on fire, and barred hundreds of Arabs, and the firefighters from reaching the area. The fire totally burnt some of the mosque historic counters, several ceilings and the southern rooftop.
At that time, Israel claimed that the fire was caused by an electric circuit but engineers who examined the location, determined that the fire was human made. Later on, Israel said that Michael Dennis Rohan, an Australian Jew, was behind the fire and that after interrogating him he said that “Jesus sent him to remove the mosque in order to enable the Jews built their temple in its place”. The Israeli court ruled that Rohan was insane and decided to deport him to his homeland, Australia. The burring of this holy and historic site shocked the Arab world and was yet another proof that the mosque was always targeted and is still a target as extreme groups in Israel are still threatening to demolish the mosque.
Muslims and Arabs held protests for three consecutive days in ever Arab country, and then the UN Security Council issued resolution number 271 slamming Israel and calling on it to void all arrangement that could alter the status of Jerusalem. Yet, Israel ignored the resolution as it did with every single resolution regarding the Palestinian-Israeli and Arab-Israeli conflict. The mosque remains there, in the Old City of Jerusalem, and so remains the threats against it. In 1979, a group of 40 extremist Jews attempted to break into the mosque and yet they were all acquitted by an Israeli court. In January, 27, 1982, an extremist group attempted to wire the mosque and detonate it but the plan was uncovered and ended in failure. In January, 14, 1989, several extreme right wing members of Knesset broke into the mosque and heavy police protection.
In September, 2000, the then Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, visited the mosque was surrounded with armed bodyguards, and this provocative visit sparkled the second Intifada which became known as the Al Aqsa Intifada. In July 2008, the Israeli police and security services revealed that they believe that extremist groups might be planning to attack the mosque using an unmanned drone. And today, 40 years after the first attack, the mosque is still threatened by dozens of people who want be a “Rohan”, dozens who want to level destroy the mosque and burns it down to the ground.
HA/IINA

Continue reading ’40 years after burning, Al Aqsa Mosque still facing threats’

  Continue reading ‘DC Muslims in Vote Awareness Drive’

A high-profile research by Britain’s domestic intelligence agency MI5 is shattering all common stereotypical theories about the typical British terrorist, The Guardian reported on Thursday, August 21.

Continue reading ‘No Stereotypical British Terrorist’

Less than two weeks after the holy fasting month of Ramadan, Saudi Arabia banned hosting free iftar banquets inside mosques, the Saudi Gazette reported on Friday, August 22.

“The Imams will not be allowed to hold iftar meals in the mosques,” said Tawfik Al-Sedairi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

Continue reading ‘No Iftar Meals in Saudi Mosques’

HARRISBURG, Pa. – A commercial airline pilot and convert to Islam who says his name is on the U.S. government’s secret terrorist watch list has fought back, filing a federal lawsuit against the Homeland Security Department and various other federal agencies.

Continue reading ‘Pa pilot says he’s on watch list, sues to save job’