Long way to go for Islamic calligraphy

KUALA LUMPUR

Islamic calligraphy by

Malaysian artists have yet to reach international standards and it will probably take them another two years to win major awards, said National Islamic Calligraphy Association president Yusof Abu Bakar.  He said Malaysian entries at two recent contests in Istanbul and Brunei where artists from countries of the Organization of Islamic Conference took part could garner only “recognition prizes.”

“Unlike in the Middle-East countries, there are yet to be professional Islamic calligraphy artists who can make a living in Malaysia,” he said when launching the National Islamic Calligraphy competition at the Islamic Arts Museum here yesterday.

The competition is jointly organized by the museum, the National Islamic Calligraphy Association and Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd

Taken From:http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2003/5/7/nation/msstarmedia&sec=nation

Cousins Embrace Islam as Their New Faith

Bandar Seri Begawan

 Two Iban cousins from Kampong Penabai, Kuala Tutong have embraced the Islamic faith.

The conversion ceremony for the two was conducted in front of officials from the Dakwah Unit in the district.

The function was also to celebrate their other two cousins who had earlier chosen Islam as their new faith.

According to 28-year-old Muhammad Ridzuan bin Abdullah Gending, his interest in Islam began since his school days. He said he also performed fasting before his conversion.

Two out of ten siblings have also become Muslims.

Taken From: http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/May03/030503/nite07.htm

Forum examines Islam and democracy

The Boston Review and the CIS Starr Forum at MIT’s Center for International Studies will host a discussion titled “Islam and the Challenge of Democracy” in Wong Auditorium on Monday, May 12 at11 a.m. The one-hour discussion will be taped for broadcast on the WBUR (90.9 FM) program “On Point.” Program host Tom Ashbrook will lead the discussion with Atlantic Monthly editor and “On Point” contributor Jack Beatty. The audience must be seated by10:45 a.m.

The jumping-off point for the event will be a recent article in the Boston Review by Khaled Abou El Fadl, the Omar and Azmeralda Alfi Distinguished Fellow in Islamic Law at UCLA and author of “The Place of Tolerance in Islam.” In his article, he argues that democracy poses a formidable challenge for Islam but also that precepts compatible with democracy can be found in the Quran. The article is online at http://bostonreview.net/NDF.nclk#Islam.

Taken From: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/tt/2003/may07/newsuse.html

Holland offers scholarships to Indonesian students

Ambon, Indonesia,

A charity society inHolland has grated 113 scholarships to Muslim students in the Ambon Region of Indonesia, among them victims of the Muslim-Christian conflict in the area that left many of the parents unable to pay the school fees of their children.

Taken From: www.islamicnews.org