Daghestan hosts commemoration of S. Abubakarov

Over 30 girls and 40 boys took part in the contest of the elocutionists of the Qu´ran that was held within the framework of the 5th anniversary of the death of mufti of Daghestan Sayid-Muhammad Abubakarov. The contest housed by the Central mosque of Makhachkala was organized by the Clerical Department of the Muslims of Daghestan, the Committee on religions and a charity fund named after S.-M. Abubakarov.

The winners were awarded with valuable prizes, including a computer, a TV set, a musical center. The program of actions also includes a research conference, the fund named after Sayid- Muhammad Abubakarov reports.

Taken From: http://eng.islam.ru/press/rus/2003-08-22/?single=1087

Khatami stresses observance of Islamic ethics

Tehran, IRNA

President Mohammad Khatami here on Sunday underlined the need for observance of the Islamic ethics in the society. He told reporters at the mausoleum of the Father of the Islamic
Revolution the late Imam Khomeini that the Islamic ethics are not observed properly in the official and religious circles and tribunes in the country. President Khatami along with the cabinet ministers attended the mausoleum of the late Imam Khomeini in southern Tehran and renewed allegiance to the aspiration of the Founder of the Islamic Republic on the occasion of the Government Week which marks the martyrdom anniversary of the late president Mohammad-Ali Rajaie and his prime minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar who were martyred in a bomb blast in the Presidential Office by the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) on August 30, 1981. President Khatami further lashed out at the practice of slanderingin the society and said that people should respect each other`s dignity and prestige.

Stressing the importance of the Islamic democracy, he said people are the axis of decision making in such a system of government. As to efforts made by members of the government to settle the existing problems, he said there are still problems facing the country that should be solved. In the meantime, the president and his entourage paid tribute to the martyrs of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the eight-year Iraqi imposed war.

Taken From: http://www.irna.ir/#2003_08_2415_40_231

Rwanda: Muslims play significant part in national reconciliation

Kigali,

Rwanda knew about Islam in the 18th century, when Arab merchants and traders visited the country, but more and more Rwandans joined the fold of Islam in twentieth century, after waves of immigration from the neighboring countries ofTanzania, Kenya, and Uganda.

In 1994, Rwanda lived through a civil war and the Hutu extremists killed over a million Tutsi tribesmen, and even the moderate among the Hutus themselves.

Following the massacres, hoards of Rwandans joined the fold of Islam, so much so that the Muslim population accounted for 14 percent of the entire population, a figure that is double of what it had been prior to those events. That was because of the participation of Christians in the massacres, and the fact that the Muslims and Muslims families, even those who belonged to the opposite force, protected and gave succor to those fleeing from the massacres.

Now the government has set up a national reconciliation committee comprising Hutus and Tutsis, and Sheikh Saleh Habyamana, the Mufti of Rwanda, is one of its members, and the Muslims in general are helping in the process of bringing about national harmony.

Taken From: http://www.islamicnews.org/english/en_daily.html