Germany: Mosques hold Open Day

Berlin,

Around 1,000 mosques throughoutGermany held an Open Day for three consecutive days throughout the country, meant mainly for non-Muslims who wish to find out more about Islam, and to assure them that all the Muslims need is to leave in peaceful coexistence with others and to ensure social integration. The head of the Supreme Council of German Muslims, Nadim Ilyas, has called upon his fellow Muslims to be patient when asked some awkward questions by the visitors, and respond with suaveness and level-headedness.

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

Muslim Women Speaking Out

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. The U.S. government estimates 2 million Muslims live in the United States, but Muslim groups estimate 8 million.

Tayyibah Taylor felt there was a huge void in the media about Muslim women, their perspectives and their voices. Taylor is making an effort to fill this void with the magazine, Azizah. Azizah loosely translates into "daringness, strength, and nobility." It is published quarterly and has about 5,000 subscribers. It is the first magazine by and for Muslim women inNorth America, and one of the first Muslim magazines with no affiliation to any Islamic ethnic group or school of thought, such as Sunni or Shiite.

Taylor says, "Islams and Muslims are looked at through the lens of Middle Eastern politics mostly in this country so there are a lot of misconceptions." Misconceptions including that all Muslim women are oppressed, cannot be educated, must always listen to their husbands or fathers, and must ignore their own desires, knowledge, and intellect.

Taken From: http://www.rnews.com/Story.cfm?ID=13445&rnews_story_type=10

Sanskrit, Javanese, Arabic Influences In Brunei Culture Told

Bandar Seri Begawan

Brunei is well known for its rich traditional customs inherited from ancestors and one of them is the 'Chiri Gelaran', which includes titles, rankings, bestowed by rulers or kings during their reigns. Pehin Dato Ustaz Awanga Haji Yahya, the Deputy Religious Affairs Minister, highlighted this in his working paper entitled ‘Kajian Ringkas Mengenai Chiri Gelarn’ at the history seminar organized by the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation and the PESEBAR Association yesterday at the Islamic Dakwah Centre in Berakas.

The Deputy Minister said the Ciri Gelaara was influenced by pre-Islamic elements. However when Islam started to penetrate the political and social aspects of the Bruneian life, the religion brought many changes. Before Islam, people with titles or ranks were regarded as the supreme authority.

In Brunei the Ciri Gelaran has some influence from the Sanskrit and Javanese languages and in written Arabic. He said further research should be carried out especially on the Sanskrit language used in the Ciri. As the customs are created to beautify the national culture, their development must befit and integrated with the changing era. The contents of the Adat or customs must be understood and studied to determine how it was created, so that we can pass it down to the younger generation, he commented.

Taken From: http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Oct03/061003/nite04.htm