Islam

Emily Wither, CNN , Former rock 'n' roll photographer puts Islam in front of the lens, 31 Aug 2010 "Former rock 'n' roll photographer and Muslim convert Peter Sanders says he is trying to show the true face of Islam through his photography." Sanders' photos are well-worth checking out, if you haven't seen them before. CNN have a mini-slide show here.

VOA, Iran Plans to Create Domestic Internet Search Engine, 30 Aug 2010 "Iran is vowing to replace Western internet search engines with its own homegrown version, amid complaints from the country's supreme leader that the net is being used to corrupt Iranian youth ... " ... Iranian TV spoke with information technology experts, who demonstrated the prototype of Iran's own internet search-engine,

AP/Asharq Alawsat, Saudi Telecom Shuts Websites Violating Fatwa Edict, 5 Sep 2010 "Saudi Arabia's telecom regulator has shut down three websites that were violating a government decree limiting the issuance of religious edicts to the country's most senior group of clerics, authorities said Saturday." Also see Brian Whitaker, al-Bab, 'Fatwa' websites closed, 7 Sep 2010 The issue also features

arabcrunch.com, Apple’s Ping Censoring the Name Osama?, 6 Sep 2010 "We received a tip from one of our readers saying that Apple has censored the word Osama adding *** after the “O” and before the “a” in its new music social network Ping with iTunes." Ping is the new social networking tool for iTunes, which comes with the latest update of the software.

AP, Top US commander: Burning Quran endangers troops, 7 Sep 2010 "The comments from Gen. David Petraeus followed a protest Monday by hundreds of Afghans over the plans by Gainesville, Florida-based Dove World Outreach Center — a small, evangelical Christian church that espouses anti-Islam philosophy — to burn copies of the Quran on church grounds to mark the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on

The exact date of Eid Al-Fitr is not yet known, but it is expected to fall on September 10th or 11th, according to the Islamic lunar calendar.  Noting the coincidental overlap with 9/11 memorials and observances, American Muslims are concerned about misunderstandings that may develop as Muslims celebrate this special holiday marking the end of Ramadan.

Eid celebrations are traditionally low-key anyway, focused around mosque prayer services and family visits.  But leaders in some U.S. communities also organize children's carnivals or family days at local amusement parks for the holiday.

This year, the Council on American-Islamic Relations has issued an advisory for U.S. mosques to review their security procedures.  Several of the largest Islamic organizations in the U.S. are encouraging Muslims to participate in a grassroots community service campaign on that day ("Muslim Serve").  Imams in New York mosques are planning sermons for the day on the theme of loss and grief.  The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) has postponed its annual "Muslim Family Day" at Six Flags to September 12-18th.

One of the founders of ICNA's Muslim Family Day, Tariq Amanullah, worked in the World Trade Center and was killed on 9/11, one of a few dozen Muslim victims of the terrorist attacks.

Muslims are asking themselves:  Can we still be joyous on Eid, if it falls on the anniversary of 9/11?

Responses generally fall into two camps:

1. Yes, let's celebrate Eid.  It is not our fault if it falls on September 11th.  We have nothing to feel guilty about.  One has nothing to do with the other, although hate-mongers may try to make a connection.
2. Yes, let's celebrate Eid.  But let's tone down our celebrations out of respect for those killed on 9/11, and to help prevent backlash to our own communities if our celebration is misunderstood (ignorantly or deliberately) in today's political climate.

Which do you think is the best approach?

Eid Al-Fitr and 9/11 originally appeared on About.com Islam on Monday, September 6th, 2010 at 18:55:40.

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AFP/Sydney Morning Herald, Aust Muslim calls for beheading: report, 3 Sep 2010, "According to De Telegraaf, Sydney-born Muslim cleric Feiz Mohammad called on extremists in an internet chatroom to "chop off his [Geert Wilders] head" and accused Wilders of "denigrating" Islam."

arabcrunch, Dubai Chief Police: BlackBerry Ban is Due to “Israeli” & US Spying On The Country, 3 Sep 2010 "In a meeting at the house of Dr. Saed Salamn head of Ajamn network Dhahi Khalfan Tamim Dubai Police chief said that United States of America is the first beneficiary from absence of BlackBerry surveillance in his country, and said that USA has an interests in Spying in his country."

AP/lmasryalyoum.com, ElBaradei denounces family photo smear campaign, 3 Sep 2010 "Egypt's most serious presidential challenger has accused President Hosni Mubarak's government of posting Facebook photos of his daughter in a swimsuit in an attempt to discredit him, a local newspaper reported on Saturday."

WSJ, Rocks, YouTube Undergird Kashmiri Protests, 3 Sep 2010 "A little-known Kashmiri separatist leader is spurring stone-throwing protests against India with tactics such as YouTube recruitment videos and protest calendars published in local media, fostering protracted violence that is bedeviling New Delhi." For information purposes, here's an example of these tactics, with graphic images and a

Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Guardian, Iranian journalists' website puts Ahmadinejad spin on Barack Obama: Website barackobama.ir promises 'an Iranian viewpoint on Barack Obama's opinions', 2 Sep 2010 "The news of its creation first appeared this week in a series of government-sponsored websites and news agencies, which endorsed it as an independent source of information about the life of Obama, his

Sokol, D. and Sisler V. Socializing on the Internet: Case Study of Internet Use Among University Students in the United Arab Emirates. In: Global Media Journal, Vol. 9, Iss. 16, 2010 "This paper analyzes socializing on the Internet and attitudes towards the Internet as a medium of social interaction among university students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It stems from a larger research

BBC News - Reading Arabic 'hard for brain', 4 Sep 2010 "The University of Haifa team say people use both sides of their brain when they begin reading a language - but when learning Arabic this is wasting effort."

Spiegel Online, Austrian Anti-Muslim Video Game: 'We'd Rather Have Sarrazin than a Muezzin', 2 Sep 2010 "Austrian police are investigating a video game released by the right-wing Freedom Party, the former political home of the late Jörg Haider, that invites players to stop the construction of minarets and mosques. But the politician behind the campaign answers his critics with: "We'd rather have

Josh Halliday, Guardian, BlackBerry wins the battle but not the war in India, 1 Sep 2010 "After weeks of standoff between south Asia and North America, the Indian authorities yesterday won limited access to data from BlackBerry smartphones. The 800,000 users of the devices in the country had been threatened with a blackout because of the Delhi government's growing fear that militants could use

Khaleej Times Online - Etisalat, du keep BlackBerry plans open, 2 Sep 2010

Ersu Ablak, Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review, Could the Saudi's be more flexible about the Internet than the EU?, 1 Sep 2010 "It is a fact that Radical Islamists and terrorist groups use the internet. However I don’t believe that banning websites is the real answer."

Reuters, Interview: UK Islamist says like-minded U.S. groups expanding, 2 Sep 2010 "U.S. officials are worried about the emergence of so-called homegrown militants in the United States who apparently radicalized themselves by visiting Internet sites that host strongly anti-Western Islamist commentary written in English."

dp-news.com, Islamic hackers invade website of Belvoir Castle in protest over Israeli foreign policy. 1 Sep 2010 "A spokesman for the castle said they had no idea why the early 19th century property had been targeted in such a manner. "The spokesman said: "We don't know why they have done this to us. ""It happened on Friday afternoon and we've had our IT chap working to try to fix it. ""We've

During the last ten days of Ramadan, Muslims seek and observe what is known as the "Night of Power." Muslims worldwide spend these last ten nights of Ramadan in solid devotion, retreating to the mosque to read Qur'an (i'tikaf), reciting special supplications (du'a), and reflecting on the meaning of Allah's message to us.

Eid Al-Fitr (Festival of Fast-Breaking), marking the end of Ramadan, is expected to fall on the 9th or 10th of  September in most places.  Don't forget to pay sadaqa al-fitr to help ensure that all families are able to fully celebrate and enjoy this holy time.

Last 10 Days of Ramadan originally appeared on About.com Islam on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at 21:19:55.

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