Iraq Holy Sites Draw UK Pilgrims

Interesting article by the BBC focusing on ziyarat by Shi’a Muslims from the UK
Iraq holy sites draw UK pilgrims
Three Britons who were killed in Iraq were making a pilgrimage carried out by thousands of Shia Muslims every year, despite risks posed by the volatile country.
Yousif al-Khoei is a director [...]

Questioning the Iraqi Resistance

Arab world, Iraq and al-Qaeda
Unfamiliar questions in the Arab air
Nov 24th 2005 | CAIRO
From The Economist print edition
As al-Qaeda scores own-goals in its backyard, many Arabs, including some Iraqis, are beginning to rethink their position on violence in the name of resistance
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OF ALL the films to extol the fight for freedom from imperialism, one [...]

Guide to Central Asia

Explore the ’stans’. The BBC provides a Guide to Central Asia:
Central Asia explained in maps, facts and figures.

Crescent Conflict

The National Journal devotes a cover story to Islam/Muslims in America, focusing heavily on Washington, DC.
—
Crescent Conflict
By Paul Starobin,
National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Nov. 18, 2005
There is something new under the sun in our national capital — a Moslem mosque,” The Washington Evening Star proclaimed in an article from its pages in the fall [...]

A Critical Triangle: Iraq, Iran, and the United States

A Critical Triangle: Iraq, Iran, and the United States
A talk at the U.S. Insitute of Peace available in .mp3 format.

Iraq’s increasingly close relationship with Iran presents the U.S. with unexpected challenges. Tehran’s ties to Iraq’s Shi’ite parties could provide Iran new leverage not merely in Iraq, but also in the wider regional and global arena. [...]

“Weblog of a Syrian Diplomat in America”

Have you ever wondered what the Syrian ambassador to the U.S. is thinking? Probably not, but if you are, Imad Moustafa, has a blog: Weblog of a Syrian Diplomat in America, The Journal of the envoy of Syria to the USA. One thing is clear, he likes dropping names, and heaping praise on the missus. [...]

Quote of the Day

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that he heard Abdullah ibn Umar making dua on Safa saying:
“O Allah, You have said, ‘call on Me – I will answer you’ and You do not break Your promise. So I am asking You, in the same way that You have guided me to Islam, not [...]

Shari’a College at Al-Azhar

The First Year Curriculum in the Shari’a College at Al-Azhar University 
 

1. Fiqh Al-Malaki
2. Fiqh Al-Muqaran
3. Tarikh Al-Tashri’i
4. ‘Ulum Al-Hadith
5. Mustalah Al-Hadith
6. Tafsir Al-Qur’an (Ahkam Al-Quran)
7. English Language
8. Nahu wa Sarf

“Don’t Bomb Us”

Al-Jazeera staffers recently started a blog entitled Don’t Bomb Us in response to recent allegations that George Bush wanted to bomb Al-Jazeera channel’s headquarters in Doha, Qattar.
5 Things You Should Know About Al-Jazeera

Al Jazeera was the first Arab station to ever broadcast interviews with Israeli officials.
Al Jazeera has never broadcast a beheading.
George W. Bush has [...]

Saudi Stories (BBC Radio 4)

Saudi Stories: A series featuring remarkable interviews with people from the closed and often secretive society of Saudi Arabia.
Bill Law has made many trips to the kingdom, which is takingtentative steps towards greater openness. This time he succeeded ingaining access to reformers, officials and many of those people caughtup in the ongoing struggle between traditionalists [...]