25 Breathtaking Photos of Putra Mosque (Putrajaya, Malaysia) « Creative Muslims

25 Breathtaking Photos of Putra Mosque (Putrajaya, Malaysia) « Creative Muslims

The city of Putrajaya is located south of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It serves as a center of government that compliments the capital city. Within this modern city lays a gem of Islamic architecture called the Putra Mosque. The mosque was named in honor of the former and first Prime Minister of Malaysia Almarhum Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al–Haj. Construction of the mosque began in June 1997 and was completed two years later in September 1999. Resting on the Putrajaya Lake, the mosque is located next to the Perdana Putra which houses the Malaysian Prime Minister’s office.

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Art, Culture, Interfaith « Sohail Nakhooda

Art, Culture, Interfaith « Sohail Nakhooda

I was invited recently to speak at a symposium on social harmony at the Sharjah Art Museum as part of International Museums Day. The symposium was wonderfully organised by the incredibly creative team at the Sharjah Museums Department in cooperation with various museums in Sharjah. Other speakers at the symposium included Majid Abdulla Rashed (Secretary General, UAE Disabled Sports Federation Governing Board), Dr Samia Rab (College of Art, Architecture and Design at the American University of Sharjah), Jamal Al Falasi (Environmental activist, Knowledge and Human Development Authority), Rashid Al Kous (General Coordinator of ‘Knowledge without borders’ project), and Fatima Musharbak (Education Specialist for Community and Accessibility Services at SMD). Below is the text of my presentation.

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YouTube - SeekersGuidanceVideo’s Channel

YouTube - SeekersGuidanceVideo’s Channel: “Imam Siraj Wahhaj shares words of wisdom and long experience about how to be effective in calling to Allah, and the need for Prophetic mercy and concern. In Ann Arbor Michigan, after SeekersGuidance organizational meetings”

 

Surveillance cameras in Birmingham track Muslims’ every move | UK news | The Guardian

Surveillance cameras in Birmingham track Muslims’ every move | UK news | The Guardian: “About 150 car numberplate recognition cameras installed in two Muslim areas, paid for by government anti-terrorism fund “

Counterterrorism police have targeted hundreds of surveillance cameras on two Muslim areas of Birmingham, enabling them to track the precise movements of people entering and leaving the neighbourhoods.

The project has principally been sold to locals as an attempt to combat antisocial behaviour, vehicle crime and drug dealing in the area. But the cameras have been paid for by a £3m grant from a government fund, the Terrorism and Allied Matters Fund, which is administered by the Association of Chief Police Officers.

 

About 150 automatic numberplate recognition (ANPR) cameras have been installed in Washwood Heath and Sparkbrook in recent months. Birmingham’s two predominantly Muslim suburbs will be covered by three times more ANPR cameras than are used to monitor the entire city centre. They include about 40 cameras classed as “covert”, meaning they have been concealed from public view.

 

The funding arrangement was not made clear to the handful of councillors who were briefed that the cameras would appear in their area. Instead, they were told only that the money had come from the Home Office. “I raised my concern then: is this really about spying?” said Salma Yaqoob, a member of the Respect party and councillor for Sparkbrook.

 

“The terrorism aspect was certainly not emphasised in that meeting. In fact it was me having to be portrayed as the awkward squad, or even paranoid, for even raising the issue of whether this was really about counterterrorism. They were very much saying, ‘No, this is about burglary and crime.’”

 

The criteria for TAM funds state clearly that a police force must prove a project will “deter or prevent terrorism or help to prosecute those responsible”.

 

Police sources said the initiative, code-named Project Champion, is the first of its kind in the UK that seeks to monitor a population seen as “at risk” of extremism.

 

When the cameras become operative, residents will not be able to drive into or leave the two neighbourhoods without their movements being tracked.

 

Officials maintain the cameras will prove useful for tackling a whole range crime. The areas were ringfenced for intense surveillance in 2007 after a police investigation into a suspected plot to kidnap and kill a British soldier in the area.

 

The Safer Birmingham Partnership, a joint initiative between police and the local authority which will run the cameras, expressed “regret” there had not been fuller consultation. Senior SBP officials said they only became aware that the cameras were paid for by counterterrorism funds as a result of Guardian inquiries.

 

Jackie Russell, the director of the partnership, said: “Just because the funding has an interest in counterterrorism doesn’t mean that for us, that is our focus. For us, it is about community safety.”

 

Steve Jolly, a local activist leading a campaign to have the cameras removed, called on the deputy prime minister to intervene: “Nick Clegg has made a real point of emphatically drawing attention to the surveillance society and promising to stop unnecessary infringements of privacy,” he said. “I think we should hold him to his word, and say, ‘Look at what is happening in Birmingham – are you going to allow it to go ahead?’”

Pirates of the Mediterranean - Imam Afroz Ali on the Gaza Flotilla Seige

Governance « Imam Afroz Ali: “The raid on MV Mavi Marmara at the crack of the dawn of 31st May, 2010 in the Mediterranean Seas by Israel’s naval forces has significant consequences under international law. Amidst propagated confusion, clarity on which laws would apply and what exactly are the consequences is paramount if the global citizens of the world are to be made aware of the facts surrounding the flotilla siege. This essay deals with that issue, aiming to offer some clarity amidst the confusion and propaganda.

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Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad - The Pursuit of Happiness - cambridge khutbas etc.

cambridge khutbas etc.: The Pursuit of Happiness (Friday sermon (jum’ah khutba) by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 21st May 2010 - 25 mins 46 secs)

In this sermon, the Sheikh explores how the Glorious Names of Al-Qabid (The Constrictor) and Al-Basit (The Expander) reflect states that human beings naturally pass through and how these are spiritual extensions of the concepts of fear (khawf) and hope (rajaa’) . The

 

Believer is one in whom these 2 states are in constant balance. Happiness and joy, thus, can only be fully appreciated after one has known fear and sadness and it is Allah (swt) who bestows the sakinah into the hearts of whomsoever He wishes.

Listen to this sermon

Download this sermon (MP3, 23.6 MB)

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Celery, peaches and strawberries are the most contaminated by pesticides - Healthzone.ca

Celery, peaches and strawberries are the most contaminated by pesticides - Healthzone.ca

The most pesticide-prone produce? Celery, peaches and strawberries top the “dirty dozen” list.

The Environmental Working Group, a U.S. non-profit health-oriented organization, has released its latest shoppers’ guide to pesticides: the dozen fruits and vegetables found to be the most chemically contaminated — even after washing and peeling — and the 15 found to be the cleanest.

Not many consumers can afford to buy all organically grown produce. “The list can help people prioritize what to buy organically to minimize exposure to pesticides,” explains Environmental Working Group spokesperson Leeann Brown.

The organization ranked 50 popular fruits and vegetables based on data from 96,000 tests for pesticides on these foods by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. Nearly all the tests were done on produce as it is typically eaten, either washed or peeled.

Pesticides have been linked to a variety of health problems such as cancer, nervous system toxicity and hormone disruption.

Contamination was measured in six different ways, including total number of pesticides found. On all the celery tested, 67 different pesticides were identified; the same for peaches.

The most polluted single sample award went to celery with 13 different chemicals. Strawberries and domestic blueberries also each weighed in with 13 pesticides in one sample.

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Reuters Article Features Shaykh Taha Abdul-Basser as Upcoming Shariah Expert - Islamic finance seeks young scholars to lead growth

Islamic finance seeks young scholars to lead growth | Reuters

This Reuters article features Shaykh Taha Abdul-Basser of StraightWay Ethical Advisory, Masha’ Allah.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Fifteen years ago, New York native Taha Abdul-Basser had a set plan for his future. The Harvard student was double majoring in pre-med and comparative religions with the expectation that he would serve society as a doctor.

But his life took a different turn as Abdul-Basser, already a student of traditional Islamic disciplines, became involved with Harvard University’s Islamic Finance Project as a researcher and found his new calling: sharia.

“I always had an interest in traditional Islamic religious sciences with my early education coming from my father,” said Abdul-Basser. “But I really stumbled across the opportunity to apply Islamic ethics to contemporary life.”

At 35, Abdul-Basser is now a respected and in-demand sharia advisor in the global Islamic finance industry and positioned to benefit from an acute shortage of qualified professionals in the sector….

Read more: Islamic finance seeks young scholars to lead growth | Reuters

Using the Flowers Paradigm to Write More Efficiently - by Bryan A. Garner

Using the Flowers Paradigm to Write More Efficiently - WSBA - Bryan Garner

Adapted from Trial (May 1997)
Most writing advice focuses on the end product. But we shouldn’t neglect the process by which we produce our words. In important ways, the process affects the product.

Now, I can’t tell you what type of pen to use or what to sip on while you’re working. No one can teach the physical aspects of writing. But I’ve learned that it’s quite possible to teach the mental aspects of writing.

Before we get to that, though, think of the ways in which legal writers so frequently get mired:

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Sinkhole in Guatemala City - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com

Dot Shot: Sinkhole in Guatemala City - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com

This astonishingly unnerving photograph was posted today on the Flickr.com feed of the Guatemalan goverment and shows a seemingly bottomless sinkhole that opened up on Sunday in Guatemala City as a swath of Central America was drenched by tropical storm Agatha. Click here for the high-resolution version, if you dare. The storm only briefly hit tropical storm strength on Saturday as it came ashore from the Pacific Ocean over the weekend, but the  death toll had risen to 115 at last count. Here’s a street-level view.

I heard about the image through the Twitter feed of  Steve Silberman, a writer for Wired and other magazines. Here’s a lot of background on Florida’s many sinkholes.

President Álvaro Colom’s government has declared a state of public calamity in the Escuintla, Sacatepéquez and Guatemala departments, according to news agencies, in part because the Pacaya volcano near the capital erupted Friday, injuring many people and killing a television reporter.