Smoking was discovered by the Spanish conquistadors in America, about 500 years ago; from Spain, it spread to the rest of Europe, and thence to the Muslim world about 100 years later. Unfortunately, while the West has long realized the dangers of smoking and attempted to reduce it, in the Muslim lands, it has spread with little or no interference. …

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Mumbai: Raza Academy, a Mumbai based Muslim religious organisation, on Friday held a protest demonstration near Phool Gali Mosque in the city against the name of the upcoming film ‘Azaan.’ Raza Academy president said Azaan is a pious word in Islam and should not be used as name of a film. Saeed Noori, president of Raza Academy, while talking to …

I am Edgardo Ortega Butacan, also known as Barjas, which is my new Muslim name. Here is my testimony on how and why I embraced Islam. I was born in 1970 and baptized as Roman Catholic and lived most of my life in a Christian environment. Despite this background, I was not a religious person and grew up with many …

Hip-Hop – specifically the Rap art form of Hip-Hop – is usually preceded by its reputation of ”Gangsta life-style” lyrics riddled with curse words, bad grammar, and the infamous “N” word, stereotypically painting a post-apocalyptic portrait of poor African-American communities. It is widely promoted as an American subculture/multi-faceted art form rooted within the 1970′s poverty stricken South Bronx communities of New …

Geneva: After France, Netherlands and Belgium, Switzerland is now on its way to become the fourth country in Europe to impose a ban on burqa, with lawmakers on Thursday voting for a far-right move to outlaw face veils in public. Swiss parliamentarians turned inwards on the sensitive issue of immigration on Thursday by endorsing a bill authored by a politician of …

The horrific violence that took place on September 11th 2001 spawned many negative – and a few positive – realities. Before going in to any discussion about it, let’s look at the facts: The The major negative effects of 9/11 were: The murder of 3,000-plus innocent people, whose “crime” was going to work to support their families. Demonstrating our 800-billion-dollar a …

My Reflections on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 I woke up. Everything was spinning. The fading blue sky was spinning over my head as the sun had just begun to set in September 1991. Where am I? I was sleeping in the backseat of my friend’s Jeep Cherokee going north on I-45 from Galveston, TX. We had lost a tire and were …

Sarah Prucha and Christy Thephachanh were both spiritual seekers when the people around them who most lived their faith were Muslims. Prucha was 25 and working at a downtown Houston bankwhen she noticed co-workers pausing five times each day to pray. Even things as small as saying Bismillah (In the name of God) before eating or saying Alhamdulillah, (All praise is due to God) after …