In Jerusalem, an effort to quiet the call to prayer
JERUSALEM: Five times a day, loudspeakers at the top of nearly 200 minarets in this holy city call to Muslims to pray. They blare before dawn and the wailing cry […]
A time of opportunity for Palestinians
Story Summary The Palestinians are in the most difficult position, given their relative weakness militarily, their fragmentation politically, and their vulnerability economically. Yet this moment is also one of opportunity for the Palestinians, on three important fronts: national unity, coordinated political resistance and the mobilization of international support. The PLO […]
Jihadist battle sparks exodus, Syria rebels on way out of Homs
Story Summary Tens of thousands of Syrians fled inter-jihadist fighting in the east as rebels Saturday neared a final deal with the government to withdraw from their last besieged strongholds […]
Pilgrims over 60, kids face visa restrictions
Several Haj and Umrah pilgrimage establishments have stopped accepting applications for Umrah visas from pilgrims over 60, as well as children, following a Health Ministry advisory to that effect as […]
Azraq Refugee Camp officially opened
by Elisa Oddone | Apr 30, 2014 | 23:50 Syrian refugees are seen at the Azraq Refugee Camp, which was officially opened on Wednesday (Photo by Muath Freij ) AZRAQ […]
Muslim scholars end ban on visiting Al Aqsa Mosque under occupation
AMMAN — Muslim scholars and intellectuals from various Islamic countries and schools of jurisprudence have reached a consensus on a fatwa (religious edict) to end a ban of Muslim visits to Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem while under Israeli occupation. The fatwa was announced during the three-day “Road to Jerusalem” […]
Arabs and Muslims should flock to Jerusalem
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ repeated call on Arabs and Muslims to visit Jerusalem is finally paying off. A conference held in Amman, courageously tackled this issue and produced a surprising […]
US Panel Urges Action On Pak Religious Freedom – Ahmadi Minority Suffers ‘Apartheid-Like’ Conditions
Source: arabtimesonline.com WASHINGTON, May 1, (AFP): An expert panel on Wednesday urged the United States to add Pakistan to a blacklist of violators of religious freedom, saying that the Ahmadi minority […]
Erekat: Israel Never Gave Negotiations Chance to Succeed
Ramallah/PNN PLO Executive Committee member Saeb Erekat said in a statement issued by the Negotiations Affairs Department of the PLO that Israel never gave the negotiations a chance to succeed. Erekat stressed that everything Israel did during the past nine months aimed at sabotaging Palestinian and international efforts to achieve […]
Jordan opens Syria camp for 130,000
ASSOCIATED PRESS ARABNEWS.COM Published — Thursday 1 May 2014 AMMAN: A UN official says Jordan is opening a new, sprawling tent city to accommodate tens of thousands more Syrian refugees who are expected to flee fighting as their nation’s civil war continues unabated. Helene Daubelcour says Jordanian officials will open […]
Syria’s refugees impose troubling political choices
May 01, 2014 12:10 AM By David Ignatius The Daily Star STORY SUMMARY Ask Yousef Bargash when he might go home to his village of Mahaja in southern Syria and he turns his palms skyward in supplication. Getting refugees such as Bargash back home from camps and squatters’ apartments in […]
Saudi Fatwa: Going through red light is a capital sin
Riadh, S. Arabia. Express News, Lahore, Pakistan 30/04/2014 According to a Pakistani Urdu newspaper The Grand Mufti of S. Arabia Abdul Aziz al-Shaikh issued a fatwa (religious edict) that driving through the traffic red light is a capital sin and is prohibited by religious law. The Grand Mufti said in […]
Brunei adopts Sharia law despite international criticism
RT: Brunei is to become the first East Asian country to adopt Sharia law as the sultan confirmed the Islamic penal code on Wednesday. The move sparks broad concern over […]
Abbas Unlikely to Dissolve Palestinian Authority
by Daoud Kuttab Palestinians skeptical of the Oslo process have for years been complaining that it has served only to relieve Israel of its obligations as an occupying force, instead of producing an independent and sovereign Palestinian state. This has led to repeated calls for the dissolution of the Oslo-created […]
Abbas Unlikely to Dissolve Palestinian Authority
by Daoud Kuttab Palestinians skeptical of the Oslo process have for years been complaining that it has served only to relieve Israel of its obligations as an occupying force, instead of producing an independent and sovereign Palestinian state. This has led to repeated calls for the dissolution of the Oslo-created […]
Moja Majka: Journey of a kaftan
Rima Al-Mukhtar ARABNEWS Published — Wednesday 30 April 2014 Moja Majka is a unique kaftan and abaya brand by half-Turkish half-Saudi fashion designer Sarah Basaad and her mother, Sureyya Barli […]
Three alternatives exist for a liberal Arab future
April 30, 2014 12:13 AM By Marwan Muasher The Daily Star Story Summary When the second Arab awakening began in 2011, its primary goal should have been to advance pluralism and democracy – causes that were neglected in the Arab world’s first, anti-colonial awakening in the 20th century. Will the […]
Hypocrisy triumphs as talks collapse
April 30, 2014 12:13 AM By Rami G. Khouri The Daily Star Story Summary The Israeli decision to break off negotiations with the Palestinians last week after the Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas announced their reconciliation agreement reveals the darkest and most destructive sides of Israel and its Western backers […]
Mecca: Automatic machines to dispense Holy Zamzam water
Automatic machines to sell Zamzam water Mohammad Sameih Okaz/Saudi Gazette MAKKAH – The King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz project for Zamzam has invented an automatic machine for the sale of Zamzam bottles to visitors and the public. The machine will dispense bottles within two minutes when a pre-obtained receipt […]
With US missiles in hand, Syrian rebel unit thinks big
KHAN AL-SUBUL, Syria: Under the leadership of a young, battle-hardened rebel commander, the men entrusted with the first American missiles to be delivered to the Syrian war are engaged in an ambitious effort to forge a new, professional army. Abdullah Awda, 28, says he and his recently formed Harakat Hazm […]