Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Islamic ministers praise Kuwaiti moderation experience - official Religion

By Abdulrazzaq Al-Hezami

JEDDAH, May 26 (KUNA) -- A number of ministers of Awqaf (endowment) and Islamic Affairs in Muslim world praised the Kuwait experience in the field of moderation, said a Kuwaiti official here Tuesday.
Kuwaiti Undersecretary of the Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Ministry Dr. Aadil Al-Falah told KUNA, on the sidelines of the 8th conference of ministers of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in the Muslim world that kicked off here Saturday, that the Kuwaiti initiative of forming a higher moderation committee and establishing the International Moderation Centre was hailed by several ministers.
The ministers included Egyptian Awqaf Minister Dr. Mahmoud Zaqzouq, Brunei's Religious Affairs Minister Dr. Mohammad Zain bin Serudin, and Afghanistan's Acting Hajj and Islamic Affairs Minister Mohammad Sediq Chakari, he said.
Al-Falah pointed out that the ministers taking part in the conference approved a number of Kuwaiti papers, one of which discussed moderation, and that Sudanese Religious Affairs and Waqf Minister Azhari Al-Tigani called for implementing the successful Kuwaiti experience in all Islamic countries.
After the success of the Kuwaiti experience, several countries, like Algeria, Afghanistan, Guinea, Niger, Iraq, and Syria, established similar moderation centers, he noted.
The main pillars for moderation are dealing with extremism, responding to intellect with intellect, refuting the suspicions of terrorists, using scientific research and fields studies, and searching for the problem's causes, he stressed.
On the sidelines of the three-day conference, sponsored by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, Al-Falah and his accompanying delegation met with Saudi Islamic Affairs, Endowment, Call, and Guidance Minister and head of the conference Salih Al-Shaykh and discussed with him cooperation between Kuwait and the kingdom regarding endowment and Islamic issues.
Al-Falah also met the Mufti (religious cleric) of Azerbaijan and several Islamic ministers and figures. (end) ay.ris KUNA 261354 May 09NNNN

Damascus Declaration Expresses Islamic States' Aspirations and a Result of Successful Conference

Damascus,(SANA)- Assistant Secretary General of Civil Organizations in the Islamic World Mohammad Naeem Aqbeek said on Tuesday that Damascus Declaration, approved by the Foreign Ministers Council of the Organization of Islamic Conference in its 36th session, asserted that there is a qualitative leap in the Organization's work and expressed the Islamic states aspirations.

In a statement, Aqbeek pointed out that Damascus Declaration was comprehensive and discussed all the causes that concern the Islamic states, particularly the Palestinian cause.

Aqbeek added that the Syrian policy has been adopting all Arab causes and don't give up any Arab right, asserting that the conference success was a sign of Syria's credibility.

He underlined that Damascus Declaration stressed that there was solidarity among all the Islamic states and peoples, considering the cause of Jerusalem as their main cause and that it is exposed to the process of judaization and settlement.

Aqbeek added that we need a practical plan to support Jerusalem's people, clarifying that Israel pays no heed to international law and tries to impose the status quo policy.

The Beliefs and Laws of Islam - WVXEEA75WMRF

Origins Islam is the religion of allegiance to God and his prophet Mohammed, who lived around 570-632 and came from a family of traders at Mecca. The religion's book of revelation, mediated by the prophet, is the Koran. The word Islam derives from the same semitic root as the Hebrew word Shalom, which means peace. Islam means "entering into a condition of peace and security with God, through allegiance or surrender to him".

Mohammed is said to have received his revelations over a period of 23 years from the Angel Jibreel, or Gabriel, who was relaying the word of God.
It was not a completely new faith but is the third great monotheistic religion. In Muslim eyes, Mohammed completes a succession of prophets, including Abraham, Moses and Jesus, each of whom refined and restated the message of God.

The Koran therefore corroborates, updates and expands the Old and New Testaments.

It contains 114 chapters, written in vivid, rhyming prose, and was settled in its current form within 30 years of Mohammed's death.

Main tenets Central to Islam is the absolute sense that there can only be one God - Allah - and that he is the source of all creation and disposer of all lives and events. Hence, there is no God but God and Mohammed is his messenger.

All people should become a single Umma - community - witnessing to that fact. On the day of judgment, all will rise from the dead and be sent to heaven or hell.

The Koran contains many moral exhortations, forming the basis of Islamic (sharia) law. It lays down generosity and fairness and the requirements for daily prayer, alms giving, abstinence during daylight hours in the month of Ramadan and pilgrimage to Mecca.

The five pillars of the Islamic faith - the fundamental constituents of Muslim life - are: · Shahada, the profession of faith in the uniqueness of Allah and the centrality of Mohammed as his prophet · Salat, formal worship or prayer · Zakat, the giving of alms for the poor, assessed on all adult Muslims as 2.5% of capital assets once a year · Hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca, which every Muslim should undertake at least once in their lifetime; the annual hajj takes place during the last 10 days of the 12th lunar month every year · Sawm, fasting during Ramadan, the holy ninth month of the lunar year.

Early history In 622, Mohammed travelled from Mecca to Medina in the hijrah (emigration) - this forms the starting point in the Muslim dating system.

After the prophet's death his community split into followers of the caliph Abu Bakr and those who supported Mohammed's closest relative, his son-in-law, Ali ibn Abi Talib.

This division between Shia (followers of Ali) and Sunni (followers of the custom of the caliphate) persists to this day. Although both share most of the customs of the religion, Shiites place more emphasis on the guiding role of the imam.

About 90% of the world's Muslims are Sunni and about 10% Shia.

Sharia The divine law of Islam by which Muslims should live their lives.

It embraces every aspect of life, including family relations, inheritance, taxation, purification and prayer and observes no distinction between secular and religious law.

How far modern Islamic states follow this principle depends on the degree of secularisation they permit. It is essentially laid down by the Koran but has been updated and extended by fatwa (legal opinion), consensus and custom.
Reference by:http://www.islamfortoday.com/beliefs01.htm