The Balkan Chronicle

To become a Muslim involves far more than observance of rituals. Although the rituals are indispensable, they cannot achieve their purpose unless the entire mental, moral and spiritual outlook of the convert is changed. The most important change which took place after I embraced Islam was the transformation of my mind from a Kafir mind into a Muslim mind. In order that the outsider may gain deeper understanding into the workings of the Muslim mind, I shall attempt to describe from personal experience how a Muslim looks at thee world, how he regards life and the effect of his faith upon his behavior, his tastes, and his aspirations. Much will surprise or even shock the out­sider until he attains sufficient insight into the inner mean­ing and intrinsic merit of genuine Islamic values.

African Muslim leaders meeting in İstanbul have denounced the identification of violence with Muslims and Islam, stressing that Islam is a religion of peace, love and brotherhood and that associating it with terrorism cannot be accepted.

Religious leaders from African countries came together in İstanbul on Thursday for the second Summit Meeting for Religious Leaders of Muslim Countries and Communities of the African Continent under the auspices of Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs. Mehmet Görmez, the head of Directorate of Religious Affairs, said the image of Africa as seen through the history of colonization, the slave trade, internal wars and helplessness in general, hides the cultural and spiritual richness of the people of the continent. He said Africa should be referred to by its contributions to humanity in the fields of science and thought and that this is the reality of Africa.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called on the Muslim world to show solidarity against Islamophobia and ongoing “black propaganda campaigns against Muslims” across the world as well as to engage in self-questioning rather than accusing others in the face of this campaign.

“Some people are showing up and, based on extreme examples, are trying to equate Islam with terrorism, intolerance, poverty and violence. A mistake by a member of a religion or a community can never be attributed to that religion or community. … Islamophobia is a crime that needs to be condemned as strongly as racism and anti-Semitism. We have been explaining that in all international meetings. But the international community is continuing to carry out a black propaganda campaign [against Muslims]. But what are we doing? We are still confronting each other. We are still not in solidarity. … We should first check ourselves. We should now see that we have to first question ourselves without automatically accusing others,” Erdoğan said during a speech he delivered at a meeting of religious leaders from Muslim countries and communities in Africa on Monday.

The world’s biggest Quran was presented in Kazan, the capital of the Russian republic of Tatarstan, on Thursday. The Quran arrived from Italy where best jewel makers worked for a year and a half on a folio that is destined to become yet another Muslim relic.

There are no limits to love of God, or the prophet’s word. And a special new edition of the Muslim sacred text certainly speaks volumes. The world’s biggest Quran, decorated with precious stones and gold, now belongs to Russia.

My Life Before Islam

My name is Mustafa Samuel. My ex-name is Steven.

My background is that I was actually born a Greek orthodox.

I've been in many Christian schools whether Catholic or Christian, Maronite or Greek Orthodox or whatever.

Growing up, I sort of had a religious background when I was younger but I guess I fell away from going to church. It didn't really suit me. I've always asked questions about a lot of things.

Some day in the future, the Hajj (annual pilgrimage to Makkah) could be much more than a ritualistic manifestation of congregated prayers. It may evolve into a fulcrum of intellectual thought and dialogue amongst Muslims.

Earlier this week, the Saudi government declared the recently completed Hajj a success for being able to perform successful open heart surgeries on pilgrims and for providing kidney dialysis to hundreds during Hajj.

Abdullahi walked slowly past makeshift stalls in a crowded Mogadishu market, dragging his right leg. He's in his fifties and unemployed, and relies on overseas remittances sent by his daughter to survive. In 2007 he was shot by Somalia's increasingly powerful Islamist militia, al-Shabab (Youth). The bullet blew a hole through his right leg, just below his groin.

Like many Somalis, Abdullahi is a casualty of the conflict between Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and al-Shabab. He says he supports the TFG but doesn't know whether it can succeed. "But it has to," he said. "Look at the roads, look at the rubbish: this is what 20 years of no government does. We cannot have another 20 years of war."

Imran Khan is no more a cricketer turned politician. He has suddenly become an important regional player in the US endgame in Afghanistan.

A mind-blowing public rally of Imran Khan in Lahore on October 30 made it very difficult for the Zardari regime to give new commitments or accept any demands from the US to push its decade-long war against terror. Imran Khan has not only become a threat for traditional political parties inside Pakistan but is also going to become a big hurdle in the implementation of demands made by US during the recent visit of Hillary Clinton to Islamabad.

Hebah Ahmed assessed the weather before she stepped out of her minivan. "It's windy," she said with a sigh, tucking a loose bit of hair into her scarf. Her younger sister, Sarah, watched out the window as dust devils danced across the parking lot. "Oh, great," she said, "I'm going to look like the flying nun."

Hebah, who is 32, and Sarah, 28, do wear religious attire, but of the Islamic sort: a loose outer garment called a jilbab; a khimar, a head covering that drapes to the fingertips; and a niqab, a scarf that covers most of the face. Before the shopping trip, they consulted by phone to make sure they didn't wear the same color. "Otherwise, we start to look like a cult," Sarah explained.

Hearing the results of a recent survey on Egyptians’ political leanings has been quite astonishing for me. But it was more astonishing to hear that the survey results have been a surprise to a knowledgeable foreign observer who has been living in Egypt for the last couple of years. “I think Egypt has become more Islamized than we realized,” the observer told me.

The survey, conducted by the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, showed that 41.4 percent of the participants have chosen Saudi Arabia to be the best model for Egypt to follow and adhere to its methods. Turkey ranks fourth at less than 10 percent, coming right after the U.S. and China, with 10 percent each.

Adoption was known in the days of ignorance before the message of our Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhe was salaam. The adopted son would be ascribed to his foster father, inherit from him, allowed to be in seclusion with his wife and daughters and his foster fathers wife would be forbidden to him in marriage. On the whole the status of an adopted son was that of a begotten one in all affairs. The Prophet sallallahu alayhe was salaam adopted Zayd Ibn Haarith Ibn Sharaaheel al-Kilaby before the message of Islaam, and he used to be called Zayd Ibn Muhammad. This form of pre-Islaamic adoption continued until the third or fifth year after the migration to Madeenah(Hijraah).

Eid ul-Fitr, aka Eid, is a three-day Islamic holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Traditionally, the festival begins when the first sight of the new moon is seen in the sky. Today (Aug. 30) is the first day of Eid in the Balkans.

During Eid, Muslims thank Allah for the help and strength given to them throughout the previous month and celebrate the end of fasting by gathering with friends and family, preparing sweet delicacies, wearing new clothes, giving each other gifts and putting up lights and other decorations in their homes.

To mark the beginning of Eid, Muslims go to their local mosque to perform special congregational prayers known as Salaat and many also give special charitable contributions, known as Zakat al-Fitr.

Islam was built upon a foundation of learning and knowledge. Numerous verses in the Qur'an emphasized the importance of knowledge and critical thinking, as did the Prophetic traditions (1). The doctrine of Tawheed, of oneness and unity, symbolized the spirit of the universal Islamic scholar – seeking to further investigate the Divine Laws that encompassed the universe, and realizing that eventually everything in the universe pointed to God (2). Indeed, science blossomed in Islam, reaching unprecedented levels of activity, ingenuity, and interfaith (and inter-ethnic) academic cooperation never before witnessed in history.

Amid fresh arrests, restrictions on fasting and prayers at mosques, Uighur Muslims are suffering under the latest episode of Chinese government crackdown on their ethnic minority in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.

"If any religious figure discusses Ramadan during the course of religious activities, or encourages people to take part, then they will lose their license to practice," Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the Munich-based World Uighur Congress, told Eurasia Review on Friday, August 5.

"The more serious cases will result in arrests for incitement to engage in illegal religious activity," he said.

A day before the start of the holy fasting month for China's Muslims, at least 11 people were killed in a series of attacks in the north-western region of Xinjiang.

Islam and Christianity are frequently described as "missionary religions." Considering that well over half the planet's population belongs in some way to either tradition, there's no small truth in that. But Islam's concern has often been preaching to the already converted; the tradition of tajdid, or renewal, goes hand in hand with islah, or reform.

Muslims often focus more on making Muslims better Muslims than on making new Muslims. Take the largest Muslim movement in the world, the Tablighi Jama'at; it's a non-hierarchical movement of Muslims leaving their homes to visit other Muslim communities, encouraging congregations to renew their focus on core Islamic practices. Muslim reformers of all stripes seek to take Islam back to the spirit of the Prophet Muhammad, the embodiment of moral truth and good character—however differently they interpret him.

Preserving the Islamic identity from the negative melting in the community is considered one of the biggest concerns that haunt the Muslims of Ukraine's. Roughly there are two million of Muslims in Ukraine out of the total population of approximately 46 million, as well as tens of thousands of people of Arab and Muslim communities residing on its territory

Turks spread out from the Central Asia to the whole world. They were nomadic. Being nomads, besides its many disadvantages, let the Turks be open to other lands and cultures. Turks, whose discontentment of their lands could be understood from the many military expeditions they held to many countries, continued to their contacts, which started with China, with north, Persia and Mediterranean coasts. Where they reached, they fought yet they contributed with their culture to where they went and added to their culture the culture of the invaded lands.

If Spanish and Italian immigrants have their own old age care homes, why should elderly Muslims not have similar institutions?

The relevant parties appear to be in agreement on the urgent need for special health and social services, but views differ on how to achieve them.

The former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria, Ali Sadreddin al-Bayanouni, said the public revolution in Syria will continue until a democratic government is established in the country and that it is getting more and more difficult for the Syrian administration to resist public demands for freedom.

“As-Salamu Alaikum! Good morning!” booms Habeeb Quadri, looking out over a sea of kids gathered in the gymnasium of the Muslim Community Center Full Time School.

“As-Salamu Alaikum!” the students shout in reply, echoing the traditional Arabic greeting, “Peace be upon you.”