Producer of Anti-Islam Film ‘Fitna’ Performs Hajj...
CAIRO – Accepting Islam months ago, a once anti-Islam activist who produced a derogatory film wrongly portraying Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said he has found peace and tranquility while performing hajj this year. “I found myself among these faithful hearts,” Arnoud Van Doorn, a former member of Wilders’ Freedom Party, was quoted by Saudi Gazette on Friday, October 18. “I hope that my tears of regret will wash out all my sins after my repentance,” he added as his tears flow. Doorn, a former member of the far-right Freedom Party (PVV) has embraced Islam earlier this year after an extensive study into the religion. He was among party leaders who helped produce an offensive film titled...
Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz: ‘Islam Forbids Terror’...
One of Saudi’s top Islamic clerics, the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, came out in no uncertain terms to condemn terrorism during his Hajj sermon on Monday. “Islam does not allow terrorism at any cost. Islam condemns all violence and terrorism plaguing the world today. Muslims should demonstrate a love for peace and unity,” he said, reports Dawn News. Though he did not explicitly mention the turmoil of the Arab Spring, he called on the global Muslim community to avoid sectarianism and come together. “Oh Muslims be God-fearing, adopt the taqwa (fear of Allah), shun from earning money through unislamic means, hold fast the rope of Allah and don’t be divided into diverse schools of thoughts, get united...
2 Million Gather for Islam’s Hajj
MOUNT ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia — About 2 million Muslims from around the world prayed at a desert hill in Saudi Arabia yesterday, joined in their faith and desire to purify their souls at the start of the annual hajj pilgrimage. It is here on Mount Arafat, marked by a white pillar, where Islam’s Prophet Muhammad is believed to have delivered his last sermon to tens of thousands of followers some 1,400 years ago, calling on Muslims to unite. Prayers on and around the mount are a climactic emotional and spiritual moment in the hajj. The faithful believe that on this day the gates of heaven are open, prayers are answered and past sins are forgiven. Among the crowds...
Pakistani Man Walks 6387 km to Reach Mecca for Hajj...
JEDDAH: Pakistani Muslim, hoping to deliver the message of peace, has walked 6,387 kilometres to reach the holy city of Mecca to perform Hajj. Kharlzada Kasrat Rai, 37, began his trip from Karachi on June 7, travelling through Iran, Iraq and Jordan on foot. He arrived in Mecca on October 1 to a hero’s welcome. Kasrat Rai was received by Saudi government officials and a representative of the holy Kaaba’s imam in addition to members of Mecca’s Pakistani community and supporters from various Muslim countries. The two-time holder of the World Record for Peace Walks told Al Arabiya News that the aim behind his almost three-month journey was to deliver a “message of peace” to the world and...
Muslim-American Children Make Mock Pilgrimage to Mecca...
Jerome Socolovsky November 01, 2011 More than 1.5 million Muslims from around the world have gathered in Mecca for the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage, which begins later this week. At a Washington area mosque, American Muslim children learn about this pillar of their faith in a fun way. “You guys say it, nebayk Allah …” Hafsa Abdelrahman leads the children of the Dar Al-Hijrah weekend school into a mock-up of the Muslim holy city Mecca. They circle the Kaaba shrine. They do it again, and again, and again. More than 1.5 million Muslims from around the world have gathered in Mecca for the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage, which begins later this week. At a Washington area mosque, American...
Why do Hajj? 5 Questions Answered
About 3 million Muslims from more than 100 countries will pack the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, next month for Hajj, the biggest pilgrimage on the planet. What’s it all about? We turned to Brown University Muslim chaplain and CNN iReporter Robert David Coolidge and Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, for a primer: 1. Why do Hajj? According to Islam, every Muslim is expected to make the pilgrimage at least once if they are healthy and can afford to. Some people spend their whole lives saving for the trip, while others return many times for spiritual enlightenment and forgiveness, says Coolidge, who will make his second pilgrimage this year with his wife. “There’s the belief that one’s...
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