Saudi Sheikh Adel al-Kalbani, who is well-known for his Quranic recitation, provoked a storm of controversy in Saudi Arabia recently, after he stated that he was convinced by the juristic argument that singing accompanied by musical instruments was not prohibited in Islam, and that it would only be prohibited if this music was obscene or immoral.

The issue of singing and entertainment is a juristic and social issue in some aspects, and any humble reader of old and contemporary books of jurisprudence is well aware that this issue is controversial and inconclusive. Some scholars consider this religiously prohibited, while others consider it permissible.   »»» Asharq Alawsat Newspaper (English ed.)

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On July 13, members of the lower house of the French parliament are expected to vote on a bill that would make it illegal for Muslim women to wear full veils — those that cover all of the face except the eyes — in public places.

A survey by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project, conducted April 7 to May 8, finds that the French public overwhelmingly endorses this measure; 82% approve of a ban on Muslim women wearing full veils in public, including schools, hospitals and government offices, while just 17% disapprove.

Majorities in Germany (71%), Britain (62%) and Spain (59%) would also support a similar ban in their own countries. In contrast, most Americans would oppose such a measure; 65% say they would disapprove of a ban on Muslim women wearing full veils in public places compared with 28% who say they would approve.   »»» religionnewsblog.com

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More than half a century ago, Teaneck, N.J., which sits in the shadow of New York City just across the Hudson River, became one of the first American communities to voluntarily integrate its public schools. Now, the town which residents describe as a “progressive and multicultural” suburb has once again forged a new path, selecting a practicing Muslim as mayor — and a devout Orthodox Jew to be his deputy.

Now, the town that residents describe as a “progressive and multicultural” suburb once again has forged a new path, selecting a practicing Muslim as mayor — and a devout Orthodox Jew to be his deputy.

“No where else is this possible,” said Mohammed Hameeduddin, Teaneck’s first Muslim mayor and one of only a handful of Muslims to lead cities across the country. “The opportunity to bring two communities together and break down stereotypes that have belittled our nation is both monumental and humbling.”

Teaneck’s non-partisan Township Council last week voted to appoint Hameeduddin and Adam Gussen, both current council members, to their respective posts, which they will hold for two years.    »»» ABC News

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The Muslim Council of Britain says music lessons are potentially unacceptable to about ten per cent of Muslims.

That could mean hundreds of children are being withdrawn from lessons, the council said, because passages from a collection of the Prophet Muhammed’s teachings ban instruments.    »»» Metro.co.uk

The permissibility of music in Islam is a very controversial issue. However, as this article suggests, only a small minority forbid all instrumental music. They allow decent songs, which may be accompanied with drums. The larger consensus is expressed by Sheikh Qaradawi in The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam: “Among the entertainments which may comfort the soul, please the heart, and refresh the ear is singing. Islam permits singing under the condition that it not be in any way obscene or harmful to Islamic morals. There is no harm in its being accompanied by [instrumental] music which is not exciting [i.e., lascivious].”

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Members of parliament from 47 countries have unanimously voted against a general ban on the wearing of the burka in public.

The Parliamentary Assembly of Europe’s human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe, passed a resolution warning that if governments imposed such a ban they would be denying women “who genuinely and freely desire to do so” their right to cover their faces.

But while the Assembly opposed a general ban, it left the door open for targeted laws against the burka, pointing out that legal restrictions may be justified “for security purposes, or where the public or professional functions of individuals require their religious neutrality, or that their face can be seen”.   »»» The Press Association

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In a significant escalation of Spain’s debate over how to handle radical Islam, the Senate on Wednesday narrowly and unexpectedly approved a motion to ban Muslim women from wearing in public the burqa or other garments that cover the whole body.

The vote, 131 to 129, was another setback for the Socialist government of Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, which had favored more-limited restrictions on Islamic clothing and has instead been pushing to curtail religious fundamentalism through better education.

The Spanish vote comes amid several national initiatives across Europe to restrict the spread of radical Islam and defend liberal values.

In Belgium, the lower house of Parliament has already approved a measure that, if unamended by the upper house, would make it a crime to wear in public “clothing that hides the face.”

France, which has the largest Muslim population in Europe, has also been inching toward such a ban on the burqa. The measure has the backing of President Nicolas Sarkozy, who recently condemned the garment as “a sign of subservience” rather than one of religion.

In Switzerland last year, a referendum banned the construction of minarets.    »»» NYTimes.com

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Thousands Kosovo Albanians staged a protest rally Friday in Pristina after girls were banned from school for refusing to take off their Muslim headscarves.

The protesters, who carried signs saying “Stop Discrimination” and chanted “Allahu Akbar” (God is great), demanded that the Kosovo government allow the wearing of religious symbols in schools.

They also urged the authorities to reverse the recent suspension of several girls from school because they were wearing the headscarf.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, adopting a secular constitution which stipulates the separation of religious and state authority.

With an overwhelming Muslim majority (over 90%) but a tradition of moderate Islam at ease with Western values, the government prohibits girls from attending public schools wearing the headscarf.   »»» Vancouver Sun (Canada)

How strange the world is! In most parts of Canada and the U.S., whose Muslim populations are less than 10%, Muslim girls are able to wear a headscarf and the State routinely supports that right. Yet in Turkey and now Kosovo, which are overwhelmingly Muslim, the State denies that right while claiming separation of religion and the State and the religious faith of the people. A State that imposes a headscarf ban while claiming to be a secular State is hyprocrisy or even worse it is in fact the imposition of a a State approved anti0-religion on the people.

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A Coventry farmer has insisted he is reacting to demand from traders in trying to give Muslims a taste of pork by producing bacon-style rashers from halal-slaughtered turkeys.

Rod Adlington’s attempts to imitate the meat, which Muslims cannot eat because of their religion, has seen a Muslim scholar voice concerns that it could lead to people eating real bacon from pork.

The turkey farmer told BBC Asian Network he was reacting to requests from convenience stores he supplies to and said they wanted a “really good turkey bacon”.    »»» BBC News

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A question troubles Europe: Is Islam essentially expansioniste and conquering? Yes, claim the Swiss iniators of the referendum against the construction of minarets. This expansionism is seen to be supported by a desire for political hegemony that is attributed sometimes to the very nature of the “Islamic ideology” (large families, conversions and conquest) and sometimes by the strategies of some of the actors (the “Islamists” and their “plans”). Youssef al-Qaradawi, the most popular among moderate Sunni sheikhs, seems to make them right when, on an Aljazeera TV program (Shari’a and Life) devoted to discussing the Swiss vote, he said the conquest will come about and all human beings will find themselves united by God’s word.

It is legitimate to question Islam. After all, like Christianity, it proclaims salvation for humanity and a final prophetic message. But concretely, what is “religious expansionism”? From the sociological point of view, it many be based on militancy (politics, propaganda, militarism) or on the development of religious faith and piety (a return to faith or the conversion of others) or on demography (a baby-boom bombe).   »»» Le Monde diplomatique)

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Naturally, if one is interested in finding out anything about Islam, the first source should be the Koran and Hadith – the teachings of Prophet Muhammad.

No verse in the Koran says that Muhammad started Islam. The Koran clearly states that Muhammad only followed in the footsteps of previous prophets but didn’t bring any new religion. According to Islam, all prophets taught the same message of Islamic monotheism.

They were human beings who taught the people around them about faith in One Almighty God, and how to walk on the path of righteousness. Some prophets also revealed God’s word through books of revelation. It is this message that Prophet Muhammad came to fulfill.

Koran 42: 13: “The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined on Noah, that which we have sent by inspiration to thee and that which we enjoined on Abraham, Moses and Jesus namely, that ye should remain steadfast in religion, and make no divisions therein.”   »»» Daily Monitor (Uganda)

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