Ankara: Turkey’s parliament has approved a law for establishing the country’s first halal accreditation agency. Under the law, the Halal Accreditation Institution (HAK) will have the sole authority for certifying and accrediting halal products made according to Muslim standards in Turkey. It will also establish offices abroad. The agency will also accredit Turkish and foreign…
Istanbul: The two-day Conference on Protecting Cultural Heritage of Muslim World was held under the sponsorship of the Istanbul-based OIC Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) and the Rabat-based Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO). “Cultural heritage is one of the most important human values,” said Turkish Education Minister, Ismet Yilmaz…
A Russian-Muslim billionaire is funding an Israeli project that will digitize Jewish manuscripts that were seized by the Soviet Union a century ago and are held in the Russian State Library. The Russian State Library and National Library of Israel recently announced their joint effort to digitize more than 2,000 manuscripts that are part of so-called…
Piety is now worn on one’s sleeve and many Muslims believe that they must ‘prove’ their religion by demanding special privileges. By Nikhat Sattar Huquq Allah (rights of God) and Huqq ul-Ibad (rights of His servants) are the foremost obligations of Muslims. The first means to fulfil the obligations towards God, and the second to do so…
Muslims across the world turn towards ‘Kabah’ to offer Namaaz. But if you are not in a mosque or happen to be in a new place, finding the right direction to the Kaaba in Mecca is a predicament one faces. Some take help of stars, some use compass, but now a Turkish industrial designer, Soner…
Ottawa: The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) was presented with an award and certificate by the authorities of the World Tulip Summit, which was held in Ottawa, in the first week of October. Presented by the head of the World Tulip Summit Michel Gauthier, the certificate was accepted by Turkish Ambassador to Canada Selçuk Ünal in…
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has called on Western and regional countries to use their influence towards ending the Saudi war on Yemen. “Definitely we would hope that Western countries understand the deep crisis, the risk of this enormous crisis for international stability, for the stability of the region,” said ICRC President…
The 2017 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). The Norwegian Nobel Committee said ICAN was receiving the award for its “work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of…
The same hope that moves people to seek a better life for themselves and their loved ones also moves the hearts of men and women to welcome migrants and refugees with open arms, Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, recently said. “Those who come to our land and we who go towards their heart…
The Buddhist community in Bangladesh has declared that they will forgo parts of their festivities for Probarona Purnima, their second biggest religious festival, and donate the cost of a major event for the Rohingya Muslim refugees who have recently arrived in Bangladesh. Community leaders announced this decision at a meeting with senior Awami League leaders…
