Mecca Clock Tower Wins 1st Prize at World Travel Awards

Mecca Clock Tower Wins 1st Prize at World Travel Awards

Mecca Clock Royal Tower, A Fairmont Hotel, has been recognised as the World's Leading Landmark Hotel by the prestigious World Travel Awards.

This honor was conferred only a few months after the hotel was named as the best in the Middle East region

Distinguished as one of the world's tallest skyscrapers, this 76-story hotel is the focal point of the Abraj Al Bait Complex.

One of its incredible features is a 40-meter (130-foot) Royal Clock, visible from 17 kilometers (ten miles) away, which announces daily prayers to the Muslim world.

Representatives from the world-class property were in attendance at a ceremony held at Katara Cultural Village, Doha.

More than 213,000 travel professionals, including travel agencies, tour and tourism organisations from 160 countries, voted during the annual search for the best in the industry.

Commenting on this distinctive win Mohammed Arkobi, vice president and managing director of Fairmont Raffles Hotels International – Mecca – said: "With humbleness and pride we dedicate this outstanding win to our beloved Kingdom and to the entire Islamic World; and we are also proud of creating a new trend in the world of hospitality industry on both local and global levels from the very heart of Islam's Holy Capital.

"We truly feel honored to receive this Award yet again from the World’s Travel Awards. Mecca Clock Royal Tower, A Fairmont Hotel within a span of eight months has won an Award for the second time in a row, which indeed is a brilliant achievement.

"The recognition belongs to our team at Mecca Clock Royal Tower, A Fairmont Hotel."

Sources:

"Makkah Clock Royal Tower claims top prize at World Travel Awards" breaking Travel News January 16, 2012

"Makkah Clock Fairmont Hotel wins best 2011 landmark title" Saudi Gazette January 16, 2011        

Government-Appointed Sheikh of al-Azhar Requests His Own Post be Put to Public Election

Government-Appointed Sheikh of al-Azhar Requests His Own Post be Put to Public Election

Back in March 2010, Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak named Ahmed el-Tayeb the new grand sheik of Cairo's Al-Azhar University and Mosque, taking over from Sheik Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, who died of a heart attack after heading Al-Azhar for nearly 14 years.

British Muslim Convert Population Has Doubled in the Past Ten Years

British Muslim Convert Population Has Doubled in the Past Ten Years 

 The number of Britons choosing to become Muslims has nearly doubled in the past decade, according to one of the most comprehensive attempts to estimate how many people have embraced Islam.

Up to 100,000 converts to Islam are living in the UK,according to a report published today for Faith Matters organisation..

Using a number of sources, including a survey of more than 250 British mosques, census data from 2001 and conversion figures in Europe, the researchers from Swansea University estimate that there could be as many as 100,000 converts - of all ethnic backgrounds - in the UK, with white women leading the growing number of people embracing the Muslim faith.

Poll: Majority of French, Danish & Dutch Positive about Muslims; Most Germans Negative

Poll: Majority of French, Danish & Dutch Positive about Muslims; Most Germans Negative 

Germans are more critical of Islam and less tolerant of building mosques than their neighbours in France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Portugal, a new survey has found.

Despite the often fractious relationships other European countries have with their Muslim communities, people in those countries were relatively positive about Islam and its followers compared to Germany, according to the survey commissioned by a research group based at the University of Münster.

Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to Launch Islamic Stock Index

Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to Launch Islamic Stock Index 

The organization representing the world's biggest grouping of Muslim majority nations is seeking to attract more overseas investment by offering the first "Shariah compliant" stock index from its 57 members.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference based in Jeddah hired Standard & Poor's to start an index of about 50 of the most traded stocks in the first quarter of 2011, Huseyin Erkan, the Istanbul Stock Exchange's chief executive officer and coordinator of the initiative, said.

Ghana Holds "National Muslim Awards" for the First Time

Ghana Holds "National Muslim Awards" for the First Time 

Ghana's first-ever national Muslim Awards are being held on Friday in the capital city of Accra.

Expected guest include Ghana’s Vice President, John Mahama, former Presidents Jerry Rawlings and John Kufuor, as well as members of the diplomatic corps.

Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharabutu (pictured), Ghana’s national chief imam, is scheduled to be the chairman of the ceremony.

The awards are being hosted by Premium Debit Consult, a Ghana-based Islamic organization

Cameroon village converts to Islam, thanks to king’s humanitarian gesture

An operation to separate a pair of Cameroonian conjoined twins, conducted by Health Minister Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, has eventually led to the conversion of an entire Cameroonian village to Islam.
This was revealed by a dignitary from the African state, Sultan Omar, during a visit to Al-Rabeeah at the Mina Emergency Hospital. The twins, Rahima and Hamidah, were separated in April 2007.
"The successful operation conducted by Al-Rabeeah has led to the chief and members of the whole tribe of my home village Banky, estimated to be home to 1,100 people, and many others from other parts of Cameroon to embrace Islam spontaneously and without any pressure. They were all moved by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s humanitarian gesture,” he said.
Omar was accompanied by a delegation of 26 Cameroonian Muslim converts in a courtesy visit to express gratitude to Al-Rabeeah. “We not only owe it to Al-Rabeeah, we also owe it to King Abdullah who ordered for the twins to be separated at his personal expense. This was a humanitarian gesture that we all saw,” he said.
Omar requested Al-Rabeeah to convey his and his accompanying delegation’s gratitude to King Abdullah.
Omar and his delegation, who are performing Haj as guests of King Abdullah, praised the Kingdom’s Haj services. They also thanked the Kingdom for helping Cameroon, particularly with the building of a number of mosques, a dam and a wheat project.
Source: arabnews.com

Kaaba key keeper passes away at 82

Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sheibi, the keeper of the Holy Kaaba’s key, passed away Sunday (7th November 2010) morning. He was 82. His body was buried in the Maalla cemetery after funeral prayers at the Grand Mosque in Makkah.

Al-Sheibi family has been holding the position of the Kaaba key keeper since the time of jahiliya (pre-Islamic period). It was inherited by the eldest member of the family and did not transfer from father to son. Age was the basis for the key’s inheritance.

Saudi archeologists discover first-ever Pharaonic artifact

Saudi archeologists discover first-ever Pharaonic artifact 

The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) announced Sunday the discovery of the first-ever Pharaonic antiquity within the Kingdom’s boundaries, dating back to the 12th century BC.
The announcement was made at a press conference held at the National Museum in King Abdul Aziz Historical Center in Riyadh.

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 ބީއޭ ނަސީމް އެމްޑީޕީން ވަކިވެވަޑައިގެންފި

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Australian Senator Seeks to Block Shariah-Compliant Finance Tax Law Reforms

Australian Senator Seeks to Block Shariah-Compliant Finance Tax Law Reforms 

An Australian lawmaker has urged fellow members of parliament to block legislation that would allow financial products that met the Islamic banking principle prohibiting the payment and collection of interest.

Liberal Party Senator Cory Bernardi (pictured) said on Tuesday that sharia-compliant financial services are incompatible with the Australian and way of life as he called on his Senate colleagues to check on any further expansion of the financial products.