Australian nurse Nelley Youssef is immersed in a sea of millions of white-robed pilgrims doing the tawaf of the Kaaba, the black cuboid structure at the heart of Masjid Al-Haram mosque in Mecca, Saudia Arabia. She takes tiny, shuffling steps as she completes seven anti-clockwise laps that form one of many rituals she completes as Read more
More than 40,000 New Zealand Muslims began the month of Ramadan with the new moon that occurred on Wednesday night. The New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Interfaith Relations, have written a letter of support addressed “our Muslim brothers and sisters” offering them “best wishes for a blessed and holy Ramadan.” “Catholics share with you a Read more
Islam is growing rapidly in Papua New Guinea, converts finding Muslim customs have more in common with their traditions than Christianity. Catholic priest Franco Zocca, based at the Melanesian Institute research centre in Goroka, said Islamic leaders explained to him that “Islamic beliefs and practices are more compatible than Christianity with traditional Melanesian values”, especially Read more
Not all religions and their followers are equal in New Zealand, a Herald investigation into the state of faith has found. A University of Waikato Islamic studies review on patterns and disparity of New Zealand Muslims found Muslims to be more educated and qualified than Christians. However, Muslims are three times more likely to be Read more
The north Aceh district of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD), a predominantly Muslim province in Indonesia that has implemented sharia law since 2001, has passed legislation ordering separate classrooms for male and female students from secondary school level through university. The bylaw, or qanun, was approved on April 30 by district legislators. According to Fauzan Hamzah, Read more
A finance company is planning to provide interest-free mortgages to Muslims. Paying or receiving interest on loans is forbidden in Islam. Islamic loans involve various alternative ways for the borrower to repay the lender at a premium, while technically not charging interest. Brian Henry, managing director of Amanah Ethical, said it was important to understand Read more
Religion, as certain members of the media never fail to remind us at this time of year, seems to be on the decline, and for disgruntled secularists, the end cannot come quickly enough. But the death of God, at least in the hearts of most human beings, is a Western illusion. New demographic projections suggest Read more
Muslims will take up full representation at the Wellington Council of Christians and Jews, which will re-launch as the Wellington Abrahamic Council on 14 April at an event at Parliament hosted by the Attorney General, Hon Chris Finlayson. Jewish Co-chair Dave Moskovitz said that the Council had welcomed Muslims at all meetings since 2007, and Read more
The French government has proposed a plan for dialogue with Muslims which is based on a model it uses to liaise with the Catholic Church. The plan would promote an Islam “faithful to the values of the republic”. The official council of French Muslims has been unable to deal with the challenges presented by Islamist Read more
The Islamic State has visibly attracted young Muslims from all over the world to its violent movement to build a caliphate in Iraq and Syria. But here’s what’s less visible — the online backlash against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL, by young Muslims declaring their opposition to rule by Islamic law, Read more