OBAMA ISSUED A MESSAGE TO MUSLIMS, CONGRATULATING THEM ON THE START OF THE HOLY MONTH OF RAMADAN

President Barck Obama has issued a message to American Muslims and Muslims around the world congratulating them on the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan as a time to remember the poor and the needy and to share responsibilities.

“On behalf of the American people, Michelle and I extend our best wishes to Muslim communities here in the United States and around the world on the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan,”

Obama said in a message published by the White House Office of the Press Secretary on Friday.

“A time for self-reflection and devotion through prayer and fasting, Ramadan is also an occasion when Muslims around the world reaffirm their commitment to helping the less fortunate, including those struggling because of economic hardship and inequality,” he added.

In his Ramadan message, Obama stressed US Muslims’ efforts to help the less fortunate all through the year and especially on Ramadan.

“Here in the United States, we are grateful to the many Muslim American organizations, individuals, and businesses that are devoted to creating opportunity for all by working to reduce income inequality and poverty, not only through their charitable efforts, but also through their initiatives to empower students, workers and families with the education, skills and health care they deserve,”

The US President added.  “At a moment when too many people around the world continue to suffer from senseless conflict and violence, this sacred time reminds us of our common obligations to pursue justice and peace and to uphold the dignity of every human being.”

He also repeated his annual invitation to American Muslims to share Iftar at the White House, a tradition going over the past years.

“As I’ve done every year as President, I look forward to welcoming Muslim Americans from across the United States to the White House for an iftar dinner,” Obama noted.

“It will be another opportunity for me to convey America’s appreciation for the contributions of Muslim Americans to our country and to wish Muslims around the world a month blessed with the joys of family, community, peace and understanding, Ramadan Kareem.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister David Cameron has offered his "very best wishes to everyone observing the holy month of Ramadan" in the UK and around the globe, in a special video message marking the start of the holy month.

"This is an incredibly special time of year for Muslims at home and abroad: a time for charity, for contemplation and community,” Cameron said in his video message to Muslims.

The British Premier acknowledged that British Muslims are the top charity givers in the country ahead of all other faiths. "Charity is one of the things that Islam is all about.

Here in Britain, Muslims are our biggest donors - they give more to charity than any other faith group," the prime minister remarked.

"We see this spirit of giving all year round, from the mosques running sports clubs for local children to the Muslim groups selling poppies for Remembrance Day, to those people from around the country

"Ramadan is a time when that spirit comes to the fore and I am so proud when I hear, every year, about the millions of pounds raised for good causes for those less fortunate than us here in Britain, and those who are suffering in wars and in famines overseas.

IDADI YA WAISLAMU NCHINI CANADA YAONGEZEKA KWA KASI YA AJABU!

Idadi ya Waislamu nchini Canada imeongezeka na kufikia karibu milioni moja na laki moja. 

Matokeo ya utafiti mpya uliofanywa nchini humo yameonyesha kuwa jamii ya Waislamu huko Canada huwenda ikawa mara tatu zaidi katika kipindi cha miaka 20 ijayo. 

Uislamu ni dini ya pili kwa ukubwa huko Canada baada ya dini ya Kikristo na ni ya kwanza katika dini zinazoenea kwa kasi nchini humo. 

Kituo cha sensa ya watu nchini Canada kimetangaza kuwa, ni Waislamu 13 pekee wa Ulaya ndio walikuwepo huko Canada wakitokea Bosnia-Herzegovina, miaka minne baada ya kuundwa nchi hiyo mwaka 1867. 

Licha ya vyombo vya habari vya Magharibi kuendesha propaganda kubwa za kueneza chuki na hofu dhidi ya Uislamu, lakini hali hiyo imeshindwa kuzuia mvuto wa dini hiyo nchini humo.

Aidha, licha ya kuwepo vitendo vya kufurutu mpaka vinavyofanywa na watu wasio na uelewa sahihi wa Uislamu na hivyo kuathiri mtazamo wa walimwengu juu ya dini hiyo, lakini yote hayo hayajaweza kupunguza mvuto na ongezeko la watu wanaoamua kuingia katika dini Tukufu ya Uislamu

Hii imekuja kutokana na takwimu kuonyesha kuwa Uislamu ndiyo dini inayokua kwa kasi zaidi katika nchi za Magharibi.

MTANDAO WA FACE BOOK LAWAMANI, WATUMIAJI TAHADHARINI:

 
Mtandao wa Facebook umelaumiwa kwa kuwafanyia wateja wake utafiti wa kisaikolojia bila ya kuwajulisha.

Nia ya utafiti huo ilikuwa ni kujua kama wateja wake wamebadili tabia ya kuweka picha na mawazo yao katika mtandao huo kutokana na kukasirishwa na tabia za baadhi ya watumiaji wenzao.

Aidha, utafiti huo umeohusisha takribani watumiaji 700,000 na unaonyesha kuwa Facebook inacheza na taarifa za watumiaji wake ili kupata hisia zao katika kile wanachokiweka kwenye mtandao huo.

Hata hivyo mtandao wa Facebook umekanusha madai hayo na kwamba hakuna mtumiaji binafsi aliyelengwa na utafiti huo uliofanywa na mtandao huo kwa ushirikiano na chuo kikuu cha Cornell na California.

Waziri wa kazi Jim Sheridan mjumbe wa bodi ya mawasiliano ameagiza uchunguzi kufanyikadhidi ya mtandao huo wa Facebook katika tuhuma hizi.

Hata hivyo Katherine Sledge Moore, Profesa wa Saikolojia katika chuo cha Elmhurst , Illinois amesema kwa jinsi ambavyo Facebook wamekuwa wakishughulika na taarifa za wateja wake makubaliano yaliyopo katika utafiti huo hadhani kama yapo nje ya hali ya kawaida.

Adam Kramer kutoka Facebook mmoja kati ya walioandaa taarifa ya utafiti huo amesema wanadhani kuwa ilikuwa mhimu kwao kutafiti mashaka yanayowakumba watumiaji hasa katika mawazo yanayowekwa na marafiki zao na jinsi yanavyowafanya wafikirie tofauti .

MISRIWAUNGANA NA WAISLAMU DUNIANI KUKAMILISHA SIKU 30 ZA SHAABANI, SOMA IPO KWA LUGHA YA KIENGEREZA

 

Millions of Muslims will celebrate the beginning of the holy fasting month of Ramadan on Sunday, June 29, while some Muslim countries and minorities will observe the dawn-to-dusk month a day earlier.

Religious authorities in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, said that the fasting month will start on Sunday, June 29.

Egypt's Iftaa House said the new moon of Ramadan was not sighted Friday, June 27.

"Therefore, Saturday, June 28, will be the last day of Sha`ban and Sunday, June 29 will be the first day of Ramadan."

 

The Higher Judicial Council of Palestine has also announced that Saturday will be the last day of Sha`ban. Therefore, Ramadan will commense on Sunday.

In Kuwait, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and South Korea, it has been announced that Ramadan will start on June 29. 

Mufti of Australia, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammad has announced that Ramadan will start on Sunday, following a meeting with the Australian National Imams Council.

“It will be impossible to physically see the crescent on Friday the 27th of June 2014. This will also be the case for the majority of Muslim countries according the Islamic Crescent Observance Project this year,” a statement published on the Mufti’s official Facebook page said.

“A definitive eyewitness account of the crescent cannot take place in Sydney during sunset on Friday.

“Therefore, Saturday the 28th of June 2014 will mark the end of Sha`ban, which makes Sunday the 29th of June 2014 the first day of the month of Ramadan for the Hijri year of 1435,” the statement added.

The first day Ramadan in Japan will be on Sunday as the moon could not be sighted on Friday, the Islamic Center of Japan announced.

Malaysia’s Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal, Datuk Seri Syed Danial Syed Ahmad, announced that fasting will start on Sunday in the announcement carried live on Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM).

The Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) has announced earlier this month the start of Ramadan in North America on Saturday.

In Lebanon, Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadl-Allah announced that Saturday will be the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in a statement issued by his office and cited by Al-Hadath News.

In Turkey, Belgium, Russia, Italy and several Eruopean countries, Saturday has been announced as the first day of Ramadan.

Yemen's Iftaa House has also announced Saturday, June 28, as the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Sunday or Monday

In Pakistan, Chief Meteorologist Mohammad Riaz has announced that the holy month of Ramadan was expected to start on June 30, 2014.

The Ruet-e-Hilal Committee also known as the moon sighting committee will sit Saturday evening in Karachi for the sighting of the moon, in a meeting presided by the committee’s chairman Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman.

 

Same position was in India where the moon sighting will be made on Saturday to define the start of the holy month, either on Sunday or Monday.

The first day of Ramadan and moon sighting have always been a controversial issue among Muslim countries, and even scholars seem at odds over the issue.

While one group of scholars sees that Muslims in other regions and countries are to follow the same moon sighting as long as these countries share one part of the night, another states that Muslims everywhere should abide by the lunar calendar of Saudi Arabia.

A third, however, disputes both views, arguing that the authority in charge of ascertaining the sighting of the moon in a given country announces the sighting of the new moon, then Muslims in the country should all abide by this.

This usually causes confusion among Muslims, particularly in the West, on observing the dawn-to-dusk fasting and celebrating the `Eid Al-Fitr, which marks the end of fasting.