In its purest form, Islam (like most religious and spiritual ideological systems), calls for humanity to retain their connection to the earth. That we are custodians of the planet is an idea that is expressed in numerous Quranic tenets.
Learn the ropes of how to live in a Muslim country. Laurie goes over the 101 of Eid, Ramadan and some Muslim holiday rituals that might baffle the average westerner.
Do pregnant women who are fasting during the Holy Islamic month of Ramadan have a greater chance of experiencing a pre-term birth? A new study by Lebanese researchers rules out the half-day fast as cause for an earlier than expected birth. With Ramadan continuing until Friday, pregnant Muslim everywhere want to know if it’s safe […]
Hey’Ya: Arab Women in Sport: Sisters Brigitte and Marian Lacombe celebrate Arab female athletes at London’s Sotheby’s Gallery. Last December, Qatar Museums Authority commissioned Brigitte Lacombe, a French photographer known mainly for her work with the film industry, to snap over 70 sportswomen from 20 Arab countries – some with Olympic potential. The project was […]
Going into the London Olympic games, Green Prophet covered issues affecting Arab athletes who planned to compete in the 26th modern Olympiad since the games were revived in Athens in 1896. These are also religious ones, such as whether Muslim athletes could be exempted from fasting on Ramadan, as well as the perennial one over […]
If football could redesign their way around the health and safety issue, why can’t judo? The ruckus over allowing competitive athletes to wear the hijab – a garment representative of cultural modesty – is drawing fever-pitch attention to female Arab athletes. Green Prophet’s reported on successful efforts to allow a sports-specific hijab for female footballers, […]
Islamic scholars decree that Muslims athletes participating in the Olympic games are exempted from fasting. Throughout Ramadan, Muslims must refrain from eating or drinking from dawn to sundown. The commitment demand both mental and physical stamina. Fasting challenges sedentary workers in air conditioned offices. Imagine the toll on world-class athletes who, depending on their particular […]
While away the long, hot hours of fasting with these fun and festive crafting ideas for Ramadan In times of stress, I turn to sewing and crafting. Colouring in and cutting out shapes, gluing, stitching and sticking things together is just so much fun that I can’t believe entire nations aren’t hooked on it. For […]
From vegetarian recipes to cutting out plastic, Arwa puts together a Green Iftar Guide to make your Ramadan a little more eco-friendly Ramadan is a time of reflection, spiritual re-focus and self-improvement. It’s a time to look back on the person you are, the way you live your life and to think about bad habits […]
Green iftars, and sustainable ways Muslims can approach the holy month of Ramadan. The holiest month of the Islamic year, Ramadan, occurs in a new month every year because the Muslim calendar follows the lunar cycle, not the sun. This Ramadan, many Muslims are looking at a new dimension of the month: our impact on […]
“In Qatar, the birds have built their own hidden city. They live in the towers and stairwells of an abandoned palace…” Over at Guernica Magazine, I stumbled across a beautiful short story by Autumn Watts who is a lecturer of writing at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar. Evoking the hidden and unseen aspects of […]
The woman's hijab is being caught in a culture war based on intolerance
Princely and purposeful, the pomegranate has heavenly resonance in Islam for being a honeycomb of good health, sent from above.
Can gardens really help promote environmentally friendly behaviour amongst the Muslim community? Mark Bryant from Cardiff University who researches Islam and gardens, says they can There’s nothing like being with nature to help clear your mind and when the weather is as lovely as it has been recently, who can resist spending a couple of […]
You see all kinds of weird transportation in the Middle East: but the worst is drifting where young Arab males purposefully “drift” their cars into crowds of people. I don’t understand the lust for cars. I’m unresponsive to the siren call of Formula 1, NASCAR, and Top Gear. I think commuter trains and subways are […]