By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 8/12/2010
Malaysian state launches Islamic currency
A Malaysian state on Thursday launched the Islamic dinar and dirham as an alternative currency, allowing the golden and silver coins to be used as legal tender alongside conventional banknotes.
Authorities in northern Kelantan state, which is ruled by the Islamic opposition party PAS, said the Islamic currencies would be used in many shops in the state in addition to the national currency, the ringgit.
"We have over 1,000 shops that have signed up to our campaign and agreed to accept the dinar and dirham for the purchase of goods," state cabinet minister Husam Musa told AFP.
He said signboards have been erected in the main market in the state capital Kota Bharu to show the conversion table between the dinar and ringgit, and participating shops will display stickers to encourage people to use the coins.
"The response has been very positive and all the coins which were worth a total of 2.0 million ringgit (629,000 dollars) have been sold out at the launch today," said Husam, who is in charge of economic and finance planning.
According to Islamic law, the dinar measures 4.25 grams of gold, while the dirham is 3.0 grams of pure silver.
A golden coin is equivalent to about 582 ringgit (183 dollars) while the silver coin is worth around 13 ringgit but their values fluctuate according to market prices.
Husam said the dinar and dirham currencies can also be used dealings with state goverment agencies, such as paying "zakat", or alms for the poor.
There has been a long debate in Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country with large ethnic Chinese and Indian communities, to introduce the coins as legal tender nationally.
Former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whose administration promoted a moderate form of Islam that emphasised economic and scientific development, shot down the proposal to use the Islamic currencies.
But his predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, was an advocate of the dinar system and urged Muslim countries to use it as a trade instrument.
The debate has died down since current Prime Minister Najib Razak came to power last year.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Ramadan Across The World - An Excerpt
Ramadan around the world: Photos
Sunni Muslims across much of the world on Wednesday began the fasting month of Ramadan during an especially gruelling time of the year for many, with the Shiite community expected to follow suit on Thursday.
Authorities urged Muslims to be merciful during Ramadan, while non-Muslims in Muslim-majority countries were asked to observe the rules and refrain from drinking or eating in public or face fines and imprisonment.
The first day of Ramadan was observed Wednesday in Egypt, the most populous Arab nation, in Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Islam, and Indonesia, the largest Muslim nation.
Most Arab Gulf states also began observing Ramadan, as did Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and the Palestinian Territories, war-wracked Afghanistan, Malaysia and Singapore.
India and Pakistan as well as Shiite communities were expected to begin Ramadan on Thursday, should they sight the new crescent moon, which fixes the start of the ninth month of the lunar Islamic calendar, Wednesday evening.
Saudi King Abdullah urged Muslims to seek God's "mercy" during Ramadan, a month of fasting, prayers and alms giving which is one of the five pillars of Islam.
"The holy month inspires Muslims with the noble meanings of compassion, mercy and kindness," he said in a joint speech with Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, according to the official SPA news agency.
They stressed that Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina, must protect Islam and encourage dialogue with other religions and cultures in order to build "a civilised and coherent world."
Muslims observe Ramadan by abstaining from food, drink and sex from dawn until sunset. Pregnant and menstruating women, the sick, travellers and prepubescent children are exempt from the fast.
Ramadan will begin amid scorching temperatures in the Middle East and elsewhere, with the first six months of 2010 being globally the warmest ever recorded.
Egypt, whose 80 million population is mostly Muslim, has switched to winter time, moving the clock back by an hour in order to shorten the period of fasting. The Palestinian Territories has done the same.
Ramadan is also a month of charity and in Jordan King Abdullah and his wife Queen Rania announced they will provide financial aid to orphan students to cover their tuition fees and other expenses.
Meanwhile Indonesia said it will crack down on Internet pornography.
Quoting a poem, Communications Minister Tifatul Sembiring urged Muslims to "keep hearts clean in the holy month," and said he would target websites and media that carried sexual content.
In the United Arab Emirates non-Muslims were warned against eating or drinking in public.
"Violating the virtues of the fasting month is offending to Muslims and is a criminal act punishable by the law," Colonel Mohammad Nasser al-Razooqi of the Dubai police was quoted as saying by Gulf News daily.
Many foreign embassies posted messages on their websites reminding expatriates to respect Ramadan rules.
"To ensure that your stay is memorable... keep in mind that you are no longer in the UK. Respect the laws and values of the country and your stay should be an extremely enjoyable one," a British statement said.
In the Philippines, President Benigno Aquino said he hoped Ramadan would see social reconciliation in a heavily Roman Catholic country beset by profound poverty and corruption along with a long-running Muslim insurgency.
A separatist Muslim insurgency in the southern region of Mindanao has claimed more than 150,000 lives over the past four decades, and peace talks between the government and the rebels are due to start after Ramadan.
Across the Middle East, offices were opening later than usual and closing earlier to allow people to get home on time for the iftar meal that breaks the fast. A second meal, the suhur, is taken just before daybreak.
In many countries, authorities issued special traffic laws to ensure the streets are not choked when employees rush home.
Meanwhile journalist Anna Seaman, a Briton who converted to Islam, told readers how she conquered the hardship of fasting.
"I realised the struggle was not about missing my lunch, but about trying to become a better person," Seaman wrote in the Abu Dhabi newspaper The National on Wednesday.
She also noted that fasting is central to Christian and Jewish feasts, such as Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when Jews are forbidden from eating, drinking, driving and using electrical devices among other things, and Lent when Christians must give up certain food items during 40 days of Lent.
Sunni Muslims across much of the world on Wednesday began the fasting month of Ramadan during an especially gruelling time of the year for many, with the Shiite community expected to follow suit on Thursday.
Authorities urged Muslims to be merciful during Ramadan, while non-Muslims in Muslim-majority countries were asked to observe the rules and refrain from drinking or eating in public or face fines and imprisonment.
The first day of Ramadan was observed Wednesday in Egypt, the most populous Arab nation, in Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Islam, and Indonesia, the largest Muslim nation.
Most Arab Gulf states also began observing Ramadan, as did Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and the Palestinian Territories, war-wracked Afghanistan, Malaysia and Singapore.
India and Pakistan as well as Shiite communities were expected to begin Ramadan on Thursday, should they sight the new crescent moon, which fixes the start of the ninth month of the lunar Islamic calendar, Wednesday evening.
Saudi King Abdullah urged Muslims to seek God's "mercy" during Ramadan, a month of fasting, prayers and alms giving which is one of the five pillars of Islam.
"The holy month inspires Muslims with the noble meanings of compassion, mercy and kindness," he said in a joint speech with Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, according to the official SPA news agency.
They stressed that Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina, must protect Islam and encourage dialogue with other religions and cultures in order to build "a civilised and coherent world."
Muslims observe Ramadan by abstaining from food, drink and sex from dawn until sunset. Pregnant and menstruating women, the sick, travellers and prepubescent children are exempt from the fast.
Ramadan will begin amid scorching temperatures in the Middle East and elsewhere, with the first six months of 2010 being globally the warmest ever recorded.
Egypt, whose 80 million population is mostly Muslim, has switched to winter time, moving the clock back by an hour in order to shorten the period of fasting. The Palestinian Territories has done the same.
Ramadan is also a month of charity and in Jordan King Abdullah and his wife Queen Rania announced they will provide financial aid to orphan students to cover their tuition fees and other expenses.
Meanwhile Indonesia said it will crack down on Internet pornography.
Quoting a poem, Communications Minister Tifatul Sembiring urged Muslims to "keep hearts clean in the holy month," and said he would target websites and media that carried sexual content.
In the United Arab Emirates non-Muslims were warned against eating or drinking in public.
"Violating the virtues of the fasting month is offending to Muslims and is a criminal act punishable by the law," Colonel Mohammad Nasser al-Razooqi of the Dubai police was quoted as saying by Gulf News daily.
Many foreign embassies posted messages on their websites reminding expatriates to respect Ramadan rules.
"To ensure that your stay is memorable... keep in mind that you are no longer in the UK. Respect the laws and values of the country and your stay should be an extremely enjoyable one," a British statement said.
In the Philippines, President Benigno Aquino said he hoped Ramadan would see social reconciliation in a heavily Roman Catholic country beset by profound poverty and corruption along with a long-running Muslim insurgency.
A separatist Muslim insurgency in the southern region of Mindanao has claimed more than 150,000 lives over the past four decades, and peace talks between the government and the rebels are due to start after Ramadan.
Across the Middle East, offices were opening later than usual and closing earlier to allow people to get home on time for the iftar meal that breaks the fast. A second meal, the suhur, is taken just before daybreak.
In many countries, authorities issued special traffic laws to ensure the streets are not choked when employees rush home.
Meanwhile journalist Anna Seaman, a Briton who converted to Islam, told readers how she conquered the hardship of fasting.
"I realised the struggle was not about missing my lunch, but about trying to become a better person," Seaman wrote in the Abu Dhabi newspaper The National on Wednesday.
She also noted that fasting is central to Christian and Jewish feasts, such as Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when Jews are forbidden from eating, drinking, driving and using electrical devices among other things, and Lent when Christians must give up certain food items during 40 days of Lent.
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