Thailand halal conference expected to attract thousands

Source: eturbonews.com

First Thailand Halal Assembly to help boost trade, travel with Islamic World poster-halal-assembly-re02Bangkok – An estimated 5,000 delegates are expected to meet in Bangkok between 28 – 30 December for the first “Thailand Halal Assembly 2014″ to be held at the Bangkok Convention Centre, Centara Grand Hotel at CentralWorld.

Organised jointly by the Halal Science Centre of Chulalongkorn University, the Central Islamic Council of Thailand and Halal Standard Institute of Thailand, the event is designed to help upgrade the standards of halal products and services being made in Thailand to cater to the rapidly growing Islamic market, both within Asia and worldwide. Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-Ocha will deliver the opening speech.

HalalTrip wants to be every Muslim’s handy travel guide

Source: techinasia.com

By: Enricko Lukman

The Muslim tourism industry is huge. A study estimates that the “global Muslim tourism market in 2011 was US $126.1 billion in outbound expenditure 1” or 12.3 percent of the global outbound tourism expenditure in that year. It’s estimated that the Muslim tourism market will grow an average of 4.79 percent year-on-year until 2020.

This explains why Crescent Rating, a ratings company for halal friendly travel services behind that study, decided to launch a B2C Muslim tourism service called HalalTrip.

Launched in December 2013, HalalTrip will sell three travel services to Muslims online: the booking of flight tickets, hotels, and tour packages (to be launched this week). All three are offered in cooperation with travel companies Wego (flights), Booking.com (hotels), and Kuoni (travel packages).

What makes the site special however is that it offers travel recommendations based on the halal friendliness of each product 2. The “halal friendliness level” is derived from the parent company’s database of halal tourism ratings. The website also carries a directory of halal friendly restaurants and mosques.

Why Todd Wasserman Won’t Be Buying an Apple Watch

Source: mashable.com

By: Todd Wasserman

The Apple Watch won’t hit the market until early 2015, but I’ve already decided I don’t want one. It looks like an elegant, useful and fashionable device. I could see why some others might be counting the days until it hits the Apple Stores, but it’s not for me.

Join the BDS movement and make an impact!

Source: http://www.bdsmovement.net

Why should I join the boycott of Israel?

World governments have failed to end their support for Israel’s crimes or put pressure on Israel to comply with international law and human rights.

By working together on focused consumer boycotts and campaigns against the companies and institutions that help Israel to commit its crimes, the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement is a powerful and strategic tool for isolating Israel.

Check out our timeline to see BDS-related achievements to date. Boycotts and sanctions helped end apartheid in South Africa!

Deep story about Umar bin al-Khattab (may God be pleased with him)

When Umar bin al-Khattab radi allahu `anhu (may God be pleased with him) was walking in the market, he passed by a man who was supplicating, “O Allah, make us of Your ‘few’ servants! O Allah make us of Your ‘few’ servants!”

So ‘Umar said to him, “Where did you get this du`a’ (supplication) from?” And the man said, “Allah in His Book says ‘And few of My servants are grateful.’(Qur’an 34:13)” So ‘Umar wept and admonished himself, “The people are more knowledgeable than you, O Umar! O Allah make us of Your ‘few’ servants.”

Sometimes when you advise someone to leave a sin, they respond with “But most people do it, it’s not just me!” But if you look for the words “most people” in the Qur’an, you will find that most people “do not know” (7:187), “do not give thanks” (2:243) and “do not believe” (11:17). And if you look for “most of them”, you will find that most of them are “defiantly disobedient” (5:59), “ignorant” (6:111), “turning away” (21:24), “do not reason” (29:23), and “do not listen” (8:21).

So be of the “few”, whom Allah says about them:

“And few of My servants are grateful.” (34:13)

“But none had believed with him, except a few.” (11:40)

“In the Gardens of Pleasure, A [large] company of the former peoples, And a few of the later peoples.” (56:12-14)

Ibn al-Qayyim (ra) said, “Go on the path of truth and do not feel lonely because there are few who take that path, and beware of the path of falsehood and do not be deceived by the greatness of the perishers.”

Mass casualties as Gaza market area bombed (Video)

At least 17 killed and 200 injured in Shujayea, an area Israel said was not included in four-hour humanitarian window.

Source: http://www.aljazeera.com/

At least 17 Palestinians have been killed and 200 wounded in the bombardment of an area of Shujayea during a “humanitarian pause” unilaterally announced by Israel.

The attack came on the outskirts of the Shujayea, between Gaza City and the Israeli border, shortly after the Israeli army said it was observing a limited, four-hour Wednesday ceasefire from midday GMT, or 3pm local time.