Did you know the letter ‘J’ is no more than 600 years old?

Bismillah – Clearing the Confusion

Source: islamictreasure.com

Basmalah (reciting Bismillah) which means “In the name of Allah”, has been an easy target for critics of Islam and has constantly been bombarded with illogical allegations. There stands a great need to clear out the very genuine queries which many non-muslim have regarding bismillah and also the need to answer all the allegations against it in order to stitch the mouth of all those illogical boasters who try and allege the authenticity of Islam.

Muhammad tops charts as No. 1 baby name in UK

Source: rt.com

The most popular name for baby boys in the UK is Muhammad, according to a new chart for 2014 compiled by BabyCentre. The name, also spelled as Mohammed and often given after the Muslim prophet, has seen an enormous gain in popularity, jumping 27 ranks.

“Traditionally Mohammed is often given to the first-born boy in Muslim families,” managing editor at parenting website BabyCentre, Sarah Redshaw, told the Mirror. “The increase of other Arabic names in the top 100 shows the ever-increasing diversity of the UK today.”

Chefchaouen, Blue City of Morocco (IMAGES)

 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chefchaouen

 It is the chief town of the province of the same name, and is noted for its buildings in shades of blue. Chefchaouen is situated in the Rif Mountains, just inland from Tangier and Tetouan. The city was founded in 1471, as a small fortress which still exists to this day, by Moulay Ali Ben Moussa Ben Rached El Alami (a descendant of Ibn Machich and Idris I, and through them, of the prophet Muhammad) to fight the Portuguese invasions of northern Morocco. Along with the Ghomara tribes of the region, many Moriscos and Jewssettled here after the Spanish Reconquista in medieval times. In 1920, the Spanish seized Chefchaouen to form part of Spanish Morocco. Spanish troops imprisoned Abd el-Krim in the kasbah from 1916 to 1917, after he talked with the German consul Dr. Walter Zechlin (1879–1962). (After defeating him with the help of the French force Abd el-Krim was deported to Réunion in 1926). Spain returned the city after the independence of Morocco in 1956.

My name is Zayd Mikhail and this is how I accepted Islam

Source: http://hadithoftheday.com/zayd/

My name is Zayd Mikhail and this is the story of how Allah SWT helped me find Islam.

I am from New York, United States and I accepted Islam in 2010 when I was 25 years old. I was born into a Catholic family. I don’t remember how practicing my dad was because my parents divorced at a young age, but my mum has always been dedicated to her religion. She never forced it on me, or any of my brothers, but it was important to her that we attend church once a week with her as part of spending time together.

As a young adult my mum actually almost became a nun for the Catholic Church, but met my dad just before she entered into a nunnery. After church on Sundays, I went to “Sunday School” like many Catholic children do, but I was inquisitive and had dozens of questions after every sermon. I asked things like “If Jesus is God how can he be the son of God?” And “If Jesus died for our sins then we can sin as much as we want and go to heaven?” No one ever gave me any real solid answers for these types of questions.

The most popular baby name in Israel: Mohammed

By: Ilan Lior

Source: forward.com

The list of Israel’s most popular names for newborns did not include obviously Arab names, including the most popular boy’s name of Mohammed, the Population, Immigration and Border Authority confirmed on Sunday.

The authority circulated a list with the 10 most popular names for boys and for girls under the heading, “The most common names among babies born this year” – referring to the Jewish year 5774 – but neglected to mention that the list only included Hebrew names. According to this list, Yosef was the most popular boy’s name, followed by Daniel, Ori, Itai, Omer, Adam, Noam, Ariel, Eitan and David.

However, the name given most often to newborns during 5774 was actually Mohammed. Moreover, the ranking for Yosef – which was in fact the second most commonly given name – also includes Arab babies named Yusef, which in Hebrew is spelled the same way.

It turns out that the population authority only omitted clearly Arab names like Mohammed and Ahmed – which would have been the ninth most common name, had it been included.

According to the authority, the most popular newborn name for girls this past year was Tamar, which pushed Noa into second place after it had spent 14 years at the top. Those two names were followed by Shira, Adele, Talya, Yael, Lian, Miriam, Maya and Avigayil. Here, too, the names Lian, Miriam (Maryam) and Maya are used by both Jews and Arabs.

The authority put out a similar list last year, also without citing the fact that it included only Hebrew names, and nor did it issue a separate list relating to the Arab population. By contrast, the data issued annually by the Central Bureau of Statistics contains three separate lists of the most commonly given names – for Jews, Muslims and Christians.

Population, Immigration and Border Authority spokesman Sabine Hadad said, “The statistics published were the statistics requested during the past few years by everyone who contacted us to obtain this information, and for that reason the list relating to the most popular Hebrew names was issued. Contrary to the assumptions of the Haaretz newspaper, there is no plot to deliberately hide information. As proof, when your reporter asked to receive the complete list, it was given to him within a few minutes.”

The official number of Israeli citizens on the eve of the Jewish New Year on Wednesday is 8,904,373, the authority said, representing a growth of 2 percent over a year ago. It should be noted, however, that the authority counts the number of people who hold Israeli citizenship, some of whom do not live in the country. The CBS reported in May that 8.18 million people live in Israel, including Arab residents of East Jerusalem, but excluding some 200,000 foreign workers and thousands of asylum seekers.

The number of babies born in Israel during the past year was 176,230 – 90,646 boys and 85,584 girls. A total of 24,801 people immigrated to Israel during this period. A total of 140,591 Israelis registered their marriages in Israel during 5774, 75,848 having tied the knot during this period, the others having done so previously. In contrast, 32,457 divorces were registered, of which 23,419 were finalized this year.

There were a total of 18,638,796 entries and exits at the country’s border crossings – 10,745,047 by Israelis and 7,893,749 by foreigners.

100 Muslims, 1 Question – Episode 1: Favorite Name of Allah SWT (Video)

 In the first episode of ‘100 Muslims, 1 Question’ we asked American Muslims from all walks of life what is their favorite Name of Allah SWT. These are their responses.
More episodes…

When It Comes to Killing in the Name of Religion and Nationhood, Christians Hold the Modern Record

Source: truth-out.org

There are few Americans — if any but extremist Armageddon (of any religion) and anti-government militia supporters — who feel anything but the deepest of sorrow for the victims of the Boston Marathon apparent religious act of terrorism – conducted by what appear to be a radicalized permanent resident and his younger brother, an American citizen. It was — as was 9/11 —  a heinous, shocking act.

But the insightful Juan Cole puts into perspective that most followers of Islam are peaceful people.  The Jihadists and their networks compose a small percentage of believers in the Islamic faith.

My name is Luke and this is my story of how I accepted Islam.

Source: http://hadithoftheday.com

I was born in Sydney Australia to an Australian born mother and an Egyptian born, Greek Italian father, who migrated to Australia in his thirties.

My mother had been a nun prior to her marriage to my father, so my siblings and I grew up with Sunday church and Catholic ideals. We gradually stopped going to church soon after my mother passed away when I was 11 years old. I know that I personally developed a bit of resentment towards a God that I believed could take my mother away from us when we needed her most. At age 11, I guess this was my way of dealing with it.