Fasting And Economics
The only connection between fasting and economics for most of us is the market pick-up particularly in the food sector as Ramadan approaches. As if they have waited for the opportunity for 11 months, Muslims roll up their sleeves and naturally enliven the markets. Just like the writing materials and school clothing markets pick up with the opening of school every fall. In his famous work The Rev...

'Those With Dates at Home Won't Go Hungry'
The month of Ramadan is upon us. The display windows and street stands have now been prepared for Ramadan. The foods which will adorn the blessed iftar tables are piling up in storage rooms. The fruit which receives the most attention and is the most popular item on stands is undoubtedly the date. So much so that the date is one of the first food items which comes to mind when thinking of iftar t...

What is the Call to Prayer?
The word adhan is an Arabic word in the infinitive form with the dictionary meaning of "to inform, to announce, to call"; when this word is used for the recitation from the minarets of mosques at the time of compulsory prayers, it is the special announcement made to the believers five times a day. The word muezzin, which comes from the same root, means "one who reads the adhan", while mi'zene me...

Peace Through Inquiry
Daughter of a priest, whose father was also a priest in the Church of England, Clare Duman used to attend church every Sunday, like every practicing Christian, until the age of 18. Today living in Fethiye, Turkey with her husband and two children, Duman shares the peace of her last fifteen years with Lastprophet.info readers. “Before I married my Turkish husband I didn't really know anything abou...

Prophet Muhammad: A Complete Example of Integrity
"I said to myself, ‘How pure Islam is!'" says Jakab György, a Hungarian convert, as he tells the story of his conversion to Islam. Born on Feb. 15 1974 in Budapest, Hungary, György notes that he has not lived a religious at all until the day he began to feel interestes towards the spiritual aspect of Islam. Having studied at a master's program in Peace and Conflict Studies at the European Univers...

A Living Model of Spiritual Perfection: Prophet Muhammad
I had been an atheist and had not have any religion, which is nowadays more and more the case for the people of Western countries, even if formally they belong to Christianity. A Living Model of Spiritual Perfection: Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) Ramon Hegedus was born in 1982 in Hungary. He has been married to a Hungarian Muslim woman for 3 years. He earned a Master and a PhD degree in biolog...

Coming Closer to God
Laila Franklin-Yildirim (37) is a nurse who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. She has a Master of Business Administration and Healthcare Management. She also has three children (and a cat). Her passion is working with the non-profit organization that she has founded, the House of Muslimahs, which provides Islamic education to Muslim women in the Atlanta area. How did you come to embrace Islam? Is t...

Mawlid in the Middle East
The Mawlid celebrations in the Middle East have a lot in common. As much of the Muslim population in Europe consists of immigrants from the Middle East, the origins of the celebrations in Europe originally come from the Middle East, where the Mawlid is celebrated with great enthusiasm. For instance in Egypt, the Mawlid is like a festival and a ceremony combined, and is the center of Egyptian a...

Mawlid in the Balkans
The term Mawlid is part of the daily vocabulary of the Muslim population in the Balkans. It is a term that is of great importance meaning due to the fact that it symbolizes the identity of a people who are followers of Islam.

In the dictionaries Mawlid is defined as follows:

1. The Dictionary of Foreign Words, by Mikel Ndreca: mevlyd - Ar. Mawlid, Turk. Mevlit - birthday of Muhammad. Religious me...

Mawlid in Africa
The Mawlid celebrations in Africa are quite different from those celebrated in the Middle East or Asia. Even the name of the celebrations differs according to the country or region of the continent. For instance, in Sudan the Mawlid celebrations are called Havliye, in Mali it is Donba (as "The Big Day"), in Nigeria it is Gani-gani-rite de passages, in Togo fête des couteaux. (1) In many African co...

Mawlid in Europe
Every year the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is celebrated with a variety of different activities in parts of Europe. In nearly every country of Europe, Muslim populations come together to meet on this blessed night, to pray and celebrate together. For instance, in recent years, women organizations in the UK have marked the occasion of the Mawlid. Commonly held in community centers, these pr...

Mawlid in Asia
Indonesia

Indonesia is one of the largest nations with a majority-Muslim population in Asia. Religion is very important in Indonesia, and this can be understood from the first principle of the state: "Pancasila", which means "belief in the one and only God." Although there are many religions that are practiced in the country, Islam has the highest percentage, with 86% of the population.1 For this ...