Muslim scientists and clerics have called for the adoption of Makkah time to replace GMT, arguing that the Saudi city is the true centre of the earth. Makkah is the direction all Muslims face when they perform their daily prayers. The call was issued at a conference on Makkah, the Centre of the Earth, Theory and Practice held in the Gulf state of Qatar. One geologist argued that unlike other longitudes, Makkah’s was in perfect alignment to magnetic north. He said the English had impos...

Israel on April 25 rejected a Hamas offer for a six-month truce in the Gaza Strip that could be extended to the occupied West Bank. “Hamas is biding time in order to rearm and regroup,” government spokesman David Baker reportedly said. He said Israel would halt attacks in Gaza if rocket fire from the territory was ceased. “[But] Israel will continue to act to protect its citizens,” he said in apparent reference to Israeli air strikes and commando raids in the strip.&...

Ethiopian troops slaughtered nearly 30 Somali civilians taking shelter inside a mosque from raging clashes between Ethiopian forces and Islamic Courts fighters in Mogadishu, reports said on April 21, adding that six of the dead were scholars from the Tabligh Sufi group, which is not involved in the clashes. The victims had taken shelter inside Al-Hidaya Mosque in northern Mogadishu after fierce clashes between Ethiopian forces and Somali fighters.

“Ethiopian troops also th...

With the London mayoral and local election fast approaching, Muslims are campaigning and mobilising votes for incumbent Ken Livingstone, citing a record for tolerance and support. “Livingstone is maintaining excellent community relations,” Sheikh Suliman Gani, the Imam of Tooting Islamic Centre, was reported as saying. “He has done a wonderful job and it is essential that everybody, especially Muslims vote on May 1,” when the voters will elect the mayor of London and...

The UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs has admitted that the new death toll for the Darfur conflict he gave the UN Security Council was not accurate. “I am not saying I am sure,” John Holmes told reporters after briefing the UN on the latest developments in Sudan’s troubled western region, reports said on April 23. ”I said it’s a reasonable hypothesis, a reasonable extrapolation from the previous figures from studies done elsewhere,” ...

Christian and Jewish leaders in New Jersey are united against the possible deportation of prominent Imam Mohammad Qatanani, citing his distinguished record in promoting interfaith dialogue and peace. “[He is] the most moderate individual you could imagine,” Rabbi David Senter, leader of New Jersey’s Beth Shalom Congregation, was reported as saying on April 24. He said Qatanani, 44, has long worked for interfaith understanding.

The imam of the Islamic Center of ...