Passion Islam I December 2008 ORLD NEWSW I 13
Top German lawmaker urges
Muslims to be more politically active
Vice President of the German living in Germany of which 2.5 million the prior space of time.
Parliament, Wolfgang Thierse called are Turks. Most of Muslims reside in Some 14,352 out of 3.5 million
on Muslims in Germany to display a what used to be traditional working Muslims in the country are of German-
greater political engagement. class cities like Cologne, Hamburg, origin, according to figures released by
In a meeting with a group of Muslim Duisburg, Essen, Berlin, Frankfurt the Islam-Archive Central Institute.
clerics in Berlin, Thierse pointed out and Mannheim. Faced with daily verbal abuse
that political activism of German Islam has become one of the and racial discrimination, Germany’s
Muslims is well behind those of other fastest growing religions in Germany, Muslim community is also battling
Germans, especially those who have as some 4,000 Germans converted with educational problems for their
a migrant background. to Islam between July 2004 and June children and a chronic lack of job
The Social Democrat legislator 2005 which is four times as many as in opportunity.
stressed it was up to Muslims to prove
that Islam and democracy are indeed
very well compatible.
Thierse’s latest remarks
notwithstanding, German Islam
experts have stated that the German
society is still gripped by Islamophobia
which is hindering the chances of
Muslims to progress.
“There is still a lot of fear of Islam
in German society. It’s partially an
impediment in the advancement of
Muslims in Germany,” the chairwoman
of Germany’s Muslim Academy,
Hamideh Mohagheghi told recently
IRNA in Berlin.
Mohagheghi stressed there was
a still a ‘long way ahead’ to achieve
a full social integration of Germany’s
3.5 million Muslims.
There are 3.5 million Muslims
More than 20,000 Covering of the
Russian Pilgrims
Kaaba handed over
The President-General for covering is 20 million Saudi
to perform Hajj
the Grand Mosque and the riyals (USD 5.3 million)
Prophet’s Mosque, Sheikh and made of natural silk
Saleh bin Abdul Rahman which is cast on black. It is
Al-Hussayn handed the 14 meters high, decorated
covering of the Kaaba to around the top with a 95-
the Chief caretakers of centimeter-width belt.
the Kaaba, Sheikh Abdul Under the belt, there
Aziz Al-Shebi. On the first are Quranic verses written
day of the hijri lunar month within the framework of
Thul-Hijja, the delivery of their respective separate
More than 20,000 Russian Muslims are planning to
the new external cladding divisions that exist in the
perform Hajj this year.
takes place to be installed form of jellyfish.
In a statement to Novosti news agency, a Russian
on the Kaaba in the ninth The covering of the
official said that 14,000 of the Russian pilgrims will travel
day of the month instead Kaaba consists of five
by air, while 6, 000 will travel by land.
of the current covering that pieces of clothing covering
had been granted a special every piece of it. The fifth
The Russian official noted that the number of the
factory since the era of the piece curtain is placed
Russian pilgrims who will arrive in the Kingdom by air this
late founder King Abdulaziz on the door of the Kaaba,
year is more than two folds of the number of those who
Al Saud. and such pieces are
will travel by land. The total cost of Kaaba interconnected.
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28