Vid: Middle EastEnders - The East London Mosque

Documentary about the history of the East London Mosque, which is marking its centenary.

Islam is often seen as a divisive force, but from the outset in 1910 its founders wanted a mosque that promoted harmony between Christian, Jews and Muslims in the east end. Baroness Uddin of Bethnal Green, worshippers from different generations, historians and undertakers and trustees of the mosque, examine how successful the mosque has been as a force for integration.

To View using the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00tkr8b

This programme was aired on Wed 25 Aug 2010 at 23:15. It will be available on the BBC iPlayer until 11:44pm Wednesday 1st September 2010.

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Also on the iPlayer is a recent documentary called: Heart And Soul - Recite!

Razia Iqbal explores why the oral tradition of memorising and reciting the Quran remains so powerful to this day.

She meets children who would rather learn the Quran than play with their playstations - and a calligrapher who draws fresh inspiration from the ancient text.

She also visits an imam with a passion for the Quran in cyberspace.

This programme was aired on BBC World Service, 11:32am Sunday 22nd August 2010.

To Listen: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0092pw0

To read further: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-10957293

Pics: Ramadan at Makkah

Pictures taken from Arabian Business, 19.08.2010

Dates are handed out as Muslims break their fast in the grounds of the Grand Mosque in Islam's holiest city of Makkah. (AFP/Getty Images)

Hundreds of Muslims break their fast in the grounds of the Grand Mosque. Muslim around the world are taking part in the Muslim lunar month of Ramadan when believers fast between dawn and sunset. (AFP/Getty Images)
During Ramadan Muslims wake up before dawn for the fajr prayer and a meal. The faithful break their fast at sunset, also with a prayer and a meal called iftar. (AFP/Getty Images)
Hundreds of Muslims gather to pray in the holy Muslim city. (AFP/Getty Images)

A Muslim man reads the Koran as the world's largest clock looms over the Grand Mosque. (AFP/Getty Images)
Muslims break their fast in the grounds of the Grand Mosque. (AFP/Getty Images)

Makkah Tower, the biggest clock in the world starts operation in Ramadan

Taken from Globalarabnetwork.com, 11.08.2010

by Talal Abdullah

Saudi Arabia (Makkah ) - With many countries in the world celebrating the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Saudi Arabia's and the world's biggest clock perched on the Makkah Clock Tower started the trial run since Wednesday morning.

The clock is perched on a sky rise which is part of the King Abdelaziz endowment property in Makkah, and the entire tower project is due for completion in three months.

The project was ordered by Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdelaziz in an attempt to provide an alternative for Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), currently used as international reference.

The design of the project has traditional Islamic architectural features and the clock is to be run with the latest operating systems and gear.

The tower is 601 meters high and the clock has four faces, one in each direction, with the name of Allah on top of each. The face of the clock is over 40 meters in diameter and is over 400 meters above surface level.

The call for prayer from the Holy Mosque would be heard from the new landmark's loudspeakers for a distance of almost seven kilometers. The tower itself could be seen from a distance of eight kilometers.

More pics (taken from arabianbusiness.com)

Pic: Day of Eid-ul-Fitr in Makkah 2008

Pictures taken from Daily Mail, 30th September 2008

It's one of the most awe-inspiring sights in religion.

Hundreds of thousands of Muslims circled the Kaaba inside and outside the Grand Mosque in the Saudi Arabian city of Makkah this morning.

Pictures: Makkah redevelopment project

Following on from the article
Islam's holiest city set for 130-skyscraper redevelopment

Here are some pictures of the redevelopment that is currently taking place in Makkah. The pictures are in no particular order and has been taken from forum on skyscrapercity.com. Do visit the site for up-to-date pictures. Thanks to Fahd Masood for the idea of a pictorial update of Makkah redevelopment.

Pictures before redevelopment
(click on the pictures to make them bigger)













Different Proposals
(I am not sure which one has been selected)













Pictures of the redevelopment taking place