MADINAH: Since the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) began issuing licenses to private museums, several have opened in Madinah. In Dar Al-Madinah Museum, visitors and researchers can learn about the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Islamic civilization and Madinah’s urban culture.
It is “the first and largest specialized museum of the history and cultural heritage of Madinah and the landmarks of the prophet’s life,” Hassan Taher, executive director said.
The museum, which has four main halls, publishes specialized periodicals on Madinah’s history and landmarks, and holds seminars and forums in this field. The hall on the prophet’s life includes a collection of rare paintings and images of Madinah, and unique collections from Islamic history. Another hall contains an open courtyard where visitors can enjoy nature and Madinah’s ancient architecture.
The museum is located on King Abdul Aziz Road in Madinah Knowledge Eco. City.

Five researchers and scientists from Malaysia, Jordan, Tunisia, the US and the UK have been named winners of the King Faisal International Prize (KFIP)for the year 2018, as the 40th edition of the renowned award recognized their distinguished contributions towards humanity.
The King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam has been awarded to Professor Irwandi Jaswir of Indonesia. Jaswir was recognized for his contribution to the establishment of ‘Halal Science’ pertaining to food; The prize for Islamic Studies (Topic: Critical Editions of Islamic Historical and Biographical Texts) has been awarded to Professor Bashar Awad of Jordan. The prize for Arabic Language and Literature (Topic: Studies Dealing with Autobiography in Arabic Literature) awarded to Prof. Chokri Mabkhout of Tunisia.
The prize for Medicine (Topic: Immunotherapy for Cancer) is awarded to Professor James Patrick Allison of USA This year’s prize for Science is in the area of Mathematics. It has been awarded to Professor Sir John Macleod Ball of UK, for his fundamental and groundbreaking contributions to nonlinear partial differential equations, the calculus of variations, and dynamical systems. The prize consists of a cash of Saudi Riyal 750,000, a 24 carat, 200 gram gold medal and a certificate.

Khazret Sultan Mosque in Astana can accommodate up to 10,000 worshippers and stands as one of the Kazakh capital’s most unique and magnificent buildings.
Built on 27-acres of land, it is the second largest mosque after Turkmenbasy Ruhy Mosque in Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat and has been attracting tourists since 2012.
The dome is 167-feet, and the minarets are 252-feet high at the three-storey mosque. This is where religious television programmes are provided to the public and articles are published.
Khazret Sultan Mosque has separate prayer rooms for men and women, a cafeteria, and classrooms for seminars.
(World Bulletin)

The College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Sharjah, UAE organized a three-day landmark event, “Third International Conference on Arabs’ and Muslims’ History of Sciences”, during 5-7 December 2017 under the theme “The Arabic & Islamic Scientific Heritage: Innovation, Acculturation, and Coexistence”.
The conference offered valuable opportunities for knowledge exchange, networking and learning about the Arabs and Muslims scientific and scholar heritage and latest findings and discoveries in the field. The conference had the following themes:
1. Innovative Culture and its impact in building educational community if the Islamic Civilization.
2. Scientific Research in Islamic Civilization.
3. Reviving the Arabic and Islamic Heritage and connecting it with modern scholarly activities.
4. History of Medicine and Health Sciences in Arabic and Islamic Civilizations.
5. Environmental Sciences in Islamic Thought.
6. Architectural Design and Engineering in Arabic and Islamic Civilizations.
7. Agricultural and irrigation in Arabic and Islamic Civilizations.
8. Basic Sciences and Astronomical discoveries in Arabic and Islamic Civilizations.
9. The evolvement of the science of encryption in early Arab and Muslim Scholars.
10. Islamic and Arabic heritage and its role in promoting free dialogue and the coexistence of civilizations.
The three-day event examined and discussed more than 150 scientific papers, delivered by notable experts from over twenty countries. During the conference, the attendees watched a film about the history of the conference and the objectives it is seeking to achieve. There was an exhibition accompanying the conference, which had rare manuscripts, archeological artifacts, and the valuable references and books from the UAE. The conference also had tourist visits and cultural evenings.

LONDON: The global halal food and beverage (F&B) market is set to boom in the next five years, driven by new entrants to the market. The sector is expected to grow from $1.24 trillion in 2016 to reach $1.93 trillion by 2022, according to the “State of the Global Islamic Economy” report.
“Halal food is the largest and most diverse sector of the Islamic economy. New entrants have come into the market, and product offerings have firmly moved beyond being meat-focused to include candy, ready-made meals, snacks and children’s food,” said the report, published by Dubai Islamic Economy Development Center (DIEDC) in conjunction with Thomson Reuters. It revealed that Muslim spend on food and beverages is growing at nearly double that of global growth — creating significant opportunities for investment and the creation of global halal food brands. (Arab News)

Chicago: Islam is one of the world’s largest religions, with more than a billion Muslims across the globe, including hundreds of thousands in the Chicago area, where there are more than 80 mosques, as for now a new study predicts steady growth of Islam across the country. According to Pew Research Center, there were roughly 3.45 million Muslims living in the United States in 2017, or just over 1 percent of the total population. The number of Muslims should grow to the degree that Islam could replace Judaism by 2040 as the nation’s second-largest religion, after Christianity.