Jeddah: The Muslim World League (MWL) and the Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI) have joined hands to build the largest-ever museum dedicated to Islamic history and civilization.The huge center, to be established in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, is expected to attract 4 million visitors a year on completion.
MWL Secretary-General Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, and Indonesia’s minister of administrative reform and DMI vice chairman, Syafruddin, signed an agreement in Jeddah to mark the launch of the ambitious project.
The museum will be set up as a branch of its headquarters in Madinah, which was inaugurated during Ramadan under the sponsorship of Madinah Gov. Prince Faisal bin Salman. The opening received international recognition and the MWL had requests from 24 countries, including Indonesia, to help establish branches.
Using the latest presentation techniques, the Indonesian museum will house displays highlighting the biography of the Prophet Muhammad and Islamic civilization.
As the first branch of the global initiative, the Jakarta complex will also offer a range of events including discussions, training seminars, conferences and forums. When built, the museum is expected to cover an area of more than 100,000 square meters in the Jakarta suburb of Pioppo and will include conference halls and restaurants selling food accepted by Islam. Construction work is due to begin over the next few months.
(Arab News, 3 Oct, 2019)

JEDDAH: The first phase of “Smart Hajj” helped the movement, transportation and safety of pilgrims this year, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has announced.
Dr. Abdulfattah Mashat, deputy minister of Hajj and Umrah, and Dr. AbdulRahman Aljadhai, CEO of Elm Co., signed two memorandums of understanding to develop and operate the electronic platform for subsistence, health, environment, and to establish and operate the Qualifying and Licensing Center for Employees of Hajj and Umrah Sectors.
“The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah is undergoing digital transformation in cooperation with leading technology companies to promote the concepts of using smart solutions to provide high-quality services for the Guests of Allah, which will contribute to improving and enriching pilgrims’ experience in the Kingdom as well as achieve one of the main goals of Saudi Vision 2030,” Dr. Mashat said during a press statement at GITEX 2019.
“The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, in accordance with the instructions and guidance of the Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Mohammad Salih Bentin, has made many strategic partnerships with the private sector to improve the quality of services and the development of ‘Smart Hajj’ solutions, including the signing of memorandums of understanding last year with SAP in the field of technology, digital infrastructure, cloud computing, geospatial cloud computing platforms, Internet of Things, and smart cards to improve services,” he said.
Dr. Amr Al-Maddah, chief planning and strategy officer at the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, said: “Our Smart Hajj ensures that millions of pilgrims from around the world are transported quickly, easily and safely to religious sites on set schedules. (Arab News)

Cairo: The Egyptian capital, Cairo, will host the works of Al-Azhar International Conference on “Renewal in Thought and Islamic Sciences” next January, under the sponsorship and attendance of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
In a statement released late on Tuesday, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb said that President Sisi agreed to sponsor and attend the conference, in support of Egypt’s renowned Islamic institution to achieve its message to promote the tolerance of Islam and renounce the extremist thought.
Al-Azhar Al-Sharif has held a series of workshops that brought together representatives of various institutions and will continue its dialogue with various segments of society on the challenges of renewing religious thought. The conference will be attended by senior religious scholars from around the Islamic world.

Bloomberg: China has completed what it says was “de-radicalization” training in its western Xinjiang region, officials said in Beijing, as the government sought to defend the widespread detention of ethnic minorities.
Top officials for the predominately Muslim region of Xinjiang made the claim Monday during a briefing to promote policies they said were responsible for ending a spate of terrorist attacks. The briefing came less than a week after the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would sanction Chinese officials over percieved human rights abuses in the region, including what the United Nations says is the detention of as many as 1 million mostly Ughur Muslims.
It wasn’t immediately possible to verify the government’s claims, which have been previously questioned by activists. Independent analysis of satellite imagery, procurement records and government hiring announcements, as well as reporting by foreign media outlets including Bloomberg News, show that China has build a network of prison-like facilities across the region to house large populations.
Al Mujtama

The world’s eight richest billionaires control the same wealth between them as the poorest half of the globe’s population, according to a charity warning of an ever-increasing and dangerous concentration of wealth.
In a report published to coincide with the start of the week-long World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Oxfam said it was “beyond grotesque” that a handful of rich men headed by the Microsoft founder Bill Gates are worth $426bn (£350bn), equivalent to the wealth of 3.6 billion people. The development charity called for a new economic model to reverse an inequality trend.

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque came in third place among the top 10 world landmarks, according to global travel platform TripAdvisor. The top ten list was announced as part of TripAdvisor’s ‘Travelers Choice Awards’. This year’s awards recognized 759 landmarks across 68 countries and eight regions across the globe. According to TripAdvisor, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is “by far the youngest world landmark” on the top ten list, adding that the Mosque “holds its own against more established icons.”
Cambodia’s Angor Wat and Spain’s Plaza de Espana took in first and second place, respectively. UNA