On Thursday evening, the Cyprus Islamic Association of Britain will be hosting its annual prayer night to usher in the three sacred months of Islam (‘Üç Aylar’). The prayer night takes place on Regaip Kandili (the conception of the Prophet Muhammed), which is one of four ‘kandil’ nights that occur each year that are particularly […]
Today marks the start of a three-day public holiday in Turkey and North Cyprus to celebrate the end of the 30-day fast of Ramazan. Several other Muslim countries will also follow suit, after the new crescent moon was observed in Mecca. The rest of the Muslim world will commence their own festivities, which is called […]
Today millions of Muslims around the world have started to fast during daylight hours. This period of abstinence will last for one month. Known as Ramazan in Turkish, or Ramadan, this month is regarded as the holiest in the Muslim calendar as it is believed this was when the Ku’ran was first revealed to the […]
A Turkish Kurdish lawyer and imam has created waves by attacking European mosques and clerics that are funded by foreign governments, including Turkey. Feminist Seyran Ateş, who founded the liberal Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque in Berlin in 2017 where men and women pray together, claims foreign influence drives Islamic extremism in Europe, and prevents a tolerant […]
A Turkish-owned mosque in North London has featured in a short video about ten of Britain’s most distinctive mosques. The 2-and-a-half minute sequence of photos has been compiled by anti-Islamophobia body MEND (Muslim Engagement and Development). It opens with images of Aziziye Mosque and its stunning Ottoman-inspired domes and décor. Other mosques in the […]
Britain’s first Turkish-owned mosque made history this week becoming one of the first UK Islamic institutions to accept donations in Bitcoin – a digital or cryptocurrency operating independently from central banks. The East London-based Masjid Ramadan, also known as Shacklewell Lane Mosque, “has embarked on a new venture, which is to take the Bitcoin as an […]
Yesterday was the first day of fasting for Muslims in Turkey and the Balkans. Today, the rest of the Muslim world joins them. The countries’ start dates vary by the way they follow the lunar calendar, with some waiting for their top Islamic clerics to see the crescent part of a new moon, which signals […]
This Friday evening, the Cyprus Islamic Association of Britain will be hosting its annual prayer night to usher in the three sacred months of Islam (‘Üç Aylar’), which concludes at the end of the month of fasting known in Turkish as Ramazan. The prayer night takes place the day after Regaip Kandili Gecesi, which […]
Today, Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha, or Kurban Bayramı as we say in Turkish. It is an important religious holiday, which in Muslim-majority states such as Turkey will mean a public holiday that runs until 4 September. Eid al-Adha is a time when many will undertake a holy pilgrimage (hajj or ‘hac’ […]
A new game show for Ramazan on Turkey’s flagship state broadcaster channel has incensed many conservative religious groups across the country. The show, Kur’an-ı Kerim’i Güzel Okuma Yarışması [Kuran: Beautiful Recital Competition], televised each night, shows men competing by reciting passages from the Kuran. A panel of three judges give feedback to the competitors, […]
