By Ertan Karpazli / World Bulletin / 25 Dec 2013

Today, Christians around the world celebrate Christmas, marking what in common Christian culture is believe to be the birthday of Jesus Christ. This is a tradition that is centuries old, and dates back to the mid-fourth century when the Romans officially accepted the Trinitarian narrative of Christianity at the Council of Nicaea in 325.

Source : Worldbulletin.net / 13 Dec 2013

The Lebanese city of Saida has remained politically and economically significant since ancient times. The city was invaded in the 13th century by crusaders who built a castle on a hill overlooking Saida which is still standing and silently watching over the city as it has been doing in the last eight centuries.

Source : Worldbulletin.net / 10 Dec 2013

A large fountain and Bayrakli Mosque are among the many Ottoman landmarks in Samakov, a Bulgarian town close to the capital, Sofia. The large fountain, built in 1660, is the center-piece symbol of the town.

The town of Samakov, which is 60 km away from Sofia, is located on the Rila Mountain and known for its historical and cultural richness. It was one of the important settlements in Ottoman times and the town is still economically significant in terms of income from tourism, since Samakov is in the list of one hundred touristic destinations in the country.

By Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani / Deoband.org / 10 Dec 2013

Our master, the scholar of great learning, Shaykh Mufti Muhammad Shafi‘ (Allah Almighty have mercy on him), is counted amongst the leading ‘ulama of India and Pakistan who carried the banner of the pure religion in these lands and spent their lives and their strength in elevating its word, and lit in Deoband, India, the lamps of renewal with splendid flames and bright lights, so that the caravan of Islam continues to proceed, while eliminating the darknesses of disbelief and heresy and bringing life, by means of hope, to the souls caused to die by despair and hopelessness.

Source : AA.com.tr / 26 Nov 2013

A symposium marking the 500th anniversary of the printing of the first world map by renowned Ottoman sailor and cartographer Piri Reis began on Monday in Ankara.

Piri Reis produced the oldest known map of the globe in 1513. He created the map by integrating the knowledge of the sailors travelling all over the world and by using their skill in mathematics and the geometry.

By Abu Amina Elias / 25 Nov 2013

Question:

Why is the phase “In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,” not written at the beginning of Surah At-Tawbah?

Source : Onislam.net / 05 Nov 2013

Al-Madinah (Arabic for the city) was so called as it received Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) when he fled Makkah in 622 CE.

It is also known by the name Taibah derived from the Arabic word meaning kindness. Another name it goes by is Dar Al-Hijra (Arabic for Land of Migration) because it is where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had migrated to.

By Selma Cook / 05 Nov 2013

When Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) first started to tell people about the message of Islam, he was talking to people who knew him and his good and honest character.

We might think that knowing the piety of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would urge them to believe in the message and follow him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) but the people were living in an environment of many evils. They were engulfed in idol worship, racism, tribal and family pride and many types of injustice.

Source : Anadolu Agency | 02 Nov 2013

What could be the largest discovered inscribed tablet (stele), dating to the reign of Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II between 605-562 BC, has been discovered in the Turkish city of Karkamis on the military zone along the Turkey-Syria border.

Noting that the excavations sites are untroubled despite their proximity to the Syrian civil war, Dr. Nicola Marchetti said the Karkamis archeological museum is scheduled to open next year.