Many Muslim scholars due for meet
Kota Kinabalu
Some 350-400 Muslim scholars from the Southeast Asia region will converge in Kuching,Sarawak for an Islamic convention (Nadwah Ulama Ke-2) on July 13-14. Disclosing this to newsmen at theKota Kinabalu International Airport on Monday, Sarawak Islamic Council head, Datuk Haji Putit Matzen said the gathering is being jointly organized by the Sarawak Government and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
Putit was inSabah over the last few days to promote the conference. According to him, the response from invited countries had been very encouraging, with the council extending invitations to theBorneo region, including Kalimantan and Brunei. UKM, on the other hand, has the task of inviting participants from mainland countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, as well as Singapore.
Meanwhile, Putit also disclosed thatSarawak would be hosting a Conference of Islamic Scientists on Sept 29-Oct 2, in Kuching, jointly organized by the Sarawak Government and Jordan-based Islamic Academy of Science.
Taken From:
http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=19740God in the classroom
A new religious school opens somewhere in NSW every six weeks. This phenomenon, however, is not merely about religion. Non-believers are moving their children out of state schools to be educated alongside the children of the devout and religiously ambivalent.
As Phillip Heath, president of Australian Anglican Schools, sees it, parents are flocking to religious education for "the package" that provides "a moral and ethical educational framework".NSW is leading this spiritual revival in non-government education. Some 330,000 students, or 30 per cent of the state's total, attend religious schools. And most denominations plan to open more schools in a wide arc onSydney's fringe and along the coast from Nowra to Tweed Heads.Brendan Nelson, the federal Minister for Education, says religious schools offer the trifecta that parents are looking for: identity, discipline and values. "They increasingly want values that inform the personal development of their children."
The largest enrolment rises from 1990 to 2000 were in Christian, Anglican and Islamic schools. There was a net increase of 55 non-government schools in that period and most were religious. From 1992 to 2002, the number of public schools increased by 31 to 2211.
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http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/06/22/1056220481849.html JakartaA pilot project for the transmission of Islam cultural programs on a satellite television channel has been launched here, and would be known as the RAHMAN CHANNEL. And in the United States also efforts have started for the setting up of an Islamic satellite TV station, to be known as BRIDGES, and will beam its programs in the English language. Its programs would, among other things, seek to enlighten its viewers on Muslim in America.
Taken From:
http://www.islamicnews.org/english/en_daily.html