No kissing the kaaba at this year’s hajj
The year was 2014 and already Ebola was on everyone's minds. Mers and avian flu have scared off people from hajj, but covid-19 has closed Saudi's doors. This year a very modest, local hajj will take place.
Religion
Jinn and why you should care
Jinn, AKA genies, are very much alive and thriving in Islamic thought around the world. Read about jinn, and how to keep them out of your hair
7 Things You Should Know Before Getting a Tarot Card Reading
A tarot card reading is the process of getting in touch with the past and the present to gain an insight into what the future holds through the use of a special deck of cards. More often than not, people who read tarot cards have the passion to do so because they are gifted with […]
What’s Smudging, And Why Is Everyone Doing it?
Burning medicinal herbs may clear your mind and heart - and drive bad vibes away.
Mecca’s Hajj cancelled this year
With the occasional stampede, the last big one in 2015 killed more than 2000, you might just be saving your life from more than corona.
Zakat is how Muslims pay it forward
Zakat is a form of alms-giving treated in Islam as a religious obligation or tax, which, by Quranic ranking, is next after prayer in importance. As one of the Five Pillars of Islam, zakat is a religious duty for all Muslims who meet the necessary criteria of wealth.
King David tolerated cults in Jerusalem? Archeology reveals religious diversity
Cult worship was largely practiced and even sanctioned in the Holy Land while Jerusalem's Temple stood.
One Of The World’s Oldest Mosques Excavated In The Negev
The rocky brown soil of the Negev desert suggests an empty environment, but recent excavations by the Israel Antiquities Authority have brought to light an ancient mosque from the 7th-8th centuries CE there. It’s one of the earliest known mosques in the world, a surprising find in the area. Dr. Jon Seligman and Shahar Zur, […]
Ancient Samaritan’s wealth uncovered in Jerusalem
We’ve all heard about the Good Samaritan. What about the Wealthy Samaritan? And did you know that two small groups of native Samaritans still live in Israel protecting their customs as they did in biblical times? A 1,600 year old estate of a wealthy Samaritan covered in Central Israel at Zur Natan. The estate, discovered in […]
Muslim prayer mat designed to use 50% less material
The Bahraini design office Shepherd Design Studio has tongue-in-cheek reinterpreted the traditional Islamic prayer mat to make it more sustainable. Their solution? Use 50% less material but removing the bits y9ou don’t need. Featuring an unusual form, the rug will certainly catch the eyes of your neighbors during your call to prayer. “When Muslims are in prostration […]
 Getting Ready For End Times On A Real-Life Noah’s Ark
It takes grit to pursue a dream, and for Dutch carpenter Johan Huibers, a literal dream drove him to recreate Noah’s Ark. Convinced that he’d received a sign from God after a nightmare in which epic storms flooded Holland, the devout Christian determined to teach the world about coming end times, using as an evangelical […]
Live in Sustainable Booths for the Jewish Holiday of Sukkoth
Jews in Israel will live for a week in a sukkah, starting next week. It’s a time to get back to nature, and one’s roots. We’ve had a marathon of Israeli holidays the past while. There was Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and next week the holiday Sukkoth. For the Jewish nation in Israel and around the […]
Holy cow! Prophecy fulfilled after red heifer is born at Temple of Israel
Last week in Jerusalem a baby cow was born. Watch the adorable infant scamper around her mother in a short video released on YouTube by the Temple of Israel, below. Why is this worth your attention? Because – according to some Jewish and Christian scholars – this tiny red calf may be ushering in the […]
Apple Cake With Apricot Jam Glaze
Tonight, Sunday the 9th of September, marks the first day of the Jewish New Year 2018, Rosh HaShanah 5779. The holiday extends until Tuesday September 11th at nightfall. There are four holiday meals to prepare – five, if you include late afternoon of the second day, and that’s not to mention formal or informal breakfasts […]
Rebel, rebel: see Iranian women dance in public
Need a respite from awful news? You can opt to plunk down money for one of this summer’s superhero movies – or better yet – tune in to a few homespun videos viralling online that show the real, and stoppable, quest of Good trumping Evil. Pardon the use of that once-powerful verb. Thankfully, this is not […]
Connecting the Profound: Jewish Passover and the Environment
Passover 2018 in Israel begins after sunset on the evening of Friday, March 30th, and ends at dusk on Friday, April 6th. Outside of Israel, the holiday ends on Saturday, April 7th, at night. The holiday marks the time when the Israelities left Egypt as slaves, and entered the land of Israel (Canaan) as free people […]
Iranian women “selfies” without headscarves causing rivers to dry up
Today on the streets of Jaffa, where I live, I saw for the first time in my life a woman in hijab (helmet on top) driving her motorbike in full throttle along Jerusalem Boulevard. She was too quick for me (on my peddle bike!) to take a photo. I was pretty proud of her, because […]
What happens if Ebola virus joins the Hajj to Mecca?
The Ebola virus, already said to be virtually out of control in west Africa, may also be threatening Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East. The virus, which still has no known cure, has so far resulted in more than 3,300 confirmed deaths in the three West Africa countries of Guinea, Liberia and […]
Shmita and surviving a year in Israel without starving as the land rests
Shmita is a Jewish way to let the land rest once every 7 years. For Jewish Israelis it’s a deeply spiritual practice. Some may be surprised to know that the significance of this commandment is deeply ecological too.
From mosque to mosque by bike at Tour de Salah eco event
British Muslims went green this past Saturday, as Muslims from all over London took part in a 100 km cycle ride from Mosque to Mosque. Muslims pray 5 times a day from dawn until dusk, and each “Salah” prayer constituted a different stop at some of London’s most iconic houses of worship, from the East […]
Watch ISIS militants take over and burn marijuana fields in Syria
Maybe we’d have a little more tolerance and understanding in this world if ISIS just smoked some of the plants instead. Or maybe the plan is to smoke some of the spoils. Watch the video above as ISIS burns alleged cannabis plant fields in Syria.
The anti-fat fatwa is not a joke for buffet lovers in Saudi Arabia
Saudi cleric Saleh al Fawzan has decided that all-you-can-eat buffets are against Sharia (Islamic) law, unappetizing news for Muslims devoted to bargain dining deals!
Fatwa saves tigers! Hunting rare creatures, dear Muslims, is now Haram
Could a fatwa, a religious Muslim order, save a tiger? Watch and see, because the Indonesian Council of Clerics (ICC), the country’s highest Islamic body, has just proclaimed that hunting endangered animals is haram!
DIY chocolate fruit-nut clusters for Purim baskets
The Jewish holiday of Purim 2018 begins this coming Wednesday night, the 28th of February, and continues through Thursday the 29th. In Jerusalem and other ancient walled cities, the holiday is called Shushan Purim and occurs on Thursday night, the 1st of March, through Friday.
Holy Green Monday for Lent! A planet-friendly Cyprus tradition
Last Monday, Orthodox Christians across the Middle East kicked off the 40-day Lenten season with a wonderful food-based tradition called Green Monday, when folks tuck into a delicious (and usually outdoor) luncheon of greens, olives, potatoes and seafood.