The U.S. state of Alaska is due to get its first mosque in the town of Anchorage. The small Muslim community in the town have for years been performing congregational prayers in a rented space in a shopping mall, but the growing number of Muslims in the area left them will no choice but to search for a bigger space.
After years of fundraising, the four-year construction of the state’s first mosque is now near completion. The two-storey mosque will cater for both men and women, and will also include classrooms, offices and a library for the benefit of local Muslims who have migrated from all over the world.
ISLAMIC COUNCIL TO EXPAND SOCIAL SERVICES IN ETHIOPIA
Ethiopia’s Islamic Affairs Supreme Council on 26 August announced plans to expand social services across the Horn of Africa country. This was disclosed at a meeting organised by the council to discuss means of expanding social services in health and education, among other sectors, through the Awalia Aid and Development Organisation. “The organisation will strive to expand education service at all levels – kindergarten to college level – and work towards increasing health service coverage through building new health facilities and upgrading existing ones,” organisation manager Se’id Asmare said.
“Awalia will work towards the success of the country’s efforts to distribute education service among all citizens and help the public get access to improved health services,” he added.
INDIAN SCHOLAR NAMED FOR YTI CHAIR IN ISLAMIC FINANCE
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) has appointed Dr Mohammed Obaidullah as its 2nd Yayasan Tun Ismail (YTI) Chair Professor in Islamic Finance. Dr Obaidullah currently serves the Jeddah-based Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group as a Senior Economist and is widely known for his scholarly contribution to the field the Islamic economics and finance. He leads an on-going project at IRTI-IDB to author and publish an annual Islamic Social Finance Report in association with Thomson Reuters, which seeks to bridge the information gap in the global zakah, awqaf, Islamic cooperative, not-for-profit and microfinance sectors.
The Yayasan Tun Ismail Mohamed Ali Berdaftar (YTI) Chair in Islamic Finance is the result of a strategic partnership between Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) and Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) through Yayasan Tun Ismail (YTI). Prof Dr Zamir Iqbal, Head, Islamic Finance Centre, the World Bank was the maiden holder of this Chair during 2013-14.