The Lighthouse Mosque is a new organization initiated by Imam Zaid Shakir. When the former Masjid Al-Iman in Oakland, California relocated to Berkeley, Imam Zaid had the foresight to keep and maintain the property. Thus, the Lighthouse Mosque began.

From the Facebook Lighthouse Mosque Group page:

“The Lighthouse Mosque is a community-based, grassroots Islamic effort to create a space for the unencumbered worship of Allah. It is not affiliated with any organization, nor is it reserved to advance the program of any specific group. It is funded by members of the local community and is dedicated to facilitating the basic teaching of Islam, the Arabic language, and a program of services that will benefit the people of the local community. Our desire is to create a space where people can come together to reinforce their faith, share the love, sisterhood and brotherhood of Islam, and work together to find creative solutions to problems plaguing both the Muslim and the greater community. At the Lighthouse Mosque we say that all are welcome, your insights, input, and income (a small fraction).”

The photo above shows Imam Zaid with Sidi Yusuf OConnell holding up the new sign for the mosque.

Photo credit: Khadija OConnell / Barakah Life

UPDATE: We have received a lot of traffic from people searching ‘lighthouse mosque’ on various search engines. If you are looking for the address: 4606 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland, CA.

Fajr prayers are held regularly and more services (like classes, etc.) will be added as the Lighthouse Mosque evolves.

Not your typical daily activity, but just imagine performing your dhuhr (afternoon) prayers while in orbit. Yes, we hear both sides of the space station saying that ‘you are above the ground’, ‘you need to be firm on the ground’, ‘you must rotate in prayer’, etc. But just imagine being in a zero G environment, floating and raising up to the qiyam (standing) position? And you thought praying outside on a windy day was tough to keep your praying mat from blowing away. In space, your praying mat would simply float away…..

Many of us have thought about this but… how does this apply to us? Well, performing your ibadah (worship) in space may not apply to you now but don’t forget we are in the 21st century (or 15th century after hijrah [migration]). Space is the next frontier as Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor will be experiencing soon. On October 10, 2007, our fellow Muslim from Malaysia will be lifting off this Earth and going beyond our upper and outer atmospheres. This gives him about 3 days of fasting. So if you find yourself fasting the last days of Ramadan in space, would you sight the moon or use the astronomically ‘perfect’ calendars found in your local mosque to celebrate Eid il Fitr?

You can read more about Astronaut Muszaphar’s story here: A Muslim Astronaut’s Dilemma: How to Face Mecca From Space

And if you ever find yourself orbiting Mars or Jupiter, you can use the following document (found in the article) as reference for your worship: Guidelines to Ibadah at the International Space Station.

And if you ever find yourself on the dark side of the moon… bring a flashlight.

Photo: Associated Press / Mikhail Metzel. Story contribution: Ebadur Rahman & Neaz Noor (Thanks!)

The Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has recently launched their new website. In addition to a new design, more functionality has been added. The site includes online membership registration with access to the following members-only features:

• Free downloads of select CAIR publications
• Daily or weekly subscription to CAIR’s informative and empowering e-mails
• 10% discounts on select CAIR events and publications
• CAIR’s “Know Your Rights Pocket Guide”
• Automatic online membership renewal

For the general user, the site offers access to action alerts, press releases and plenty of multimedia clips. Utilizing the importance of Muslim blogging, several top level CAIR personnel maintain a blog. Here is a list of blogs we found:

• Edgar Hopida Blog
• Ahmed Bedier Blog
• Dawud Walid Blog
• Parvez Ahmed Blog
• Nihad Awad Blog
• Hussam Ayloush Blog
• Iftekhar Hussain Blog

As for our involvement, we helped with the design…indirectly. Three IslamCrunch team members were invited for a publicity campaign photo-shoot. Some of the photos were used in CAIR’s new promotional brochure, on the website and at their ISNA Convention booth. We have provided a guide below to help you find some familiar IslamCrunch faces. We would like to thank Shafath Syed, president of the Bay Area CAIR executive committee who invited us to attend this prestigious opportunity.

Update: Images from the CAIR brochure Sept. 30, 2007 :::

Iqra bismi rabbika alladhee khalaqa – Read! In the name of your Lord who created…[Quran Chapter 96, Verse 1]

The Muslim Literary Society is a new “educational charity organization that promotes the intellectual, artistic and spiritual heritage of Islam through its classical literary works.” The MLS have collaborated with Sidi Muhtar Holland and Fons Vitae to publish 2 much-needed texts. The first text, al-Shama’il al-Muhammadiyyah (The Muhammadan Virtues), is due in Winter 2007.  The second text, Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din (Revival Religious Sciences), needs your support. The MLS is seeking donations which will help to complete the translation of Imam Ghazali’s renowned text and future projects. 

Visit Sidi Yursil’s blog for sample pages for the Ihya text. Also: full text of Sifat al-Muminun – Attributes of the Believers (Part 1).

Also, check out the MLS blog: http://themuslimliterarysociety.blogspot.com/

Thanks to our friend and brother: Sidi Irfan Nooruddin who is actively involved with MLS.

Unity has been established amongst Sunni Muslim scholars from across the globe! Imam Suhaib Webb announced on his blog about the Sunni Muslim Unity Pledge. The official pledge name is Pledge of Mutual Respect and Cooperation Between Sunni Muslim Scholars, Organizations, and Students of Sacred Knowledge.

IslamCrunch fully endorses this pledge and we seek the assistance of Allah s.w.t. to uphold this pledge. To see a list of other bloggers who endorse this pledge, please visit our friend Mujahideen Ryder’s post: The Sunni Unity Pledge.

Several of our teachers and friends from the Zaytuna Seminary Program have signed the pledge. Additionally,  we sincerely endorse this pledge to assist in establishing goodness and removing the evil from within our communities. Also, please visit Shaykh Yasir Qadhi’s post and Abu Eesa’s post with background information. 

Join the Facebook group here: