Word: haram
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...past few years, young Nigerian Muslim activists, most of them educated and from the middle class, have aggressively embraced a stricter version of Islam, rejecting anything Western and Christian. In the middle of 2009, the government cracked down hard on one group nicknamed the Nigerian Taliban - officially called Boko Haram - killing its leader and scores of his followers. Boko Haram had begun life in 2001 as a peaceful group focused on the study of the Koran, according to Abdulmumin Sa'ad, a Muslim scholar and professor of sociology at the University of Maiduguri. "The idea was that there...
...first, then rocking out and yelling, "Stop the hate!" The concert then comes to an abrupt halt when the meeting's organizers, backed by Chicago police, step in, deeming it "not Islamically appropriate." Afterward, the punks smash their guitars and begin an ironic, anti-authority chant outside: "Music is haram [forbidden]!" (See pictures of Muslims in America...
...ultimate rite of passage during the Hajj is circling the Kaaba, an immense black cube, spiritually considered by Muslims to be the center of the world, and literally located in the center of the Masjid al-Haram mosque in Mecca. During the Hajj, vast swells of worshippers seeking forgiveness circle the Kaaba counter-clockwise, seven times. Completion of all of the mandated rituals is believed the guarantee the pilgrim a place in heaven as well as the title of hajji (literally, one who has performed the Hajj) - coveted and admired in Muslim communities around the world...
...Sunday, as Israel prepared for the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, clashes erupted between Palestinians and Israeli security at the al-Haram al-Sharif compound, which houses the holy al-Aqsa Mosque, in East Jerusalem, reportedly after "immodestly dressed" tourists entered the compound, the third holiest site in Islam. The outrage had repercussions in the Gaza Strip, where the Islamist Hamas government called for fresh demonstrations against Israel...
...Nigeria A Sect Leader's Suspicious Death Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the radical Boko Haram sect, was shot while in police custody on July 30, as security forces moved to squash a five-day uprising by the militant Islamic group. Boko Haram members attacked police stations, churches, schools and private homes, killing nearly 800 people in an effort to overthrow the government and impose a stricter version of Islamic law in Africa's most populous nation. Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua, seeking to maintain control of an increasingly volatile situation, ordered an investigation into Yusuf's death, which authorities claim...