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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Mecca

Mecca stories: 8 news summaries

Architects Compete for Massive Mecca Makeover

Vast complex to be tripled in capacity to fit Hajj pilgrims

Nov 28, 08 1:45 PM CST
(Newser) - Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid are among the 18 architects reportedly in the running for the daunting job of remaking Mecca: designing a mosque complex to accommodate the 3 million pilgrims making the yearly Hajj. The "new architectural vision" would more than triple the complex's capacity and make... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Mecca • mosque • hajj • architect

 Mecca Time Plugged 
 for World Standard 

Muslim scholars say British-imposed GMT due for a change

Apr 21, 08 4:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - A group of Muslim scholars wants Mecca time to replace Greenwich Mean Time as the world's default setting, the BBC reports. As Islam’s holiest city lies in perfect longitudinal alignment to magnetic north, scientists told a Qatar conference that Mecca was the “true” center of the earth. GMT,... More »

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Islam • Saudi Arabia • England • Qatar • Mecca • scientists • Greenwich Mean Time • time

Fatah and Hamas Sign Deal, But Feuding Continues

Rival Palestinian factions bicker over control of Gaza

Mar 23, 08 8:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - In a second attempt to mend fences, rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas agreed to resume direct talks today to resolve disputes and revive their failed coalition. A Hamas official called the deal “a new beginning and the start of a new stage,” but just hours after signing... More »

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Israel • Middle East • Saudi Arabia • Gaza • Hamas • Fatah • West Bank • Mecca • Yemen • Palestinians • peace deal

57 Saudi Men Arrested
for Flirting

Prosecutors say they exhibited 'bad' behavior to woo girls at malls

Feb 23, 08 1:03 PM CST
(Newser) - Authorities in Saudi Arabia arrested 57 young men accused of flirting with girls at shopping malls in Mecca, the BBC reports. Prosecutors say the men wore indecent clothing, played loud music, and danced to attract the girls’ attention. The arrests were prompted by Saudi’s Commission for the Promotion of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Islam • Saudi Arabia • Mecca • Wahhabism • Valentine's Day • religious police • gender segregation • flirting

Pilgrims Use Wi-Fi at
Hajj for First Time

Wireless routers set up at 70 holy sites for ancient Islamic ritual

Dec 22, 07 3:06 PM CST
(Newser) - Muslim pilgrims had free access to Wi-Fi for the first time during the Hajj, which ended yesterday in Saudi Arabia. The short-term service, provided by two telecom firms, had 70 access points around holy sites and took only two months to assemble. Pilgrims say that online access helped them seek... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Islam • Saudi Arabia • Muslims • Mecca • WiFi • pilgrimmage • pilgrim • Hajj

Saudis Foil Hajj Attack

Militants aiming to disrupt Muslim ritual nabbed

Dec 22, 07 6:27 AM CST
(Newser) - As millions of Muslims completed the annual Hajj pilgrimage yesterday, Saudi police said they'd arrested a group that had been planning attacks, Al Arabiya reports. An official said the al-Qaeda suspects, detained at cities across the country, had been intent on disrupting the ritual and causing "security confusion."... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Islam • Saudi Arabia • terrorism • terror plots • Mecca • Islamic extremism • al-Qaeda

Islamic Rituals Face a
Celestial Test

Scholars send astronaut aloft with guide to following Koran in orbit

Oct 10, 07 1:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - He wasn’t the first Muslim in space, but Malaysia's Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor will be the first to follow customized guidelines for religious observance in orbit, the Guardian reports. Praying toward Mecca and fasting between sunrise and sunset seemed impossible until scholars spent a year bringing the challenges down to... More »

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Islam • Mecca • Ramadan • spaceflight

Does Saudi Arabia Have a Dubai Complex?

Building binge aims to diversify boom-or-bust oil economy

Mar 12, 07 1:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - Saudi Arabia is on a building binge. King Abdullah City—a planned $26.7-billion development where multi-million-dollar yachts will dock in the ports that currently welcome 300,000 Mecca-bound pilgrims—is one of five major “economic cities” the government is building in an attempt to spur private-sector growth and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
investing • oil • Middle East • Saudi Arabia • King Abdullah • economic growth • King Abdullah City • Mecca • Fawaz Alamy • Dubai • US economy

8 Stories


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