Culture & Heritage

A royal decree was issued yesterday changing the official Saudi weekend to Friday and Saturday, a move that will bring the Kingdom’s working week closer to that of other countries and boost international business relations.   Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy, was the only member of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council to have a Thursday-Friday weekend after Oman shifted …

This article should be read contextually with all previous parts. . It is not my objective to make any derogatory criticism of any community or any religion. An attempt has been made here to illustrate how Sinhalese people have been sympathetic and companionate towards all other religious groups in the past.  Though Portuguese and Hindu invaders from South India try to …

Brother Khurram Murad was born in Bhopal, India, in 1932, and he migrated to Pakistan in 1948. Khurram Murad studied civil engineering at the University of Karachi (B.E. 1952), securing 1st place in the University, and went on to study in the University of Minnesota (USA) (MSc. 1958). He worked as a leading consulting engineer in Karachi, Dhaka, Tehran and …

  JERUSALEM — Every Christian knows the holiest places in Christendom are in Jerusalem. The holiest of all, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, was erected in 325, over the site where it is believed Jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead. Yet, few know that it is a Muslim who opens and closes the only door to …

The concept of Beauty is deeply entrenched in Islam. In fact Islam teaches us that God is Beautiful and loves Beauty. God has the Most Beautiful Names collectively known as Asma Al Husna. He also desires that His most favoured creation, Man whom He Created in His Image and in the Best of Moulds, also strive to be beautiful. This …

It seems that somebody has shifted the gear to the reverse.  It’s really disheartening to see how a golden opportunity the country was presented with about three and a half years ago is allowed to slip away carelessly. Chauvinism, racism and religious and cultural intolerance have forced themselves into the front seat while harmony, unity and respect for difference have …