Your Life, Your Choices

this is a series of videos produced by a saudi aqim salatak (which means "establish your prayer") team.. in october 2008 they launched a media campaign which was aimed at reminding us of the importance of prayer.. the ads were broadcasted on all MBC group channels and were introduced to the viewers in this particular order, cuz when you watch them you'll notice they are a continuous sequence

each video features a young person who all die in the same car accident, and each of them says i just died.. this was my life.. these were my choices









the people at aqim salatak believe "if we can convince people to eat and drink through advertising, then it is even more important to convince them to pray"

you can check out more of their videos at www.aqimsalatak.com

Jeddah Flood

you might've already heard of the flash floods that stroke the south of jeddah on wednesday, december 25.. on that day (which happened to be the first day of hajj) some 70 millimeters of rain fell over the city in less than two hours, which is more than two-thirds of the kingdom’s annual average rainfall.. the drainage system was unable to cope with the load of water, causing the streets to turn into rivers.. the death toll in the floods has now reached 117, with 48 people still missing



it's heart-breaking to read about people losing their loved ones in the floods and whole families being drowned.. like the family who went out for a picnic on that day and lost three of their five family members.. or the man who lost his wife, sisters and three children as they lived in a first floor apartment and the flood was so powerful it broke open their door and drowned everyone.. or the local imam who was on the way to hajj with his whole family, they were cought in the flood on the way to mekkah and all drowned



subhanAllah! indeed, as Allah says in the Quran (interpretation of the meaning): "wherever you are, death will find you, even if you are in towers built up strong and high" (4:78)

so let us pray for those who lost their loved ones and their property, may Allah give them patience and fix their affairs.. and inshAllah those who drowned are martyrs and in jannah



and if you are in saudi arabia and want to donate anything to help those affected by the flood you can call these numbers: 6581122, 6056025, 6055406

Black And Beige

Eid Mubarak!

dear sisters, happy eid al-adha! may you have a wonderful eid and may Allah accept good deeds from you and me.. ameen

Miss Arab World 2009

mawadda nour from saudi arabia was crowned "miss arab world 2009" on november 11, 2009 in cairo

sixteen contestants (18-24 years) from all over the arab world were competing for the title

the girls walked in their national dresses in front of the jury who crowned mawadda nour from saudi arabia as miss arab world 2009-2010, and jessy zaher from lebanon as first runner up.. controversy occurred right after the event ended since some critics found that the winner does not meet the standards required for a beauty pageant contestant.. well, may be she's very charming in person...

The New Kiswa For Ka'ba

the new kiswa to cover the holy ka’ba is completed and will be handed over to officials of the grand mosque in makkah on the 1st of dhul-hijja (which is probably on nov.18, depending on the sighting of the new moon), as reported

15 kilos of solid gold thread is used for the embroidery of the Quranic verses on the kiswa.. the total area covered by the kiswa is 658 square meters and it is made of 670 kgs of pure silk.. the present cost of making the ka'ba cover amounts to SR 17 million

the kiswa is replaced every year and throughout history the base colour of the kiswa had differed between green, white and the current black

a specialist team will take down the old kiswa on the 8th of dhul-hijja.. after dawn on the next day, the new kiswa is placed over the holy ka’ba.. specialist technicians stationed at the grand mosque then fold it from the bottom, up to a height of three meters from the marble floor.. this is an annual custom aimed at preventing the kiswa from being torn by pilgrims in the crowded area around the ka’ba during hajj

the manufacturing of the kiswa goes through several stages.. this includes dyeing, computerized manufacturing of the fabric, printing of the Qur’anic verses at the printing department, embroidery of the Qur’anic verses using gold thread, and finally the collection of all the pieces into the complete kiswa

more about kiswa here

TV Presenters In Niqab

the presenters of a new saudi tv show that discusses issues concerning teenage girls and female university students are covered not only in black abayas but niqabs as well

the show named asrar al-banat (the secrets of girls) is broadcast on awtan tv, a saudi religious channel that was first aired in august 2008.. it discusses different issues relating to teenage girls, is aired every friday evening and receives live phone calls from members of the public

there are over 60 religious satellite channels that are broadcast across the middle east via arabsat and nilesat networks.. some of them have women presenters who do not cover their faces and dress in different colors, not necessarily black, while others have no women presenters at all.. awtan is the one channel that allowes women to appear but only when covered from head to toe

presenting asrar al-banat is sawsan salah al-deen, a 26-year-old saudi from riyadh and a BA graduate in media and guidance.. helping her are her sister (a specialist in blood diseases) and a psychologist.. sawsan also wears niqab in real life

the opinions of the viewers on how the presenters of the program look, differ - some encourage them, others criticize

asrar al-banat has so far broadcast four episodes

more on this in arab news