Habib Toumi

Egyptian players express their gratitude to God

Dubai’s Grand Mufti has rejected prostrations during football matches, saying that they were contrary to Islamic law.

The Islamic prostration to offer thanks to God became visible during the football matches played by Saudi Arabia during the World Cup in 1994 when players came together after scoring a goal and kneeled to offer thanks to God in a gesture emulating the prayer rituals performed in mosques.

Prostrations on the grass have since then gained in intensity and reached their zenith with the Egyptian football team during the African Cup finals broadcast last month to millions of Arab and Muslim homes.

Egyptian players and media said that the major reason for their team winning the African Cup was the team’s prompt expression of gratitude to God whenever they scored a goal.

However, Dr Ahmad Abdul Aziz Al Haddad this week told Saudi newspaper Al Eqtisadiya that players needed to meet strict conditions to perform the prostration of thanks and these include purity of the body, the coverage of their private parts and kneeling towards Makkah. continue reading…

Bahrain's congested roads have sparked calls to limit the number of people who can use cars

Bahrain is mulling extending driver training hours to help deal with the pressure from the large number of applicants, a traffic officer has said.

“We are looking at the option of using the grounds at the driving school until 10 pm as an option to help deal with the high demand of people who want to pass the exam and obtain the license,” Rashed Al Musbah, the head of the school, has said. “We have already equipped the school with the necessary light to make such an option possible,” he told Bahrain Radio.

Bahraini nationals and residents have been complaining about being forced to wait for months before they could book lessons with the limited number of driving instructors in the country.  The situation has pushed Bahraini MPs to lobby for the imposition of limits on the expatriates who can obtain driving license. However, their move was resisted by the government on the grounds that it against its international commitments to human rights. continue reading…