A Malaysian company has invented a machine it says will help Muslims purify themselves before prayers without excessively wasting water.

The ornate, green-coloured machine comes with automatic sensors and basins to curb water usage during Wadhu (abulution), an Arabic word used to describe the act of washing the face, arms and legs before prayers.

The Wadhu, or ablution, rite preceeds the five daily prayers Muslims are obligated to perform. There are more than 1.7 billion Muslims in the world, with the majority in Africa and the Middle East where water supplies are scarce.

Inventors AACE Technologies is counting on countries in these two regions to snap up the machines that will be available in the next six months and cost $3,000-$4,000 a piece.

“Saving water is a motivation for people to adopt this system rather than the conventional methods, where there’s a lot of water wastage,” AACE Chairman Anthony Gomez told reporters while launching the product in the Malaysian capital.

The device, which also emits recorded verses and is 1.65 metres (5 ft 4.96 in) tall, only uses 1.3 litres (0.3 gallons) of water compared to the conventional methods, which usually involve leaving faucets running for the duration of the washing ritual, which can last for several minutes, Gomez said.

“During the Haj, two million people used 50 million litres water a day for Wadhu.

If they introduce this machine they are saving 40 million litres per day,” he said, referring to the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Makkah.

Dubai has shown interest in acquiring the product for its airport, Gomez said, adding that the machine took two years to develop at the cost of $2.5 million.

AACE also wants to target mosques and offices with new models that can be wall mounted in a group of six.

Muslims heading for prayers in mainly Muslim Malaysia had mixed feelings about the high-tech, but pricey, invention.

“The idea is good and it is built in line with Islamic teachings. But water in this country is cheap, so it is still not worthwhile to have this machine,” an office worker who gave his name as Aminuddin told Reuters.

But a tourist from neighbouring Singapore, which has little water supplies, said the machine would help conserve natural resources. “Nothing is impossible.

Of course we are trying ways and means to new products, those that can save mankind, those that can save nature,” Azman Mohamed Noor said.

While wishing good tidings for Ramadan, he also was re-stating his policy with respect to Muslims which includes the Muslim nations and those Muslims in the United States.

It would be interesting to note that in a recent poll conducted , the approval ratings of the current President has slid over issues like abortion, health care and the handling of the current economic crisis.

Below is the transcript of the video [which has been translated at the White House website into the following languages: Arabic, Bengali, Dari, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Pashto, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Turkish and Urdu]:

The BBC reports the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday closed down the offices of the Arabic satellite news channel al-Jazeera.  The decision comes after a guest on the channel recently accused the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas of collabrating with Israel in the death of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Yasser Arafat died in late 2004 after falling into a coma. The exact cause of death until now remains unconfirmed.

The main article on BBC is here: Al-Jazeera closed in West Bank

“I started playing the game and before you know it hours have passed and I am still playing game as it is very fun to play.” -Hassan Sultan (Tampa, FL)

Kalimaat

There’s been talk about Baba Ali of the famed Reminder Series coming out with a new product.

Well he created something new alright! It’s a new board game called Kalimaat! It looks awesome!

And to add more fuel to the fire, so to say, there is a contest happening tomorrow [which is also the launch date, July 5th] for winning the game at discounted prices.

Find the details here: Baba Ali’s Game: Kalimaat Waiting List

The US State Department has released a brochure on what is being a Muslim in America all about.

The US State Department has spent a good amount of money in preparing this slick presentation.

Be cautious while reading it though.

Being Muslim in America

Read the expose news report here from the LA Times: FBI monitored members of O.C. mosques at gyms, alleged informant says

The highlight is the FBI operation went so well that:

He said the project was working so well that his handlers were given clearance to use him to open a gym that would cater to men in the Islamic community. It was supposed to have a prayer room next to the workout area and the entire place was going to be wired for audio and video surveillance, Monteilh said. He said the project was scrapped after his cover was blown.

Almost 8  years down the line, the Muslims are still beng followed, spied on, arrested and Allaah knows what else.

Any effort the Muslim community in the West puts for establishing trust with the goernments just goes down the drain by antics of their law-enforcement agencies.

May Allaah swt protect the Muslims from such fitnaahs.

Blogs thatyou read regularly? Internet radio stations that you listen to? Mailing lists of services which provide regular Islamic articles/news/Quranic verses/Hadeeth?

What other sources do you refer to online?

Let us know by replying in your comments.

Sun Dial

“We have to understand religion because it’s such a central part of peoples lives,” explained Susan Wyche, doctoral candidate in the College of Computing and GVU Center at Georgia Tech.

Designing technological devices for religious use may be very different from designing devices for traditional uses in office settings.

“Efficiency and productivity tend to be driving forces when designing technology for offices, but these are not as central when designing applications for the home or religious settings. Why would you design a device that makes someone pray faster?,” said Wyche.

Wyche, along with her research team, chose to focus on Islam for this study, partially because of the religion’s popularity worldwide and partially because Muslims have historically used technology such as compasses and telescopes to help them determine the direction to face during prayer.

Working with seven focus groups, they determined that the greatest interest from the participants lay in prompting them when it was time to pray – not by using text, which some commercial applications use, but through imagery combined with audible alerts.

Sun Dial tells users that the time to pray is approaching by using an image of the sun lining up with a green circle. When the sun lines up with the circle, it’s time to pray.

“Unlike similar systems, ours relies on graphics rather than text and graphs to communicate prayer times. Users drove this choice by telling us that tracking the sun was the most religiously valued method to determine prayer times.”

Wyche and colleagues tested their application with Muslims from Georgia Tech and the greater Atlanta area for two weeks with favorable reaction. They’re currently working on implementing a few design changes such as a digital clock and a vibration alert. Eventually, they plan on making the application available for download.

“Sun Dial provided more than functionality or a prompt to the prayer times; it also contributed to users’ religious experience by reminding them they were part of a larger community. More broadly, carefully considering imagery is important when developing mobile phone applications, particularly ones that support personal and emotional activities, which may be sacred or secular.”

The research team was comprised of Associate Professor Beki Grinter, along with doctoral candidates Kelly Caine, Benjamin Davison and Michael Arteaga.

 
  

 

 

The WuduSeat

The WuduSeat is the first commercially available new sanitaryware item developed for over 100 years and provides a hygienic and easy-to-use facility that is configurable to meet the specific needs of Muslims in the workplace.

“The demand for multi-faith facilities in every walk of life is growing every day as corporate and social responsibility gathers pace,” commented Clive Bromilow, spokesman for the Specialist Washing Company, the company behind the WuduSeat.

Many architects are now incorporating prayer facilities at the design stage of developments, regretfully however often omitting accompanying washing facilities; based on a Court of Appeal ruling in September last year between Ellis Vs Bristol City Council, companies could be liable if there is an accident caused by spillage from inadequate washing facilities”.

“The WuduSeat is the first product available in the marketplace that can be specified for any new build or refurbishment project, which will enable Muslim staff or visitors to undertake their cleansing ritual ‘Wudu’ in one single, purpose built, hygienic receptacle, preventing spillage”.

“Presently, when away from home, there is rarely anywhere suitable for washing of the feet which is part of Wudu, so this is undertaken in hand-basins, raising a number of health and safety issues.

Every commercial building should have at least one faithroom, with appropriate washing facilities for both employees and visitors”.

Made from sanitary-grade acrylic, the WuduSeat is robust and hardwearing, plus easy to keep clean.

Installation is easy, as it only requires standard plumbing.

The WuduSeat’s unique design minimises splashing and overspill – keeping the floor clean and dry; thus reducing the risk of accidents and ensuring that secondary damage is not done to the fabric of the building.

Excerpt from: New Wuduseat for prayer rooms