Muslims in Britain are nearly five times more likely to be put in prison than their Christian counterparts, according to official government figures .

In a written reply to parliament this week, Home Office Minister Paul Boateng said that Muslims made up 7 per cent of the 64,529 prison population in England and Wales on June 30, 1999.

Although there was no exact figure on the religious composition of the country, he said that a British social attitudes survey conducted in 1999 found that Muslims represent 1.5 per cent of the total population.

MOSCOW, (AFP) - The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday denounced contacts between Washington officials and "terrorists" from the breakaway Chechnya province as an "unfriendly" step.

In an angry statement, the ministry claimed that undisclosed Washington officials were planning to host a man it identified as I. Akhmadov, whom it referred to as the unofficial foreign minister of Chechnya.

"We are frankly surprised by how stubbornly ... the American side insists on having meetings with representatives of the Chechen terrorists," the ministry said in a statement.

It was not immediately clear when Akhmadov intended to visit the United States, or where he currently resides.

Thomas Fuller International Herald Tribune

KAMPUNG MEDAN, Malaysia At least five people have been killed and dozens injured in the worst racial violence to strike Malaysia in three decades.

The police said Sunday that they had arrested 154 people in and around this gritty and impoverished suburb of Kuala Lumpur, where street fighting between Malays, the country's dominant ethnic group, and Indians has flared intermittently since Thursday.

Most of the victims were Indian, including 4 of the dead and 34 of the 37 wounded, according to the police. Many of the wounded had serious slash wounds and two men were reported to be in comas.

By Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi

But those will prosper who purify themselves, glorify the name of their Lord, and (lift their hearts) in Prayer. Nay (behold), you prefer the life of this world; but the Hereafter is better and more enduring. And this is in the Books of the earliest (Revelations), the Books of Abraham and Moses. (Al-A`la 87:14-19)

Our daily challenge is how to live in this world in the way of the prophets of Allah, all the prophets of Allah from Adam to the last and final Prophet, Muhammad - peace be upon all of them.

If we compare the life of Muhammad before and after his mission as a Prophet, we will conclude that it is unreasonable to think that Muhammad was a false prophet who claimed Prophethood to attain material gains, greatness, glory, or power.

Before his mission as a Prophet, Muhammad had no financial worries. As a successful and reputed merchant, he drew a satisfactory and comfortable income. After his mission as a Prophet and because of it, he became worse off materially. To clarify this, let us look at the following sayings on his life:

A number of miracles were bestowed upon and performed by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to establish the proof of his prophethood. The greatest miracle bestowed upon him was the revelation of the Qur'an. The Qur'an is miraculous in a number of aspects: Its linguistic perfection and inimitability, its validation by recent historical, archaeological, and scientific discoveries, its prophecies and so on. Unlike the miracles of other prophets before him, the miracle of the Qur'an is eternal. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) also provided us with a number of true prophecies.

by Mustafa Badawi

" Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth . . .

"[1] The Light is one of the ninety-nine Beautiful Names of Allah. Light is that by which things become known. Things may exist in the dark, but they cannot be seen. Light may be physical, such as the light of the sun or the moon, or intelligible, like the light of the intellect. The latter is that which illuminates the darkness of ignorance with the light of knowledge. Total darkness is non-existence, thus light is that which brings created beings out of non-existence into existence. It is the creative act of Allah and this is one of the meanings of "Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth . . . "

This sermon was delivered on the Ninth Day of Dhul-Hijjah 10 A.H. in the 'Uranah valley of Mount Arafat' in Mecca.

After praising and thanking Allah the Prophet (saws) said:

"O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here today.

Birth

Muhammad (PBUH) (Blessings and Peace be upon him) was born in Makkah, Arabia, on Monday, 12 Rabi' Al-Awwal (2 August C.E). His mother, Aminah was the daughter of Wahb bin Abd Al-Manaf of the Zahrah family. His father, Abdullah, was the son of Abd Al-Muttalib. His genealogy has been traced to the noble house of Isma'il, the son of Ibrahim (Abraham) (PBUH) (May Peace be upon him) in about the fortieth descent.

Muhammad's father had died before his birth and his mother died when he was about six years old making him an orphan.

[Taken from Introduction to Islam by Muhammad Hamidullah (Centre Culturel Islamique, Paris, 1969), with some changes to make it more readable. The changes are marked by pairs of brackets like around this paragraph. Dr. Hamidullah's present address is: 9 Beaver Court, Wilkes Barre PA, 18702, USA.]