Mecca’s Royal Clock Tower starts ticking in Ramadan The Mecca Royal Clock Tower, the second tallest tower in the world, has started emitting 16 light beams to a height of 10 kilometers on the evening of Sunday, July 31, to announce the beginning of Ramadan.
HBO film explores Quran memorization bY Jack jenkins religion news service A new documentary follows three Muslim children as they travel to Egypt to compete in a tournament that requires young contestants to recite whole passages of the Quran, Islam’s 600-page holy book, from memory.
years to memorizing every word of the Quran -- even though they do not speak or understand Arabic, the language in which the holy book is written. “(The contest) is a window into the world that most non-Muslims or Westerners don’t see. It ... puts a human face on the religion,” Barker said.
Each year during Ramadan -- a Muslim holy month when believers fast, pray and read from the Quran -- 100 students from more than 70 countries flock to Cairo for the International Holy Quran Competition.
Quran recitations are a regular practice throughout the Muslim world, although they are especially auspicious during Ramadan. Muslims believe it to be the month when the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.
Greg Barker, a former war correspondent and creator of films such as “Ghosts of Rwanda,” captured the contest in his new documentary “Koran by Heart,” which is set to premiere on HBO on August 1, the first night of Ramadan.
Much of the film focuses on the relationships between the young contestants and their families, offering a glimpse into the daily life of the broader Muslim world.
Barker’s film tells the story of three 10-year-olds -- two boys and one girl -as they travel to the competition.
“These kids are young, not really aware of the politics surrounding Islam, Barker said, “but we see through their families the larger issues that they’re grappling
All three dedicated most of their early
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The loud speakers installed at the top of the tower carried the sound of the adhan from the Grand Mosque to 7 kilometers far. The powerful lights in white and green blinking at the time of adhan can be seen from a distance of 30 kilometers. The lights are also helpful for people with hearing difficulties to know prayer times. The clock face is white and indicators dark during daylight and green and white at night. A trial run of the clock was held at the beginning of last year’s Ramadan. The gigantic Mecca clock project was constructed on top of tower number five of King Abdul Aziz Endowment project, which consists of seven towers. “All arrangements to receive Ramadan guests in the residential hotel, on which the clock tower is situated, have been completed. All rooms and suites have an Islamic style of interior décor that add to the spirituality of Ramadan,”
director of telecommunications and business promotion at the Fairmont Raffles Hotels International in Mecca, Khaled Yamaq, said. The Mecca Clock Tower Hotel, on which the clock is situated, is 601 meters high with 76 stories and 858 suites. It overlooks the Grand Mosque. “A large number of pilgrims of different nationalities will be visiting the tower to get a close look at the interior of the clock tower. Therefore, the hotel’s main banquet hall has prepared to accommodate 1,000 guests for iftar and suhur. It comprises menus of 15 countries, including local dishes,” he said. Ramadan cannon A cannon fired seven shots to mark the beginning of Ramadan in Mecca, said the Saudi Press Agency. Shots will be fired throughout the month to announce the time of breaking the fast, the time for suhur and the end of the suhur. The cannon will be positioned at the top of the highest hill, away from residential neighborhoods in Mecca, and is provided with sound-producing detonators. There are special security officers to take care of the cannon, CLOCK continues on page 14 >>