All posts tagged: imam

Imam Khomenei airport resumes flights to Turkey and Oman as new Iran peace talks to begin | World | News

Imam Khomenei airport resumes flights to Turkey and Oman as new Iran peace talks to begin | World | News

Published by Sam Flores

Imam Khomeini International Airport, one of Iran’s largest air hubs, resumed some international flights this morning, April 25. The first departures from the capital were bound for Muscat, Istanbul and Medina in Saudi Arabia, reports Iran’s semiofficial Mehr news agency. Iranian airspace has remained largely closed since its conflict with the US and Israel began on February 28, leaving passenger flights suspended for nearly two months. On April 8, Pakistan announced that the US and Iran had reached a conditional two‑week ceasefire, which Donald Trump said he agreed to extend on April 21 while awaiting a proposal from Iran for further talks. Ramin Kashef Azar, CEO of Imam Khomeini Airport City, told the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) on Friday that foreign passenger flights would resume on Saturday. It comes as the US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are heading to Pakistan for Iran talks today, while Vice-President JD Vance is on standby to join. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed talks were taking place because Iran reached out …

Young ‘huffaz’ carry Ramadan’s most demanding tradition

Young ‘huffaz’ carry Ramadan’s most demanding tradition

Published by Sam Flores

ST. LOUIS (RNS) — By day, he’s a third‑year medical student, hustling between operating rooms and cramming for exams. By night, he trades his scrubs for a thobe — an Islamic robe for men — and steps to the front of a carpeted prayer hall, leading rows of worshippers in prayer as he recites pages of the Quran from memory. For Besher Jabri, Ramadan is not a time to slow down. Across the country, young men like him are balancing school and work as they step into quasi-imam roles, leading Taraweeh prayers deep into the night. The task is demanding and involves hours of daily review and a grueling schedule that stretches to near midnight. Yet these student reciters say leading a congregation is about more than filling a need at local mosques — they see it as a spiritual responsibility to preserve the sacred text and share it with their communities.  “As someone who’s studied the Quran, I think it’s a duty for us to give back,” Jabri, 25, said. “It’s not just like, …

Quran Revolution founder sentenced to 80 years on child pornography charges

Quran Revolution founder sentenced to 80 years on child pornography charges

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — A former Texas imam and online Quran instructor who was charged with conspiracy to produce child pornography has been sentenced to 80 years in prison, according to federal court documents.  Wisam Sharieff was sentenced on Wednesday (Jan. 28) in the Alabama Northern District Court, more than six months after he entered a guilty plea on three federal child sexual exploitation charges. He was also ordered to pay $135,000 to a fund for victims of child sexual abuse. His co-defendant, Blake Miller Barakat, was sentenced to 70 years last October. The former high-profile imam’s arrest two years ago and details of allegations made available in court records sparked outrage for some Muslim Americans and led to conversations about how to hold alleged spiritual abusers accountable.  According to the indictment, Sharieff and Barakat, an Alabama woman he was teaching, allegedly conspired together to coerce Barakat’s child to engage in sexually explicit behavior for the purpose of producing pornography. FBI special agent Eric Salvador reported in a sworn affidavit that electronic devices and sexual toys were …