Eid al-Adha marks the end of the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca -- an occasion when Muslims across the globe remember the noble sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim. This year the festival, which is also known as the "Feast of Sacrifice," will be celebrated from Sept. 1 to Sept. 2. Have a blessed Eid Al-Adha! May Allah bless you all and your wishes come true... He is the One God; the Creator, the Initiator, the Designer. To Him belong the most beautiful names.

The documentary filmmaker Khalik Allah, whose new feature, "Black Mother," opens on Friday, is one of the most original cinematographers of the time. The modern cinema is a photographic cinema, with its roots in the hands-on creation of personal and highly inflected images; Allah is also a notable still photographer, and he made "Black Mother" the same way that he makes stills. He filmed the movie alone in the company of his subjects, doing his own camera work (in a variety of film and video formats, in color and in black-and-white); for that matter, he also recorded the sound. But his photographic sensibility is only one element of his exemplary art. He also edited the film, and his complex sense of audiovisual composition--textural, tonal, thematic, rhythmic, philosophical--is as original and as personal as his cinematography.

Engraved burial costumes from Viking boat graves that supposedly provided evidence of contact between Nordic tribes and ancient Islam contain'no Arabic at all', according to an expert who has slammed the initial research.

Ftouhi believed he needed to be killed as a'soldier of Allah' by a uniformed enemy of Muslims in order to solve his problems of debt, to enter Paradise, and to end his life," his attorneys wrote in the memorandum. "He did not believe Allah would accept that an armed Canadian officer was an enemy of Muslims, but he believed an armed United States government official would be acceptable to Allah, given his perceived view of U.S. involvement in the Middle East."

Researchers in Sweden have found Arabic characters woven into burial costumes from Viking boat graves. The discovery raises new questions about the influence of Islam in Scandinavia, writes journalist Tharik Hussain. They were kept in storage for more than 100 years, dismissed as typical examples of Viking Age funeral clothes. But a new investigation into the garments - found in 9th and 10th Century graves - has thrown up groundbreaking insights into contact between the Viking and Muslim worlds. Patterns woven with silk and silver thread have been found to spell the words "Allah" and "Ali".