More than 30,000 Muslims live in New Taipei City (新北市) and to enhance residents’ understanding of Islam, the city government has organized an Islam Culture Week next week at the city hall, featuring Islamic handicrafts, cuisine and other cultural elements.
“There are about 150,000 Muslims in Taiwan, of whom 30,000 live in New Taipei City, making it one of the cities with the biggest Muslim populations in the country,” the city’s Department of Civil Affairs Commissioner Randy Chiang (江俊霆) said at a press conference to announce the event.
“Although Islam is one of the major religions in the country and about a quarter of the world’s population is Muslim, it is unfortunate that many people in New Taipei City are unfamiliar with the religion and the culture,” he said.
As cultural and religious differences have led to minor disputes, the city government hopes to broaden its residents’ understanding of Islam through the culture week, Chiang said.
He added that if the event is a success, the city government may organize more community-oriented events focusing on Islamic culture.
Chinese Muslim Association secretary-general Salahuding Ma (馬超彥) said Islam is not only a religion, but also a way of life, and that Taiwan could benefit a lot from understanding it better.
“For example, many Muslim countries are emerging as new markets around the world. A better understanding of the religion and culture could make it easier for an export-oriented country like Taiwan to explore these new markets,” he said.
“In addition, a Muslim-friendly culture may also help to attract more visitors from Islamic countries,” he added.
Items that will be on display during the Islam Culture Week, such as handicrafts, halal food and a handwritten Chinese translation of the Koran completed in 1958, were displayed at the press conference.
Nasir Ahmed Choudhry, owner of Aaleja, a popular Pakistani-Indian restaurant in Taipei, was invited to show off his skills in preparing authentic Pakistani halal food, while Chinese Muslim Association assistant secretary-general Ishag Alibraheemy Ma (馬超興) demonstrated Arabic calligraphy.
Ishag Ma’s calligraphy style is especially interesting, because he incorporates Chinese elements into Arabic calligraphy. For instance, his horizontal calligraphic rendering of the Arabic word salam — meaning “peace” — becomes the Chinese characters “ping an” (平安), or “peace,” when placed vertically.
Although the event will not be launched until Monday, Ishag Ma said that they had elected to hold the press conference yesterday because it coincided with the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Ramadan fasting month.
Ishag Ma said that the decision when to start and end Ramadan depends on observation of the moon, with the appearance of the new moon at the end of the month of fasting marking the beginning of Eid al-Fitr.
The Islam Culture Week will be held at the New Taipei City Hall from Monday next week through Friday, with daily tastings of halal dishes.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
RSS