WORLD - LIFESTYLE - Islamic Facebook Salamworld prepares to launch

www.todayszaman.com -In the world of social media, Facebook has long been king, but one company says that the market is ripe for a coup from an unprecedented contender: a social media platform for Muslims, by Muslims.

Indeed, Facebook’s user numbers have slumped of late. The website has been dropped by roughly 400,000 users in Turkey alone since March.
Yavuz Kurt is the PR director of Salamworld, a new social networking website founded on core Muslim values. Settling into a sofa in one of the company’s elegant reception rooms in Salamworld’s compound high above the Bosporus, he begins his pitch: “There are 250 million Muslim Facebook users who use that site because there is no halal alternative. We will provide this alternative.”  (source)

WORLD - SURVEY - 2012 Global Muslim Lifestyle Travel Market SURVEY

Click here to launch the survey

Purpose: The purpose of this survey is to develop a fact-based voice of the Muslim leisure travelers needs and satisfaction levels.  The study will help guide hotels, airlines, and travel destinations to better cater to Muslim travelers.
Why should you?

1. Influence: Your input will influence travel industry players to cater to your travel needs better
2. Win: We will enter your name to win a new iPad (1 new iPad 3 from Apple!)  The winner will be picked in a random drawing.  The winner will be contacted via email to provide their shipping address (We will cover the cost of shipping). Be sure to complete the survey.  Read Rules.
3. Charity: We will donate $1 for every response (up to $500) to Islamic Relief USA Charity

How can you see the results: This survey is part of an overall study 2012 Global Muslim Lifestyle Travel Market Study. An executive summary will be released to the public in July 2012 and will be made available through DinarStandard.com and CrescentRating.com websites.

Click here to launch the survey

Who is conducting this:
DinarStandard, a US based marketing research & advisory firm focused on the Muslim markets, has partnered with the largest Halal-friendly travel website, CrescentRating.com, to produce a first-ever fact based study on the Muslim travel market covering the largest outbound and inbound Muslim travel markets globally.
DinarStandard™: DinarStandard™ is a New York, USA based, media, research and advisory firm specializing in driving growth for companies in the emerging global Muslim markets of Halal food, Islamic finance and other Muslim lifestyle markets.  DinarStandard delivers market opportunity analysis, business planning, marketing/ media planning for its clients.  It has recently released a ground-breaking study on the American Muslim consumer market and has similarly covered the European and other Muslim markets as well.
Crescentrating: Crescentrating Pte Ltd, a Singapore based company, is the world leader in Halal Friendly Travel with its core products being a Rating system, which rates Travel services and facilities on Halal friendliness and its Travel portal crescentrating.com, the premier travel portal for Muslim travelers worldwide.
More Questions? If you have any questions, please contact us at info@dinarstandard.com.

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WORLD - HALAL - MARKETING - Sizeable Islamic market neglected by global brands, argues Oxford branding expert

LONDON, June 29 (APP)- A leading expert on Islamic brands is highlighting the untapped potential in Islamic markets which most companies are failing to exploit.The global Muslim market is now over 20% of the world’s population at around 1.6 billion, and is expected to increase to 2.2 billion by 2030,  situated in those regions where Muslims are in the majority, but also in other countries where Muslims are a significant and growing minority, including those in the West. The value of Muslim trade is assessed as worth trillions of dollars worldwide.“The Muslim market represents a significant untapped market,” says Dr.Paul Temporal, an Associate Fellow at Saïd Business School’s Executive Education Centre,  University of Oxford. (source)

MALAYSIA - Tourism Malaysia Jakarta Launches 'Musabaqah Package'

JAKARTA, June 10 (Bernama) - A 'Musabaqah Package' has been launched so that Indonesians can watch International Al-Quran Recital Competition (Musabaqah) and enjoy the Malaysia Mega Sales Carnival at special cost.

Tourism Malaysia Jakarta director Jamil Darus said the package is created with cooperation of Indonesian Muslim Tourism Operators (PKWM), Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI Syariah) and Malaysian Airlines (MAS). (source)

HALAL - BRUNEI - Brunei Halal debuts at Thaifex expo

BRUNEI Halal made its appearance in Bangkok last month as one of the 1,000 exhibitors from over 25 countries at the Thaifex World of Food Asia exhibition.

In a press release issued by Ghanim International Food Corporation Sdn Bhd, the company said Thaifex is Asia's largest food-related products and services expo. (source)

EVENTS - Jakarta to host Muslim World Biz Expo 2012

Kuala Lumpur (ANTARA News) - Jakarta will host the Third Muslim World Biz, the largest business exhibition of Muslim countries, in 2012.

"Tomorrow, Kadin (Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and OIC (Organization of the Islamic Conference) will sign documents on the staging of the Third Muslim World Biz expo in Jakarta in 2012," Eddy Kuntadi, chairman of Kadin`s Jakarta chapter, said here Wednesday.

Eddy is in Kuala Lumpur to take part in the Second Muslim World Biz being held here. (source)

HALAL - 'Best for Indonesia, Brunei, M'sia to have one halal standard'

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GETTING food exporting Muslim countries in Southeast Asia to agree on a single halal standard will ultimately harmonise exports within Asean and ease market access into the European Union (EU), an authority on food and agriculture said yesterday.

An acceptable standard agreed among countries like Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia combined with reciprocity with Europe's substantial Muslim population will pave the way for more halal products from the region to get onto supermarket shelves in the continent, said David Knight, chairman of Food and Agriculture under the British Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia. (full story)

BRUNEI - Building on a 'Syariah lifestyle'

Datuk Noripah Kamso, CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management Sdn Bhd and Scott Leiberton, Principal Global Investors

IT IS no secret that Islamic finance is one of the financial sectors that Brunei is trying to develop, and according to experts, this is "rightly so", with His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam's focus on encouraging a more "Syariah lifestyle" for the country.  (full story)

MALAYSIA - LIFESTYLE - Salamfone rolls out Islamic mobile service

KUALA LUMPUR: Salamfone Sdn Bhd has launched the world's first ever syariah-compliant mobile service in the world modelled after the principles of syariah and the five pillars of Islam.

 

In a statement yesterday, chief executive officer Kamshul Kasim said Salamfone will fundamentally appeal to the large Muslim market here, who is increasingly desirous of practising a more syariah-compliant way of life.

"Salamfone is more than just a product. Our value proposition is to share the values of Islam, instil and inspire them towards a wholesome Muslim lifestyle in every way.

"I believe the establishment of a syariah-compliant mobile service is so timely and relevant to the Muslim community in Malaysia," Kamshul added. (full story)

LIFESTYLE - Indonesian women splash out at Islamic spas

A woman receives a massage treatment in a beauty salon in Jakarta January 21, 2009.

Credit: Reuters/Beawiharta (INDONESIA)

By Suzanne Woo

JAKARTA | Tue Feb 15, 2011 10:14am EST (source)

INVESTMENT - Emaar Properties records 2010 annual net operating profit of Dhs3.034bn (Indonesia)

In a landmark year that highlighted the company's commitment to delivery of projects and creation of prime real estate assets, Emaar Properties PJSC recorded a net operating profit of Dhs3.034bn ($826m), 31% higher than the net operating profit of Dhs2.324bn ($633m) recorded in 2009. Annual revenue for 2010 was Dhs12.150bn ($3.308bn), 44% higher than the 2009 revenues of Dhs8.413bn ($2.29b) (source)

LIFESTYLE - FASHION - Islamic fashion: A modern makeover for mum's abaya

By Shaheen Pasha

DUBAI | Thu Feb 3, 2011 10:52am EST
 

DUBAI (Reuters Life!) - Statuesque models clad in black robes with strategically placed slits and headscarves boasting vibrant flashes of color sashay down a Dubai runway to the theme song for a James Bond movie. (source)

FASHION - Islamic Fashion Goes Stylish in Indonesia

AFP

A vendor waits for customers during the Indonesia Islamic Fashion Fair at a shopping mall to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan in Jakarta on August 14, 2010.

LIFESTYLE - FOOD - Brunei Halal products find S'pore sellers

THE Brunei Halal range of products has successfully launched in Singapore and is now available at the Lion City's biggest supermarket chain, NTUC FairPrice Cooperative Ltd.

Kerry Logistics, which is part of a joint-venture with Ghanim International Food Corporation, in a press statement released yesterday, announced that the Brunei Halal brand is now available in Singapore's National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) FairPrice, and is the first supermarket chain to offer the Brunei Halal products outside of the Sultanate.

LIFESTYLE - Islamic search engines - Imhalal.com and Taqwa.me

DUBAI— You could call it the battle of Islamic search engines. First, there was Imhalal.com, now there’s Taqwa.me, the “conscience engine” eyeing a Muslim audience and all those looking for a safe browsing experience on the Web.

LIFESTYLE - TOURISM - Sultanate to showcase Islamic tourism at Travel Mart 2010

SHEIKH Jamaluddin Sheikh Mohamed, director of the Brunei Tourism Board (BTB), said he will be using the upcoming International Islamic Conference and Travel Mart 2010 in Kuala Lumpur as an avenue to promote Brunei's Islamic holiday package.

LIFESTYLE - FOOD - Argentina - World Meat Congress look at Halal trade

Approximately 1,000 attendees packed an auditorium on the first day of the 18th World Meat Congress in Buenos Aires. Fifteen diverse speakers made presentations from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on industry trends in many countries. Rashid Kadimi, CEO of the processed foods division of the Allana family food group in Mumbai, India, covered the surprisingly large scale of bovine buffalo meat production in India. World production of buffalo meat reached 65.9 million tons in 2009, with both India and China being major exporters, Kadimi said.

LIFESTYLE - MUI - Indonesia’s Top Muslim Body Seeks Ban on Gay, Lesbian Film Festival

Jakarta. Indonesia’s top Islamic body reiterated on Friday that homosexuality is an abuse of human rights and demanded the government ban an ongoing gay and lesbian film festival.

It also condemned foreign cultural centres for showing the films at private screenings, three days after angry Muslims held protests outside the venues.

LIFESTYLE - TOURISM and TRAVEL - Conference to promote Muslim travel and tourism

THE International Islamic Tourism Conference & Travel Mart (ITCM) will be held from October 28 till October 31 at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

LIFESTYLE - FASHION - Dress Stunning Muslim Indonesia in World Expo

About 40 Muslim fashion works of Indonesian designers stunning the visitors "World Expo" in Shanghai, China, so it is not excessive if Indonesia wants to be a fashion mecca muslim world.


Director of Education and Culture of Indonesia Islamic Fashion Consortium (IIFC), Jetty R. Hadi, in a press statement received by AFP on Sunday, said the positive response of the international community to Indonesia during the Muslim fashion is high in every fashion show.