Early next week, Muslims around the world will observe Isra' and Mi'raj, or the Night Journey and Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad.

During a very difficult year in his life, Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad had a very comforting experience. One night, he made a trip to the city of Jerusalem (isra’), visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and from there was raised up into heaven (mi’raj). The next day, he told his followers of his journey and the things he saw. Muhammad and his followers perceived this as a miraculous journey, and it gave them strength and hope that God was with them despite recent setbacks.

Even at the time, there were those who laughed that such an experience was absurd. They claimed that Muhammad merely had a vivid dream, or a hallucination. However, the details of the account proved to many that the experience was real, a miracle from God. Today, Muslims do not universally acknowledge the day, but many spend time reading the Qur'an and pondering the lessons to be learned from the experience.

Photo: Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is a holy site for Muslims. (David Silverman / Getty Images)

BBC News reports on a tense calm amidst a government crackdown in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, following clashes between ethnic Uyghur Muslims and Han Chinese. The government of China is responding by closing mosques for prayers, patroling city streets, making arrests, and shutting down communications channels. This follows several days of unrest in which over 150 people were killed in the city of Urumqi (BBC timeline of unrest).

Native to the Altay Mountains, the Uyghurs are a vibrant community of Muslims, with a rich culture dating back thousands of years. Embracing Islam in the 10th century, the Uyghur empire dominated Central Asia for several hundred years. More recently, the Uyghur culture has faced a decline due to national and communist forces in Russia and China.

Like Buddhists in neighboring Tibet, the Uyghur Muslims in China face religious restrictions, imprisonments, and executions. They complain that their cultural and religious traditions are being annihilated by oppressive government policies and practices. Recently, China is accused of encouraging internal migration into the Xinjiang province, to increase the non-Uyghur population and power in the region.

An Islam Forum reader, righteousaiman, brings up an interesting discussion in the Forum. Should Muslims be vegetarians? He argues:

I feel that the meat industry is against the teachings of Islam and the conscience. No, Islam does not prohibit eating meat, but the Last Prophet "has placed the killing of animals without a justifiable reason as one of the major sins".

Do you agree? Can Muslims live a vegetarian lifestyle? Should Muslims live a vegetarian lifestyle, based on Islamic teachings about the rights and mercy we are to show towards animals and all living creatures? Join the discussion and share your views!

Like many aspects of singer Michael Jackson's life, his religious faith remains a mystery. Rumors are that he had embraced Islam this past November, with others declaring that these reports are invalid. Jackson's family has not yet announced funeral and burial arrangements, but there is speculation that Jackson might be buried in accordance with Islamic tradition.

There are some clues that perhaps Michael Jackson had indeed embraced Islam:

• His older brother, Jermaine, has been a Muslim for the past 20 years and has spoken publicly about his faith. He reportedly talked to his brother about Islam and was hoping that he might convert. When announcing his brother's death, Jermaine commented, "May Allah be with you, Michael, always."
• In 2005-06, Jackson spent nearly a year living in the Muslim country of Bahrain.
• In November 2008, several news agencies reported that Michael Jackson had embraced Islam in a brief ceremony in Los Angeles. Both the Telegraph and NY Post tabloids ran stories about the conversion.

However, there are also signs that perhaps these assumptions are misleading. Several Muslims who were reported to be present or involved in Jackson's conversion process have recently made statements indicating that they did not attend any conversion ceremony, and indeed had never even met the singer.

The Canadian Muslim singer Dawud Wharnsby Ali posted on his blog the following clarification: "Though our professional circles did cross-over slightly with various common professional acquaintances - I never had the honour or pleasure of meeting Michael Jackson personally, nor did we ever correspond on matters of our professions, personal lives or faiths."

Singer Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens) also posted a statement: "Contrary to persistent press rumours, I was not at any kind of conversion ceremony for Michael Jackson."

In the end, only God knows the intentions of people's hearts, and He Alone is the One to judge.

Jackson's family has taken his body to a private funeral home, are awaiting an independent autopsy, and arrangements for his burial are confidential at this time. Michael Jackson's recently-released will, dated in 2002, does not mention any burial wishes. If the family believes that Jackson was indeed a Muslim, then he would presumably be buried in an Islamic burial ceremony (janazah). Such plans are not known or announced at this time.

Photo: Michael Jackson at a 1983 awards ceremony in London (Dave Hogan/Getty Images)