ISS Expedition 16: October 10.

October 10, Wednesday
7:30 a.m. - ISS Expedition 16 Spaceflight Participant Launch Day Preparations & Crew Suit-Up B-Roll Feed from Baikonur, Kazakhstan - JSC (Public and Media Channels)

RussiaToday : SciTech : Next space mission to ISS draws closer
"Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor was one of 11,000 Malaysians who applied to live and work onboard the Russian segment of the International Space Station during a ten-day mission.
All the three members are scheduled to fly to the ISS on a Russian "Soyuz" spaceship on October 10. "
http://www.russiatoday.ru/scitech/news/14435


Malaysian Astronaut Won't Ignore Faith:The Associated Press
"After months of discussion and two international conferences, the Islamic National Fatwa Council came up with guidelines as to how Muslim astronauts should observe daily rituals. The rules were published in 12-page booklet titled "Muslim Obligations in the International Space Station."
Observant Muslims are required to turn toward Mecca — located in Saudi Arabia — and kneel and pray five times a day. However, with the space station circling the Earth 16 times a day, kneeling in zero gravity to pray — or facing toward Mecca for that matter — makes fulfilling those religious obligations difficult.
Malaysia's National Fatwa Council ruled that Muslim astronauts will not be required to kneel to pray if the absence of gravity makes it too hard. Facing Mecca while praying will be left to the "best abilities" of the astronaut, the council said.
Adding to the difficulties is the fact that the launch coincides with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan — when Muslims are expected to fast from dawn until dusk. The fatwa decided the fasting may be postponed until returning to Earth.
Other exceptions include allowing simple silent prayer if performing physical rituals is impossible.
Shukor will return to Earth Oct. 20 along with two members of the station's current crew — cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov."
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ixZ6y6l-lnUpk1TD1EPyGPHDveqw


"The program to send a Malaysian to space was conceived in 2003 when Russia agreed to send a Malaysian to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Malaysia's 3.4 billion ringit (1 billion U.S. dollars) purchase of 18 Russian-made Sukhoi 30-MKM jet fighters."
Malaysia astronaut to space to be decided at last minute
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-09/24/content_6785383.htm