Affinity Press Release 
 

Affinity Intercultural Foundation is proud to announce the establishment of ISRA Australia (Islamic Sciences and Research Academy of Australia) to provide information and research services to social and educational institutions in Australia. ISRA Australia will be responsible for the operation and improvement of adults and youth education program that was offered through Affinity to date.

After ten years of building interfaith and intercultural relations through education and dialogue and growing considerably in size, Affinity President Mr Mehmet Saral said “We have looked at what we have achieved over the last ten years. And then looking into the future we have seen it necessary to redefine ourselves. We have decided to peel off our educational platforms in to a new organisation that we named ISRA Australia – Islamic Sciences and Research Academy of Australia”.

Mr Saral describes the establishment of ISRA Australia as a “significant transition from an intercultural dialogue phase to an intercultural and interfaith cooperation phase where we can cooperate in social, educational and environmental areas to address issues facing all of us as Australians”.

ISRA Australia was launched nationally in Canberra on 24^th of November 2009 in the presence of Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia Ms Quentin Bryce AC. The launch coincided with Affinity signing an agreement with Charles Sturt University to provide Islamic and Interfaith studies as part of CSU’s academic program.

Attending the national launch in Canberra, Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia Ms Quentin Bryce AC described the agreement as “an agreement that promises to foster awareness and cooperation not only between Charles Stuart University and Affinity Intercultural Foundation, but across generations of students, infusing our institutions and structures, our neighbourhoods and communities with an understanding of Islam as an enriching element of our common life.”

Commenting on the significance of the agreement and the establishment of ISRA Australia Professor Ross Chambers, Chair of the Board of ACCC and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Charles Stuart University said “one of the things that our agreement says is that Islamic studies within Charles Stuart University will be taught from within the rich and inclusive scholarly traditions of Islam.” Because “if you’re going to talk about Islam, if you’re going to talk about Christianity, if you’re going to talk about Buddhism, its best to talk with people who know what they are talking about and that is people who are working from within those faith traditions.”

Affinity’s founding president since 2000 and its CEO since 2007 Mr Mehmet Ozalp accepted to lead the formation of ISRA Australia and head the organisation from its inception. Mr Ozalp said, “I am honoured to have been appointed as the Founding President and the Executive Officer of ISRA Australia.”

Mr Saral further remarked that “Establishment of ISRA Australia does not mean that Affinity will no longer be involved in educational or intellectual areas. Affinity will continue to do what it does best – intercultural and interfaith dialogue. Going forward, Affinity’s educational and intellectual work will be more relationship oriented. The new organisation ISRA Australia’s main focus will be largely educational. It will also be involved in interfaith dialogue especially in the area of education, interfaith research and scholarly level dialogues.”

Mr Ozalp said, “ISRA Australia rises on the foundations laid by the pioneering educational work of Affinity. Over time, it intends to contribute to the social capital of Australia by engaging with all educational and research institutions in Australia. We are looking forward to continuing our interfaith and educational cooperation around Australia to create more space for dialogue between Islam and contemporary Australia.”

Affinity’s Mrs Zuleyha Keskin will continue her important contribution within the leadership team of ISRA Australia as the Vice President. Mr Mehmet Ozalp and Mrs Zuleyha Keskin have both assumed their new roles and are working closely with Affinity Board of Directors through a transition plan. ISRA Australia is soon to establish its own centre at a new premises. During the implementation of the transition plan, Mr Mehmet Ozalp and Mrs Zuleyha Keskin will work from the premises of Affinity Intercultural Foundation until the new centre is operational.

Mr Mehmet Saral will assume the role of Executive Officer of Affinity as well as fulfilling his role as the President. Mr Ahmet Keskin has been elected as the Vice-President, Affinity Intercultural Foundation.

ISRA Australia will be launched in Sydney on 23^rd of March 2010. ISRA Australia can be contacted at info@isra.org.au or 02 9649 9040.

The Affinity Intercultural Foundation is a non-profit community based organisation that is committed to bringing together people of different backgrounds to help improve understanding and respect and to build greater community harmony. Affinity has been involved in many bridge building activities that help to overcome ignorance and prejudice since 2000.

For more information:

Phone: 02-9702 0789 email:  info@affinity.org.au website:  www.affinity.org.au

A bouncing baby boy arrived on the 6th February to Shaheen and Amira Mulla of Springfield.

ZAIN, is the second grandson to Abdulla (Abe) and Aisha Mulla also of Springfield.

 
Continuing the saga on the Swiss politician who converted to Islam over the minaret issue read another take on the subject at the Illume website.

According to their website, "ILLUME is an award-winning, independent media organization that captures and articulates the Muslim-American experience. Using various media, our team of reporters and editors uncover important and timely issues through enterprise reporting, investigative journalism and critical analysis, while upholding the highest level of journalism ethics and standards."

Thank you to the many readers who volunteered the name of a female physiotherapist in response to a reader's query. All responses pointed in the direction of:

Ms Maleha Newaz
Principal, PHYSIO PLUS,
Cnr Pine Mtn & Creek Rds,
Carindale QLD 4152
ph: 0400 849 610
(w) 07- 3219-3700
(fax): 07- 3420 6438
 

He called on the Muslim community for their input and support and requested them to volunteer their services by registering their interest at http://www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/Islamic+Society+Gold+Coast.

The clean up will commence shortly after Fajr Salaat and a light breakfast will be served at the Mosque.

 
MultiLink Child, Youth and Family Services will be running a Get Set for Work Program beginning on March 1.
 

The program is named Skills to Pay the Bills and is a 4 day a week, 10 week employment and job preparation program.
 

This program will feature:

• 1 day a week accredited training
• 1 day a week job preparation
• 1 day a week industry visits
• 1 day a week team building/life skills activities

The eligibility criteria for potential participants are:
• Aged 17-19yrs old
• Culturally diverse
• Unemployed or underemployed (25hrs or less)
• Not enrolled in education or training

The program will be run over 4x10 week periods for 2010,with start dates on:
• March 1
• May 10
• July 19
• October 11

For further information contact Rob Workman at Multilink on 3290 1295
 

 
SUSPICIONS of being a terrorist, different dress standards, finding a place to worship and having female teachers are just some of the battles encountered by Muslim students studying in WA.

However, Perth university staff and police are helping international students integrate into society through workshops and facilities.

Curtin University of Technology support services director Michelle Rogers said it ran orientation sessions for international students on transport, food outlets, handling finances, tenancy support, recreation facilities, multi-faith services and safety.

“Our international Muslim students come from several different countries and can face a variety of problems, including finding an Islamic place of worship that has the necessary specifications, including ablution facilities, and appropriate prayer direction,” she said.

Basic lifestyle problems they faced included buying halal food and cultural differences like alcohol being freely available in Australia, which was not the case in Muslim societies, and the different dress standards.

“Muslim students can experience difficulties in their student living situations that they may need to deal with autonomously without having the direct authority of a Muslim leader to resolve the situation,” Ms Rogers said.

University of WA assistant professor Zarrin Siddiqui said landlords could think Muslim males were associated with terrorist groups and many with the name Ali, which was a common Muslim name, called themselves Allen. She said a female student with a part-time job had found it difficult during Ramadan when she was fasting from dawn to dusk and was denied a 30-minute break for prayer.

Murdoch University professor David Macey said its orientation last week helped all international students integrate.

Many Muslim students were student ambassadors at the university, welcoming new students and helping to make the experience more familiar.

All international students felt lonely and isolated being away from families, he added.

There is a Murdoch University Muslim Association, separate male and female areas at the Muslim Centre for Prayer and halal food sold at the food court.

Police provide crime prevention advice to new students, including how to reduce being a victim of crime. South East Metropolitan District Superintendent Paul Zanetti said police engaged with students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds through workshops and discussed access to policing services.

Canning Times
 

 
THE expansion of halal products on the market has not pleased all Muslims - some are calling the certification of products a marketing ploy.

Wiley Park’s Aziza Rifai said she was horrified to see the Rosken hand cream she purchased two weeks ago carry the label halal.

“Halal isn’t a word you use for hand cream or any other medical treatment. It’s for food or drink that you consume in your mouth,” she said.

“I think these companies just use the word halal as a marketing tool to get more people to buy their products.

“To promote things, especially hand cream by putting halal on it, it’s just not right. It’s ridiculous. We don’t want it to be a promotional tool.”
 

But a Rosken spokeswoman said the moisturising range was halal-certified because a lot of its products were sold in Malaysia where most people are Muslim.

The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils states that halal is an Arabic word meaning lawful or permitted.

Muslims are prohibited from consuming animal blood.

Mrs Rifai said businesses had exploited the Muslim religious beliefs before by using “halal” to sell its products.

“A few years ago there was a butcher in the area who wasn’t making much money so he put halal at the front of his shop to attract business,” she said.

“He didn’t even know the meaning of halal.”

Islamic Council of NSW vice president Ali Roude said companies must submit a full report to an Islamic organisation if a product is to be halal certified.

Products such as gelatin, which contain animal collagen, are forbidden.

Mr Roude said many products were certified halal so they could be sold overseas in Muslim nations such as Indonesia.

When assessed, it must be referred to a religous adviser before a certificate is issued.

“When we get approached, we do make sure the material is looked at closely,” Mr Roude said.

“We don’t look at it from a commercial point of view. Our main concern is that the product is halal. We have a moral and religious objection to tell that company ‘yes, go ahead, you have nothing to worry about’.”
 

WhereILive

 
Funding guide for non-profit organizations can be downloaded here.

Rizvan Khan suffers from Asperger's syndrome which makes it very hard for him to emotionally connect with others.

The death of his mother in Mumbai means he has to move to San Francisco to be with his reluctant brother.
 

Khan - whose name defines his Islamic religion - finds happiness with a Hindu divorcee and her son.

All is well until the events of 9/11 and American hostility toward Muslims increases.

Khan finds himself trekking across America wanting to meet the president.

An aside to this three-hour length movie is the political strife that it has got into in India, especially Mumbai.

Part of it has nothing to do with the movie at all. People are angry that Sharuk Khan, the star of the movie, said it was wrong to exclude Pakistani players from this year's IPL Twenty20 cricket.

Also behind the protests is Shiv Sena, an extreme Hindi group that controls Mumbai politics. Rather than see themselves as Indians, Shiv Sena wants Mumbai to be indigenous Marathi - and for people like Sharuk Khan and others to leave.

The CCN Thumbs Up: CCCC
 

Dalia Mogahed, Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, presents the results of a comprehensive six-year study undertaken by the Gallup World Poll that represents 90% (or one billion) of the worlds Muslims in some 35 Muslim countries. The event took place at the Dubai School of Government on June 9, 2009. The entire video can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/kpzafl.

PART 1

John Esposito, Professor of International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, describes the implications for US foreign policy of the results of a comprehensive six-year study undertaken by the Gallup World Poll that represents 90% (or one billion) of the worlds Muslims in some 35 Muslim countries. The event took place at the Dubai School of Government on June 9, 2009. The entire video can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/kpzafl.

PART 2
 

 
DEFENCE lawyer Mehboob Raza had difficulty remembering whether it was a PowerPoint or bullet point presentation that Criminal Investigations Department officers received before interviewing the accused persons.

He was even reminded by Justice Paul Madigan once, that it was a bullet point of facts.

On the other hand, fellow defence lawyer Iqbal Khan asked one of the state witnesses where the gun was when he said they were given bullet points.
 

Review by Robert Nelson
 

WESTERN liberal democracies struggle with the burqa, and many would like to forbid or confine its use. We see the burqa as a symbol of oppression, negating the very face of the person, almost as if women are buried alive.

The men who impose it on women would never endure it for themselves; and it seems only a matter of time before women are emancipated from the outmoded drag, which is bulky, drab and burdensome.

Mars Drum, on the other hand, has a lot of sympathy for the burqa and its wearers. After September 11, 2001, she took to wearing the garment as a gesture of support for Muslim women. Drum recalls that wearing the burqa is "surprisingly liberating". She enjoyed being "anonymous, shapeless, no one measuring me up and down, including myself".

Drum has produced a series of paintings of a character called Burka Woman, who also happens to be Ned Kelly's bride and this unlikely pair of hooded outcasts undertakes a survey of Australian culture. It's amusing and poignant, as the anti-hero of Irish Victoria tried to protect himself from the bullets of the police so Burka Woman has to protect herself from the rapid fire of globalisation on Muslim culture.
 

 
A  Global Celebration of the Prophet (Peace be Upon Him) has been arranged through the “Celebrate Mercy” Telecast.
 

Among the confirmed speakers for the event are Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), Imam Zaid Shakir, Shaykh Muhammad Niwowy, Shaykh Abdallah Adhami, Shaykh Faraz Rabbani, Shaykh Yahya Rhodus, Imam Afroz Ali and Nader Khan, with numerous other renowned scholars and nashid artists waiting to be confirmed.
 

If you are interested in joining the live session which is on Friday 26th February at 11.30am (Brisbane time), visit www.celebratemercy.com to register your place.
 

In WILD WORLD, the musical journey of Cat Stevens is traced from his teenage years in the West End of London, through his traumatic illness and explosive successes, to his near drowning and subsequent conversion to Islam.
 

Through words and music, you will be taken on a journey that was the Cat Stevens legend. 

More Information

 
ISTANBUL: Pakistan’s Salman Muhammed sings Fatih Kisaparmak’s “Benim Babam” (ie. My Father) song and makes him cry at the 7th Turkish Olympiad organized by the Gulen Movement where students from 156 countries all studying at Gulen schools come together to display their Turkish language talents in various categories such as singing, poetry, stand-up comedy etc..

In the video, the gentleman with the moustache is Fatih Kisaparmak, a singer, composer and is regarded as one of the most popular of Turkish artists ever. The boy from Pakistan, is singing “Benim Babam”, a song which Fatih Kisaparmak had written for the memory of his own father.

The participants in the event are graduates of Gulen Schools and are of non-Turkish background. The blonde MC is from Ukraine, the gentleman is from Albania. They both speak Turkish very well.
 

Fatih Kisaparmak (pictured left)  will arrive in Australia with two other Turkish artists to be in the jury for Australian eliminations of 2010 Turkish Olympiads.

On March 17 he will be hosted by the the Queensland Intercultural Society at Michael's Restaurant for a fund raiser.

by Azima Omar

 
A ghusl workshop, organized by the Al-nisa youth group, was held at the Kuraby Mosque last week Sunday. The class was conducted by Um Yousef with assistance from Susan Al-Maani. The Al-nisa group collaborated with the Brisbane Muslim Burial Services (BMBS) committee to provide very valuable and beneficial information on ghusl.

Adapted from Australian Journey - Muslim communities

The Australian Journey – Muslim communities, a new DIAC publication, is characterised by contributions of Muslims from all over the world who have made Australia home.

In this, and following issues of CCN, we highlight one of the successful Muslims in Australia from the report and their thoughts about what it means to be both a Muslim and an Australian.

Jihad Dib  Education

At Punchbowl Boys’ High School in Sydney, Principal Jihad Dib’s guidance and leadership is helping to keep all students on the same page. . The rich Australian fabric interweaves a great number of elements from various cultural and religious backgrounds.   Each person adds their experience and heritage to the pattern and together, we develop something most unique.   The Islamic faith complements all elements of our iconic Australian psyche and opportunities exist for everyone to make a positive difference to the lives of others.   The legend of the Anzacs and those who endured the Kokoda campaign live in every person who is proud to be Australian.   How lucky am I to work with proud young Australians as part of a nation which accepts all who ‘have a go’?   Jihad Dib