![](images/CCN/CCN174/P1060622.JPG)
Mr. Ted Liao addresses the gathering |
It
was an event that the Mayor of Brisbane, Campbell
Newman and Mr. Graham Perrett, Member for
Moreton, saw fit to attend not only to heap praises
on the initiative but to give it their wholehearted
support.
At a function held on Saturday
18 March 2008 to develop friendships between
the Muslim and Taiwanese communities of Brisbane,
Mr. Wayne Ko, the Secretary General of the
Queensland Federation of Taiwanese Associations gave
a background to Taiwan and Mr. Ted L. M. Liao,
Director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office
Brisbane, spoke on the local Taiwanese community.
In inviting the Queensland
Muslim organizations to describe the part they play
in the community, Mr. Mustafa Ally, President
of Crescents of Brisbane, acknowledged the
contribution of the local Taiwanese community
through their many charitable works.
"Taiwanese people have a well
deserved reputation as successful business people.
Through their industriousness and their investment
activities, Taiwanese businessmen and women have
helped in lifting the living standards of the
residents of south-east Queensland. These are well
acknowledged facts. Less well acknowledged but no
less important is the contribution of the local
Taiwanese community to strengthening the fabric of
our society," Mr. Ally added.
For the Muslim Community,
Mr. Suliman Sabdia described the role of the
Islamic Council of Queensland, Mrs. Galila
Abdelsalam spoke about the various functions
within the Islamic Women's Association of Queensland
that extended beyond assisting not only Muslim women
but which reached members of all other religions and
gender; Dr. Mohammed Hanief Khatree
summarized the aims and objectives of the Muslim
Business Network; Ms Aliyah Deen and Ms
Shaima Khan described the respective roles of
the Al-Nisa Youth Group and MYServices; the role of
AMARAH was articulated very eloquently by Mr.
Javed Khatree; and the presentations ended with
Ms Mariam Essof describing some of the
activities of Crescents of Brisbane.
Both communities acknowledged
the efforts of Mr. David Forde of the Kuraby
Lions who single-handedly (both literally and
figuratively) brokered the meeting of the two
communities.
![](images/CCN/CCN174/P1060728.JPG)
Ms Mariam Essof presents the
Certificate of Friendship to Mr. Wayne KO |
The gourmet sandwiches and
refreshments, prepared and presented, in inimitably
professional fashion, by the ladies of the Crescents
of Brisbane team won as much acclaim by the
attendees as did the rest of the afternoon's
proceedings.
The meeting ended with the
assurance by both communities that this was just the
start of greater things to come and both looked
forward to collaborative work and joint ventures in
the near future.
The Certificate of Friendship,
signed and presented by the Muslim organizations
present, read:
The Muslim
Community of Queensland hereby presents this
Certificate of Friendship to the Taiwanese Community
of Queensland with warmest wishes and hopes that the
peoples of our two communities will grow in
friendship and understanding.
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