Yusuf, oldest son of AK and Aasia Surtie, married Firdaus, youngest daughter of Iqbal Omar and ZubeidaMahomed on Sunday 10 July.
Sha'ista, daughter of Abeda and Mahomed Hanief Khatree of Brisbane was married to Abed, son of Ayesha and Abdul Sattar Hajee Aboo of Louis Trichardt (South Africa) last night (Saturday 23 July) at the Pietersburg Town Masjid.
On behalf of the Crescents community we wish both couples all the very best for the future, inshaAllah.
Algester Masjid Fund Raiser
There will be fund raising BBQ at Algester Masjid today (Sunday 24/07/05) after Zohar Salaat. Please take a small plate of dessert along with you.
Islamic Research Unit
The Griffith Islamic Research Unit, Nathan Campus, Griffith University, Brisbane was officially opened last week.
The unit is directed by Dr. Mohamad Abdalla and is part of the Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance, Griffith University, to encourage research on issues that relate to Islam and the Muslims in an Australian context. The central aim of the Unit is to promote a 'moderate' Islam.
A couple of the objectives are to encourage research between Griffith University and the wider Australian Muslim community and to conduct seminars, lectures and conferences. The Unit will also offer three PhD scholarships and one Postdoctoral scholarship.
More than 100 people attended the launch, including local, state and federal governments, and community groups and religious representatives including the Islamic, Buddhist and Christian faiths.
Dr. Abdalla said the initiative provided a meeting point for the Islamic and western worlds of learning.
“Here at the Griffith Islamic Research Unit, we want to be involved in educational activities that seek to bridge the gap between Islam and the West,” Dr Abdalla said.
“The objective is to promote interaction between Muslims and other religious groups and scholars,” he said.
“This will be achieved by inviting visiting scholars, both Muslims and non-Muslims, to take part in research and discussions on issues high on the agenda.”
Dr. Abdalla said the unit would seek to forge links with like-minded organisations and well-established Islamic institutions in parts of the world such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
“There is an interest both within Griffith University and the local Islamic community to ensure that a wide range of Islamic thoughts are reflected within the educational programs offered by the university,” he said
Queensland's Eid Festival
A Multi-cultural Eid Festival (on the lines of Sydney's MEFF which attracts crowds of between and 20 and 30 thousand each year) is being planned for Saturday 12 November at the Mt. Gravatt Showgrounds.
There will be cultural performances and international food stalls and a host of fun activities starting in the morning and going on through to the evening.
Watch this space for more details about the event as they become available.
International Guest Speaker in Brisbane
Dr. Anas Altikriti, former President of the Muslim Association of Britain, delivered two talks during the week as part of FAMSY's 23rd Annual National Conference held in conjunction with MSA UQ & QUT, QMT and IFA.
A brief testimonial of Altikriti reads as follows:
"This inspiring British Muslim leader is not only an advisor to various government & non-government organizations but also a politically active leading figure. He had organized & mobilized 2 million people in London to an anti-war rally in 2003. He is a Post-Graduate University lecturer in Applied Translation & Interpreting studies and is a founding member of the Muslim Association of Britain."
His first talk on 'Muslim Youth and the Art of Aspiration' was given on Wednesday at the Darul Uloom. This was followed by a lecture at the University of Queensland on Thursday entitled "Muslim Students - The Challenge of Winning New Friends'
A member of IFA provided the following synopsis of one of the talks she attended:
On Wednesday evening, brothers and sisters gathered at Darul Uloom eager to learn more about ‘The Art of Aspiration’ presented by Brother Anas Altikrity.
Brother Anas is an advisor to government organisations and NGOs, a political activist, postgraduate lecturer and founding member of the Muslim Association of Britain.
So what’s the first picture that comes to mind when you read the word ‘aspiration’? Flash house, trendy car, lots of money? This wasn’t what Brother Anas classified as aspiration, if anything it was termed as ‘silly dreams’….and he’s right! We need to look deeper and build bigger dreams, dreams with a purpose, dreams that will make a positive difference for the Ummah!
Interested in the ‘art’? This is the advice Brother Anas’s shared…
1. First we need to understand where we are, i.e. the society we live in, the greater international community, the knowledge we’re armed with (or not!?), our strengths and weaknesses, etc
2. Then we need to have a plan (always a good idea!)
a) Develop aims and objectives
b) Set goals
c) And more importantly, have a dream!…an aspiration!,…something that appears near impossible achieving. At the same time, an absolute must is reliance and trust in Allah (SWT). This would be a much longer-term goal, but insha-Allah will be fulfilled with the help of The Almighty!
d) Another important point is to ensure aspirations are selfless.
It’s that simple! We as the Muslim Ummah are facing increasing challenges on a daily basis, and it’s not expected to be easy, but there’s nothing to gain from listing the negatives,....that gets us nowhere! We need to look forward, to build up our aspirations and develop a strategy to work together! Let us allow our meaningful aspirations to surface, activating us towards making a positive and lasting difference. This would ultimately portray to the world the beauty of Islam, the religion of peace and unity!
Special thanks to the organising team FAMSY, MSA UQ, MSA QUT, QMT & IFA.
A Book Worth Reading
'Playing with Fire' is a must for cricket fans and anyone interested in what it takes to become captain of the English cricket team and an OBE.
It follows Nasser Hussain's eventful and tempestuous life and career since childhood.
With an Indian father and English mother as parents, Hussain is brutally honest about his fellow players, coaches and administrators pulling no punches in his assessment of them.
Criticized by some as a hothead, he used his determination and passion to transform England from a team that often snatched defeat from the jaws of victory into a confident side that teams (other than Australia, of course) found hard
to beat.
This book makes fascinating reading, it did for me!
The Sister's Learning Program continues this week, Wednesday 27th July and every second Wednesday.
The last topic was very inspirational, discussing the virtues of thikr and the benefits of recitation of the Quraan.
Azhar Usman is one of the world's few Muslim standup comedians. Writing and performing comedy for the past several years, he has developed a unique act based on transethnic and intercultural issues, keen and witty insights, and general observational humor.
In 2004, he co-founded Allah Made Me Funny-The Official Muslim Comedy Tour with fellow Muslim comedian Preacher Moss, a 21-year veteran of the comedy industry.
A statement (RIYADH, Arab News) that has warned against the dangers of allowing women to drive in Saudi Arabia was released on the Internet on Friday. More than 100 sheikhs, imams, judges, Islamic scholars, Islamic university teachers, several heads of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice centers in the Kingdom, as well as some teachers at the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah signed the statement.
The statement said that the enemies of Islam are seeking to destroy the great role women have been given in Islam by corrupting them and hence corrupting the Islamic world.
It said the enemies of Islam have portrayed the image of Muslim women being without rights and having “a broken wing,” saying that their homes are prisons, their husbands mistreat them, and their hijabs are a sign of backwardness.
It said that they have come up with the terminology of “injustice for women” in our country and have used it in the media lately introducing the fact that they are not allowed to drive as a sign of injustice.
They also said in the statement that the ruling in Islam that “closing all doors leads to corruption” was clear and was for the protection of people and society. “Women driving cars is not permissible because the ruling of ‘closing doors that leads to corruption’ applies to it directly.”
The statement also said that those who say allowing women to drive would be beneficial in some ways forget the ruling in Islam that if the act derives more misdeeds, then it is ruled as not permissible.
The statement added that though it acknowledged that foreign drivers are an economic burden on the country, their presence does less damage than the economic burdens of allowing women to drive which are: The multi-ownership of cars in one family instead of just one being used by the driver; the replacement of a car by another one since women are known to like everything new and the burden of the government having to open special female sections in all Traffic Departments.
It concluded by saying that no Islamic scholar or good figure in society has called for women to drive and that all those who have been calling for them to drive are people who tend to damage the image of Islamic women.
In smarts, she's a perfect 10 - 10-year-old Arfa Karim Randhawa is likely the youngest certified Microsoft expert ..
Sitting down for a personal meeting with Bill Gates this week, 10-year-old Arfa Karim Randhawa asked the Microsoft founder why the company doesn't hire people her age.
Under the circumstances, the question wasn't so unreasonable.
Arfa, a promising software programmer from Faisalabad, Pakistan, is believed to be the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional in the world. The designation, given to outside experts who prove their ability to work with Microsoft technologies, has also been achieved by some teenagers. But it's far more common among adults seeking to advance their computer careers.
Arfa received the certification when she was still 9, an impressive accomplishment in its own right, according to older programmers who have gone through the process. And others called it an encouraging sign of the continued emergence of women in a country where they have historically struggled to advance.
Mir Khalil-ur-Rehman Foundation in
Pakistan present an award to Arfa Karim
The situation illustrates "another side" of Pakistan, said Anand Yang, director of the University of Washington's Jackson School of International Studies. "That's another reason to celebrate someone like her."
Ten-year-old Arfa Karim Randhawa of Pakistan, believed to be the youngest person in the world to have earned Microsoft Certified Professional status, visits the company's Redmond campus.
Arfa's one-on-one meeting with Gates was part of a visit this week to the company's Redmond campus, arranged and sponsored by Microsoft to better introduce Arfa to the company, and to give people at headquarters a chance to meet her. The week included lab tours and a series of informal sessions with Microsoft executives and employees, including a Pakistani employee group.
She made an impression through a combination of charm, flattery and boldness uncommon for someone her age. For example, during Arfa's meeting with Gates, she presented him with a poem she wrote that celebrated his life story. But she also questioned him about what she perceived to be the relatively small proportion of women on the campus.
"It should be balanced -- an equal amount of men and an equal amount of women," she explained afterward.
About 75 percent of Microsoft employees are men, according to company data. Recounting their conversation, Arfa said Gates acknowledged her concerns and talked about the broader industry's struggles to increase the proportion of women in technology-related fields.
Other topics they discussed included her Muslim faith and her hometown, an industrial city known for its textile businesses.
Afterward, Arfa described Gates as an "ideal personality," explaining that he had been second only to Disneyland on her list of things she wanted to see in the United States. Previously unaware of the casual dress code at Microsoft, she said she had expected Gates to be wearing a suit but was surprised to find him in a casual shirt with the top button open.
"I expected that all the people would be here in suits," she said with a giggle, wearing a hat acquired during her earlier visit to the company's Xbox game studios.
Later in the afternoon, she sat outside with S. "Soma" Somasegar, a Microsoft corporate vice president, and described her vision for a self-navigating car. He listened to her ideas and told her about some of Microsoft's existing software for cars.
To be sure, despite her question to Gates about employing people her age, Microsoft wasn't about to offer a job to someone so young. But Somasegar talked about the possibility of an internship in a few years.
"The thing that's exciting to me is her passion for technology at this age," said Somasegar, who decided to invite Arfa to Redmond after reading a story about her in MicroNews, an internal company newsletter.
The visit to Microsoft headquarters was the culmination of a meteoric rise that has turned Arfa into something of a celebrity in her country. It began at age 5, when she walked by a computer lab at her school and started wondering about those strange "boxes," the computers and monitors. Later, when she found out what they did, she was amazed.
"When you push a button, something magically appears on the box," she said, recalling the experience.
She eventually persuaded her father to buy a computer, and she demonstrated unexpected aptitude, using Microsoft PowerPoint and other programs. Encouraged by what she was doing, her father took her to Applied Technologies, or APTECH, an advanced computer institute nearby.
"I saw her doing something extraordinary, making presentations," said her father, Amjad Karim, who serves with a U.N. peacekeeping force in Africa and came with his daughter to Microsoft this week. "That made me think that she could use some professional coaching, and she could do better in her future life."
Karim said he is careful not to push his daughter, but wanted to make sure that the opportunities existed for her to pursue her interest. He said he first noticed something unusual when she started displaying a remarkable memory, perhaps photographic, at a young age.
The people at the computer institute required some persuading, because of her age, but they accepted her as a student, taught her about programming and ultimately told her father that she appeared to be in a position to seek Microsoft certification.
The institute instructors assumed it would take Arfa about a year to go through the process of certification for developing Windows applications. But after four months of study and work, over summer vacation, she passed the required exams.
Her programming experience so far has been as part of her studies. She has created basic Windows applications, such as a calculator and a sorting program, primarily in the C# programming language. The certification she received was as a Microsoft Certified Application Developer. She says she plans to pursue a more advanced certification, as a Microsoft Certified Solution Developer, which involves building programs into a broader system for a business.
Arfa's accomplishment is "very impressive," said Michael Earls, 33, a software consultant and Microsoft Certified Solution Developer in Atlanta. "The type of thinking that goes into correctly answering those questions is pretty mature. ... Microsoft certifications are not a joke -- they're highly respected in the industry."
Ultimately, Arfa says, she would like to go to Harvard University or MIT, and then either go to work for Microsoft, in its developer division, or become a satellite engineer.
(Editor: And why not! After all it is definitely quicker to disassemble it there.... as anyone on the wrong end of a carjack will testify)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Australian Parliament House (Series continuation)
(or Know Your Government 101)
You have probably read and heard that the Howard Government now has control of the Senate. What is the composition of the Senate?
Each State is represented equally and there must be at least six Senators from each State. There are currently 12 senators per state. Elections for half the Senate take place every three years. Senators serve for six years.
Aseseelamu aleykum to you all
Dear borates in Islam
I wood laic to spared wary well dun from Barter Osman Zumi in Gold Coast.
Hi hew a tack away shop in middle Surfers Paradise RAPTI'S PLAZA . Shop knolling EVROPA justo to statue of David on the left said. Opposite are Tack away KEBAB
To of them have rented to room for Muslim prayers van they in Gold Coast. The Mosque a to faraway from centre To of them deseeded to open PRAYING ROOM for Muslim. They prepared everything for Uzu and abdest. Plenty room. Wot people nide is to ask brother OSMAN in EVROPA key for praying room. Free for every Muslim from art.
Food in bot shop EVROPA and KEBAB is 100% halal food.Daily preparing. Fresh whit my guaranty.
Please let to know all Muslim brothers DON'T LOST YOU DAILY PRAYER. Please bi fry to ask for the Key from Ida shop Evropa or Kebab in FOOD PLAYS Surfer Paradise Cavil Avenue RAPTI'S PLAZA.
Many selam all prayers. Selam to all readers from CRESCENT
Your in Islam Safet Avdich from Kuraby Mosque tel 07 3341 3323
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Congratulations!
Queensland's Eid Festival
The Sister's Learning Program continues this week, Wednesday 27th July and every second Wednesday. 
Imams, academics against allowing women to drive
