Mufti Abdool Kader Hoosen, well-known presenter on South Africa's internationally renowned Channel Islam, arrives in Brisbane today. According to his host, Twiggy Surtie, Mufti Hoosen will be here in Brisbane for a week mainly to take in the Brisbane winter warmth and enjoy a break from his hectic schedules back home.
However, there are plans afoot to provide public forums for Queenslanders to meet and listen to the popular "radio star". If you would like to make contact with him you can call Twiggy on 0411 172 786.
According to his biography, AK Hoosen was born in Heidelberg, Gauteng, South Africa on the 20th April 1957. After studying at the primary school in Heidelberg, his parents Ismail and Halima Hoosen motivated him to start memorizing the Quraan Shareef. Thus he started his Hifz in 1968 and completed in 1970 under the tutorship of Hafiz Ebrahim Limalia. In 1974, he pursued his Islamic studies in Karachi, Pakistan, as he wanted to know what is the meaning of the Noble Quraan. Alhamdulillah, he graduated in 1980 at Jamia Farooqia Karachi,Pakistan. In 1990 he completed his MA with distinction at the Rand Afrikaans University in Islamic studies. He always yearned to teach at a Darul Uloom and in January 1981, he started teaching at Darul Uloom Newcastle. The portfolios he held there were Vice Principle, Mufti and Senior Lecturer on Tafseer, Quraan and Hadith etc. After staying for 20 years in Newcastle, he joined Cii in January 2001 as a resident Mufti. His wife, Fathima is a great
inspiration for him.
Talking of which....
You can get Channel Islam, so long denied over satellite radio to us Aussies, now on the web.
There is an air of unprecedented excitement mounting up amongst the (not so desperate) housewives of Queensland's Muslim community as the BIG DAY draws closer.
No, we are not referring to that other Brisbane institution, the EKKA, but to the IWAQ Fashion Gala to be held this Saturday.
There are reports coming in that the good ladies of the city are literally cooking up a storm for the occasion and organizers and volunteers are putting the finishing touches to the menu and the evening program even as you read this.
For further details and tickets call 0439617786 or email rubana@doctor.com.
Now.....if only our Man-on-the-Mussallah can find a way to bring you a first hand account of the proceedings.....all in the course of duty, of course!
Ahmed Fahour (A CCN Who's Who)
Ahmed Fahour has been touted at the wunderkind of the Australian banking sector and the chief executive of National Australia Bank’s Australian operations.
With a stellar career behind him, NAB has Ahmed Fahour on a four-year contract worth about $34 million if he meets all performance targets. According to analysts this is an extraordinary amount for such a young and (relatively) inexperienced executive. They go on to point out that there is little doubt that Fahour is talented. People who have worked with him describe him as very smart, a hard worker with boundless energy, and a popular leader.
The son of immigrant Lebanese parents, he completed his MBA at Melbourne Business School in 1993, receiving the top prize for corporate finance, while working full time for Boston Consulting Group. He became a director of the group in 1997 and spent a year as managing director of its joint-venture investment company, iformation. He joined Citigroup in 2000 as senior vice-president of corporate development in New York, at the age of 33. In February this year — only six months before NAB poached him — Fahour was named chief executive of Citigroup Australasia.
As part of his deal to join NAB, the bank “compensated” Fahour with an upfront payment for what he would have received had he stayed at Citigroup: a cash payment of $3.9 million in January 2005, plus options and shares worth $9.5 million over the next four years.
The bank also paid to relocate Fahour and his family (he is married with three children). At only 37, Fahour is among the highest-paid executives in Australia, running the biggest division of the country’s biggest bank. He started work in the new role on September 1 2004, and the entire business community is now watching his performance very closely.
EidFest2005 Meeting
If you are a representative of a Muslim cultural, religious, educational or community group or you would like to volunteer your services then you are invited to attend a meeting and lunch on Sunday 14th August, to discuss plans for Eidfest 2005, a community Eid festival to celebrate the end of Ramadan, for the whole of Queensland.
Business owners who would like to set up stalls on the day are also welcome to attend.
Come and hear about Eidfest, see the exciting things we have planned, and see how your organization can participate on the day.
The meeting will be at Svoboda Park at 11am, and lunch will be provided after the meeting. Please bring along anyone else who might be interested but please just notify us to allow numbers for catering purposes.
CONTACT: Yasmin Khan Mob: 0419 025 510
ICQ Meeting
The Islamic Council of Queensland called up a meeting of community leaders last Friday night at Darra Mosque to develop strategies to address the problems concerning the negative and distorted publicity that Muslims in Australia are being confronted with in the wake of the recent events in London.
Also present at the meeting were representatives of the Anti-Discrimination Commission, Ms Anne Anderson and Ms Abdullah Nabila; Bob Atkinson, Commissioner of Police; Barry Turner, Manager of the Brisbane office of the Australian Federal Police; Mark Barrett and Seia Akhavan from State Police Headquarters, Roma Street; and David Murray of the Sunday Courier Mail.
The meeting resolved to reconvene in a fortnight's time at Kuraby Mosque with proposals on how to communicate with and educate both Muslims and non-Muslims. Each society and community based organization will nominate a person to be represented in a Media Liaison Committee.
A training program is to be developed to help adults and children increase their knowledge of Islam as well as an education initiative for secondary schools in the area.
Ms Anderson encouraged members of the Muslim community to report any incidents of racial or religious discrimination or vilification that they come across to her offices on 1300 130 670.
Bridge to Brisbane
Several CresWalkers have registered for the Bridge to Brisbane. If you are reading this tucked in bed with your laptop, wireless broadband connection and your Sunday morning breakfast, spare a thought for the Crescents Contingent amongst the 20 000 odd runners as they trudge up and over the Gateway Arterial Bridge through to New Farm along the 12km and 4.5km routes.
And don't be surprised to see several distinctive and very fashionable CresWalk2005 shirts flash by when you watch the news reports of the race on TV on Sunday night.
CCN wishes all CresWalkers all the best for the run.
Wedding Invitation
Bilal Solwa and his parents, Dawood and Zohra (of Durban, Brisbane and Durban) have extended a warm invitation to all Brisbane residents to his wedding in Durban.
His marriage to Sarah Goder, daughter of Ashraf and Sharmila (of Cape Town and Brisbane) will take place on the 10th of September, inshaAllah.
Bilal and Sarah will be returning to settle in Brisbane sometime in December inshallah.
On behalf of the Crescents community, CCN would like to wish Bilal and Sarah all the very best for the future and we look forward to having Bilal back on the Crescents of Brisbane organizing team. He is going to have to return that farewell medal first though .
For catering purposes please RSVP Bilal directly if you are planning to attend.
Local Federal Government representatives called up a meeting of Muslim businessmen in Brisbane a few weeks ago to hear their views on the proposed new Industrial Relations legislation being put before Parliament.
Letter to the Courier Mail
Yasmin Khan, former President of IWAQ, had this letter published in the Courier Mail last week:
Drongos in any group of people
With all due respect to Bob Brock (Letters 26/7), I find it offensive that he suggests that Muslims, by the very nature of their religion, do not blend in.
As someone who is third generation Australian and a Muslim, I have never felt the need to blend in because I always was "in". My eating halal foods is no different from catering to a vegetarian or a Hindu who doesn't eat meat. Just because I cover my legs and arms, does that suggest that I am not Australian? Praying five times a day, when it is done in the privacy of my own home, is of no consequence to anyone. For those who offer two of those prayers at work (one in their lunch time), how is that any different from smokers going out a number of times a day to get their fix?
Muslims run businesses; they are also teachers, community workers, doctors and members of many other professions. We pay taxes, participate in the community and are, on the whole, peace-loving people. I thank God every day I live in this beautiful country that allows me to practice my religion anyway I please. As with any other group of people, we have our drongos, too. Just join with us to beat them, rather than alienate all of us for the sins of a few.
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Channel Islam's Radio Presenter Visits Brisbane
Fashion Frenzy Hits Fever Pitch
Ahmed Fahour (A CCN Who's Who)
EidFest2005 Meeting
Bridge to Brisbane
Wedding Invitation
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