Sunday, 18 September 2005

Newsletter 0045

This issue of CCN is kindly sponsored by

Jas and Susan

Assalaamu-alaikum

Behind Every Cloud...........

The first day started off calmly enough as the preparations got underway and the stalls were set up all around the Mt Gravatt Showgrounds and the finishing touches were added in anticipation of the crowds in excess of 17000 over the next two days.

Business started of briskly in the first few hours and then it was time for the formalities.

Parmesh Chand, the organizer of the Indian Bazaar, started off the event's proceedings inviting the Lord Mayor to open the Bazaar. As rain drops kept falling on her head, Yasmin Khan

gave Eidfest 2005 a huge plug.

Then the heavens were let loose and people sought shelter anywhere and everywhere they could.

The monsoons subsided and it was time to mop up and call it a night .

The next day the sun came out to compete with the brightly coloured  costumes and vibrancy of the dancers .

By the evening the crowds swelled and Logan Road was reported to be like a car park. An assortment of Ministers , MPs and Government representatives were at hand to sing the praises of the Indian community of Brisbane and to watch a very unlikely looking  Miss Indian Bazaar get crowned.

CCN would like to congratulate the organizers of the Indian Bazaar for putting on an entertaining and professional show for the Brisbane community.

Like Birnam Wood to Dunsinane, Ipswich moved to Kuraby for the day......

Nestling in the salubrious suburb of Kuraby, Svoboda Park was the idyllic venue for the Ipswich Mosque fund raiser. The day's proceedings started off slowly but calmly until Hurricane Goss struck with all the welcome vengeance of a man steeled with the determination of wreaking havoc on any discretionary and disposable income that crossed his path. The walking, talking, animated eBay of Brisbane once again proved that the pretenders to his throne had several long years of apprenticeship ahead of them. Goss is still the master of his domain! Long live the King!

" A Night in the Love of The Prophet" is a new CD compilation of nasheeds by Ahmad Abu Ghazaleh and is sung in both English and Arabic. Ghazaleh, who is also the Principal of the Kuraby Madressah, will be launching his CD at the end of the month at two special functions, one in the Gold Coast and the other in Brisbane. 

Durban's Bombay Crush, Latest Brisbane Craze?

Bombay Crush became the toast of the EidFest stall at yesterday's Indian Bazaar and the taste of things to come at Eidfest 2005 on November 12.

A blend of full-cream milk, generous dollops of ice cream, rose syrup, grated faluda (agar-agar), a spoon-full of tukhamuria, a sprinkling of grounded ilaichi and Durban's Cafe Moola's secret seeds and spices, Bombay Crush drew a whole new audience to the famous milkshake drink.

His Lordship, The Mayor of Manchester

It’s a long way from the hot plains of provincial Pakistan to the damp urban sprawl of northwest England.

But for Mohammed Afzal Khan, the real journey did not begin until after he’d arrived in 1970’s Britain as a bewildered 12-year-old who spoke no English, and had few friends and little clue about the culture he was entering.

Three decades later, Mr. Khan capped an extraordinary odyssey from humble obscurity to high office when he became the first Asian Lord Mayor of Manchester.

The appointment has marked a meteoric rise for a man who started his working life as a mill labourer after moving to the North West from Pakistan.

Lord Mayor Councilor Khan, who has been described as an “Asian Dick Whittington”, says, “It was the greatness of the city and the celebration of diversity that made it all possible.”

His ambition now is to be the first Asian PM of Britain, but he won't forsake his favourite biryani and ras malai for anything.

FACT SHEET: the City of Manchester is situated in North West England and the CBD has a population of half a million. People from Manchester are called Mancunians. It staged the Commonwealth Games in 2002 and is the home of Manchester United and Manchester City football teams. Old Trafford is the largest, and arguably the most famous, football ground in England

[Editor]: For those who have had a less misspent youth than yours truly and did not encounter Dick Whittington and his cat in one of your bedtime stories then let me bring you up to speed. The legend is that Dick Whittington, a poor country boy, came to London with his cat seeking his fortune. When he reached Highgate Hill, he lost heart and turned to go back home. Then he heard the bells of London ringing out saying "Turn again, Dick Whittington, three times Lord Mayor of London." He remained in London and the story goes that his cat was sold for a great fortune to the King of Barbary whose palace had been overrun with mice. Dick became a rich man and in time became the Lord Mayor of London three times, just as the bells had said.
  

Headscarfs Getting A New Spin

Our Man-on-the-Mussallaah has been lowering his gaze but keeping a watchful eye at the same time on the headscarf controversy in Australia and found the debate about Muslim headscarves doing a 180-degree turn in Canberra, with Multicultural Affairs Minister John Cobb suggesting that all women should adopt a headscarf as a fashion item.

In response to questions at the National Press Club, Mr Cobb said women in headscarves looked "fantastic", and he could see the item becoming a new trend. He was responding to questions about his rumoured attack on fellow federal Coalition MP Sophie Panopoulos for her outspoken criticism of Muslim women wearing headscarves in Australia.

Also, at 10pm tonight (Sunday 18 September), Compass on ABC will be screening a program entitled "The Headmaster and the Headscarf". It follows the dramatic events in a school in Paris, from the announcement of the new French law banning students from wearing overt symbols of religion, through to implementation of the law and the impact this has on Muslim girls no longer allowed to wear their veils.
 

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