Sunday, 18 December 2005

Newsletter 0058

This issue of CCN is kindly sponsored by

Nazima Hansa

Assalaamu-alaikum

CCN would like to take this opportunity to wish all our Hajjis and Hajjianis

(several of whom leave this week from Brisbane)

Hajj Mabroor

May all your duas be answered and that you have a safe and rewarding journey, inshaAllah.

Stay off the beach, Australians told

Police have urged Australians to stay away from beaches in Sydney this weekend, because it believed that more race riots are planned.

A huge police presence already deployed at beach suburbs hit by racial violence between whites and Arab-Australians would be increased to 2,000 to cope with the threat, Ken Moroney, the New South Wales police chief, said.

Dozens of people were injured and arrested in the riots after white mobs set out to "reclaim the beach" from groups of ethnic Lebanese at Cronulla in south Sydney last Sunday, sparking days of revenge attacks.
 

Intelligence reports indicated that gangs would again target Cronulla as well as neighbouring beaches, others on the central coast and those in the towns of Woolongong and Newcastle to the south and north, Moroney said.
 

"I would urge people who do not live in these areas to stay away unless they have a good reason to be there," Moroney said. "Our latest intelligence tells us that large numbers of people are planning to go to these areas on Sunday to cause riotous behaviour."

Click here for full text.

Lively sessions at 'Death and Dying' seminars

VISITING academic and Islamic scholar from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal in Durban, Professor Abufadl Mohsin Ebrahim, provided an Islamic perspective of some of the very contentious and often little understood issues surrounding death and dying.

The lectures were hosted by the Darul Uloom in Buranda and were well attended with audience numbers exceeding 100 on each of the two nights.

In true academic and emotionally detached style Prof Ebrahim explained his position on each of the issues with reference to the Qur'an and Hadith. His recounting of stories from the past and from his own personal experiences made each evening's presentation entertaining, informative and very understandable.

Video recordings of both sessions will soon be available on DVD.

If you would like a copy of the talks please email theteam@crescentsofbrisbane.org (there will be a nominal charge to defray expenses).

Youth in South Africa - Rising to the Challenge?

Latiefa Ahmed, a qualified nursing sister, psychiatric nurse, and Islamic counselor in Cape Town recently answered questions posed to her from a worldwide audience in an online dialogue forum on the topic.

These were some of the questions that she responded to:

I would like to ask how youth played a role under the apartheid system? Did they have their own identity or were they segregated to different colors too? (Egypt)

I would like to know the ratio of the Muslims to the Christians in South Africa, and by how far is Islam spreading among the youth? (Nigeria)

I am always worried about family values and morals being neglected and ignored among all this fashionable democracy? (United Arab Emirates)

After the fall of the apartheid system have the youth played a role in establishing the New South Africa?
What is that role? And how did they manage to erase the differences among themselves that existed for many years? (United States)

The youth are very important constituents of society. Which organizations are involved in taking care of the youth in SA? What is being done for them? (United Kingdom)
 

The Black continent has suffered a lot of famine political upheavals etc... What is the role of SA to develop and upgrade this continent? (Canada)

Do the Muslim youth play an important role in volunteering in SA? (Ireland)

There is so much juvenile crime throughout the world, and also in African countries, including South Africa. What confuses me, is that SA has emerged from a horrific past with triumph, shouldn't this imbue the youth with hope, and determination to develop themselves and their country, instead of turning to unemployment, crime, gangs and so on. Can you provide some ideas about this?  (Cameroon)

Do you think SA will end up a one party government like Zimbabwe? if so, how will this effect the youth? (Zimbabwe)

I've always been curious about what life was like for young people and everyone, under apartheid. Do you think the youth of that time are very different from the SA youth today? What are some of the major differences (in contrast) between yesterday and today? (Australia)

Is the family still in tact in SA? It seems to be breaking down all over the world and I think this causes many problems for the youth. (United States)
 

Ms Ahmed's responses to these questions can be found here.

Ms Ahmed has been working with the youth since 1991. She is a founder member of an Islamic counseling center in Cape Town that focuses on the needs of the youth and provides advice, counsel and support. Her centre aims at instilling a feeling of self-worth in the youth and giving them something to work towards.

Brother Deen Finds Harmony

Southern Star 14 December 2005

THE Deen brothers have a reputation for demolishing buildings but, behind the scenes, one of them has shifted a scout hall to Runcorn Heights Primary School free of charge.

Sultan Deen, who leaves for Hajj this week,  found his skills as a removalist in demand when he was approached by the Runcorn school's English as a Second Language (ESL) unit.

The unit relies on donations and ashed him to shift the scout hall from Cavendish Rd, Coorparoo, to the school grounds.

Called Harmony House, ESL unit teacher Melody Smith said the building would be the school's core area for pupils to learn other cultures and customs.

"It will increase the students' tolerance of each other and therefore their understanding and acceptance of each other," she said.

Mr Deen. who helped establish the Islamic School of Brisbane in Karawatha, said the house would help the Muslim community and the wider multicultural community at the school.

He said it was easier for the ESL unit to appeal for donations with the building in place.

"I'm happy to get it up and running, but it's up to the community and the teachers and the school to get the donations," he said.

Radio Host Apologises for Remarks
A Sydney commercial radio announcer has been accused of fuelling racism in the wake of the weekend's riots.

Brian Wilshire told listeners of his talkback program on the Macquarie radio network that Australians should not have to apologise for the drunken riots of last weekend.

He then said many in Sydney's Muslim Lebanese community were inbred.

The comments have outraged Lebanese community leaders.

New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma has also condemned them.

"It reveals an uneducated comment on his part," Mr Iemma said.

"But they are disgraceful comments."

Mr Wilshire has apologised.

Macquarie Radio will not confirm if he has been pulled from his show tonight.
 

Click here for full text.

Muslims Cry Foul in ICC Halal Row

In the UK, Birmingham's Muslim community has voiced fury at the organisers of a prestigious business dinner after nearly 200 guests were unwittingly fed non-halal meat.

The mistake happened during the Institute of Asian Businesses' annual dinner organised by the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and held at the International Convention Centre.

The Chamber admitted there had been confusion over menus that resulted in Muslim guests being misled over what they were eating. It promised to ensure tighter controls were put in place in the future.

Mohammed Zulfiquar, vice-chairman of the IAB, said: "I am disgusted. I will be writing to the chief executive of the ICC for an explanation."

Click here for full text.

The CCN Thought of the Week

A Word From This Week’s Sponsor

Nazima Hansa ......combining cutting edge technology with plain old-fashioned service   Wishes all her friends and clients all the very best for the holidays   Tel: 3347 8788 or 0407 037 928 nazima.hansa@remax.com.au www.nazimahansa.com

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Articles and opinions appearing in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Crescents of Brisbane team, CCN, its Editor or its Sponsors.