This week might have marked the end of an illustrious era, but certainly not the end of an indelible legacy.........
Imam Abdulrahim Rane was laid to rest in the Mt Gravatt Cemetery on Monday after his Janazah was performed at the Holland Park Mosque.
In what was the largest attendance at a Janazah in Brisbane close on 800, including local politicians and government officials, attended to pay respects to a man who will be acknowledged as one of the pioneers of the Muslim community in Queensland.
Haji Rane's story alongside does not even begin to document the list of his achievements and his efforts for the local community.
A well respected and loved man was Haji Rane, and despite being a very busy man found time enough with wife Joyce (of sturdy English-Danish stock) to rear and raise (in chronological order) Shummis, Zainab, Mariam, Yusuf, Jamal, Osman, Zora, Ebrahim, Amina, Alma and Hassan.
Haji Rane was born and brought up in Queensland, his father, Futtadeen, having come to Australia from India as a stowaway in 1901, making his way from Sydney in search of a relative in Queensland where the Ranes* set root ever since.
Haji Rane was one of the founding members of AFIC, was largely self-taught in Islam, and served unpaid as Imam of Holland Park Mosque from 1950 to 1985.
* Futtadeen could not write or spell his surname, and so the local authorities fashioned one out of his Punjabi caste name of Arian because they felt that there were already all too many people named Deen in Australia.
Condolences
CCN offers its deepest condolences to the Hasham family on the passing away of the mother of Abdullah and Yahya on Tuesday.
We also wish to record our condolences to the family and friends of Br. Safik Mohammed of Ipswich who passed away on Thursday morning, and to Br. Hamza Bidren (26), the Imam of Dubbo who lost his wife, Aysen and two young children, Musinah and Nejeb in a tragic accident on the Newell Highway on Tuesday night. His third child, Adib, is seriously ill in hospital. We make dua for his rapid recovery.
All the burials have been at the Mt Gravatt Cemetery in Mains Road, Macgregor.
Eid-ul-Adha Programme and Times (Wednesday 11 January)
Islamic School of Brisbane (Karawatha)
Masjid Al
Farooq
Darra
Mosque
Algester
Mosque
Gold Coast Mosque
Takbir
5:30am
5:30am
5:45am
7:00am
6:00am
Lecture
5:45am
5:45am
6:00am
7:15am
6:30am
Salaat
6:25am
6.00am
6:30am
7:30am
7:00am
Ipswich Official Opening
An open invitation has been extended to all friends, well-wishers and donors associated with the Islamic Society of Ipswich to attend their official opening on Sunday 15 January.
There will also be the free Annual Eid-Ul-Adha Barbeque Luncheon immediately after the programme.
All the details of the programme, including how to get there, can be obtained here.
Conspiracy Theory Hits Mainstream TV
Channel TEN showed the documentary 9/11 In Plane Site on Wednesday 4th January at 10.30pm which presented evidence that the terrorist attacks on September 11 were a hoax.
Among other things, the news footage from that day showed that the two planes that crashed into the Twin Towers were not the actual American Airlines flights 11 and 175; demolition charges, not planes, caused most of the destruction at the World Trade Center; and an airplane did not actually crash into the Pentagon.
After the enormous success of the first training session in which over 40 girls attended. Soccer Training will now be held every two weeks.
Please read the information flyer for more details.
All Muslim girls from the age of 7 yrs+ are invited to come and join the fun. Please note that this is a women only event with female coaches and female referees.
Keep in touch with the latest activities at www.qmt.org.au
"Water, water everywhere...and lots of litres to drink"
Zamzam Water Quenches Spiritual Thirst of Pilgrims
THE COOL, refreshing and blessed water of Zamzam welcomes the multitude of pilgrims in Saudi Arabia for hajj, quenching both their spiritual and corporeal thirst.
"We launched a three-pronged plan this hajj to provide Zamzam water to the pilgrims through 950 workers in Makkah and Al-Madinah," said Abdullah Al-Deweri, the deputy head of the Zamzam United Office.
He said plastic 300mm bottles of Zamzam water are being distributed in abundance among the faithful as they enter Makkah.
"We also offer the blessed water to the pilgrims in their buses through copper-made cups decorated with Islamic calligraphy and paintings," he added.
"We further knock on the doors of the pilgrims and give each a liter of Zamzam on a daily basis.
Deweri said as the pilgrims finish with the hajj rites and start packing, everyone of them will get a 5.1-liter plastic container of Zamzam water.
The Zamzam United Office is expected to distribute up to four million cubic liters among the pilgrims this hajj, which climaxes on January 9 when the faithful ascend the Mount Arafat.
Florida Latino Women Turning to Islam
Melissa Matos slips into an easy communion with her newest circle of friends.
At regular meetings, they invoke their families' native towns in Cuba or the Dominican Republic, or recipes for arroz con pollo. English is interspersed with Spanish. And, posing no incongruity to the women, hijabs, or Muslim head scarves, frame their faces.
When she converted to Islam in May, Matos, a Dominican-American raised as a Seventh-day Adventist, expected the passage to be lonely.
"I said to myself, `Great, I'm going to be the only Muslim Latina in the whole world,'" said Matos, 20, a student at Florida International University who recently joined a group of Latina converts to Islam.
Scholars say Matos is part of a growing number of Latin women converting to Islam for its emphasis on family, piety and clearly defined women's roles, values converts say were once integral to Hispanic culture but have waned after years of assimilation
[Editorial] Can the headlines "JLO turns heads in Hijab" be too far behind?
The Muslim Shroud
The Muslim Shroud at www.muslimshroud.com is an American website providing a practical service to their local community to facilitate the burial process. You might find some of the online information provided in their guide useful.
The Sisters' Learning Programme will commence on the 14th January, and will temporarily be held on a Saturday afternoon, 2.30-3.30, at the Kuraby Mosque. if you have any queries please contact IFA and catch them at their website at http://ifa.qmt.org.au/
At the Movies with CCN
1951. Johannesburg, South Africa. Jim Bailey, the heir of a wealthy British mining family, launches Drum magazine, a mass circulation weekly providing a steady stream of crime, sports, gossip, music and sex stories.
Among Bailey's noteworthy stable of talented writers and photographers, two figures emerge as the guiding force behind the magazine - Henry Nzumalo, a South African writer, and Jurgen Schadeberg, a German photographer.
Against the exhilarating backdrop and rhythms of 1950's Johannesburg, Henry and Jurgen's nightlife exploits parallel their journalist triumphs. After finding success on a number of challenging investigative assignments, Henry and Jurgen stumble upon the story of a lifetime.
Using the extensive political and underworld contacts, and with danger at every turn, the duo risk everything gathering evidence to publish their expose of a major government conspiracy. As the voice of Drum magazine grows louder, the government will stop at nothing to silence its most influential contributions, Henry and Jurgen.
Exclusive 1st Release 12 January at the Schonell (University of Queensland)
Double Celebrations In One Year
The new year, as well as 2008 and 2009, brings an unusual occurrence. Muslims will celebrate some religious days twice in one year.
We will celebrate Eid-ul-Adha at the start of the year, and, possibly, at the end of 2006 again.
Also, the First of Muharram will fall twice in 2008 and Ashura will fall twice in 2009.
Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar. Created in 622, the calendar uses the flight of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) from Makkah to Medina as its start. This is the Muslim equivalent of January 1.
Ashura means 10 is the 10th day of Muharram. This day is a voluntary fast to serve as atonement for the previous year's sins.
The Law's an Ass - in SA
Two recent court cases, have earned the attention of newspaper readers in South Africa. One person was fined R1 000 for not having a TV license. Another was released on bail for R500 after being arrested for murder.
The moral of this South African, as the CCN reader from South Africa who sent in this story suggests, is this:
If you do not have a TV license and the inspector comes round, kill him. You'll save R500.
The CCN Thought of the Week
“One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea. It makes you think after all, your favourite notions may be wrong, your firmest beliefs ill-founded. Naturally, therefore, common men hate a new idea, and are disposed more or less to ill-treat the original man who brings it." ~ Walter Bagehot (Physics and Politics)
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Disclaimer
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.
Girls Soccer
Florida Latino Women Turning to Islam 
