Using our book
club you can see what books we at CCN have
on our shelves, what we are reading and even
what we and others think of them.
You can even
create your own book shelf, find out what
your fellow CCN readers are reading, get and
give recommendations for what to read next,
create book lists, and even share your
opinion on a book with us.
Come see the
books we have selected and see if we have
any in common.
Then pick our
next book so we can all keep on reading.
THE rising
number of Muslim schools is part of the "modern age" and
the focus should be on ensuring all students get a
world-class education, Federal Education Minister Julia
Gillard says.
While controversy continues over the proposed
construction of a 1200-student Islamic school in Camden,
southwest of Sydney, Ms Gillard said it was an issue for
the local council.
"There is a debate about the planning approvals and
whether or not that is an appropriate location," Ms
Gillard, who is also acting Prime Minister, said on
Fairfax Radio.
"From the point of view of the Federal Government
generally, we say that parents deserve to have choices
about where their children go to school.
"That's inherent in the Australian system, and we want
to make sure wherever they go that they have a high
class, indeed world class, education."
Ms Gillard said the Government had plans to introduce a
national curriculum board.
"We've had the Catholic system for a long period of
time, we all grew up with Catholic kids who went to
Catholic schools," she said.
"In the modern age we have some Muslim schools as well.
"We have to make sure that wherever kids are learning,
they are learning a curriculum that is going to equip
them for living and working in a modern Australian
nation."
ICQ Elections
Elections for
a new Management Committee for the Islamic Council of
Queensland were held yesterday (Saturday 12 January) at
the ICQ head offices in View Street, Holland Park.
The new
committee:
ICQ Executive Committee (l to r): Gaffar
Deen, Mahabub Ali, Ahmet Eljazovic, Suliman
Sabdia, Shaheed Ali, Sultan Deen, Shabbir
Hussain, Awais Masood Chowdry, Rahman Deen
President
Suliman
Sabdia
Vice President
Mahabub
Ali
Secretary
Shabbir
Hussain
Treasurer
Rahman
Deen
A/Secretary
Awais
Masood
Chowdry
A/Treasurer
Shaheed
Ali
C/Members
Ahmet
Eljazovic
Gaffar
Deen
Sultan
Deen
Relocation of and Change of Executive Director at
Multicultural Affairs Queensland
MAQ Press Release
It
is with pleasure that I write to advise you that
Multicultural Affairs Queensland (MAQ) is part of my new
portfolio in government. Responsibility for MAQ was
transferred from the Environmental Protection Agency to
the Department of Communities in September 2007, headed
by Assistant Director-General, Ms Anna Moynihan.
I strongly
believe that MAQ fits very well within the department.
There are many opportunities which MAQ will have to
influence the many social policies for which the
department has responsibility.
It is also
important to note that MAQ will retain its
whole-of-government role on multicultural affairs,
working with all departments to assist them to implement
the Queensland Government’s Multicultural Policy.
Also, as part
of ongoing professional development for staff at senior
executive level, Ms Linda Apelt, Director-General,
Department of Communities has announced the appointment
of Mr Garry Page as Executive Director of MAQ with
effect from 4 February 2008. Garry has worked in the
public and private sectors, both nationally and
internationally in range of community service settings.
Garry has indicated his delight to be joining MAQ and
has expressed his enthusiasm to work closely and
collaboratively with all stakeholders when he commences
duties in February 2008.
Mr Steve
Maguire, current Executive Director of MAQ has been
appointed as Executive Director of Regional Services in
the Department of Communities. I take this opportunity
to thank Steve for his long and significant contribution
and also welcome Garry to his new position.
My
Parliamentary Secretary Michael Choi MP is known to most
of you and will continue to work to deliver better
outcomes for our communities.
I am also
pleased to let you know that MAQ moved from its present
location to level 2, Mineral House, 41 George Street,
Brisbane on 17 December 2007. This new accommodation
will provide MAQ with more space and improved facilities
for meetings with communities. MAQ’s telephone numbers
will not change but the new postal address will be GPO
Box 806, Brisbane, Queensland, 4001.
Yours
sincerely
Lindy
Nelson-Carr MP
Minister for Multicultural
Affairs, Seniors and Youth
International
recognition for statistics lecturer
University of
Southern Queensland (USQ) maths and computing Associate
Professor, Dr Shahjahan Khan, became the first
Australian statistician to receive a prestigious Gold
Medal from the Islamic Countries Society of Statistical
Sciences (ISOSS), during the 9th ISOSS conference in
Malaysia last month.
Co-hosted by the Institute of Statistics Malaysia (ISM)
and organised by Professor Khan, the conference
attracted more than 350 professional Statisticians from
around the world, including Australia, Canada, UK, USA,
Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Dr Khan said he was delighted to receive the award for
his outstanding research and leading contribution to the
development of statistics and services to ISOSS. He
believes that the award has put statistics at USQ on the
map.
'It’s a prestigious award and, I am proud to be the
first Australian statistician to receive this award,'
Professor Khan said.
Founding President of ISOSS, Professor Munir Ahmad,
Professor Ali S Hadi (USA/Egypt) and Professor Hanif
Mian (Pakistan) also received a gold medal award.
Professor Khan said one of the key features of the
biannual conference was breaking down cultural and
religious barriers for development of statistical
sciences.
'We are living in a world divided by religion and we
need to come and work together as professionals, so
encouraging collaboration was a primary focus of the
conference,' Professor Khan said.
'In achieving this objective, I invited keynote speakers
from western countries and assigned reputed scholars to
run twelve invited sessions, on top of 240 presenters.'
Professor Khan also organised for a representative from
the International Statistical Institute (ISI) to attend
the conference. Based in Netherland, ISI is the largest
statistics organisation in the world and this was the
first time an official representative attended an ISOSS
conference.
'Working with the ISI is a milestone and will enable us
to collaborate professionally and improve the quality of
research and statistics in the OIC countries.'
Reports on the conference and the Gold Medal recipients
were covered in The Asia Post and the Naya Diganta
newspapers in Bangladesh.
Professor Khan graduated with an MSc from Jahangirnager
University in Bangladesh, before completing his PhD at
the University of Western Ontario, Canada. He has
published 52 journal articles and presented over 30
keynote and invited talks. He is an elected member of
the ISI and an elected fellow of the Royals Statistical
Society (RSS), UK. He is the Chief Editor of USA based
Journal of Applied Probability and Statistics (JAPS). He
joined USQ as a lecturer in 1993.
Sydney Islamic College
Sydney
Islamic College (click on image to enlarge)
CCN rerun by popular
demand: Shaadi.com
Fundraising for the
Widows and Orphans in Afghanistan
Movie Night
In a divided
country on the verge of war, two childhood friends, Amir
and Hassan, are about to be torn apart forever.
It's a glorious
afternoon in Kabul and the skies are bursting with the
exhilarating joy of a kite-fighting tournament.
But in the
aftermath of the day's victory, one boy's fearful act of
betrayal will mark their lives forever and set in motion
an epic quest for redemption.
Now, after 20
years of living in America, Amir returns to a perilous
Afghanistan under the Taliban's iron-fisted rule to face
the secrets that still haunt him and take one last
daring chance to set things right.
The MYServices Girls Swimming
on the 10th of January proved to be popular
beyond our wildest expectations.
With over 50 girls and ladies in
attendance, the pool was almost full to capacity; in
fact some late arrivals, unfortunately, had to be
turned away!
Everybody had a whale of a good time.
“I have never witnessed such
energetic ladies so ecstatic in a pool,” commented
Phoebe of Sam Riley Pool, Springwood.
MYServices has since had an
innumerable calls for swimming for girls on a regular
basis. Watch this space for updates.
Ice Skating on Again!
Due to the success of the Al-Nisa
– MYServices Ice Skating Day in late December, we
are doing another ice-skating trip for Thursday the 24th
of January, 12 – 3pm, at IceWorld, 1179 Beaudesert Road,
Acacia Ridge.
If you missed out on all the fun last
time, you certainly don’t want to miss out again, so
make sure you register by Wednesday the 25th!
MADRID — Malian Muslim
footballer Frederic Kanoute, the striker of
Spain's Seville FC, has saved the only mosque in the
southern Spanish city of Seville from closure.
Kanoute has paid 510,860 euros (some $700,000) so that
fellow Muslims in Seville would not find themselves
without a mosque, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Thursday, December 13.
The privately owned mosque was due to be sold after a
contract to use the premises by the local Muslim
population had expired.
But Kanoute stepped in to purchase the building. The
30-year-old striker has not made any comment on the
matter. But city authorities have confirmed that the
property has been registered in Kanoute's name,
according to the BBC Sport.
It is estimated that Kanoute has spent almost a year's
salary to buy the mosque.
Kanoute, , one of the finalists for the 2007 BBC African
Footballer of the Year award, moved in 2005 from French
champion Lyon to Seville FC, the 2006-07 Spanish
league's third and the holder of last season's cup
championship.
Grateful
Spanish Muslims said they really appreciate Kanoute's
moving gesture.
"If it had not been for Kanoute then we would not have
had a mosque on Fridays, which is the most holy day of
the week for Muslims," a spokesman for the Islamic
Community of Spain was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
Kanoute, who has also created a foundation in his
motherland Mali to help orphans, reverted to Islam 10
years ago.
Last Ramadan, he impressed Spanish football fans by his
unique performance though he was fasting.
Kanoute was crowned last year the league's top scorer
with 20 goals, outperforming football legends such as
Brazilian Ronaldinho.
Kanoute, a practicing Muslim who regularly performs his
prayers even in the locker room, refused last season to
wear a jersey advertising for an internet gambling site,
because gambling is forbidden in Islam.
His team had to give him a brand-free jersey until he
accepted wearing the sponsored jersey in return for
money to an Islamic charity.
The CCN
Centre Link
Education Officer/Project Manager
Together for Humanity,
an interfaith partnership dedicated to
anti-prejudice and
values education program in schools, is seeking an
energetic experienced educator
and leader to assist in the implementation and
development of our educational
program. This is a Queensland based position.
....and
now a word from this week's sponsor.......Tommarco's
Table Menu
(Click image to enlarge)
Now open for lunch on Saturdays from 11am
Also open for lunch & dinner on AUSTRALIA
DAY
(Monday 28
January)
with an Oz theme
Shop 6, Le Metro, 8 Station Road,
Indooroopilly
Mention CCN when you place your order and you can claim
a 5% discount
Kareema's Keep Fit Column
Q: Salaams Kareema, since keeping
active I've noticed that I have a bigger appetite. Does
exercise produce food cravings?
A: Research shows that in the short term
(up to 14 days) appetite does not increase by much.
However, individual bodies will respond differently to
exercise and some may find their appetite stimulated
through exercise (which seems to be the case for you).
Your challenge is to maintain a healthy diet while
keeping fit!
Exercise is meant to help you get into shape by burning
up calories stored as body fat. Burn around 500 calories
more than you eat each day and you’re on target to lose
weight and look and feel great!!!
All questions sent in are published here
anonymously and without any references to the author of
the question.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
Culinary Corner
RECIPE
These muffins are very soft and moist. The crumbs are
not sweet, but balance off very well with the sweetness
from the blueberry jam. They tasted especially delicious
when served warm.
Ingredients:
(makes about 9 muffins)
210g plain flour
50g granulated sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
60g butter, melted
1 cup non-fat plain yogurt (berries flavour)
1/4 cup milk (strawberry-flavoured milk)
some Jam (blueberries jam)
Method:
Preheat oven to 220 deg C.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder,
baking soda and salt.
In another bowl, beat together egg and vanilla extract.
Add melted butter, yogurt and milk, mix well. Add to
flour mixture, stir just until blended.
Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling half full. Add 1
teaspoon of your favourite jam to each; top with
remaining batter.
Bake for 15 to 20 mins.
Recipe source: The 250 Best Muffin Recipes by Esther
Brody
Do you have a recipe to share with
CCN readers?
Send in your favourite recipe to
theteam@crescentsofbrisbane.org and who
knows, you could be our "guest chef" for a future
edition of CCN.
The Inbox
Salaams Ladies
Come and spend 1 hour in the path of Allah every
Thursday and get the reward of 1 years nafl
ibaadah.
This week the taleem will be held at 31
Stiller Drive Kuraby. 11:00am-12:00pm.
Insha-Allah
See you there.
Nadima
0401422592
The CCN Chuckle
Mula Nasruddin
offers to give his friend, Jamaluddin, an IQ test.
"What's an IQ
test?", asks Jamaluddin.
"An IQ test
measures a person's intelligence," replies Mula
Nasruddin.
"Do I have to be
here when you give the test?", asks Jamaluddin.
"Never mind,
Jamaluddin, in your case a test isn't necessary," says
Mula Nasruddin, turning and walking away.
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best ideas and the best feedback come from our community
of readers. If you have a topic or opinion that you want
to write about or want seen covered or any news item
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Community please e-mail
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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,
particularly if they eventually turn out to be libelous,
unfounded, objectionable, obnoxious, offensive,
slanderous and/or downright distasteful.
It is the usual policy of CCN to include
from time to time, notices of events that some readers
may find interesting or relevant. Such notices are often
posted as received. Including such messages or providing
the details of such events does not necessarily imply
endorsement of the contents of these events by either CCN
or Crescents of Brisbane Inc.