Enter the address, city, postcode,
state or country or even lat/longitude from where you
want the direction of the Qibla to be shown and click
'Search'.
The direction is drawn on the map as a red line and is
given in degrees to the left of the map.
Olomi
Outclasses Opposition
Mustafaa
Olomi (second from left in picture) won gold
at the Korean Taekwondo Open last week.
The fight was shown live on Korean
national TV and is the largest tournament next to the
World Championships.
Coach and father Haris Olomi
told CCN that Mustafaa fought very well and "stuck to
the plan which I laid out for him".
Mustafaa Olomi and Jacob White
represented Australia and Queensland at this tournament.
This is Mustafaa's second
international gold medal for the year.
The next tournament is on 27 July
at the Entertainment Centre.
Queen's
Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours List
was announced on 9 June 2008.
Australia honours citizens who have
made outstanding achievements and contributions to our
society.
Honours help define, encourage and
reinforce national aspirations, ideals and standards by
identifying role models.
Anyone can nominate an Australian
citizen for an honour.
The nomination may come from an
individual or a group such as a community organisation
or professional body.
The nomination should include an
outline of how the nominee has made a significant
contribution to the community.
It is helpful to include examples
that show how the nominee has gone above and beyond what
could reasonably be expected of someone in a similar
position.
This week on ABC1 Andrew Denton
interviewed Helen Thomas the doyen of the White
House Press Corps.
From JFK to George W. Bush, she has
reported on the highs and lows of world politics for 57
years.
Extracts from the interview:
HELEN THOMAS: My
dad had emigrated from Syria. It was Syria
then in the 1890s and after World War I when
the British and the French cut up the world,
cut up the Middle East that is, ah their
town, Tripoli, became a part of Lebanon.
They created Lebanon for the Christian
people.
ANDREW DENTON: A
tricky thing to move to a country where you
don't know the customs, you don't know the
language.
HELEN THOMAS:
I wouldn't call it tricky. I call it the
great courage to go into the unknown, come
by steerage, few cents in your pocket, never
knowing what the future will hold, build
your your life on hope. But I must say that
education was a great goal. We were very
interested in what was going on and
determined to be American and not to be
Mediterranean.
ANDREW DENTON: What's the difference?
HELEN THOMAS:
The difference was you were called a garlic
eater and if you weren't blonde and
blue-eyed you were not American in those
days. I mean I'm not saying we suffered the
prejudice that blacks do by any stretch of
the imagination but there was a lot of
prejudice against it. We were not dark
skinned per se but we came from the
Mediterranean area and strange and ah this
country's very Anglo.
ANDREW DENTON: The old saying that
that power corrupts absolute power corrupts
absolutely. Do you believe that's true?
HELEN THOMAS:
Yeah. I think it can. I've seen people men
go into the Oval Office with some
trepidation. In a couple of days they think
they're President and they think that's all
powerful and people worship at their shrine
and every wish is a command, no yeah I think
very corrupting.
ANDREW DENTON: Who have you seen most
changed by that office?
HELEN THOMAS:
This man. I think he thinks he's President
and he's led us into a very big quagmire
morass.
ANDREW DENTON - VO:
As senior White House correspondent Helen's
line of questioning, particularly of this
current President, was always direct.
[Helen talking in clip]
ANDREW DENTON - VO:
But in 2003 her relationship with the
Presidency was fractured when an off the
record comment she made about George Bush
ended up in print. She had called him "the
worst President in American history".
ANDREW DENTON: What were the
consequences of that remark for you?
LAUGHTER
HELEN THOMAS:
Well Ari Fleischer called me, did you say
that? I said I cannot tell a lie, I chopped
down the cherry tree, um I don't know if you
know how it worked George Washington.
LAUGHTER
ANDREW DENTON: Yes George Washington
yes.
LAUGHTER
HELEN THOMAS:
Um he's they were very unhappy.
ANDREW DENTON: More than unhappy. You
were ...
HELEN THOMAS:
Ostracised.
ANDREW DENTON: The ranking White
House correspondent, front row, your name on
the chair uniquely. You were ostracised
weren't you? What happened?
HELEN THOMAS:
Well ah at press at press conference which
was a very crucial press conference. I think
it was March 6, 2003. In two weeks we went
to war. The President came out, held a news
conference. They put me in the back row for
that and ah it was so clear he was telling
the reporters the American people were going
to war. This is two weeks before the
invasion. No-one asked why and ah he he
didn't call on me but I was ah er I was
loaded for bear you know, why? And so I
think that reporters missed a shining
moment. They said to him, "Do you pray?" and
so forth and I I mean they accepted the
illogic of it all.
ANDREW DENTON: You did write to him
after you were reported as having called him
the worst President. How did he respond?
HELEN THOMAS:
Very nice. Wrote me a nice note and he
thought as I he thought it was a peace
offering and then ah ha so he called on me
the next time I said, "Why did we go to
war?"
LAUGHTER
HELEN THOMAS:
So ah again I was in the dog house. Deep
freeze this time.
ANDREW DENTON: Do you see in the new
generation coming through, do you see seeds
for hope?
HELEN THOMAS:
Who can live without hope? Of course there's
hope. I don't know about the new generation
per se but I mean there'll always be hope.
Can't go any further down in my opinion.
ANDREW DENTON: What would say to a
suicide bomber?
HELEN THOMAS:
Why? What is it about our country that have
we have not tried to understand what why are
they doing these things. You can tell a
suicide bomber has reached the end of his
rope. I think you have to find out why.
There has been no attempt in this country of
finding out what is terrorism? What
motivates these people? Why would they give
up their lives when they we know people
cherish their their lives? Because they see
no hope and they also have felt so pushed
down. I do think that ah our lack of
curiosity of what motivates these people.
See I don't believe it's 12 virgins in in ah
heaven that baloney. I think it's it's a
deeper feeling of being absolutely the end
of the road.
ANDREW DENTON: To many people in this
country a suicide bomber represents the
darkest of dark forces.
HELEN THOMAS:
Well it is. But wh-what's the difference
between a suicide bomber and dropping a
missile in in a house and and blowing up
everybody? Napalm and things that we've done
in Vietnam and now. I mean we what did we do
at Fallujah? We left one tree. We wiped them
out because they had fired ah rebelled and
and ah revolted and and pushed us back for a
while. Came in with a vengeance and nobody
even mentions it. It was carthage at the
end.
ANDREW DENTON: Isn't that what's
needed for the war on terror?
HELEN THOMAS:
I think we ought to find out what it's all
about. What is the motive of of these
terrorists so called terrorists? Who's a
terrorist? Who's a terrorist? You're an
Iraqi defending your own country, your
family, your home. Does that make you a
terrorist? Were the American Revolutionaries
terrorists?
ANDREW DENTON: What was it that
Churchill sa-said? "A politician is asked to
stand, ah hopes to sit and is expected to
lie."
HELEN THOMAS:
Yes and they say the same thing about po-
diplomats sent abroad to lie for their
country, right?
ANDREW DENTON: Wha...
HELEN THOMAS:
You know they're not just lying to someone
else, they're lying to the world, they're
lying in our name and if they continue that
we have no credibility. It's more than the
boy who cried wolf, it's it's that you have
no credence at all as a country.
ANDREW DENTON: Of course ah Saddam
Hussein lied and ah Malarchi lied and ah
Tony Blair lied. Why should why should
America have standards that its rivals and
opponents refused to adhere?
HELEN THOMAS:
Because we're better, we think, because we
have higher standards and because we don't
expect the best of them but we do expect the
best of ourselves. We have put ourselves on
a pedestal. We have a halo. We're supposed
to represent the best of mankind, mankind
striving for even higher heights. I think
most Americans feel a certain shame in the
very fact that they can hardly go anywhere
in the world and not be, you know, feeling
that they've done a wrong thing and they've
been shunned.
High quality
colored pages of the
translations of the meaning
of the Holy Quran ... Choose
your preferred language
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English
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Portuguese
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Othmany
Hausa
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Chinese
Greek
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German
Tamil
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Dory
Warsh
Kaloon
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Anko
Make Up
and Make a Difference
A
Leisurely ‘Spa Day’ for the ladies, get your hair done,
maybe a pedicure or relax and enjoy a professional
massage whilst a Nanny is looking after the kids.
This is a great day for the ladies
with proceeds going to a much greater cause.
The event is an ongoing Charity
Fund Raiser, with proceeds going to the Care Education
Project through F.A.C.E Inc to help build a Masjid and
School in one of the most undeveloped countries in the
world, Chad.
Former Australian Democrats member
of the Senate, Andrew Bartlett, on Monday takes
up a senior position with Queensland’s peak body for the
multicultural sector, the Ethnic Communities Council of
Queensland.
He takes up the position of Senior Policy & Advocacy
Advisor with ECCQ on Monday, July 14.
Andrew Bartlett was an Australian Democrats member of
the Australian Senate from 1997 to 2008, representing
Queensland. He was the leader of the Democrats from 2002
to 2004 and deputy leader from 2004 to 2008.
ECCQ chair, Mr Serge Voloschenko, said ECCQ was pleased
to be able to recruit someone of Mr Bartlett’s stature
to this critical role in the organisation.
“Andrew’s appointment is a coup for ECCQ as he will be
able to bring his extensive policy and process
experience to ECCQ and the multicultural sector in
Queensland at a critical time for all Queenslanders,” he
said.
ECCQ executive manager Ian Muil said Mr Bartlett’s brief
would be wide-ranging but would include an assessment of
the impact on Queensland of the Rudd Labor Government’s
policies on immigration, citizenship, refugees,
settlement and multiculturalism.
“In Queensland we have a number of important issues on
the agenda which we need resolved with the Bligh
government sooner rather than later – issues such as
appropriate funding for interpreter services, cultural
competencies across all government’s service delivery
agencies, and the continuation, on a recurrent basis, of
two programs which have been funded for a number of
years and which form the cornerstone of the Government’s
own multicultural policies.
“These programs are the Coordinated Advocacy in the
Multicultural Sector (CAMS) program and the Local Area
Multicultural Programs (LAMP) which fund workers across
the State. It is these workers who provide the critical
link between cultural and linguistically diverse
communities and government and mainstream agencies.
“There is some concern that these programs are now under
threat. Without these programs and this crucial policy
mechanism Queensland cannot and will not be able to
maintain the envious track record established under the
Beattie Government for community harmony and productive
diversity.
Something Borrowed, Something Blue
By Shakira Hussein
Most Muslim women regard
polygamy as a last, desperate resort, writes Shakira
Hussein
Brides
are supposed to cry on their wedding days. Even Western
brides, marrying the man of their choice, cry on what is
supposed to be the happiest day of their life. And my
aunts told me that Pakistani brides would be considered
somewhat strange if they didn't cry. "It's not a happy
day, is it? Leaving your family and everything you know.
Of course you cry."
But this bride was different. Her wedding was taking
place in an Afghan refugee camp, in northern Pakistan.
Even though her face was coated in a heavy layer of
make-up, it was possible to see that her expression was
frozen in a rictus of fear. Her eyes were blank and
seemed not to take in any of the scene before her - the
wedding guests, the foreign visitor, the women who sang
and laughed in a vain attempt to draw her into the
celebration. It occurred to me that she might have been
given a drug of some kind to calm her down.
The mother of the bride was nowhere to be seen. And when
the other women explained why, they dropped all pretence
of celebration. "The girl's mother is in another room,
crying. The family is newly arrived from Afghanistan,
and they have nothing. They can't afford to feed
everyone, so they had to find a husband for their
daughter. She is only 16, and she is marrying an old
man. He already has a wife his own age, and just a few
months ago, he married another young woman. It is not
what anyone wants for their daughter, but what can they
do? They cannot take care of her themselves, and they
cannot find her a husband of her own age."
In peacetime, the mathematics of polygamy does not add
up.
The
long wait is over! A thrill-seeking group of young
Muslim women will today be riding galloping horses in a
Carbrook field, as part of another booked out girls-only
event. When asked why they so badly wanted to go horse
riding (in the cold), almost all responded with,
‘because its a Sunnah^!’
So
these young women are not only craving an adrenalin
rush, but are also in quest of experiencing an activity
observed by our righteous predecessors, the Prophets
(peace be upon them) and the Companions (ra).
Horse riding, swimming and archery are three physical
activities said to be practiced and highly recommended
by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Speaking of archery, next Saturday the 19th
of July, insha’Allah, another adventurous group of young
Muslimahs will be trying their skills with bows and
arrows, as part of the Girls Day Camp. Other camp
activities include, kayaking and abseiling. All in a
strictly ladies-only, safe and Islamically-appropriate
space - of course.
Don’t miss out! There are still a number of places left
to join the Girls Day Camp. Transport is available. To
register or to be kept informed of upcoming adventures,
please email
shaimak@myservices.net.au
^
Sunnah is a practice of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Are
There Deadly Superbugs in Your Pork?
Scientists have detected
antibiotic-resistant bacteria in pork, pigs and some
veterinarians. It is possible that these so-called
superbugs could infect farmworkers or even people who
eat pork.
Antibiotic-resistant bugs were found in more than 7
percent of over 100 swine veterinarians tested. The same
bacterial strains were found in nearly 50 percent of 300
tested pigs.
Perhaps of greatest concern, the bacteria were also
found in 10 percent of more than 200 samples of ground
pork and pork chops collected from four Canadian
provinces.
An estimated 18,650 deaths a year in the U.S. are
estimated to be caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
If you’re still not convinced of the benefits of
avoiding pork, I advise you to keep reading.
Pork is actually good meat from a biochemical
perspective, but I believe there is more than enough
scientific evidence to justify the reservations or
outright prohibitions in many cultures against consuming
it.
Pigs are scavenger animals and will eat just about
anything. Their appetite for less-than-wholesome foods
makes pigs a breeding ground for potentially dangerous
infections. Even cooking pork for long periods is not
enough to kill many of the retroviruses and other
parasites that many of them harbor.
UK: That
was the headline to an
article in the Sun,
which informed its
readers that "a Muslim
bus driver told stunned
passengers to get off so
he could PRAY. The white
Islamic convert rolled
out his prayer mat in
the aisle and knelt on
the floor facing Mecca.
Passengers watched in
amazement as he held out
his palms towards the
sky, bowed his head and
began to chant."
This
story, along with the
accompanying video clip,
was widely circulated
around the right-wing
blogosphere, where it
was presented as yet
another example of the "Islamification"
of the West. The
Freethinker took it
as conclusive proof that
"the lunacy that is
Islam has now insinuated
itself into Britain's
public transport
system".
Dhimmi Watch
introduced the Sun
report as a case "from
our ever-expanding You
Can't Make This Stuff Up
file".
Except that in
reality, and
predictably, it turns
out that the story was
made up. The Slough
and Windsor Observer
reports:
Researchers
looking at the way
British Muslims are
represented by the media
say they have found that
most coverage is
negative in tone.
A Cardiff University
team behind the study
looked at nearly 1,000
newspaper articles from
the past eight years.
Two-thirds focused on
terrorism or cultural
differences, and much of
it used words such as
militancy, radicalism
and fundamentalist.
The research was
commissioned by Channel
Four's Dispatches.
Dr Paul Mason, a member
of the team, said the
team looked at three
areas.
They carried out a
statistical analysis
looking at types of
stories and the way
Muslims were described
and the language used,
the photographs used
alongside the stories
and they analysed the
types of case studies
used.
He said: "We looked at both nouns and adjectives and the
way in which British Muslims were described.
UK to tighten entry for
South Africans over terrorism fears
British intelligence is concerned at the number of
al-Qaeda terrorists, trained in Pakistan, who use South
Africa as a stopping off point to thwart tighter checks
and controls on those travelling directly between the UK
and Pakistan.
Last year the Serious Organised Crime Agency smashed a
people smuggling gang that brought more than 6,000
illegal immigrants into Britain on forged or stolen
South African passports.
Members of the gang, operating from Leicester, smuggled
people out of villages in Gujarat in India to South
Africa where they were supplied with false or stolen
passports.
The migrants, who paid the gang between £5,000 and
£8,000 each, were brought to Britain where many
registered as students or found work.
Using the book
club you can see what books fellow CCN
readers have
on their shelves, what they are reading and even
what they, and others, think of them.
WE HAVE MOVED.... Our new office is located at Underwood
and we are keen to service our local community and
professionally meet their Accounting, Taxation and
Financial Planning needs.
Apart from our core business services we have an
association with a Professional Bookkeeper in-house to
help you get your 2008 accounts ready for the
Accountant.
During this month, we are offering discounts on
incorporation services; Company Setup $990, Family
Trusts $495 and Self Managed Superannuation Funds $495
includes GST, ABN and TFN registration.
Further, our Individual Tax Returns starts from $79 +
GST and we will offer 10% discount to all CCN
readers for their personal tax returns, Company &
Trusts.
We wish you all success in this world and the
hereafter!!
Mohammed Saheed
Kareema's Keep Fit Column
Q: Dear Kareema,
you mentioned a while ago that in order to strengthen my
back muscles, the fitball is a great tool. I've been
using it for a few months now and was just wondering if
I could somehow challenge my muscles a bit more now that
they're stronger.
A: Great to see that you've improved your muscle
strength and that you're keen to take on the next
challenge!
DARE TO ENTER THE 'WEIGHTS ROOM'!!
Try a pump class. Weighted squats and dead-lifts will
work your core muscles better than other exercises. Now
that you're more confident, rather than performing many
different exercises for your back and abs, incorporate
them all into one exercise by doing 'weighted' squats
and dead-lifts.
Start by doing one pump class per week concentrating on
posture and technique and then try two classes per week
(with 48 hours rest in between) for muscles to rest and
recover. Start with light weights and slowly increase
the weight as you get stronger.
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 CCN Chuckle
Jalalluddin goes to Mula Nasruddin
for some psychiatric help and says, ''Mula Nasruddin,
you've got to do something about my wife -- she thinks
she's a refrigerator!''
''I wouldn't worry too much about it,'' Mula Nasruddin
replies. "Lots of people have harmless delusions. It
will pass.''
''But you don't understand,''
Jalalluddin insists. ''She sleeps with her mouth
open, and the little light keeps me awake.''
Venue:
Room S201,
University of Queensland, 323 Hawken
Drive, St. Lucia
Contact: 0421 731 797
Time: 6.45pm to 9.00pm
Sunnah Inspirations is a
non-profit organisation to cater for Muslim
social support and supplying information to
Muslims and non-Muslims. They have been
doing various activities around Australia,
and have organised Da'wah information stalls
at various universities in Brisbane. More
info can be found on their website above.
Write For Us
The
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
that you think might be of benefit to the Crescents
Community please e-mail
Share
your thoughts, feelings and ambitions for our community
through CCN.
If
there is someone you know who would like to subscribe to
CCN please encourage them to send an e-mail to
ccn@crescentsofbrisbane.org with the words
“Subscribe Me” in the subject line.
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.
Easily
locate the Qibla from anywhere in the world, without a
compass! 
Mustafaa
Olomi (second from left in picture) won gold
at the Korean Taekwondo Open last week.
A
Leisurely ‘Spa Day’ for the ladies, get your hair done,
maybe a pedicure or relax and enjoy a professional
massage whilst a Nanny is looking after the kids.
Brides
are supposed to cry on their wedding days. Even Western
brides, marrying the man of their choice, cry on what is
supposed to be the happiest day of their life. And my
aunts told me that Pakistani brides would be considered
somewhat strange if they didn't cry. "It's not a happy
day, is it? Leaving your family and everything you know.
Of course you cry." 
The
long wait is over! A thrill-seeking group of young
Muslim women will today be riding galloping horses in a
Carbrook field, as part of another booked out girls-only
event. When asked why they so badly wanted to go horse
riding (in the cold), almost all responded with,
‘because its a Sunnah^!’ 
UK: That
was the headline to an
Researchers
looking at the way
British Muslims are
represented by the media
say they have found that
most coverage is
negative in tone. 
