......a sometimes
self-deprecating and occasional tongue-in-cheek look at ourselves and
the world around us ......
Sunday, 12 July 2009
.Newsletter
0244
News you won't find on CNN!
Queenslanders Support Sounds of Light Show
The Sounds of
Light concert kicked off in
Brisbane on Friday night
ahead of the Sydney and
Melbourne legs scheduled for
the following days.
Ahmad Abu
Ghazaleh of Brisbane
warmed up the 700-strong
audience at the Queensland
Performing Arts Centre with
stirring recitations and
nasheeds (devotional songs)
before the International
line up of stars took to the
stage.
Maher
Elzein of Sweden, who
has in the past performed
with top stars of music in
the USA, sang songs that he
hoped would "spread a
positive message among the
youth of today". The young
members of the audience
certainly took to the
contemporary sound and the
meaningful words.
Mesut
Kurtis' singing had all
the ingredients of a Turkish
delight - sweet, soft, and
beautifully and seamless
combining Arabic, Turkish
and English.
Syrian
Imad Rami and his group
performed heart rending
songs that drew spontaneous
applause from a very
appreciative crowd.
After the
intermission it took little
to no time to raise enough
pledges from the audience to
support 200 orphans ($600
supports an orphan for a
year).
Finally, and
directly from Detroit, the
much anticipated
SEVEN8SIX - the boy band
of the Islamic music scene -
arrived on stage to a
thunderous round of
applause. The young and
vibrant five man group
(Shahaab Quraishi, Omar
Razzacki, Zafar Razzacki,
Muhammad Saadullah (Saad),
and Muhammad Saeedullah (Saeed))
delivered a range of songs
in Arabic, Urdu and English
with equal harmony and
aplomb backed by drummer
Wesley Jafar Porter. Their
nasheeds ranged in musical
genres from classic Qawwali
in the inspiring 'Tajdar-E-Haram'
to contemporary R&B style in
'Heaven's Key's,
The show was
compered with passion and
professionalism by Brisbane
activist Anas Abdalla
whose previous experiences
rallying crowds over more
weightier issues held him in
good stead on this night.
For a family
night out that offers music,
melody and munificence in
equal abundance the Sounds
of Light Concert is hard to
beat.
QPAC ablaze with the Sounds of
Light
Saha Jusufspahic, Mirsida
Hadziahmetovic,
Medina Smasic and Medina Meco
Umar Batchelor, who helped
co-ordinate the Brisbane leg of the show,
and his team of volunteers
QPAC foyer during Intermission
(left to right) Iqbal Sultan,
Omar Khan, Yunie Omar, Yunus Paruk and
Faisal Hatia top up the
donation bucket
(back row) Nora Amath (2nd
left) and her USA-based siblings
with (front row) her three
children
Ramadhan
& 'Eid ul-fitr - National SMS Notification & Online LIVE
Update
The
Australian National Crescent Sighting Coordination
Centre (ANCSCC) will be providing both LIVE updates
online as well as a national SMS notification
of the results of crescent sighting for the upcoming
lunar month of Ramadhan as well as Shawwal.
The 1st day of Ramadhan effects the commencement
of fasting, and the 1st day of Shawwal
effects the end of fasting and establishes the day of
‘Eid ul-Fitr.
ANCSCC is the only nationally
coordinated effort in Australia, with Scholars for
on-time advice and resolution of all sighting claims,
which undertakes monthly crescent observation. Physical
sighting of the crescent is the only Shar’i and
scientifically acceptable method available to establish
the Islamic lunar months.
To check LIVE updates
for the results of crescent observation online, go to
http://crescentwatch-australia.alghazzali.org/?page_id=629.
Make sure you refresh the browser regularly to update
your webpage with new information. This service is also
available via your Twitter account- just update your
setting to include ANCSCC on your settings!
Dr.
Daud Batchelor will talk on
his Masters in political
science research at a forum
organised jointly by the
Indonesian Muslim students
organisations of Griffith
University and University of
Queensland.
His topic
will be "Contemporary Models
for Development of Islamic
Political Systems: Pakistan
& Iran".
Dr Daud
Batchelor, born and bred in
Brisbane, first arrived in
Indonesia in 1971 and worked
on mining projects, married
an Indonesian lady from
Palembang and now has five
children and six
grandchildren. Daud embraced
Islam in Indonesia and spent
18 years in Southeast Asia.
He has a Master of Science
from Imperial College London
and his PhD is from
University of Malaya. He has
maintained his connections
with Indonesia and last year
spent three months on Bangka
Island (where he first met
his wife) undertaking tin
ore reserve mining
estimation for PT Tambang
Timah.
Daud is currently involved
in environmental management
but has pursued a life-long
interest in Islamic studies.
He has a Diploma in Islamic
Studies and is now currently
pursuing external studies by
research with the
International Institute of
Islamic Thought &
Civilisation (ISTAC) in
Kuala Lumpur, part of the
International Islamic
University of Malaysia (IIUM).
His research topic for a
Masters in Political Science
is “The Political Systems of
the Islamic Republic of
Pakistan and the Islamic
Republic of Iran – A
Comparative Study” Daud is
currently a Visiting Fellow
at the Griffith University
Islamic Research Unit (GIRU).
SUNDAY, 12 July 2009
10.00am to 12.00pm
Venue: Building 63
(Physiology), Room 358,
University of Queensland (UQ
St. Lucia)
Australian Federation of Islamic Council (AFIC) Press
Releases
THE Muslim
Community Co-operative
(Australia) is confident of
securing a banking licence
in three years to become
Australia's first Islamic
bank.
MCCA managing
director Chaaban Omran (seen
with "Best Islamic Bank in
Australia" award in January
2009) said the co-operative
would work with the
Australian Prudential
Regulation Authority to
change its registrable
superannuation entity
licence into a banking
licence.
"We are (currently)
regulated by ASIC (the
Australian Securities &
Investments Commission) and
are the holder of an RSE
licence," Mr Omran told
business leaders at an
Islamic banking and finance
conference in Melbourne.
"The way the supervision
will work will be a
modification of that
particular licence.
"If we get enough momentum
from the industry it may be
less than three years."
In four years, MCCA planned
to have a presence in the
investment banking sector,
Mr Omran said.
MCCA, established in 1989,
provides property finance,
is setting up a
superannuation investment
mandate and plans to build
funds around that mandate.
"The investments are the
most critical thing for us,"
Mr Omran said, adding that
MCCA was also planning to
launch a range of equity
investment funds.
"We have a lot of
challenges. Apart from
capital requirements, there
are issues to do with how we
manage cash for example
because APRA requires a
certain level of funds to be
invested."
"Sharia-compliant
finance was innovative, ethical and had been
tried and tested throughout the centuries"
Mr Omran said there were
about 500,000 Australian
Muslims, forming a market
worth $1.3 billion.
MCCA complies with sharia
law, which prohibits
interest charges.
Islamic banks are governed
by a supervisory board of
Muslim clerics to ensure
compliance with sharia law
as well as banking
regulations in the countries
in which they operate.
Islamic finance does not
recognise the concept of
caveat emptor (let the buyer
beware) in which risks can
be transferred to
unsuspecting buyers of
products and services,
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Islamic finance head
Mohammed Amin said.
Sharia-compliant finance was
innovative, ethical and had
been tried and tested
throughout the centuries, Mr
Omran said.
"We're not dealing with a
new concept. The only
difference is that the
awareness has not been
raised in Australia."
Formal
wear for women
Soiree
Designs is a relatively new
initiative aiming to provide
Muslim women with elegant
formal and semi formal wear.
You can view
their 2008 clothing range at
www.soireedesigns.com.au
and they will also be
releasing their newest
clothing range at the end of
July 2009.
We're not
a religious mob, but Muslim numbers boom
The Canberra Times 9/07/09
We have the
largest percentage of
foreign-born residents in
the world, more women are
joining the workforce and
we're getting fatter.
We're also living longer and
less likely to follow an
organised religion, although
the number of Muslims in
Australia is set to boom
over the next decade,
according to figures
released this week by
business information
analysts IBISWorld to mark
World Population Day.
The figures predict
Australia's population will
reach more than 25 million
by mid-2020, and more than
half the working population
will have dependants.
Yet by 2020, more than 45
per cent of those dependants
will be over 65, compared to
just 39 per cent in 2009.
Based on long-term studies
and analysis of trends for
the next decade, IBISWorld's
figures give us a sense of
what we're doing and where
we're headed.
The fertility rate is
rising, but is now
contributing just 40 per
cent to the population
growth, while migration has
accounted for the rest.
But the figures suggest this
may slow now the government
has curbed the country's
migration program.
Australians come from 150
different ancestries.
The
Federation of Australian
Muslim Students and Youth (FAMSY)
is a professional Muslim
student and youth
organisation committed to
the education, training and
development of future
community leaders.
Through its
Tarbiyah and other programs,
based on a balanced Islamic
methodology, FAMSY develops
students and youth for the
betterment of the Australian
community.
FAMSY has been part of the
Muslim Community in
Australia since 1969,
providing a variety of
community services to both
students and young
professionals.
Through a
variety of programs FAMSY
has made a commitment
towards the education,
training and development of
the future leaders of
Australia’s Muslim
community.
They achieve
these goals through programs
like:
• Tarbiyah: mentorship and
learning program.
• Sports and recreation:
Camps and sporting
competitions.
• Workshops: regular
“In-focus” sessions on
topics like, public
speaking, media relations as
well as various Islamic
topics.
• International speakers:
FAMSY has hosted various
international speakers and
guests annually, since 1982
Led by
Umar Batchelor (National
and QLD President) and with
support from their
well-resourced and
established NSW and
Victorian offices, FAMSY QLD
is working towards the same
goals and is re-establishing
its presence in Brisbane and
surrounds.
Their most
recent events, include
assisting in organising the
Brisbane leg of HAI Sounds
of Light 2009, and the
Brisbane leg of the
internationally renowned
Annual Conference (Sirah
Tour 2009) - see the
CCN Notice Board and
Date Claimer below for
all the details
FAMSY QLD is
working towards organising
similar events in the near
future, and they have put
out a call for support from
the Brisbane Muslim
community, especially the
youth.
For more information, go to
www.famsy.org.au or call
Umar Batchelor on 0421 717
846
Female
Designed Mosque Opens In Turkey
Last weekend,
the first mosque designed by
a woman in Turkey opened in
Istanbul.
The interior
of the Sakirin Mosque was
designed by Zeynep
Fadillioglu (shown below)
Interested
golfers are reminded that
the next two rounds of the
72 Hole Golf Tournament will
be played at Colonial Golf
Club on Sunday 19th July at
11am and Brookwater Golf
Club on Sunday 26th July.
There are a
few slots available and
interested parties are asked
to contact Shahaad on 0404
280 582.
RESULTS of Game 2 held at
Colonial on 5th July which
was a Better ball format:
1st Place with 50 points
Zeyn Kara and Falla
Ahmed and 2nd Place with
45 points Ayoob Ismail
and Faizal Ismail.
Consider
Islam on TV
Consider Islam TV
Guide 2009 – Series 2
Channel /
State
Dates/Times
Programs
C31,
MELBOURNE
20/06/2009 to
25/07/2009
Every
Saturday at 6.30am
THE
SCIENTIFIC COLLAPSE OF THE
THEORY OF EVOLUTION
i.e. COLLAPSE
OF DARWINISIM
(Documentary
film based on works of
HarunYahya)
MOSES, JESUS
AND MUHAMMAD
(peace be
upon them all)
–
THREE
PROPHET’s ONE MESSAGE
(by Abdul
Raheem
Green)
TVS,
SYDNEY
13/07/2009 to
17/08/2009
Every Monday
at 7.30am and repeat on
Wednesday 5am
QCTV,
BRISBANE
19/07/2009 to
23/08/2009
Every Sunday
at 3pm
C31,
ADELAIDE
19/07/2009 to
23/08/2009
Every Sunday
at 9pm
The CCN Inbox
Salaam Alaikum
Congrats on doing such a great job here within the
community, more initiatives such as yours would be
great around Australia!
Coming back to the point of this email, in my search
for Counsellors in the Brisbane area I found your
website and I am hoping you may be able to help me
out with some information.
I am relatively new to the area coming from NSW and
I am trying to locate anyone who is involved in
Counselling or the like, preferably from the Muslim
community. Reason being that I am currently studying
the course and would like to get in touch with
qualified or soon to be qualified practitioners who
understand the requirements of Islam. I do know that
there are not many Muslims, especially Muslim women
who delve into this field, but I thought it might be
worth the try anyway before moving onto the broader
society.
Kindly do get back to me as soon as possible, any
information would be much appreciated.
Kind Regards
Shaakira Khan
[Editor] If you able to help
out with any information please email
ccn@crescentsofbrisbane.org and we will put you
in touch with Ms. Khan
Around
the Muslim World with CCN
Islam takes back seat as
Indonesians vote
Religious issues hardly
featured in the campaign for this week's Indonesian
presidential election - despite the efforts of some
rivals to make an issue out of whether candidates' wives
wore Islamic headscarves.
The nation's founding father, Sukarno, promoted the five
principals of Pancasila - the national philosophy -
including a belief in a one and only God.
But there were no specific references to Islam, and
consequently Indonesia did not become an Islamic state.
But Islamic parties have always had a significant share
of votes in elections.
Decline
In 2004, they won 38 percent of votes. But this April's
legislative elections saw a sharp decline in the
popularity of Islamic parties, which won just 24
percent.
Political commentator Dr Anies Baswedan, who is
president of Jakarta-based Paramadina University, told
Radio Australia's Connect Asia program that Muslim
Indonesian voters have become increasingly disillusioned
by the failure of Islamic parties to convert religious
principles into policies that benefit society.
"They have not been able to explain clearly to the
audience how would they translate this into reality -
Islamic principles into policies."
In the past, he says, it was enough for a party to say
they were Islamic - but now they had failed to note the
new trend.
Exploited
The decline in political support for Islamic parties
does not mean the religion's influence in the political
process is diminishing.
Over the past month, religious issues were exploited to
try to win over Muslim voters.
The Islamc Prosperous Justice Party claimed that
conservative Indonesians would be reluctant to vote for
the incumbent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, because the wife
of his running mate, Boediono, rarely wore a traditional
headscarf.
But Dr Baswedan says: "Voters are not interested in
unimportant issues, with regard to the agenda for the
nation."
Ironically, it is the advancement of democracy that has
allowed radical groups to beef up their campaign for
adopting Islamic sharia law in Indonesia.
But Syafi'i Maarif, former head of Muhammadiyah,
Indonesia's second largest Islamic organisation, says
such efforts by radical groups are likely to fail, as
long as governments are effective.
"It's just a big dream, that won't happen," he says.
"I think they have no future, unless this nation fails
to combat corruption."
Uighur protesters have rallied outside the Chinese
consulate in Sydney, demanding freedom and justice for
their Muslim countrymen in China.
They chanted "freedom to Uighurs" and "shame on you
murderers" in front of the closed consulate in
Camperdown.
Some carried banners reading "World listen to our plea"
while others draped themselves in chains symbolising the
oppression of their people in China.
The rally was in response to the deaths of 156 Uighurs
in a Chinese military crackdown in Xianjing in western
China at the weekend during what was intended to be a
peaceful protest.
The
headscarf martyr: murder in German court sparks Egyptian
fury
• Woman was stabbed 18 times during hijab trial
• Outrage at lack of media coverage fuels protests
Egyptian Marwa el-Sherbini
and her husband Elvi Ali Okaz
It was while Marwa el-Sherbini was in the dock recalling
how the accused had insulted her for wearing the hijab
after she asked him to let her son sit on a swing last
summer, that the very same man strode across the Dresden
courtroom and plunged a knife into her 18 times.
Her three-year-old son Mustafa was forced to watch as
his mother slumped to the courtroom floor.
Even her husband Elvi Ali Okaz could do nothing as the
28-year-old Russian stock controller who was being sued
for insult and abuse took the life of his pregnant wife.
As Okaz ran to save her, he too was brought down, shot
by a police officer who mistook him for the attacker. He
is now in intensive care in a Dresden hospital.
While the horrific incident that took place a week ago
tomorrow has attracted little publicity in Europe, and
in Germany has focused more on issues of court security
than the racist motivation behind the attack, 2,000
miles away in her native Egypt, the 32-year-old
pharmacist has been named the "headscarf martyr".
She has become a national symbol of persecution for a
growing number of demonstrators, who have taken to the
streets in protest at the perceived growth in
Islamophobia in the west. Sherbini's funeral took place
in her native Alexandria on Monday in the presence of
thousands of mourners and leading government figures.
There are plans to name a street after her.
Sherbini, a former national handball champion, and Okaz,
a genetic engineer who was just about to submit his PhD,
had reportedly lived in Germany since 2003, and were
believed to be planning to return to Egypt at the end of
the year. They were expecting a second child in January.
Unemployed Alex W. from Perm in Russia was found guilty
last November of insulting and abusing Sherbini,
screaming "terrorist" and "Islamist whore" at her,
during the Dresden park encounter. He was fined ¤780 but
had appealed the verdict, which is why he and Sherbini
appeared face to face in court again.
Even though he had made his anti-Muslim sentiments
clear, there was no heightened security and questions
remain as to why he was allowed to bring a knife into
the courtroom.
Angry mourners at the funeral in Alexandria accused
Germany of racism, shouting slogans such as "Germans are
the enemies of God" and Egypt's head mufti Muhammad
Sayyid Tantawy called on the German judiciary to
severely punish Alex W.
"Anger is high", said Joseph Mayton, editor of the
English-language news website Bikya Masr. "Not since
Egypt won the African [football] Cup have Egyptians come
together under a common banner."
In Germany the government of Angela Merkel has been
sharply criticised for its sluggish response to the
country's first murderous anti-Islamic attack. The
general secretaries of both the Central Council of Jews
and the Central Council of Muslims, Stephen Kramer and
Aiman Mazyek, who on Monday made a joint visit to the
bedside of Sherbini's husband, spoke of the
"inexplicably sparse" reactions from both media and
politicians.
They said that although there was no question that the
attack was racially motivated, the debate in Germany had
concentrated more on the issue of the lack of courtroom
security. "I think the facts speak for themselves,"
Kramer said.
The government's vice spokesman Thomas Steg rebuffed the
criticism, saying not enough was yet known about the
details of the incident.
"In this concrete case we've held back from making a
statement because the circumstances are not sufficiently
clear enough to allow a broad political response," he
said, adding: "Should it be the case that this was
anti-foreigner [and] racially motivated [the government]
would condemn it in the strongest possible terms".
"Anger is high", said Joseph Mayton, editor
of the English-language news website Bikya
Masr. "Not since Egypt won the African
[football] Cup have Egyptians come together
under a common banner."
As hundreds of Arab and Muslim protesters demonstrated
in Germany, and observers drew comparisons with the
Danish cartoon row, Egyptian government representatives
in Berlin said it was important to keep the incident in
perspective.
"It was a criminal incident, and doesn't mean that a
popular persecution of Muslims is taking place," Magdi
el-Sayed, the spokesman for the Egyptian embassy in
Berlin said.
But because it occurred just days after Nicolas Sarkozy
gave a major policy speech denouncing the burka, many
Egyptians believe the death of Sherbini is part of a
broader trend of European intolerance towards Muslims.
The German embassy in Cairo has sought to calm the
situation, organising a visit of condolence by the
ambassador to the victim's family and issuing a
statement insisting that the attack did not reflect
general German sentiment towards Egyptians.
There have been repeated calls by protesters for the
German embassy to be picketed. The Egyptian pharmacists'
syndicate said it is considering a week-long boycott of
German medicines.
The victim's brother, Tarek el-Sherbini, labelled
Germany as a "cold" country when interviewed by a
popular talk show host. Media pundits such as Abdel
Azeem Hamad, editor of the daily al-Shorouk newspaper,
have attributed the western media's disinterest in the
story to racism, arguing that if Sherbini had been
Jewish the incident would have received much greater
attention.
Politicians in Egypt have been scrambling to ride the
groundswell of popular feeling. But some commentators
have criticised reaction to the murder as a convenient
distraction for the unpopular regime of President Hosni
Mubarak, which is currently being challenged by a
nationwide series of strikes and sit-ins.
"The tragedy of Marwa el-Sherbini is real, as is
anti-Arab racism in Europe and elsewhere, but ... her
death has been recruited to channel resentment of the
west, Danish-cartoon style," the popular blogger The
Arabist said.
Rick Warren to Muslims: Talk is cheap, let's work
together
The Rev. Rick Warren
speaks at the 46th annual Islamic Society of
North America (ISNA)convention in
Washington, D.C. on Saturday, July 4, 2009
WASHINGTON – Evangelical pastor
Rick Warren told a crowd of some 8,000 Muslim Americans
that he wasn’t satisfied with just talking to them.
“I will tell you that I am not interested in interfaith
dialogue. I am interested in interfaith project. There
is a big difference,” said Warren to attendees of the
46th annual Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)
convention Saturday evening.
“Talk is very cheap. You can talk and talk and talk and
never get anything done. Love is something you do,”
Warren maintained. “It is something we do together.”
Warren, the founding pastor of Saddleback Community
Church in Lake Forest, Calif., was the only Christian
invited to speak at Saturday’s evening main session,
which organizers described as the “cornerstone” of the
convention.
Warren was warmly received by the Muslim audience, many
of which could be seen snapping photos of the popular
evangelical pastor, taking notes of what he said, or
breaking into applause whenever he said something to
their liking.
Warren
maintained his religious differences with
the Muslim crowd and encouraged audience
members to also not compromise their
conviction
Before Warren stepped on stage,
Dr. Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of
North America, gave a flattering introduction for the
megachurch preacher, highlighting how he reverse tithes,
giving away 90 percent of his income and living off 10
percent.
The audience, who had been pressed to donate the whole
night by the group’s fundraising committee, broke out
into applause.
“I am very much an admirer of his, Pastor Warren’s
organization and as someone who has increased his
interfaith outreach in the last number of years,” said
Mattson, a Canadian-born convert to Islam from
Catholicism.
But despite the praises, Warren maintained his religious
differences with the Muslim crowd and encouraged
audience members to also not compromise their
conviction.
“You know as an evangelical pastor, my deepest faith is
in Jesus Christ,” Warren stated. “But you also need to
know that I am committed not just to what I call the
good news, but I am committed to the common good.”
He called on the members of the
two largest faith communities in the world to not only
figure out how to live in peace and harmony with each
other, but also to find a way to work together for the
greater good without compromising each group’s
convictions.
In his speech, Warren suggested that Muslims and
Christians work together to challenge the
mischaracterizations and stereotypes in the media about
each other’s faith; to restore civility in America by
showing that people can “disagree without being
disagreeable;” and to promote peace and freedom,
particularly freedom of speech and religion, together.
“Let me just say this to those of you who have been in
America for many generations now,” Warren said, noting
that they were gathered on the Fourth of July, America’s
Independence Day. “Part of your responsibility is to
help the newcomers learn what it means to be Americans.
“America is a country not built on race, not built on a
creed, but built on an idea – liberty and justice for
all and freedom for all,” Warren said as he called for
citizen education.
The Muslim Marriages Bill has brought to light the
potentially embarrassing problem of the many Muslims who
live their lives, and their marriages, according to
shariah law when it suits them, but throw those rules
away when it's less convenient for their pockets and
desires.
It has also shown up the gap between Muslims living in
the ivory towers of financial and familial happiness and
those from poorer backgrounds, whose daughters often
don't get to go to university -- and in some cases to
finish school -- or to be independent.
If the Bill is passed, it will enable the state to
enforce the provisions of shariah law for those Muslims
married under its provisions. Those opposing the Bill
are either unaware of the problems faced by many Muslim
women in a country that doesn't recognise their
marriages, or are holding on to a religious system of
laws without realising that even though the system is
thorough, it works only if it is thoroughly followed.
What
they seem to be forgetting is that the laws
of the Qur’an can be enforced only if there
is a body to ensure that these laws are
followed.
Organisations such as the Muslim Women's Association, a
body with a presumptuously representative name, are
opposing the Bill because they feel that it would make
the Constitution, and not the Qur’an, supreme. What they
seem to be forgetting is that the laws of the Qur’an can
be enforced only if there is a body to ensure that these
laws are followed. But Muslim judicial bodies have no
power of enforcement and they rarely champion the cause
of Muslim women.
One Muslim woman told the Mail & Guardian ("Marrying
rights with tradition", May 22) how when she went to the
Jamiat ul Ulama (the regional judicial council) in
Pietermaritzburg to complain about her physically and
emotionally abusive husband, she was told to "go back to
him and make sabr [be patient]".
Had the council stood up for her rights, she would not
be in the situation she is now. Soon after her
complaint, her husband threw her out of the house with
only the clothes on her back, but refused to give her a
divorce.
And had a court been able to enforce shariah law, she
would be able to get divorced and receive the
maintenance owed to her. At present she has no husband
for all intents and purposes, but cannot remarry.
"go
back to him and make sabr [be patient]"
As a result of the unIslamic practices of some Muslims
who believe that women should not be educated, there are
Muslim girls in South Africa who are taken out of school
at 13 and married by 16. These girls have no financial
or educational independence. If their husbands cheat on
them or leave them -- a regular occurrence in marriages
into which girls are not forced but rather nudged by
sexism-induced guilt -- there is no way for these women
to receive any support or maintenance. And without ample
education, they cannot be self-reliant: some end up
begging or in shelters.
These women are often unaware that they could get
married in court for their rights to be recognised by
the state. And even women who are educated are sometimes
told that a civil marriage is socially disapproved of.
Although Islam has no room for sexism, patriarchal
authorities have, over many decades, created a system
where women are not only treated as inferior, but have
been made to believe that their inferiority is necessary
to be an obedient Muslim.
Polygamy poses an interesting example of why shariah law
must be enforceable. Polygamy is allowed in Islam only
if a man can afford all his wives and can make all of
them feel equally loved. A man planning on marrying
multiple times is obviously confident that he has enough
love to give all the world, but if a court were to give
his wife a chance to voice her feelings legally, it
could find differently.
The sad reality is that while Muslims' marriage
ceremonies are conducted according to shariah law, the
rest of their marriages are not always practised
accordingly. Muslim women deserve a powerful institution
as strong, fair and respected as the one that takes care
of all other South Africans: the Constitution.
Dear Kareema, like many of us, I don't have much time
to workout. The best time for me at the moment is
night-time. Is working out at night a good idea and what
do I need to do to recover after a workout?
A: If night time suits you best, then go for it. Try to
plan your sessions as early as possible though, as
working out too close to bedtime is not such a good
idea. Make sure to replenish your fluid levels as you
lose them and drink lots of water after your workout as
well. Your recovery process starts as soon as you
finish your workout session (include stretches at the
end of your session).
Have a healthy dinner (low GI carbs, protein and vegies)
as soon after your workout as possible. It's a good idea
to plan your evening so you don't eat too close to
bedtime either.
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.
Ingredients
2 cups of mashed pumpkin
3 eggs
¾ cup coconut
¾ cup milk
¾ tin condensed milk
Method
Combine all the ingredients, pour into a pudding pan or heatproof
container, dot with butter, and sprinkle
with ground elachi/cardamom seeds and bake
on 180 degrees until light brown.
Serve hot with ice cream or whipped cream
Do you have a recipe to
share with CCN readers? Send in your favourite recipe
to
ccn@crescentsofbrisbane.org
and be our "guest chef" for the week.
The CCN Chuckle
One morning,
Jallaludin went to see his friend Mula Nasruddin and
told him that he hadn't been feeling well at all.
Mula Nasruddin examined Jallaludin, left the room, and
came back with three different bottles of pills.
Looking at Jallaludin he says, "Take the green pill with
a big glass of water when you wake up. Take the blue
pill with a big glass of water after you eat lunch. Then
just before going to bed, take the red pill with another
big glass of water."
Startled to be put on so much medicine, the Jallaludin
stammered, "اللعنة عليك يا بلادي,
Brother Nasruddin, exactly what is my problem?"
Mula Nasruddin replied ”Jallaludin, you’re not getting
enough water”.
University of Queensland,
323 Hawken Drive, St. Lucia
Every Friday
Subject:
Fiqh Made Easy
Venue: Room E215 Building 1 (Forgan Smith),
University of Queensland
Time: 7pm to 7.50pm
Every Friday
Subject:
Tafseer al Qur'an (Explanation of the
Qur'an)
Venue: Room E215 Building 1 (Forgan Smith),
University of Queensland
Time: 8pm to 9pm
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.
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
ccn@crescentsofbrisbane.org.
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.
Dr.
Daud Batchelor will talk on
his Masters in political
science research at a forum
organised jointly by the
Indonesian Muslim students
organisations of Griffith
University and University of
Queensland.
C
