......a sometimes
self-deprecating and occasional tongue-in-cheek look at ourselves and
the world around us ......
Sunday, 18 October 2009
.Newsletter
0258
News you won't find on CNN!
Gold Coast Mosque Summit a
Resounding Success
Last
Sunday the Islamic Society of Gold Coast held a 2020-styled summit with members
of the local Muslim community to plan for the the next 10 years and beyond.
In what is probably the first of its kind for a
Mosque in Queensland, the conference attracted over 100 delegates who
deliberated over a number of issues that included: Building and Infrastructure;
Education and Training; Finance and Future Funding; Reverts' Needs and Issues;
Womens' Issues; and Students Needs and Issues.
Chaired by ProfessorAhmedKhalid, the delegates were
initially briefed on the history of the Mosque (HussinGoss); the
role of the Mosque in the community (MuftiZiyaad); the growth and
trend of Muslims (RahulAmin); challenges confronting Imams (ImamImraan); and the future infrastructure plans for the Mosque (HussinGoss).
Due acknowledgment was given to the past and present
community members who had played a vital role in the shaping and development of
the current Mosque.
A number of new initiatives arose from the
discussion forums giving the Mosque goers an opportunity to offer their
suggestions on how to take their Mosque into the next decade.
One of the organizers of the event, Habib Jamal,
told CCN that while this was the start of a new process in working towards
enhancing the facilities of the Mosque and providing a better service to the
community, he saw this summit as establishing a template that could well be
adopted and adapted by other Mosques in the future.
On
the Saturday the14th of November 2009 we will be
holding our very own Quraan competition. Every student will participate in this
event and trophies will be handed out for 1st 2nd 3rd
in each class. Qualified Imams will be invited to judge. This event will be held
at the Masjid from 9:30am till Zhuhr (12:30). Refreshments will be served after
Zhuhr salaah. This is an event not to be missed as it is an opportunity to help
encourage our children!
Jalsah
On
Sunday6th of December 2009 at McGregor State primary
School we will hold our Annual Jalsah. Students are busy preparing an exciting
program. We have very special prizes for the top students in our Madrassah. Our
Jalsah will be hosted and
organised
(with the direction of the Principal) by the Year 6/7 students. Parent’s
assistance will be greatly appreciated. Please contact Imaam Akram if you would
like to assist in anyway.
The Kuraby Madrassah Newsletter
Training courses
The Multicultural Community Centre is providing the following courses:
Cert
3 in Child Care Cert
3 in Aged Care Cert
2 in Asset Maintenance (Cleaning Operations) Cert
2 in Hospitality Cert
3 in Community Services Job
Preparation Training
The most immediate vacancies are in the Asset Maintenance (cleaning course)
which will start on the 2/11/09 and 26/11/09. The course runs for 4 weeks, 3
days a week.
The Centre also has vacancies in the Hospitality course which starts on
26/10/09. It runs for 8 weeks, 4 days per week.
The other classes will start next year.
Contact details:
Shawn Chu
| Project Manager | Skilling Queenslanders for Work |
Multicultural Community Centre | 977 Ann Street Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 |
Australia
|
Al-Nisa girls let their hijabs down
for a night of fun and games
Al-Nisa
youth group Inc. held a successful ladies desert night last week.
The pearls and curls night was organised to allow women to get together and let
their hair down.
Ladies got dressed up in the best pearls, dresses and curled their hair to match
the theme of the night.
The menu was purely deserts: white choc and raspberry cheese cake, death-by
chocolate tart and beautiful cupcakes by Mio to just name a few.
The
ladies were well entertained by several games during the night.
The favourite, and most popular, being the create your own designer dress.
All the guests were asked in small groups of four to design an outfit using
paper and a roll of sticky tape. The participants came up with some very
intriguing results and a winner was chosen.
Al-Nisa
told CCN that they would like to thank their sponsors for their support.
"Without their continued support events like these would not be possible," said
Al-Nisa spokeswoman, Azima Omar.
"Al-Nisa would also like to thank the founding members and the
management committee for their support."
The Al-Nisa group would is also holding its AGM and would like to invite any
interested individuals (females only) to attend.
All positions are up for grabs. It will be held at Garden City Library on the
14th of November at 10am.
[Editor] CCN was hoping to bring you photos
from the event but, mysteriously, they turned into images of cupcakes on the
stroke of midnight!
QCTV
On Brisbane community television, QCTV, from 18 October to 22 October every
Sunday at 3pm Abdul Raheem Green and Yusuf Estes will be
discussing The Beauty and Wonders of Islam and Jesus and His Message
respectively.
Zean on Islam
Zean Johnson was an ordinary Australian growing up in South East
Queensland.
He is an avid surfer, like many red blooded Queensland blokes and he even played
football for South East Queensland.
His orange hair and blue eyes hint of his Irish ancestry.
However, if you saw him today you might not recognise him.
Why on earth would such a true Aussie convert to Islam?
Find out Saturday the 24th of October 4pm at the Gold Coast Islamic Centre
(Mosque), corner Allied Drive and Olsen Ave, Arundel.
Zean Johnson a student of Islamic and Sharia Studies at Al Eman University in
Yemen will talk about his conversion to Islam.
After the talk guests will be given the opportunity to ask questions, tour the
mosque, meet other Australian converts, watch Muslims pray and enjoy a dinner
afterwards.
Dispel the myth, Aussies are Muslim too!
Places are limited. To reserve a seat phone Raylene on 0438 687 174 or
Fa'izah on 0404 713 624.
Focus on home-grown terror in
white paper
KEVIN Rudd's new counter-terrorism white paper will emphasise that home-grown
terrorism, rather than foreign groups such as al-Qa'ida and Jemaah Islamiah, is
the greater threat to Australia, say The Weekend Australian newspaper.
And counter-radicalisation strategies, as well as greater co-operation between
the commonwealth and state governments, are essential if Australia is to avoid a
devastating terror attack similar to those that have rocked foreign capitals
around the world.
Sources told The Weekend Australian the government is set to release its
long-promised white paper in early December, a year after the Prime Minister
delivered his national security statement to parliament. The draft document has
been finalised and is expected to be considered by cabinet's National Security
Committee later this month.
The white paper, prepared by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet,
updates the 2004 document Transnational Terrorism: The Threat to Australia,
written by the Department of Foreign Affairs under then foreign minister
Alexander Downer.
The draft white paper sets the direction for Australia's counter-terrorism
effort and provides a detailed overview of global, regional and local threats.
Written in the shadow of September 11, 2001, and the 2002 Bali bombings, the
2004 document was the first of its kind. It focused heavily on the threat posed
by transnational terror groups such as al-Qa'ida and Jemaah Islamiah.
The Australian
President Obama worthy recipient
of Peace Prize says AFIC
The President of Muslims Australia (AFIC), Mr Ikebal Adam Patel congratulated
President Barack Obama, as the first African US President, to be awarded the
prestigious Nobel Peace Prize.
Mr Patel said, " This is an expression of the expectation by many in the world
of the forward thinking and conciliatory approach President Obama has initiated
with regards to the American foreign policy to redress some of the ill conceived
initiatives of the recent American administration under President Bush." .
Mr Patel agreed with the comments made by a previous recipient of the Nobel
Peace Prize – Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa who said Mr Obama's award
shows great things are expected from him in the coming years.
The president further stated that the Norwegian Nobel Committee members made no
bones about their motive when they said that this award should help President
Obama achieve ambitious peacemaking goals in awarding the prize to an as-yet
mostly unaccomplished United States President. .
This is a recognition of hope for a safer and peaceful world. The diplomacy,
hard-work and action lay ahead for President Obama and
his administration, Mr Patel concluded.
Little
Mosque on the Prairie: Season 3 Episode 13
The Week of Dying Dangerously
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Australian Muslim
Newsletters
The Al-Ghazalli Newsletter
of the Sydney-based Al-Ghazalli Centre can be
viewed
here.
Topics include:
• Letter to a Disciple
• Night of Remembrance - Sisters Only
• Intermediate Tajweed Program
• Eastern Fusion 2009 Program
• International Deen Intensive Retreat 2010
• Mizaan Ecology - Kooragang Island Rehabilitation
Project- Newcastle
• The 2nd Crescent Project
• Crescent Sighting - Dhul Qa'ida
• The Crescent Project
• Night of Remembrance - Brothers Only
• Mizaan Ecology - Cooks River Regeneration Project
• Zakaat Program Australia
The
Affinity Intercultural Foundation
Newsletter can be
viewed
here.
Topics include:
• Friendship & Dialogue
Iftar Dinner & the Australian Affinity Awards at
Parliament House
- Council Iftar at Blacktown
- St Stephen?s Anglican Church & ALIVE Dinner at
Affinity Centre
- Interfaith Dialogue at Hindu Youth Camp
- Federal Parliament Iftar Dinner
- Inaugural Iftar Dinner at St Brigid?s
- Fast-a-thon?s at Sydney Universities
- Community Harmony Iftar, Wollongong
- Dialogue & Diversity Iftar at Newcastle University
- Understanding Different Faith Traditions in
Newcastle
- Interfaith Dialogue Seminar at Wenona High School
Around
the Muslim World with CCN
Canadian Muslims calls
for burqa ban
A Muslim group has called
for a ban on the wearing of
burqas in public in Canada,
saying it "marginalises
women".
"The burqa has absolutely no
place in Canada," said
Farzana Hassan of the Muslim
Canadian Congress.
"In Canada we recognise the
equality of men and women.
We want to recognise gender
equality as an absolute. The
burqa marginalises women."
Many Muslim women in Canada
are being forced to wear the
loose robe and veil by their
husbands and family, setting
them apart from other
Canadian women who are
living freely, she claimed.
.......it
doesn't have
to be that
you have to
cover your
face or you
have to wear
a virtual
tent
wherever you
go. This is
not a
requirement
of Islam or
the Koran.
Hassan acknowledged the
Koran preaches modesty, but
"it doesn't have to be that
you have to cover your face
or you have to wear a
virtual tent wherever you
go. This is not a
requirement of Islam or the
Koran".
Hassan blamed extremist
Muslims for its rising
popularity in Canada.
"To counter this trend, we
are asking for a ban on the
burqa," she said.
The call follows an edict by
a top Muslim authority in
Egypt calling for a ban on
the burqa.
Several European countries,
including France, Italy and
Denmark, have also called
for burqa bans in recent
years.
Last year, an Ontario judge
ruled that a woman
testifying against her
alleged rapist did not have
the right based on religious
beliefs to wear a veil in
court. The decision is being
appealed.
In 2007, a controversy also
erupted over a Quebec
election official's decree
to Muslim women to remove
their veil at the ballot box
so that their identity could
be verified.
Hassan was not able to say
exactly how many women in
Canada wear the burqa, but
said "it is on the rise" in
Toronto and Montreal.
According to a 2006 census,
there are some 800,000
Muslims living in Canada.
The Muslim Canadian
Congress, which has some 300
members, describes itself as
"providing a voice to
Muslims who are not
represented by existing
organisations ... that are
either sectarian or
ethnocentric, largely
authoritarian, and
influenced by a fear of
modernity and an aversion to
joy."
Modern
atheists and
modernist
Muslims
reach their
extreme
conclusions
by bypassing
the
intellectual
tradition of
the
Abrahamic
religions.
Traditional
religious
discourse
has always
been
familiar
with
realities
that take us
beyond
empirical
observation
and
measurement,
respecting
the language
of myth and
symbol.
Modern
atheists in the West and
modernist Muslims in Islam
are both abusing religion.
Since the scientific
revolution and the
Enlightenment of the 17th
and 18th centuries, some
Western writers on religion
and also some Muslim
thinkers are interpreting
their scriptures with a
literalism that has become a
characteristic of modernity.
Their
discourse about God has been
influenced by the popular
demand for scientific
empirical verification, and
they have lost confidence in
the ability of figurative
language to open a way to
truth.
Modern atheists like Dawkins
and Hitchens make use of
Enlightenment discourse to
reduce God to a scientific
hypothesis. Like other
modernist writers, they
presume that the Bible must
provide scientific
information since it claims
to be inspired by God.
Having failed to understand
the nature of scripture and
religion, they reject them
both as products of the 'God
Delusion'.
Both modern atheists in the
West and Muslim modernists
in Islamic countries adopt
an abstract notion of
religion that remains
unaffected by the historical
and social changes taking
place in society. Hitchens'
oft-repeated phase,
'religion poisons
everything', refers to an
abstract religion devoid of
morality and spirituality
and with no concern for
human rights.
“I find television very
educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go
into the other room and read a book" Groucho Marx
This week a
CCN READER
recommends
How Islam Created the Modern World
by
Mark Graham
At
the dawn of the Renaissance, Christian Europe was
wearing Persian clothes, singing Arab songs, reading
Spanish Muslim philosophy and eating off Mamluk Turkish
brassware. This is the story of how Muslims taught
Europe to live well and think clearly. It is the story
of How Islam Created the Modern World.
About the Author
Mark Graham is the Edgar award-winning author of The
Black Maria, third in a series of historical novels
which have been translated into several languages. He
studied medieval history and religious studies at
Connecticut College and has a master's degree in English
literature from Kutztown University. He lives in the
Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania.
Would you like to see the
cover of your favourite book on our book shelves below?
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.
1 onion chopped
2 Tbsp of olive oil
1 kg steak cubes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp red masala (1
tsp ground ginger; 1 tsp ground garlic; 1/2
tsp ground red chillies)
1/4 tsp arad (tumeric)
1 green pepper chopped
1 cup frozen peas
3 tomatoes grated
8 potatoes (mashed and seasoned)
Blobs of butter
Cheddar cheese for topping
Method: Braise the onions in
the oil and add the steak cubes and spices
and braise for 5 mins.
Add salt, pepper and cook until almost done.
Add the frozen peas and simmer.
Add the tomatoes and cook till done allowing
it to remain saucy.
Place this mixture at the bottom of an
overproof dish.
Layer half the mashed potato over the top.
Place a layer of sliced tomato on top and
season with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle with cheese and cover with another
layer of mashed potato.
Sprinkle again with more cheese, top with
blobs of butter and bake at 180C for +- 30
minutes.
Serve hot.
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.
Kareema's Keep Fit Column
Dear Kareema, I love walking and running up steep
hills as part of my fitness routine, but am worried that
this will give me big thighs. Any suggestions?
A:
I recommend you continue with your training regime
as walking/running is great for heart, lungs and core
strength.
It's good for weight loss and leg strength as well!
If your major concern is getting bigger thighs, then I
suggest you look at your diet instead of your exercises
as what you eat could possibly be the culprit..
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.
Last
Sunday the Islamic Society of Gold Coast held a 2020-styled summit with members
of the local Muslim community to plan for the the next 10 years and beyond.
Cert
3 in Child Care
Al-Nisa
youth group Inc. held a successful ladies desert night last week. 
The
ladies were well entertained by several games during the night.
Al-Nisa
told CCN that they would like to thank their sponsors for their support. 
The Al-Ghazalli Newsletter
of the Sydney-based Al-Ghazalli Centre can be
viewed
The
At
the dawn of the Renaissance, Christian Europe was
wearing Persian clothes, singing Arab songs, reading
Spanish Muslim philosophy and eating off Mamluk Turkish
brassware. This is the story of how Muslims taught
Europe to live well and think clearly. It is the story
of How Islam Created the Modern World. 
C
