......a sometimes
self-deprecating and occasional tongue-in-cheek look at ourselves and
the world around us ......
Sunday, 15 November 2009
.Newsletter
0262
News you won't find on CNN!
BIT
Awards Nights
The Brisbane Indian Times
Annual Multicultural Awards Dinner was held last week at
the RNA Showgrounds.
Amongst the winners on the
night were Eidfest (Best Organized Event) and the
Queensland Muslim Welfare Association (Best
Non-Profit Community Organization).
Abdul Rahman Deen,
Nazir Mohammed and ImamMuhammed
Aslam were also acknowledged for their journalistic
contributions to the Brisbane Indian Times.
Interspersed amongst the
Bollywood and Bhangra-styled entertainment and the
enthusiastic and uninhibited drum rolls were speeches
and commendations from a number of distinguished guests
that included a rather elegantly dressed Annastacia
Palaszczuk MP, Minister for Disability Services and
Multicultural Affairs in a gracefully draped sari and
Ms Sepi Richardson, the Mayor of the city of
Brisbane in San Mateo County, California in the United
States and the first Iranian American Mayor of a city in
the US.
(left to right) Janeth Deen and
Wilma Bothwell
of the Queensland Muslim Welfare
Association
The Eidfest Team (third from left
to right) Yasmin Khan, Rubana Moola, Ruhee Moola
and Sultan Deen with (from left) Councillor
Graham Quirk, Deputy Mayor of Brisbane and Mayor
Sepi Richardson
From
the desk of the Gold Coast Imam....
Imam Imraan Hussain
I delivered a talk on the “Preservation of the Qur’an
and Misconceptions of Islam” to a group of Christians at
the Catholic Church Hall in Mount Tambourine on the 27th
October 2009. They published an article in the local
newspaper. The article can be viewed on the Mosque
board.
On the 24th November, sixty five students and four
teachers from St Kevin's, Benowa will be visit our
Mosque between 1.15 pm to 2.30 pm. I will be on Hajj,
insha Allah then but I have made arrangements for
someone to host the group.
Hifz Classes is running well. The closing date of our
classes this year will be on the 3rd December 2009 and
will reopen end of January 2010 when School opens.
Ta’lim is conducted daily after Fajr and after Isha
Salat.
Qur’an Tafseer by Mufti Zeeyad is being conducted after
Isha between 8.15 pm and 8.50 pm. Women can view the
Tafseer from the close circuit TV in ladies section.
Isha salat is at 8.00 pm.
My topic at the Friday night programme was on the
importance of the “First Ten Days of Zul Hijjah and
Qurbani”. Haji Shibl gave a very significant
motivational talk after Isha. Next week, Mufti Zeeyad
will speak about “Eidul Adha and Qurbani”. Friday Night
Weekly Lectures start at 7 pm sharp followed by Q & A
until ‘Isha which is at 8 pm, and then dinner is served
Nice
one Nooree!
Nooree Moola with proud parents,
Ismail and Rubana
Nooree Moola,
youngest daughter of Rubana and Ismail
Moola, was admitted as a lawyer to the Supreme Court
of Queensland this month.
Nooree graduated from QUT
with a Bachelor of Laws with Honours and Bachelor of
Applied Science (Medical Biotechnology) with distinction
having completed the five and a half year dual degree by
an accelerated programme in 4 years
She was awarded the Dean's
Award for Academic Achievement in 2005, 2006, 2007 and
2008 and is on the Dean's List and Golden Key Honours
Society.
At the end of her degree Nooree was awarded with the
Dean's Award of Academic Excellence for graduating with
the highest grades in her Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor
of Applied Science (Medical Biotechnology).
She commenced employment in a graduate programme with
DLA Phillips Fox in January and completed a Post
Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (with distinction)
from the College of Law in September.
Nooree is now a qualified
lawyer at DLA Phillips Fox.
Counselling Workshop
Hanan Dover, a forensic psychologist and Director
of PsychCentral Psycholological and Counselling Services
based in Sydney, is currently in Brisbane conducting a
2-day Workshop on faith-based counselling.
The workshop, funded by the National Centre of
Excellence of Islamic Studies Australia, is being run at
the Griffith University Multi-faith Centre and is aimed
at providing guidance for those engaged in counselling
at various levels.
From
the Op-Shop Desk.....
By Janeth Deen
The Welfare shop has now
been operating for ten months and we feel that we have
built up a great deal of goodwill in the local area. It
has been a labour intensive exercise, and the rewards of
operating in such a multi-cultural area have been
worthwhile.
The shop is small, but even if we had a bigger shop, we
would still find we needed more space. It would be great
if we could find a warehouse at an affordable rent to
process the goods being donated and also to store
furniture.
We have been fortunate
that people have donated furniture at just the right
time when we found people in desperate need. Also, we
have had to hire a utility to deliver the furniture.
This has been a cost to the business as we have had to
help out people with little income who have been in
unfortunate circumstances.
If anyone has a warehouse, at a reasonable rent, in the
Logan area, please contact Janeth Deen on
0435-086-796.
Also, please make sure that no goods are left outside
the shop if it is closed.
To have your Mosque's Eid-ul-Adha
programme posted here email an electronic version to
ccn@crescentsofbrisbane.org
From
the Al-Nisa Desk.......
By Azima Omar
The Al-nisa youth group
held its Annual General Meeting at Garden City.
A large group of
interested young women from diverse Islamic backgrounds
all gathered to join the group as board members for the
upcoming new year.
Topics discussed were why
Al-Nisa was formed, it's accomplishments to date and
future goals.
The team management team of President, Vice president,
Secretary, Media Representatives etc will be determined
when the group convene for their fisrt meeting on Sunday
the 22nd of November.
We welcome all the new
members and can't wait to start the next event.
The
Qu'ran in Afrikaans
Die Boodskap van die
Koran vir vandag en vandag
se mense
Die Aanhef / Surah Al-Fatiha
Met die Naam van Allah, die Alomgenadige, die Genadigste.
1. All lof kom Allah toe, die Skepper, Voorsiener en
Onderhouer van die wêrelde.
2. Die Alomgenadige, die Genadigste.
3. Die Meester van die Oordeelsdag.
4. U alleen aanbid ons, en U alleen vra ons om hulp.
5. Lei ons op die Regte Weg en wys ons hoe om volgens U
Wil te lewe, (K2:2 & K3:3)
6. die weg van hulle aan wie U guns betoon het omdat U
tevrede met hulle was en wie U geseën het,
7. nie die weg van hulle op wie U toorn neergedaal het
omdat U met hulle ontevrede was en vir wie U gestraf het
omdat hulle nie meer volgens U Wil lewe nie. (K3:137)
'n Afrikaanse Moslem Webtuiste
Australian Muslim Newsletters
The
Al-Ghazalli Newsletter of the Sydney-based Al-Ghazalli
Centre can be viewed
here.
Topics include:
• Eastern Fusion 2009
Program
• Crescent Sighting - Dhul Hijja
• Parliament of World Religions
• International Deen Intensive Retreat 2010
• Intermediate Tajweed Program
• The 2nd Crescent Project
• Mizaan Ecology - Kooragang Island Rehabilitation
Project- Newcastle
• Letter to a Disciple
• The Crescent Project
• Mizaan Ecology - Cooks River Regeneration Project
• Zakaat Program Australia
The Inbox
Dear Editor,
This is let your
reader's know that Brumby's Bakery @ Big Gun
Shopping Centre Underwood will have African Naan
available this coming Sunday. It would help us
immensely if people could pre-order by calling the
shop on 3841 3755 as we have no idea at this stage
how many to produce.
Just to give you some back ground, Feroza Mustapha
encouraged us to produce Naan. She said it would be
a big hit.
She also graciously gave of her time on Thursday to
come into our bakery & show us how to make it.
If you need to know more about the Naan please
contact Feroza on 3219 7786 ...........she's the
expert !
We have been very grateful for the support the
Muslim community has given us since we went 100%
Halal about eight weeks ago.
As of Monday
nearly 580,000 pilgrims have
arrived at the Haj terminal
at Jeddah's King Abdul Aziz
International Airport,
Prince Khaled Al-Faisal (pictured
left), Emir of Makkah,
announced on Monday.
He added that this number
represented 50,000 more
pilgrims than had arrived by
the same date last year
despite the fear that people
might refrain from
performing Haj this year
because of the swine flu
pandemic.
Prince Khaled made the
statement during his
inspection tour of the new
projects at the Haj
terminal.
“All these
preparations have been made
by the government for only
one reason, the comfort of
pilgrims,” said Prince
Khaled.
“Pilgrims now spend less
than half as much time on
passport and customs
procedures as they used to
in past years,” he added.
He said that the terminal
crews are larger than they
were in the past and they
are offering more services
for pilgrims.
The prince
handed out gifts to arriving
Indonesian pilgrims and then
inspected the preparations
made by the Ministry of
Health.
“As the
Minister of Health assured
us on Saturday, all the
pilgrims are healthy and no
health problems have
arisen,” said Prince Khaled.
The prince warned that
action, including serious
penalties, will be taken
against those smuggling
local pilgrims into the holy
sites without licenses
Authentic research has shown that over
14,000 Brits have converted to Islam after having lost
hope in the style of life the West is offering.
“Amongst the converts there exist many famous
personalities which is a great booster for the Muslims
who have become a prey to accusations of terrorism and
are living in fear” in the words of Muslim leaders.
The Muslim Council has appointed the former health
minister’s son Ahmed Dobson as chairman of their new
committee which is striving to explain the reality of
Islam to the whites living in the United Kingdom.
Yahya Britt (Jonathan Britt) the former BBC director has
researched thoroughly the data of Christians converting
to Islam and concluded that the total number of new
Muslims in Britain was 14200
Muslim Media Network
Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks:
Islam must separate religion from power
The Chief Rabbi has called
on Muslims to get used to
living as a minority in
Britain and to learn to
separate religion from
power.
Lord Sacks said that neither
Muslims nor Christians had
yet learnt the lessons
inflicted on the Jewish
people by the Babylonian
exile.
“One of the great advantages
of being Jewish is you know
how to sing in the minor
key,” he said. “We have had
26 centuries of experience
ever since the Babylonian
exile of living as a
minority in the midst of a
culture that does not share
our views. Christianity and
Islam have not had that
experience.”
He said that Christianity
had learnt toleration but
only after 100 years of
“knocking the hell out of
each other all over Europe”.
He said: “So
Christianity went through
its experience, Judaism has
been through it a long, long
time ago and Islam has not
yet had that experience.
“I have no doubt that Islam
will work its way through to
the essential situation that
Judaism arrived at and
Christianity, namely the
substantive separation of
religion from power. But
there’s no quick way of
getting there. It is quite a
difficult and painful
process within religion.
“Only Muslims can do it.
Nobody can tell them from
the outside. That would be
taken as an affront and I
would regard it as morally
unacceptable. I do see some
wonderful Muslims in this
country and elsewhere, in
Iraq and even in Iran, going
through that process.
I think some
of the
Muslim
thinkers
today are
some of the
most
courageous
thinkers I
have come
across and
it is very
striking how
many of them
are women.
"I think some of the Muslim
thinkers today are some of
the most courageous thinkers
I have come across and it is
very striking how many of
them are women. It is very
interesting. So Islam will
get there. But I would hope
that one of the ways they
would get there is just
coming to understand how
things work in Britain.”
The Chief Rabbi was
delivering the annual
lecture to the think-tank
Theos in London to an
audience of politicians,
journalists, academics,
businessmen and faith
representatives.
He warned that Europe’s loss
of a tolerant religious
culture made it vulnerable
to the advance of
fundamentalism.
Tolerant religion was “the
only strong enough defence
with some of the religiosity
that is coming our way with
the force of a hurricane,”
the Chief Rabbi said.
“Let me be blunt. Either we
win or the fundamentalists
win and that is the
challenge. If the
fundamentalists win, I
wouldn’t hang around too
long.”
“A book is the most
effective weapon against intolerance and ignorance.”
- Lyndon Baines Johnson
This week
CCN
recommends
Islam
and the Destiny of Man by
Charles Le Gai Eaton
Amazon.com Readers'
Reviews
This is a truly majestic book and is, without doubt, one
of the most powerful works available on Islam in the
English language. Intended primarily for the non-Muslim,
or specifically for Westerners with little or no prior
knowledge of Islam, I would say that this book is
equally accessible and helpful to those who are either
practising believers or who have a good working
knowledge of the Faith, in the way it goes so far beyond
ordinary introductory texts in dealing with and
answering the vital questions of human existence.
A comprehensive coverage
of specifically the Islamic ethos is included, with
regards to formation, beliefs, sources, history and
crystallization, yet this representation always remains
couched in an acute understanding of other major
religious forces and (contemporary) intellectual
contexts. This work is scholarly and encyclopaedic in
content and scope, yet is saved from becoming abstruse
or inaccessible by the author's pronounced gift of
articulation, where with an almost effortless ease
complex issues and matters are expressed in beautiful
and poetical style. In fact, certain passages of this
book are simply spellbinding, and there is a definite
spiritual dimension to the text where the reader can
tangibly feel the calm serenity of the author being
transmitted through the words.
I really cannot recommend
this book enough; for those interested in furthering
their knowledge of specifically Islam and the Muslim
faith it is an excellent place to start or continue your
research, for those who have any type of interest in
religion in general or who are simply concerned with the
deeper questions of life, meaning, purpose and existence
then reading this book will prove to be an intriguing
experience and for those who are simply looking for an
interesting read then I am sure that this book will not
disappoint you. Unreservedly, I recommend this book to
as many people as possible.
This book is excellent for the intellectual seeking to
understand the intricacies and the subtleties of the
Islamic faith. The man is a master of language and his
expose of Islamic principles is one of the best in
English.
Gai Eaton writes with a calm depth and beauty. When I
first read this book, I felt as if my soul was not
entirely bound within me. He beautifully reaffirms and
explores aspects of the spirit of Islam; and answers so
many questions of so many people, muslims and non-muslims,
with an ease and insight rarely encountered. If someone
wants to understand Islam at a greater depth, then this
a book which can help the waves start to roll in their
thoughts.
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.
500g Chicken fillet
1 cup coriander leaves chopped
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp ground green chillies
½ tsp salt
½ tsp coarse black pepper
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
4 Tab lemon juice
4 Tab tamarind juice
1½ tsp crushed cumin
1 tsp crushed coriander
Method
1. Cut chicken into 6cm x11cm strips
2. Process coriander leaves, spices, sauces,
lemon juice and tamarind juice.
3. Pour into bowl and add coriander and
cumin
4. Mix well and add chicken strips and
marinate for 2-3 hours.
5. Skewer chicken, concertina style and cook
on a non stick frying pan or barbeque.
6. Serve with Satay Sauce.
Satay Sauce
½ x100g bottle of Peanut butter
1 tsp tamarind concentrate
½ cup lemon juice
2 tsp ground green chillies
Mix the above ingredients and cook the
mixture for 2 to 3 minutes adding salt to
taste, cool and serve.
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, my sister and I gave birth only a few
weeks apart in October. We are also gym buddies and were
wondering if it's ok for us to get back into our gym
routine?
A:
Congratulations to you both! Great to see you're
keen to get back into shape. I strongly recommend you
wait between six to eight weeks after giving birth
before you start exercising again. You will also need to
get medical clearances from your respective doctors.
Morning walks with your babies in prams would be ideal
for you before returning to your regular gym routine.
All questions sent in are published here anonymously
and without any references to the author of the
question.
The CCN Chuckle
Delivering his
Friday Khutbah, Mula Nasruddin, the Imam of the local
Mosque, started off his sermon on the role of women
in Islam with the statement: "The best years of my life
were spent in the arms of a woman that wasn't my wife!"
The crowd was
shocked!
He followed up
by saying, "And that woman was my mother!"
The crowd burst
into laughter and Mula Naruddin delivered the rest of
his talk, which went over quite well.
In amongst his
audience was a young impressionable Imam from a rural
Mosque who was quiet taken with Mula Nasruddin's style
of delivery and the content of his Khutbah, and decided
to give a similar talk to his own congregation the
following week, and to use that joke in his sermon.
As he surely
approached the mimbar that Friday afternoon, he tried to
rehearse the joke in his head.
But it suddenly
seemed a bit foggy to him.
Getting to the microphone he said loudly, "The greatest
years of my life were spent in the arms of another woman
that was not my wife!"
The
congregation inhaled half the air in the room.
After standing
there for almost 10 seconds in the stunned silence,
trying to recall the second half of the joke, the young
Imam finally blurted out, "...and I can't remember who
she was!"
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.
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is someone you know who would like to subscribe to CCN
please encourage them to send an e-mail to
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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.
I delivered a talk on the “Preservation of the Qur’an
and Misconceptions of Islam” to a group of Christians at
the Catholic Church Hall in Mount Tambourine on the 27th
October 2009. They published an article in the local
newspaper. The article can be viewed on the Mosque
board.
The
Al-Ghazalli Newsletter of the Sydney-based Al-Ghazalli
Centre can be viewed
C
