A morning tea was held on Wednesday Citipointe Church to thank and acknowledge the efforts of individuals and organizations who helped the Arte family after their son, Salman Arte,  fell into the Bulimba Creek after a heavy rain and was washed away. The subsequent search involved many agencies and volunteers before his body was finally located.

The Arte family are extremely appreciative of the efforts to locate him by those involved.

The ARTE family presented plaques in memory of Salman to volunteers for their outstanding performance, enthusiasm and dedication to duty during the course of that search process.

Among those that were acknowledged included:

• Queensland Police Service (QPS)
• United Somali Association of Queensland inc
• State Emergency Service (SES)
• Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS)
• Queensland Fire Service (QFS) Water Response Team
• Emergency Management Queensland (EMQ)
• Australian Muslim Youth Network
• Citipointe Church Brisbane
 

Also, gifts and donations for the Arte Family were received from Citipointe Church, Wishart Community and the Australian Muslim Youth Network.

Imam Uzair Akbar (Imam Holland Park Mosque) presided over the event.

The Bligh Government has appointed local Indian community leader Umesh Chandra (pictured left) as liaison officer to Queensland's Indian student population.
 

Multicultural Affairs Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk said Mr Chandra's appointment was part of a whole-of-government effort to support the State's 20,000 Indian students.
 

"Umesh Chandra is well-respected in Queensland's Indian community, and he'll play a key role in our engagement strategy with the local Indian community," she said.
 

"We want to use his standing to ensure that Queensland's Indian students know they can count on the support of the Bligh Government.
 

"This is about sending out a very clear message that Queensland is a safe and welcoming place for Indian students.
 

"They make a tremendous contribution to the State's cultural and economic life, and I want to assure all Indian students and visitors to Queensland that they're welcome here."
 

Mr Chandra is President of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO)(Qld), Publisher of the Brisbane Indian Times and Vice-President of the Federation of Indian Communities in Queensland.
 

Ms Palaszczuk said the appointment of a community liaison officer was first raised by local Indian community leaders.
 

"The Bligh Government will continue to work closely with Queensland's Indian community," she said.
 

"Queensland will hold a third roundtable this year to ensure that the Government is doing everything it can to support the State's Indian student population.
 

"Police and education authorities will continue working together to ensure Queensland's Indian students are getting all the support they need."

 
One Legacy

One Legacy is a radio station founded by American Muslims to provide daily insight and discussion on topics of spirituality, relationships, parenting, politics, civil rights, fitness, health and the arts. OneLegacyradio.com can be downloaded as an application on an iPhone, Blackberry or Android, providing listeners with a daily dose of Islamic teachings on everything from weight loss to relationship advice at any time of the day. It even tackles contentious topics, such as the radicalization of Muslim youth.

Radio Islam

Check out Radio Islam's Website for 24hrs Live Audio Streaming of Islamic Programmes, Audio Podcasts of various On-Air Highlights and listen to topics ranging from Hijab; Salaah Awareness to Current Affair; Muslim Reverts etc. Radio Islam broadcasts live out of Johannesburg, South Africa. Visit www.radioislam.co.za.

Westpac Banking Corporation plans to boost its exposure to the rapidly expanding Islamic finance market, by offering a commodity trading facility intended for overseas investors operating under the Sharia principles of Islamic law, The Age reported.

The move by Westpac comes at a time when the Australian government is believed to be placing a new emphasis on Islamic financing, which prohibits the earning of interest, instead focussing on profit sharing based on the buying and selling of tangible assets such as property, under the principles known as Sharia law.

Trade Minister Simon Crean is today set to launch a study outlining opportunities for Australia's financial services sector to increase involvement in investment and banking markets that comply with Islamic law.

This follows urgings from a government-backed taskforce last month that tax rules be overhauled to ensure that Islamic financing products be given equal treatment.

All the major banks now provide Islamic-style banking products for retail investors.

The global market for Islamic financial services, which has been propelled by surging oil prices, is estimated to be worth close to $1 trillion, and the issue of sukuk - the Islamic alternative to conventional bonds - is worth greater than $50 billion each year

Business Spectator

A French parliamentary commission’s recommendation to ban the burqa, or full veil, from public places such as buses, banks and hospitals, is the most recent skirmish in an ongoing culture war between Islam and the West. But the importance of the potential ban - and the firestorm of debate it has generated - goes far beyond setting sartorial boundaries for the Paris Metro. It also highlights competing views on how best to fight back against radical Islam, the interpretation of the faith that seeks to bend 21st century life to the medieval norms enshrined in sharia law.

By recognising the burqa as not merely an article of clothing but, in the words of French lawmaker Andre Gerin, the “tip [of] a black tide of fundamentalism,” France has signaled that it takes the threat of radical Islam seriously.

Moreover, unlike the Americans under Barack Obama, the French have framed the debate not merely in terms of security, but in terms of fundamental values. In June last year, in a speech to both houses of Parliament, President Nicholas Sarkozy flatly declared that "the burqa is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience." By contrast, in his Cairo address to the Muslim world barely three weeks earlier, Obama took more or less the opposite position. “I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal,” he said. Although Obama was referring to the hijab, or headscarf, the French and the Americans are poles apart in terms of the broader principle - whether to take a stand on religiously mandated attire for Muslim women.
 

ON LINE Opinion Australia's e-journal of social & political debate
 

 
Judge Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani's presented an in-depth Economic Paper with an Islamic viewpoint  at the World Economic Forum 2010 held in Davos during Jan 26-31.

Mufti Taqi Usmani is one of the World's leading Islamic scholars. Mufti Usmani has written over forty books ranging from Islamic law, economics and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). For over forty two years he has been a leading lecturer at Darul Uloom in Karachi which was set up by his father the late Mufti Muhammad Shafi, Grand Mufti of Pakistan.

He has studied and graduated with distinction from Karachi University and obtained an MA in Arabic from Punjab University and is widely respected across the world. He is the chief editor of the famous monthly magazine Al Balagh (Urdu) and is a regular feature on many media platforms. Mufti Taqi Usmani is one of the most influential religious leaders in the world today and is often called upon to respond to common issues facing Muslims across the globe.

 
SHARJAH - Illiterate or not, Fatima Mohammed Ali, Emirati, is the first 93-year-old woman to have participated in a Holy Quran Award in the whole world.

The mother and grandmother of 120 children, Fatima started her journey with the Holy Quran at the age of 80, and has memorised many chapters of the holy book.

“Although she is pretty old, she never misses a lesson of Quran at the mosque early in the morning every day,” Ahmed Musa, one of Fatima’s grandsons, told Khaleej Times.

“She is even more keen to fully memorise the holy Quran than her young kids, seeking God’s blessings and paradise in the hereafter.”

Based in Khor Fakkan of the emirate of Sharjah, Fatima started participating in the Sharjah Quran Award since it was open for all ages to enhance her memorisation and encourage her grandchildren to learn the holy Quran by heart.

“My grandmother does not read or write. However, listens to the cassettes and receives help from her grandchildren, particularly 23-year-old Badr, who has always been very close to her,” Musa said.

“Badr, who is studying law, patiently teaches her the Quran verse by verse after she moved to his house, following a gruesome accident that claimed five members of the family.”

Musa said his grandmother was a furious woman before memorising Quran. “She has become more tolerant thanks to the holy Quran. She 
even refuses to go outside her house unveiled.”

Meanwhile, the second edition of the Al Hassawi Holy Quran Award, which is part of the Establishment of Quran and Sunnah Award, Sharjah, saw the participation of many other old women aged between 61 and 66 competing.

As many as 900 contestants participated in the two broad categories of the competition - one for competitors below 16 years old and one for above 16.

Kajeel Times

 
Why did the suicide bomber cross the road …? It doesn’t sound like the start of a particularly amusing or constructive gag. But two new British shows (a musical and a film) attempt to provide both the punch line for this joke, and a justification for telling it.

Welcome to the year of the 'jihad comedy'. For 2010 sees the opening of two highly controversial shows – Jihad! The Musical, and the film Four Lions - both of which take the deeply unfunny topic of suicide attacks, and attempt to give it a humorous twist.

Jihad! The Musical opened in London on January 8. Billed as a "satirical romp about the war on terror", it includes songs called "Building a Bomb Today", "I Wanna Be Like Osama", and "Axis of Freedom". The plot involves a man from Afghanistan who ends up in a terrorist sleeper cell in the West.

The website for the show paints it as some kind of satire on the media, claiming that the intention is to highlight "stereotypes, politics and big business, and the love affair between terrorism and the media". This is, of course, a bit of a media cliche in itself: The 'satire on the press' justification has been trotted out countless times by those using ‘offensive’ material in entertainment.

Either way, Jihad! The Musical doesn’t seem to have hit the mark. "You can't help feeling that the show doesn't so much satirise the war on terror as trivialise it," wrote theatre critic Michael Billington in The Guardian. "By portraying all media figures as ruthless go-getters and terrorist plotters as clumsy geeks, it simply gives continuing life to cartoon images. If the show is offensive, it's mainly because it's not very good."

Four Lions, released later this year, sounds more promising. Written and directed by the anarchic British satirist Chris Morris, the dark comedy follows a hapless gang of wannabe suicide bombers, as they plot to bomb London.

Free tickets are available for the Queensland Bulls vs Victorian Bushrangers match to be played at The Gabba on Saturday 20 February, commencing at 2.15pm and finishing 9.45pm. Gates open at 1.15pm.
 

As a result of an exciting partnership between Queensland Cricket and ECCQ, and Queensland Cricket’s strong commitment to multiculturalism, Queensland Cricket has given ECCQ free tickets for this exciting game.

If you would like tickets for the game send an email to ccn@crescentsofbrisbane.org stating how many you require.

Adapted from Australian Journey - Muslim communities

The Australian Journey – Muslim communities, a new DIAC publication, is characterised by contributions of Muslims from all over the world who have made Australia home.

In this, and following issues of CCN, we highlight one of the successful Muslims in Australia from the report and their thoughts about what it means to be both a Muslim and an Australian.

Kamal Hamidani Emergency Services (NSW Ambulance Service)

Kamal grew up in Algeria, North Africa, where he trained to become a nurse. He moved to London where he worked as a chef and met his wife. Both Kamal and his wife moved to Newcastle 10 years ago to be close to his wife’s mother. He is now working as a Patient Transport Officer for the Ambulance Service of NSW. . As an Equal Opportunity Employer, the Ambulance Service of NSW thoroughly supports and encourages cultural and religious diversity. Kamal Hamidani