AUSTRALIA'S first Muslim Federal MP, Ed Husic, has acknowledged that how he performs will affect the chances of other Muslims emulating his entry to political life.

Mr Husic reflected on the significance of his election in his first speech in parliament yesterday.

''My arrival here finally brings together the children of Abraham, Christians, Jews and Muslims, working together with other people of faith, with other people of values, for the national good, united under this one roof,'' he said.

Mr Husic, the new Labor member for the seat of Chifley, in Sydney's west, cited the 1943 maiden speech of Dame Enid Lyons, the first female member of the house of representatives. ''I am aware that as I acquit myself in the work I have undertaken for the next three years, so I shall either prejudice or enhance the prospects of those who wish to follow me in public service,'' Mr Husic quoted Lyons as saying.

Mr Husic, a former union official and son of Bosnian migrants, made history last month when he was sworn in with his hand on a copy of the Koran.
 

Source

Why is the croissant shaped the way it is?

First correct answer drawn from the CCN Inbox will receive a Family Pack to the value of $29.95 for Mochachos in Garden City.

Entries to ccn@crescentsofbrisbane.org must be in by 5pm, Friday 5th November.

Message to the community from the Chairman of the Australian International Islamic College, Imam Abdul Quddoos Azhari

SEARCH FOR FOSTER PARENTS

On several occasions ICQ has been approached by the Government agencies for Muslim families to act as foster parents for Muslim children. Unfortunately the response from the members of our community has been extremely poor.

Under the new scheme recently announced by the Federal Government certain groups of children currently in various detention centres in Australia will be in the community to foster parents. At this stage it is not known how many, if any, will be in Queensland. However, what is known is that almost all of them will be released and placed in the care of non-Muslim families/agencies.

As Muslims we have religious as well as moral obligations to look after and support these innocent children. The Islamic Council of Queensland is appealing to families who can offer help as foster parents (there is financial assistance from the Government) to register with ICQ. If you can assist, please contact ICQ at the following address:

Islamic Council of Queensland, P.O. Box 204, Sunnybank Hills, QLD 4109
Email: mybne@hotmail.com or visit www.icq.net.au Phone 07 3219 0555

HALAL CERTIFICATION OF FOOD OUTLETS

With regard to halal certification of food outlets, there is total confusion and chaos in the marketplace at present. We continuously get enquiries from members of the community wanting to know whether a particular restaurant or food outlet is halal.

Our research has shown that currently there are about 200 restaurants, takeaways, kebab shops and other food outlets in Brisbane operated by Muslims as well as Non-Muslims that are advertising as being ‘halal’. Of these only a handful of them have been properly certified. The vast majority of them have not been certified at all whilst a number of them have been issued halal certificates by individuals/organizations from inter-state without any checks. No one has visited these outlets to ensure that they meet some basic guidelines. In several cases we found that the operators are selling pork/bacon and other prohibited products prepared in the same kitchen. There are other cases where some foods are being advertised as ‘halal’ while others are not. We have also come across instances where the operators simply did not understand what the term ‘halal’ meant. In their view buying chicken or meat from a Muslim butcher automatically makes their outlet halal. This is far from the truth. Unfortunately many food outlets being operated by the Muslims are also not doing the right thing.

ICQ is embarking on a two-pronged approach to tackle this problem. On the one hand we are asking the owners of all food outlets, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, to have their premises inspected and certified by ICQ. On the other hand we are seeking community support to refrain from patronizing food outlets that have not been certified by ICQ as halal. We are also seeking support from the management committees of various mosques/Islamic centres not to allow distribution of brochures and/or pamphlets from restaurants or other food outlets whose premises have not been inspected and certified by ICQ as halal. Success in this area will depend on the level of support and co-operation we get from all parties.

ICQ has appointed Farad Yusuf as a Project Officer to visit all the restaurants and other food outlets to request them to have their premises inspected and (if they meet the guidelines), to have them certified. This certification process would involve follow up checks to ensure that the proper process is followed.

Farad can be contacted on Mobile: 0433 743 643. In most cases the annual fee for halal certification is $250. Insah Allah from January 2011, ICQ will be publishing on its website, a list of restaurants and food outlets that have been certified by them as halal.

INGHAMS CHICKEN
ICQ is certifying the slaughter of chickens at Inghams’ plant at Murrarie. We are advised that Inghams supply chickens to most Woolworths Stores in Qld and also to some Coles and KFC Stores. However because these stores do not meet our guidelines and there is possibility/evidence of cross-contamination with non-halal meat we cannot recommend, to the members of our community, that they buy from these stores. The exception is for pre-packed chicken with a code no 1708 sold at Woolworths Stores. We have commenced discussions with the Management of Woolworths and, Insah Allah, in the near future some of their Stores are likely to be certified as halal.

Mohammed Yusuf
President, ICQ

Iqbal Lambat (left) and  Ishaq Burney (right)

On Tuesday, the Queensland Law Society and the University of Queensland held a member seminar titled: "Shari’a law in Australia’s secular legal system - essentials of Islamic law for legal practitioners."

The seminar was well attended by legal practitioners - the vast majority of whom were not Muslims. Topics presented included:

• Evidence in Shari'a law - how Sharia based evidence can be admitted in an Australian court.
• Family law - Sharia perspectives on marriage and divorce and the applicability of those laws in Australia and a comparison to Australian law
• Islamic law of inheritance and how that applies in Australia (with a comparison to Australian law)
• Shari'a perspectives on Finance
 

Two members of the Muslim community presented - Iqbal Lambat on Law of Inheritance and Ishaq Burney on Islamic perspectives on Finance. A key learning from this seminar was that Islamic law can be admitted to Australian courts and that this will evolve over time as Australian courts grasp that Muslims adhere to Shari'a for family and personal laws. How these laws are interpreted remains to be seen. The other presenters were Dr Ann Black, senior law lecturer at UQ and Simon Fisher a Barrister-at-law.

The conference programme provides the topics discussed and list of presenters.

For the first time on the Gold Coast, a symposium brought together senior leaders from the Catholic, Anglican and Muslim faiths to showcase interreligious cooperation, friendship and goodwill as faith leaders address the challenges of modern society.

Chaired by school head teacher Mariam Najibeh and her colleague Tara Vonthethoff, the meeting witnessed a recitation from the Holy Qur’an by Sh. Ahmad Al Azhary and a singing of the National Anthem before being officially opened by Dr. Saad Al-Shumaimry the director of the Muslim World League for Australia and the Pacific. Dr. Al-Shumaimry impressed upon the audience the efforts of his Majesty King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Aal Saud in the promotion of interfaith dialogue.
 

Islamic Friendship Association of Australia president Br. Keysar Trad welcomed the audience which included his Excellency Adnan Jaafar the High Commissioner of Brunei Darussalam and Queensland Caucus Secretary and member for Burleigh Mrs. Christine Smith MP.

His Grace the Right Reverend Archbishop John Bathersby of the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane spoke about the Greatness of God and reminded the audience that what we have is from the grace of God and added that it would make a great difference to the world if we would all strive to be more loving towards our fellow human beings.

the full report on the event and photos

WA: A suburban council in Perth has rejected a request by an Islamic school to allow its school hall to be used as a place of worship for Muslim members of the community.

The Australian Islamic College in Forrestfield asked permission for the assembly hall to be used as a mosque for up to 300 people for half an hour of worship on Friday afternoons.

At their meeting last night, Gosnells councillors ruled the school hall could be used for worship only by staff and students.

They identified problems with road congestion and inadequate parking as reasons for refusing.

The college's religious leader Burhaan Mehtar says it is disheartening the council has failed to recognise the needs of the community.

"We are a community and we have some 275 families who attend the school and those parents when they pick their kids up," he said.

"Our prayer is part of our extra curricular activities so they obviously need a place to pray."

Burhaan Mehtar says he will continue to consult the council.

"We still need to have more meetings with the council to see if we can perhaps drive the point home that we are taking drastic measures to reduce the somewhat so called pressures," he said.

Source

Janeth Deen and Wilma Bothwell from the Welfare shop were accompanied by Nicky Allouche from Siitra Fashion to our meeting with the officials of Serco Immigration Agents. This company has the contract for handling the welfare of the people landing by boast on Australian shores on behalf of the Australian Government.

Through our meeting, we learnt that 90% of the detainees are Muslims. The people who are housed at the present time mainly come from Afghanistan, Iran, Burma and Sri Lanka.

The officials at the Hemmat Centre, which is the base for the Brisbane office, were very obliging and willing to answer the questions fired at them. As you are all aware, Janeth is known for asking questions! What is more they were all answered without any hesitation.

From our meeting we are of the opinion that Serco are keen to make the detainees as comfortable as possible and meet their needs to the best of their ability. They were very thankful for the goods we have supplied them with. They also informed us that the people in their care are given four sets of new clothing and a pair of sandshoes and thongs on arrival. The clothes we donate are all washed by Serco before they are given to the boat people, this is why there was some delay in distribution from the time we delivered the goods. The detainees are then allowed to select the clothes they wanted.

All the food served to them is Halal. What is more, they are thankful for any help to meet cultural and religious needs. Provided they have a blue card Imams and religious instruction teachers are welcome at the centres. Serco is happy to buy prayer mats and clothing from Siitra instead of Western clothing from KMart if the people in their care prefer Muslim clothing.

The interpreters are employed by the Government and many come from other states as well as Brisbane. This is due to the fact that they must have certain qualifications for this position. If Brisbane people meet the requirements, they are welcome to apply to Serco for the position.

Serco tries to meet entertainment needs as well and provides them with games and electronic equipment in their facility to be shared. We took along some cassettes of Arabic music and Quran tapes, as well as a cassette player, which they were very grateful for.

Casula Powerhouse is inviting artistic proposals from Muslim women artists and artisans for its new national project. 8 to 10 artists will be commissioned to develop a project over the next twelve months. The resulting artworks will be exhibited at Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre NSW in February 2012.

The Australian Muslim Women’s Arts project offers the following resources to successful applicants:

• Up to $15,000 cash support to create your work;
• Dialogue with project Producer and Curator about the conceptual development and production of your work;
• Assistance with connecting with other professionals and/or organisations to support your project’s development;
• Support with negotiating partnerships and other resources;
• Assistance with budgeting and project management skills;
• Travel and accommodation costs so you can participate in the two Laboratory Intensives (the first of which is in Sydney).

The Australian Muslim Women’s Project is supported by the Community Arts and Culture Initiative with Muslim Australians, a partnership between the Australian Human Rights Commission, Casula Powerhouse, Liverpool City Council and Australia Council for the Arts.
 

More details

On a recent communal breaking of the fast event I witnessed several events that made me think about the real difficulties behind the changing of people’s behaviour in relation to gender justice in Islam.
 

Before I do the purpose of what I will write below is NOT meant to be an exercise in self-praise although it can come across as such. I am only too aware of my own shortcomings when it comes to gender justice issues in my own household. I am writing this to hopefully raise some awareness and levels of consciousness in Muslim men, including myself, in relation to just one instance of gender injustice.

Let me elaborate. Having arrived at the venue (a local musala) with some time to spare I greeted and thanked the organiser of the event and asked him if any help was needed with setting up of the tables and the food. With a smile on his face he remarked that there were ‘many women’ around who can / are doing the job. Indeed apart form the man I spoke to (and another one who was setting up the speaker system and opening up toilets) it was indeed all women who were getting things ready while men were happily chatting away .
 

Few minutes later when it was time to break the fast I realised that, upon breaking my fast, all the drinks and the dates were on the side of the musala where the men were.

While the men were breaking their fasts women were waiting in the other part of the musala. When I approached one of them that I knew and asked her to come over where the drinks were she was very reluctant like the rest of the other women. I pointed to her and others (including some men who were around) that it was indeed them who not only cooked the food but also prepared setting it all up. I also remarked that it was more just for them to have broken the fast first.

Some of the women, younger ones in particular, acknowledged this reasoning, however, none of them were willing to break their fast with drinks and dates whilst men were still at it. However no men seemed to have noticed this despite the fact that the musala is rather small and that several women were also elderly and looked weak.
 

Don’t get me wrong this congregation that I know reasonably well is by no means conservative and very few of the women (or men for that matter) conform to traditional let also strict puritan norms and standards of behaviour in their ordinary lives.

The same applied later on with the food. While I was trying to protest by telling one of the women ( in the vicinity of other men) that I will not eat the food until at least one or few of the women had taken some first , one of the male leaders of the community who heard what I had said not only remained silent but without being given permission pushed in front of all of the other women who were lined up. The (self-appointed) prayer leader who was symbolically heavily ‘Muslim’ with the turban and all the other paraphernalia (whose qur’anic reading, knowledge of Islam, smoking habit as well as personality make him anything but an obvious choice for the function of the prayer leader that he so willingly assumed) was also oblivious to this injustice and insensitivity towards women.

Based on anecdotal evidence I am sure that what I briefly described above has happened in many other mosques/musalas.
Why is it that so many Muslim men are so insensitive to gender justice to the extent of branding those few Muslim men and many women who are, as agents of “western culture” ? Could this insensitivity in more extreme cases also explain the presence of misogynist thinking among some Muslim men and acts of abuse may that be in the context of marriage or parent-child relationship?
 

What good does the fasting during the month of Ramadan serve if we are not even sensitive (or choose to be insensitive) to the needs of our sisters in faith? Why do we easily fall for and unquestioningly accept facades and masquerades over essence and what really matters?

Adis Duderija has a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the University of Western Australia
 

Write to ccn@crescentsofbrisbane if you wish to comment on the above article.

Ms Lynda Jane Voltz, MLC, a member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales and the Deputy Government Whip in the Legislative Council, said this is the NSW parliament this week:

Recently I was performing my normal Saturday morning ritual, which involves getting out of bed early to read the papers before the house degenerates into mayhem. This is a leisurely past time during which writers will anger me or outrage me. Some articles I read just for amusement. David Dale's Tribal Mind column normally falls into the latter category, but that morning I was particularly struck by his turn of phrase.

He was making a point about when people conform to stereotypes-the penny pinching Scot, naive Irish, New Zealand sheep lover or a Muslim who sympathises with terrorism. That Muslims are suddenly not identified by their country but grouped together, that those from the Philippines share the same culture and civilisation as that of Muslims from Albania, Morocco, Bangladesh or Afghanistan, struck me as an extraordinary leap for a cultural commentator

David Dale professes to "meditate on patterns in popular culture", according to his webpage for the Sydney Morning Herald. It is extraordinary that David Dale has not kept abreast of the cultural move within the language and narrative on terrorism. Our fear of terrorism is cultural. We see it in television series, in stage plays, and obliquely in novels. Pinning down the terrorist threat might be as much about reading our own fears as about understanding their plans. If David Dale is right and what we watch, listen to and read offers surprising insights into Australian attitudes, then we should also be assessing where this culture is taking us. In the debate on terrorism, to paraphrase Umberto Eco, only words count and the rest is mere chattering. Linguistic habits are frequently symptoms of underlying feelings. The narrative does matter.

Terms such as "Islamic extremism" and "Jihadism" succeed in combining terrorism with mainstream Islam, therefore casting all Muslims as potential terrorists. These terms become distorted and loaded with innuendo. Since his election as President of the United States of America, Barak Obama has shifted the narrative. To quote Barak Obama, "The language we use matters." He has further stated that he will be:
... very clear in distinguishing between organizations like Al Qaeda-that espouse violence, espouse terror and act on it-and people who may disagree with my administration and certain actions, or may have a particular viewpoint in terms of how their countries should develop. We can have legitimate disagreements but still be respectful.

The narrative of Islamic terrorism is profoundly unhelpful, not least because it is highly politicized, intellectually contestable, counter-productive and damaging.

Like the other Abrahamic faiths-Judaism and Christianity-the fundamental tenets of Islam are rooted in compassion, kindness, forgiveness and social justice. Likewise the term "Jihad" literally means a "striving" and is often expressed in the context "Jihad fi sabil Illah", or striving in the path of God. Jihad consists of some act of piety and often refers to some act of social or personal improvement, such as raising money for a community project or the giving of alms. Islamic teachings often stress the importance of the greater spiritual jihad over the lesser physical jihad.

Nearly one-fourth of the world's population is Muslim, and Arabs comprise only 15 per cent of the Muslim population. As the rest of the world has moved on from the simplistic narrative of the Bush administration and conformist stereotypes, it is time that both the Australian media and members of this House also moved on, if they wish to remain relevant to the ongoing debate.

Next week Part 5

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