The Islamic Council of Queensland
(ICQ), together with a number of Muslim and
non-Muslim organizations, staged a fete to raise
funds for the victims of the floods in Pakistan
last Sunday at the Islamic College of Brisbane.
The 2000 people who attended had
a wide range of foods and rides to choose from
and helped raise some $40 000 through the stalls
and the auctions.
The monies will be distributed
through a number of charities including, Dr
Rubina Gillani who is heavily involved with
several charitable organisations (including the
Fred Hollows Foundation) providing aid to those
in need in Pakistan, the Imran Khan Foundation,
Red Crescent and Rotary and Lions.
The first correct answer
drawn from the CCN Inbox for the Family
Pack valued at $29.95 for Mochachos in
Garden City was from Nikat Khan.
Well done Nikat!
Your voucher is on its way.
The croissant is
shaped as a reference to the crescent on the
Turkish Flag and was created by a bakery in
Vienna, Austria in 1683 to celebrate defeat of
the Turks by the Polish.
The Hon Ms Annastacia Palaszczuk,
Minister for Disability Services and
Multicultural Affairs was the keynote speaker at
the function which was attended by a number of
government representatives and community
leaders.
ECCQ's mission is "that all
people from diverse cultural and linguistic
backgrounds have equal access to services and
can fully participate in all aspects of a
cohesive and harmonious Queensland" is achieved
through a combination of targeted advocacy,
representative and consultative functions, and
service development and delivery.
ECCQ's activities encompass:
Advocacy; Community Development Programs, such
as for New & Emerging Communities; Women's
Ethnic Network; HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis and Sexually
Transmitted Infections program; Sexual Health
Network and support groups; Multicultural
resource library, Multicultural policy
development; Research on multicultural issues
Promotion of member's access to community and
government services
Auspicing; Letters of Support for grant and
funding applications
The Executive Committee (pictured
right) was returned unopposed to serve
another term (left to right):
Honorary President: Mr
Nick Xynias
Honorary Assistant Secretary:
Mr Mustafa Ally
Vice-Chair: Mrs Victoria
Zografos
Honorary Secretary: Mrs
Chalani Gunasekara
Immediate Past Chair:
Mr Serge Voloschenko
Senior Vice-Chair: Dr Max
Brândle
Chair: Ms Agnes M Whiten
Vice-Chair: Mr Michael Yau
Vice-Chair: Ms Gail Ker
Vice-Chair: Mr John
Okello-Okanya
Vice-Chair: Mrs Irene
Cayas
Honorary Treasurer: Mr
Alex Daniloff
Missing from the photo
Vice-Chair: Ms Evelyn
Abadines (Youth Chair) Honorary Assistant Treasurer: Mr Peter
Vecsey-Dalos
DO YOU WORK IN THE TAXI INDUSTRY?
ECCQ is convening an Ethnic Taxi Advisory
Committee (ETAC) to address the needs of people
from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD)
backgrounds working in the taxi industry in
Queensland.
This meeting will discuss improved networking
and information sharing to establish
communication channels with CALD taxi industry
workers - owners, drivers and interested ethnic
community stakeholders. This will enable ECCQ to
consult with taxi industry stakeholders,
effectively collate and
analyse information and concerns, and then raise
these matters through its representation on the
Queensland Government’s Ministerial Taxi
Industry Advisory Committee.
The meeting will establish the structure of the
Advisory Group and the mechanism to:
• identify and communicate ideas, concerns and
issues relating to CALD taxi drivers and owners
• act as a conduit between ETAC and the Taxi
Industry Advisory Committee through ECCQ’s
representation on this Committee.
The meeting will be chaired by Mr. Mustafa Ally,
an elected member of ECCQ’s Executive Committee
and ECCQ’s representative on the Taxi Industry
Advisory Committee.
For more information about ETAC contact Mustafa
Ally on
mustafa.a.ally@gmail.com or call 0402 026
786.
"Everything about her
performance is open, truthful, fearless and
completely disarming, to the point where at the
end of the play you feel you've lost an adorable
friend" - The Courier-Mail
This
is powerful and controversial: a politically
provocative night in the theatre presented by
Bella Shanley and La Boite Indie. Rachel Corrie
(pictured right) was an American college
student and activist who was killed while trying
to prevent an Israeli bulldozer from demolishing
a house in a Palestinian residential area. The
details of the events are disputed.
The Israeli Defence Force claims
it was an accident; others claim she was run
over deliberately. "A deeply moving personal
testimony...In the course of 90 minutes you feel
you have not just had a night at the theatre:
you have encountered an extraordinary woman."
(The Guardian).
This is a case which is still hitting the
headlines - and sparking a passionate global
debate.
To provide further insight and
alternative perspectives to the issue a
panel discussion took place at the theatre last
week. BellaShanle, the play's
producer, told CCN, "It was an incredibly
informative and passionate evening of discussion
amongst the panel members."
The panel comprised:
DavidForde President, Amnesty
International Qld DavidCostello Foreign Affairs
Editor, Courier Mail DavidBerthold, Artistic Director,
La Boite Theatre Company. HalimRane, Deputy Director,
Griffith Islamic Research Unit JessDowdell, Youth Activist,
Amnesty International Member and Student
ANOTHER BRISBANE REVIEW
I saw “My Name is Rachel
Corrie” last Friday night and urge everyone
to see it if possible, and especially to
take along anyone they know who’s interested
in but not sure about the issue. I actually
wondered beforehand if it might be earnest
and well-meaning but fall flat. But nothing
of the sort. Won’t say any more but do try
to catch it at La Boite, Roundhouse Theatre,
Musk Ave Kelvin Grove, where it’s on until
14/11 but bear in mind the space is small –
maybe 100 seats per session, so best to book
ASAP.
"Anti-Islamic sentiment is on
the rise across Europe and the United States. In
the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Britain and
Germany debate is raging about immigration and
the compatibility of Islam with Western values -
the latest foiled terror plot originating in
Yemen has done nothing to quell people's fears.
In the United States anti-Islamic sentiment is
higher now than after the September 11 terror
attacks. Recent polls show nearly half of
Americans hold unfavourable views of Islam. So,
what is driving this increased hostility?"
Amongst the speakers were Reza
Aslan (pictured left) author, scholar of
religions and contributing editor to The Daily
Beast. His best-selling book No god but God: The
Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam has been
translated into thirteen languages and he is
also the author of Beyond Fundamentalism:
Confronting Religious Extremism in a Globalized
Age. He says anti-Muslim sentiment is becoming
mainstream and believes the same kind of
Islamophobia that has made much of Europe
inhospitable to its Muslim citizens is now
threatening to seize the U.S.
The Seven
Wonders of the Muslim World (PARTS 1-4)
Shown recently on SBS, this visually stunning program traces the
history and message of Islam by following the
journeys of six young pilgrims from across the
Muslim world to Mecca. It explores their lives
and beliefs as well as the beautiful and
historic mosques where they worship. They leave
their homes and families, travel to Saudi
Arabia, and share their responses to the
culmination of their journey of a lifetime - the
pilgrimage to Mecca, where the prophet Muhammad
was born.
Within decades of
the death of Muhammed, Islam spread fast and its
history can be traced through the flowering of
exquisite Muslim architecture. Over the next few
hundred years, fabulous mosques from Spain to
Iran, and from Turkey to Mali formed a focus of
Muslim life, as they continue to do today. The
Seven Wonders of the Muslim World starts its
journey at six of these locations and completes
it at the mosque towards which all practicing
Muslims turn when they pray.
CCN brings you the
first four 10-minute parts of this series with
the rest to follow next week.
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3
PART 4
Volcano
refugees need your help
The name Merapi could be
translated as “Mountain of Fire”. Presently, the
name suites the disastrous situation literally.
Smoke can be seen billowing from the mountain at
least 300 days in a year, and several eruptions
have caused serious fatalities in recent times.
In November 1994, hot gas from a large explosion
killed at least 27 people, mostly in the town of
Muntilan, west of the volcano. Another large
eruption occurred in 2006, shortly before the
Yogyakarta earthquake to which the Al-Imdaad
Foundation responded with the necessary relief
aid.
On 25 October 2010, the Indonesian authorities
raised the alert for Mount Merapi to its highest
level and urged all villagers and dwellers in
vulnerable areas to move to safer ground. People
living within a 10 km radius were instructed to
evacuate. This caused a displacement of some 85
000 people.
Experts foresee the number of
refugees to rise to 150 000. Authorities stated
that about 500 volcanic earthquakes had been
recorded on the mountain over the weekend of the
23rd and 24th October 2010. This had caused the
magma to rise about a kilometer below the
surface. On the afternoon of the 25th October
2010, Mount Merapi erupted with lava bellowing
from its southern and southeastern slopes.
This eruption was followed by a second and last
night (5th November 2010), for the third time in
less than a week, Mount Merapi produced its
strongest eruption yet. This “high-intensity”
eruption has led to the exclusion zone being
widened from 10 km to 20 km around the volcano
with displaced persons now exceeding 90,000.
Ms Fenti Forsyth of
Brisbane will fly to Indonesia on November 15th
to take along some Qurbani and money (sadaqa) to
Yogyakarta and distribute the aid direct to the
refugees camps.
If you doing Qurban this year and
would like to have it sent to these few refugees
camps, Fenti will be happy to accept the Amanah
to distribute it.
With the Indonesian rupiah today
1 lamb equals $125. She will buy the stock from
the locals where lots of Islamic boarding
schools are self funded by farming the goats and
sheep. Also, she will distribute primary foods
such as rice, sugar, tea, eggs, etc to the
camps. These Fenti will purchase directly from
the local traditional market which still operate
even after the volcanic eruption. "Let's keep
the local economic strong," Fenti told CCN.
On the ground Fenti plans to work together with
many of my former high school classmates, as
well as her senior class. They are doing
volunteer work as Rescuers and Emergency
Services. From them she hopes to get fisrt hand
knowledge of which camps will need help the
most.
To organize the collections Fenti will be helped
by Rahayu Rahayu, an Indonesian PhD student at
Griffith University, leaving her to concentrate
on getting to together the necessary supplies
The bank account details are:
Name: Rahayu Rahayu
BSB#: 014289
ACC#: 551112391
ANZ BANK
You can contact Me Forsyth on
0407 632 492
Think you
are not good enough to enter politics? Think again!
Labor Minister, Jason Wood's
maiden speech
Islam
Questions and Answers 20/20, PART 5
The Inbox
Assalamu Alaikum
Through
CCN I would like to place on record my heartfelt
appreciation and gratitude to those wonderful
individuals and well-wishers for remembering me in
their duas during my illness and subsequently my
operation.
Alhamdu
lillah I am recovering very well and it is times
like this, that you realize that you are not alone
and that there are hundreds of people out there who
you may not have contact with on a daily basis, who
care about you.
I
sincerely thank these unselfish friends and family
for the support they have shown me in the weeks that
have past and I pray that Allah keep them safe from
all calamities an illnesses and may Allah grant them
all good they desire and may he also bless the Ummah
with eternal peace (ameen).
May
Allah also grant you success in all your endeavours.
Jazakallah and Salaamz and duas to everyone out
there.
Your
brother in islam Omar Khan
Around
the Muslim World with CCN
Woman
sentenced for attacking Muslim veil-wearer
Paris:
A French court Thursday slapped a one-month
suspended jail sentence on a retired female
teacher who attacked a woman in a shop for
wearing a face-covering Islamic veil.
The Paris court heard that the defendant,
who had worked in several Arab countries,
set upon a 26-year-old Emirati woman in a
shop, first trying to tug off her niqab veil
and then slapping, scratching and biting her
on the hand.
"I knew that I was going to crack one day.
This burqa business was beginning to annoy
me," the defendant told police, saying she
was fighting for women's rights, according
to evidence heard in court.
France last month passed a law to ban the
wearing of the niqab and other
face-coverings in public places, a
controversial move in a country with
Europe's biggest Muslim population,
estimated at nearly six million.
The court ruled Thursday the defendant's
"violent behaviour reveals an intolerance of
others that defies explanation and denies
cohabitation and dialogue between people who
have different ways of life or opposing
beliefs."
Mecca
Train Ticket Prices & Services Announced for
its First Hajj Season
It
was announced during the week that Muslims
wishing to use Mecca's first metro when they
converge on the holy city next month for
their annual pilgrimage will have to pay
SR250 for a ticket that will serve them for
seven days.
Three different types of tickets will cover
all holy sites in Mecca and will allow the
pilgrims to take the train into the city to
perform their rites before returning to
their residence inside or outside the city,
Ajel online newspaper said, quoting Habib
Zain Alabidin, Undersecretary at the Saudi
Ministry of Municipal affairs.
"The ticket's price is set at SR250 (US$ 67)
that will cover a full trip into and out of
Mecca for seven days.another ticket is
priced at SR100 (US$ 27) for four days," he
said.
Officials said last week the train has a
capacity to transport 170,000 passengers in
its first stage and two million when the
third and final phase is completed.
Saudi
Arabia has allocated nearly SR6.7 billion
(US$ 1.8 billion) for the metro, which
begins continuous service next month for the
first time in Mecca's history. Officials
expect the project to largely contribute to
easing road congestions caused by the
accumulation of thousands of cars near
Makkah.
Habib Zain Alabidin says the railway would
operate throughout the year.
Dubbed the “Holy Rituals Train”, the project
is part of a costly programme by Saudi
Arabia to tackle massive traffic congestions
in and around the city and facilitate access
to all sacred sites in Mecca.
The train project, initiated
three years ago, followed a series of
incidents that have killed thousands of
pilgrims in stampedes, building collapses
and other accidents during the few days of
the Haj season.
More than two million Muslims from Saudi
Arabia, the Gulf Co-operation Council
countries and other nations descend on Mecca
every year to perform the pilgrimage.
China Railway Construction Corp, part of a
Saudi-French-Chinese consortium which won
the contract, is carrying out the project,
involving nearly 5,000 workers. The train is
the Gulf's second metro system after the
Dubai Metro.
Two
young South Africans have pedaled their way
to Saudi Arabia to perform this year’s Haj.
NathimCairncross, 28,
(right in picture) and Imtiyaz AhmadHaron, 25, (left in picture)
both from Cape Town, said on arrival at the
Saudi border before reaching Tabuk that they
felt happy they were fulfilling their dream
of performing Haj.
“Pedaling our way to the Kingdom from Cape
Town was a grueling experience. We wanted to
travel this way so that we are prepared to
experience the rigors of performing the
pilgrimage,” Cairncross, a town planner by
profession, told Arab News over the
telephone on Monday night.
Both set out on their journey for the annual
pilgrimage on Feb. 7 on their bicycles. They
pedaled through Botswana, Zimbabwe,
Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Turkey,
Syria and Jordan before reaching the Saudi
border. “This is our first Haj. We could
have come for Haj by plane, but it was our
cherished desire to travel differently, so
we chose to use our bicycles, as cycling is
what we both love the most,” Cairncross
said.
Not
Quite White focuses on early Lebanese immigration to
Australia, a group of immigrants and their
descendants, who, with a few exceptions, have been
largely ignored in the recording of Australian history.
While this book considers the experience of one
immigrant group within the context of a particular
locality and time, it is also about Australia as a ‘new’
nation seeking to privilege a white, Christian majority.
The Lebanese Australian story contributes a new
understanding of the implementation of
the
White
Australia Policy because although Lebanese do not
feature predominately in historical studies of the White
Australia Policy, in fact, when it came to its
administration, they presented a significant challenge.
Anne Monsour has a PhD in history from
the University of Queensland and is currently an
Honorary Research Advisor in the School of History,
Philosophy, Religion and Classics. She is a board member
of the Australian Lebanese Historical Society and the
convener of its Queensland branch. For almost two
decades, Anne has been researching, speaking and writing
about the history of Lebanese settlement in Australia.
Born in Biggenden, Queensland where her father was a
general storekeeper, Anne is the daughter of Lebanese
immigrants from Rass Baalbec.
The CCN Book Quote
To explain their predilection for
self-employed trading the immigrants often pointed to
their Phoenician ancestry:
Well, you know we are
Lebanese, direct descendants of the
Phoenicians. Business is in the blood.
You have to give
credit to the Lebanese; there's
something in their blood that they are
definitely traders.
...they were the
direct descendents of the great
Phoenicians who taught the world how to
trade.
Edward Wakin characterized
Syrians and Lebanese as traders "by nature,
circumstance and inclination.
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.
KB SAYS:I've been busy
planning someone's birthday these past few weeks and had
a go at some interesting recipes. But I'll hold off on
posting them here until I hear what the guests have
thought of them. In the mean time here is an old family
favourite.......
.
Ingredients
4 potatoes
½ cup grated cheese
2 cups frozen corn or 1 tin corn kernels
½ cup fresh cream
1 tsp ground green chillies
salt and pepper to taste
1 onion sliced
1 tsp jeeru (cummin seeds)
1 tab ghee (clarified butter)
Method
Cube and sauté potatoes, until done
Add, corn, fresh cream, green chillies, salt
and pepper
Sauté the slice onion and jeeru in the ghee
and add to the above.
Set in a casserole dish and sprinkle a
mixture of cheddar and mozzarella cheese on
the top.
Bake at 180 degrees for approx 15 minutes.
Serve warm.
Ideal to serve at barbeques or as a side
dish with meat.
Q: Dear Kareema, I have heard that there are
exercise classes using the swimming pool. What are the
advantages of exercising in water?
A: In addition to the usual benefits of any exercise,
the use of water in water aerobics supports the body and
reduces the risk of muscle or joint injury. This places
less stress on the joints when stretching, and allows a
greater range of motion. It's also very safe for the
elderly. Sakina Naeem is running classes in Brisbane
(see her flyer in the advertising section in CCN) and
she is getting a fantastic response from the community.
All questions sent in are published here anonymously
and without any references to the author of the
question.
The CCN Chuckle
Mula
Nasruddin and a group of friends were
sitting around in their local kebab shop engaged
in some earnest discussion over a question that
the good man had posed to them: "What is the
fastest thing you know of?"
Abbasbhai
was arguing the following, "A thought. It just
pops into your head. There's no warning that
it's on the way; it's just there. A THOUGHT is
the fastest thing I know of."
"No, No,
brother!” said Kamruddin. “A blink! It comes and
goes and you don't know that it ever happened. A
BLINK is the fastest thing I know of."
Rashid was
contemplating his reply. "Well, out at my dad's
farm, you step out of the house and on the wall
there's a light switch. When you flip that
switch and way out across the pasture the light
in the barn comes on in a flash. TURNING ON A
LIGHT is the fastest thing I can think of.”
“Yes,” said
Mula Nasruddin, "It's hard to beat the speed of
light.”
But
Jalalludin was not in agreement. “It's obvious
to me that the fastest thing known is DIARRHEA."
"What!?"
said Mula Nasruddin, stunned by the response.
"Oh I can explain." said Jalalludin.
"You see the other day I wasn't feeling so good
and I ran for the bathroom. But, before I could
THINK, BLINK, or TURN ON THE LIGHT, I had
already messed my pants!"
Topics that
are relevant, Iman-boosting and
mind-capturing. Where: AMYN Islamic Youth Centre,
16/157 North Road, Woodridge When: Every Saturday,after Maghrib
Info:
www.AMYNweb.com Everyone is invited
Australian Muslim Youth
Network (AMYN)
Find out about the latest
events, outings, fun-days,
soccer tournaments, BBQs
organised by AMYN. Network
with other young Muslims on
the
AMYN Forum
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 libellous,
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.
This
is powerful and controversial: a politically
provocative night in the theatre presented by
Bella Shanley and La Boite Indie. Rachel Corrie
(pictured right) was an American college
student and activist who was killed while trying
to prevent an Israeli bulldozer from demolishing
a house in a Palestinian residential area. The
details of the events are disputed. 
of
refugees to rise to 150 000. Authorities stated
that about 500 volcanic earthquakes had been
recorded on the mountain over the weekend of the
23rd and 24th October 2010. This had caused the
magma to rise about a kilometer below the
surface. On the afternoon of the 25th October
2010, Mount Merapi erupted with lava bellowing
from its southern and southeastern slopes.
Paris:
A French court Thursday slapped a one-month
suspended jail sentence on a retired female
teacher who attacked a woman in a shop for
wearing a face-covering Islamic veil.
It
was announced during the week that Muslims
wishing to use Mecca's first metro when they
converge on the holy city next month for
their annual pilgrimage will have to pay
SR250 for a ticket that will serve them for
seven days. 
Saudi
Arabia has allocated nearly SR6.7 billion
(US$ 1.8 billion) for the metro, which
begins continuous service next month for the
first time in Mecca's history. Officials
expect the project to largely contribute to
easing road congestions caused by the
accumulation of thousands of cars near
Makkah. 
Two
young South Africans have pedaled their way
to Saudi Arabia to perform this year’s Haj.
Nathim Cairncross, 28,
(right in picture) and Imtiyaz Ahmad
Haron, 25, (left in picture)
both from Cape Town, said on arrival at the
Saudi border before reaching Tabuk that they
felt happy they were fulfilling their dream
of performing Haj. 
Not
Quite White focuses on early Lebanese immigration to
Australia, a group of immigrants and their
the
White
.jpg)
