CCN
wishes
all
our
readers
all
the
very
best
over
the
festive
holiday
season,
insha'Allah.
ON TODAY
(SUNDAY) FROM MIDDAY
Relief in
Pakistan
Imam Hamadullah Bhutto has
made a second visit to Pakistan to oversee the
relief work on behalf of the Muslim Charitable
Foundation (MCF).
He sent in the following photos
together with an appeal to the local community
to help rebuild the very badly damaged Mosque
and to sponsor more blankets to see the flood
victims through the bitterly cold winter months.
Demountable buildings giveaway
In the next few months the
Islamic College of Brisbane will have for
removal a number of old demountable buildings
currently being used as classrooms.
These buildings are available
free of cost to community based organisations.
However they will be required to
dismantle and remove them at their cost.
Interested organisations should contact :
Mr Mohammed Yusuf on 0413 038 610
Yusuf's
Durban to Damascus Diaries
Omargosh log dated Tuesday 13
December
Sorry no contact, boat I was on
capsized on Lake Malawi and phone ruined.
Managed to save backpack and camera, had to swim
to shore with it on my head.
Was most exciting moment of my life.
On Lukomo Island.
Tomorrow ship to mainland and then Incarta Bay.
From there head north along West coast of Lake
Malawi. Livingstonia by Sunday.
Mbeya by Tuesday and the train to Dar As Salam
(Tanzania)
Will buy cheap phone there.
Paying someone 100 rands to send this from a
cellphone!!!
Camera lens faulty, have to open by hand
Still loving life and loving the trip.
Omargosh log dated Thursday 16
December
Just got off after 16hrs packed
like sardines (with sardines!) in hull of ship
across Lake Malawi in Nkhota Kota.
Will take the 24hr train to Tanzania on Tuesday
Will buy cell phone there and try
and find Nikon repair shop.
Blog been real disappointment;
it's impossible without a laptop. But its too
late now, next time inshallah!
When I do have internet access its usually on a
cell phone or connection slower then a messenger
pigeon!
Omargosh log dated Friday 17
December
In Nkhata Bay, going to miss
train to Dar tomorrow and stay a few days here.
Have free internet so great
chance to catch up on blog and just wash clothes
and recover.
Would you believe I will be
travelling with three Israeli soldiers on
Saturday to the Tanzania border.
They are actually driving all the
way to Israel (having to go around Sudan because
they cant get in).
They offered me to join them but
they only plan to arrive in the Middle East in
mid March.
Anyways the place I'm in is
phenomenal, I never thought I would say this but
I'm sick of Mangoes.
I miss ordinary fruit like apples
and oranges.
I'm sick of King Size Prawns! Its
cheaper then meat!!!
Everything is well.
Found Indian restaurant and it
was so good, needed a dose of it.
Will catch train from Mbeya to Dar on Wednesday
Inshallah!
Yes I know Yemen is a dangerous
terrorism stronghold but Victor has a cousin out
there who will not only look after and
accommodate us, but owns an enormous airline and
is flying us in for free from Kenya!
It might be the only opportunity
I get like this.
And you are right, this email has the
words Yemen, inshallah and airline in it, I have
no doubt it is red-flagged.
Some poor intern has to read
through all this daily dribbling rant I give
you.
Omargosh log dated Saturday 18
December
Tomorrow I leave Nkhata Bay.
Will be travelling to Tanzania in
a Land Cruiser with three Israeli bomb disposal
special forces.
They are really cool and have
space for me.
They think I look Israeli.
The
Welfare Shop Update
By Janeth Deen
Our welfare shop has been
operating for almost two years now. In the first
year we accomplished so much and received many
awards for our work. The work has continued, in
spite of it not being so obvious due to the
state of our shop at present.
We have received so many donations in great
quantities that the shop is no longer customer
friendly. We are short of volunteers, with
Janeth and Wilma doing all the work.
Occasionally, some of the local people will
offer help but there is much work to be done. We
are also short of space. The work is demanding
of time and energy, and is rewarding if you can
see what you have accomplished. With so many
donations, this has not been possible in the
last few months.
We need to stop all donations over the holiday
period.
Please DO NOT BRING ANY GOODS TO
THE SHOP FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT SIX WEEKS.
This will enable us to have time to rearrange
our shop to make it more attractive to the
general public.
Thanks for all the kind people who have donated
goods.
Yasmin
and Yasmin make the Oprah Show
YasminAhmed (left), of IWAQ, and her
niece YasminEsat (right),
who graduated from medical school on Friday,
were at the Oprah morning show on Tuesday at the
Sydney Opera House.
"I am a huge fan and asked all my
family to register for tickets and put me as
their guest, and luckily I did because out of
35,0000 people we were among the lucky 12,000
that were invited to attend." Dr. Yasmin Esat
told CCN.
"This made it the best graduation present ever,"
she added.
Each of the attendees was given a
card with a promotional code to quote when they
phone the company that will hand them a necklace
in the new year. The commemorative piece is a
Kailis necklace with a pearl pendant and a
silver pendant in the shape of an 'O' with
"Oprah the farewell season" engraved on it.
Reference
group meeting
Sergeant Jim Bellos is hosting a
meeting of stakeholders from the Muslim
community and the Queensland Police Service to
discuss policing issues within the Metropolitan
South Police region.
According to Sergeant Bellos this initiative is
in part as a result of the success previously
generated from reference groups established with
the African, Indian, Sudanese and Indigenous
Communities.
The meeting will be held at 5pm on Tuesday 21st
December at the Metropolitan South Regional
Office, 1993 Logan Road, Upper Mt Gravatt.
Light refreshments will be served.
"We will work on a number of worthwhile ventures
aimed towards improved safety for our
community," Sergeant Bellos told CCN.
The
Sisters' House was the venue for the 'Eid
Charity Fundraising Dinner on Saturday December
4.
Sisters came to raise funds for
victims of the Pakistan floods and Indonesian
volcano eruptions.
It was an evening of elegance with the
multicultural dress theme, with sisters from
many countries present to enjoy the delicious
dinner, desserts and drinks.
As well as the scrumptious food,
there was a small auction to raise funds for the
Sisters' House running costs, and a showcase of
the new range of modest Muslimah clothing from
Wasimah.
Sister
Fenti Forsyth gave a talk about her experiences
of helping to provide assistance to people in
the aftermath of the volcano eruption in
Indonesia that gave all those present an insight
into the reality of day to day challenges and
hardships they face.
Due to limited space within the house, only
pre-paid 40 tickets were available which were
quickly sold out before the night.
Due to high demand, we could have
probably sold twice that many tickets.
Alhamdu lillah $1000 was raised
from the ticket sales with $500 donated to
sister Fenti Forsythe towards ongoing help for
the needy in Indonesia and $500 donated to ADO
Australia, whose president, Dr Ayesha Saeed, is
currently in Pakistan helping with relief
efforts.
JazakomAllahu to the organisers, those who
attended and all those sisters who donated their
time and beautiful food. A special thank you to
the two sisters who provided child minding to
all those excited kids which allowed all the
mums a chance to relax and enjoy a great night.
School Holiday Activities
Holiday activities for children under 12 have
begun with great success at the Sisters' House,
with Stick Creations/Collage for the older
children, home made play dough for the under 5's
(as well as a few mums!) and cooking and
decorating yummy cupcakes and Rocky Road.
Both sessions have been booked
out and great fun was had by all.
Other activities planned include jewelry making,
science experiments, a sports day and even a
Mums Spa Day.
More information about the spa
day in the next CCN.
For more information please call
Bayaan 0431747356, Khadijah 0423474807 or Angela
0407164721.
Alternative sites found for Mosque
TWO blocks of land one in Carrara
and the other opposite the Mudgeeraba
Showgrounds are being proposed as the new home
for the Worongary mosque.
The mosque planned for Alkira Way
in Worongary was voted down by the Gold Coast
City Council on Friday nine votes to six.
But its key opponent, Cr Ted
Shepherd, who rejected the mosque after more
than 500 community objections, said the
alternative sites could be more suitable.
He said one site was next to the
Genesis Church in Eastlake Drive, Carrara, lkm
from Alkira Way.
The other he suggested was part
of a 30ha block of land owned by the Baptist
Church opposite the Mudgeeraba Showgrounds.
Cr Shepherd said either of the
sites would need to be purchased by the Islamic
Multicultural Association of the Gold Coast.
"They would have to negotiate
with the owners but at least there are sites
available," he said. "It would only be about a
kilometre away and there's no impact on
residents."
However, Baptist Union of
Queensland director of administration Phillip
McCallum said plans had been drawn up to build a
nursing home and retirement village on the
organisation's parcel of land.
He said the church had been
negotiating with the council for the past three
years.
A spokesman from Genesis
Christian Ministries was unavailable for comment
yesterday.
The Islamic Multicultural
Association of the Gold Coast also could not be
contacted yesterday.
The refusal of the proposed
mosque was hotly debated by councillors for more
than an hour.
Main community concerns were to
do with traffic and noise.
Labrador councillor Margaret
Grummitt, who has the city's existing mosque in
her division, said Cr Shepherd and his
community's concerns about dawn prayer services
were a result of misunderstanding.
"I've been there for the dawn
prayer at the mosque and there were three people
and its membership is close to 800," she said.
Source: Gold Coast Bulletin
Tuesday 14/12/2010
The CCN
Middle Link
Muslim Slaughtermen
The Australian Halal
Food Services is inviting suitably qualified
applicants.
I thank you for sending the CCN. Allaha is the
witness of your great work. Allaha showers his
mercy upon you.
Wasalam Dr Rashid Mohmood
Around
the Muslim World with CCN
'I wanted an
adventure and I wanted a job'
A
Tenacious Spirit; As the first member of the
Canadian Forces to wear a hijab, Wafa
Dabbagh is a pioneer and has risen to the
ranks of lieutenant-commander.
Lt.-Commander Wafa Dabbagh was
the first member of the military
to wear a hijab. Her latest
challenge is battling cancer,
something the busy, energetic
woman treats like a bothersome
cold.
OTTAWA — Wafa
Dabbagh is many things. She is a tiny,
bubbly bundle of energy who loves Zumba
fitness. She prays five times a day, keeps
an immaculate home and bakes a cake for her
beloved neighbours each weekend. She has a
bachelor's degree, a master's in business
administration and a cancer diagnosis, the
last of which she treats like a bothersome
cold.
Dabbagh is also a pioneer, the first member
of the Canadian Armed Forces -- and still
only one of a handful -- to wear a hijab,
the Muslim headcovering for women.
After almost 15 years in the naval reserves,
she is now a lieutenant-commander, the
equivalent of a major in the army. Dabbagh
is certified to shoot a C7 rifle and a 9 mm
pistol, and is in the process of studying to
qualify for promotion to a command position.
On Monday at Rideau Hall, Gov. Gen. David
Johnston awarded the first Operational
Service Medals to 50 recipients, including
Dabbagh, who was recognized for her
participation in Operation Proteus, a
Canadian training mission in Jerusalem.
The medal recognizes those who completed
non-combat overseas missions that involved a
level of risk or intensity.
"I wasn't trying to prove anything or be the
first at anything," says Dabbagh about her
military career. "I wanted an adventure and
I wanted a job."
That's the frame of mind Dabbagh was in when
she wandered into an Armed Forces Recruiting
Centre in Windsor.
A Palestinian born in Egypt, Dabbagh was
raised in Kuwait and came to Montreal in
1990 at the age of 28.
Armed with a bachelor's degree from Kuwait,
an MBA from the United States, fluent
English and Arabic and functional French,
she thought she'd find work easily. But the
best she could do was a telemarketing job.
After she moved to Windsor in 1996 to be
with her sister, Dabbagh went to the Canada
Employment Office. When she had trouble
getting into the building, she went next
door, to the Armed Forces recruiting office.
They told her how to get into the employment
office, and she turned to go.
"But something made me turn back and say
'What do you have here?' " says Dabbagh.
"They told me about the training I could
get, the trades available, and I said 'Count
me in.' "
After several hours of aptitude tests and a
long interview with the senior officer at
the recruiting centre, Dabbagh chose the
naval reserves, knowing that the security
clearance required for the regular forces
would be lengthy because of her time spent
abroad.
What you see
is what you
get, sir. I
don't drink
alcohol, I
don't eat
pork, but I
can do
everything
else
The topic of
her faith, or the hijab, did not come up
until a few days later, when she went to see
the commanding officer of HMCS Hunter, the
naval reserve division in Windsor.
"The commanding officer sat me down and said
'I don't know what to do with you,' " says
Dabbagh. "He had called every branch of the
forces and no one had a covered Muslim woman
in their ranks. I told him, 'What you see is
what you get, sir. I don't drink alcohol, I
don't eat pork, but I can do everything
else.' "
Dabbagh later learned other officers had
advised him to talk her out of joining. "He
told me that he'd said, 'If she wants to do
it, she can stay.' "
Dabbagh left for basic training, where she
stood out not just for the hijab, but for
being much older than most of the teenage
recruits. She did everything demanded of
them -- the gruelling marching, the crawling
through mud, the weapons training -- and was
touched by what she calls the "many
beautiful people" who went out of their way
to be supportive. When Dabbagh asked to
shower alone, after her female
platoon-mates, she emerged to find that two
of them had decided to stand guard outside
the shower to keep latecomers from barging
in. The cooks adapted meals so there would
be pork-free dishes for her, and officers
let her know when there was a 10-minute
break coming up, so she could pray.
"One time, I moved away from the group to
pray, and an officer came up to me, asking
why I went away, and if somebody was
bothering me," says Dabbagh. "I thought that
was so sweet, and I explained to him it was
the opposite, that prayer is a quiet,
personal time for you and God, and
everything was OK."
Dabbagh is used to charting her own course.
She startled her family by putting on the
hijab at age 15, becoming the first woman in
her family to cover herself.
"They worried I was becoming narrow-minded,
but for me it was about freedom to not be
judged for my form, but for my personality
and my actions."
After she passed basic training, an
instructor confessed that when he heard a
Muslim woman in a hijab was coming for
training, he had said he didn't want her in
his platoon.
"I had no idea you would smile so much," he
told her.
I have felt
like I was
under the
microscope a
lot, and was
always
asking
myself, 'How
will that
look?' You
try to be
yourself and
do your
best, but
you wonder,
if I make
mistakes,
will it be
seen as
representing
all Muslims?
By a quirk of
bureaucracy -- and her own tenacious spirit
-- Dabbagh did basic training three times.
She wanted to enter the forces as an
officer, but there were no openings, so she
went in as a non-commissioned member. By the
time Dabbagh completed basic training in St.
Jean, Que., an officer position had opened
up, so she immediately returned to re-do
basic training, plus three extra weeks of
officer training. Shortly before completing
it, she fell from the top of the cargo net,
cracking a rib and fracturing her pelvis.
After three months of recovery, she went
back and did the officer training from the
beginning. That's when her own family
finally accepted her military life was for
real, says Dabbagh.
Thus began several years of juggling
civilian life -- where she continued with
telemarketing, and later weather observation
at the airport -- with adventures in the
naval reserve. In 2006, Dabbagh took a job
with the forces, training naval cadets, and
she has worked with the military ever since.
In 2007, she joined Operation Proteus, a
small mission to Jerusalem where Canadian
military personnel were helping to train
Palestinian security forces, a role that
made the most of her background and fluent
Arabic. For the past two years, Dabbagh has
been co-ordinator of the Ottawabased Future
Security Analysis Directorate.
"She is a warm-hearted person, but she is
also an officer who knows when to be tough,"
says her boss, Lt.-Col. Stefan Kostner, the
unit's deputy director.
Aside from the hijab, Dabbagh's uniform
varies only slightly from standard-issue.
She wears a longer skirt and the shirt she
wears day-today is a maternity smock, as the
navy shirt was too form-fitting.
Although she didn't set out to be a pioneer,
Dabbagh quickly realized that her new life
came with a price: scrutiny. Upon learning
she was in training for the Nijmegen March
-- a four-day annual event in Holland -- an
officer told Dabbagh "The admiral will want
to know that!"
"Why would an admiral care if a lowly
sub-lieutenant is going on this march?" she
asked, only to be told "Wafa, everything you
do, people want to know about it."
"I have felt like I was under the microscope
a lot, and was always asking myself, 'How
will that look?' You try to be yourself and
do your best, but you wonder, if I make
mistakes, will it be seen as representing
all Muslims?"
I want the
Muslim
community to
know the
door is open
for them in
the Forces.
My
experience
has been
95-per-cent
positive,
and if I can
do it, they
can do it
Still, she is
proud to have cleared the way for other
women who want to wear the hijab and serve
in the military.
"It takes somebody to do something in front
of you, to know we can do everything
everyone else does -- we just do it
covered," says Dabbagh.
She treasures the experiences she has had --
whether it's translating for her commanding
officer in Jerusalem, or standing on the
bridge of a ship in the middle of the night,
when the moonbeams dance across the water.
"I want the Muslim community to know the
door is open for them in the Forces. My
experience has been 95-per-cent positive,
and if I can do it, they can do it," says
Dabbagh. "And I want other Canadians to know
that there are people serving Canada who are
not white with blond hair and blue eyes. We
are all working together, white, black,
Asian, Arab, aboriginal -- and I'm one small
face among them."
Earlier this year, Dabbagh was about to
leave for a United Nations military observer
mission in Sudan, when a routine X-ray found
a spot on her lungs: cancer. She has since
been doing chemotherapy and radiation while
holding down her office job, and baking for
her neighbours, most of whom are military
families.
Never married, Dabbagh considers her
neighbours her family. They recently
returned her generosity by covering her
entire house in Christmas lights and
installing an inflatable Christmas scene on
her lawn while she was out of town.
"I wish them Merry Christmas, they say,
'Happy Ramadan.' It's very sweet."
Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the
Struggle for Saudi Arabia
by
Robert Lacey
Synopsis
What
happened in the Middle East's oil-rich powerhouse- while
we weren't looking Saudi Arabia is a country defined by
paradox.
It is a modern state driven
by contemporary technology and possessed of vast oil
deposits, yet its powerful religious establishment would
have its customs and practices rolled back a thousand
years to match those of the prophet Muhammad.
With Inside the Kingdom ,
journalist and bestselling author Robert Lacey has given
us one of the most penetrating and insightful looks at
Saudi Arabia ever produced.
While living for years
among the nation's princes and paupers, its clerics and
progressives, Lacey endeavored to find out how the
consequences of the 1970s oil boom produced a society at
war with itself.
Filled with stories that
trace a path through the Persian Gulf War and the events
of 9/11 to the oilmarket convulsions of today, Inside
the Kingdom gives us a modern history of the Saudis in
their own words, revealing a people attempting to
reconcile life under religious law with the demands of a
rapidly changing world.
Their struggle will have
powerful reverberations around the globe, and this rich
work provides a penetrating look at a country no one can
afford to ignore.
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 love all things
pumpkin - pumpkin pudding, pumpkin pies, pumpkin
cheesecakes, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin bread, pumpkin
muffins, ok I could go on for a long time here. This
Pumpkin Pudding tastes great and it took me only 5
minutes tops to put it together!
Ingredients
2 cups of cooked
and mashed pumpkin
3 eggs, beaten
1 tin condensed milk
¾ cup shredded coconut
¾ cup milk
Method
Mix all the above ingredients and place in a
greased oven proof casserole.
Dot the top with
pieces of butter, sprinkle with nutmeg and
elachi (cardamom) and bake at 180degrees for
approx 1 hour or until light brown.
Q: Dear Kareema, with the holidays already here
I’m both excited and somewhat nervous as we’ll be taking
a few
long-haul flights over the next 6-8 weeks. Are there any
exercises you can recommend we do on the plane as
circulation boosters?
A: Your aim should be to move around (while
seated) for about 3 – 4 minutes every hour, unless of
course you’re asleep. Try to get up out of your seat
occasionally and walk up and down the aisles with
minimal disturbance to other passengers.
1: Ankle circles - lift feet and draw circles, rotating
in both directions
2: Knee to chest – bending forward slightly, lift knee
to chest and give yourself a big hug. Alternate legs and
repeat about 10 times
3: Forward flex – with feet on the floor, brace your
core and slowly bend forward while reaching for the
floor with your fingers. There is not much room to move
in economy, so you may not even be able to reach far
down – just do what you can with the space you have!
4: Neck roll - relax your shoulders and drop your ear
towards shoulder, then gently roll neck forward and
around to other shoulder
5: Shoulder roll – sit up tall, roll shoulders up, back
and down (pulling them back towards your spine)
6: Foot pumps – start with heels on the floor and point
toes/feet upward as high as you can. Drop feet flat and
then lift heels high while keeping balls of feet on the
floor. Try 30-second intervals.
Remember that you should not feel pain while trying any
of the above exercises. If you’re not comfortable with
any one of them, stick to the one’s you can do and
repeat whenever possible.
Enjoy your flights and more importantly, make it a big
part of your holiday – enjoy your in-flight
entertainment and always eat healthy while snacking on
board!
All questions sent in are published here anonymously
and without any references to the author of the
question.
The CCN Chuckle
Cattle
farmer, Mula Nasruddin, is confronted on his
property by a police officer who tells him, "I
need to inspect your property for illegally
grown drugs."
Mula
Nasruddin says, "Okay, but don't go in that
field over there," as he points out the
location.
The police officer officer verbally explodes
saying, "Brother, I have the authority of the
Sheikh of the Kingdom with me."
Reaching
into his rear pants pocket, he removes his badge
and proudly displays it to Mula Nasruddin.
"See this
badge? This badge means I am allowed to go
wherever I wish.... On any land. No questions
asked or answers given. Have I made myself
clear? Do you understand? "
Mula Nasruddin nods politely, apologizes, and
goes about his chores.
A short time later, Mula Nasruddin hears loud
screams and sees the police officer running for
his life chased by his big Fresian bull......
With every step the bull is gaining ground on
the officer, and it seems likely that he'll get
gored before he reaches safety.
The officer
is clearly terrified.
Mula
Nasruddin throws down his tools, runs to the
fence and yells at the top of his lungs.....
Assalamu Alaikum.Jazak-allah
khair. I would like to thank FLIGHT STAR & THE
STAFF & MANAGEMENT for selling me an excellent
package for Hajj 2010. It was a trip of my life
time. I would pray to Almighty to reward
each and everyone for there effort in making our
trip more enjoyable. Special thanks to QARI UMAR,
MAULANA NURUL-AL HASSAN and BROTHER YASEEN. May
Allah reward them all. Zahid
Just a short note to say thank you so much for
all the effort and hard work you, Fatima, Uncle
Omar and the team at Flight Star Travel put in
to ensure what I would describe as a most
beautiful Hajj experience. From my initial
enquiry, to obtaining visas, issuing of tickets
as well as the farewell I must say a very big
thank you of which we are most grateful and
appreciative of. Jazaakallah. Salaams and Duas.
Mohammed and Abdul Rashid Osman
Taleem
classes will be closed for the year and will
resume in January, insha'Allah.
Watch this
space!
Jazak
Allah to all those who contribute their time
to attend the taleem classes over the past
year.
Girls Game
Night
Sitting at
home on a Saturday Night?
Want to do
something constructive, but FUN?
Inspiration
talk, pizza, BBQ, fun and games
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.
Yasmin
Ahmed (left), of IWAQ, and her
niece Yasmin Esat (right),
who graduated from medical school on Friday,
were at the Oprah morning show on Tuesday at the
Sydney Opera House. 
The
Sisters' House was the venue for the 'Eid
Charity Fundraising Dinner on Saturday December
4. 
Sister
Fenti Forsyth gave a talk about her experiences
of helping to provide assistance to people in
the aftermath of the volcano eruption in
Indonesia that gave all those present an insight
into the reality of day to day challenges and
hardships they face.
Muslim Slaughtermen
What
happened in the Middle East's oil-rich powerhouse- while
we weren't looking Saudi Arabia is a country defined by
paradox. 
w
long-haul flights over the next 6-8 weeks. Are there any
exercises you can recommend we do on the plane as
circulation boosters?
