(left to right)
ZaheerDawoodjee,
MinisterStephen
Roberston, Premier
Anna
Bligh, and Kuraby Mosque
trustees, MuhsinAlly
and MohammedSayed
Dawoodjee
Trustees of the Kuraby Mosque met
with the Premier of Queensland, Anna
Bligh, late Friday afternoon at her
Executive offices in George Street to hand over
a cheque of $7500 towards the Queensland Flood
Relief.
Premier Bligh and Minister for
Natural Resources, Mines & Energy and Minister
for Trade, Stephen Robertson told CCN
that they were most impressed with the efforts
of community to rally around their fellow
Queenslanders.
Mr. Muhsin Ally of the
Kuraby Mosque told the Premier that he
personally felt for the people affected by the
floods because he had come to know some of them
through his business dealings.
Both the Minister and the Premier
were informed that a state-wide collection
drive, initiated by the Muslim Charitable
Foundation (MCF),
was in progress that very afternoon at the
various Mosques in the State .
Update
from Rockhampton
Dr Fatima Ashrafi
(pictured left), a Consultant Obstetrician
Gynaecologist at the Rockhampton Base Hospital
in Queensland, sent CCN a letter she wrote to a
friend in Bangladesh describing life after the
devastations caused by the recent floods in
North Queensland.
The following is an edited
version of the letter:
Salam alykum,
Greetings from Rockhampton and
best wishes for 2011 for you and all our
Bangladeshi community.
Just updating you on current
situation here:
The water levels in Rockhampton reached peak on
Wednesday 5th Jan at 9.4m and is now slowly
receding. Rockhampton is still completely cut
off by flood waters that are expected to clear
by 2 - 3 weeks.
The airport and all the road
connections are closed except for the north
towards Mackay. Again for the ingenuity of a
brilliant engineer, the new bridge was built a
meter higher then usual which kept the south of
Rockhampton connected with the north otherwise
we would need a boat ride if we wanted to visit
your house or Dr Sweets or Amans for example.
Luckily our house is close to
the hospital and Dawood's school and is on high
land - the water is just less then a km away and
I have brilliant views from my office at the 6th
floor of the hospital.
I have enough food to last us
next 2 weeks and by then the situation should
ease.
It is not easy - we can't
leave Rockhampton if we want to, no mail coming
in - the boys are all home for the summer break.
Akbar was supposed to fly in from Melbourne on
2nd January but Qantas rang him to inform about
the last flight and he got in on Saturday - 1st
January just before the airport closed. Some
youngsters have to return to their classes in
Brisbane now and Elmee and Dawood are taking the
long route via ferry and drive to the nearest
airport.
The rest of our Bangladeshi and Muslim community
also have houses in the flood free areas and so
our houses including yours are not flooded and
we are spared the agony of evacuating with few
personal belongings and returning to water
logged house. I am so grateful for that.
We are worried about all of you who went away
for holidays.
At hospital, we are worried about serious
patients who are cut off by the floods but there
are emergency helicopters and boats bringing the
patients in. Everyone is working hard to keep
the services running. The authorities have been
fantastic in keeping us informed, evacuating on
time, making sure enough food is available in
grocery supermarkets.
Our Mayor Brad Carter is a real champion
organising well, speaking brilliantly and
keeping a step ahead of events.
People whose houses got flooded have suffered
the most and our farmers particularly for they
could not get their crops out.
Rockhampton is the largest
supplier of mangoes and pineapples and did you
know that Queensland is the largest supplier of
coking coal to the rest of the world?
Once the waters recede, the
difficult task of rebuilding will begin.
In this difficult times, apart
from a few isolated incidents of looting,
everyone has behaved gallantly and graciously.
People are kind and thoughtful
sharing their things.
I just read that Gold Coast
doctor Alex Douglas has donated $300,000 worth
of surgical equipment to Theodore doctor Bruce
Chater, whose clinic was destroyed in the
floods, so he can set up a temporary clinic in
the grounds of the local hospital.
Even in such daunting times, my sons and I also
managed to have a summer holiday travelling to
the north up to Cairns.
We cut short our holiday and
returned early on 31st December because of the
worsening flood situation.
In summary we are well by the blessings of
Almighty Allah.
Fatima
Praise
for Sister Saleema
Over
200 men and women attended the prayer meeting
last Sunday at the Australian International
Islamic College (AIIC) in Durack for SisterSaleemaAzhari who lost her life
in a boating tragedy in India along with her two
sisters and relatives.
Master of Ceremonies, Imam
Mohammed Tauab Raza, introduced a number of
speakers and community leaders onto the stage of
the nearly-completed multi-function hall, all of
whom praised Sister Saleema for her tireless
contributions to the Darul Uloom Islamic
Academia of Brisbane and the AIIC.
Mr. Mohammed Yusuf,
president of the Islamic Council of Queensland,
spoke on behalf of the Queensland Muslim
community and read a message from the president
of Muslims Australia (AFIC), Mr. Ikebal Patel.
Sister Nina of the Darul Uloom spoke of
Sister Saleema's kindness and compassion and the
invaluable role that she played every day from
cooking to caring to teaching. Always by Imam
Quddoos' side, Sister Saleema was a lady of a
'sunny, smiling disposition' and a 'quiet
achiever'.
"She was the mother of the Madressah," Sister Nina
added.
Dr Mubarak Noor and Dr. Intaj Ali
spoke on behalf of the Islamic College of
Brisbane (Karawatha) and the Malek Fahd Islamic
School (Sydney) respectively.
Mr. Zahari Harris who has worked with the
Azhari family on a number of projects over 20
years expressed his admiration for Sister
Saleema.
Newly appointed AIIC principal, Dr. Ray
Barrett delivered a vote of thanks and
Imam Syed Tariq made the closing dua.
Discover the untold story behind Australia's
multicultural mix.
This landmark documentary series explores
Australia's century long struggle to overcome
the White Australia Policy.
Immigration Nation: The Secret History of Us
will reveal the dark paradox behind the Utopian
vision at Federation: the belief that to be the
most progressive and egalitarian nation in the
world, Australia must be exclusively white. This
is the story of how modern, multicultural
Australia was built against the odds.
FOR a man so given
to precision in language and order of thought,
Waleed Aly's career is a fabulously sprawling
accident.
Aly, 32, is a lecturer and doctoral candidate at
Monash University, an author, essayist and
opinion writer, he is host or co-host, fill-in
host, regular guest and, in one case, co-creator
of six radio and television programs.
He has been a lawyer, is a qualified engineer
and has been on the executive of the Muslim
Council of Victoria. He would chuck it all in in
a flash, he says, if the band in which he plays
guitar, Robot Child, could crack the big time.
''I don't actually do that much media,'' he
tells me over a round of halal duck pancakes on
a thick, hot Friday afternoon.
I must have looked unconvinced. ''I do less
media than it appears,'' he offers. ''The media
stuff I do is like that,'' he says, spreading
his arms and twirling his hands to suggest a
jumble of odds and ends.
I have a
thing for
philosophical
consistency.
My arguments
often end up
like this -
it is not so
much I want
you to
oppose
banning the
hijab
(though that
is my
position),
it is that
if you want
to ban the
hijab then I
want you to
adopt these
positions,
too: I want
you to
explicitly
state that
you don't
value
individual
freedom
above
certain
other
things.
And finally, ''It's
not a lot compared to someone who works in the
media.'' But it is, I suggest, more than
prolific for an academic.
Surrounded by boozy suits at Neptune Palace in
Circular Quay, Aly answers my questions
carefully and generously, but defers to the
general rather than the specific, global rather
than personal.
Towards the end of our mains, Aly concedes a
little ground and tells the story of how a
serious young student became a writer and
broadcaster and, for many, the public face of
Islam in Australia. It started on September 11,
2001.
''SEPTEMBER 2001 was the last time Richmond was
in the finals,'' Aly begins as only a Melbourne
boy could. ''They had a training session at Punt
Road on the Tuesday. I remember it was a
beautiful day and I went with my sister-in-law
and her two kids.''
I
run into
older
Muslims, say
people my
parents age
or a bit
younger, and
they will
say what an
impact it
has had on
their kids
to hear
someone with
a name as
funny as
theirs on
radio in the
chair
Hours later the
planes hit the towers. ''9/11 was a watershed
because your social existence as a Muslim
Australian changes basically overnight. At that
point you go from a position where your
predominant experience is one of racial
difference and ethnic difference to one where
you are now presumed politically malignant,
threatening.''
The journalist Martin Flanagan was also at
training that day, and he was so moved to see
Aly among the supporters he wrote about it in a
story published in The Age the following
Saturday:
''Looking around, I saw a young woman in a
Muslim headscarf, a young man and two small kids
and thought how good this game can be. They were
just another Richmond family.''
The Courier
Career Highlights
1978 Born in Mount
Waverley in Melbourne's eastern suburbs.
1996 Graduates from Wesley College with an
International Baccalaureate.
2001 Finishes six-year engineering-law degree;
is first published by The Age.
2002 Marries the academic Susan Carland, who had
converted to Islam in 1998. They have two
children.
2005 First major essay published and his book
People Like Us is commissioned (published in
2007).
2006 ABC offers him co-hosting and, later,
presenting work.
2008 SBS airs new version of his Salam Cafe;
participates in Kevin Rudd's 2020 summit.
2009 Plays lead guitar in one of the first
theatrical productions of Pink Floyd's album The
Wall.
2011 SBS to air his chat show The Late Session.
If you were hosting
a dinner party - the ultimate dinner party - who
would you invite and why?
HOW ironic. The prayers of
Australian cricketing fans have finally been
answered and the miracle delivered in the shape
of a Muslim.
Don't tell me God has no sense of
humour.
Good looking, intelligent,
supremely talented and humble to boot, Usman
Khawaja made his test debut this week and
appears to be the great (white) hope of this
nation of sporting tragics.
I reckon he might also have the
power to single-handedly improve race relations
to the point where Muslims can be seen as
compatriots and fellow citizens instead of
"tea-towel-head terrorists. Or worse - boat
people". (As recently overheard in a pub of
decidedly low-IQ patronage.)
Seems that in Australia, a baggy
green cap renders its wearer immune from viewer
bias and forgiven for all but the most heinous
of sins (getting out for a duck, for instance).
When
Usman's mother (Fauzia Tariq) (pictured
right) prayed to Allah before every ball
bowled his way, it stirred the "awwww" response
in the Sydney Cricket Ground and brought a tear
to my eye as well. When Usman defied debut
jitters by knocking his second ball to the
boundary, he became a national hero regardless
of religion.
The man could have donned a
burqua and laid a prayer mat facing towards
Mecca for all we cared finally our cricketing
prospects seemed brighter, our national pride
somewhat restored.
And now I must eat my words.
As someone who has long bemoaned
the glorification of sport in this country and
the excessive funding it receives to the
detriment of the arts and education, the welcome
of Usman Khawaja into the rarefied cricketing
world has given me hope.
Making the first XI is surely the
great Australian dream and one which is played
out in the most public of international forums.
Usman could be the world's best brain surgeon or
most brilliant violinist or an incredible
orator, but as a cricketer he has the greatest
potential to make significant changes to the
stereotype of his religion and to start to break
down racial prejudice.
I might wish it otherwise, but
beggars can't be choosers.
If sport is the answer to my own
prayer for a more tolerant Australia, then I say
"thank you" to a God who knows just how to keep
the belly laughs coming.
The CCN
Cradle
On 15 December 2010, Dr.
Naadir and RazeenaGutta
became the proud parents of baby Humzah
who weighed in at 3,006kg giving Abdul
and FazilaOmar their first
grandchild and making it number 4 for AbdulAziz and ZulekaGutta.
Umesh
Chandra receives “Bharat Gaurav” Pride of India award
NEW
DELHI: India International Friendship Society (IIFS),
New Delhi has announced globally reputed “Bharat
Gaurav” for 2011.
Umesh Chandra, a well known PIO
Community Leader from Brisbane Australia is one
of the recipients’ of this prestigious award for
his community service achievements.
Umesh Chandra alongside other
recipients was honoured with Bharat Gaurav Award
and certificate of Excellence at a high profile
Global Friendship Day Gala Banquet in Delhi on
January 6th 2011.
Umesh Chandra has been serving the Queensland
Indian community for the last 15 years in
different capacities. By profession, Umesh
Chandra is the Chief Operating officer of
Chantex Pty Ltd. The company operates three
subsidiaries namely Brisbane Indian Times,
Globenet Realty and Bollybiz promotions.
Umesh Chandra is currently serving as the
founder president of GOPIO (Global Organisation
of People of Indian Origin) Queensland Chapter,
Vice President of FICQ (Federation of Indian
Communities in Queensland), Vice President QMC
(Queensland Multicultural Council.
He is Queensland Governments
appointed Liaison Officer for the international
Indian Students.
about Umesh Chandra and his
award presentation
Habib
drops torture case against Government
Former
Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib has agreed
to drop his lawsuit against the Federal
Government for being complicit in his torture
while he was detained.
The Federal Government has paid
an undisclosed amount to Mr Habib to absolve it
of legal liability in the case.
Mr Habib was detained by the
United States as a suspected terrorist for
three-and-a-half years in the fallout from the
September 11 terrorist attacks. He says he was
drugged, sexually assaulted and beaten at
Guantanamo.
He alleges the Australian
Government was aware of his harsh treatment and
therefore was indirectly responsible.
A spokesman for Attorney-General
Robert McClelland says Mr Habib reached a
negotiation settlement with the Government last
month.
"In reaching this settlement, the
Government acted in the best interests of the
commonwealth to avoid further protracted
litigation and to enable our agencies to focus
on their core responsibilities of protecting our
national security," the spokesman said.
The amount of money paid out has not been
revealed but one of the terms of settlement
involves absolving the Government of legal
liability.
The settlement brings an end to a six-year-long
compensation case.
The settlement comes after Mr Habib was cleared
by the Federal Court to sue the Government for
aiding and abetting his torture by agents in
Pakistan, Egypt, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.
SYDNEY:
A worker at a KFC restaurant in Sydney has been
suspended after he was filmed screaming vicious
insults and threatening to attack a customer.
The violent outburst happened at a Halal-friendly
KFC in Punchbowl on December 26, allegedly after
a customer became angry after being refused
bacon on their burger.
The Punchbowl restaurant does not serve bacon or
pork in accordance with Islamic law, and one
employee can be heard saying "we don't have
bacon" before the other begins yelling.
"Don't record me bitch!" he screams as he
approaches the counter. "Don't f---ing record
me!"
The employee continues to yell and smacks the
cash register display on its side, before other
workers grab him and lead him outside.
"I'm gonna f---in break your head bro," he says
to the person filming as he is led around the
corner out of sight.
These
statements
indicate a
customer had
directed
offensive
language and
became
abusive
towards the
team member
when the
customer's
preferred
selection
was not
available at
that store.
A spokesman for KFC Australia told ninemsn the
employee had been suspended over the incident
and offered counselling.
"KFC Australia strongly condemns the behaviour
of the team member who appears in the clip and
sincerely apologises for this very inappropriate
reaction," the spokesman said.
But the spokesman also said the employee may
have been harassed by the customer before his
meltdown.
"As part of our continuing investigation, KFC
has been offered statements from other customers
who were in the store at the time," the
spokesman said.
"These statements indicate a customer had
directed offensive language and became abusive
towards the team member when the customer's
preferred selection was not available at that
store."
The video was posted online by YouTube user "farkie",
who wrote that the outburst stemmed from an
argument over bacon.
"We asked for bacon on the burger, when we
complained about there being no bacon," they
wrote.
KFC said their investigation into the incident
was ongoing.
As-Salaam Institute of
Islamic Studies has positions for Madrasah Teachers
in 2011.
Candidates should have qualifications in Islamic
Studies.
Experience teaching children is an advantage.
Hours Required: Monday - Friday 4:30pm - 6:30pm and
Saturday 9:00am - 3:00pm
Commencing end January.
This is a paid position.
A
compelling,
thought-provoking
novel about
race, bullying
and the need to
belong, set in
Africa. If I
stood you in
front of a man,
pressed a gun
into your palm
and told you to
squeeze the
trigger, would
you do it? No,
Sir, No way!
What if I then
told you we'd
gone back in
time and his
name was Adolf
Hitler? Would
you do it then?
Set in Zimbabwe
in the 1980s,
just after the
war for
independence, a
young English
boy, Jacklin, is
torn between his
black friends at
school and his
sympathy for the
colonial whites
after witnessing
the compulsory
land seizures by
Robert Mugabe's
government. But
with an imminent
visit by Robert
Mugabe to the
school, Jacklin
realizes that
Ivan, his white
supremacist
schoolmate,
plans to
assassinate the
black leader.
The novel leaves
us with the
moral dilemma —
in hindsight,
should Jacklin
have killed Ivan
or let Ivan kill
Robert Mugabe?
SBS World News
A children's story about a
British boy who encounters racism and bullying in the
classroom after emigrating to Zimbabwe in the early
1980s was among the Costa Book Award winners announced
on Tuesday.
"Out of Shadows," set during Robert Mugabe's early years
in power, is Jason Wallace's first novel, and is based
in part on his own experiences as a child when he moved
to Zimbabwe with his family at the age of 12.
"For us, this extraordinary debut novel was a unanimous
winner," the panel of judges said in a statement. "This
compelling portrayal of a nation in crisis gripped us
from start to finish and has stayed with us since."
Out of Shadows was one of five category winners at the
annual book awards, which honour writers based in the UK
and Ireland.
Each category winner receives 5,000 pounds ($8,000) and
has a chance to claim the overall Costa Book of the Year
Award worth a further 30,000 pounds. It will be
announced in London on January 25.
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:in this recipe I am
including a South African confection made from apricots
that have been pickled, sugared, and dried called
mebos. If you can't lay your hands on mebos
(usually available in stores that stock South African
products), then dried apricots will do the trick nearly
as well.
Gajar Ka Achar, as Indians call it, is
a great condiment to serve with any meal or with
sandwiches.
The carrot pickle has a long life if
refrigerated so you could double the quantity or share
the pickle with your neighbours, friends and family.
Step 1
Combine the following
ingredients
1 kg carrots – grated
2 Tab crushed garlic
2 Tab mustard powder
4 Tab
methi (fenugreek seeds) masala
(obtainable in any Indian
spice store near you)
2 Tab chilli powder
2 tsp salt
Step 2
Liquidise
¼ cup vinegar
½ packet of Mebos
(which have been soaking in the vinegar
overnight)
Note : dried apricots
can be substituted for the Mebos
Add to carrots
Step 3
Boil together
2 cups vinegar
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup oil
¾ cup flour
Stir continuously and
when it thickens pour over the carrots
Step 4
Vagaar
Heat ¼ cup oil, add 1 tab mustard seeds, 3
Tab sesame seeds and a handful of curry
leaves and pour over the carrots and mix
well.
After mixing all the
ingredients together with the carrots store
in a glass jar.
According to physiotherapy resource
physioadvisor.com, sport shoes should generally be
replaced after 600 to 1000km as they tend to lose their
shock-absorbing capacity after this point.
So if you're a runner, be sure to keep
track of time spent pounding the pavement, as you'll
want to move with great comfort and control, and stay
safe while you're at it.
Remember too that poor fitting trainers can lead to
injury.
If part of your daily routine involves walking, consider
researching some of the trainers featuring the 'rocker'
sole which is designed to activate, strengthen and tone
the legs while you walk (personal preference of course).
The idea is to stay safe and invest in a good pair of
trainers, whatever your workout / routine.
An
excellent way to lose weight is by skipping ... snacks
and dessert.
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.
Over
200 men and women attended the prayer meeting
last Sunday at the Australian International
Islamic College (AIIC) in Durack for Sister
Saleema Azhari who lost her life
in a boating tragedy in India along with her two
sisters and relatives.
When
Usman's mother (Fauzia Tariq) (pictured
right) prayed to Allah before every ball
bowled his way, it stirred the "awwww" response
in the Sydney Cricket Ground and brought a tear
to my eye as well. When Usman defied debut
jitters by knocking his second ball to the
boundary, he became a national hero regardless
of religion.
NEW
DELHI: India International Friendship Society (IIFS),
New Delhi has announced globally reputed “Bharat
Gaurav” for 2011. 
Former
Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib has agreed
to drop his lawsuit against the Federal
Government for being complicit in his torture
while he was detained. 
SYDNEY:
A worker at a KFC restaurant in Sydney has been
suspended after he was filmed screaming vicious
insults and threatening to attack a customer.
Madrasah Teachers
.jpg)
