Enjoy a dinner with Ed
Husic MP Member for Chifley
Edham Nurredin Husic is Australia’s first Muslim
Member of Parliament and a passionate advocate
for multiculturalism.
When: 6:30 for 7:00pm Wednesday 16 March 2011 Where: D’Lahori (the former Grill House),
2892 Logan Rd, Underwood
Cost: $70 each
RSVP:
Graham Perrett's office at
moretonfec@gmail.com or 3344 2622 by Monday
14 March
All proceeds to the Moreton FEC
Supported and
promoted by Crescents Community News (CCN)
Youth
Leadership Camp Report
By Emane El-Mezin and
Azima Omar
As the rain descended in Brisbane
on Friday 4th April, a group of forty set out on
a three day leadership camp to the Koonjewarre
Campsite located in the Gold Coast Hinterlands.
A requirement of the camp was for participants
to form into groups, to discuss, analyse and
plan an event on one of the following topics of
Media, Fundraising, Youth Issues and Daawah in
mind as one group would have the opportunity for
their idea become a reality through Human Appeal
International's sponsorship of $500. The winning
concept voted by the participants was called The
Muslim Media Watch. Its objective is to change
the perspectives of Muslims in the mainstream
media through employing a part-time Muslim
researcher who would analyse past and present
issues that represent Muslims inaccurately and
forward it to a team of journalists to respond
to.
In addition to the group projects Dr.Zachariah
Mathews from Sydney and Dave Andrews, a
community development worker from West End,
Brisbane, were the two guest speakers of the
camp. Both gave a series of lectures
highlighting the importance of not only building
and maintaining a community but also stressed
the significance of unity within the community.
Following seminars the group also had an
opportunity to hear from Sheikh Ahmed Ghazzali
who gave an informal lecture on the realty
between trusting in Allah (SWT) and planning
ahead.
The Famsy and Alnisa youth groups would like to
say thank-you to the following sponsors AIM,
Crescents of Brisbane, Gold Coast Mosque, Human
Appeal International, Moorooka Islamic Centre,
the Somalian Community and WAMY (World Assembly
of Muslim Youth).
Overall the camp was very successful with many
positive feedback from the participants such as
"Great food"
"I had a great time, shame about the weather"
"Dr Zachariah was a good speaker, I especially
liked the part when he talked about core versus
marginal issues"
"I liked the part when Dave talked about
treating all people with respect"
Photo Gallery
Seminar
explores international students' religious needs
The
complex religious needs of international
students studying in Australia and Japan was
discussed during a seminar at the University of
Southern Queensland (USQ) on Tuesday 8 March.
Kanazawa University Associate Professor Yumi
Kishida (pictured right) presented her
research findings on how universities
accommodate the religious requirements of
students, with a particular focus on Muslim
students.
USQ had been used as a case study for the
research, which was undertaken between 2007 and
2009 by Professor Kishida.
She was concerned by the decline in the number
of international students studying in Japan and
she visited USQ several years ago to look at the
University’s prayer facilities, management of
the Islamic Centre and how Muslim students
integrated into the local community.
'USQ is considered one of the best in Australia
when it comes to international student
satisfaction, so Associate Professor Kishida was
keen to see how things were done here,'
Associate Professor, Shahjahan Khan said.
Based on her previous visit at
USQ, she published a research report which
highlighted the USQ Islamic Centre and its
operations with several photos and statements
from Professor Khan.
Associate Professor Kishida’s
research specifically refers to the forms and
the numbers of prayer facilities, their
operations as well as the perceptions of
university staff toward accommodating religious
needs of Muslim students, and poses a discussion
on how public, secular universities could/should
involve religious services equitably.
Associate Professor Kishida
specialises in international education and
organises special programs for and gives
guidance to international students in the field
of natural science and engineering besides
teaching courses.
She has published papers and chapters with
special interest in issues of cultural
difference and ethnic/racial relationship within
the context of education: education of ethnic
Koreans in Japan, Immigrants education in
Canada, and recently Muslim international
students in Japanese and Australian
universities.
The seminar was hosted by USQ’s Multicultural
Centre.
The
Welfare Shop Update
by Janeth Deen
Thanks to the Indonesian students
from Griffith University who helped with sorting
and packing, the Queensland Muslim Welfare
Association Inc. will be delivering much needed
clothing, linen, shoes, toys and other goods to
the Ipswich City Council on Monday.
The Mayor has informed the
Welfare Shop that there are still many people
needing these goods.
The goods will be delivered to
the disused Coles building and handed out to the
people by the Council representatives.
Winter clothing and linen will
also be sent to Theodore at the end of the
month.
Fear of a
Brown Planet Attacks
Adelaide:
Young Muslims Nazeem Hussain and Aamer Rahman (pictured
left) have a tough time convincing a crowd
full of whiteys to face up to their racist roots
and wise up to the War on Terror.
It might be a different story in a bigger venue,
with a more multicultural audience. But here in
the intimate Cupola, the new show fails to live
up to the reputation of the team's 2008 hit
debut, Fear of a Brown Planet.
It seems the double act has been caught short of
material. They start late, finish early and fill
yawning holes with a mash-up of video clips.
Hollywood is racist?
Wow, that's a revelation. Nazeem needs to
practice the art of the segue, to smooth the
transition from one awkward topic to the next.
At least Aamer is funny at times.
Better with beer I expect, but that's frowned
upon. No drinks here. Why? "It's a cultural
thing," we're told.
Dr Matthew Gray, Senior Lecturer
at the Australian National University’s Centre
for Arab and Islamic Studies will talk about the
course of democratic revolutions in the Middle
East and their implications for the
international economy and Australian businesses
at the Middle East Export Network Forum.
This event, hosted by Trade &
Investment Queensland will be held on Monday
21 March 2011 at Brisbane’s Treasury
Heritage Hotel.
Dr Gray will provide an expert
insight into the recent historical developments
in the Middle East as the Sheikh Hamdan bin
Rashid al-Maktoum Senior Lecturer at ANU’s
Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies.
Other highlights of the forum
include:
- A presentation on the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's travel
warning system and the applicable warnings
current for the Middle East region by Mr John
Michell, State Director Queensland, Department
of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Networking lunch during which attendees will
have the opportunity to meet with Trade &
Investment Queensland representatives and
discuss what services and assistance Trade &
Investment Queensland can provide in the Middle
East markets
The Middle East Export Network Forum brings
like-minded Queensland companies together to
share insights into
emerging export opportunities and promote
mentoring amongst the Queensland business
community with a
focus on the Middle East region.
Places are limited for this event
so RSVP before Wednesday 16 March 2011 by phone
on (07) 3227 8104 or via e-mail
kael.osullivan@trade.qld.gov.au.
If
Muslim people are not willing to assimilate into
a democratic Australian society, "don't come
here at all", says former One Nation politician
Pauline Hanson, who's making a comeback in NSW.
Ms Hanson has told Fairfax Radio Network she
gets annoyed when she hears Muslims say they
don't support democracy.
"I get annoyed when I hear an interview by a
Muslim who says, `We don't believe in
democracy'" she said on Wednesday.
"We are a democratic country and
my concern is if that's your belief in coming
here to Australia, why come here?"
These people should stay in a country where they
have their own cultural beliefs, Ms Hanson said.
"Come here to assimilate, to integrate," she
said.
"If you're not prepared to come to a democratic
society, then don't come here at all."
Ms Hanson is standing for an upper house seat in
the NSW election on March 26.
The way some Muslim people viewed women was also
a problem, she said.
"I've got young girls that have emailed me and
said to me, `We feel threatened, we don't like
the way they treat us'.
"I hear people that have Muslims live in their
streets and they are rude and people don't want
that."
Ms Hanson said she stood by comments she made in
2010 that she would not sell her house to a
Muslim.
"I won't back down from that at all," she said.
"That's my opinion and actually a lot of other
people have said that as well."
She denied her opinions made her a racist.
"I've never made one racist comment in my life,"
she said.
"Criticism is not racism.
"We have a right to question things."
If elected, she would offer "truth and honesty"
to the people of NSW.
"What do people want? Do they want truth and
honesty from their representative, or do they
want a `yes' person?
"I'm putting myself back out there again,
because I'm not going to roll over and let them
dictate to me for the rest of my life."
Ms Hanson said she would be pushing to stop the
NSW police force having to answer to the police
minister, so they can run their affairs separate
from the government.
She also said she would support the Coalition's
promise to conduct a statewide speed audit of
roads, to cut the number of confusing speed
zones on major roads.
Around
the Muslim World with CCN
Deutsche
Bahn, Astaldi win Saudi deal
Jeddah: The
Saudi Railways Organisation awarded 9.38
billion Saudi riyals ($AUD 2.5 billion) in
contracts to two consortiums, which include
Germany's Deutsche Bahn and Italy's Astaldi,
to build four railway stations in the
kingdom.
The winning consortiums were led by Saudi
Bin Laden Group and Saudi Oger.
The high-speed Haramain Railway will link
Makkah and Madinah to Jeddah, a key entry
point for millions of pilgrims, and to King
Abdullah Economic City.
Pilgrims
Up to three million pilgrims visit Makkah
every year and struggle to make it to
Madinah after conducting the annual Haj, or
head back to Jeddah on overloaded buses and
taxis.
Saudi Bin Laden Group's consortium included
Deutsche Bahn and Turkey's Yapi Merkezi
while Saudi Oger led a group that included
Astaldi, Ansaldo, Singapore's ST Electronics
and Al Seif and Atkins.
"Two contracts were signed with Saudi Bin
Laden Group for Makkah and Madinah stations:
Makkah station with a value of 3 billion
riyals and Madinah station with a value of
1.6 billion riyals," SRO's president Abdul
Aziz Al Hokail said. Source
Debunking myths that “fundamentalists”
control most American mosques and Muslims do
not cooperate with law enforcement
USA:
The Homeland
Security Committee of the US House of
Representatives has begun a hearing, chaired
by New York Republican representative Peter
King (pictured left), on the “threat
of homegrown Islamist terrorism.” The
hearing is being described as a “witch-hunt”
against American Muslims.
Muslim civil
rights and advocacy organization, Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) submitted
written testimony for the first of a series
of hearings on Muslim "radicalization" by
Rep. Peter King.
Extracts from
the submission:
There is
also no denying that—excepting a tiny
minority—violent extremists have not
found fertile ground in America. Many
individuals and institutions—including
law enforcement, homeland security
personnel, and the leaders and members
of the American Muslim community—deserve
a share of the credit for this.
In April
2008, FBI Director Robert Mueller, told
the U.S. House Judiciary Committee: "I
re-affirm the fact that 99.9 percent of
Muslim-Americans … are every bit as
patriotic as anybody else in this room,
and that many of our cases are a result
of the cooperation from the Muslim
community in the United States."
The following year, Mueller told a
Senate committee the Muslim community
"has been tremendously supportive and
worked very closely with [the FBI] in a
number of instances around the country."
RAND’s Brian Michael Jenkins finds the
suggestion of “an American [Muslim]
population that remains hostile to
jihadist ideology and its exhortations
to violence” in his 2010 paper Would-Be
Warriors.
Similarly, a December 2010 Congressional
Research Service report cites numerous
examples of Muslim community activities
and federal engagement and partnership
activities with Muslim-American
communities.
Quintan Wiktorowicz, the new senior
director for global engagement at the
White House National Security Council,
shattered stereotypes about Muslims and
radicalization when his research found
that religious Muslims are in fact the
most resistant to radicalization.
"One of the important things about
counterradicalization is that about
perhaps 10 percent of it is law
enforcement and intelligence, 90 percent
of it are things that have relatively
little to do with that," said
Wiktorowicz. "Counterradicalization also
has to include things like politicians
visiting Muslim communities, messaging
and beefing up education about Islam
among Muslims themselves.”
A 2010 report by scholars at Duke
University and the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill recommended that
policymakers reinforce
anti-radicalization activities already
underway in American Muslim communities.
“Muslim-Americans organizations and the
vast majority of individuals that we
interviewed firmly reject the radical
extremist ideology that justifies the
use of violence to achieve political
ends,” said the report’s co-author David
Schanzer, director of the Triangle
Center on Terrorism and Homeland
Security. Another of the report’s
authors said, “Muslim-American
communities have been active in
preventing radicalization.”
EDL's Guramit Singh Will Not Face Charges
Following Anti-Muslim Tirade
UK:
Guramit Singh (pictured left), one of
the leaders of the extremist group, the
English Defence League, “will face no
further police action” after being arrested
following a public hate-filled rant during
an EDL protest in Peterborough in December.
Guramit Singh (28), from
Nottingham, was arrested on December 21 on
suspicion of causing religiously aggravated
harassment, alarm or distress.
“The arrest came after a member of the
public complained about the content of Mr
Singh’s speech delivered outside
Peterborough Magistrates’ Court during the
EDL protest on December 11.
“Mr Singh’s speech was heard by around 1,000
EDL supporters, who took part in the
protest, as well as hundreds of shoppers.
ENGAGE
Daily Star Reporter Quits Over Paper's
Islamophobia
UK: The Daily Star has a track record of
regularly spewing out inaccurate, inflammatory and
highly negative stories on Muslims and Islam. Now one of
its own reporters, Richard Peppiatt, has had a laudable
crisis of conscience and has quit the paper over its
“hate-mongering.”
In his resignation letter to the owner of the paper,
Richard Desmond, Mr. Peppiatt stated:
“The decision [to quit] came inside my local
newsstand, whilst picking up the morning papers. As I
chatted with Mohammed, the Muslim owner, his blinking
eyes settled on my pile of print, and then, slowly, rose
to meet my face.
“‘English
Defence League to become a political party’ growled out
from the countertop.
“Squirming, I abandoned the change in my pocket and
flung a note in his direction, the clatter of the till a
welcome relief from the silence that had engulfed us. I
slunk off toward the tube.
“If he was hurt that my 25p had funded such
hate-mongering, he'd be rightly appalled that I'd sat in
the war cabinet itself as this incendiary tale was
twisted and bent to fit an agenda seemingly decided
before the EDL's leader Tommy Robinson had even been
interviewed.
“Asked if his group were to become a political party I
was told the ex-BNP goon had replied: ‘Not for now.’
“But further up the newsprint chain it appears a story,
too good to allow the mere spectre of reality to
restrain, was spotted. It almost never came to this. I
nearly walked out last summer when the Daily Star got
all flushed about taxpayer-funded Muslim-only loos.”
“I was personally tasked with writing a gloating
follow-up declaring our postmodern victory in ‘blocking’
the non-existent Islamic cisterns of evil.
“Not that my involvement in stirring up a bit of
light-hearted Islamaphobia stopped there. Many a morning
I've hit my speed dial button to Muslim rent-a-rant
Anjem Choudary to see if he fancied pulling together a
few lines about whipping drunks or stoning homosexuals.
“Our caustic ‘us and them’ narrative needs nailing home
every day or two, and when asked to wield the hammer I
was too scared for my career, and my bank account, to
refuse.”
“...what brings me here today is those times you
dispense with those skewed news values entirely by
printing stories which couldn't stand up to a gnat's
fart.”
“While the Daily Star isn't the only paper with a case
to answer, I reckon it's certainly the ugliest duckling
of an unsightly flock.”
“Were this the behaviour of an actual person they would
be diagnosed schizophrenic and bundled into the nearest
white van. But because the mouthpiece is a newspaper,
it's all supposed to be ok.”
“You may have heard the phrase, ‘The flap of a
butterfly's wings in Brazil sets off a tornado in
Texas.’ Well, try this: ‘The lies of a newspaper in
London can get a bloke's head caved in down an alley in
Bradford.’
“If you can't see that words matter, you should go back
to running porn magazines. But if you do, yet still
allow your editors to use inciteful over insightful
language, then far from standing up for Britain, you're
a menace against all things that make it great.”
The revelations of Mr. Peppiatt have confirmed what many
have witnessed for a long time - the clear anti-Muslim
narrative pursued by the DS. His words regarding the
impact of this narrative are especially pertinent given
the fruits that the climate of Islamophobia have
produced. Good also to see the admission by Peppiat of
the copious use by the DS of Anjem Choudary and his band
of merry nuts for the purpose of obtaining crank quotes.
A statement from the Daily Star attempted to brush aside
Mr. Peppiatt as a disgruntled employee and added, “For
the record, the Daily Star editorial policy does not
hold any negativity towards Islam and the paper has
never, and does not endorse, the EDL."
ENGAGE
Libyan Women March In Support Of Rebellion
The Inbox
Dear CCN Readers
Salaams.
My
family is conducting extra One-on-One tajweed
classes across the Internet.
If
anyone would like this for either for themselves
or their children, please call Junaid Mustapha
on 0403 113 123.
The
teacher is currently based in Syria and his
recitation is beautiful.
Thanks
Junaid Mustapha
New on
ISLAM TV this week
If you are unable to view Islam
TV here open this CCN newsletter in Firefox or
Safari
In a little coffee shop in one of the
most dangerous places on earth, five very different
women come together.
As these five discover there's more to
one another than meets the eye, they form a unique bond
that will forever change their lives and the lives of
many others.
From
the author of the “bighearted . . . inspiring” ( Vogue )
memoir Kabul Beauty School comes a fiction debut as
compelling as real life: the story of a remarkable
coffee shop in the heart of Afghanistan, and the men and
women who meet there—thrown together by circumstance,
bonded by secrets, and united in an extraordinary
friendship.
After hard
luck and some bad choices, Sunny has finally found a
place to call home—it just happens to be in the middle
of a war zone. The thirty-eight-year-old American’s
pride and joy is the Kabul Coffee House, where she
brings hospitality to the expatriates, misfits,
missionaries, and mercenaries who stroll through its
doors. She’s especially grateful that the busy days
allow her to forget Tommy, the love of her life, who
left her in pursuit of money and adventure.
Working
alongside Sunny is the maternal Halajan, who vividly
recalls the days before the Taliban and now must hide a
modern romance from her ultratraditional son—who,
unbeknownst to her, is facing his own religious doubts.
Into the café come Isabel, a British journalist on the
trail of a risky story; Jack, who left his family back
home in Michigan to earn “danger pay” as a consultant;
and Candace, a wealthy and well-connected American whose
desire to help threatens to cloud her judgment.
When Yazmina,
a young Afghan from a remote village, is kidnapped and
left on a city street pregnant and alone, Sunny welcomes
her into the café and gives her a home—but Yazmina hides
a secret that could put all their lives in jeopardy. As
this group of men and women discover that there’s more
to one another than meets the eye, they’ll form an
unlikely friendship that will change not only their own
lives but the lives of an entire country.
Brimming with
Deborah Rodriguez’s remarkable gift for depicting the
nuances of life in Kabul, and filled with vibrant
characters that readers will truly care about, The
Little Coffee Shop of Kabul is the best kind of
fiction—full of heart yet smart and thought-provoking.
'Paints a
vivid picture of Afghan culture ... as if Maeve Binchy
had written The Kite Runner' Kirkus Review
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:A light and fluffy
family favourite from FarzanahHatia.
Farzanah tells me it's a fun recipe that you can even
get the kids to help you make. Call their friends over
for a bake-in and they can have a ball together!
.
Ingredients
15g butter
¾ cup castor sugar
2 eggs
¾ cup milk
1 tsp Vanilla essence
2 tsp baking powder
Syrup
1 cup apricot jam
1 cup water
A drop of red food colouring
Boil the ingredients for the syrup until it
thickens. Leave it to cool slightly.
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180c
2. Cream butter and castor sugar
3. Add eggs and beat well
4. Stir in milk and vanilla essence
5. Fold in dry ingredients , mix to form
batter
6. Spoon into greased cup cake pans
7. Bake at 180degrees for 15 mins.
8. When cakes are cool, dip in warm syrup
and then roll in coconut
Q: Dear Kareema, my friend
and I walk together a few times per week. She eats
before we head out, but I never do. Should I be having a
snack beforehand? A: Yes you should. Maybe about 60 - 90mins before
you're scheduled walk, have a mini meal.
EAT TO FUEL YOUR WORKOUT.
Try to snack on some fruit and low fat
yoghurt for example.
A pre-workout snack is important as it
will keep you energised enough to get through your walk
or whatever routine you choose to do.
Exercising on an empty stomach may leave
you feeling light-headed and force you to cut your
workout short, which won't
be good for you or your friend.
Remember to keep your fluid levels up by drinking water
before, during and after your workout as well.
Want an effective treatment to
clean out BAD CHOLESTROL and PLAQUE from your
arteries?
ArgiNox Maintain is available from Zakiya
Sacur - 0433 270 770. Book your consultation
now
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.
The
complex religious needs of international
students studying in Australia and Japan was
discussed during a seminar at the University of
Southern Queensland (USQ) on Tuesday 8 March.
Adelaide:
Young Muslims Nazeem Hussain and Aamer Rahman (pictured
left) have a tough time convincing a crowd
full of whiteys to face up to their racist roots
and wise up to the War on Terror.
If
Muslim people are not willing to assimilate into
a democratic Australian society, "don't come
here at all", says former One Nation politician
Pauline Hanson, who's making a comeback in NSW.
UK:
Guramit Singh (pictured left), one of
the leaders of the extremist group, the
English Defence League, “will face no
further police action” after being arrested
following a public hate-filled rant during
an EDL protest in Peterborough in December.
“‘English
Defence League to become a political party’ growled out
from the countertop.
From
the author of the “bighearted . . . inspiring” ( Vogue )
memoir Kabul Beauty School comes a fiction debut as
compelling as real life: the story of a remarkable
coffee shop in the heart of Afghanistan, and the men and
women who meet there—thrown together by circumstance,
bonded by secrets, and united in an extraordinary
friendship.
