Aneesa Ali of the Australian International Islamic College (AIIC) receives her Certificate of Achievement from Dr Mustafa Ally as the school's Principal, Dr Ray Barrett, proudly looks on.

Crescents Community News takes great pleasure in announcing the results of the inaugural Young Muslim Writers Awards for 2011.

The over 100 entries received from many parts of Australia were subjected to a rigorous two-stage blind-review judging process based on creativity and originality and technical competence. The judging panels, which included a University English and Communications lecturer and an author and historian, were most impressed with the overall standard of entries.

Ms Zuha Ali of the Islamic College of Brisbane, Karawatha, winner in the 13 to 16 years category, also received the inaugural CCN Young Muslim Writer of the Year for her "forthright and powerful writing in a diary genre.....a deeply emotive piece of writing displaying excellent research and deep understanding."
 

All the winners and finalists will be presented with certificates of achievement and the winners will each receive a Kindle e-reader.

The works of our young talented writers and poets is showcased in this anthology compiled from the entries of the winners and finalists.

We trust you will enjoy, feel proud and be inspired by the depth and breadth of their efforts, insha'Allah.

CCN thanks the the members of the judging panels who gave off their time and expertise to read through the entries and the following community organizations and institutions who most generously sponsored the prizes, certificates and gifts:

Griffith Islamic Research Unit (GIRU)

Islamic Council of Queensland (ICQ)

Islamic Women’s Association of Queensland (IWAQ)

Muslim Business Network (MBN)

Queensland Muslim Historical Society (QMHSoc)

Crescents of Brisbane Inc.

Mr Keysar Trad (pictured left), founder of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia Inc, has been appointed CEO of the Australian International Islamic College in Durack, Brisbane.

CCN's Man-on-the-Mussallaah spoke to Mr Trad about his new posting and his move from Sydney.

[M-o-t-M] What will your role be and how does it fit into the AIIC’s planned developments?
[TRAD] My role will be to ensure that the AIIC meets our communities' expectations and becomes a school of excellence as quickly as practicable.
 

[M-o-t-M] When do you take up the appointment?
[TRAD] I have started on a part time basis, my initial mission was to study the school operation to identify areas and issues for improvement and to recommend any necessary streamlining, as your readers would know, the changes made by the Labor government to Work Choices have given the union a great deal of power to intervene in a work environment. This means that any streamlining needs to be discussed with the union. We had these discussions on Monday 28 Nov and the process has started.

Oddly, the union wanted the consultations to take place even earlier, even before the ideas crystalised and the needs were identified, the Labor government changes to work choices have caused a tremendous disadvantage to employers.

However, this is the environment in which we have to work and we have to ensure, that within this environment, we move forward with our organisations in order to meet the high standards of Ihsan that are demanded by our faith. As Allah Subhanah commands us in the holy Qur’an at Sura 16 verse 90 and as our prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings upon him said, Allah loves to see us performing our tasks proficiently.
 

[M-o-t-M] What is your vision and mission for the school?

[TRAD] Our vision is to ensure that this school provides academic and sporting excellence in an Islamic setting where our children can be nurtured in an environment that is conducive to and rewarding of achievement. My mission is to make this vision a reality, this will involve more community consultations and a close working relationship with our community, especially other Muslim schools. We are brothers and sisters and Allah Subhanah commands us to cooperate on goodness (Birr) and piety (taqwa) Sura 5 verse 2.

[M-o-t-M] Are you coming over to settle with your family?
[TRAD] I have been invited by the school board to explore the possibility of moving with my family to settle in Brisbane for one year. Thus far, it has been very difficult to find suitable accommodation. I have nine children ranging in ages from 9 to 24.

My 24 year old son Mohammad is due to finish his Islamic studies degree in February insha Allah and is expected to return to live with us whilst in transition to his Masters degree.

I have a daughter who is about to start her Masters in philosophy and another who has six months left to finish her degree in sociology.

I have another son and a daughter who are in transition to Uni, I also have a son who is due to start year 11 in 2012. His situation is particularly sensitive as years 11 and 12 are so closely connected that they must both be studied under the same system.

The other three children are easier to move and resettle, but for five of the children, there will be some difficult challenges to overcome. We are embracing these challenges in order to take our school to the standard of excellence that our community expects, the standard that Allah Subhanah demands from us. Alhamdulillah, my wife Hanifeh is very supportive of this move. My mother who is 82 years of age also lives with us Alhamdulillah and she will also be moving with us, the house we require will need to have enough rooms to accommodate our family, there are not many such houses on the market.

[M-o-t-M] What can you tell us about this new position that has been craeted by the school?
[TRAD] This is a new position at the school. The position had to be new so that it can guide the existing staff and take on other responsibilities that we have identified.

[M-o-t-M] Have you a message for us Queenslanders?
[TRAD] I look forward to working with the Queensland Muslim community. Our children at the school deserve the best opportunities. With the blessings of Allah and the help of our concerned Muslim brothers and sisters, we will ensure that the desired outcomes are achieved insha Allah.

[M-o-t-M] Thank you Mr Trad for taking the time to answer our questions and we wish you all the very best in this new and challenging role.

Lowe's Among Companies That Have Pulled Ads From TLC's 'All-American Muslim' Reality Show
 

(RNS) Lowe's, the national hardware chain, has pulled commercials from future episodes of "All-American Muslim," a TLC reality-TV show, after protests by Christian groups.

The Florida Family Association, a Tampa Bay group, has led a campaign urging companies to pull ads on "All-American Muslim."

"'All-American Muslim' is propaganda clearly designed to counter legitimate and present-day concerns about many Muslims who are advancing Islamic fundamentalism and Sharia law," the Florida group asserts in a letter it asks members to send to TLC advertisers.

The show profiles only Muslims that appear to be ordinary folks while excluding many Islamic believers whose agenda poses a clear and present danger to the liberties and traditional values that the majority of Americans cherish," the FFA's letter continues.

It was not clear whether the companies cited by the Florida Family Association, which has also targeted shows like MTV's "Degrassi," stopped advertising on "All-American Muslim" because of pressure or for other reasons.

Emails from Home Depot and Sweet'N Low posted on the Florida Family Association's website suggest the companies had simply bought one commercial spot, and didn't cancel any commercials.

A spokeswoman for Amway, also cited by the Florida group, denied the company pulled advertising from "All-American Muslim," and said those reports were "misleading" and "falsely named."

Lowe's acknowledged pulling commercials from "All-American Muslim'' following consumer complaints, but denied they came from one group.

"We understand the program raised concerns, complaints, or issues from multiple sides of the viewer spectrum, which we found after doing research of news articles and blogs covering the show,'' said Katie Cody, a Lowe's spokeswoman.

Cody declined to specify whether the complaints were anti-Muslim, and whether Lowe's advertises on shows with Christian, Jewish, or other religious characters or themes. "It is certainly never Lowe's intent to alienate anyone,'' Cody said.

"Shame on Lowe's, and shame on every one of these companies if they really did cave in to such bigotry and hatred,'' wrote Sheila Musaji, who blogs at theamericanmuslim.org. If the Florida Family Association and other reports are misrepresenting these companies, she added, "then they need to speak up.''

The first of eight weekly episodes of "All-American Muslim,'' which follows five Lebanese families in Dearborn, Mich., premiered on Nov. 13.

A TLC spokeswoman, Laurie Goldberg, said the network could not comment about the alleged advertising defections, but that the show maintained ''strong'' advertising. "There are no plans to pull the show. The show is going to continue as planned,'' said Goldberg.
 

Huffington Post

WARNING: This video contains images that might disturb some viewers:

Farm to Fridge - The Truth Behind Meat Production

Note: This is NOT Indonesia!

Narrated by Oscar-nominee James Cromwell, this 12-minute film takes you on an eye-opening exploration behind the closed doors of the one of the largest industrial poultry, pig, dairy and fish farms, hatcheries, and slaughter plants – revealing the often-unseen journey that animals make from Farm to Fridge.
 

 GO TO OFFICIAL ISLAM TV SITE - WWW.ISLAMTV.COM.AU

Do not wait for the day of judgement, it takes place every day  

Albert Camus