The
Bangladesh
Statistical
Association
(BSA)
recently
recognised
the
world-class
scientific
contributions
and global
professional
leadership
of
Australia-based
Bangladeshi
scientist Dr
Shahjahan
Khan by
awarding him
the
prestigious
Q M Hossain
Gold Medal.
Dr Khan
(pictured
third from
the left)
is the
founding
professor of
Statistics,
Department
of
Mathematics
and
Computing,
University
of Southern
Queensland,
Australia.
Finance
Minister
Abul Maal
Abdul Muhith
presented
the gold
medal to
Professor
Khan in an
international
statistics
conference
organised by
the BSA at
the Senate
Building of
the
university
of Dhaka.
Professor M
Nurul Islam,
president of
BSA and
Vice-Chancellor
of Mawlana
Bhashani
Science and
Technology
University
presided
over the
inaugural
session of
the
conference.
The
conference
was
dedicated to
Distinguish
Research
Professor A
K M E Saleh,
Carleton
University,
who
initiated
the
nomination
of Professor
Shahjahan
Khan for the
Gold Medal.
The BSA
decided on
the award in
recognition
of his
outstanding
fundamental
research in
the area of
estimation
and test
with
non-sample
prior
information,
predictive
inference
for
Student-t
and
elliptical
models and
statistical
meta-analysis;
supervision
and
mentorship
of young
statisticians;
effective
promotion of
statistics
and its wide
range of
applications;
world class
international
professional
leadership
by leading
ISOSS and
organising
many
international
conferences;
and
exceptional
professional
services
through
founding and
editing
international
journals and
conference
proceedings.
Prior to
receiving Q
M Hossain
Gold Medal,
Professor
Khan
received
ISESCO-ISOSS
Gold Medal
in Pakistan
(2001) and
ISOSS Gold
Medal in
Malaysia
(2007) for
his
outstanding
contributions
to
statistical
research and
development
of
statistics
at the
international
level.
He is the
youngest
among all
the
recipients
of the above
Gold Medals
and first to
receive from
Australia.
It may be
noted that
he is the
only
Professor of
Statistics
of
Bangladesh
origin in
Australia.
Professor
Shahjahan
Khan
received his
PhD (1992)
and MSc
degrees in
Statistics
from the
University
of Western
Ontario,
Canada.
He obtained
his BSc
Honours
(1978) and
MSc degrees
in
Statistics
from
Jahangirnagar
University,
Bangladesh.
Currently he
is the
founding
Professor of
Statistics
in the
Department
of
Mathematics
and
Computing,
University
of Southern
Queensland (USQ),
Australia.
Halal-certified
eateries
particularly
see rise in
business
opportunities.
Halal-certified: Malaysian Muslim tourists
eat "yakiniku" grilled food using halal meat
at the Sumiyakiya Nishiazabu restaurant in
Tokyo's Minato Ward
Seeking new
opportunities
in a global
market said
to be worth
over $600
billion,
Japanese
food and
tourism
businesses
are turning
their eyes
to Muslim
consumers
and starting
to offer
food and
other
products and
services
that follow
the Islamic
rules of
halal.
In a dimly
lit Japanese
restaurant
near Tokyo's
Roppongi
district,
seven Muslim
tourists
from
Malaysia
gathered to
enjoy
"yakiniku"
grilled meat
that had
been
specially
prepared and
served
according to
Islamic
Sharia law.
For those
reserving
the halal
fare at the
restaurant
in advance,
halal beef
placed in a
separate
freezer is
served with
plates and
glasses that
are kept in
cupboards
apart from
other dishes
to avoid
direct and
indirect
contact with
pork and
other
nonhalal
food.
Ahmad
Khuzaimi
Abdul
Rashid, a
tourist from
Malaysia who
visited the
Sumiyakiya
Nishiazabu
eatery,
said, "If it
were not for
these
restaurants,
I would need
to go for
vegetarian
or Malaysian
food" to be
certain the
food was
halal,
despite
being keen
to taste
local
Japanese
cuisine.
Halal means
permitted or
lawful
according to
Islamic Law,
which
forbids
consuming
flesh of
swine and
alcoholic
drinks as
well as
charging and
paying
interest,
among other
things.
In terms of
meat,
animals need
to be
properly
slaughtered
by following
such
procedures
as severing
veins in the
neck with a
sharp knife
to minimize
pain and
reciting the
name of God,
or Allah.
Sumiyakiya
started
offering
halal
yakiniku in
March after
obtaining a
certificate
from a halal
consulting
firm in
Japan. Since
then, the
shop has
been flooded
with
inquiries
and seen the
number of
Muslim
customers
rise by 20
percent in
about nine
months.
"Japanese
are keeping
their purse
strings
tight
because of
economic
slowdown. On
the other
hand,
affluent
Muslim
customers
are ready to
spend money
on meals,
but there
aren't
places for
them to eat
out. I think
there are
good
business
opportunities
here," said
Roger Diaz,
a
44-year-old
native of
Sri Lanka
who heads
the
restaurant.
According to
the U.S.
Halal
Association,
the total
global
Muslim
population
is estimated
at 1.6
billion, or
around 25
percent of
the world's
population,
with the
$632 billion
halal food
market
accounting
for 16
percent of
the global
food
industry.
The number
of visitors
to Japan
from
Indonesia,
home to the
biggest
Muslim
population
in the
world, as
well as from
Malaysia,
where about
60 percent
of the
population
is Muslim,
jumped
between 2003
and 2010,
according to
the Japan
National
Tourism
Organization.
The JNTO
says the
number of
Muslim
travelers to
Japan is
generally on
the rise,
although
official
data on
Muslims are
not
available.
Seeing it as
a business
opportunity,
some
Japanese
nonprofit
organizations
as well as
private
firms have
started
offering
services
assisting
Japanese
businesses
to obtain
halal
accreditation.
Malaysia
Halal
Corporation
Co. based in
Tokyo and
headed by
Akmal Abu
Hassan, 42,
a Malaysian
Muslim, is
one of them.
Since its
foundation
in 2010, the
company has
issued its
own halal
certificates
for six
hotels and
eight
restaurants
in Japan,
including
Sumiyakiya,
by examining
whether
their food,
including
seasonings
and
additives,
is prepared
in
accordance
with Islamic
law,
including
the ways in
which the
ingredients
are stored.
Hotels
certified by
the firm
also provide
information
about "qibla,"
the
direction of
Mecca for
prayers, as
well as
restaurants
that serve
halal food.
Malaysia
Halal
Corporation,
recognized
as an
internal
auditor of
halal by
Malaysian
and
Indonesian
government-affiliated
bodies,
conducts
unannounced
inspections
for all the
facilities
it has
issued
certificates
to once
every two or
three months
to maintain
quality.
Without
understanding
Muslim
people's way
of life and
their
beliefs, we
cannot gain
understanding
from them
and it could
even be
dangerous
Hideshi
Matsui
"People in
Malaysia are
aware (of
the charms
of) Japan,
including
its world
heritage
sites and
culture, and
are eager to
visit here,
but is it a
place where
(Muslim)
foreigners
can easily
visit? No,"
said Akmal,
pointing out
complaints
from Muslim
travelers
that they
ended up
eating at
Malaysian
restaurants
since they
were unable
to find
halal
Japanese
food.
"Japan
should
promote
itself more
aggressively
by making
its cuisine
available
for people
opting for
halal food,"
he said,
adding
Japanese
businesses
can find new
opportunities
by exporting
their food
and
cosmetics
among other
halal
products to
Islamic
countries.
Package
tours
targeting
Muslim
travelers
have also
proved
popular.
Osaka-based
travel
agency
Miyako
International
Tourist Co.
provides
tours with
Japanese
Muslim tour
conductors
that include
daily
prayers and
halal
restaurants.
Hideshi
Matsui, a
Japanese
Muslim and
president of
the travel
company,
said
single-use
cups and
plates are
used at
restaurants
during the
tours to
avoid
possible
discomfort.
Destinations
are also
carefully
chosen as
some
tourists
expressed
disgust
after
visiting
cherry
blossom
viewing
sites where
many local
people were
drinking
alcohol, he
said.
"Without
understanding
Muslim
people's way
of life and
their
beliefs, we
cannot gain
understanding
from them
and it could
even be
dangerous,"
said Matsui,
adding such
tours have
received a
number of
reservations,
even though
their prices
are set
higher than
average.
Recent and previous
newsletters were interesting due to diversified
news/information from Islamic groups to wedding.
I would like to tell Eliya that if her daughter is
near 5 or will start prep in 2013 then she can admit
her daughter in Algester Madrasa at Algester Masjid.
But they will not consider students under Prep.
One more thing, your published letter to Santa by a
Muslim kid, will help me a lot in explaining my
daughter to maintain your Muslim identity. She is in
prep and asking many questions about Christmas and
Santa. It's true we can't isolate our kids but
handling their query in a correct manner is
necessary to build their base.
JazakAllah.
Amber
Dear Editor
Our Shajarah Islamic Kindergarten is open for 3-5
year olds.
Children can come 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 days a week for
whole days or part days if required.
Our phone number is 07 3172 7850. Office hours 8am
til 6pm. Opening hours 6am til 6pm. We are open this
week inshaAllaah.
MCB
calls for equal gay marriage exemption for
mosques
UK: The Guardian, Independent, Daily
Telegraph and Daily Mail have all reported
on the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) press
release criticising the lack of religious
equality in the new gay marriage legislation
proposed by the Government. The legislation,
which will allow same sex couples to legally
marry, contains exemption provisions for the
Church of England and Church of Wales,
something the MCB argues should be extended
to cover other religious groups in the UK.
The MCB Secretary General Farooq Murad said,
“We find it incredible that while
introducing the bill in the House, culture
secretary Maria Miller could keep a straight
face when offering exemption for the
established Church while in the same breath
claiming, ‘fairness to be at the heart of
her proposals’.
He added that it was not just the
established churches that expressed strong
opposition to the legislation, but that “the
Muslim Council of Britain along with most
other faith groups also made equally strong
representation…no one in their right mind
should accept such a discriminatory law. It
should be amended to give exactly the same
exemption to all the religions."
The press release states that the MCB is
“seeking an urgent meeting with the Culture
Secretary to express the concerns of the
Muslim community on the proposed
legislation.”
Le Pen lays the blame for France's retreat
from its position as "one of the richest countries" on
"immigration".
FRANCE: In a
recent interview with Al Jazeera in which
she expounds on the alleged threat France
faces from radical Islam, Marine Le Pen
(pictured above) - president of the
far-right National Front party and member of
the European Parliament - seeks
international validation for her
anti-immigrant views:
No
country in the world... would accept to
go through the fast and sizeable
immigration of people who, without a
doubt, have a different religion and
culture.
It would
seem, of course, that many places in the
world have already gone through this very
process - including, for example, certain
former French colonial possessions, which
were also treated to military invasions,
widespread killing, torture and
expropriation of resources.
Now the tables have turned, however,
prompting right-wing hallucinations of an
Islamic empire under construction in Europe.
According to prominent neo-conservative
propaganda, the imperialist strategy rests
on a number of subtle subversive manoeuvers
such as "the demonisation of courageous
opponents of Islamic imperialism".
Though Le Pen refrains from referencing the
empire, she does hint in her interview at
possible additional tactics such as the
surreptitious force-feeding of halal meat to
non-Muslims:
[Millions of French people eat halal
food every day without realising it... [I]t's
a problem because it breaks our law on
secularism. This is because making
people who are not religious consume
halal food is contributing, due to this
consumption which lacks transparency, to
financing a cult... If in a Muslim
country[,] Muslims were made to eat
consecrated bread, they would scream.
That the
majority of the French population has not
been screaming about the threat of unwitting
ingestion of halal meat was suggested in a
March 2012 article in the British Guardian,
which reported "surveys showing that
[French] voters were less concerned about
halal meat than they were about the weather
and football".
Undeterred, Le Pen reiterates France's
unique torment: "[T]here is no reason to ask
the French to accept things that no other
people in the world would accept."
When in doubt, bring up the Nazis
As if the halal plot weren't bad enough,
Muslims have also engaged in more visible
assertions of control over French territory,
prompting Le Pen's December 2010 comparison
of Muslim street prayers to the Nazi
occupation of France.
In the event that we
wanted to defend Le Pen's sensational analogy, we could
always argue that she didn't mean it in an overly
negative way; after all, her father Jean-Marie Le Pen,
penultimate president of the National Front party,
described said occupation as "not especially inhumane".
A more relevant Nazi analogy might however recall the
handy practice of scapegoating certain religious and
ethnic groups in times of national decline and economic
hardship.
Le Pen lays the blame for France's retreat from its
position as "one of the richest countries in the world"
on contemporary administrations and "anarchical
immigration in our country which creates the conditions
for conflict, for the disintegration of society, which
disturbs our indivisibility, our laws, including our law
on secularism".
In Le Pen's ideal indivisible nation, "religious
personnel can have religious clothing but all the others
should not be able to distinguish themselves, as it
were, by presenting their religion before presenting
themselves as individuals". Following this logic, it
would seem that her definition of France as a country
where "Christian civilisation" is decisive in "determin[ing]
our whole way of life [and] our calendar" might also
constitute an example of religious-over-individual
presentation. In other words, calendars may need to be
banned along with headscarves.
In the latest foretelling of impending Islamic hegemony
in France, meanwhile, it was revealed earlier this month
that French authorities had requested the lifting of Le
Pen's parliamentary immunity in order to enable
prosecution on a charge of incitement of racial hatred.
The dangers of immense love
Le Pen has countered hate-related allegations with the
claim:
I feel
hatred towards nobody, but I have
immense love for my people and for my
country that I will defend in all
circumstances
Without delving into the
issue of the obvious right of non-citizen immigrants in
France to live free of persecution, it is worth noting
that Le Pen's "immense love" facilitates persecution of
Muslims who happen to be national citizens and who
therefore ostensibly also qualify as "my people".
In the first round of France's presidential election
this past April, the pro-love politician garnered 18
percent of the vote, a record for the National Front.
Impressive levels of fanatical attachment to one
"people" have also been registered in other European
locales such as the Netherlands, where politician Geert
Wilders has warned of the "Islamisation of our
societies", declared Islam "fascist" and compared the
Quran to Mein Kampf.
Italy's recurring malady Silvio Berlusconi meanwhile
rivals Le Pen for ignorance of historical realities such
as the role imperialism can have in future migration
patterns. In 2009, Corriere della Sera quoted the
then-Prime Minister's latest philosophy [IT] on
immigrants:
It is
unacceptable that sometimes in certain
parts of Milan there is such a presence
of non-Italians that instead of thinking
you are in an Italian or European city
you think you are in an African city. We
do not accept this.
In typical incoherent
fashion, Le Pen prefers to highlight other European
trends such as "multiculturalism in Great Britain",
which has resulted in "conflict" and "hate speech".
Decrees Le Pen: "I don't want that for France."
Apparently, then, divisive discourse will save France
from divisiveness.
In response to Al Jazeera's question of whether radical
Islam does indeed boast a substantial presence in French
suburbs, Le Pen provides the following damning evidence:
It's a
good question. It's up to them to ask
it. What's for certain is that attitudes
are being radicalised, Madame. There you
have it.
As for Len Pen's theory
that the job of radical Islamic recruiters is
facilitated by "social uneasiness" and a lack of
immigrant assimilation, the National Front leader could
perhaps sabotage recruitment efforts by abstaining from
analogies between Muslims and Nazis.
Belen Fernandez is
the author of The Imperial Messenger: Thomas Friedman at
Work, released by Verso in 2011. She is a member of the
Jacobin Magazine editorial board, and her articles have
appeared in the London Review of Books blog, Al Akhbar
English and many other publications.
Then They Started Shooting: Growing Up in Wartime
Bosnia
by
Lynne Jones
You
are nine years old. Your best friend's father is
arrested, half your classmates disappear from
school, and someone burns down the house across the
road. You think your neighbours were planning to
kill your family. You are eight years old and
imprisoned in your home by your father's old
friends. You are ten years old and must climb a
mountain at night to escape the soldiers trying to
shoot you.
What happens to children who grow up with war? How
do they live with the daily reality of danger,
hunger, and loss--and how does it shape the adults
they become?
In Then They Started Shooting, child psychiatrist
Lynne Jones draws the reader into the compelling
stories of Serbian and Muslim children who came of
age during the Bosnian wars of the 1990s. These
children endured hardship, loss, family disruption,
and constant uncertainty, and yet in a blow to
psychiatric orthodoxy, few showed lasting signs of
trauma. Thoughts of their personal futures filled
their minds, not memories of war.
And yet, Jones suggests in a chilling conclusion,
the war affected them deeply. Officially citizens of
the same country, the two communities live separate,
wary lives. The Muslims hope for reconciliation but
cannot believe in it while so many cannot go home
and war criminals are still at large. The Serbs
resent the outside world, NATO, and fear the return
of their Muslim neighbours. Cynical about politics,
all of them mistrust their elected leaders. War may
end, but the persistence of corruption and injustice
keep wounds from healing.
Source: Amazon.com
The more that you read,
The more things you will know.
The more that you learn,
The more places you will go.
Dr
Seuss
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 have to
thank Farieda Tofie for this refreshing dessert
which she made for a tea party this week.
According to
Wikipedia, Ambrosia is a variation on the
traditional fruit salad. Most ambrosia recipes
contain fresh or sweetened pineapple, mandarin
oranges or fresh orange sections, miniature
marshmallows, and coconut. Other ingredients can
include maraschino cherries, bananas,
strawberries, peeled grapes, or crushed pecans.
Ambrosia can also include whipped cream (or
whipped topping), sour cream, pudding, or
yogurt. The mixture is refrigerated for a few
hours or overnight before serving.
Ambrosia
Ingredients
1 bag miniature marshmallows
1 tin crushed pineapples (450g)
1 tin mandarin segments (310g) drained
1 cup shredded coconut
300 ml light sour cream
Method
Mix
all the ingredients together and refrigerate for
several hours before serving.
Q: Dear Kareema, are treadmills a waste of time?
We just bought one for our home gym and I’m hoping that
the whole family will benefit.
A: Treadmills can be a great fitness tool, but
some people tend to use it in a lazy way.
If your goal is weight-loss, then interval sessions will
be effective – for best results, maybe sprint for 30
seconds, then slow jog for 60 seconds to recover.
Depending on your treadmill, there may already be some
fitness programs set into the machine that you can
follow.
Just plodding along or cruising while on the treadmill
may be a waste of your time (if you’re already fit /
active).
Although, any time you move your body is better than not
moving at all.
Remember to mix it up every so often because working on
the treadmill can become tedious if you’re doing
the same thing all the time and you won’t see results
for a while.
If you have weights set up in your gym try to
incorporate it into your routine a few times a week.
Jallaluddin and his brother, Hukummudin, both farmers,
fall on hard times and are in financial trouble.
In order to keep the bank from repossessing the farm,
they need to purchase a bull so that they can breed
their own stock.
Upon leaving for the bull markets,
Jallaluddin tells Hukummudin, 'When I get there, if I
decide to buy the bull, I'll contact you to drive out
after me and haul it home.'
Jallaluddin arrives at the market, inspects the bull,
and decides he wants to buy it.
The man tells
Jallaluddin that he will sell it for $599, no less.
After paying him,
Jallaluddin drives to the nearest town to send his
brother Hukummudin a telegram to tell him the news.
Jallaluddin walks into the telegraph office, and says,
'I want to send a telegram to my brother telling him
that I've bought a bull for our farm. I need him to
hitch the trailer to our pickup truck and drive out here
so we can haul it home.'
The telegraph operator explains that he'll be glad to
help him, and then adds, it will cost 99 cents a word.'
Well, after paying for the bull,
Jallaluddin realizes that he'll only be able to send his
brother one word.
After a few minutes of thinking, he nods and says, 'I
want you to send him the word 'comfortable.'
The operator shakes his head. 'How is he ever going to
know that you want him to hitch the trailer to your
pickup truck and drive out here to haul that bull back
to your farm if you send him just the word
'comfortable?'
Jallaluddin, 'My brother's a bit dumb. The word is big.
He'll read it very slowly....
Guess how Hukummudin reads
it ........ before you
click here.
Say: I
seek refuge with the Lord of
the Dawn, From the mischief
of created things; From the
mischief of Darkness as it
overspreads; From the
mischief of those who
practice Secret Arts: And
from the mischief of the
jealous one as he practices
jealousy.
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
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.
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and the best feedback come from our community of readers. If you
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If there is
someone you know who would like to subscribe to CCN please
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ccn@crescentsofbrisbane.org with the words “Subscribe Me” in
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.
The
Bangladesh
Statistical
Association
(BSA)
recently
recognised
the
world-class
scientific
contributions
and global
professional
leadership
of
Australia-based
Bangladeshi
scientist Dr
Shahjahan
Khan by
awarding him
the
prestigious
Q M Hossain
Gold Medal.
You
are nine years old. Your best friend's father is
arrested, half your classmates disappear from
school, and someone burns down the house across the
road. You think your neighbours were planning to
kill your family. You are eight years old and
imprisoned in your home by your father's old
friends. You are ten years old and must climb a
mountain at night to escape the soldiers trying to
shoot you. 
post comments on
our Wall
7
August 2011