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Sunday, 10 February 2013

 Newsletter 0431

 

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Imam for Jummah: Hafiz Abdur Rahman Hardy and Muazzin: Rameez Gutta

Jummah Salaah was performed for the first time this year at Brisbane's John Paul College, an independent Christian school in Daisy Hill, south of Brisbane.

 

A spokesperson for the organizing committee told CCN: "Parents are requested to encourage their children to attend the Jummah facility at the school even if they are in the younger grades, as they will InshAllah enjoy the experience together."

Time: Start 1:30pm – Finish 1:50pm (occurs during the 2nd lunch break so they will not miss any of their important school work)
Venue: Coleman Centre – Upstairs room at rear of centre.

For further information or if you are interested in having your child lead the Jummah Salaah, please contact Sameer Gutta – 0433 128 585 or Muhsin Ally - 0400 134 786.

 

Alternatively, students of JPC can contact their fellow students - Rameez Gutta and Zain Nathie for more information.

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A dinner, organised by the offices of State Minister for Southport and Councillor for Arundel and supported by the Islamic Society of Gold Coast, will be held on 15 February (Friday) at 7.00pm at Parkwood Golf Club, 76 Napper Road, Arundel.


The cost of a ticket is $100 per head inclusive of a 3 course halal dinner.


Contact ISGC Secretary Haji Hussain Baba before 12th February (Tuesday) for reservation of seat on 0416 212 541 or by email: hbaba500@gmail.com.

 

The dinner is a 5 star event with entertainment and auctions by Haji Hussin Goss.

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By Selma Cook

Most of us have read about the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the close-knit community he established based on piety and benevolence.

However, few of us have experienced anything close to it in terms of mutual love and generous support in our time.

We are living at a time when information abounds and people can gain Islamic knowledge in many ways. We could say that we are the most informed of people in history but has our access to knowledge made us better Muslims?

How often does the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad these days successfully develop a united community based on piety and benevolence?

 

Bayaan Grant, a revert of twelve years living in Queensland Australia, believes that Sisters’ House has achieved just that!

About Bayaan

Bayaan was raised in a non-religious household but she admits that she has always been spiritually inclined. She searched for many years to find out how to worship the Creator.

Bayaan recalls: “I tried different religions but was not satisfied. At twenty-seven years of age and a single mum, I heard about Islam. Ironically, the one who taught me about Islam at first ended up my husband!”
 

 

I tried different religions but was not satisfied. At twenty-seven years of age and a single mum, I heard about Islam. Ironically, the one who taught me about Islam at first ended up my husband!

When Bayaan first met and befriended Muslims, all she knew about them was that they were fighting wars overseas. At that time she believed that as a woman she could handle anything.

 

Bayaan’s soon-to-be husband, also a revert, spoke to her humbly and respectfully about Islam. She did some research herself and learned about the rights of Muslim women and how Muslims should worship the Creator in His terms.

 

She loved it! She embraced Islam and has never looked back.

A Seed Is Sown

Another revert, who was a close friend of Bayaan, had embraced Islam years before, and she took Bayaan under her wing. This friend actually started the Muslim Women’s Convert Support Service in response to Bayaan and her conversion to Islam.

 

In the beginning, monthly social gatherings and Islamic classes were held and as time passed and Bayaan established herself in Islam she took on a more active role in trying to help and meet the needs of revert sisters.

Many reverts find that their relationship with family and friends changes and this leads them to loneliness
 

It soon became clear that revert sisters and their children had a range of needs that were not being met. There was a need for temporary housing along with resource provision and referral services. Embracing Islam and making the necessary lifestyle changes is a huge challenge and quite often the new Muslim may become confused and vulnerable.

Many reverts find that their relationship with family and friends changes and this leads them to loneliness and sometimes homelessness. Some reverts have to change their employment and they need a referral service to help them find suitable jobs. At the same time they need to learn about Islam and establish links with the Islamic community. Bayaan, and a group of like-minded Muslims, recognized the dilemma faced by reverts and decided to do something about it. Sisters’ House was beginning.

 

Brisbane is not so divisive and cliquey. People find it refreshing to see Muslims that just want to help. There is an easy going atmosphere here and I find the complete harmony of an Islamic community here in Brisbane.



Sunny Brisbane

All this was, and is, taking place in and around Brisbane. Sisters’ House is located just a few doors down from Kuraby Mosque and this area has the largest Muslim population in south-east Queensland. The famous Gold Coast is only half an hour away. People who have come to Brisbane from Sydney and Melbourne say Brisbane is more like a big country town.

Bayaan says: “Brisbane is not so divisive and cliquey. People find it refreshing to see Muslims that just want to help. There is an easy going atmosphere here and I find the complete harmony of an Islamic community here in Brisbane.” The Muslim population has grown very quickly and has a variety of ethnicities and a huge revert population.

How Sisters’ House Developed

Bayaan remembers: “In June 2010, we were officially handed the keys to a four-bedroom house in Kuraby by the Queensland Charity and Welfare Association (TAQCWA).”


TACQWA has been helping the Muslim community in Queensland in a variety of ways for some time. Bayaan recalls: “They wanted to help reverts and had heard that we were trying to do just that. So we had some meetings and they simply asked us what we needed to help revert sisters. We found that reverts needed their own place to learn about Islam in an environment that was welcoming; not intimidating. Sometimes they also needed a place to stay; short-term accommodation and help to make the transition into Islam in an Islamic environment. The brothers from TACQWA helped us get a four-bedroom house and they paid the rent until we established ourselves.”


Bayaan and other volunteers formed a committee and called in resources and networks to help set up the House, including counsellors and psychologists already working within the Muslim community. They developed policies and procedures to run the House properly from the beginning. Within six weeks, the House was fully furnished all with generous donations from the Muslim community. Bayaan notes: "People contact the House with ideas of how to help people. We work with the full support of the Imams and much of the community."

What Is Sisters’ House?

Two years since its inception, Sisters’ House is established and is managed and run by volunteers that make up the management committee – Sisters’ House Services Inc. The majority of the committee are reverts. With no government funding, the House is funded by donations from the Muslim community as well as contributions to rent from tenants of the House. Fundraising events are held throughout the year and it enjoys a close working relationship with a number of organizations throughout the region including the Islamic Women’s Association of Queensland.

Oftentimes, reverts find themselves in crisis and the House seeks to help them in a variety of ways; they can stay from a few days to a few weeks. Bayaan says: “Sisters only pay what they can afford. One elderly sister who embraced Islam came to stay at the House for a while and we paid her! We are now able to pay our own rent and costs.”

it is also a place for Muslim women and children to relax and socialize in an Islamic environment

Just two doors down from Kuraby Mosque, the House offers spiritual, social, emotional and financial support. From the Sunshine Coast, to the Gold Coast and beyond, the House now has a growing network of Islamic organizations that mutually help and support each other. Bayaan adds: “Now the Imams refer clients to us!”

A Unique Islamic Community

Although the House offers crisis care and a variety of services to Muslim women, it is also a place for Muslim women and children to relax and socialize in an Islamic environment.

 

It is a hub of activity; a lively place that runs with the intention of obeying God the Almighty and following the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

 

It does not exist on its own; inspired by the sisters, the brothers began the Ummah United Centre which seeks to cater to the needs of revert men.

 

Already they have done significant work with the Indigenous Australian revert community and members of bikie gangs who are seeking the Straight Path.
 

 

The House embraces a key concept of Islam; which is to help each other regardless of race or economic status. It is there for everyone. For me, living in a big city where I have no family, the House has allowed me to be a step closer to my larger Muslim family and helps bring me closer to Allah. It is my home away from home.
 


The fact that staff and management are all volunteers lends the House an atmosphere of sisterly care that can be relied on.

 

Sisters of all backgrounds and ethnicities have the chance to participate and work on projects together and be a part of this vital hub of the Muslim community in Brisbane.

Bayaan teaches on-going classes in the Basics of Islam and there are also classes to learn Arabic and Quran. The House organizes dinners, day trips and workshops and provides lessons in arts and crafts and cooking that are enjoyed by young and old. There are also women’s and children’s health information sessions and during Ramadan there are Iftars and Tarawih prayers. All the needs of the Muslim women and children are catered by the House.

A previous tenant of Sisters’ House says: “The House embraces a key concept of Islam; which is to help each other regardless of race or economic status. It is there for everyone. For me, living in a big city where I have no family, the House has allowed me to be a step closer to my larger Muslim family and helps bring me closer to Allah. It is my home away from home.”

Another former tenant says: “It was truly help from Allah. The house had a warm welcoming atmosphere, everything was provided for us - even delicious dinner on arrival. Sisters in the house supplied me with everything I would need. Staying at the Sisters’ House helped me tremendously in my recovery. It helped me logistically and financially. It helped me emotionally a lot as well. The house continually hosted various Islamic activities for the sisters and it felt so great to be around Muslim women and increase my knowledge in religion.”

 

The House is an investment in the community. I can’t imagine life without the Sister’s House.



Bayaan reminds the sisters as often as possible: “Think of the community as a garden – it needs to be cultivated and taken care of.”

Goals for the Future?

Bayaan hopes the House will be able to maintain their activities in time to come. She also hopes to develop stronger ties with other regional Islamic centers and help sisters and children to grow and form a strong and united community.

Bayaan notes: “The House is an investment in the community. I can’t imagine life without the Sister’s House.”
 

Source: OnIslam

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Four million people have had their lives shattered by conflict in Syria. Half of them are children.

 

An afternoon tea held at the Gold Coast Mosque last week succeeded in raising over $2000 for Syrian refugees to be used for blankets, mattresses, warm clothing, gasoline, heaters, food, medication, etc.

 

Sisters Angela Hillyer, Faizah Batchelor, Amila Kujovic, Aya Gadalla, Christine Leslie, Rachel Watts and Maryam Talib are to be congratulated for this initiative.

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MIDDLE EASTERN leaders are furious at a new police operation that implies members of their community are wholly responsible for the wave of gun crime sweeping Sydney.

 

Police launched the fresh operation to target gun crime on Wednesday and put the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad in charge, despite having no statistical evidence that offenders are mostly Middle Eastern.

 

The move has strained relationships with the community and angered leaders, who say unfair stereotyping has gone too far.

 

The spokesman for the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, Keysar Trad (pictured above), said the move was racist and would send a message to criminals of other ethnic or cultural groups that they are off the hook.

 

Previous bouts of gun violence have been carried out by bikie gang members and criminals of all nationalities, including Australian, Serbian and Samoan.

 

''If you make it exclusive to one particular ethnic group, then you're telling the rest of society they don't have to participate in solving the social issues,'' Mr Trad said. ''I welcome the creation of the squad but I wish we could give it another name because we are constantly being blamed for all the problems in society.''

 

 

If you make it exclusive to one particular ethnic group, then you're telling the rest of society they don't have to participate in solving the social issues. I welcome the creation of the squad but I wish we could give it another name.

 

Keysar Trad

Randa Abdel-Fattah, an author and community advocate, said it was ''offensive, concerning and disturbing'' that Australians of Middle Eastern descent were still being stereotyped as criminals.

 

''It's really just disgusting that we have to deal constantly with this sort of racism,'' she said. ''People don't realise the repercussions this has for young people of Middle Eastern background who are instantly linked with crimes that they did not commit.''

 

A spokesman for the NSW police said no breakdown for the nationality of gun crime offenders was kept and therefore no one knew what proportion was committed by Middle Eastern people.

 

Foreseeing the potential furore, the force's community contact unit has been meeting with dozens of Middle Eastern community leaders to assure them Operation Apollo would target criminals of all backgrounds.

 

A spokesman for the Islamic Egyptian Council said he had requested a meeting for Friday to express concern over the focus of the new operation.

 

This is not about targeting a particular community group. In fact, the opposite. We cannot solve the gun crime problem alone and the relationship with all sections of our community is critical to the success of this operation.  

 

Stepan Kerkyasharian

The Community Relations Commissioner, Stepan Kerkyasharian, said the operation was a chance to develop an ''open partnership'' with the public, yet he warned against assuming that someone's background, religion or language has an impact on their criminality.

 

''We should be very careful not to see this as an anti-migrant grouping, I would never accept that,'' he said. ''I see this is as an initiative by the police to very publicly state that we're open to a partnership.''

 

The commander of Operation Apollo, Superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis, stressed that MEOCS will work with local and metropolitan police and was appointed to lead the three-tiered operation only because it has the existing structure to investigate gun crime.

 

''This is not about targeting a particular community group,'' he said. ''In fact, the opposite. We cannot solve the gun crime problem alone and the relationship with all sections of our community is critical to the success of this operation.''

 

Operation Apollo has already seized 35 weapons, including 24 handguns.


Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

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Sisters' House is holding a Saturday morning Boot Camp at 8am at Svoboda Park, cnr Beenleigh Rd & Stiller Dve, Kuraby. Starts 2nd March for 6 weeks and costs $75.

Thursday morning group PT 9:30am at United Ummah Centre, 3 Harris Rd, Underwood. Starts 7th March and costs $40 per month.

For bookings and information call Layla on 0451 515 506.

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New York University chaplain, Imam Khalid Latif, talks about his up and coming movie, Unmosqued:

Many memories of my childhood are of me on the green, soft, carpeted floor of the local mosque. I remember receiving awards for memorizing Qur’an, and also being hit with a belt or stick by my sheikh when I had failed to memorize. The mosque (masjid) has shaped my values, decided who my friends were, and ultimately, gave me a sense of community…until I grew up, that is.

As the years have passed and the hairs on my head have dropped, I’ve wondered and questioned the role of the mosque. More specifically, I wanted an answer to the core question: What is the ideal role of the mosque in the American context?

In order to answer this layered question, so many other topics surrounding “mosque-culture” had to be addressed. Should the Friday sermon be delivered in English or Arabic or Urdu? What should the women’s area look like? Should the youth share the mosque space with the adults, or should they create their own, third space, to hang out in? Is the mosque a place for prayer and spiritual growth, or is it required to be something more?

So many mosques in America have the same problems: youth not showing up, lack of funds, ethnocentrism, irrelevant topics not addressing current social problems, inequality in regards to women’s rights, etc. Imagine if we saw positive change in the American society influenced and galvanized by communities associated with their local mosques! How vastly different this would be than Islamophobes flooding the media asking, ”Where are all the “moderate” Muslims?”

This film will explore the various functions of the mosque in the American context, who is leading them, where they are going, why the youth are not attending, and most importantly: What is the purpose of the mosque in America- and is it fulfilling it?

 

 

Source

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In the UK every year, more than 5,000 Brits convert to Islam.
 

More than half of those who make the switch are white – and 75 per cent are women.
 

But what would make someone want to change their lifestyle so dramatically?

 

Over the next four weeks CCN will profile four British women who decided to become Muslim.

 

Student Alana, 21

 

ALANA BLOCKLEY, a media student who lives in Glasgow, converted to Islam after meeting her husband Abdul on holiday in June 2010. She says:
 

My family are all travellers and we live on a caravan site. I was baptised as a Christian but church and religion were never a big part of my life.
 

I was 18 when I decided I wanted to go out to the Canaries. I wanted to work as a club rep and have the experiences people say you should when you’re young.
 

I arrived in Fuerteventura and after a couple of days, a hotel maintenance man offered to take me out for a coffee. He was Abdul, a Muslim from Morocco.

 

When I got home he asked me to come back and visit him – and after three visits we knew we wanted to be together.


 

I started to research Islam because I wanted to know more about his life.

 
I decided I wanted to convert. I was worried about telling my parents and burst into tears. Mum thought I was pregnant and my dad thought I’d crashed my car.
 

I started to wear the hijab last summer. We got married in a Muslim ceremony earlier this month in Fuerteventura.
 

I miss eating Parma ham but I don’t miss alcohol.
 

I celebrate Eid now, but I compromised with my parents and we all had a halal Christmas dinner.
 

I hope I’m going to heaven now and I like the rules of Islam.
 

Next week CCN profiles Jobseeker Claire

Source: The Sun

 

 

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Salaams readers,

We are living in Doolandella, QLD 4077. We have good condition of many clothes. We would like to donate those second-hand clothes. How can I donate and which will be the nearest shop or bin? Is there any pickup facility? If not then I am happy to drop.

I am looking forward hearing from you.

Regards
Shai-an
 

[Editor] If any reader can help, please email ccn@crescentsofbrisbane.org and we will pass on the details to the writer.

 

The road to renewal
 

After centuries of stagnation science is making a comeback in the Islamic world

 

 

THE sleep has been long and deep. In 2005 Harvard University produced more scientific papers than 17 Arabic-speaking countries combined. The world’s 1.6 billion Muslims have produced only two Nobel laureates in chemistry and physics. Both moved to the West: the only living one, the chemist Ahmed Hassan Zewail, is at the California Institute of Technology. By contrast Jews, outnumbered 100 to one by Muslims, have won 79. The 57 countries in the Organisation of the Islamic Conference spend a puny 0.81% of GDP on research and development, about a third of the world average. America, which has the world’s biggest science budget, spends 2.9%; Israel lavishes 4.4%.

Many blame Islam’s supposed innate hostility to science. Some universities seem keener on prayer than study. Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, for example, has three mosques on campus, with a fourth planned, but no bookshop. Rote learning rather than critical thinking is the hallmark of higher education in many countries. The Saudi government supports books for Islamic schools such as “The Unchallengeable Miracles of the Qur’an: The Facts That Can’t Be Denied By Science” suggesting an inherent conflict between belief and reason.

Many blame Islam’s supposed innate hostility to science. Some universities seem keener on prayer than study. Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, for example, has three mosques on campus, with a fourth planned, but no bookshop.

 

Many universities are timid about courses that touch even tangentially on politics or look at religion from a non-devotional standpoint. Pervez Hoodbhoy, a renowned Pakistani nuclear scientist, introduced a course on science and world affairs, including Islam’s relationship with science, at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, one of the country’s most progressive universities. Students were keen, but Mr Hoodbhoy’s contract was not renewed when it ran out in December; for no proper reason, he says. (The university insists that the decision had nothing to do with the course content.)

But look more closely and two things are clear. A Muslim scientific awakening is under way. And the roots of scientific backwardness lie not with religious leaders, but with secular rulers, who are as stingy with cash as they are lavish with controls over independent thought.

The long view

The caricature of Islam’s endemic backwardness is easily dispelled. Between the eighth and the 13th centuries, while Europe stumbled through the dark ages, science thrived in Muslim lands. The Abbasid caliphs showered money on learning. The 11th century “Canon of Medicine” by Avicenna (pictured above, with modern equipment he would have relished) was a standard medical text in Europe for hundreds of years.

 

In the ninth century Muhammad al-Khwarizmi laid down the principles of algebra, a word derived from the name of his book, “Kitab al-Jabr”. Al-Hasan Ibn al-Haytham transformed the study of light and optics. Abu Raihan al-Biruni, a Persian, calculated the earth’s circumference to within 1%. And Muslim scholars did much to preserve the intellectual heritage of ancient Greece; centuries later it helped spark Europe’s scientific revolution.

 

The caricature of Islam’s endemic backwardness is easily dispelled. Between the eighth and the 13th centuries, while Europe stumbled through the dark ages, science thrived in Muslim lands.

The Abbasid caliphs showered money on learning.  

Not only were science and Islam compatible, but religion could even spur scientific innovation. Accurately calculating the beginning of Ramadan (determined by the sighting of the new moon) motivated astronomers. The Hadith (the sayings of Muhammad) exhort believers to seek knowledge, “even as far as China”.

These scholars’ achievements are increasingly celebrated. Tens of thousands flocked to “1001 Inventions”, a touring exhibition about the golden age of Islamic science, in the Qatari capital, Doha, in the autumn.

 

More importantly, however, rulers are realising the economic value of scientific research and have started to splurge accordingly. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, which opened in 2009, has a $20 billion endowment that even rich American universities would envy.


Foreigners are already on their way there. Jean Fréchet, who heads research, is a French chemist tipped to win a Nobel prize. The Saudi newcomer boasts research collaborations with the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and with Imperial College, London.

 

The rulers of neighbouring Qatar are bumping up research spending from 0.8% to a planned 2.8% of GDP: depending on growth, that could reach $5 billion a year. Research spending in Turkey increased by over 10% each year between 2005 and 2010, by which year its cash outlays were twice Norway’s.

The tide of money is bearing a fleet of results. In the 2000 to 2009 period Turkey’s output of scientific papers rose from barely 5,000 to 22,000; with less cash, Iran’s went up 1,300, to nearly 15,000. Quantity does not imply quality, but the papers are getting better, too. Scientific journals, and not just the few based in the Islamic world, are citing these papers more frequently.

 

A study in 2011 by Thomson Reuters, an information firm, shows that in the early 1990s other publishers cited scientific papers from Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey (the most prolific Muslim countries) four times less often than the global average. By 2009 it was only half as often. In the category of best-regarded mathematics papers, Iran now performs well above average, with 1.7% of its papers among the most-cited 1%, with Egypt and Saudi Arabia also doing well. Turkey scores highly on engineering.

.......rulers are realising the economic value of scientific research and have started to splurge accordingly


Science and technology-related subjects, with their clear practical benefits, do best. Engineering dominates, with agricultural sciences not far behind. Medicine and chemistry are also popular.

 

Value for money matters. Fazeel Mehmood Khan, who recently returned to Pakistan after doing a PhD in Germany on astrophysics and now works at the Government College University in Lahore, was told by his university’s vice-chancellor to stop chasing wild ideas (black holes, in his case) and do something useful.

Science is even crossing the region’s deepest divide. In 2000 SESAME, an international physics laboratory with the Middle East’s first particle accelerator, was set up in Jordan. It is modelled on CERN, Europe’s particle-physics laboratory, which was created to bring together scientists from wartime foes. At SESAME Israeli boffins work with colleagues from places such as Iran and the Palestinian territories.

By the book

Science of the kind practised at SESAME throws up few challenges to Muslim doctrine (and in many cases is so abstruse that religious censors would struggle to understand it). But biology—especially with an evolutionary angle—is different. Many Muslims are troubled by the notion that humans share a common ancestor with apes. Research published in 2008 by Salman Hameed of Hampshire College in Massachusetts, a Pakistani astronomer who now studies Muslim attitudes to science, found that fewer than 20% in Indonesia, Malaysia or Pakistan believed in Darwin’s theories. In Egypt it was just 8%.

Yasir Qadhi, an American chemical engineer turned cleric (who has studied in both the United States and Saudi Arabia), wrestled with this issue at a London conference on Islam and evolution this month. He had no objection to applying evolutionary theory to other lifeforms. But he insisted that Adam and Eve did not have parents and did not evolve from other species. Any alternative argument is “scripturally indefensible,” he said. Some, especially in the diaspora, conflate human evolution with atheism: rejecting it becomes a defining part of being a Muslim. (Some Christians take a similar approach to the Bible.)

Though such disbelief may be couched in religious terms, culture and politics play a bigger role, says Mr Hameed. Poor school education in many countries leaves minds open to misapprehension. A growing Islamic creationist movement is at work too. A controversial Turkish preacher who goes by the name of Harun Yahya is in the forefront. His website spews pamphlets and books decrying Darwin. Unlike his American counterparts, however, he concedes that the universe is billions of years old (not 6,000 years).

But the barrier is not insuperable. Plenty of Muslim biologists have managed to reconcile their faith and their work. Fatimah Jackson, a biological anthropologist who converted to Islam, quotes Theodosius Dobzhansky, one of the founders of genetics, saying that “nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution”. Science describes how things change; Islam, in a larger sense, explains why, she says.

Koranic verses about the creation of man, for example, can now be read as providing support for evolution.

Others take a similar line. “The Koran is not a science textbook,” says Rana Dajani, a Jordanian molecular biologist. “It provides people with guidelines as to how they should live their lives.” Interpretations of it, she argues, can evolve with new scientific discoveries.

 

Koranic verses about the creation of man, for example, can now be read as providing support for evolution.

Other parts of the life sciences, often tricky for Christians, have proved unproblematic for Muslims. In America researchers wanting to use embryonic stem cells (which, as their name suggests, must be taken from human embryos, usually spares left over from fertility treatments) have had to battle pro-life Christian conservatives and a federal ban on funding for their field. But according to Islam, the soul does not enter the fetus until between 40 and 120 days after conception—so scientists at the Royan Institute in Iran are able to carry out stem-cell research without attracting censure.

But the kind of freedom that science demands is still rare in the Muslim world. With the rise of political Islam, including dogmatic Salafists who espouse a radical version of Islam, in such important countries as Egypt, some fear that it could be eroded further still. Others, however, remain hopeful. Muhammad Morsi, Egypt’s president, is a former professor of engineering at Zagazig University, near Cairo. He has a PhD in materials science from the University of Southern California (his dissertation was entitled “High-Temperature Electrical Conductivity and Defect Structure of Donor-Doped Al2O{-3}”). He has promised that his government will spend more on research.

Released from the restrictive control of the former regimes, scientists in Arab countries see a chance for progress. Scientists in Tunisia say they are already seeing promising reforms in the way university posts are filled. People are being elected, rather than appointed by the regime. The political storms shaking the Middle East could promote not only democracy, but revive scientific freethinking, too.

Source: The Economist 26 January 2013
 

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Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf Embezzlement Lawsuit: Former Head Of 'Ground Zero Mosque' Accused Of Squandering Millions
 

NEW YORK, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The head of a proposed mosque that was to be built near the site of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York City was sued on Tuesday and accused of squandering millions of dollars in donations on lavish lifestyle perks for himself and his wife.

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court by several donors, accuses Imam Feisel Abdul Rauf of diverting $167,000 from private donations and $3 million from the Malaysian government for his personal use.

The money was intended for the Cordoba Initiative and the American Society for Muslim Advancement, two non-profits founded by Rauf aimed at educating the public about Islam and combating anti-Islam sentiment, the lawsuit said.

Rauf used the money to pay for vacations, real estate, entertainment, a luxury sports car and other gifts and lavish lifestyle perks for himself and his wife, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit also accused Rauf of falsifying the two groups' tax returns for several years to conceal fund transfers and sources.

The donors are seeking $25 million in damages.
 

 

Huffington Post

 

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First Muslim college in the US
 

With only a dozen students for now, Zaytuna College in California hopes to integrate Islamic and western education.

 

A Muslim college in the United States is the first of its kind, which mission is to join Islamic scholarship with the Western academic emphasis on free inquiry and developing critical intellectual capacities.

Zaytuna College in Berkeley California is a fledgling institution with only 31 students, operating out of space rented from a Baptist seminary.

 

 

 

Source: Al Jazeera

 

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Pork DNA found in Halal prison food

 

UK: Major food retailers and suppliers are being summoned to an urgent meeting following a spate of mis-labelled or contaminated food products reaching the public.

The Prison Service yesterday launched an urgent investigation and after a number of Halal meat pies and pasties supplied to jails were found to contain traces of pork DNA.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) also said it was suspending a supplier of meat to prisons after discovering that food products may contain traces of non-Halal meat, despite being sourced from a properly Halal-certified supplier.

Islamic law forbids the consumption of pork. All the contaminated products have been withdrawn, the MoJ said.

Yesterday the Food Standards Agency (FSA) ordered a meeting of food suppliers and retailers on Monday following a number of recent cases that have shaken consumer confidence in food labelling.

An FSA spokeswoman said: "People have a right to expect that the food they are eating is correctly described.

"It is the responsibility of food businesses to ensure the food they sell contains what it says on the label. We are considering, with relevant local authorities, whether legal action is appropriate following the investigation."
 

 

London Evening Standard

 

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www.salamcard.com.au

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CCN Readers' Book Club: You are what you read!

 

 

 

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?

Then simply email the title and author to thebookclub@crescentsofbrisbane.org


Double click a book cover to find out what others think of the book

CCN has set up an online Book Club at Shelfari to connect with CCN book readers at:

http://www.shelfari.com/ccn_bkclub

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.

The CCN Readers' Book Club

 

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KB says: Inspired by a recent episode of My Kitchen Rules, Farzahnaz Hatia prepared this mouth-watering desert during the week. Her Aunty Safia added a creme anglaise that turned out to be the pièce de résistance of the desert.

Apple Crumble with Crème Anglaise

 

Ingredients

 

3 Granny Smith Apples (peeled, cored and sliced)
A sprinkling of lemon juice
90g butter
60ml brown sugar (1/4 cup)
125ml cake flour (1/2 cup)
180ml oats (3/4 cup)
5ml cinnamon (1tsp)
 

 
 

Method

 

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees
2. Sprinkle the apples with lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown.
3. Cream the butter and brown sugar
4. Add in the cake flour, oats and cinnamon to from the dough.
5. Place the apple slices into a greased ovenproof dish.
6. Grate the dough over the apples
7. Bake at 180 for approx. 45mins until light brown and crisp.
8. Serve warm with cream or custard or crème anglaise if you really want to impress your guests.

 

Do you have a recipe to share with CCN readers?


Send in your favourite recipe to me at kbcooks@crescentsofbrisbane.org and be my "guest chef" for the week.

 

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Q: Dear Kareema, I organise bi-monthly ‘active outings’ for our organisation and was hoping to get a few more ideas on interactive fitness challenges to put my team through their paces.

A: Head to the beach and enjoy a two-day beach volleyball comp. It doesn’t matter what your fitness level, your entire body will be challenged and you’ll leave feeling tired (and maybe a little sore) but definitely stronger and fitter.
 

Another great option is dragon boating as you can have quite a few members in each boat – this is an awesome workout for your arms and abs and will leave you feeling toned and terrific.
 

Hiking and indoor rock climbing are a few more of my favourite workouts. Great for core stability and leg strengthening, and will give you and adrenalin rush every time – NJOY!

 


 

 

 

 

TOGETHER, LET’S FIGHT GLOBESITY

Kareema

My Health and Fitness

Tel: 0404 844 786

 

Need an answer to a fitness related matter?

Send your question to Kareema at  fitness@crescentsofbrisbane.org.

All questions sent in are published here anonymously and without any references to the author of the question.

 

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Jallaludin went from his home in Bankstown to the Sydney CBD offices of a recruiting company having seen an advertisement for the “best job in the world”.

Naturally interested, he went in and asked the receptionist for details.

The receptionist pulled up the file and read; "The job entails working on a tropical island. No formal qualifications are needed but candidates must be willing to swim, snorkel, dive and sail. In return, the successful applicant will receive a salary of A$150,000 for six months and get to live rent-free in a three-bedroom villa, complete with pool, maid and butler, and if you're interested you'll have to go to Cairns "

"My goodness, is that where the job is?" asked the Jallaludin.

She answered: "No Sir, that's where the end of the queue is."
 

 

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And you (O reader!) bring your Lord to remembrance in your (very) soul, with humility and in reverence, without loudness in words, in the mornings and evenings; and you be not of those who are unheedful. 
 
Surah Al-A'raf 7:205

 

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The CCN

 If people are good only because they fear punishment,

and hope for reward,

then we are a sorry lot indeed.   

~ Albert Einstein

 

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Notice Board

 

Click on thumbnail to enlarge

 

Events and Functions

APAN Fundraiser Dinner 9 March

 

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Islamic Programmes, Education & Services

Milaad Conference Personal Training Al Mustapha Madressah 2013 Kuraby Madrassah Enrolments Shajarah Islamic Kindergarten Learning to read the Quran AMYN Learn Arabic AMYN Witness onto Mankind 2nd & 3rd March 2013 Holland Park Mosque Property Purchase Appeal Holland Park Mosque Property Purchase Appeal AIIC Buranda Re-Opening AIIC 2013 Open Enrolment Day AlMustapha degree Radio Quran Kareem Marhaba Playgroup Muslim Aid Australia Al-Imdaad Foundation Australia
 
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Businesses and Services

 

DIRECTORY

ACCES Removal Services

Removalist

Kuraby Mosque Hire Services

Hire Services

Ahlam Haddad Tutoring

Tutoring (Maths)

Lawung

Clothing Islamic Couture

Baalbak

Lebanese Cuisine

Love ur Body

Beauty Treatments

Brizie Biltong

Biltong

Mansur Omar

Real Estate

Bismillah Repairs & Maintenance

Repairs & Maintenance

NOTE NEW NO. 0468342127

MaXimize Accountants

Accountants

Brisbane Diagnostics

Radiography

Monavie

Health Drink

Calamvale Physio & Sports Injury Clinic

Physiotherapy

AutoCAD Training

Personal Tuition

Car Body Removals

Used Car Dealer

Muslim Directory Australia

Directory Services

Carpet Lifesavers

Carpet cleaning

Nando's CALAMVALE CENTRAL

Restaurant & Takeaway Portuguese Chicken

Centre for Easy Language Learning (CeLL)

Tutoring (Arabic)

Nandos MT GRAVATT

Restaurant & Takeaway Portuguese Chicken

Boulevard Towers Surfers Paradise 

Holiday Accommodation

Nazima Hansa Realty PTY LTD

Real Estate

efxshop

Computers

Islamic College of Brisbane Hall Hire

Hire Services

EliteFX

Computers

OurWorld Travel

Travel

Excelanz

Migration Agency

Pappa Roti

Cake & Coffee

Fathima Adat Tutoring

Tutoring (School subjects)

Pizza Lane

Restaurant & Takeaway Pizza

Gabriel Hair Studios

Hairstylist

Rejuven8 Body & Beauty

Beauty Treatments

Haseera

Plastic Mats

Samoosa Pastry Distributors

Samoosas

Henna by Fatima

Henna

Shakira Kolia's Driving School

Driving School

Hummy's Automotive

Car Repairs

Siitra

Clothing

Hussana Australia

Halal Body Care range

Stick On Labels

Label printing

InWear Fashions

Clothing Fashion

The Quran Pen

hussana.com.au

Junaid Ally Properties

Real Estate

Yasmeen Seedat Accounting Services

Accounting

Kimaya Fashions

Clothing

Lily's Fashion

Wedding dresses etc. 

Personal Training with Layla

Personal Training

Marketing Co-Op

Internet Services

Angelz Dental Care

Dentist

Flightstar

Travel Agency

Shameema's Silk Scarves

Clothing

Grand Medical Centre

Medical Practitioners

Qld Islamic Book Service

Book Shop

 

Healthy Life BROWNS PLAINS

Health Products

Personal Wellness Coach

Health

 

Ummah Store

Books, Clothing, DVDs etc.

OfficeTek

Security Systems

 

Paradise Convenience

Global Groceries

Muslima Chic

Muslim designer clothes, jewellery

Amina4Samoosas

Samoosa Strips (pur)

 

Low Price Pharmacy

Pharmacy

 

LTH Accounting & Financial Services

Accountants

SunKids

Child Care Centres

Pari Collections

Clothing

 

Shariff's Computer Services

 

Computer Servicing

CassonIT Solutions

 Computer Servicing & Systems

Lil Umah

Children's Clothes

Computer Repair

 Computer Repairs

 

Watany Man-oushi Lebanese Foods

Take Away

Wasimah

 Clothing

Kuraby Fashions

Islamic Clothes

 

Baby Care Solutions

(read information sheet)

 Early Parenting Guidance

 
 
Baby Care Solutions Kuraby Fashion Wasimah Brisbane Bamboo Towels HEALTHY LIFE Browns Plains
Himalyan Salt Lamps PART 1 HEALTHY LIFE Browns Plains
Himalyan Salt Lamps PART 2 Computer Repairs Watang Man-oushi Lebanese Foods Lil Umah CassonIT Solutions Dial a Doctor Bulk Billing Dr in your home Michael's Oriental Birthday Promo Function Room Page 1 Function Room Page 2 LOVE UR BODY Shariff's Computer Services Sunkids Sunkids Pari Collection Pari Collection Maximize  Accountants Officetek Alarms Mona Vie AK Surtie Angelz Dental Care Centre for Easy Language Learning Arabic Paradise Convenience Ayesha's Samoosa Strips ACCES Services REMOVALS Autocad 2012 Training Baalbak Mediterranean Restaurant Low Price Pharmacy KURABY Bismillah Repairs and Maintenance
New mobile no. 0468 342 127 Samoosa Pastry Brisbane Diagnostics Brizy Biltong Beef Jerky Boulevard Tower Residence Accommodation Calamvale Physiotherapy & Sport Injury Clinic Carpetlifesavers Indoor Folding Mats InWear Fashions Rejuven8 Body & Beauty Personal Wellness Coach efxshop Tutoring Fathima Adat Flighstar Hajj2012 Flighstar Hajj2012 Gabriel Hair Studio Henna Fatima Ismail hummys Automotive Services Hussana Junaid Ally Properties REMAX Kimaya International Kuraby Mosque Hire Quick Stick Name labels Ladies Only Personal Training Lilys Fashion love ur body Marketing Coop Group Muslim Directory Muslima Chick Nandos Calamvale Nandos Mt Gravatt NAZIMA HANSA REMAX Excelanz Migration Services Pizza Lane Pappa Roti QLD Islamic Book Service Seedat Accounting Shameema's Silk Scarves Siitra Shakira Kolia Driving School T ax Returns 2012 Ummah Store Elite FX Web Design

(provisiona

"If it's not here ....it's not happening!"l)

To claim your date for your event email ccn@crescentsofbrisbane.org.

 

Date

Day

Event

(Click on link)

Organizer

Venue

Contact

Time

17 February

Sunday

Annual Mawlid Conference 2013

Minhaj-ul-Quran

Rochedale Mosque, 2647 Logan Rd, EMP

0400 162 163

3.30pm for 6.30pm

9 March

Saturday

APAN Fundraiser Dinner

APAN

Michael's Oriental Restaurant

0413 874 008

6.30pm for 7pm

5 May

Sunday

International Food Festival 2013

Islamic Society of Gold Coast

Gold Coast Mosque

0412 601 152

All day

6 June

(tentative)

Thursday

Lailatul Mehraj

9 June

Sunday

Islamic College of Brisbane (ICB) Annual Fete

ICB CPAC

Islamic College of Brisbane (ICB)

0402 794 253

All day

24 June

(tentative)

Monday

Lailatul Bhahraat

11 July
(tentative)

Thursday

Start of Ramadhan

5 August

(tentative)

Monday

Lailatul Qadr

8 August

(tentative)

Thursday

End of Ramadhan

9 August

(tentative)

Friday

Eid-ul-Fitr

17 August

Saturday

Eidfest 2013

Mt Gravatt Showgrounds

0418 722 353

All day

1 September

Sunday 

CresWalk 2013

10th ANNIVERSARY

Orleigh Park, West End

0402 026 786

8am

16 October

(tentative)

 

Eid-ul-Adha

 TBA 2013

 

Aashooraa Day

 

NB: The Islamic date changes to the next day starting in the evenings after maghrib.

Therefore, except for lailatul mehraj, lailatul baraat and lailatul qadr – these dates

refer to the commencement of the event starting in the evening of the corresponding day.

 

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RECURRING EVENTS

Algester Mosque

 

Yaseen Khatam held every night after Isha salaat.

 

 As-Salaam Institute of Islamic Studies

Free Monthly Tafseer Class

Telecast Live from Sydney

The Immense Ocean by Imam Ahmed Ibn Ajiba al Hasani
 

Date: Every second Saturday of each month
Time: 3pm - 4:30pm
Venue: IWAQ Office, 11 Watland St, Springwood
Light refreshments provided.
 

For more information about the course can be found here

 

Kuraby Mosque Tafseer & Taalim

 

Tuesday tafseer and taleem classes at Kuraby Mosque every Tuesday 11am - 12.30pm

 

Bald Hills Mosque Weekly Tafseer

 

The weekly program schedule is as follows:
Mondays: Tafseer
Wednesdays: Tafseer

The above lessons will start at 7:30 pm and will go for approximately 1/2 an hour each day.

All brothers and sisters are welcome.

 

Queensland Police Service/Muslim Community Consultative Group

 

VENUE: Metropolitan South Regional Office, 1993 Logan Road, Upper Mt Gravatt

Wednesday 27 February
Wednesday 31 July
Wednesday 20 November
 

Commencing at 5.00pm (Times may change throughout the year pending salat)

ALL WELCOME

 

For more information and RSVP:

Sergeant Jim Bellos at Bellos.Dimitrios@police.qld.gov.au

 

 

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Catch Crescents Community News on

 

Please feel free to

post comments on our Wall

start up a Discussion thread

become a Fan

and

Like our page

 

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Sunnah Inspirations

Providing information about Islam - its beliefs, culture, practices, dispelling misconceptions

Kuraby Mosque

Holland Park Mosque

Al-Nisa

Provide young Muslim women in Queensland with support and opportunities to express themselves

MUSLIMS AUSTRALIA / Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) Islamic Schools, Halal Services and a whole lot more...

AFIC Schools

      www.mfis.com.au (Malek Fahd Islamic School, Sydney, NSW)
      www.icb.qld.edu.au (Islamic College of Brisbane, QLD)
      www.icosa.sa.edu.au (Islamic College of South Australia, SA)
      www.afic-lic.com.au (Langford Islamic College, Perth, WA)
      www.islamicschoolofcanberra.act.edu.au (Islamic College of Canberra, ACT)

Karratha Muslims (Muslims in Western Australia)

Islam TV

Recording of lectures and events in and around Queensland

Muslim Directory Australia

Carers Queensland

Free service for multicultural clients who are carers, elderly and people with disabilities

Brisbane Muslim Burial Society (BMBS)

Muslim Charitable Foundation (MCF)

Coordinated collection & distribution of: Zakaah, Lillah, Sadaqah, Fitrana, Unwanted interest

Islamic Medical Association of Queensland (IMAQ)

Network of Muslim healthcare professionals

Al-Imdaad Foundation (Australia)

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

Islamic Council of Queensland (ICQ)  

Umbrella body representing various Mosques and Societies in Queensland

Current list of businesses certified halal by ICQ  7 August 2011

Islamic Friendship Association of Australia

Blog of the Association's activities

United Muslims of Brisbane

Crescents of Brisbane's CRESCAFE (Facebook)

Muslim Women's eNewsletter

Sultana’s Dream is a not-for-profit e-magazine that aims to provide a forum for the opinions of Australian Muslim women

Islamic Solutions

Articles and Audio recordings

IQRA Academy Institute of Islamic Studies

Online streaming of Islamic lectures

Gold Coast Mosque

 Incorporating Islamic Society of Gold Coast Inc.

South African National Halaal Authority (SANHA)

Muslim Womens' Convert Support Group (MWCSG)

Network of Muslim women converts from the Brisbane and Gold Coast areas of Queensland.

Australian International Islamic College (Durack)

Kotku Mosque - Dubbo NSW

Islamic Society of Algester

Jamiatul Ulama Western Australia

Body of Muslim Theologians (Ulama, Religious Scholars)

Islamic Women's Association of Queensland (IWAQ)

Community based, not-for-profit organisation providing Settlement, Aged Care, disability, social activities and employment opportunities.

Federation of Australian Muslim Students & Youth (FAMSY)

Queensland Intercultural Society (QIS)

GIRU – Griffith Islamic Research Unit

          Qld Stories link or YouTube link

Gold Coast Halal Certification Services (GCHCS)

Muslim Aid Australia

Serving Humanity

Human Appeal International Australia  Always with you on the road to goodness

Al-Mustapha Institute of Brisbane  

Preserving the Past, Educating the Present to Create the Future

Islamic Society of Darra

Qld Muslims Volunteers

Islamic Shia Council of Queensland

Muslim Reverts Network

Supporting new Muslims

Muslim Funeral Services (MFS)

 Funeral Directors & Funeral Fund Managers for the Brisbane and Gold Coast communities

Islamic Society of Bald Hills (ISBH)

Tafseers and Jumma Khubahs uploaded every week.

Muslim Community & Qld floods

How the community helped out during the 2010 QLD floods

The CCN Young Muslim Writers Award (Facebook)

The Queensland Muslim Historical Society  (Facebook)

Muslim Women's National Network of Australia, Inc (MWNNA)

Peak body representing a network of Muslim women's organisations and individuals throughout Australia

Sultana's Dream

Online magazine subscribe@sultanasdream.com.au

If you would like a link to your website email ccn@crescentsofbrisbane.org.

 

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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.

 

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Write For Us

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.

 

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