The first Muslim woman to be appointed to any parliament in Australia says her religion won’t be a major influence on her politics.

Mehreen Faruqi will take over from Greens MP Cate Faehrmann in the New South Wales upper house later this year.

The environmental engineer and university lecturer told SBS religion should play “no part” in politics, and rejected earlier claims from an Islamic Friendship Association spokesman that she could have difficulties reconciling issues such as gay marriage with Islamic teachings.

“We live in a democracy and [have] a secular system of government. I see no role that religion plays in government, and nor should it,” she said.

“I’m not a spokesperson for religious Islam. There are many other MPs who are Christians and likewise, they are not spokespeople for the church.”

Gay marriage and gender equality are both issues on her agenda.

“[Equality] provides dignity to people and humanity to people whether it’s equality in gender or equal marriage, and I feel very, very strongly about that.”

“I grew up in Pakistan in a Muslim culture and a Muslim family and I think I’m very typical of Pakistani Australian Muslims who, for example, abstain from alcohol and practice fasting during Ramadan, but I would like to say that’s just one aspect of who I am.”

Ms Faruqi, who immigrated to Australia from Pakistan in 1992, said she also planned to build stronger links between the Greens and migrant communities in NSW as well as continuing to campaign on environmental issues.

 

 

Source: SBS

At the end of November, a video hit the Internet called 'Unmosqued' delivered by Abu Yusuf.

 

The talk was delivered at a Rad Talks conference (a TED style conference for Muslims with short “lightning talks” on various subjects).

 

Abu Yusuf speaks about Muslims who feel unwelcome at the mosque and how to bring them back.

 

He also talks about his latest project: http://www.unmosqued.com.
 

Here is the original unmosqued talk:

 

 

This talk prompted some people to make a documentary, a trailer of which was released a couple of months ago as a teaser.

 

Unmosqued The Movie Teaser 1

 

 

Unmosqued The Movie Teaser 2

 

 

Following on from these clips, Omar Usman puts forward, in MuslimMatters, his take on three of the arguments (see extracts below) being made:

 

Argument 1: Criticism vs. Involvement

Masjid Administration: We've put in an unmatched level of work. We raised the funds, got the building permits, lobbied the city, found building contractors, and tons more. In fact, most of the people complaining about unmosqued learned their Islam from the very Sunday schools that we established! So you want to change things? Go ahead. Come and raise funds to run the place. Go represent us at the interfaith gatherings and law enforcement meetings. Sit down on Friday and handle all the zakat requests. You want us to build you a gym? We can't trust you with it. You don't have a track record of showing up. How are you going to raise the funds, find an architect, get city approval, and manage the construction? How about you at least teach at the Sunday school without calling in sick twice a month before we can trust you?

Community Members: We're tired of how you run things. You never take our feedback – in fact we don't even know how you decide what you decide. You don't follow the federal laws that require you to post meeting minutes so we can know what's going on. In fact, you don't even hold the general body meetings to get our input as mandated by the masjid constitution that you wrote! Moreover, we tried to get involved but you shut us down. We tried to organize an all-night event for youth, and you said no. We tried to do a food drive, and you wouldn't even let us make an announcement after jumu'ah. In fact, a few of us tried to run for board positions and when you thought we might win, you changed the constitution of the masjid!

My Take: There's a lot of truth to both sides of this argument. A lot of times the people who complain are willing to put in work – but not necessarily all the work that's needed. Most of us don't understand the level of sacrifice that went into just getting our masājid off the ground in the first place. And the average community member usually doesn't even know a lot of the work that's going on behind the scenes. Something as seemingly simple as just coordinating a khutbah schedule can take up a couple of hours a week.
 

 

Argument 2: Women in the masjid

Having 2 young daughters, my wife, mother, and sister – I feel quite strongly about how sisters will be included in our masjids moving forward. I won't rehash the discussion about women being marginalized, not being included, and not having adequate accommodations. I think they're painfully obvious to even the most casual of masjid attendees.

But what I do think is important is to understand a little bit of context. The needs and demands of our communities have changed drastically in the last 20-30 years. Islamic schools have gone from a rarity to being seen by some as a necessity in every major community. Masjids have gone from having an empty field (i.e. future construction site) for kids to play on to having full blown gymnasiums. Social changes have greatly impacted how masjids interact with their non-Muslim neighbors.

Many masjids were established by immigrant families who came from places where women attending the masjids was not emphasized. It might be wrong – but it's a fact, and many of them simply did not know any better. The demands voiced by sisters now are different than 15 years ago. Even if they're the same, they're much more vocal now than they were before. So how do we change it?

Physical accommodations are a real problem. This problem needs a bit of context though. Some masjids are stuck – they were built long ago, or built by people who (unfortunately) didn't have the foresight to properly make an adequate sister's area. Fixing this is not easy – making a physical change requires lots of funds, building plans, city approval, and so on. In some cases, it just might not be an option due to land restrictions. Communities will have to find ways of working around this. One thing that a number of places have adopted is simply having sisters only programs in the men's area at off hours (i.e. daytime on weekdays).
 

 

Argument 3: Imams

I'm quite tired of the “immigrant” imām debate. Being an immigrant is not the make or break issue. I have seen many immigrant imams who have had not only profound impacts on their communities, but even on me personally. If you grew up here, who taught you how to read Qur'an when you were young? Who taught you the basics of your religion? I've also seen plenty of imams who were born and raised here, and “understand the culture” that are flat out a destructive presence in their communities.

Everyone feels they're entitled to a certain type of imām, and everyone has different expectations of one. Some communities think imams are just ignoramuses who can't do anything but teach Arabic alphabets, and some imams feel like all they do 24 hours a day is teach classes, lead prayers, and provide counseling and emergency (counseling/janazah/hospital visits) services in all their free time. Ask the child of an American imām how much they saw their dad growing up. They're busy serving the needs of the community – many times they are needs that 80% of the community doesn't even realize they need because they're behind the scenes.

 

Read the full article

 

The word unmosqued comes from the Christian community referring to people who haven't attended services in some time – Unchurched.

 

As an effort to collect support for its plan to establish a new Mosque for Muslim communities in Queensland, the Indonesian Muslim Centre of Queensland (IMCQ) will hold a fundraising dinner on Saturday 27 April at the Islamic College of Brisbane, Karawatha.   The event, which has received endorsement from the Islamic Council of Queensland, will also become the moment to formally introduce the newly established organization and to inform members of the state's Muslim communities about its ongoing Mosque establishment project.   To participate in the event, guests can buy the dinner invitation for  $35 per seat or $300 per table (10 seats) form selected  places or  simply by contacting the organizing  committee.   "All the profit from the event will go to our Mosque project," IMCQ President Aris  Winamo says.    Established in August last year, IMCQ is a non-profit organization that has been organizing the establishment of a new Mosque in Queensland to accommodate  the increasing  number of Muslims in the state.   Queensland, for  example, currently has more than 1,000 Indonesian Muslims  working  or studying in many parts of the state.  Once established,  the Mosque will not only be the shelter for Indonesian Muslims but also for other Muslim communities to hold  their religious and social activities.    "Queensland's Muslim communities in general will clearly benefit from the establishment of the new Mosque since  they will have more venue options to perform their religious activities," Mr Winamo says.   IMCQ estimates that it will need  around $750,000 to establish the new Mosque, which will be built in a Brisbane suburb which has no Mosque, like Indooroopilly,  Taringa, Toowong or Kedron.

On Wednesday, Minister for Multi-Cultural Affairs, Glen Elmes MP, Mr. Rob Molhoek MP, member for Southport and other local MPs from the Gold Coast visited the Gold Coast Mosque and met with the Islamic Society of Gold Coast president Mr. Hussin Goss, the secretary Mr. Hussain Baba and Imam Imraan Husain.

 

"It was a great opportunity to highlight some of ISGC's positive initiatives," Imam Imraan told CCN.

Crescents of Brisbane will be presenting a ladies information session with an emphasis on “Healthy Living” on Saturday 18 May from 1.30-4.30pm at the Springwood Community Hall.   Tickets are limited. For more information about the workshop click on the image on the left. With two well-known and sought after speakers, the program will have a particular focus on practical ways to avoid unnecessary additives and chemicals in day to day life.

Some of the things you’ll discover from Home Economist and Queensland’s Additive Alert Community Talks presenter Louise D’Allura are:

• food additives that are linked to health, learning and behaviour problems
• Australians are unwittingly consuming 5kg of food additives each year.
• Some food additives are still used in Australia despite safety concerns associated with their use.
• There are in excess of 60 food additives known to trigger or exacerbate asthma attacks in sufferers.
• There are 15 additives in foods that Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) prohibit in foods of infants and young children that are commonly in foods eaten by children, pregnant and breastfeeding women.
• How supermarket brand ‘free from’ artificial colours and MSG products can still cause reactions from the types of 'natural' additives being used.

Carolyn Donovan (authoress and model) will reveal gorgeously ‘green’ solutions for everyday life and how to start living a beautifully green lifestyle straight away. Carolyn is also passionate about living an earth-friendly lifestyle while refusing to compromise on style. She will provide eco-friendly tips, practical advice, and everything you need to start enhancing your life in the easiest and most beautiful ways possible such as:

• What’s really in the beauty products that you use ?
• Discover the magical beauty secrets hiding in your pantry
• Learn ways to ‘upcycle’ fashion
and more ....

Find out more about the presenters here.

Siitra Shop 1/116 Compton Road Woodridge
Phone Number: 32995556
 

Ms Nicky Allouche opened Siitra as the first Muslim wear shop in Brisbane in 2007. She was the driving force behind the scenes giving generously to many organizations and fundraisers and taking part in multiple fetes.

Siitra will be closing down very soon and Ms Allouche and her staff would like to thank everyone for supporting Siitra over the last past 5 years

 

So come in and grab a bargain while stocks last
 

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JOB DESPERATELY NEEDED

 

Mohammed has completed a Bachelor degree in business majoring in both Human Resource Management and Marketing Management. He possesses excellent conflict resolution skills, customer service, relationship building, a strong background in sales and private enterprise combined with research skills. He is also fluent in three languages and has diverse cultural knowledge and understanding.

 

Mohammed is currently self-employed, providing business consultancy support for newly developing enterprises particularly those seeking to establish businesses in Australia and New Zealand.

 

If you want to know more about Mohammed or you can help him find a job please email him at suby2@bigpond.com.au or call him on 0400 809 775.

 

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RENTAL ACCOMMODATION

 

Room for rent in a large house in Mount Gravatt. You would be sharing with two other brothers. The house is situated on Logan Rd and is walking distance to Mount Gravatt Shopping Centre on Creek Rd.

The house is a short drive to Griffith University and Garden City Shopping Centre.

There is a bus stop right outside the house, as well as nearby shops and restaurants.

Rent is $135 a week and includes all utilities and unlimited use of internet.

Please contact Mustafa on 0416 347 107

The construction of the Bosnlak Islamic Centre in Eight Mile Plains (Rochedale Mosque) is in its final stages.   The construction of the parking facilities and surrounding areas of the Mosque will be commencing soon and an amount of $460 000 will be needed to complete this final phase.   In addition, the building of a minaret and an Imam's residence is planned on the Mosque grounds.   The Society has put out a call to all communities, societies and individuals to contribute to this cause.   President of the Society, Mr Ahmet Eljazovic, said: "Once completed, Allah willing, this Islamic Masjid will make all of us, the Muslims of Brisbane, tremendously proud and (help) create an atmosphere of common belonging. We therefore hope that with your active and continuous support and participation together we will be able to accomplish one of the most beautiful and functional masjids in Queensland."

Donations can be made to:

 

Commonwealth Bank

Bosniak Islamic Centre

BSB: 064 170

Account Number : 1023 3581

Former Palestinian ambassador, Mr. Ali Kazak, wrote the following letter of complaint to the Mr Sean Aylmer, Editor-in-chief of The Sydney Morning Herald, regarding the newspaper's promotion of anti-Muslim prejudice.

I would like to express my strong concern for the SMH allowing its pages to be used by Paul Sheehan who is acting as a mouthpiece for anti-Islamic extremist fringe groups, and at the same time closing your pages to opposing views.

While Mr Sheehan has consistently, for a long time, been writing anti-Islamic  articles, the  SMH is unbalancing his view and refusing to print articles and letters to the editor exposing his ignorant and stereotyping of Islam, including its refusal  to print an article and a letter to the editor I have submitted in this  regards.

How can the SMH justify having columnists such as Paul Sheehan and Gerard Henderson who constantly and unashamedly write pro-Israeli and anti-Islamic articles, spreading fear and  antagonism against the Arabs and Muslims, including more than half a million Australian Muslims and of Arab background, and against over two hundred million of our Muslim neighbours, without having other columnists to give some balance and an alternative views to its readers? If you  have difficulty in researching their articles in your newspaper, I will be happy to provide you with a long list.

Mr Sheehan has been acting in his articles  as the spokesman for the extremist  racist Q Society, and defended the right of the anti-Islamic Dutch MP Geert  Wilders to spread his racist venom under the claims of tolerance and freedom of  expression. I would like to ask, If someone said what Wilders is saying against Islam and Muslims against Jews and Judaism  instead, would Mr Sheehan hold also the same values and enthusiasm and defend his right to propagate his antiSemitic views? I do not think so.

ABC's Lateline reported on 26 October 2012 that the Q Society is "a  strong  supporter of Israel" which "puts the Q Society in step with a number of other overseas movements, from the English Defence League to Stop lslamisation of  Europe, which are all vehemently anti-Islam and staunchly pro-Israel". The report pointed out that the Q Society has campaigned vigorously against the 'boycott divestment and sanctions campaign' aimed at Israel and opposed Muslims using a Melbourne community centre as a prayer hall.

An Australia in which the Q society was unable to find a venue for Geert Wilders to spread his deceits and hate  and in which our politicians refuse the invitation to hear his obnoxious voice and give him respectability is an  Australia we can be  proud of, not ashamed of, as Mr Sheehan tried to suggest in one of his articles "Fear doesn't need a visa, and it's on tour already", (Feb. 7).

Now in his article "Halal Easter eggs and cat food: where big money meets  religion" (March, 28) Mr Sheehan is even against Australian factories manufacturing  Halal food, and the right of Muslims to eat halal food!! accusing the Muslims of "extortion". He and the extremists he is defending and spreading their  propaganda through the SMH are playing on their and public  ignorance. Animal blood and pig and all its by-products are not allowed in Islam, and as both are  widely used in industry, thus the need for Muslims to be aware that what they buy, bring into their houses and handle, including cat food, has no such derivatives. While it may appear strange to have a halal licence to manufacture chocolate or  bread, fat is used in the manufacturing of these products and some may use pig fat or other pig's parts, therefore manufacturers who sell their products in Islamic  countries need to give that assurance to their  consumers. Furthermore, why did he not mention the fact that halal food industry in Australia generates billions of dollars for the Australian economy, both locally and in exports to Muslim countries, as well as providing employment for tens of thousands of Australians? Is this because it would shed a positive light on the halal industry and Muslims?

If some companies overdo the halallabelling, thinking it would give them  market advantage, and are happy to pay the halal licence fee, it is their business decision, and what has that got to do with Mr Sheehan and his associates? And why does  he use this against halal foods and Muslims?

The Jews also issue kosher licences, and they are much more strict than Muslims, chocolate, bread, meat, dairy products and even wine has to be kosher and nonJews  are not even allowed to take part in the process of the manufacturing of  kosher food. Why we don't read in the SMH about that? And why are only Muslims  targeted prejudicially? If there was someone monitoring the kosher food industry and accusing Jews of  "extortion" as Kirralie Smith's website "Halal Choices" is  doing, who is supported by Mr. Sheehan, wouldn't that be called anti-Semitism?  Here I am just giving an example and not calling for similar articles, as I fully respect Jewish religious practice and tradition.

While the SMH infrequently prints articles which represent  different views to Mr  Sheehan's and Mr Henderson's, certainly they do not balance the many and frequent  articles published by the SMH by those and similar writers.

I would like to ask the SMH to stop being a mouthpiece for the defence and  spread of propaganda by extremist, racist and fringe groups, and individuals in  our society who are trying to plant fear, intolerance and division amongst Australians  because of the culture  and belief of one community, the Muslim community, and I would like to ask the SMH to print a series of  articles to educate its readers on the  true beliefs of Islam to repair the damage the myths, fear and hatred it has created.

Ms. Yassmin Abdel-Magied delivered the following statement at the opening Session of the 5th United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Global Forum in Vienna.

 

Amongst the other panellists were Gjorge Ivanov (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), Traian Basescu (Romania), Princess Rym Ali (Jordan Media Institute), Antonio de Aguiar Patriota (Brazil), Irina Bokova (UNESCO), Marty M. Natalegawa (Indonesia) Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri (ISESCO), Bill McAndrews (BMW Group).
 

 

Muslim women in Australia are a diverse community, coming from many different cultural, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, not to mention having various levels of religiosity. However they are united by their identification with a faith that many assert is contrary to women’s rights. The two rights of freedom of religion and gender equality are well established principles within the international human rights framework, and the perceived tension between them becomes magnified in a multicultural context like Australia.
 

It would not be an over-exaggeration to state that Australian Muslim women often stand at the crossroads of these two rights. This is based on the common perception that Islam is an oppressive regime that denies women basic human rights.

 

Is it this view that has led many Muslim women in Australia to be constantly asked “What is it like being a Muslim woman in Australia?” Is it hard, is it challenging? Why can’t you just be like everyone else, why can’t you just learn to be Australian? Why would someone so educated, articulate and confident allow herself to be forced into wearing that “thing” on her head?
 

Muslim women don’t have to choose between their religious identity and their Australian identity, they are in a position to embrace both
 

These are just some of the questions that regularly come our way as Muslim women in Australia, regardless of our age, culture, ethnicity, educational qualification or professional expertise. This experience is not limited to those women who choose to wear hijab (head cover) or niqab (face cover). I guess it is to be expected when you are part of a faith that is currently under a huge spotlight.
 

So let’s be frank and honest – usually people want to know how can any woman identify with such a faith. It must be either because we have been somehow coerced into submission or we have been brainwashed into a sense of false consciousness where we are unable to know what is in our best interest – either way as Muslim women we need to be saved, either from our faith or ourselves.

 

A quick glance at any debate about banning Muslim women from dressing according to their religious beliefs or engaging in other expressions of religiosity demonstrates that we are portrayed by the extremes. On the one hand we are a threat to society as our dress depicts us as followers of fundamentalist movements, yet on the other hand we are coerced into covering ourselves and thus we need laws to emancipate us from the shackles of our men. These depictions are undoubtedly fuelled by the media’s narrow portrayal of Muslim women.

 

The Queensland Education and Cultural Foundation is holding the “Infinite Light Symposium 2013” on Friday, 26 April about Prophet Mohammed (pbuh).

The symposium address will be delivered by

• Associate Professor Mohamad Abdalla (Griffith University)
• Dr Salih Yucel (Monash University)
• Dr. Recep Dogan (Charles Sturt University)
• Sheikh Ahmed Abu Ghazeleh

 

 

Theme: “Our Beloved Prophet pbuh Knowledge & Wisdom”

Venue: Islamic School of Brisbane, 45 Acacia Rd Karawatha QLD 4117
Date: Friday, 26 April 2013
Time: 7:00pm – 9:30pm
 

Supported by:
• National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies Australia
• Kuraby Madrasah
• Council of Imams, Queensland
• Crescent of Brisbane & Crescents Community News (CCN)
• Bosnian Rochedale Mosque
• Wisdom College

Seating is limited and RSVP to acgelim@qecf.org.au by the 23 April, Tuesday 5:00pm

 

 

 

 

Crescents of Brisbane is proud to announce our partnership with Crescent Wealth, in this year's 10th Anniversary Crescent Wealth CresWalk2013.

 

Crescent Wealth is Australia's First Islamic Wealth Manager. They offer an innovative series of ultra-ethical investment funds that are based on Islamic investment principles, unique in the Australian market. Similar to socially responsible investing, Crescents Wealth also filters out socially detrimental activities such as gambling, alcohol and weapons.

 

This year's Crescent Wealth CresWalk2013 will start later than in previous years at 10am to allow everyone to enjoy the early winter mid-day sun and to celebrate the 10th anniversary with an after run/walk FAMILY PICNIC IN THE PARK with a free lunch, activities, tug-of-war, lucky draw prizes and loads more!

 
 

Hurry and get your registrations in because this year ONLY THE FIRST 400 registrations will receive a commemorative t-shirt.

 

This week's nasheed is brought to you by the organizers of the Queensland Nasheed Competition (click on the thumbnail for more details).   It highlights the fact that nasheeds can be sung in different languages as long as the lyrics/translation are provided.   Time is running out so get your nasheeds into your school/maddressah. Schools deadlines close on 25th April.