Australia’s debate about asylum seekers lacks a real sense of compassion, the new Labor senator Sam Dastyari has declared in a speech condemning politicians for exploiting the public’s “natural fear of difference”.

In his first speech to the Senate, the former NSW Labor state secretary told of his own childhood journey from his birth country of Iran to Australia in 1988. Dastyari said his parents, Naser and Ella, were student activists expelled from university for joining the Iranian revolution and they had friends who were imprisoned, tortured or even killed. He said the Shah fell in 1979 but Ayatollah Khomeini’s return from exile saw a secular political tyranny replaced by an oppressive religious one.

“Fighting erupted along the border with Iraq in 1980 and three years later I was born in a country at war. I was born in Sari, a town in northern Iran, near the Caspian Sea, and on the edge of what was then the Soviet Union. Funnily enough, my only memories of Iran are of a peaceful childhood, playing football in the streets with neighbourhood children, in the same way as I would have played cricket if I had been in Australia,” he told the Senate on Wednesday.

“But what I didn’t know as a child was that my parents were consumed by fear of what the future would hold. I can only imagine their relief when, after years of anxiety, they learned that they had been granted visas to migrate to Australia.”

Dastyari said the family, including his nine-year-old sister Azadeh, boarded a train to Tehran in January 1988 and embarked on two days of continuous travel to reach Sydney. The plane brought them to “a place of genuine hope and tremendous opportunities” – a far cry from the war-torn homeland. Dastyari recalled starting his schooling in Blacktown in western Sydney without knowing a word of English. His parents worked hard – his dad drove a taxi and the entire family worked in its small cake shop. His older sister went on to become a Fulbright scholar, an accomplished lawyer and a respected academic.

Dastyari highlighted his experience as he argued thousands of Australians had taken a similar journey and no one should forget how lucky they were to live here. He offered a broader critique of both major parties’ handling of refugee policy since John Howard turned away the Tampa in 2001 – an action he said “appealed to the worst in all of us”.
 

“It may have helped him win the 2001 election, but it hardened my resolve, as a then 18-year-old living the Australian dream in Sydney’s north-west. Twelve years on and we have not made nearly enough progress. The rhetoric of our national discussion about the so-called ‘boat people’ still lacks a real sense of compassion,” he said.

“That is why I believe it is time for us to have a real conversation in this country about asylum seekers – a conversation that isn’t about the number of boats but about the names, faces and stories of the people they bring; a conversation that isn’t about how we stop the boats, but about what we can do to improve the situation of those so desperate that they consider getting on boats in the first place. It is far too easy for us as politicians to exploit our communities’ natural fear of difference and of change. I honestly believe we can do better.”

Dastyari – a NSW Labor Right powerbroker who was part of the push to reinstall Kevin Rudd as leader earlier this year – said politicians should be the voice of those who could not always speak for themselves and had a “duty to do not just what is easy or popular but what is right”.

The Tony Abbott-led Coalition made its “stop the boats” pledge a central part of its election pitch, and has since implemented a military commander-led operation to intercept and deter asylum seeker vessels. The Coalition has repeatedly attacked the first Rudd government for unwinding the Howard-era asylum policies. Rudd followed up his return to the prime ministership in June with a tough new position, announced in July, to send all boat arrivals to Papua New Guinea or elsewhere for processing with no prospect of settlement in Australia even if their refugee claims are found to be genuine. Both parties have argued they are motivated by the legitimate desire to prevent drownings at sea.

Dastyari did not comment in detail on these policies but said Labor was not the reason people risked their lives to come to Australia and the Coalition was not the reason people waited for 20 years in refugee camps. “The reason is the hope of a better future that this country has to offer for a persecuted people and their children. The fact is, this incredible country is a beacon to people everywhere, and surely we can not only understand that, but in fact feel a sense of pride that people see us as a place of hope,” he said.
 

Calling for a “big Australia” and a recognition of the nation-building role of immigration, Dastyari said politicians had grandstanded and attempted to divide the population for more than 100 years. He said his own party’s history of support for the White Australia policy right up to the 1960s was “part of that story”.

In August, in the lead-up to the election, Dastyari told Guardian Australia he thought the party had “got it right” on the Papua New Guinea deal “but you've got to be careful that you're not playing politics in the lowest common denominator”. In October, the former foreign minister and fellow NSW Labor Right figure Bob Carr warned the party not to allow itself to be “wrong-footed” on asylum policy. Resigning from the Senate, Carr urged his colleagues to stick with the PNG deal because the Australian people would “never accept a situation where 20% of the total migrant intake [was] brought to Australia by people smugglers”.

Dastyari was appointed to the Senate to fill the casual vacancy left by another former NSW general secretary, Matt Thistlethwaite, who moved to the lower house seat of Kingsford-Smith. Abbott has previously described Dastyari as “the ultimate faceless man”.

The Guardian

THE settlement date for the Toowoomba Masjid is set on Friday, 17 January 2014.

The fund raising effort over the past eight months has ensured that there are sufficient funds to pay for the purchase ($820,000 PLUS expenses). The Islamic Society of Toowoomba has been able to get the GST waived and exemption from stamp duty as a registered charity organisation which has saved at least $110,000.

"Many people have said that this was a very successful fundraising to have raised such a large sum of donation in a short period of time. This has been possible only due to the favours of Allah (SWT) and generous support and hard work of many of the community. I don’t have enough words to say thank you to Allah and everyone who came to our assistance. Jazak Allah Khair," Prof Shahjahan Khan, on behalf of the Society, told CCN 

"The next plan is to set up toilets and ablution facilities, on settlement, separately for men and women by the end of January 2014 so that the Masjid is ready for prayers without much delay."

Funds are still needed for renovation (eg removal and replacement of asbestos) and paving of 800sqm of parking area. For these tasks our estimated shortfall is around $130,000.
 

Any contributions can be sent via: Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Toowoomba Plaza Branch, A/C Name: Toowoomba Islamic Charitable Organisation, BSB No 064459, A/C No 1034 1586
Swift Code: CTBAAU25XXX.
 

The Islamic Society of Toowoomba has hired its first Imam (with a 4 year bachelor degree from Al-Azhar University, Egypt and a masters degree from the UK) who is fluent in Arabic and English. He is running Madrasa for the children on Saturdays, Tafseer of the Holy Qur’an on Fridays, and Qur’anic Arabic Class on Mondays. Any sponsors to partially support the salary of the Imam will be appreciated.

A formal opening ceremony is planned in the second half of March depending on the availability of the main guest, either the local federal MP, Mr Ian Macfarlane, Minister of Industries or the Premier of Queensland, Mr Campbell Newman MP. The Mayor, VC of USQ, church leaders and community leaders in Toowoomba and Brisbane will also be invited.

A spokesperson for Muslims Australia (AFIC) announced this week that the registration and accreditation of Malek Fahd Islamic School had been approved by the Minister for Education.

"The NSW funding for 2014 is under consideration and will be approved within 2 to 3 weeks," he added.

At just 19 years old, Bankstown labourer Abu Bakr (pictured) is the face of jihadism in Australia, ASIO says.

The outspoken teenager ''holds an extreme ideology and is planning to travel in order to engage in militant extremism'', the national spy agency has concluded.

On Sunday, Fairfax Media revealed Abu Bakr was one of at least 20 men whose passports have been cancelled by ASIO on the grounds they were prepared to engage in politically motivated violence or had a ''jihadist mentality''.

But Abu Bakr said it was unjust and racist labelling amid a crackdown on Australians taking part in the Syrian civil war.

Last week, two men were charged under foreign incursion laws, including Sydney pensioner Hamdi Alqudsi, 39, who allegedly organised and paid for six men to travel to Syria this year to fight with terrorist organisations.

Lawyer Zali Burrows, representing the 20 Australian Muslims, said she would launch a class action against the government and expected more to join it.

Abu Bakr, who was born in Australia of Iraqi and Italian heritage, went to Auburn West Public School and Birrong Boys High School. He said his ''brothers'' had been randomly targeted by intelligence authorities since the conflict in Syria began.

He believes he drew the gaze of ASIO because he recorded himself delivering a series of lectures on Syria and posted them online. ASIO said it would not comment on specific cases.

Its investigation concluded he planned to travel abroad to engage in violence, so his passport was cancelled. He will be refused a new one should he apply.

''If you refuse to be silent on something, on the injustice, on the evil, on the raping and killing and bombing in Syria, then they label you a jihadist or a fanatic or an extremist,'' Abu Bakr said.

The Syrian war led to more passports being cancelled by ASIO in the past financial year than before, the agency's annual report says.

The definition of ''jihadist'' was problematic because it was so unclear, said University of Sydney academic Jan Ali, who is researching radicalism among young Muslims.

He said ASIO could label someone a jihadist on the basis they shared the attitude of a jihadist or made a Facebook post about jihad.

''A jihadist is generally seen as an individual who is perceived to engage in a war against the West and is prepared to cause harm,'' he said. ''It can also manifest itself in simply having that attitude. That can be just as dangerous as the action.

''The ASIO claim would be, 'Yes, we know you didn't do anything but we have got evidence or we believe that you are going to do that', and that, in itself, is enough.''

Abu Bakr said he was not planning to travel anywhere. He has refused to hand over his passport and has vowed to fight the order.

Wissam Haddad, a spokesman for the 20 men, said he knew of at least 45 Sydney Muslims who have had their passports cancelled or bank accounts frozen, often without warning or the ability to provide evidence in their defence.

Mr Haddad said the men were so incensed that, if they could, they would leave the country and not return.

''They want to send the message that, if their government is saying they are such a danger, why leave them here? These people are willing to hand in their citizenship and not return if they're not welcome here.''

Source: Brisbane Times

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Al-Ghazali has sometimes been referred to by historians as the single most influential Muslim after the Islamic prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

Others have cited his opposition to certain strands of Islamic philosophy as a detriment to Islamic scientific progress.

Besides his work that successfully changed the course of Islamic philosophy—the early Islamic Neoplatonism developed on the grounds of Hellenistic philosophy, for example, was so successfully criticised by al-Ghazali that it never recovered—he also brought the orthodox Islam of his time in close contact with Sufism.

Documentary

The appearance of a Muslim character in a comic book is being celebrated, but she is not going to end Islamophobia.

There's a strong current of Islamophobia gushing through our era. In various places, Muslims are still perceived as causing problems with their alleged insistence on being different. From Canada, to the UK, to Burma, and beyond, there are intense debates today that construct Muslims as a troublesome "race" who need to be contained. So when I heard about a new superhero that is going to eradicate this globalised Islamophobia, I was excited.

Commentators have celebrated Marvel's new Muslim superhero, Kamala Khan (aka Ms Marvel), as a refreshing example of a strong Muslim woman who will normalise Muslim identity. Some even went as far as saying that Khan is "a much needed counter to Islamophobia in show business" and that "Marvel's work is a watershed moment in breaking down fear and ignorance." I wish these commentators were right, but sadly, I think they are overlooking some finer points of Kamala's character that may suggest she is part of the problem rather than the solution.

A Muslim shapeshifter

From the limited information we have about Kamala, we know that she is a 16-year-old "shapeshifter", who comes from a conservative and restrictive family. She apparently struggles with an identity crisis between her Muslim and American identities. This loose characterisation does not sound like a refreshing portrayal of a Muslim character to me, but in fact, is consistent with typical outdated stereotypes of Muslims. In particular, the idea that Muslim women are trapped by family, tradition and Muslim men is an old orientalist trope that is still projected onto Muslim communities today. It is the same logic that has been used to justify the criminalisation of Muslim clothing and the invasion of Muslim countries.

Al Jazeera

CANADA: City authorities in Edmonton, Alberta, have unveiled a new hijab-style headscarf as part of its police uniform for Muslim women officers. Not all Canadian provinces, notably French-speaking Quebec, want to follow suit.

Police in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, this weekend unveiled official hijab-style headscarves approved for use by female Muslim officers, in a move that has revealed a growing split in attitudes towards the wearing of religious symbols across the country.

The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) said in a press release that the the hijab-style headscarf, which covers the hair and neck but not the face, was designed to “reflect the changing diversity in the community, and to facilitate the growing interest in policing careers from Edmonton’s Muslim community”.

Edmonton city councillor Scott McKeen said the move was a “gesture of inclusion” towards the Muslim community.

“One of the perceptions about Edmonton and Alberta is that we’re kind of redneck,” he told reporters, adding that the decision to allow headscarves was “sort of saying that we want to have a diverse police service that reflects the diversity and multicultural aspects of Edmonton.”
Alberta Canada's third biggest Muslim community (some 45,000 Muslims in a total population of 700,000), followed by Ontario, which has allowed women police officers to wear hijabs since 2011, and then Quebec.

Ontario capital Toronto is looking to extend the freedom to wear religious symbols to other areas of the public service and there is also a campaign to make hijabs permitted in hospitals (see below).

But the attitude in Alberta and Ontario towards their Muslim populations is not shared by all its fellow Canadian provinces.

Notably, French-speaking Quebec is following fiercely secular France’s lead, and its National Assembly is poised to pass its “Quebec Charter of Values”.

The charter, part of a bill proposed earlier year by the nationalist Parti Quebéquois which dominates the assembly, would prohibit public employees at government offices, schools, hospitals, courts and police stations from wearing any religious symbols, including Muslim hijabs, Sikh turbans, Jewish kippas and visible crucifixes.

The move has seen widespread opposition from the province’s Muslim minority, with two protest marches against the proposed law in Montreal in recent months.

Source: France24

During the Middle Ages, when Europe was plunged into the Dark Ages, Arab scholars and historians translated most of the works of the Greek scholars, thereby preserving some of the greatest intellectual achievements that are the cornerstone of Western civilization.

For the next few weeks CCN will offer an English word that has, as its origin, the Arabic language: