Ms
Janeth
Deen.
president
of
the
QMHSoc,
hands
the
material
related
to
Mohedeen
Howsan
to
Ms
Lynn
Meyers,
Original
Materials
Librarian
at
the
QLD
State
Library
The Queensland Muslim Historical Society received a donation of primary source material from the family of the late Mohedeen (Bob) Howsan after the death of his sister Ayesha Muriel Howsan.
Included in these documents were papers relating to his airforce career, correspondence advising his parents of his heroic death, personal effects, final pay details, his will, burial details and articles written about his career and sacrifice.
The Society decided to donate the original material to the John Oxley library which will preserve and catalogue the documents and make them available to researchers and the general public.
Mohedeen Abdul Ghias Howsan (known as Bob) was in the Royal Australian Air Force during the Second World War and gave his life in the service of his country. He saved a village in France from being hit by his burning plane and was himself incinerated in the crash on 1st April, 1942. The village in France has erected a memorial to him and his crew for their heroic sacrifice.
He was the grandson of two of the first Muslim families to settle in Mt Gravatt, namely Abdul Ghias Kaus and Mohammed Howsan.
SYDNEY:
Bankstown
City Council
approved on
25 February
2014 Malek
Fahd Islamic
School’s
application
to increase
the student
enrolment to
2100 at the
Greenacre
campus.
Mr Hafez
Kassem
(pictured
left),
the School
Chairman and
AFIC
President,
said that
this was one
of the
neglected
issues that
he pushed to
have
resolved
from the
moment that
he took the
responsibility
for the
School and
thanked Dr
Ray Barrett,
the School’s
Executive
Principal
and his
staff for
this great
achievement.
He added
that the
Council
approval of
the School’s
current
level of
enrolment
now
completes
the last
remaining
hurdle
affecting
the
continuing
registration
and
accreditation
of Malek
Fahd by the
NSW
Education
authorities.
The Chairman
also said
that since
2012 it
became clear
that there
were some
serious
issues on
how the
school had
been
operated.
This very
large school
was being
run by one
individual
and none of
the School’s
senior staff
had any
involvement
in its
operation
and
management.
There was no
succession
plan and the
School was
operated
with one
Principal
and a Deputy
Principal of
the Primary
School.
Mr Kassem
added that
during 2013,
the School
Board
engaged a
new
Executive
Principal,
Dr Ray
Barrett, who
was able to
deal
successfully
with most of
the issues
and have the
School’s
registration
and
accreditation
renewed for
2014.
Mr Kassem
announced
that 2012
and 2013
produced
excellent
HSC results
despite
serious
disruptions,
problems and
internal
upheavals
that saw the
departure of
the
long-serving
Principal,
the Primary
Deputy
Principal
and some of
the staff
(and
students).
In 2012, the
NSW
Government
froze the
state
recurrent
grant to the
School and
has not
advised when
the freeze
will be
lifted.
However,
despite all
these
difficulties
the School
continued to
function
successfully
in 2012,
2013 and now
in 2014 and,
complete two
large
building
projects at
a cost of
about $10 m
at its two
new campuses
in Hoxton
Park and
Beaumont
Hills.
A tense,
gripping
thriller
about
betrayal,
suspected
and real, in
the Occupied
Territories.
Omar (Adam
Bakri) is a
Palestinian
baker who
routinely
climbs over
the
separation
wall to meet
up with his
girl Nadja (Leem
Lubany).
By night,
he's either
a freedom
fighter or a
terrorist—you
decide—ready
to risk his
life to
strike at
the Israeli
military
with his
childhood
friends
Tarek (Eyad
Hourani) and
Amjad (Samer
Bisharat).
Arrested
after the
killing of
an Israeli
soldier and
tricked into
an admission
of guilt by
association,
he agrees to
work as an
informant.
So begins a
dangerous
game—is he
playing his
Israeli
handler (Waleed
F. Zuaiter)
or will he
really
betray his
cause? And
who can he
trust on
either side?
Palestinian
filmmaker
Hany Abu-Assad
(Paradise
Now) has
made a
dynamic,
action-packed
drama about
the
insoluble
moral
dilemmas and
tough
choices
facing those
on the
frontlines
of a
conflict
that shows
no sign of
letting up.
Humanitarian
aid
organization
Islamic
Relief
Australia
has this
week
launched a
campaign
with the
Australian
National
Imams
Council,
ANIC NSW, to
work to
reduce
domestic
abuse and
violence
within
Australia’s
Muslim
community.
The Grand
Mufti of
Australia,
Dr Ibrahim
Abu Mohammed
signed a
Memorandum
of
Understanding
this week
with Islamic
Relief
Australia on
behalf of
the ANIC
NSW.
Under the
agreement,
Islamic
Relief
Australia
and ANIC NSW
will work
together on
issues of
domestic
violence,
domestic
disputes,
youth
mentoring,
family
counseling
and marriage
preparation.
Muaz AlHaj,
CEO of
Islamic
Relief
Australia,
said that
enlisting
the help of
the Muslim
community’s
spiritual
leaders and
their
network of
Mosques was
a huge step
forward in
tackling the
problems.
“I believe
that this is
a
significant
milestone
for the
Muslim
community,
it is going
to help
those who
are in great
need of
support to
make a
positive
change,”
said Muaz
AlHaj. “It
will help
Islamic
Relief to
make a world
of
difference
to people’s
lives.”
The
initiative
will form
part of
Islamic
Relief
Australia’s
local
Community
Aid Program,
that
provides
meaningful
and lasting
community
support in
four ways:
through
family
counseling,
youth
welfare,
local
disaster
relief and
no interest
loans.
The Embassy
of the Arab
Republic in
Canberra is
offering
Australian
citizens two
scholarship
places to
the
prestigious
Al Ahzar
University
in Cairo for
2014/2015.
With these
five words
in a
controversial
magazine
article,
Egyptian-American
journalist
Mona
Eltahawy
shot to
fame,
unleashing a
devastating
critique of
women’s
rights in
the Arab
world.
In the
season
premiere of
Head to Head
, Mehdi
Hasan
challenges
Eltahawy on
her views
regarding
the status
of women in
Arab states.
Are Arab or
Muslim
societies
inherently
patriarchal?
And how does
the
narrative of
Islam as
sexist play
into
geo-politics
and Western
stereotypes
of the
Middle East?
Joining the
discussion
is Dr
Aitemad
Muhanna of
the London
School of
Economics’
Middle East
Centre;
self-proclaimed
progressive
Imam Dr Taj
Hargey; and
Dr Shuruq
Naguib, a
British-Egyptian
academic
from
Lancaster
University.
As a follow
on from the
successful
forum at the
end of 2013
between a
diverse
representation
of Muslim
youth and
the
Queensland
Police
Commissioner,
Senior
Police and
the
Anti-Discrimination
Commissioner,
a second
forum is
being held
at the
Islamic
College of
Brisbane on
Saturday 8
March at
2pm.
The forum is
being
organised
and
moderated by
David Forde.
Invitations
have gone
out to all
relevant
societies
and
organisations.
If you are
not aware of
the forum
and are
interested
in
attending,
please
contact
David at
david.forde@datsima.qld.gov.au
or 0413 874
008
Brisbane's
Muslim
community as
well as
people as
far away as
Morocco and
Oman were
treated over
the past two
Sundays to
two online
webinar
series
hosted by
HikmahWay
Institute,entitled
"Understanding
Jinn and the
Practice of
Ruqya"
and
"Medical
Wonders in
Prophetic
Medicine",
respectively.
"They indeed
proved to be
very well
received by
the audience
with dozens
of
interesting
questions
being posed
to the
presenters,"
a
spokespeson
for AMYN
told CCN.
Both
webinars
covered
topics, such
as mental
health,
Ruqya and
the
treatment of
ailments,
child
nutritional
health,
SIDS, honey
and black
seed just to
name a few.
"The
combination
of the
qualified
medical and
Islamic
perspectives
on each of
these topics
was truly
sensational."
"Weekends
are
something we
always look
forward to.
But this
coming
weekend (9
and 10
March) is
exceptionally
so. The
webinars
have
tantalised
the taste
buds with a
taste of
what to
expect - be
sure to
confirm your
registration
at
www.HikmwahWay.com/PropheticMedicine."
See the CCN
Date Claimer
below for
more
information.
Orfan Nadiri - YR1 - for his improved efforts in sounding out words and writing sentences Tanzil Adam - PREP - for completing all her classroom tasks to a high standard Ismail Mohammed - YR5 - for his increased effort in completing his classroom tasks to the best of his ability
Join us
outside the
Kuraby
Mosque
(1408
Beenleigh
Rd, Kuraby)
on Friday
14 March
at 1:30pm
and have
your hair
shaven or
trimmed!
Support
various
Muslim
community
representatives
who will
also have
their hair
shaven.
You can also
participate
on the day!
Donate any
amount to
the
Leukaemia
Foundation
and have
your hair
shaven (or
trimmed).
Remember to
bring along
family and
friends!
FACT:
According to
the
Leukaemia
Foundation,
more than
3200 people
are expected
to be
diagnosed
with a form
of leukaemia
this year -
equivalent
to eight
people every
day.
We all know
someone who
has been
affected by
some form of
cancer, and
it is very
important
that we as
an Ummah
support any
initiative
that aims to
improve the
wellbeing of
humanity. By
donating to
this worthy
cause, we
will be
assisting
with
groundbreaking
research
that will
hopefully
lead to a
viable cure
for
leukaemia,
Insha Allah.
URGENT
REQUEST:
If any
Community
Representatives
are willing
to have
their hair
shaven or
cut short on
the day,
please
contact
Muhammad
Khatree on
0401 972
865.
For further
information
about this
initiative,
please
contact
Yusuf
Khatree on
0401 246 228
or Muhammad
Khatree on
0401 972
865.
Myth No.
7:Poor
Muslims are
flooding out
of
overpopulated
countries
into the
West
In fact, the
poorest most
overpopulated
Muslim
countries
are
producing
the least
emigration -
- and very
little of it
is to the
West.
Immigration
tends to
come from
the
countries
with the
lowest
population-growth
rates, and
it’s rarely
to the
closest
countries.
Muslims are
far from the
largest
immigrant
group - -
even in
countries
that
immediately
adjoin the
Islamic
world. In
Spain, which
lies across
a narrow
state from
poor Arab
countries,
only 13% of
immigrants
are Muslim:
Most have
come from
Spanish-speaking
countries
across the
Atlantic. In
Britain,
only 28% of
immigrants
are Muslim.
And those
numbers do
not seem
poised to
increase.
Next week:
Myth No. 8
(Sourced
from Doug
Saunders'
The Myth of
the Muslim
Tide)
With cousin
Hasib
Sabbagh, in
1952 Said
Khoury
founded
Consolidated
Contractors
International
Company
(CCC), one
of the first
Arab
construction
companies.
The company
sees sales
of $4bn a
year and
manages
projects in
40
countries,
with a focus
on Middle
East and
North
Africa. Born
in Safad,
Palestine,
Khoury moved
to Lebanon
in 1948
after the
Arab-Israeli
war and got
his first
job helping
to build
Tripoli
Airport. He
is now based
in Athens.
CCC has
built
landmark
projects in
everything
from Iraq’s
Abu Ghraib
prison
(built in
1969, before
the ascent
of Saddam
Hussein to
the
presidency
of the
country), to
the Ronald
Reagan
National
Airport in
Washington,
DC. The
company has
undertaken
major
projects in
Azerbaijan,
Turkey,
Africa and
the Gulf.
The success
of CCC is
rooted in
the early
1960s, with
Sabbagh and
Khoury
securing a
contract
related to
oil pipe
storage
facilities
for the Iraq
Petroleum
Company,
which
entailed
working with
the Bechtel
Group, the
world’s
largest
construction
company.
That deal
cemented a
long and
lasting
relationship
between CCC
and Bechtel
and it
defined
CCC’s scale
of
operations
across the
world.
NEXT
WEEK:
The Number
11 richest Arab
in the
world.
UK: Female
Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been banned in
the UK for thirty years but a new campaign,
spearheaded by a young Somali teenager, 17
year old Fahma Mohamed, seeks to bring the
issue much more into the forefront of
peoples’ consciousness in order to prevent
its alleged wide-scale continuance.
The practice, which involves the partial or
total removal of external female genitalia
for non-medical but traditional and cultural
reasons, pre-dates the spread of Islam. The
“operation”’ – which is a formal medical
procedure in some countries eg Egypt, but
little more than “a brutal cutting”’ in many
other countries where it is practised – is
not only immediately dangerous if it is done
in rudimentary settings by traditional
“cutters,” but can have devastating future
consequences for the victims. For instance,
when carried out by tribal cutters, as
featured, for example, in a Guardian Online
video about Kenyan “cutters”, girls can die
of blood loss or infection. The pain and
distress can be devastating. It can also
leave permanent physical and psychological
damage which affects women’s general and
sexual health as well as their fertility.
In addition, intimate relations, for
instance, can become difficult or impossible
for some women; the right Islam gives women
to enjoy the marital relation can be
dreadfully impeded and not only is fertility
affected, but child-bearing and giving birth
can be life-threatening.
Its prevalence in both Muslim majority and
minority countries including: Somalia (98%),
Egypt (91%), Mali (89%), Ethiopia (74%),
Guinea-Bissau (50%) and Nigeria (27%),
(figures according to UNICEF), makes it an
important Muslim and humanitarian public
health issue. And not just for international
campaigners. According to the British
Government, more than 20,000 British girls
may be at risk of having this procedure done
to them – both abroad where they may be
taken for so-called “cutting holidays” or in
Britain.
UK:
The Halal Authority Board (HAB) has
signed a motion stating that machine-killed
poultry is haram (forbidden) and
unacceptable to UK Muslims.
The decision, since no certifiers will
accept machine slaughter, will mean that 1.8
million machine-killed poultry will be taken
out of the halal supply chain each week.
The HAB adopted and signed the motion at a
conference on 22 February, attended by
representatives from halal certification
bodies, businesses, Muslim organisations and
mosques.
It was explained that, under Islamic law,
mechanical slaughter is haram, as per a
consenus already signed by the HAB in June
2012. The conference played a video showing
poultry being killed by machine with no
pronouncement of Allah’s name. It showed
only a sign stating ‘halal’ along with
Allah’s name. This, according to HAB,
depicted the deception and fraud that can
and does occur in machine slaughter.
The signed statement reads: “We, the
undersigned, formally declare that the
slaughter of animals by mechanical means
(including sacred blade) is not permissible
and considered haram (forbidden) for
Muslims.”
The declaration means there is now no
certification body that will certify
machine-slaughtered poultry as halal. This
effectively means that 40% of chickens
previously certified halal will no longer be
allowed to be labelled as such.
Religious Minister of Craven Arms Islamic
Centre, Imam Sohaib Peerbhai said: “The
Muslim community is united on the issue of
mechanical slaughter being un-Islamic and
fully supports this as not permissible for
Muslims.”
Naved Syed, halal adviser to the Yorkshire
Association of Asian Businesses, said:
“There will be no ambiguous situation
regarding machine slaughter any more, as all
the certifiers have banned this practice.
“I expect some companies will try to get
round this by getting overseas halal
certifiers to approve machine slaughter.
Unfortunately this will not work as overseas
halal certifiers have no bearing on the UK
industry, and furthermore I expect the Food
Standards Agency and trading standards to
clamp down on this illegal act.”
In December 2013 The Halal Food Authority
(HFA) made a statement saying that it no
longer accepted mechanical slaughtering of
poultry. It said that poultry
slaughterhouses that employ a mechanical
fixed blade would no longer be accredited by
the HFA for halal status with effect from 3
March 2014.
Syed therefore believes that suppliers have
had enough time to prepare for a move to
hand-slaughter. He said: “Supplier have had
three months to get their affairs in order.
Everybody is aligned with this, the
certifiers are in agreement, the mosques are
in agreement and the FSA is in agreement.”
DENMARK:
Facing growing calls for boycott over its
ban on halal slaughter, Denmark has
attempted to play down growing criticism by
Muslims around the world, confirming that
the Islamic slaughter is still legal in the
north Nordic European country.
“There is no ban on Islamic slaughter in
Denmark,” the Danish Embassy in Riyadh was
quoted by the Arab News on Monday, February
24.
“Animal sacrifice according to Islamic
principles is still legal in Denmark.”
The controversy erupted earlier in February
when Agriculture and Food Minister Dan
Jørgensen announced that Jewish and Muslim
ritual slaughter will be illegal in Denmark.
Muslims all over the world have opposed
Denmark’s move to ban the slaughter of
animals in an Islamic (halal) way.
The increasing condemnations were followed
by calls by Muslims upon their governments
to stop importing Danish meat as long as the
Scandinavian country refuses to respect
their religious teachings.
Joining debates surrounding the issue,
Muslims asserted that halal way of
slaughtering animals has been scientifically
proved to be better for animals as well as
humans than killing them by electric shock.
“Muslim countries must stop importing meat
from Denmark as long as it prohibits Islamic
way of slaughtering animals,” Fouad Tawfik,
an Islamic scholar, said.
Dr. Zakir Naik, a respected propagator of
Islam, emphasized that Islamic way is
hygienic as it allows animal blood to be
drained completely.
“Blood is a good medium for germs, bacteria
and toxins that cause various diseases,” he
pointed out.
The concept of halal, -- meaning permissible
in Arabic -- has traditionally been applied
to food.
Muslims should only eat meat from livestock
slaughtered by a sharp knife from their
necks, and the name of Allah, the Arabic
word for God, must be mentioned.
Muslim scholars agree that Shari`ah provides
a divine law of mercy that should be applied
on all Allah’s creations, including animals.
Islam also provides details about avoiding
any unnecessary pain.
Whitewashing Image
In a bid to calm Muslims’ criticism, the
Danish Embassy in Riyadh defended
Copenhagen’s position.
“Unfortunately, the Danish government
executive order has been portrayed and
misinterpreted by the media, as if it was
directed against the halal form of
slaughter,” said Fikre El-Gourfti, deputy
chief of the Danish mission.
He claimed that the current procedure of
stunning an animal before slaughtering it
“is in accordance with the resolution of the
Islamic Fiqh Council of the Makkah-based
Muslim World League (MWL).
“It is important for the Danish government
that Muslims can buy halal meat in Denmark,”
he added.
Yet, Tawfik, the Muslim scholar, refuted the
embassy’s statement, saying stunning of
animals is not Islamic and MWL would not
approve of such a religious edict.
“It’s the right of Danish Muslims to get
halal food,” he said, advising Muslims to
move to eat chicken and fish until they get
halal meat.
Zaid Khan, a blogger, urged Saudi Arabia and
other Gulf countries to import halal meat
from Muslim countries such as Pakistan,
Turkey and Malaysia.
“The Danish decision should make us think in
a proactive manner.”
Denmark is home to a Muslim minority of
200,000, making three percent of the
country's 5.4 million population.
Using the
book club you can see what books fellow CCN readers
have on their shelves, what they are reading and
even what they, and others, think of them.
KB says: This cake is
soft and perfect with a cup of tea, I can assure
you that you will be shopping for more dates
just to make this cake again and again.
Date and Nut Loaf
Ingredients
150g chopped dates
5ml bicarbonate of soda
200ml boiling water
60g butter
100g brown sugar
1 egg
5ml vanilla essence
50g chopped pecan nuts
200g flour
5ml baking powder
Chopped Pecan nuts for decorating
Method
Sprinkle
bicarbonate of soda onto the dates, pour
boiling water over and allow it to soak.
Cream the butter
and brown sugar, beat in the egg, and add
essence and the nuts.
Fold in the
sifted flour and baking powder and lastly
add the date mixture. This makes a soft
mixture.
Pour into a
greased loaf pan or mini loaf pans, decorate
with pecans and bake at 180”c for approx 10
mins for mini loaf pans or approx 20 mins in
a loaf pan.
Q: Dear Kareema, I’m in my
first trimester of my pregnancy and a regular at
the gym. I’m enjoying my classes and was
wondering if there is any particular exercises I
can do instead of sit-ups / crunches?
A: Congratulations and good on you for
staying on track with your fitness routine. I
normally get my pregnant participants to do
their back strengthening or balance exercises
instead of ab work.
When the rest of the class go on
their backs to do ab work, try going on your
hands and knees and doing exercises like cat
stretches, or opposite arm and leg out (angling
to the side to strengthen your back), which in
turn will strengthen your stomach muscles anyway
and help carry the extra weight of the baby
later in pregnancy.
Hovers are good too (only if you
feel comfortable while doing them) and not when
you’re too far along in your pregnancy.
Try yoga as well for some
beautiful stretches and deep muscle work, but be
sure to check in with your doctor before doing
anything different or new.
Also make sure to let the
instructor know that you’re pregnant so they can
give you some options while working out.
Mula Nasruddin and his wife, Gulshen, had been married
for more than 60 years.
They had shared everything.
They had kept no secrets from each other except that
Gulshen had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she
had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her
about.
For all of these years, he had never thought about the
box, but one day Gulshen got very sick and the doctor
said she would not recover. In trying to sort out their
affairs, the Mula Nasruddin took down the shoe box and
took it to his wife's bedside.
She agreed that it was time that he should know what was
in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted
dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000. He asked
her about the contents.
"When we were to be married," she said, "my grandmother
told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never
argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I
should just keep quiet and crochet a doll."
Mula Nasruddin was so moved; he had to fight back tears.
Only two beautifully crocheted dolls were in the box.
She had only been angry with him two times in all those
years of living and loving. He almost burst with
happiness.
"Dear," he said "that explains the dolls, but what about
all of this money? Where did it come from?"
"Oh, that?" she said. "That's the money I made from
selling the dolls."
1. All Islamic Event dates given above are tentative and
subject to the sighting of the moon.
2. The Islamic date changes to the next day starting in
the evenings after maghrib. Therefore, exceptfor Lailatul Mehraj,
Lailatul Bhahraat
and
Lailatul Qadr – these dates refer to the commencement of the event starting in the
evening of the corresponding day.
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
Australian Muslim Youth
Network (AMYN)
Find out about the
latest events, outings,
fun-days, soccer
tournaments, BBQs organised
by AMYN. Network with other
young Muslims on the
AMYN Forum
Articles and
opinions appearing in this newsletter do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of the Crescents of Brisbane Team, CCN,
its Editor or its Sponsors, particularly if they eventually
turn out to be libellous, unfounded, objectionable,
obnoxious, offensive, slanderous and/or downright
distasteful.
It is the usual policy of CCN to
include from time to time, notices of events that some
readers may find interesting or relevant. Such notices are
often posted as received. Including such messages or
providing the details of such events does not necessarily
imply endorsement of the contents of these events by either
CCN or Crescents of Brisbane Inc.
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 enter their details
here.
.
The
CCN Inbox: Letters
to the Editor
SYDNEY:
Bankstown
City Council
approved on
25 February
2014 Malek
Fahd Islamic
School’s
application
to increase
the student
enrolment to
2100 at the
Greenacre
campus. 
UK:
DENMARK:
Facing growing calls for boycott over its
ban on halal slaughter, Denmark has
attempted to play down growing criticism by
Muslims around the world, confirming that
the Islamic slaughter is still legal in the
north Nordic European country.
post comments on
our Wall
7
August 2011
