Quran recitation by Year 12 Kaab Rehman	National anthem by primary students
Year 5s perform a nasheed	Year 12s Zakiyya Ahmed and Zuha Ali speak about their school
Enjoying food and desserts	Year 7s perform their nasheed
Invited guests	School Board: Mr Keysar Trad (Chair), Mr Amar Ali Khan, Dr Mustafa Ally, Mr Osman Rane, Mr Hafez Kassem, Ms Rawah El Samman, Dr Noor Mubarak (Secretary)

 

 

Sea cucumbers, feral camels and Malcolm X. They have all played their part in the centuries-old link between Australian Aboriginals and Islam. Janak Rogers explores this link for Heart and Soul, and how Islam is still playing a role in the lives of many Aborigines from the rural outback to the bustling city of Sydney.

Janak starts his journey in the city of Makassar in Indonesia where teripang, or sea cucumbers, have been caught and traded for hundreds of years. As the trade grew, so the fishermen cast their nets further and further afield, eventually landing in northern Australia. Rock paintings show that Makassans and the Aboriginal people were trading trading for at least 400 hundred years - two centuries before the British colonised this huge island. The Makassans left a legacy of art, music, and faith.

As he travels around Australia, Janak explores more of the connections between Islam and indigenous people. He travels to the central Australian town of Alice Springs where the Arrernte people have lived for up to 50,000 years. It’s here that he finds the trade in camels has played its part in the rise of Islam in Australia. There are around a million camels roaming wild in the outback, introduced by Afghans in the nineteenth century. Janak meets Raymond Satour and Azeem Khan, two of the many descendants of the camel traders, to hear about the role Islam has played in their families’ lives.

From the dusty outback, Janak then moves 3000 kilometres to Sydney. He and meets rugby player and 3-time world champion boxer Anthony Mundine, who introduces himself as “the best athlete to come of this country and even worldwide”. Mundine is a member of the Bundjalung people and converted to Islam after reading the autobiography of American civil rights leader Malcolm X. After reading it, twice, he realised that there were links between Islam and his own spirituality, a link forged by the words of Malcolm X. Janak hears a similar story from other Aboriginals in Sydney.

The Islamic-Aboriginal community in Australia isn’t a big one by any means, but it does open a window into how different cultures lived and traded centuries ago and how they found and shared a common spirituality that lives on today.

Photo above shows Raymond Satour, Aboriginal descendant of the Afghan cameleers, at his home in Alice Spring.

 

LISTEN TO THE BBC WORLD SERVICE PROGRAM

 

Source: BBC Heart and Soul

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about George Brandis’ now infamous comment this week that Australians “have the right to be bigots” is that it was so unremarkable. Sure, it’s a grating soundbite, but as a matter of substance it’s entirely obvious. Of course we have a right to be bigots. We always have.

That’s the point that has been buried here. Nothing in the Racial Discrimination Act as it presently stands precludes bigotry. In fact I’ll go a step further: you’re even allowed to express your bigotry. Happens all the time. Read a newspaper. Bigoted views are published there several times in an average week.

Two things flow from this. First, that critics of the Racial Discrimination Act are simply wrong to suggest that our free speech is so curtailed that we can’t risk saying anything offensive. The courts have long made clear that the Act only contemplates serious cases. The caricature that we’re placed at the mercy of the most delicate people’s sensibilities is nothing less than a gross misrepresentation of the law.

Second, that supporters of the Racial Discrimination Act are wrong if they insist it provides anything like substantial protection against racism. I’ve copped my share of racial abuse both in public and in private, and section 18C wasn’t ever going to do a damn thing about it.

So in the current furore, it’s worth remembering that we’re not exactly playing for cut-throat stakes. To be clear, the Abbott government’s proposed legislation really would allow for almost any racist speech you can imagine. Any “public discussion of any political, social, cultural (or) religious” matter will be exempt, no matter how boneheaded, dishonest or odious.

Precisely how it is possible to racially vilify someone without discussing a “social” matter is beyond me. But for all that, Australia will not simply explode in a blaze of white supremacy upon the repeal of these provisions (which is far from inevitable in any case).

 

 

Sydney Morning Herald

 

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A Facebook post, on the subject, calls on the Muslim community to voice their objections to the proposed changes:

I wonder why the Arab and Islamic community are silent about the proposed changes to the racial vilification act? Aren't they the most vilified community in Australia? Did we forget the racism shown to Arabs and Muslims after 9/11? Are Jews the only minority who are going to suffer due to these changes? Wake up people before it is too late.

 

 

MICHAEL Swain was just 20 years old on November 8 in 2009 when he triggered an insurgent bomb in southern Afghanistan and lost both his legs.

Precisely a decade earlier to the day in 1999, Dr Munjed Al Muderis landed on Christmas Island after a perilous journey in a rickety Indonesian boat to seek asylum from the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein in his homeland of Iraq.

Fast forward to 2013 and the two men’s lives converged in a Sydney clinic where Dr Al Muderis, by then a reservist with the RAAF and one of the world’s leading specialists in a little-known strand of orthopedic surgery called osseointegration, changes the former British soldier’s life with a radical procedure to fuse titanium rods into his femur bones.

Rifleman Swain was two months into his tour with Britain’s 3 Rifles in the Sangin region of Helmand Province when his legs were blown off and he almost died.

Sangin was the most dangerous place on Earth at the time and during his tour British forces suffered 30 killed and 160 wounded — the highest casualty rates since the Korean War.

Swain spent three years in rehab including 18 months learning to walk on carbon socket mounted prosthetic legs. By January 2013 he was nowhere near as mobile as he wanted and he decided that the socket system was never going to work for him.

“I wanted to walk and be active but I wasn’t and it was getting me down,’’ he said.

Despite the problems with his legs he managed to raise 250,000 pounds (AU$463,000) for various charities by riding a hand bike from Edinburgh to London in five days. He has sky dived, run the Marine Corps marathon, met the PM at 10 Downing Street and lobbied MPs in the House of Commons.

 

But his world changed when he met a patient of Dr Al Muderis’ at a clinic in England who had undergone osseointegration in Sydney.

With the help of Lieutenant Colonel Rhodri Phillips from the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, the men met and Mr Swain began another battle to have the procedure funded under the National Health Service. That failed but they convinced the Ministry of Defence of the merits of the procedure after Colonel Phillips travelled to Sydney on his own account to observe Dr Al Muderis in action.

The first procedure to insert the titanium implants took place on December 12 last year and eight weeks later he was back in surgery to have the adaptors fitted to the artificial bone that fits directly onto a robotic leg. Bone and muscle grow around the titanium on the bone end, essentially creating a bionic leg.

Swain was the third double amputee patient to have the osseointegration procedure in Australia.

Dr Al Muderis fled Iraq in 1999, two years after qualifying from Baghdad University, when he was ordered to amputate the ears from Iraqi soldiers who had deserted from Saddam’s insane regime. When his hospital supervisor was murdered in cold blood before his eyes he fled to Jordan before making his way to Java, via Abu Dhabi and Malaysia, where he boarded a people smuggling boat crammed with 150 passengers bound for Christmas Island. He spent the harrowing journey treating his fellow asylum seekers, who included several pregnant women, for severe sea sickness.

“There was no room even to sit, many people were just standing on deck,’’ he said.

Dr Al Muderis said there was nothing special about refugees, who represent a slice of society including the “good, the bad and the ugly”. But he said no one deserved to be known as a number like he was for 10 months in Curtin Detention Centre where he was known simply as “Number 982’’.

“People should never be a number, I don’t keep numbers, people have names,” he said.

After being told by then Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock that his qualifications would never be recognised in Australia, the young refugee medico emerged into Australian society and worked from Mildura to Canberra to prove his worth.

He obtained a job as Surgical Registrar at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne before placements at Bendigo, Wollongong and Canberra Hospitals.

“It was during my time at Austin Hospital that I studied to fulfil my dream to become an orthopedic robotics limb surgeon; a most fascinating and rewarding profession working with cutting-edge technology to assist those who have lost legs in combat, or through other health and accident reasons,’’ he said.

Despite his ordeal and the hurdles he was forced to overcome, Dr Al Muderis said that he felt very lucky to be an Australian.

He hopes to be able to provide his services to Australian soldiers who have lost limbs in war.

His first military patient flew for 25 hours, over other clinics in Sweden, Germany and France that conduct the procedure, to be treated by an Iraqi refugee.

 

His Sydney clinics at Norwest Private Hospital, Macquarie University and Sydney Adventist Hospital are regarded as worldwide centres of excellence and are better known abroad than in Australia. He has treated numerous Paralympians and other high achievers as well as cancer patients and other traumatic amputees.

Dr Al Muderis has been an air force reservist surgeon and squadron leader since 2010 and while he has been unable to deploy he hopes to work on the frontline to help Australian troops sometime in the future.

“I do try to present at military conferences and the word is spreading,’’ he said.

“The culture needs to change and change means the unknown but if we wait to see the long-term results we will miss the boat.’’

Dr Al Muderis said most of his patients were happy to risk complications to undergo osseointegration and leave their archaic socket prosthetics behind.

“The sockets date from the 15th century and they haven’t changed much, but we are changing things now,’’ he said.

Last week Michael Swain walked onto a Qantas aircraft for the long flight back to England. In April he will march up to Her Majesty The Queen to receive an MBE and in June he will walk down the aisle with his bride Jade to begin the rest of his life with his son Max and his daughter due in April. He will retire from the Army to run a gym in Luton, north of London.

“My new legs are 10 times better. I will be able to do my job, play golf and be an active dad. There will be no wheelchair and I will go anywhere and do anything and I will spread the word about this amazing procedure and the incredible Dr Munjed Al Muderis.’’

Source: news.com.au

To shoot a film on location in a country where cinemas themselves have been banned for over thirty years is an achievement for any director.

 

When that filmmaker also happens to be a woman, in a country where it is illegal for women to drive or vote, makes Haifaa Al Mansour's accomplishment with her debut feature Wadjda all the more impressive.

 

Most remarkably of all, it's a masterful film filled with humour, emotion and humanism.

Wadjda is a 10-year-old girl living in a suburb of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

 

Although she lives in a conservative world, Wadjda is fun loving, entrepreneurial and rebellious. She's determined to fight for her dreams, which include saving enough money to buy a bicycle, so she can race her friend Abdullah.

 

Wadjda lives at home with her parents, who are loving if a little distracted. Her father isn't around much, and her mother is convinced he's busy looking for a second wife.

 

The story is tailored to highlight the pressures and difficulties faced by women in Saudi Arabia, with a rare glimpse into the lives of women behind closed doors and the warm relationships between mothers and daughters. Wadjda, like Iran's A Separation, is a fascinating, honest, hugely satisfying film, both boundary-pushing in all the best ways and a thrilling cinematic achievement.

 

Trailer

 

 

Currently showing at the Dendy

The annual Quranic Inspirations Conference will be held at UQ on the 26th April.   The conference will include FREE entrance for all, a surprise guest speaker from the USA plus local Sheikhs, competitions, prizes, stalls and free dinner! The organization is asking for the help of local businesses and community members to help support this event. Please email sponsors@quranicinspirations.com for information on sponsorship and donations.

 

The March 2014 Edition of the Al Wasat newspaper is available here.
 

English pages (15-40) and Arabic pages (1 - 14).

 

Jazakallah to all the ladies that have shown interest in attending this tears retreat at the Savannah Hotel Broadbeach, Gold Coast.

There are now 2 options available for the retreat in June 2014.

Option 1: Cost is $350: This includes 2 nights Accommodation at the Savannah Hotel Broadbeach with 3 day attendance at the retreat. All meals included, consisting of Friday – Welcome Tea, lunch & dinner
Saturday - Breakfast, lunch & dinner Sunday – Breakfast & lunch

Option 2: Cost is $250: This includes 3 day attendance at retreat 8am – 10pm. All meals included, consisting of:
Friday – Welcome Tea, lunch & dinner
Saturday - Breakfast, lunch & dinner Sunday – Breakfast & lunch

Please mark clearly which option you are choosing when filling out the registration form.
Please note that it is highly recommended to stay at the venue for the maximum benefit from the retreat, however we do understand there are ladies who would like to attend but simply cannot stay over due to various reasons.

 

Download the registration form and itinerary which we would like completed as well as payments to be made by 30th April 2014 Insha-Allah.

We hope to see you all there.

Jazakallahu Khair

The Retreat Team 2014
 

PS: Below are two testimonials of the many that we received from the 2012 retreat. We can assure you that attending the retreat is a life changing experience.

 

VATICAN: Catholic bishop and Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Argentinian Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo (left) and Professor Mahmoud Azab (right), adviser of the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University sign the ‘Global Freedom Network’ agreement between representatives of Catholic church, the Anglican church and University Al-Azhar to fight against ‘modern forms of slavery and human trafficking,” here on Monday.—AFP

 

VATICAN CITY: Christians and Muslims have joined to try to help free millions of men, women and children held in modern-day slavery, forced to work as maids, prostitutes, child soldiers and manual labourers.

The Global Freedom Network launched on Monday at the Vatican aims to eradicate slavery by encouraging governments, businesses, educational and faith institutions to rid their supply chains of slave labour.

The initiative is the brainchild of billionaire Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest, who founded the Walk Free Foundation in 2012 to mobilise a grass-roots movement to end slavery.

Forrest, ranked 270th on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest people, used personal contacts to bring the 1.2-billion strong Catholic Church, 85-million strong Anglican Communion and Al-Azhar university in Cairo, the world’s foremost seat of learning, on board with the initiative.

Representatives from all three gathered at the Vatican to sign an agreement to launch the project, which will be based at the Vatican and have a chief executive responsible for implementing a five-year business plan.

Objectives include getting the G20 to condemn modern-day slavery, persuading 50 major corporations to commit to slavery-proofing their supply chains and convincing 160 governments to endorse a seven-year, $100m fundraising effort to implement anti-slavery programmes globally.

In an interview, Forrest said it makes financial sense for countries to rid themselves of slave labour.

’’We have absolute economic proof that once you take slavery out of a community, that community grows and grows and grows,” he said.

The Walk Free Foundation in 2013 published the “Global Slavery Index,” a country-by-country breakdown which found that some 29.8m people were currently enslaved around the globe: child labourers harvesting cocoa in Ivory Coast, women sold for sex in Moldova, and Haitian children trafficked and forced into begging.

Everyday items used in the developed world – soccer balls, bricks, diamonds and flowers – are often produced or extracted using slave labour, the report said.

The presence of Al-Azhar at the Vatican for the launch was particularly significant given that relations between the Holy See and Al-Azhar collapsed during Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy. Pope Francis has spoken out about human trafficking and was behind a November 2013 Vatican conference on modern-day slavery.

The International Labour Organisation has estimated that trafficking in human beings – just one segment of the slavery industry – generates $32 billion in profits every year. Forrest said representatives of other faiths were welcome to join the project’s governing council.
 

Source: Dawn

HOUSEHOLD  CONTENTS FOR QUICK SALE

 

Inshala we plan on moving soon and we need EVERYTHING in our house SOLD!

 

Our things are all new or near new, beautiful things going dirt cheap, you name it, I've got it.

I'm selling chandeliers, fine porcelain, bouquets, vases, lounge set, dinning table, carpets, tv unit, beds, prams, cots, study, books, book shelf, electronics, appliances, even our 4x4!

 

I need to sell them as soon as possible hopefully. I've reduced everything for quick sale.

If you would like to come and look, please call me on 0431146486. I live in the Marsden area.
 

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RENTAL ACCOMMODATION NEEDED

 

Wanted - a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom around the Kuraby/Underwood area for a family of 3 adults and a 5 year old.

 

Please email ccn@crescentsofbrisbane.org for contact details.
 

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AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC COLLEGE

We are seeking a qualified and experienced:

 

Ø  Administration Officer – Durack Campus

Ø   ESL teachers – Gold Coast/Durack/City Campus

Ø  Groundsman with experience in schools – Durack Campus

 

Please forward CV to

principal@aiic.qld.edu.au

Applications close by 31^st March 2014

 

 

Najib Mikati $3.4bn($3bn) Lebanon        
 

Najib Mikati may no longer be Lebanon’s prime minister, but he is still his country’s richest man.

 

Mikati, 57, who entered Lebanon’s fractious political scene in 1998 as minister of public works and transport, before then becoming a member of parliament representing his native northern port city of Tripoli, later served as a caretaker premier once in 2005 in the aftermath of the assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri.

 

He helped steer the country towards parliamentary elections in the wake of the killing before returning in 2011 to serve as premier after the government of Saad Hariri was toppled by Hezbollah and its allies.

 

Mikati, a graduate of the American University of Beirut, helped co-found Investcom along with his brother Taha in 1982 and was later listed on both the London and Dubai stock exchanges in 2006, in what was at the time the largest international listing of a Middle Eastern company.

 

MTN Group Ltd, Africa’s largest mobile phone operator, bought the company in 2006 for $5.5bn. M1 Group, which the two brothers run, became its second-largest shareholder.

 

The company’s holdings include real estate investments in the US, Europe and the Middle East, as well as the Geneva-based Baboo airline and French retailer Faconnable.

 

 

NEXT WEEK: Another from the rich list next week
 

Source: ArabianBusiness