“Love, Pray, Eat”….. the reverse order to Elizabeth Gilbert’s best seller….. and the seventy people present at the Aspley Uniting Church on Sunday 29 June, the start of Ramadan, to hear from Glasgow-based Farkhanda Chaudry MBE, and Ghizala Avan of Interfaith Scotland and its affiliate Amina Muslim Women’s Resource Centre, delighted in all three elements.

 
Brisbane-based multi-faith groups, Believing Women for a Culture of Peace and Northside Interfaith Group hosted the visiting speakers, briefly in Brisbane after facilitating a community cohesion process in New Caledonia. They were happy to have an opportunity to share their interfaith message and its power to influence community cohesion.

 
A sung 4-part greeting, based on religious affirmations from Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Jewish origins, exchanges of gifts, open sharing of the protocols of Ramadan and how we could all participate in the end of fasting at sunset, contributed to the accepting and loving ambience of the gathering.
 

Farkhanda spoke of the substantial influence and public voice which Interfaith Scotland has gained with various governance levels, as well as the wider community. The aims of the Interfaith Scotland council are to cultivate learning and dialogue among those with specific interfaith interests; to provide tools and pathways to bring this knowledge to other sectors and disciplines; and to promote education and awareness throughout Scotland. “Scotland interfaith Week” is a fine example of how much Interfaith Scotland has achieved since its beginnings more than a decade ago.

Ghizala’s resource Centre aims to remove the oppression of “cultural stereotypes”, especially the misunderstanding around the status of Muslim women. The Centre promotes the universal message of love – that we all have equal rights which are to be enjoyed through the diversity of our humanity. In her call to action to rid the world of violence against women, Ghizala quoted the UN Rapporteur for this action – that if the incidence of violence against women was regarded in the same way as an infectious disease, then the world would declare a pandemic and put in place emergency global resources to eliminate the “dis-ease”.
 

At sunset, all were invited to join those ending the day’s fast with dates and water, and to gather for prayer, in the room prepared for the purpose. A strong sense of spiritual connectedness and unity was strongly felt by the participants of whatever faith. The gathering concluded with a shared iftar meal and lively discussion of contemporary public concerns which faith communities are seeking to address, with very insightful responses from Farkhanda and Ghizala.

Friday the 13 June was a very special day, and will be remembered for the purchase of what (insha'Allah) will be the 2nd Masjid in the Gold Coast.

The IMAGC finally settled on the property in Worongary. With the support and financial contribution of many people in our community and around Australia, we were able to pay a deposit of $185,000.00.

Insha'Allah during Ramadan we will be taking names of people who can volunteer with renovations (services), cleaning and any further financial support (which we still need to raise to complete the final purchase of the property. We will then aim to start the renovation to make it safe and suitable for prayer and other activities, then we can proceed to further expansion, and the following stages insha'Allah.

In the meantime, we will be working closely with council over the next few months to make it safe for the public and have all necessary regulations met to open the doors to the community Insha'Allah.

May Allah reward everyone who has made any kind of contribution to this project.

There is still a long way to go, but we want to make it available to the community as soon as we can, so if you think you can contribute anyway please let us know by leaving a comment or emailing us at info@imagc.com.au

Please continue to make du'aa for the success of this project.

Local Brisbane mum, Faaiza Osman, has taken to blogging her recipes and "mum-related" ideas on her ModestMunchies website.

Here you’ll find baking and cooking recipes on her blog as well as some mummy related stuff, crafts, activities, home organisation tips and more.

Faaiza has created a free printable Ramadan Meal Planner which has proved very popular amongst her followers.

She also shows you how to make a Ramadan advent calendar.

Mufti Zeeyad Ravat personally distributes Islamic College of Brisbane donations to Syrian Refugees with Al-Imdaad Foundation and Muslim Aid Australia in Jordan.

On June 21st, the new Al-Nisa Management Committee held their first fundraising dinner; Glitz and Glamour- A Night to Shine. Proceeds from the event were donated to Islamic Relief who work tirelessly to provide aid for less fortunate countries. In particular, the aim of the night was to raise as much money as possible to go toward the building of a large bore well in Somalia which will provide water for over 60,000 people.
 

You may not realise, but over 1 billion people in the world live without access to clean drinking water. In some Somalian villages, women have to walk up to 3 hours to collect water for their family. Due to the unfortunate water crisis, every 19 seconds a mother loses her child to water related diseases. This is a devastating statistic and we, Al-Nisa, wanted to do something to help this crisis.
 

Our team worked very hard to put on an enjoyable night for everyone in attendance. The event was held at the IWAQ Hall in Springwood, with a lovely three course meal, games, auction and sale items, and of course, great company. By the end of the evening, we raised $11,471 to donate toward the Islamic Relief water project in Somalia! Alhumdulillah!
 

Al-Nisa would like to thank all of its members, both active and founding, and various volunteers who helped on the night. We would also like to thank our major sponsors; Brisbane After Hours Doctors, Brisbane Diagnostics and IsStyle Events and Photography. Also a thank you to all our other sponsors and everyone who donated auction and sale items, as well as other essentials on the night.
 

Ramadan Mubarak from the Al-Nisa team. We wish you all a prosperous month ahead and look forward to sharing many successful ventures with you all in the future in-shaa-Allah!

NSW: The Goulburn-Mulwaree Council in the New South Wales Southern Tablelands has rejected a development application for a Muslim cemetery in the town of Marulan.

The council had been considering the matter for 12 months and last night voted to reject the proposal.

The Al Mabarrat Benevolent Society wanted to build a 3,500-plot cemetery and prayer hall on the Hume Highway at Marulan.

The Goulburn-Mulwaree Council said it received about 100 submissions from the public, with many opposed to the idea.

A Sydney-based planning consultancy said it also received racist emails about the proposed Islamic cemetery.

Consultant Richard Smyth said concerns were raised about access to the site, but there has been some disturbing comments too.

"I've had some emails that I'd rather not describe to you," he said.

"I did a prayer hall in Earlwood back in 1998 and about 1,000 people turned up at the council meeting to object.

"The court approved it [the appeal] and since then it's settled in.

"With Annangrove we had about 4,000 objections from about 500 families."

Mayor Geoff Kettle said he fully supported the decision because the proposal failed to meet a number of conditions, such as suitable access to the site.

He said the application also failed to demonstrate the cemetery would not adversely impact the quality of groundwater and surface water run-off.

The council also approved plans for a brewery to be built on the former site of the Coles distribution warehouse in Goulburn.
 

Source : ABC News

19 year old Oussama Abou-Zeid has been elected the Young Premier of Victoria.

He spoke to ABC News Breakfast about the bills he hopes to introduce during his week in parliament.

Islamic leaders say they will do what they can to stop young Australians heading overseas to fight alongside extremists, after meeting with Attorney-General George Brandis.

Several clerics this morning met with Senator Brandis at Parliament House in Canberra to discuss the problem of so-called home-grown terrorism.

Senator Brandis says about 60 Australians are currently fighting in Iraq and Syria, with dozens more supporting them.

The Abbott Government says most do not want to return home, but claims those who do are likely to be up to "no good".

Senator Brandis told the senior Islamic leaders that they are important partners and he wants them to use their moral authority to stop young Muslims joining ISIS, or other militant groups, in the Middle East.

"In your communities in particular you have a especially important role as moral leaders, as charismatic figures, as authority figures, as religious leaders," he said.

"The issue here is not religion - the issue is extremism."

He confirmed security and intelligence agencies are still monitoring about 150 Australians here and abroad.

It comes as an Australian preacher, Musa Cerantonio (pictured right) who has emerged as one of the high-profile supporters of the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq claims he is heading to Syria.
 

Social media and internet pose problems for authorities

Senator Brandis describes social media and the internet as two of the Government's biggest problems as it tries to combat home-grown terrorism.

The Coalition is introducing new legislation that will allow security and surveillance organisations to better track Australian jihadists and their associates online.

The Islamic leaders were briefed on the bills during the meeting.

Sheikh Mohamadu Saleem from the Australian National Imams Council says all Muslims are shocked that so many Australians are fighting overseas.

He says he wants to make sure the nation is protected from violent extremism.

"We really appreciate the fact that you have recognised the role of the imams in peace building in this country," he said.

"And of course we have discussed various ways of de-radicalising our youth.

"And we have been of course instrument in the past encouraging youth to engage positively, rather than negatively, in Australia."

Senator Brandis says the Government's legislation will help save young men from "radical ideology".

He expects the bills, which are largely based on the recommendations of a report from Parliament's intelligence committee, to receive bipartisan support.

"We've had this bizarre situation up to now that two agencies, in particular ASIS and ASIO, may perhaps in a hypothetical case be working together but powers exercisable by one were not exercisable by the other, although it's a joint operation," he said.

"So the effect of the legislation will be to break down those silos which have inhibited operability."

The Opposition has welcomed the meeting and says it will work productively with the Government.

But Labor's immigration spokesman Richard Marles says Senator Brandis should not have been the minister leading the meeting.

"To have the Attorney-General, the man who led the charge to amend the Racial Discrimination Act, which can only lead to greater prejudice to communities such as the Islamic community in Australia ... lead these discussions I think is extraordinary," he said.

The Coalition says it will continue to consult with Islamic leaders as it introduces the laws.
 

Source : ABC News

Media release on meeting with the Imams by Attorney-General for Australia Minister for the Arts Senator the Hon George Brandis QC

Remarks at meeting with the Imams by Attorney-General for Australia Minister for the Arts Senator the Hon George Brandis QC

The MUSLIM EDUCATIONAL & SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY in Zimbabwe has been feeding the fasting Muslims in 17 centres mainly in the southern and western parts of Zimbabwe for a number of years.

With the growth in the programme, the centres have been extended to include the towns and cities of Beitbridge, Gwanda, Renco Mine, Zvishavane, Shangani, Esigodini, How Mine, Victoria Falls, Hwange, Kamativi and Masaajid in Bulawayo.

To contribute to this year's programme contact Hawa Mahomed for more details on 07 3273 2786 (h) or 0425 557 861 (m)

As more and more Muslims turn their smartphones into a resource to enhance their Islamic awareness, a South African Quraan Institute has released an app to make it easier to recite the Quraan on the go, with Tajweed.

The Hafiz Academy & Qur’an Literacy Trust of Cape Town which first released the colour coded Mushaf of the Quraan approximately 10 years ago, has now migrated the Mushaf online with downloads currently being offered on Android and Apple.

Director of the Institute, Dr Hafidh Reedwaan Ismail told Cii Radio’s Ulama In Focus that the process of developing the original Mushaf all those years back was a time consuming and meticulous one.

“When we were taught by the late Hafidh Shamshuddin Ibrahim in Salt River, he used to physically take a red pen and underline all those areas where we had to apply the Tajweed rules. So only if you studied to become a Hafidh, you would have that facility. Our idea was to make that facility to be available to Muslims throughout the world. And Alhamdulillah, Allah SWT guided us to come up with the colour coding concept where we use 7 different colours to represent each of the Tajweed rules, and Alahmdulillah we can very proudly say that the colour coded Quraan is available in all four corners of the world.”

It took Reedwaan a full year of slog in front of a computer to identify and colour code the Tajweed rules and compile the physical Mushaf.

Following a Haj trip about 4 years ago, when Reedwaan’s colour coded Mushaf sparked much interest and curiosity from international Hujaaj, it dawned upon the Hafidh that the project had to be taken online to make it accessible to a global Ummah.

This paved the way for the app, which Reedwaan said was relatively easy to put together given that all the hard work had been done years prior.

The app is now available both on Google Playstore as well as the Apple iStore where the first 10 Juz can be downloaded for free and the remainder for a small fee.

All proceeds from the download of the Colour Coded Tajweed Qur’an are earmarked for the Hafiz Academy where girls and boys are taught the memorisation of the Qur’an for free.

The Hafiz Academy has also produced a Tajweed App which includes interactive videos and a quiz.
 

Source : CII Broadcasting

[CCN] Search for Colour Coded Tajweed Quran in the App Store.

In the Australian state of Victoria, two major political parties have thrown their support behind the construction of a controversial mosque that has divided a regional community.

Despite vocal protests and a social media campaigns from opponents, the Bendigo City Council last month approved plans for a $3 million mosque.

The development going to be done by the Council, which would include two prayer rooms, a shop and a community sports hall, recieved over 350 objections.

Deputy opposition leader James Merlino praised the Bendigo community for standing up against a small minority.

"We should rejoice in the fact a clear majority of councillors, seven out of nine, voted in favour of the mosque," Mr Merlino told ABC radio on Tuesday.

"We should rejoice in the fact the overwhelming response in the Bendigo community is to reject the intolerance and the racism of a very small minority."

Majority complaints seen in the Councils documents are related to concerns over the influence of Islam.

Matthew Guy, the Multicultural Affairs Minister, claimed that Muslims would (not) disrupt the lives of other residents.

"People in Bendigo who have this fear that 300 or so Islamic Australians who want to pray in peace are going to disrupt their lives is just plain wrong," Mr Guy told ABC radio.

"There is nothing to fear from the facility being approved."
 

Source : World Bulletin

An Open Letter to Elise Chapman – Bendigo Councillor

Dear Ms. Chapman,

I was greatly disturbed by your comments as quoted in The Age on June 20, 2014:
1. “Every day in the media there are cases of people being raped by Muslims … and there is no doubt a mosque would see more Muslims move to Bendigo.”
 

2. “Islam is not a race though and I am not racist.”

These comments should not only be cause for concern for Muslims, but any reasonable fair-minded Australian. You claim that there are cases of people being raped by Muslims in the media on a daily basis; such a childish generalization becomes all the more disturbing when made by a person of your position.

As well as noting that rape is categorically forbidden in Islam (having members of the Islamic centre in Bendigo to clarify such a matter yourself and your colleagues might be a good idea), please understand that generalisations may work both ways. As of writing this letter, the search for Nahid Almanea’s (a Saudi student studying Britain) murderer continues. It is supposed by Police that her Muslim dress made her a target, so much so that she was stabbed an alarming sixteen times. Based on your troubled reasoning, is it acceptable for members of the Muslim community to claim that all British people are hate-mongering murderers? I pray that you understand how imbalanced such an assertion is.

According to the same article, you further claimed that Islamic practices taught that any non-believers were “not worthy and should be killed”. Given your poorly researched readings of Islam, it may perhaps come as a surprise that the Qur’an permits men to marry Jewish or Christian women. If we were assume your comment to be valid, why would you then suppose that Islam permits such a practice? Islam is very much more nuanced than the uncivilized caricature which you presumably have in mind.

It displeases me to know that your readings of Islam do not extend towards what the religion offers with regards to kindness, charity and benevolent conduct. I am sure that your derisive comments and highly-selective readings of Islam will further contribute to anti-Islamic behavior in the community such as the recent incidents of vandalism which we saw at the Canberra Islamic Centre (CIC). Although you have mentioned that unemployment rates are four to five times higher than “Australian men.” This phenomenon has more to do with discrimination than it does with ability.

Finally, although you rightfully explain that such statements do not make you a racist, it does however make you a loud-mouthed bigot.

Sincerely,

Suleiman Ali Baig

Source: Islam in Australia

What really happened at the Cronulla Riots? Go beyond the media headlines with the SBS interactive experience: watch the documentary, explore the themes and delve deeper into this dark day in Australia's history.

"This Sunday, every Aussie in the Shire get down to North Cronulla to support the Leb and Wog bashing day.”

A text message sent to mobilise the rioters. As reprinted in the ACMA Investigative Report.

On December 11, 2005 a riot occurred on Cronulla Beach in Sydney's south targeting men of ‘Middle Eastern appearance’.

Phrases like “100% Aussie Pride” were scrawled in the sand while slogans such as “We grew here you flew here” became a new source of national shame. In the following days, Lebanese-Australian youth rose up, responding swiftly in a series of retaliations.

Leading up to these events, 270,000 text messages were sent and received to mobilise the rioters and those who retaliated.

This interactive documentary explores these events. A 60-minute video is the springboard to explore a wall of content that adds further depth and perspective to the themes that fuelled the infamous Cronulla Riots.

Watch the untold stories. Investigate the themes. Explore the riots in an entirely new, immersive way.
 

Watch the documentary.

The controversy surrounding the recent decision of the Bendigo Council to approve the city's first mosque highlights the impossible situation in which Australian Muslims frequently find themselves.

There can be no doubt that mosques are not the centres of radicalisation so often depicted by bigots and fearmongers. Indeed, convicted terrorists in Australia and in other western countries have proven themselves to be religiously illiterate and antithetical to the kind of traditional Islamic learning promulgated in mosques and most Islamic schools. Recall that the former al-Qa'ida leader, Osama bin Laden, was an engineer by profession, and the current leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is a qualified medical doctor. They waged a global war against non-Muslims and Muslims alike, not as religious authorities, but as autodidacts. Their minions are Muslim in name only; they betray everything that the Islamic faith stands for.

It is with good reason, therefore, that last year Australia's top Muslim cleric, the Grand Mufti Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohamed, argued that more mosques are the key to combating radicalisation.

Yet, most applications for the construction of mosques and Islamic schools are rejected by local councils. Some locals feel threatened by such institutions, others feel such structures are "out of place" and will clash in character and nature with the broader society, while others simply hold onto misinformed views about Muslims and of Islam. It is little wonder, then, that many Australian Muslims feel alienated from their society, when research confirms large proportions of mainstream society holding anti-Islamic sentiments.

Overwhelmingly, the majority of Australian Muslims feel that Islam instils universal values that are shared by Australians: they believe that their faith makes them better citizens. Yet, large swathes of Australian Muslims feel demonised and vilified, largely due to events that stem overseas, involving Muslims. So a polarisation within society creates distrust and fear. Only bigots and extremists on both sides of the spectrum thrive and gain in such an environment to the detriment of everyone else.

There is near consensus among academics that the process of radicalisation is triggered by many factors - some personal, others economic and political (the so-called "elephant in the room"), others still cultural and societal. Through their rhetoric, fringe demagogues encourage a climate of fear within mainstream Australian society, thereby exacerbating the hostile environment in which Muslims find themselves. And while these preachers masterfully manipulate social inequalities - real and perceived - to convince disenfranchised young Muslims that non-Muslims have an inherent hatred for Islam, global terror events involving Muslims confirm to the wider society their worst fears about Islam.
 

This toxic cycle - made worse by flagrantly irresponsible media reporting with its sensationalist headlines depicting Muslims as the enemy within - foments a public discourse driven, not by rational thought and empathy, but by emotion, myopia and panic. In order to arrest the spread of animosity and suspicion among Muslims and non-Muslims alike, partnerships are required. While Australian Muslims already feel they are under intense scrutiny, the Australian government needs to be sensitive to ensure that it is not perceived to be anti-Islam. Furthermore, moves need to be made to ensure that community leaders and mosques are consulted, engaged and valued as real stakeholders. The problem is that the Muslim community has its own internal challenges, not least being that mosques need to be more amenable and relevant to young Muslims and the wider public.

Ultimately, mosques are only as good as the imams they employ. If these pivotal guides cannot connect with large numbers of their flock, young Australian Muslims will go elsewhere for religious instruction. Increasingly, many turn to the internet for guidance, while others seek out fringe, charismatic individuals who are culturally relevant and linguistically conversant. Most radical Muslims that I have had the misfortune to meet in the UK over the past decade were initially disenfranchised by mosques because they could not understand their mother tongue - the first language of most imams. I have encountered the same tendency among many of the youth to whom I speak in Australia's unofficial Muslim capital, Sydney.

The Australian Muslim leadership needs to ensure that Muslim scholars and theologians are able to articulate theology in a meaningful manner and be bold enough to challenge the theology of hate that festers in the ghettos. It is a theology that hides behinds genuine grievances, and as such, is well camaflouged. It appeals to the disenfranchised because those articulating it are seen as the moral champions of causes that so few Muslim leaders publicly talk about. However, the more the Muslim community is able to acquaint themselves with traditional Islamic belief, the more they will be inoculated against such bizarre, putrid, literal readings of Islam that are seductively interwoven with conspiracy theories.

The Grand Mufti was right to say that more institutions need to be built, but I would simply add that we need the right kind. We need enlightened institutions with a curriculum that comprehends modern thought and that will attract talented students. Without such institutions, it is unlikely that a sophisticated understanding of the Islamic tradition can be fostered. We also need institutions that nurture and better empower indigenous imams with the tools to navigate the challenges of modernity, and not simply regurgitate a textual understanding of Islam from overseas.

A conversation is taking place among young Muslims, towards an indigenous form of Islam, something that is neither imported nor imposed by governments, but is anchored in Australia. A generational shift is in the making - I see it first-hand in Sydney. Still very much in its infancy, it needs leadership and guidance to take the Muslim community from being reactive, isolated and defensive, to being concerned with the advancement and wellbeing of society as a whole. There are visionaries out there trying to get this discussion moving, but they can't do it alone.

The outcome of investing in the youth now is the formation of an inquisitive, creative, articulate generation of Australian Muslims who will see no dichotomy between holding onto their faith and contributing to a democratic, secular state. They will be Australian and Muslim; it is within this community of believers that we might see the most potent force against radical Islam. I know that the future belongs to them, not to the radicals.

Aftab Malik is a UN Alliance of Civilizations Global Expert on Muslim Affairs and a Board Advisory member of the British Council's "Our Shared Future" project, based in Washington DC, which aims to improve the public conversation about Muslims and intercultural relations in the United States and Europe. He is currently serving as the Scholar in Residence at the Lebanese Muslim Association based in Lakemba, Sydney.
 

Source : ABC Religion & Ethics

Sydney talkback radio host Michael Smith (pictured) has been told he will no longer be filling in on 2GB after making controversial comments about the Prophet Mohammed.

The former 2UE presenter made the comments on Thursday during his regular guest spot with 2GB host Ben Fordham.

Smith was discussing the recent controversy over a talk the Festival of Dangerous Ideas had booked - and later cancelled - with a Muslim activist, titled Honour Killings Are Morally Justified.

He compared the festival's invitation to Uthman Badar to asking the leader of the Ku Klux Klan to speak.

Smith said the founder of Islam was "a man who promoted the idea that it was OK to marry a six-year-old and consummate the marriage when the little girl was nine".

The broadcaster had been due to fill in for afternoons presenter, Chris Smith, from Monday for three weeks.

On Saturday he wrote on his website that 2GB program director David Kidd had called and cancelled the booking, telling him he could not "call a deity a paedophile".
 

Smith pointed out that he had made similar comments on 2UE in 2011, and had been acquitted of a complaint of inciting hatred and of factual inaccuracy by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

Mr Smith said on his website he stood by his comments.
 

Source : ABC News

The Sydney-based Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA) during the week released this response to Michael Smith's claims.

Many forget that the first Muslims to celebrate Ramadan in America were African slaves.

(Last weekend marked) the beginning of Ramadan. Nearly one-fourth of the world will observe the annual fast and eight million Muslims in the United States will abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset during the holy month. A gruelling task at any time of the year, Ramadan this year will be especially daunting during the long and hot summer days (in the Northern Hemisphere).

Islam in America is rapidly expanding. It is the fastest-growing religion in the nation, and the second most practiced faith in twenty states. These demographic shifts prompted a prominent Los Angeles-based imam to comment, "Ramadan is a new American tradition." The cleric's forward-looking pronouncement marks Islam's recent arrival in the US. However, this statement reveals a pathology afflicting a lot of Muslim Americans today - an inability to look back and embrace the opening chapters of Muslim American history written by enslaved African Muslims.

Social scientists estimate that 15 to 30 percent, or, "[a]s many as 600,000 to 1.2 million slaves" in antebellum America were Muslims. 46 percent of the slaves in the antebellum South were kidnapped from Africa's western regions, which boasted "significant numbers of Muslims".

These enslaved Muslims strove to meet the demands of their faith, most notably the Ramadan fast, prayers, and community meals, in the face of comprehensive slave codes that linked religious activity to insubordination and rebellion. Marking Ramadan as a "new American tradition" not only overlooks the holy month observed by enslaved Muslims many years ago, but also perpetuates their erasure from Muslim-American history.

Between Sunnah and slave codes

Although the Quran "[a]llows a believer to abstain from fasting if he or she is far from home or involved in strenuous work," many enslaved Muslims demonstrated transcendent piety by choosing to fast while bonded. In addition to abstaining from food and drink, enslaved Muslims held holy month prayers in slave quarters, and put together iftars - meals at sundown to break the fast - that brought observing Muslims together. These prayers and iftars violated slave codes restricting assembly of any kind.

For instance, the Virginia Slave Code of 1723 considered the assembly of five slaves as an "unlawful and tumultuous meeting", convened to plot rebellion attempts. Every state in the south codified similar laws barring slave assemblages, which disparately impacted enslaved African Muslims observing the Holy Month.

Therefore, practicing Islam and observing Ramadan and its fundamental rituals, for enslaved Muslims in antebellum America, necessitated the violation of slave codes. This exposed them to barbaric punishment, injury, and oftentimes, even death. However, the courage to observe the holy month while bonded, and in the face of grave risk, highlights the supreme piety of many enslaved Muslims.

Ramadan was widely observed by enslaved Muslims. Yet, this history is largely ignored by Muslim American leaders and laypeople alike - and erased from the modern Muslim American narrative.

Rewriting the history of Ramadan in the US

Muslim America was almost entirely black during the antebellum Era. Today, it stands as the most diverse Muslim community in the world. Today African Americans comprise a significant part of the community along with Muslims of South Asian and Arab descent. Latin Americans are a rapidly growing demographic in the community, ensuring that Muslims in America are a microcosm of their home nation's overall multiculturalism.

In the US today, Ramadan dinner tables are sure to include staple Arab or Pakistani dishes. Yet, many Muslim Americans will break the fast with tortas and tamales, halal meatloaf and greens. Muslim diversity in the US has reshaped Ramadan into a multicultural American tradition. The breadth of Muslim America's racial and cultural diversity today is unprecedented, making this year's Ramadan - and the Ramadans to follow - new in terms of how transcultural and multiracial the tradition has become.

This Muslim American multiculturalism comes with many challenges: Namely, intra-racism, Arab supremacy, and anti-black racism prevents cohesion inside and outside of American mosques. These deplorable trends perpetuate the erasure of the Muslim slave narrative. Integrating this history will not only mitigate racism and facilitate Muslim American cohesion, but also reveal the deep-rootedness of the faith, and its holiest month, on US soil.

This Ramadan honouring the memory of the first Muslim Americans and their struggle for freedom and sharing their story with loved ones at the iftar table, seems an ideal step towards rewriting this missing chapter of Muslim American history into our collective consciousness.
 

Khaled A Beydoun is the Critical Race Studies Teaching Fellow at the UCLA School of Law.
 

Source : Al Jazeera

He will play a 3pm game against the Panthers on July 19 with no food or fluids from 7am.

On that day he cannot even take water from the club’s on-field trainers.

Sonny Bill has spoken to dietitians and the Roosters’ sports science staff to carefully plan the next four weeks.

The Roosters train in daylight hours at least three days a week but may even adjust the schedule so SBW can train after sunset, such is his standing at the club.

Keegan Smith, the son of former coach Brian Smith, is the head of high-performance at Easts and is advising the champion forward on a diet that ensures he can maintain high energy levels.

It will include breads, cereals and other grain products, fruit and vegetables, meat, fish and poultry, milk, cheese and yoghurt and lots of water.

The fact Sonny Bill is such a superb athlete with a magnificent physique will help, according to experts.

The champion forward is such a private person that he married in secret last year and will not comment on his personal life.

This is not the first time an NRL star has played while observing Ramadan.

Former goalkicking champion Hazem El Masri, another devout Muslim, did the same thing at the Bulldogs back in 2009.

“If you’ve got the will and belief you can achieve whatever you desire,” El Masri said.

“Ramadan is a month of sacrifice. A month of dedication. People think of it as only abstaining from food and drink but it’s more than that.

“It’s realising the position you are in. How lucky you are to have food and water to eat and drink.”

Ramadan Fixtures
Round 17 July 5 7.30pm v Sharks
Round 18 July 12 Bye
Round 19 July 19 3pm v Panthers
Round 20 July 25 7.40pm v Knights
 

Source : The Daily Telegraph

SOME Mackay residents are going all day without food but there's no need to worry.

As Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, began on Sunday about 70 Mackay Islamic Society families began a month of fasting from sunrise until sunset.

But Mackay Islamic Imam Eshfaq Akbar (pictured) said Ramadan was about much more than fasting.

"Ramadan is a time of contemplation and reflection," he said.
"We want to put ourselves in the place of those who are less fortunate. It's very humbling."

While for most the idea of not eating for a day is mind-boggling, Mr Akbar said he felt fresher and lighter during Ramadan.

"It's easy when you have set your mind to it," he said.

"The only time when I get hungry is when smelling the food at night."
Mr Akbar said prayer was another important part of Ramadan.

"In addition to our daily prayers, we read all 77,439 words of the Quran during the month," he said.

The Bakers Creek Mosque is open daily for anyone wishing to learn more about Islamic faith.
 

Source : Daily Mercury

While most Melbourne shops are busiest at Christmas, Ramadan is the peak time for many traders in areas of high Muslim population.

This year the holy month, when Muslims fast from before sunrise to sunset, began on Sunday and ends with the feast of Eid al-Fitr on July 29.

The Islamic Council of Victoria says that fasting, prescribed in the Koran, focuses the mind on compassion, spirituality and good character, but also on social interaction.

‘‘Muslims are encouraged to share their food with family, friends and neighbours during the time they break their fast,’’ the council’ says.

Houssam Afiouni, owner of Balha’s Pastry in Sydney Road, Brunswick, said sales of his Lebanese cakes and biscuits increase five-fold during Ramadan due to the season’s emphasis on hospitality.

‘‘In Ramadan people buy a lot of sweets because they invite a lot of people to their houses,’’ he said.


‘‘We have a reward for fasting all day, from God. And if I invite my friend or family to break the fast at my place, the second day they invite me.''

A sweet that Balha’s makes for Ramadan is karabij - a semolina and pistachio cake topped with a fluffy natef (meringue) made with the roots of the shilsh al-halawa, or soapwort plant, and sprinkled with crushed pistachio.

Other popular Ramadan treats are knafeh - a two-layer semolina pastry with clotted cream in between; and basmah – a pastry shredded like steel wool and made with clotted cream and syrup.

Butcher Houssam Dannaoui, from Madina Halal Meats, also in Sydney Road, said Ramadan was also his business’s busiest time of year, with his sales doubling.

‘‘We’re absolutely flat out,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s like Christmas for 30 days. People buy all the best quality cuts – fillets, cutlets – of beef, chicken. Whole lambs. It’s like a big feast for them.’’

Mr Afiouni the baker said some Sydney Road businesses – particularly Lebanese pizza places – closed in the daytime during Ramadan, because fasting meant there were too few customers.

He said it’s a happy time of year. ‘‘After all day not eating, not drinking, by order of Allah, and then we break our fast, we find it like a big treasure to us to have that beautiful food, with the family, gathering. And after that we go to pray.''

The Islamic Council of Victoria called on non-Muslim co-workers to show understanding to Muslims who are fasting such as not scheduling meetings after 5pm, or not having day meetings that include lunch.

Council treasurer Eugenia Flynn said for Muslims it was a time of good deeds and being generous to others, and sharing a meal at iftar (the daily breaking of the fast) was part of that.
 

Source : The Age

It is a month for prayer, charitable deeds and reflection. But, says Rana Asfour, perhaps we should also think about the unrealistic expectations placed on women in the next 30 days.

Today, Muslims all around the world mark the first day of Ramadan; a month-long abstinence from food and liquids that starts at the crack of dawn and ends at sunset. Those who are ill, diabetic, or travelling, as well as women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or menstruating will not be fasting.

This is the first time in over 10 years that I come face to face with Ramadan in an Arab country, having recently moved to Abu Dhabi from the UK. Growing up in Jordan as one of four children with parents who upheld the traditions of the month, my siblings and I looked upon Ramadan as a magical time. The fact that our neighbour’s house was adorned with strings of fairy lights, and ours seemed to be perfumed constantly with the mixed smells of food and burning incense served as a constant reminder that this month was a special one. The uninterrupted chanting of Qur'an verses emanating from the nearby mosque officiated the absolute solemnity of Ramadan.

With today’s hustle and bustle and everyone’s busy erratic lifestyle, it is not often that a family gets together to share a meal beyond the weekend. The arrival of Ramadan puts paid to that as people zoom off to be with their families for the break of the fast or Iftar. Mothers and grandmothers rush to prepare elaborate dishes to a guaranteed audience that is on time, hungry and appreciative. Tables are usually laden with enough dishes (most synonymous with Ramadan) to feed a small army seeking to camp in any backyard. This is a month renowned for being a spectacular time of culinary extravaganzas and elaborate, even exhausting, family gatherings – think Christmas Day replayed for 30 days.

That said, Ramadan is a particularly taxing time for women, not only for the time-consuming labour women have to put in producing meals on an empty stomach and deciding what to cook each day, but they sometimes have to do so while tending to children who are too young to fast or holding a full time job or both. Many daily chores from the ironing and tidying up to planning the next day’s meals, kids' activities and office meetings extend into the small hours of the morning leaving little time for worship and even less time for sleep.

Websites are abound with tips, aimed at women, on how to manage the Ramadan budget, how to worship, how to prioritise duties, how to organize the children and educate them on the virtues of fasting. They also advise how to prepare the kitchen for Iftar and Suhoor (the last meal before the dawn prayer announces the start of next day’s fast) in addition to list upon list of recipes as if the gist of Ramadan were that of a feast rather than a fast. Needless to say, none offer instructions on how men could lend a helping hand.

However, times are changing albeit slowly, particularly within the younger expat Arab communities living in the Arab Gulf States such as Abu Dhabi who tend to live away from family and relatives. With both partners working full-time, they are aware of the need to keep meals simple and nutritious concentrating on quality rather than quantity. Entertaining friends, in lieu of family, is restricted mainly to the weekend. Even so, in most cases women will still plan and cook the meal, out of tradition not religion, hopefully with male family members pitching in to do the shopping, or by lending a hand during the preparation of the meal or the cleaning up afterwards.
 

Graham Perrett MP

Send your Ramadan messages to ccn@crescentsofbrisbane.org to be included in this column.