A
landmark $70
million
private
Islamic
boarding
school for
1200 boys is
to be built
at Mareeba
(west of
Cairns)
The Standard
Bearers
Academy will
have an
Islamic
focus but
its
proponents
stress it
will be open
to all
faiths,
including
Christians,
and students
of no
religious
beliefs.
It will be
Standard
Bearers
Academy
Holdings’
first school
in
Australia,
financed by
local and
international
donors, as
well as
state and
federal
governments.
A meeting of
the local
community
that was
held at the
Mareeba
Bowls Club
yesterday
(Saturday)
to explain
the plans of
the project.
About 100
people
attended. A
slide show
of the
proposed
school was
shown. There
will be
accommodation
for visiting
teachers.
Already a
Facebook
page has
been set up
called
STOP-the-70m-Islamic-BOYS-Boarding-School-Mareeba-QLD
and the
Cairns Post
article
that
announced
the proposal
during the
week has
been pulled
down,
presumably
because of
the negative
and
vitriolic
comments
posted by
readers in
response to
the article.
The General
Assembly of
the
Australian
National
Imams
Council (ANIC)
unanimously
decided ay
its 8th AGM
to renew the
term of Dr
Ibrahim Abu
Mohamed as
the Mufti of
Australia
for an
another
three years
and
commended
him on his
outstanding
work and
performance.
It was also
proposed to
look into
the criteria
and the
process of
electing the
Mufti of
Australia in
the future.
The AGM was
convened in
conjunction
with a
national
Islamic
Conference
that lasted
three days
where the
Assembly
"discussed
and studied
numerous
topics and
affairs that
concern the
Muslims at
home and
abroad."
More than $3
million has
been raised
for a new
mosque in
Padstow, in
Sydney’s
southwest,
despite no
development
application
being
submitted to
Bankstown
Council.
The United
Muslims of
Australia
held a
fundraising
event on
November 2
for the
proposed
mosque which
they want to
build at an
industrial
site on
Enterprise
Ave.
The
organisation
says “a
record
breaking
fundraising
milestone of
$3.25
million” has
been
reached.
The amount
followed “an
unprecedented
and
extraordinary”
ticketed and
segregated
fundraising
dinner
earlier this
month.
The UMA told
the Muslim
community it
has “finally
found a
permanent
home on a
large site
in Padstow”
for a mosque
for more
than 5000
worshippers.
The site
would also
feature a
function
centre with
catering
facilities,
a youth and
fitness
centre with
indoor
sports, an
“educational
complex”,
classrooms
and meeting
rooms.
The 6000sq m
complex
would also
include
underground
parking.
Bankstown
Council are
currently
studying
their
controls for
building
places of
public
worship in
industrial
zones but
Liberal
councillor
Jim Daniel,
who raised
the motion,
insisted it
had nothing
to do with
any
potential
mosque.
In an email
following
the
fundraiser,
the UMA
said: “The
contribution
and
sacrifice
made by all
those which
attended was
also nothing
short of
awe-inspiring”.
“A record
breaking
fundraising
milestone of
$3.25
million (was
reached) to
go towards
the overall
project.
This was
achieved,
which owed
itself to
the
collaborative
efforts of
the
Australian
Muslim
community
who attended
the
evening.”
A campaign
to name and
shame Halal-certified
companies is
gaining
momentum in
Australia
and has
already
forced one
company to
ditch its
certification
and a
lucrative
contract
with it.
Halal
conspiracy
theorists
bullying
Australian
businesses
SOCIAL
media can be
a useful
tool for
consumers to
talk back to
companies.
Sometimes,
it’s used
for good.
But
sometimes,
it’s used to
bully a
business
that’s done
nothing
wrong.
There’s a
pervasive
conspiracy
theory
floating out
there.
You’ve
probably
heard or
read it at
some point.
It goes
something
like this:
That all
‘real’
Australians
should stop
buying halal-certified
food or
you’ll
inadvertently
end up
funding
terrorists.
Websites
have popped
up in recent
years which
have sought
to ‘uncover
the truth’
about halal
certification.
One of the
more active
sites, Halal
Choices,
claims
certifying
bodies are
the
beneficiaries
of a
“constant
stream of
funds to
support
Islamic
projects
which
contribute
to the
advancement
of sharia
(Islamic
law) here
and around
the world.”
The site
warns that
“sharia
[law] goes
way beyond
food and
halal but
the point we
want to make
here is that
all of the
halal
certification
organisations
are
operating
under sharia
law and
desire for
sharia law
to be
accepted as
a part of
our
mainstream
society.”
News.com
Halal
products may
be funding
Islamist
extremism,
claims
Nationals MP
Abbott
government
backbencher
George
Christensen
says it’s
‘outrageous’
his grocery
dollars are
going
towards a
‘religious
tax’
Consumers
who buy
halal
products
could be
funding
Islamist
extremism,
an Abbott
government
backbencher
claims.
In an
opinion
article
titled
Terror in
the Tucker
Box,
Nationals MP
George
Christensen
questions
whether
shoppers who
buy goods
with the
halal logo
are funding
a push for
Sharia law –
or even
backing
terrorists.
Christensen
says there’s
no way to
know where
the funds
from halal-certified
goods end
up.
He said it
was
“outrageous”
his grocery
dollars were
going
towards a
“religious
tax” –
listing
halal-approved
products
such as
Vegemite,
Corn Flakes
and Freddo
frogs.
“Worse
still, I
don’t know
whether my
grocery
spend is
going to
fund
extremist
versions of
that
religion or
extremist
religious
activities
that I would
rather not
see in
Australia,”
Christensen
wrote on his
website.
The
Nationals
deputy whip
said it was
“entirely
feasible” to
think some
halal
certifiers
could be
financing
groups such
as Hamas or
the Muslim
Brotherhood,
citing cases
in the US
where such
links were
allegedly
found.
“While it’s
not
terrorism,
there is no
doubt halal
certification
is funding
organisations
with
extremist
views and
activities
in
Australia.
“It’s lovely
to know a
jar of the
salty black
stuff is
sponsoring
the advocacy
of robbing
women of all
of their
marital
property
rights.”
Controversy
over halal
certification
has come to
a boil over
the past few
weeks.
South
Australian
dairy
producer
Fleurieu
Milk and
Yoghurt
Company was
forced drop
its halal
certification
after
receiving
threats on
social
media.
Hundreds of
Muslims from
across
Australia
have been
meeting in
Sydney with
the big job
of setting a
new National
agenda for
the
community.
They are
tackling key
issues,
including
racism and
radicalisation.
by Thea Ormerod, President,
Australian Religious Response to
Climate Change
In the
lead-up to
the G20
Leaders’
Summit in
Brisbane,
faith
leaders
called on
G20 leaders
to give
serious
attention to
the issue of
climate
change.
Speaking
from Muslim,
Buddhist,
Jewish,
Christian,
Hindu and
Indigenous
perspectives,
they urged
the
political
leaders to
take every
opportunity
to address
this urgent
problem in
the lead-up
to the UN
climate
talks in
Paris next
year.
Prominent
religious
leaders
signed an
open letter,
including
his
Excellency,
the Grand
Mufti of
Australia,
Dr Ibrahim
Abu
Mohammed,
and the
President of
the
Australian
Federation
of Islamic
Councils, Mr
Hafez Kassem.
The letter
called for
the
elimination
of fossil
fuel
subsidies,
more rapid
take-up of
renewables
and the
scaling up
of the
finance for
the climate
adaptation
needs of
developing
countries.
“Economics
cannot
reasonably
be treated
as somehow
separate
from the
environment
on which all
life itself
depends,”
said Imam Dr
Mohamad
Abdalla,
Director of
the Islamic
Research
Unit at
Griffith
University,
at a press
conference.
“We must
transition
quickly to
ways of
living which
respect the
physical
limits of
the natural
world. To do
otherwise
will result
in
unthinkable
suffering,
first among
vulnerable
people of
the
developing
world, then
among
ourselves,
our children
and
grandchildren.”
“This means
a concerted
effort, even
in
developing
countries,
to shift
boldly to
solar, wind
and other
forms of
renewable
energy,” Dr
Abdalla
said. “But
this is
being
thwarted by
government
subsidies
for fossil
fuel
companies,
giving these
companies an
unfair
advantage.
Governments
are
essentially
providing
incentives
for
companies
whose
products are
destroying
the
biosphere.”
The price of
renewables
has come
down so
dramatically
that they
offer more
cost
advantages
than coal,
oil and gas.
They also
lend
themselves
to
small-scale,
decentralised
energy
delivery
systems
which means
they’re more
locally
accessible
to
impoverished
communities.
The
religious
leaders
further went
on to
address the
question of
Climate
Finance to
assist
developing
countries to
adapt to the
impacts of
global
warming. Dr
Abdalla said
“While
wealthy
countries
are spending
$50 – 90
billion USD
annually on
subsidies
for fossil
fuels, most
are failing
to put more
than the
most basic
amounts on
the table to
meet their
Climate
Finance
commitments.
Wealthy
countries
must take a
new
direction if
we are to
have the
binding
international
agreement
the world so
desperately
needs.”
On the same
day as the
faith
leaders
released
their open
letter,
President
Obama and
Chinese
leader Xi
Jinping
struck an
historic
deal in
which each
increased
their
ambitions to
reduce
greenhouse
gas
emissions.
The ambition
is
insufficient
but the
significance
of this is
the spirit
collaboration,
and the
involvement
of the
national
leaders.
This is very
different
from the
stand-off at
Copenhagen,
and
subsequent
negotiations
being
conducted
largely by
delegates.
The
implication,
or course,
is that
Australia is
being left
well behind
when
countries
with which
we have
important
relationships
are forging
ahead,
albeit
slowly. Our
5% emissions
reduction
target is
looking
increasingly
out of step.
ARRCC indeed
holds it is
deeply
irresponsible,
especially
for a nation
which is
relatively
wealthy and
whose
population
has one of
the highest
carbon
footprints
per capita
in the
world.
The open
letter,
signed by
prominent
faith
leaders in a
range of
traditions,
is available
here.
Iraqi
football fan
Sadi Toma –
a former
captain of
the Iraqi
National
Team - is
among the
first fans
in Australia
to receive
his tickets
to see the
Iraqi
national
team play in
Australia as
part of the
2015 AFC
Asian Cup.
Mr Toma has
tickets for
Iraq’s
opening
match
against
Jordan in
Brisbane on
January 12
and is
looking
forward to
being part
of a large
Iraqi crowd
there to
cheer on the
Lions of
Mesopotamia.
Mr Toma, who
is an AFC
Asian Cup
Community
Ambassador
said "Our
community is
very excited
to see the
Lions of
Mesopotamia
play in
Australia."
"We are
putting
together a
big
travelling
supporter
crowd for
all the
games and
will create
a home
atmosphere
for our
team."
Iraq’s other
matches are
against
Japan in
Brisbane on
January 16
and against
Palestine in
Canberra on
January 20
and all
three
matches have
been very
popular with
fans.
CEO of the
Local
Organising
Committee
for the 2015
AFC Asian
Cup Michael
Brown urged
people
wanting to
see Iraq
play at the
Asian Cup to
get in quick
for tickets.
“The matches
involving
Iraq are
among the
most popular
in the
tournament
so I would
encourage
anyone
wanting to
see the
Lions of
Mesopotamia
to buy
tickets now
so they
don’t miss
out.”
“People who
have
previously
bought
tickets will
start to
receive them
in the post
in the
coming
days.”
Iraq Group
Matches:
- Iraq v
Jordan, 7pm
Monday 12
January,
Brisbane
- Iraq v
Japan, 7pm
Friday 16
January,
Brisbane
- Iraq v
Palestine,
8pm Tuesday
20 January,
Canberra
You can buy
tickets
through one
of following
methods:
1. To sit in
the Iraqi
fan section
contact:
- Brisbane
games - Ali
Ghafoor -
0410 083 975
- Ticketek
Code: IUAQ
- Canberra
game -
Joseph Essuo
- 0478 240
619 -
Ticketek
code: AFAQ
- Travel
Packages -
Hussein
Khoshnow -
0426 060 606
or 02 9727
4056
The
AFC Asian
Cup is
Asia’s
biggest
football
competition
and was
established
in 1956.
The 16
nations to
qualify for
are
Australia as
hosts,
defending
champions
Japan, Korea
Republic and
2012 AFC
Challenge
Cup winners
DPR Korea,
along with
Bahrain,
China, Iran,
Iraq,
Jordan,
Kuwait,
Oman, Qatar,
Saudi
Arabia, the
United Arab
Emirates,
Uzbekistan
and
Palestine.
These teams
will take
part in a
23-day
festival of
football in
five cities,
which the
Socceroos
will kick
off against
Kuwait on
January 9,
2015, in
Melbourne,
with the
final set
for Sydney’s
Stadium
Australia on
January 31,
2015.
Fox Sports
will
broadcast
all matches
and ABC will
broadcast
selected
matches as
well as a
nightly
highlights
show
One of
only three recorded copies
of an influential treatise
on the construction and use
of astrolabes, a tool used
by astronomers to predict
the positions of the sun,
moon and planets. This
illustration shows internal
gearing of this device and
was the first surviving work
to illustrate such miniature
technology.
Photograph:
British Library Qatar
Foundation Partnership
From the 9th
to the 19th
centuries,
scholars and
scribes used
Arabic as a
lingua
franca to
debate
scientific
ideas.
Arabic-speaking
scholars
translated
classical
Greek,
Persian and
even
Sanskrit
texts on
topics such
as medicine,
mathematics
and
astronomy.
These
scholars
went far
beyond
translation
and
preservation
and fostered
a unique and
vibrant
scientific
culture
within the
Arabic-speaking
world.
The British
Library and
Qatar
Foundation
have joined
forces to
launch a new
bilingual
online
portal, the
Qatar
Digital
Library,
providing
free access
to 25,000
pages of
fascinating
medieval
Arabic
manuscript.
On the left
is one from
a selection
of some of
the most
influential
scientific
texts in
history
(others to
follow in
the coming
issues of
CCN).
Role/Responsibilities:
Assist
Police
Officers to
communicate
effectively
with members
of the local
community by
providing
advice on
local
Islamic
customs and
protocols.
Locations:
One position
at UMG and
the other at
Carseldine
at NBD.
Contacts:
Sgt Trad
Thornton is
contact for
NBD and
S/Sgt Steve
Hollands for
SBD.
We need a
3-4 bedroom
house with 2
bathrooms,
and double
garage. Any
suburb on
the south
side is
fine. We can
only afford
around $300
per week. We
are good
tenants, and
will take
care of your
house. We
need a place
to call
home, so a
long lease
is required.
We don't
want to have
to move
again.
Please phone
0402917109.
Prince Harry given tour of
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat
The Royal makes his first
visit to a mosque on the final morning of
his tour of Oman
OMAN: Prince Harry has
visited one of the world's largest mosques
during an official tour of Oman.
Dressed in a blue suit and tie, the Prince
took off his shoes, in accordance with
Muslim custom, before entering the main
prayer hall of the Sultan Qaboos Grand
Mosque in Muscat.
Inside, he marvelled at the eight-ton
Swarovski crystal chandelier hanging from
the central dome, and at the hand-woven
prayer carpet which took 400 weavers four
years to complete.
The mosque was a gift to the nation from the
current ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said al
Said, to mark the 30th year of his reign.
Built from 300,000 tonnes of Indian
sandstone, it took six years to complete and
has space for 20,000 worshippers.
Hundreds of Muslims attend
weekly prayers at iconic Christian cathedral
Message of
tolerance and unity interrupted
briefly by woman protester in
Washington D.C.
US: An iconic Christian cathedral where
Martin Luther King once preached welcomed
several hundred Muslims beneath its vaulted
arches in a gesture aimed at fostering
greater understanding and acceptance between
the two faiths around the world.
For the first time, the Washington National
Cathedral hosted Friday prayers for
followers of Islam, although Muslims have
previously attended the Episcopal house of
worship for inter-faith services.
But not everyone was happy to follow the
example of tolerance and unity being set in
the US capital.
One unidentified woman disrupted the first
prayer service by shouting “leave our
churches alone” and “why can’t you worship
in your mosque” before being escorted out.
Televangelist Franklin Graham also posted on
Facebook the day before the service that it
was “sad to see a church open its doors to
the worship of anything other than the One
True God of the Bible [sic]”.
According to the Washington Post, the faith
event was organised by Muslim scholar and
South African ambassador to the United
States, Ebrahim Rasool, in partnership with
Rev Canon Gina Gilland Campbell.
The pair had apparently developed the idea
while working on a memorial service for
Nelson Mandela.
A cathedral
employee tries to stop a woman
from protesting prior to a
Friday prayer November 14 at the
National Cathedral in
Washington, DC.
Members of five Muslim communities joined
the Friday prayer, also known as jumu'ah. It
was closed to the public and had heavy
security.
In his sermon Mr Rasool called on Muslims
and Christians to unite and find a “common
cause” in the fight against religious
extremism, according to the newspaper.
“We come to this cathedral with sensitivity
and humility but keenly aware that it is not
a time for platitudes, because mischief is
threatening the world,” he said.
"The challenge for us today is to
reconstitute a middle ground of good people…
whose very existence threatens extremism.”
Dan of the cathedral, the very Rev Gary
Hall, commented on the sound of the Arabic
call to prayer, saying it was a “beautiful
sacred language in a beautiful sacred
place”.
Speaking to the Post after the service,
lawyer Arif Ali who brought his 12-year-old
son Zayd with him, said he was “very moved”,
adding: “It really makes one think about the
common heritage and values in Christianity
and Islam.”
Work began on building the Washington
National Cathedral in 1907 and took 83 years
to complete. It hosted the state funeral of
President Eisenhower in 1969 and a year
earlier saw the last Sunday sermon preached
by Dr King just days before his death.
Turkish leader says
Muslims, not Christopher Columbus,
discovered continent in 1178, offering to
build a mosque in Cuba
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that
the Americas were discovered by Muslims in
the 12th century, nearly three centuries
before Christopher Columbus set foot there.
"Contacts between Latin America and Islam
date back to the 12th century. Muslims
discovered America in 1178, not Christopher
Columbus," the president said in a televised
speech during an Istanbul summit of Muslim
leaders from Latin America.
"Muslim sailors arrived in America from
1178. Columbus mentioned the existence of a
mosque on a hill on the Cuban coast,"
Erdogan said.
The president also said that Ankara was
prepared to build a mosque at the site
mentioned by the Genoese explorer, the AFP
news agency reported.
"I would like to talk about it to my Cuban
brothers. A mosque would go perfectly on the
hill today," he said.
Most history books say that Columbus set
foot on the American continent in 1492,
while seeking a new maritime route to India.
Some Muslim scholars have recently suggested
a prior Muslim presence in the Americas,
although no pre-Columbus ruin of an Islamic
structure has ever been found.
In a controversial article published in
1996, historian Youssef Mroueh refers to a
diary entry from Columbus that mentions a
mosque in Cuba.
However, the passage is widely understood to
be a metaphorical reference to the shape of
the landscape.
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 dessert
by Dr Fatima Motala will be a certain hit during
these hot summer months. Make it well in advance
and store it in the freezer and you will become
the perfect hostess when friends and family drop
in unexpectedly.
3 Layer Ice Cream Dessert
(by Fatima Motala)
Ingredients
1 litre Vanilla ice
cream
½ litre Chocolate ice cream
1 cup crumbled cake or crushed biscuits
1 cup chopped nuts (I prefer almonds and pecans)
4 mini flake chocolates
Method
1. Soften ½ the
quantity of the Vanilla ice cream.
2. Add ½ the biscuits or cake
3. Add ½ the chopped nuts and 2 flakes.
4. Layer in a baking dish or Tupperware ring
mould.
5. Place in the Freezer for an hour and allow to
freeze.
6. Repeat the procedure with the Chocolate ice
cream
7. Set over the first vanilla layer and allow to
freeze and set
8. Soften the second half of the vanilla ice
cream and add chopped strawberries.
9. Set this layer over the frozen chocolate
layer and freeze.
10. When you are ready to serve remove from the
mould and drizzle with a chocolate sauce or its
delicious as is.
Note: You may use
any flavour of ice cream and fruit according to
your preference
Q: Dear Kareema, getting
and staying fit is a challenge for me. It's hard
just to get up off the couch. So what's the
secret of people who have managed to make
exercise a way of life?
A: There are many
suggestions I can give you, but for now, let me
tell that being consistent far outweighs being
fast. If, for example, you start a 20 minute
routine on a treadmill then do it every single
day. No exercise program in the world works if
you don't do it consistently.
A small boy named Hameed lived in a village in Morocco.
None of his classmates liked him because of his
stupidity, especially his teacher, who was always
yelling at him "You are driving me crazy Hameed!"
One day Hameed's mother came into school to check on how
he was doing. The teacher told his mother honestly, that
her son is simply a disaster, getting very low marks and
even she had never seen such a dumb boy in her entire
teaching career.
The mother was shocked at the feedback and withdrew her
son from the school and even moved to another town.
25 years later, the teacher was diagnosed with an
incurable cardio disease!
All the doctors strongly advised her to have an open
heart operation, which only one surgeon could
perform.......
Left with no other options, the teacher decided to have
the operation, which was successful......
When she opened her eyes after the surgery she saw a
handsome doctor smiling down at her!
She wanted to thank him, but could not talk. Her face
started to turn blue, she raised her hand, trying to
tell him something but eventually died!
The doctor was shocked and was trying to work out what
went wrong, when he turned around he saw our friend
Hameed, working as a cleaner in the clinic, who had
unplugged the oxygen equipment to connect his Hoover.
[Editor] Don't tell me you thought that Hameed
became a doctor!
Don't you
see how Allah sets forth a
parable? - A goodly Word
like a goodly tree, whose
root is firmly fixed, and
its branches (reach) to the
heavens, - it brings forth
its fruit at all times, by
the leave of its Lord. So
Allah sets forth parables
for men, in order that they
may receive admonition.
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 Tafseer gets recorded and uploaded on to our website end
of each week, please visit our website to download these
recordings at
www.masjidtaqwa.org.au.
The Tuesday and Thursdays Dars Nizame program is in Urdu,
these sessions too are recorded as well as webcasted live.
For webcast details please contact us via our website
“contact us” page. The recordings are sent via a download
link, if you are interested please again contact us via our
website “contact us” page.
Queensland Police Service/Muslim
Community Consultative Group
Meeting Dates & Times
Time: 7.00pm sharp Date: Tuesday 2 December 2014 Venue: Islamic College of Brisbane - 45 Acacia Road
Karawatha
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
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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.
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The
CCN Inbox: Letters
to the Editor
A
landmark $70
million
private
Islamic
boarding
school for
1200 boys is
to be built
at Mareeba
(west of
Cairns)
SOCIAL
media can be
a useful
tool for
consumers to
talk back to
companies.
Sometimes,
it’s used
for good.
But
sometimes,
it’s used to
bully a
business
that’s done
nothing
wrong. 
.jpg)
The
AFC Asian
Cup is
Asia’s
biggest
football
competition
and was
established
in 1956.
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that
the Americas were discovered by Muslims in
the 12th century, nearly three centuries
before Christopher Columbus set foot there.
post comments on
our Wall
7
August 2011
