Queensland Police Minister Jo-Ann Miller has expressed outrage and disappointment over the arson attack on the Toowoomba mosque.

Ms Miller was speaking from outside the West St mosque this afternoon.

"We are totally disgusted with it," she said.

"This is bipartisan. We want to make sure that whoever has been involved in this violent act is caught.

"We have come a long way in Australia. We have come a long way in Queensland and in Toowoomba and we will not tolerate this anymore.
"This has been the second attack on this Islamic community in three months.

"It is shocking.

"It is outrageous and we want people to come forward so that police can get the names of people so they can be investigated and, if necessary, they are charged."
 

University of Southern Queensland Vice-Chancellor Jan Thomas says the suspicious fire at the Garden City Mosque is "not representative of the Toowoomba I know".

Ms Thomas said she had only known Toowoomba to be a "welcoming, community-minded and respectful place".

"What a shock then to hear of another case of suspected arson at the Toowoomba mosque," she said in a statement.

"If it is then this is not representative of the Toowoomba I know.

"Modern Australian society is rich in diversity and all the richer for it.

"Our differing experiences and differing perspectives positions our society to innovate, working together to solve problems and tackle challenges in clever ways."

Ms Thomas said while investigations were ongoing, the community must stand together.

"An attack on any of us is an attack on all," she said.
 

Mayor Paul Antonio has expressed his shock over a suspicious fire that caused major damage at the Garden City Mosque overnight.

"I would suggest this is not what one would expect to happen in Toowoomba," Cr Antonio said.

"This is a community that is known for its cultural diversity and tolerance."

Cr Antonio is expected to release a statement later today.

"Of course it was a shock," Prof Khan said.

"What happened in January and now this.

"You cannot see from the outside but much of the inside is where it happened.

"It's burned to the ground."

Prof Khan said early discussions with investigating police officers indicated access was gained through a glass door that was smashed.

He said the Toowoomba International Food Festival planned for Sunday would go ahead.

"Because you cannot break our resolve and commitment to the community, and Toowoomba has shown again and again that they stand together," he said.
The mosque in Toowoomba has been substantially damaged in a fire overnight.

Emergency services were called to the mosque on West St about 1.50am following reports of a fire.

The blaze was extinguished, and the inside of the building has suffered major damage.

It is the second time in three months that fire has broken out a the mosque.

Police have declared a crime scene and initial investigations suggest that the fire is suspicious.

Police remain on the scene and investigations are continuing.

Source: The Chronicle

As a result of the damage to the Mosque, the Friday prayer venue had to be moved to the Newington Park opposite the Mosque with Toowoomba Council's approval.

 

With forensic investigations currently underway by police, the Open Day and International Food Festival scheduled at the Mosque premises for today (Sunday 19 April) has been moved to the Clive Beghofer Recreation Centre (on Baker St access from West St) at the University of Southern Queensland from 11am-5pm.   A visit to the severely damaged Mosque will take place as part of the day's program.

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A Sydney woman, Stacey Eden, has been praised for leaping to the defence of a Brisbane Muslim man and his wife during a racist rant aboard a Sydney train.

Mr Bhatti (pictured above), an accountant from Pakistan, has revealed further details of what happened before Ms Eden started filming, saying the abusive passenger first touched his wife on her head and asked why she was wearing a hijab in such warm weather.

"I was [a] little shocked, she touched my wife's head like she was blessing [her]," he said. "And then she started her ignorant comments."

The woman, wearing a red top and red floral pants, then proceeded to tell the couple that all Muslims should leave Australia and asked why they follow someone who married a six year-old child.

Ms Eden's footage captured the woman asking Ms Bhatti's wife: "Why do you wear it [a hijab] for a man that marries a six year-old girl?"

She rants about beheadings and the Martin Place siege while Ms Eden tells her it has nothing to do with the lady, who is sitting quietly.

Ms Eden's smackdown ends with her angrily telling the woman: "if you've got nothing nice to say, don't say anything, it's simple."

Ironically, Mr Bhatti's Facebook page is littered with messages condemning religious extremism and Islamic State.

When he was checking in at Sydney Airport on Wednesday afternoon, he posted on Facebook: "Once again, victim of racism by an old Christian lady".

On Wednesday night, after seeing the video make news around the world, he sent Ms Eden a Facebook message.

"Thanks again for your support for us on that day ... I generally believe that you and many other Australian do respect all religions," the message said.

He said the Muslim community in Brisbane had invited Ms Eden to visit them one day.

Ms Eden's video, taken at 1.40pm on the Town Hall to Sydney Airport service, has since garnered hundreds of thousands of views and comments and her Facebook page has been flooded with comments from as far as Pakistan, Holland and Bangladesh.

"I just wanted to tell her that what she was saying wasn't OK," Ms Eden said.

"The point of this is, don't sit there putting someone down because they are wearing a scarf, she never did anything, she sat there and didn't say a word, but I can only imagine how she was feeling inside."

Mariam Veiszadeh, founder of the Islamophobia Register Australia, said such incidents had become more common after the Reclaim Australia rallies earlier this month.

"Is it any surprise that such sentiments are being expressed by people out in public given the Reclaim Australia movement and the rampant Islamophobia which ensued, and the woeful silence of our political leaders, which has created an environment where Islamophobia can flourish?" she said

"It's about time that authorities and our government acknowledged that Islamophobia is a problem."

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

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Michael’s Oriental was a buzz of excitement on Friday night.   Islamic Relief Australia (IRAUS) had the pleasure of hosting a Ladies Only Dinner.   The Dinner had two main aims: 1. Have fun!! 2. Raise awareness and funds for the millions of refugees around the world   The event organisers are thrilled by the success of the event.   Susan Al-maani (IRAUS QLD) reflects that “Without the amazing support and generous donations of our community, the night would not have been possible."   She also wanted to thank Denise from Mangal Underwood, for her “support and tireless efforts throughout this event.” The guests too had a formidable evening. They commended the organisers on putting together “a fabulous night full of fun beautiful food and great company, all for a good cause!!"

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The Islamic Womens' Association of QLD (IWAQ went on an outing to O’Reillys at Lamington National Park in Binna Burra with over 50 people in attendance.

Everyone had a great time and due to the great success, another outing will be organised in the month.

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Dr Richard Di Natale was elected to the federal parliament in 2010 and is the Greens' first Victorian Senator. His portfolios include health, multiculturalism, youth, gambling and sport.

Prior to entering parliament, Richard was a general practitioner and public health specialist. He worked in Aboriginal health in the Northern Territory, on HIV prevention in India and in the drug and alcohol sector. His key health priorities include preventative health, public dental care and responding to the health impacts of climate change.

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Two young Christchurch Muslim sisters are glad to be home after being detained and interrogated by Brisbane border guards.

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SYDNEY: People were queuing in hundreds before the gate opened at 10am for the first Australian Halal Expo held at Fairfield Showground. Over 100 exhibitors with lots of activities in the entire day with celebrities including Bachar Houli and Amina Elshafei and fireworks at 8pm created an amazing atmosphere for the families.
 

The first Halal Food Expo was held on Sunday 12 April at Fairfield Showground. ‘There had been lots of talk about event on social media in the last couple of months, finally the event concluded on the main thing, that Australians love multicultural events, respect reach others culture, tradition and way of life’ says Syed Atiq ul Hassan, the Director, Halal Food Expo 2015.

It is unusual for any new event that thousands of people turned up at the launching event, however, it was expected in Halal Food Expo 2015 as the organisers were receiving overwhelming response on social media and through emails to attend the events. The people from different ethnic background within Islamic community were in majority however there were people from non-Islamic background also attended in significant numbers with families in this festival-style exhibition.

There were over 100 exhibitors including over 30 food vendors of various ethnic foods placed their stalls having delicious halal cuisines. Exciting amusements & rides were busy whole day children and adults whereas there was 4 hours animal show for the kids in the exhibition hall. Various Islamic groups performed in different times on stage, official ceremony started at 2pm where Honourable Guy Zangari a local parliamentarian of Fairfield was the Chief Guest along with many other local community leaders, councillors, and diplomats.

Hon Guy Zangari in his speech, paid tribute to the organisers and also thanked them for choosing Fairfield Showground for holding the first Australian Halal Exhibition. He said, he would be happy to see this event to be held in Fairfield being the most diversified population of New South Wales.

AFL Star Bashar Houli came from Victoria, spent most of his time on Fettaleh Small Goods stall and meeting people and making pictures with his fans. Amina Elshafei, a famous MasterChef contestant, mingled with people spent busy time with meeting people and making pictures with her fans.

Little Explorers TV show had an exciting show for the kids with Little Chef Yaaseen holding a special cooking demonstration for his little explorers’ fans at the event and also Little Hamza and Brother Muhammad making his appearance at the show filling the room with laughter. The kids in the audience had a chance to meet, greet and get signed autographs from the Little Explorer crew that left many smiles on their faces.

The United Muslim Women Association, special chef Ms Farida Ouchenir, held a cooking demonstration at the Expo with beautiful decorated sweet making from Algeria, and prepared “Marzipan Fruit” on the day.

The official ceremony included special distinguished guests including Consul for the Consulate of Malaysian (Education section) Ms Puan Suzzaini Abdullah, and Pakistani Consulate General Mr Abdul Aziz Uqaili attended the event.

The audience were mesmerised by the beautiful Nasheed performances by Ahbab-Al- Mustafa Nasheed group along with Malaysian Nasheed group Hope during the day.

Throughout the event people were seen tasting delicious multicultural cuisine at various stalls with many mentioning that there was so many different type of food items to taste. The live cake preparation by Cake Palace at their stall left people wanting more hot fresh cakes to taste. Many of the exhibitors in the evening said that the event was such a huge success with many having sold out their food.

The event concluded with a spectacular fireworks display at 8pm that all the attendees celebrated and enjoyed the success of the first Halal Food expo in Australia.

The Event Manager, Sarwat Hassan, thanked the major sponsors Fatteyleh small goods, Universal Pharmaceuticals, MCCA, ABW Foods, Crescent Wealth (Islamic Super), Halal Enterprises, ABC Family Day Care, Triforce Sports, Little Explorer, Samaras Restaurants, United Muslim Association and other community organisations, Fairfield Council, Local Police Station, Volunteers and other stakeholders for their remarkable support, contribution and help.

(Halal Food Expo 2015 is a family friendly event that aims to raise awareness and promote halal food, products and services in Australia.)
 

Source: Halal Food Exhibition

Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s message for Halal Food Expo 2015

‘I am pleased to provide this message for the 2015 Halal Food Expo.’

‘This special showcase is a chance for the Islamic community to share their culinary traditions.

As the global Halal food market continues to expand, events such as yours help to increase our understanding of this growing industry.’

‘The Australian Government is committed to opening up new and existing markets for exporters including in the Middle East. This is good news for the 220,000 Australians employed in food manufacturing as it creates more opportunities for Australian food manufacturers and farmers.’

‘In Australia and around the world, food is central to cultural expression. The mutual respect of different cultural and linguistic communities for each other is one of our country’s great strengths.

As Australians we have found unity in our diversity and strength in our differences.’

‘Our democracy rests on an understanding that every individual counts; and our social solidarity rests on the understanding that we should treat others as we would have them treat us.’

‘I pay tribute to the organisers and to everyone in attendance for your commitment to these aims.’

‘I wish you a successful Expo.’

[signature]

The Hon Tony Abbott MP

Prime Minister of Australia

Violent scenes from the country’s first Halal food festival have prompted calls for calm from a prominent member of Australia's Islamic community.
 

A prominent member of Australia's Islamic community is calling for calm after protests at a Halal food festival in Western Sydney turned violent.

One woman was arrested when demonstrators clashed at the Fairfield-based Halal Food Expo over the weekend.

Anti-sharia protestors had set up outside the expo when they were confronted by another group of demonstrators pushing an anti-racism agenda.

The anti-sharia group, The Party for Freedom, had police permission to protest and were there to express their opposition to Halal certification and Sharia law.

Their opponents, Anti-Facist Action Sydney, said they turned up unannounced to take a stand against racist behaviour. A member of the group told SBS they initiated the confrontation, but said they didn’t start the violence.

Keyser Trad from the Islamic Friendship Association said he was disturbed by the pictures of the fight.

Mr Trad told SBS that the violence was “ugly”.

“I appeal to people to just be calm and level headed and try to resolve these issues through dialogue and through education,” he said.

“…The best way to deal with it is to provide information to them, to educate them, allow them to take part in some Halal food and taste for themselves.”

Police were on standby at the event but that didn't stop the confrontation, which saw a 28-year-woman from the anti-Facist group arrested and later released without charge.

Source: SBS

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Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Lawrence Springborg, responded to a letter (see CCN542) sent to him and the Premier by Prof. Shahjahan Khan in which he expressed his concerns about the sponsoring of a petition in Parliament by Buderim LNP MP Steve Dickson (see CCN544) on behalf of Sunshine Coast residents seeking legislation to exclude "any group which advocates violence, seeks to promote or impose Sharia Law, or rejects the Australian Constitution from the definition of "religion...and places of worship".

Mr Springborg responded thus:

I am writing to thank you for raising your concerns regarding a petition calling for mosques to be banned in Queensland.

I was able to confirm that a petition has been presented to the Parliament, by the Member for Buderim, Mr Steve Dickson.

Many members are asked to sponsor and or table petitions irrespective of their own personal thoughts on the matter.

Mr Dickson has said he is the elected representative of the people of Buderim who are entitled to have their say on a range of issues, as part of the democratic process.

I, and the LNP, appreciate the contribution that members of the Islamic community have made to

Queensland for more than a century. Rest assured that neither myself or the LNP will support the banning of mosques in Queensland.

Thank you for your reassurances about how mosques and local Muslim communities work to enhance relations with the wider community.

I agree with you that only through open and meaningful dialogue can we truly hope to ensure Australia remains a peaceful and accepting society.

Thank you again for writing to me personally about this issue.
 

Yours sincerely
 

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Agriculture minister says halal certification essential for export markets and warns failing to get it could triple the price of beef for Australian consumers

The agriculture minister, Barnaby Joyce, has issued a warning to colleagues who are against halal certification, saying picking a fight with Islamic export countries could triple the price of beef for Australian consumers.

A number of Coalition MPs and senators have expressed concern about halal certification, claiming that money for the process goes to extremist clerics.

Joyce said failing to get halal certification would effectively cut off large export markets for Australian meat products, and warned against “picking a fight that we never needed to have”.

“Unless it’s halal certified, we can’t sell it. That means the whole processing line becomes unviable,” Joyce told reporters on Monday. “If we didn’t have the halal market in beef, that could really affect thousands of meat workers in Australia.


“You want to be careful before putting all their jobs on the line by saying that we’re not going to participate in this range of markets.”

He said the lack of competition for markets could drive up the price of beef.

“We don’t want any unnecessary heat brought into this space because the only people who lose out in the end are us,” Joyce said.


A Coalition backbencher, Andrew Laming, wants a voluntary code of conduct on domestic halal and kosher-labelled food so that businesses can bypass the certification process and consumers can have more information about labelling.

“We’re providing more options for businesses and customers,” he said.

He has previously expressed concern that the money that goes to mosques for halal certification is untaxed and hard to trace.

Laming agreed with Joyce that halal certification was “essential” for export markets and “shouldn’t be impeded” by the “minority campaign” against it.
Last month the prime minister, Tony Abbott, brushed aside concerns about halal certification.

“If we want to export to the Middle East, we have to have certain procedures in place ... If we want our exports to grow all the time, this is what we need to do and I think that’s what Australians want,” he said during a visit to a halal-certified business in Tasmania.

The federal government has no formal role in the domestic labelling of halal food. The voluntary labelling is done entirely by third parties. But the government does approve certification for halal products exported to countries such as Indonesia and Saudi Arabia through the Department of Agriculture.

Several high-profile food companies such as Cadbury and Kellogg’s have been targeted by anti-halal campaigners in the past few months.
 

Source: The Guardian

RELATED ARTICLE

The Age: Federal government plan to regulate halal certification adds to confusion

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The ground-breaking ceremony was held at Australian International Islamic College (AIIC) on the 9th of April 2015 to officially signify the start of the construction of state-of-the-art library and preparatory building.

The guests in attendance for the event included Mr. Duncan Pegg MP - representing the Premier of Queensland, Councillor Angela Owen-Taylor, Dr. Grant Watson from the Block Grant Authority, Mr. Indra Hassan – special envoy of the Indonesian Government, Ms. Mariana Lane from the Independent School of Queensland, Mr. Rod Morris from the Block Grant Authority, AIIC staff, students and parents.
 

The ceremony started with the recitation of Quran followed by the national anthem by AIIC Nasheed Group.

Mr. Shahid Khan, the education advisor, welcomed the guests, while AIIC teacher Ms. Samantha Hestlehurst read the message from Senator the Hon. Scott Ryan, the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Education.

In his message, the Senator highlighted the commitment of the government to provide the Australian students with the infrastructure that will help them learn and equip them to face the increasingly challenging world.
 

The College Principal Mrs. Mariam Banwa outlined the academic and extra-curricular achievements of the College and the need for the preparatory and library building.

She expressed her gratitude to the State and Federal Governments for the generous funding received and thanked the Block Grant Authority for their support and contributions towards this major project.

In her address, Councillor Angela Owen-Taylor emphasised the importance of reading and promised to donate the first book to the library. 

Dr. Grant Watson also explained the need for a dedicated preparatory and library building in a school. Mr. Duncan Pegg emphasised the importance of inclusiveness in countering extremism and lauded the contribution of Muslims to Queensland economy and society.
 

At the end, the vote of thanks was delivered by Dr. Abdul M. Ziyath, while Imam Yusuf Peer made the dua for successful construction of the building.

The bricks were laid by the dignitaries and the representatives of AIIC staff and students.
 

Everyone took the opportunity of meeting and socializing with each other over the scrumptious lunch provided.

"Our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all for your attendance and support," a spokesperson for the school told CCN.

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Recently, a team from Islamic Relief Australia (IRAUS) travelled to visit areas in Lombok where Islamic Relief Indonesia is working with local communities, utilising funds generously donated by Australians to support poor and marginalised communities.

 
Visiting 8 remote villages on the island of Lombok in the Province of West Nusa Tenggara, one of the poorest provinces in Indonesia, the team realised how difficult life is without a supply of fresh, clean water.

Due to drought and the lowering of the water table, even deep wells have dried up thus making it harder for the communities to access clean water.

Islamic Relief (IR) has drilled deep bore wells to access potable water and, with contributions from donors, installed pumps and water tanks providing water for drinking, cooking bathing, and washing. An innovative system has been developed where any waste water will irrigate vegetable gardens and plots of medicinal plants.
 

In order to help improve the lives of poor women, widows, orphans and especially women who are their family breadwinners, IR introduced a Mushroom Cultivation Project. The Project provides training, marketing skills and infrastructure to cultivate mushrooms thus generating income to sustain their families. Once harvested, some of the mushrooms are sold to hotels.

To give added value, IR is teaching the women how to make curries, chips and puddings with the mushrooms, thus helping them increase and diversify their incomes.
 

The IRAUS team also had the opportunity to meet one of the thousands of orphans being sponsored by IR who is being supported by an Australian donor.

With this sponsorship, the girl who was born without her left hand, is now able to attend primary school and is among the top students in her class.
 

The Team also had the opportunity to visit the Disaster Risk Reduction and Preparation Secretariat located in a Hindu Temple.

This is part of the Islamic Relief initiative in Disaster Risk Reduction using local committees based in places of worship to prevent and prepare for natural disasters such as cyclones and other disasters common to the region.

Working alongside local government disaster management agencies, they are equipped with the skills to prepare themselves for the disasters and they learn how to reduce the impact of these disasters,
 

The team from Australia was led by Nora Amath, Secretary of the Board of Trustees, Susan Almaani IRAUS’s Queensland representative, Fadlullah Wilmot, Head of Institutional Relations and Funding and two of the top fundraiser volunteers who raised the funds for this project.
 

Want to make a positive contribution to the world? Visit Islamic Relief’s website, www.islamic-relief.com.au, to donate now. There are a multitude of projects that you can contribute to – take your pick.

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The recent civil conflict which began on 8th July 2014 and continued for 50 days in Gaza resulted in mass destruction to infrastructure in the area, including water plants. Thousands of families in the Gaza Strip have been affected by the impacts of this civil unrest and access to clean water has become very difficult.

In any other circumstance the construction of general water wells would have addressed this issue. However due to groundwater pollution from high levels of chloride the decision was made to develop a long-term solution. This involved building a desalination plant to purify the water as means of overcoming the water shortage.

The construction phase of the project will take approximately five months to complete with the agreement to further provide the ongoing maintenance for next two years. It is estimated that an astonishing 50,000 people will benefit from this endeavour with the aim to produce 250,000 litres of clean water per day. The estimated cost of this project is approximately $230,000 ($100,000 already raised).

Once the plant has been constructed, the water truck will be used to transport the clean water to surrounding areas in Gaza. This will ensure that this much needed resource is well distributed and reaches as many people as possible, inshaAllah.

If you’d like to help complete this project and provide clean water to thousands affected in Gaza please donate online at  or via bank transfer at

Muslim Aid Australia
BSB: 062 191
ACC: 1044 8216
Reference: PALWASH (Your Name)

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SELF-promoting self-professed “roving imam” Keysar Trad has mounted a rationalisation for the radicalisation of young Australian Muslims that should forever destroy what remains of his credibility.

Trad, who last year joined with Labor and the Greens in opposing a laudable suite of anti-terrorism laws proposed by the federal government to deal with returning Islamist murderers, told a Western Sydney forum that young Muslims join terror groups because their “blood is boiling” at what he termed “domestic persecution” and international atrocities committed by the West.

He said they were ­confronted with “systemic discrimination”, opportunistic political commentary, unemployment and “duplicitous standards” in law enforcement, and indicated he ­sympathised with their views.

“It is hard to argue with a young person who starts to cite all these issues, you can see the fire in their bellies, you in fact feel the same fire yourself,” he said.

“All the above factors compound to different extents the sense of victimisation and alienation among youths in general and Muslim youths in particular.”

In contrast, he said, IS propaganda tells young people: “Join us and you will belong, you will not be discriminated against, you can go wild, let loose your facial hair and you become the law.”

What a fatuous commentary from someone who a ­series of state and federal governments have given a cloak of credibility to over the past 20 years, even though his history as a translator for the pro-­jihadist and pro-Osama bin Laden Nida’ul Islam magazine is a matter of record.
 

The Daily Telegraph

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Far-right anti-Islam group the Patriots Defence League will be investigated for claiming to authorities it is an advocacy group for domestic violence victims.

In its application to the Queensland Office of Fair Trading to become an incorporated association, the PDL has claimed its objective is "to raise awareness of womens and childrens [sic] rights and domestic violence against women and children".

But the league is better known for its virulent anti-Islam campaigns.

The group, which called itself the Australian Defence League until last year, was instrumental in the Reclaim Australia marches, and has chapters in major and regional cities across Australia.
 

It's unclear how many members it has, but more than 12,300 people have signed up as fans to its Facebook page.

The league has compared Muslims to cockroaches and rats, campaigns against Halal food, and has organised campaigns against mosques being built across the country including in the Victorian town of Bendigo.

League members and followers have been accused of stalking and intimidating Muslim women wearing hijabs, photographing mosques and harrassing people attending them and becoming involved in a violent brawl outside Sydney's Lakemba mosque. Members and followers often make violent threats on social media.

The group launched in Australia in 2009 as an offshoot of the English Defence League, an often-violent British street movement.

Its members bristle at any suggestion their beliefs are racist, arguing it is not racist to oppose Islam, as Islam is not a race. Its Facebook page frequently posts about the abuse of children and child marriages, claims Halal-certified food funds terrorism and claims that Sharia law is a "vulgar system of living...[and] a passport to the abuse of women and children".

One of the benefits of incorporation is that it offers some legal and financial protection for office bearers against legal action taken against the organisation. Without incorporation, those members could be personally liable to pay damages. Incorporation also gives associations to right to apply for private and public funding, claim tax advantages and to allow the association to enter into contracts.

The group was registered as an incorporated association in January 2014, but the Queensland Office of Fair Trading only became aware of the group's Facebook page and online activities once it was tipped off by a member of the public on social media.

Now, Fair Trading has confirmed to Fairfax Media it is investigating whether the group is "carrying on activities outside of its stated objectives", and said it is considering withdrawing the league's status as an incorporated association.

"It is a requirement for associations, when applying for incorporation in Queensland, to state their not-for-profit objectives," a spokeswoman said.

"The OFT is empowered to cancel an association's incorporation if it is doing something outside of its written objectives."

The league was contacted for comment but declined to be interviewed.
 

Source: Brisbane Times

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TWITTER users were polarised by this thorny question: Is the burqa or the bikini a more oppressive garment for women to be expected to wear and which is more empowering?

The first episode of ABC’s agony series for 2015, ‘Agony of the Body’, saw personalities including Kate Langbroek, Steve Vizard, Tracey Spicer, John Elliott, Waleed Ali and his wife, Muslim convert and academic Susan Carland (pictured below), varying wildly in their view of the burqa.

Many Twitter users were unhappy about negative views of the burqa expressed by panellists including former ad exec Jane Caro and former Senator Amanda Vanstone, who said watching a woman having to lift her facial covering to slip small pieces of food under it in a restaurant was “awkward”.

“It looks awkward, you sort of want to look away, it doesn’t seem fair,” said Ms Vanstone, who also discussed how she was often targeted for her appearance during her time in Parliament, including being called a “cricket screen” by Labor MPs.

“One question for the non-Muslim women judging burqas & hijabs as uncomfortable: Do u find stilettos & underwired bras comfortable?” Tweeted Mira Wroblewski.

“Could be culturally insensitive and condescending that a bunch of white people discussing what Muslim women want?” wrote Suzi Mercouri.

“All that freedom and yet Caro says, “Women feel ashamed of their bodies”. Maybe Muslim dress has some value after all,” wrote Prince Fed Up.

Perhaps surprisingly given the heat generated by the now-axed Federal Government proposal to ban burqas in Parliament, the male panellists’ comments on women in bikinis angered Twitter users more than the burqa remarks.

“That whole bikini bit reminded me of every sleazy douchebag I’ve encountered everywhere. Wear what you want & kick sand in their eyes,” wrote Loutlou.

“Absolutely disgusted at John Elliott’s appearance on #agony tonight. Much more disgusted than he is at fat girls in bikinis, I guarantee,” Tweeted Caitlin Mathieson.

Elliott suggested some women should not wear bikinis but that he enjoyed seeing “good sorts” in them. His son, 3AW drive shift host Tom, challenged his dad to describe how he looked on the beach — to the general approval of viewers on Twitter.

Source: Herald Sun

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MASJID TAQWA/BALD HILLS MOSQUE

DATE: 17 April 2015

TOPIC: “Story of Hazrat Ameer Muawiya’s forbearance”

IMAM: Mufti Junaid Akbar

AUDIO (MP3) LINK: http://www.masjidtaqwa.org.au/index.php/downloads/kuthba

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Dear CCN Readers

Invitation to participate in a project to support Muslim women

If you are a Muslim woman between the ages of 18 and 35, you are invited to participate in an exciting new research project, Beyond hostility and fear: listening to Muslim girls and women.

The research is being conducted by Maria Delaney and Amanda Keddie from the University of Queensland. We would like to share the stories of Muslim women and girls for an Anglo-Australian audience to dispel some of the ignorance in the Australian community about Islam.

We are sure you would agree that this is important research - Muslim women often bear the brunt of Islamophobia, their voices often silenced and their stories crucial to generating more peaceful relations.

The research would involve an interview and/or reflective writing about being a Muslim girl/woman in Australia.

It would highlight difficulties and problems but also hopes and opportunities. The stories might be funny stories... exasperating stories... disturbing stories... (We will provide some questions that might be a useful guide here).

Your participation would be completely anonymous, so you can feel comfortable about sharing your stories.

If you would like to be involved, or if you have any questions, please contact me at delaneymt@gmail.com. 

We would greatly appreciate you forwarding this information to any friends who you think might be interested.

Best wishes,

Maria

P.S. You can find out about us on our websites:
Maria Delaney www.socialchangeagency.com.au 
Amanda Keddie http://researchers.uq.edu.au/researcher/1458 

Dear CCN readers

We holding a Gala Dinner in Honour of Women and require volunteers to assist us with the following:

1. Graphic Artist to design posters
2. Video/Audio - to assist in putting a couple videos together and to assist with presentation on the night.

For further details please contact 0402 575 410

Salaams

Queensland Muslims Organizing Team
 

Dear CCN

ASA

I am in need of a tutor for a year 1, six year old girl. She needs help with numerals and literacy and Islamic 3 x a week for 1 hour.

We live in the Kuraby area so preferably very close by.
Please contact Brother Shafiq on 0415585341
 

Salaams 

Salaam CCN Readers,

I cordially invite all Muslim brothers and sisters for my PhD final seminar (viva) presentation at A Block (Room A101)(next to Parliament House), QUT Gardens Point on Thursday 23 April 2015 from 11.30am.

Please click on the flyer for more information. For the seminar for those interested come along and give me some moral support

 

Wassalam. Thank you.
Zulkeplee Othman
PhD Candidate
School of Design
Faculty of Creative Industries
Queensland University of Technology

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Fish Croquettes

For her 40th birthday, Jallalluddin's wife said, "I’d love to be ten again."

So that Saturday, the family had a heaping stack of chocolate-chip pancakes, her favourite childhood breakfast.

Then they hit the playground and a merry-go-round and finished the day with a banana split.

"So how did you enjoy being a kid for a day?" Jallalluddin asked.

"Great," she said. "But when I said I wanted to be ten again, I meant my dress size."

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DIRECTORY

PLEASE NOTE

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, except for Lailatul Mehraj, Lailatul Bhahraat and Lailatul Qadr – these dates refer to the commencement of the event starting in the evening of the corresponding day.

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