Crescents of Brisbane's 12th
CresWalk2015 saw everyone
from the very young to the
not so young turn up to
Orleigh Park on Sunday for a
walk, jog, run or ride along
a picturesque Riverside
Driveway lined with blooming
jacaranda trees.
This year the team chose
Mr Abdel Kader (AK) Surtie
for the 2015 Haji Ebrahim
Patel Special Achievement
Award. Dr Iqbal Sultan
presented AK with the award
at the event on behalf of
Crescents of Brisbane
detailing his quiet and,
until now, unheralded
contributions to the
community over the
many years.
One regular participant, Cr
Kim Marx, told CCN: "I
just wanted to say
congratulations to everyone
involved with the annual
Creswalk. I always enjoy
attending this event as its
always so well organised and
it becomes a great day out
where families can catch up
and socialise. The breakfast
is always awesome too.
Looking forward to seeing
everyone again next year."
Muslims
Australia AFIC seeks a
suitably qualified candidate
to fill the position of
General Manager, based in
Sydney.
Position
Description
The
Australian Federation of
Islamic Councils (“AFIC”) is
the peak representative body
for Muslims in Australia.
It is comprised of State and
Territory Councils that have
over 100 organisations and
represents approximately
700,000 Muslims nationally.
The AFIC is the focal
contact point for government
and non-government
stakeholders desirous of
engaging with the Islamic
community and is charged
with improving the
well-being of the Muslim
community through its
services and advocacy.
The GM
reports to the AFIC
Executive Committee through
the President and is
accountable for the
day-to-day management of the
organisation and its staff.
This role is the principal
translator of the AFIC
Vision into tangible
strategies and outcomes.
This role requires a high
level of stakeholder
engagement, strategic
thinking and people
management.
A National Day of Unity
incorporating the
Sydney-based Lebanese Muslim
Association (LMA) initiated
National Mosque Open Day (NMOD)
and Walk Together events
took place yesterday
(Saturday), designed to
"celebrate diversity,
encourage mutual respect and
foster positive
relationships between people
of all faiths, ethnicities
and backgrounds."
Fourteen Mosques opened
their doors to the wider
Australian community in an
attempt to improve social
cohesion and break down
various misconceptions and
misunderstandings.
President of LMA, Samier
Dandan, said, "With the
current climate the
Australian Muslim community
finds itself in, this was a
perfect opportunity for
other Australians to come
and learn about Muslims and
Islam and have a fun family
day out too."
The 2015 Walk Together took
place in more than 28 cities
yesterday. In Brisbane the
event started at 11am and
concluded at 12:30pm with an
on-stage entertainment
program and panel
discussion. Over 1500 people
followed the picturesque Kurilpa Bridge to the
Supreme Court Plaza on
George Street, Brisbane CBD.
The Women’s
International
League for Peace
and Freedom (WILPF)
Queensland’s
Peacewomen
Awards
recognise the
talents and
dedication of
women whose
activities have
promoted peace
at the local,
national and/or
international
levels.
The awards this
year celebrate
the 100 years
since WILPF was
founded in
Queensland, when
the Women's
Peace Army held
a public meeting
against the
first world war.
The Peacewomen
of 2015:
Dr Nora
Amath -
interfaith
leader and
champion of
cultural
minorities
(pictured)
Dr Joan
Hendriks -
Quandamooka
Elder and
social
justice
campaigner
Professor
Carole
Ferrier -
academic,
feminist and
antiwar
activist May
Lamont -
educator and
community
developer
The election for rotating
open positions on the board
of directors was held during
the week at the Ethnic
Communities Council of
Queensland’s Annual General
Meeting in West End. Yasmin
Khan was elected to join
Michael Yau as ECCQ’s Deputy
Chairpersons and Alton Budd
was re-elected to the board.
New directors on the board
include: Elijah Buol, Evelyn
Saragossi and Freda
Valassakis.
Ms Khan has been a
representative on government
Muslim reference groups,
consultation groups for
domestic violence and has
been on ECCQ’s board for the
past two years. Ms Khan was
also recently awarded the
Queensland Multicultural
Ambassador Award for her
ongoing work in the
multicultural arena. Mr Budd
has been on the board since
2013 and has worked on the
Diversicare Management
Committee for the last 12
months.
Racism is more entrenched
and systemic than most of us
realise. Using a range of
practical case studies,
Jonathan shows how
Australia's white
supremacist history
continues to influence
present-day political, legal
and cultural institutions.
Mainstream conversations
about racism too often focus
on overt bigotry, rather
than covert structural
oppression. The deeper
issues are ignored and
deprioritised. But
pretending that race is
irrelevant in the
twenty-first century won't
make racism go away.
Jonathan is a writer,
musician and community
organiser with a strong
interest in democratic
reform and non-hierarchical
political structures. Much
of his writing focuses on
xenophobia, systemic racism
and the normalisation of
whiteness. Jonathan is a
former Queensland poetry
slam state champion, and was
runner-up in the Australian
poetry slam grand finale. He
has performed poetry at the
Sydney and Brisbane Writers
Festivals and as far afield
as London and Berlin.
Jonathan has lived and
worked in remote Aboriginal
communities in north-east
Arnhem Land as both a
cross-cultural mediation
facilitator and a community
development worker. His
views on racism have also
been heavily shaped by his
personal experiences as the
son of a Tamil migrant. In
his spare time, Jonathan
organises underground
community gig nights in
houses and backyards around
South Brisbane.
This talk was given at a
TEDx event using the TED
conference format but
independently organized by a
local community.
Unhappy with some of her
friendships, one Australian
has developed a system to
categorise friends and
acquaintances to help
maintain better
relationships, and the idea
has taken off around the
world. See why.
A fascinating handwritten
letter penned by black civil
rights activist Malik al
Shabazz (aka Malcolm X)
after his enlightening trip
to Mecca in 1964 has gone on
sale for $1.25 million.
The letter, which was found
in a storage locker, was
printed on stationery with
Arabic writing and had
illustrations of historic
sites. It is being sold by
Californian autograph and
historic letter dealers
‘Moments in Time.’
In it, Malcolm mused that if
white Americans converted to
Islam it may stop the
rampant racism that was
inflicted on African
Americans in the 1960′s.
He wrote: ‘I have just
completed my pilgrimage
(Hajj) here to the Holy City
of Mecca . . . which is
absolutely forbidden for
non-Muslims to even rest
their eyes upon.
‘I very much doubt that 10
American citizens have ever
visited Mecca, and I do
believe that I might be the
first American-born Negro to
make the actual Hajj
itself.’
Giving an insight into his
state of mind after the
important and eye-opening
trip – which he later
credited with helping him to
see Muslims of all races as
one – he asserted that if
white Americans converted to
Islam, they ‘could cease
to measure others always in
terms of their difference in
color.’
He writes: ‘Muslims [are]
here of all colors and from
every part of this earth. If
white Americans could accept
the religion of Islam . . .
they, too, could then
sincerely accept the Oneness
of Men, and cease to measure
others always in terms of
their ‘difference in color.’
‘And with racism now
plaguing America like an
incurable cancer, all
thinking Americans should be
more respective to Islam as
an already proven solution
to the race problem.’
In his letter he wrote:
‘As America’s insane
obsession with racism leads
her up the suicidal path,
nearer to the precipice that
leads to the bottomless pits
below, I do believe that
Whites of the younger
generation, in the colleges
and universities, through
their own young, less
hampered intellects, will
see the ‘Handwriting on the
Wall’ and turn for spiritual
salvation to the religion of
Islam, and force the older
generation to turn with
them. This is the only way
white America can [ward] off
the inevitable disaster that
racism always leads to, and
Hitler’s Nazi Germany was
best proof of this.’
The long lost letter is
being sold by Gary Zimet who
told Dailymail.com it ‘will
be a fixed price sale- not
an auction.’
Zimet told Page Six: ‘It was
found in a storage locker
and almost thrown out. Only
because the owner saw some
Derek Jeter and Alex
Rodriguez autographs was it
saved.’
In regards to the legitimacy
of this letter, Zaheer Ali,
an oral historian who served
as the project manager and
senior researcher of the
Malcolm X Project at
Columbia University, says
it’s likely this letter was
actually written by Malcolm
X.
“Based on everything I’ve
seen, handwriting and
context, I can confidently
say that yes, this letter is
his letter,” he told the
Huffington Post. ‘The
content is consistent, this
isn’t uncommon. He was very
prolific.”
Ali explained that the
pilgrimage to Mecca had a
profound effect on Malcolm X
and that he often sent
letters about it as a way to
“broadcast” his message.
However, Ali doesn’t believe
this letter should be for
sale. ”I don’t think you can
put a price tag on this,” he
explained. “Even though this
is his personal
correspondence, his
intention was that this was
to be made available to the
public.”
Regardless, Ali believes the
letter’s message, addressing
race and religion, is
particularly timely today.
“However this letter
surfaced, it surfaced at the
right time.”
Maajid Nawaz, Founding
Chairman of Quilliam, talks
to ABC's Lateline with Sam
Harris, author of The End of
Faith, about their latest
book 'Islam and the Future
of Tolerance'. In the
interview, they discuss
religious reform as well as
the "regressive left".
Quilliam is the world’s
first counter-extremism
think tank set up to address
the unique challenges of
citizenship, identity, and
belonging in a globalised
world. Quilliam stands for
religious freedom, equality,
human rights and democracy.
An
overwhelming 86 per cent of
Australians believe
multiculturalism has been
good for the nation,
according to the latest
Mapping Social Cohesion
survey from The Scanlon
Foundation.
This strong endorsement of
the nation’s cultural
diversity follows similar
high levels of support in
2013 and 2014.
This year’s survey also
highlights a willingness
to facilitate integration
with close to two-thirds of
respondents in favour of
both Australians and new
migrants adapting to a
changing Australian society,
or of the view that
Australians should “do more
to learn about the customs
and heritage of ethnic and
cultural groups in this
country”.
However, the findings also
showed that most Victorians
while positive on
multiculturalism, are less
so towards Muslims.
Fewer than a third of
regionalVictorians are
positive towards Muslims,
the survey has found.
And even in Melbourne, which
has a high multicultural
population, less than 40 per
cent of respondents had
positive feelings towards
Muslims.
However, only 16 per cent of
Melburnians stated they were
negative about Muslims,
while the rest were neutral
on the issue.
It found that an
overwhelming majority of
Victorians agreed that
multiculturalism had been
very good for Australia,
while a decreasing
proportion of people, now
about 40 per cent, believed
the migrant intake was too
high.
The national survey revealed
that two-thirds of
Australians agreed that
accepting migrants from many
different countries made
Australia stronger.
“Multiculturalism has
enhanced Australia’s
economic prosperity and
improved our social
cohesion,” said Graham
Perrett MP, Member for
Moreton.
“But more needs to be done
to support our increasingly
culturally diverse community
and to harness this
diversity to build stronger
communities and a stronger
economy.
The Council of Imams QLD (CIQ)
prepared a
report on the outcomes
arising out of the recent
visit of National
Muslim Prison Board of South
Africa to Australia.
The Muslim scholars who made
up the delegation were
Moulana Mohammed Azeem
Khatieb of Cape Town,
Moulana Shabeer Ahmed Asmal
of Durban and Moulana
Shiraaz Dawood Desai of Port
Elizabeth
The visitors provided
information about the work
being undertaken by the
National Muslim Prison Board
of South Africa to Muslim
communities in Australia
to help them better
understand the prison system
in Australia and the need to
provide chaplaincy support
to Muslim inmates.
Their experiences in
negotiating and maintaining
ongoing institutional
arrangements in prisons in
South Africa to support the
rehabilitation of Muslim
inmates would form the basis
for a template that could be
adapted for the Australian
context.
'Belief' invites viewers to
witness fascinating spiritual
journeys through the eyes of the
believers.
In a world filled with
religious and cultural
bigotry, Oprah Winfrey aims
to promote tolerance and
harmony with her new TV
series Belief, that explores
various religious and
spiritual beliefs and
practices.
According to Oprah, the show
invites viewers to witness
some of the world’s most
fascinating spiritual
journeys through the eyes of
the believers and explores
humankind’s ongoing search
to connect with something
greater than ourselves:
In order to broadcast these
practices, Oprah has filmed
places and cultures far and
wide, including the holy
city of Makkah where Muslims
go for the Hajj pilgrimage
every year:
In addition to that, Belief
also shed light on the Sufi
tradition within Islam and
how it is still held in
great reverence by those
seeking a greater spiritual
connection:
An introduction to major
religions is given by Varun
Soni, dean of Religious Life
at the University of
Southern California. While
introducing Islam, he
clarifies the misconceptions
about the religion including
those about jihad.
He stresses on the fact that
jihad in Islam is an
internal struggle that
everyone faces, regardless
of their religious beliefs.
He shuns the idea of Islam
promoting the concept of
war, and this is perhaps the
most important part of the
series considering the
current context of Islamic
militancy in the world.
Watch the introduction
here.
Many viewers have already
reacted positively to the
show’s broadcast of Islamic
beliefs and practices, and
took to Twitter to express
their views:
Hopefully, this series will
continue to help clarify
misconceptions and reduce
the ongoing Islamophobia in
the world.
Tewantin-Noosa RSL denied
that a woman was asked to leave
for wearing a hijab.
Photo Google Maos
After a successful start to
a national badminton
competition, Hijran and her
teammates thought a meal out
together would be a nice way
to celebrate.
However the Australian-born
woman, of Turkish origin,
was left embarrassed and
upset when she was told she
would have to leave an RSL
in popular holiday spot
Noosa for wearing a hijab.
Hijran, who asked that her
surname be withheld,
travelled to the Sunshine
Coast with her Melbourne
badminton club for the
week-long Atalanta Jamboree
competition against
Australian and New Zealand
teams.
On their first night, they
had dinner at the
Tewantin-Noosa RSL and
Citizens Memorial Club.
Hijran said that, as she was
lining up with a friend to
order dinner, a woman came
over and said, "Excuse me,
can I ask what it is that
you're wearing?"
She replied that she was
wearing a headscarf because
she is from the Muslim faith
and women must wear it for
religious reasons.
"She told me that, as per
the RSL's rules and
regulations, we do not allow
for anything to be worn on
the head," the 35-year-old
accounts and admin worker
told Fairfax Media.
"I said I was unaware of the
rules and I asked it it was
okay for me to stay and have
my meal with my friends. She
said, 'yes for tonight it
will be fine but if this
happens on a regular basis I
would have to ask you to
leave'."
On its website, the RSL says
head gear is banned unless
the Board is satisfied there
are acceptable reasons to
wear it.
In a response to Fairfax
Media, the RSL's chief
executive, Phil Stephenson,
said the staff member didn't
know what was on Hijran's
head at first but when she
was told it was religious,
Hijran was allowed to stay.
He denied she was told she
would have to leave if it
was a regular occurrence.
"The duty manager on the
night describes the head
attire as being a white
lacey piece of material
underneath a bright floral
scarf which made our duty
manager unsure if it was for
religious reasons therefore
[it] needed to be clarified
by asking the lady," he said
in an email.
Hijran said she ate her meal
quietly, so as not to create
a scene, but her teammates
were not happy.
Some of them shared their
experience at the badminton
stadium the following day
and other competitors
refused to go to the RSL.
One competitor, Margaret
Dwyer, from the Geelong
Ladies Badminton Club, said
tournament organisers
suggested boycotting the
venue. She posted an angry
message on the RSL's
Facebook page in support of
"our fellow badminton
sister", saying the venue's
slogan of "all visitors
welcome" should be reviewed.
Hijran said her great
grandfathers served in WWI
and she was "saddened" by
the RSL's treatment of her.
"I didn't want to make a big
deal about it because I
stand out enough as it is,
but I was upset to think
that, living in Australia, I
could be treated like that,"
she said.
Mr Stephenson said he
believed his staff handled
the matter appropriately.
"The Club is not
discriminatory in any way
and it is not the Club's
intention to relay any form
of discrimination," he said
in a response to Hijran's
sister. "I apologise if you
feel this was the
intention."
The incident was reported to
Islamophobia Register
Australia. Mariam Veiszadeh,
founder of the register,
said it potentially breached
state and federal
anti-discrimination laws.
"This is a rather disturbing
incident which has broader
implications," she said.
Queensland's
Anti-Discrimination
Commissioner Kevin Cocks
wouldn't comment on the
incident but said employees
were expected to be aware of
workplace policies and
whether those policies were
in line with
anti-discrimination laws.
"Policies or practices that
treat people less favourably
due to their religious
belief or activity (which
includes the wearing of
religious clothing) may be
discriminatory," he said.
The CEO of the RSL provided
this response to the
Facebook post on the
subject:
Thank you for
addressing your concerns
on Facebook regarding
your recent visit to the
Club.
I have investigated the
matter with the staff
concerned and received
written statements
regarding the events of
your recent visit to the
Tewantin Noosa RSL &
Citizens Memorial Club
Inc. I believe the staff
handled the matter
appropriately.
The Club does have a
dress code that doesn't
allow men or women to
wear head ware unless it
is for medical or
religious purposes. The
supervisor asked one of
your party if the scarf
was for religious
purposes to which the
answer was yes. I
believe your party went
on to have an enjoyable
visit as was relayed to
the reception staff on
your party's departure.
This is evident in the
CCTV footage of your
party throughout the
various areas of the
Club. At no stage of the
night was any of your
party asked to leave.
The Club is not
discriminatory in any
way and it is not the
Club's intention to
relay any form of
discrimination to its
Members, visitors or
guests. I apologise if
you feel this was the
intention. The Club is
very multicultural in
its Membership base and
staffing of the Club.
Phil Stephenson, CEO
A VICTORIAN primary school
has been criticised for
allowing Muslim children to
walk out of assembly while
the national anthem was
sung.
Cranbourne Carlisle Primary
School says a religious
month of mourning is the
reason Islamic children are
able to opt out of singing
or listening to the anthem.
Lorraine McCurdy, who has
two grandchildren at the
school, told 3AW she was
furious when school
officials invited students
to leave during Advance
Australia Fair.
“Two children got up and
said `welcome to our
assembly’ with that a
teacher came forward and
said all those who feel it’s
against their culture may
leave the room,” Ms McCurdy
said.
“With that about 30 or 40
children got up and left the
room.
“We sang the national anthem
and they all came back in.
“I saw red, I’m Australian
and I felt ‘you don’t walk
out on my national anthem,
that’s showing respect to my
country.”
Independent Senator for
Tasmania Jacqui Lambie also
hit out at the school, which
promotes the ethos of ‘Many
Cultures, One Community.’
“I find that absolutely
devastating, we should all
be singing the Australian
national anthem and we
should be doing that with
pride,” Senator Lambie said.
“That’s part of us.
“I find these schools that
are allowing this to happen
disgusting.
“I don’t think religion
needs to be brought into the
national anthem.
“We should all be proud to
be Australians and proud to
sing the national anthem”
Principal Cheryl Irving said
during the month of Muharram
Shi’a Muslims do not take
part in joyous events, such
as listening to music or
singing, as it was a period
of mourning.
“Muharram is a Shi’a
cultural observation marking
the death of Imam Hussein,”
Ms Irving said. “This year
it falls between Tuesday
October 13 and Thursday
November 12.
“Prior to last week’s Years
2-6 assembly, in respect of
this religious observance,
students were given the
opportunity to leave the
hall before music was
played.
“The students then rejoined
the assembly at the
conclusion of the music.”
Kuranda Seyit, secretary of
the Islamic Council of
Victoria, said he understood
the school’s sentiments but
called on more flexibility.
“I’m a Sunni Muslim myself
but I understand Shi’a
sensitivities and for them
this is a very holy time,”
Mr Seyit said.
“It’s a time when they are
encouraged to reflect on the
martyrdom of Imam Hussein
and abstain from all forms
of celebrations.
“However for young children
I think things like these
should be assessed on their
merits and a balance found.
“People need to remember
that these Muslim children
are not against the
Australian national anthem
but are not allowed to be
deemed to be celebrating.
“Maybe there could be a bit
more flexibility.”
In a statement, the
Department of Education said
it supported the school.
“The Department supports our
schools to be inclusive for
all students, this includes
understanding or respecting
religious cultural
observances.
“From 2016, the new
Victorian curriculum will
include new subjects such as
respectful relationships,
world views and ethical
understanding, helping to
build more inclusive schools
and communities.”
Newcastle Muslim Association
spokeswoman Diana Rah outside
Newcastle Mosque at Wallsend
NEWCASTLE: BUCHANAN could
host the Hunter’s first
purpose-built mosque if a
Newcastle Muslim Association
proposal revealed on
Thursday wins approval.
Almost four years after the
Association’s plans for a
place of worship at Elermore
Vale mosque were scuppered
in court, the Wallsend-based
Islamic group has announced
it will seek approval to
build a prayer space and
small funeral home on a
property between Maitland
and Kurri Kurri just off the
Hunter Expressway.
While formal plans are yet
to be lodged for the site,
Newcastle Muslim Association
spokeswoman Diana Rah said
specialist studies had been
completed.
The existing Islamic
community will not relocate
from Wallsend, she said, but
the NMA was striving to be
proactive with neighbours
and the wider community from
the beginning.
‘‘We are confident that this
site is suitable to fulfil
the needs of our proposal,’’
Ms Rah said.
‘‘It is in a central
position within 20 minutes
from Newcastle, has a zone
that permits a place of
worship and ticks all the
boxes.’’
Documents given to
neighbours estimate 200
people will attend the site
on a Friday between midday
and 3pm for prayer.
During two annual festivals,
that number may increase to
450 people.
An illustration on the
documents features no
minarets and states there
will be no call to prayer.
Laurence Beveridge, one of
the residents who lives
opposite the proposed
development site, said he
and his wife retired to the
area for a rural outlook and
peace and quiet, which they
believe would be ruined by
the mosque.
"I object in the strongest
terms," Mr Beveridge said.
"I have owned the property
for 30-odd years, but I
would not live next door to
that."
Another neighbour, who
wished to remain nameless,
said he was not 100 per cent
against the development but
did have concerns.
I don’t like it being so
close to the road and I am
worried about the traffic it
will add to the area," he
said.
"We are a rural community, I
don’t think it is a suitable
development for the
location.
"It also concerns me that it
might bring vandalism and
things to the area because
of the reaction to buildings
like this in other places."
News of the Buchanan plan
comes almost four years
after a $6.8 million plan
for an Elermore Vale mosque
on Croudace Road was denied
in court.
The Land and Environment
Court ultimately quashed
those plans in March 2012
when updated zoning plans
prohibited a place of
worship on the 8300 square
metre site.
The Newcastle Herald
reported at the time more
than 1022 individual
submissions were made
against the mosque, with 32
supporting the plan.
While the Hunter Expressway
has reduced travel time
between Newcastle’s west and
Buchanan, Ms Rah said it was
not simply a matter of
finding a new site for the
old plan.
‘‘The purpose of the new
prayer facility is a little
different to the Elermore
Vale proposal and is on a
smaller scale with a layout
more suited to the area,’’
she said.
‘‘One of the main purposes
is to accommodate for the
two festivals held each
year.’’
In a wider context, the
Hunter proposal also follows
far-right groups clashing
with counter-protesters in
the latest chapter of a
long-running wave of ugly
opposition to a mosque
proposal in Bendigo.
Shajarah Islamic
Kindergarten is
Queensland's
only Islamic
Childcare
Service. We have
now been open
for 3 years
alhamdulillaah,
inshaAllaah
providing our
community with
quality child
care in an
Islamic
environment.
Our Programs
include an
Approved
Kindergarten
Program as well
as a new
Montessori
Program.
We would like to
invite Qualified
Early Childhood
staff to apply
for positions
with us,
particularly
those with
experience in
Montessori.
Please email
your resume to
info@shajarah.qld.edu.au
EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
– OFFICE SPACE
New
Muslim Care (NMC)
Brisbane is seeking
expressions of interest
from social enterprises,
not for profit and
commercial organisations
to provide a small
office space (or room
within a larger
facility) on Brisbane’s
Southside with easy
access to public
transport.
This is a unique
opportunity for you to
provide services for
people living, working
and frequenting the
local area. Most
importantly, this is a
valuable opportunity for
your organisation to
earn Sadaqatul Jariyah.
Farhad Jabar:
show us the
money, says
Parramatta
mosque leader
NSW: The head of the Sydney
mosque where teenage gunman
Farhad Jabar spent time
preparing for his deadly
attack on a police worker
has criticised a lack of
government and police action
in his community since the
shooting.
If the government was
“serious” about dealing with
“deradicalisation” it would
quickly fund outreach
programs for Arthur Phillip
— where Jabar was a student
— Parramatta and Merrylands
high schools.
“It’s been three weeks and
promises have been made, and
(we are hearing) nothing.
How are they going to help
the community of Parramatta?
Where are they now?”
Parramatta mosque chairman
Neil Elkadomi said.
The
Australian
The number of
terrorists who
are actually
Muslim or
religiously
motivated will
surprise you
While the fear
of religious
extremists has
reached a new
high since the
terrorist
attacks in Paris
last week, you
might be
surprised to
learn how many
instances of
terrorism in the
EU over the past
five years were
actually
religiously
motivated.
According to
statistics from
Europol, less
than two per
cent of all
recorded acts of
terror were
perpetrated with
religious
motivations,
with an even
smaller number
being committed
by Muslim
extremists.
Estimates
suggest only
around two per
cent of all
terrorist
attacks were
committed by
Islamic groups
or individuals.
Metro
Missing the
mark: we don’t
need more
anti-terror
summits or
pressure on
Muslim community
leaders
Relying on
Muslim community
leaders to
assist or solve
the
radicalisation
problem is also
partly where
Australia’s
strategies to
counter violent
extremism may be
faltering.
In many cases,
Muslim community
leaders do not
have the
expertise to
develop
intervention
initiatives to
counter
radicalisation.
Nor are they
necessarily
connected to the
Muslim youth
searching for
identity or who
are feeling
isolated or
marginalised
from friends,
families and
communities.
Another
important
problem with the
government’s
strategy is that
it may be
targeting the
wrong
constituents.
The focus has
been too much on
highly educated
and socially
connected youth,
rather than on
the most
vulnerable – the
poorly educated
and those who
“only have
contact with the
small
socioreligious
groups to which
they’ve
withdrawn”.
The
Conversation
"Muslims really
aren't this
'other',
nefarious group"
"A lot of people
don't realise
that mosques,
like churches
and most places
of worship, are
open all time,
but many people
don't take the
opportunity to
come in and
visit," Mr Rea
said.
Global and local
events, as well
as the rise of
anti-Islam
groups in
Australia, have
left regular
Lakemba
mosque-goers
feeling
defensive of
their faith and
its people.
"We are a very
peaceful people,
we are a
peace-loving
people," Saif
Uddin Ahmed said
of his fellow
Muslims.
"We are citizens
of Australia and
we like to
contribute as
much as we can
to this nation
... to make a
better life for
ourselves and
the next
generations."
We Have Got To Stand
Together and End All Forms of Racism |
Bernie Sanders at GMU
US: There was
a powerful and poignant
moment during Bernie
Sanders’ student town hall
meeting on Wednesday in
Fairfax, Virginia. Remaz
Abdelgader, one of the more
than 1,700 students in the
George Mason University
auditorium, rose to ask a
question about minorities in
America, including Muslims
like her.
Saudi actor arrested for
being too popular with women in Riyadh
shopping mall
SAUDI ARABIA:
When a Saudi actor went to a
Riyadh shopping mall, he
didn't expect his visit to
end up in a police station.
Abdul Aziz Al Kassar was
mobbed by female fans keen
to take selfies with him,
and got arrested for
“disturbing public order”
and mixing with women
“unrelated to him.”
A video of the incident,
shot on a mobile phone and
uploaded to YouTube, shows
Al Kassar surrounded by
women shouting his name,
desperate to take pictures
with him. That's when a man
dressed in a white robe
turns up all of a sudden,
brutally grabs the actor by
the shirt and drags him
away.
Al Kassar was arrested by
members of the Commission
for the Promotion of Virtue
and the Prevention of Vice,
the country's religious
police, it turned out.
According to police, the man
was disturbing public order
and abusing social media,
Gulf News reported.
The actor lives in Kuwait
and was visiting Saudi
Arabia for work. He had
naively sent a message to
his followers on the online
messaging service Snapchat,
asking for tips on where
best to go shopping in
Riyadh on Friday.
The actor, who is quite
active on social media,
later admitted he didn't
expect to find so many
people waiting for him in
the shopping mall. “I want
to clarify that the presence
of young women at the mall
was not something under my
control,” adding that the
members of the Commission
and mall staff should have
warned him about the
presence of such a large
number of fans.
“They did not tell me to
stay away and that not
meeting them was better,”
Gulf News quoted Al Kassar
as telling Saudi news site
Al Marsad. “They initially
took away my mobile, but
returned it to me [later].”
Al Kassar was later released
on bail, but will have to
wait until the investigation
is over, since the
Commission had reportedly
accused him of using social
media to meet women and take
pictures with them inside
the mall.
TheSo Swede of you ...
Aida at 27 is Muslim minister
Aida Hadzialic ... doing the
community proud
STOCKHOLM: A
27-year-old Bosnian Muslim
immigrant has been named as
the new Swedish minister of
education, setting a role
model for young, active
Muslims.
Aida Hadzialic, in Stefan
Löfven’s new Cabinet, is a
law graduate from the
University of Lund. She
became the deputy mayor of
the Swedish city Halmstad at
the age of 23.
Born in 1987 in Bosnia, the
Swedish politician is now
the youngest person ever to
serve as a minister in
Sweden.
Aida was five years old when
her family fled from war in
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Swedish politician for
the Social Democrats is now
the Minister for Upper
Secondary School and Adult
Education Initiative in
Sweden.
New Jersey
Muslims win an appeal
allowing a lawsuit against
police for spying on mosques
and individuals after 9/11.
New York, United States - A
US appeals court has
reversed a decision over a
controversial spy programme
run by the New York Police
Department (NYPD), enabling
a group of Muslim plaintiffs
to proceed with their legal
challenge.
In 2012, the Muslim
Advocates, a national
advocacy group, and the New
York-based Center for
Constitutional Rights filed
a lawsuit against what they
called the NYPD's unlawful
and blanket surveillance of
Muslim Americans in New
Jersey. The move came after
the Associated Press
published an expose of the
programme in 2011.
The plaintiffs, all Muslims,
include an Iraq war veteran,
university students, a
coalition of mosques, and
the principal of a religious
school for girls. The
Federal District Court in
Newark dismissed the case in
February 2014, prompting the
plaintiffs' attorneys to
appeal that decision.
Want to create more
extremists? Ignore the Islamophobia people
like me face every day
Islamophobia
not only affects British
Muslims but also plays into
the narrative put forward by
Isis that the west will
never accept Muslims
UK: A close friend of mine
recounted recently how he
was the only person not
invited to a classmate’s
11th birthday party because
of his religion. When he
asked the host about the
lack of an invitation, the
response was quite clear:
the child in question’s
parents had told him that
Muslims were not welcome in
the house because they were
responsible for 7/7.
What’s shocking about this
anecdote isn’t that it
happened – as a Muslim
myself, I face similar
prejudice every day – but
that it was part of a whole
slew of similar stories from
people who have faced almost
identical instances of
racism in their lives.
That’s what made me so sad
to see a stand-out act of
suspected racist violence
appear again in the news
today. Swedish police were
reported to have said they
believe an attacker, who
killed a teacher and a pupil
with a sword near Gothenburg
yesterday, had “racist
motives”. Swedish media
reports said the suspect’s
Facebook and YouTube
accounts suggested he was
hostile towards immigrants
and Islam, and interested in
Hitler and Nazi Germany.
Swedish Muslim teaching
assistant stabbed to death trying to protect
pupils
Lavin Eskandar was killed in
the attack on the Swedish school
by a man wielding a sword and
wearing a Darth Vader mask
(Instagram)
SWEDEN: A
Muslim teaching assistant
was stabbed to death with
the sword of the Swedish
school attacker when he
threw himself in front of a
group of children to protect
them from the massacre.
Lavin Eskandar, 20, was
killed trying to shield
pupils at Kronan School from
the attacker when he entered
a ground-floor café in the
school wearing a Darth Vader
mask, according to Swedish
newspaper Expressen.
The teaching assistant had
completed secondary school,
having received a media
studies diploma, this summer
and hoped to become a
director and photographer.
His older brother Leith
Eskandar told the newspaper:
“He was the finest man.
“All I know is that he cared
about others and not himself
and that he was trying to
protect children. He is the
king and hero of the entire
city.”
Friends have described Mr
Eskandar as a valued and
kind person who loved
working with music and
produced commercials and
music videos for Swedish
artists.
He had a keen interest in
film and his YouTube videos
received millions of views.
The killer’s second victim
has been identified by
Swedish media as Ahmed
Hassan, a 15-year-old
student at the school who
arrived in Sweden with his
parents and eight siblings
from Somalia in 2012.
His mother Kiin Mohammed Ali
told Expressen: “I ran to
the school looking for him
and I was so scared. I
looked and looked but I
could not find him anywhere.
In the end the police came
up to me and said that Ahmed
was in the hospital.
“I loved him so much, so
much. He was so kind and so
helpful.
“He liked school and was
very happy and so good.”
Swedish media have named the
man behind the attack as
21-year-old Anton Lundin
Pettersson, who initially
posed for photographs with
pupils at the school who
assumed he was playing an
early Halloween prank.
Police said today that the
attack was racially
motivated.
Investigator Thord
Haraldsson said surveillance
videos showed that the
killer selected victims who
were “dark skninned”.
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 recipe is kindly shared with the CCN
readers by Hasina Ebrahim
Nougat
Biscuits
Ingredients
250g butter
˝ cup icing sugar
ľ cup corn flour
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 cups cake flour
150g of chopped Sally Williams Macadamia nougat
or a nougat of your choice
Method
1. Beat butter and
icing sugar until light and creamy.
2. Add the vanilla essence, cake flour and corn
flour, a little bit at a time, until each
addition is combined.
3. Knead the mixture to form a soft dough
4. Work in the chopped nougat into the dough,
you may add a little more nougat.
5. Pull off pieces of dough, form into little
balls, and flatten on the palm of your hand or
you could use a biscuit cutter.
6. Place the biscuits on a tray lined with
baking paper and bake in a pre-heated oven of
180degrees for approx. 20 mins or until light
brown.
7. When cool, drizzle with white chocolate.
Mula
Nasruddin asked his madressah class what they would love to
be when they grow up.
Musa
answer ''I want to be a billionaire, have the cutiest wife,
make her feel like a woman, give her everything she needs,
fly her in my private jet to Dubai for shopping, take her on
a monthly trip around the world.."
Mula Nasruddin brushes aside Musa and asks Mariam what she
wanted to be when she grows up.
Mariam replied in a low tone "l want to be Musa's wife."
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.
Zikr
- every Thursday 7pm, families welcome Hifz& Quran Reading Classes (for brothers and sisters) -
Tuesday 5:00 - 7:00pm & Thursday 5:30 - 7:00pm Madressa
(for children) - Wednesday & Friday 4:30 - 6:30pm Salawat
Majlis - first Saturday of every month. Starting at Mughrib, families welcome Islamic
Studies (for sisters) - one year course. Saturday 10:30
- 2:30pm. Enrolments for 2016 now available Ilm-e-Deen
Degree Courses (for brothers) - Three full-time and
part-time nationally accredited courses. Enrolments now
available for 2016.
Quran Reading Class For Ladies (Beginners
or Advanced)
Every Saturday 2 - 4pm
Lady Teacher
Algester Mosque
Zikrullah program every Thursday night after
Esha
For more details, contact: Maulana Nawaaz: 0401576084
On Going Activities
1. Daily Hadeeth reading From Riyadusaliheen,
After Fajar and after esha .
2. After school Madrassah for children Mon-Thu 5pm to 7pm
3. Adult Quran classes (Males) Monday and
Tuesday after esha for an hour.
4. Community engagement program every second Saturday of the
Month, interstate and overseas speakers, starts after margib,
Dinner served after esha, First program begins on the 15
August.
5. Monthly Qiyamulail program every 1st
Friday of the month starts after esha.
6. Fortnight Sunday Breakfast program. After Fajar, short
Tafseer followed by breakfast.
7. Weekly Tafseer by Imam Uzair after esha followed by
dinner. Starts from 26 August.
For all activities, besides Adult Quran, classes
sisters and children are welcome.
For further info call the Secretary on
0413669987
IPDC
Lutwyche Mosque
Weekly classes with Imam Yahya
Monday: Junior Class
Tuesday: Junior Arabic
Friday: Adult Quran Class
For more information call 0470 671 109
Holland Park Mosque
All programs are conducted by Imam
Uzair Akbar
DAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
PROGRAM
Tafseer Program
Basics of Islam
Tafseer Program
AUDIENCE
Men
Ladies
TIME
after Maghrib Salat
Brisbane Northside Muslimahs Support Group
To help sisters on the northside of Brisbane to connect
with their local sisters.
We
will endeavour to have regular meetings, either for a
lesson/discussion on
Monday Tafseer – Juz Amma* Tuesday Arabic Grammer/Tafseer Quran (URDU) Wednesday Reading & Reciting Quran (Adult class) Thursday Tafseer Quran (URDU) Friday Tafseer Quran (URDU)
All the above programs are after Isha salah
All are welcome! See you at the Masjid – The place to be!
Please note that the Tafseer gets recorded
and uploaded on to our website as an mp3 file, so that you
can download and listen at anytime.
Visit our website at:
masjidtaqwa.org.au
Queensland Police Service/Muslim
Community Consultative Group
Meeting Dates & Times
Time: 7.00pm sharp
Date: TBA
Venue: Islamic College of Brisbane - 45 Acacia Road
Karawatha
Articles and
opinions appearing in this newsletter do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of the Crescents of Brisbane Team, CCN,
its Editor or its Sponsors, particularly if they eventually
turn out to be libellous, unfounded, objectionable,
obnoxious, offensive, slanderous and/or downright
distasteful.
It is the usual policy of CCN to
include from time to time, notices of events that some
readers may find interesting or relevant. Such notices are
often posted as received. Including such messages or
providing the details of such events does not necessarily
imply endorsement of the contents of these events by either
CCN or Crescents of Brisbane Inc.
The best ideas
and the best feedback come from our community of readers. If you
have a topic or opinion that you want to write about or want
seen covered or any news item that you think might be of benefit
to the Crescents Community please e-mail
ccn@crescentsofbrisbane.org.
Share your
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If there is
someone you know who would like to subscribe to CCN please
encourage them to enter their details
here.
Dr Nora
Amath -
interfaith
leader and
champion of
cultural
minorities
(pictured)
An
overwhelming 86 per cent of
Australians believe
multiculturalism has been
good for the nation,
according to the latest
Zikr
- every Thursday 7pm, families welcome
post comments on
our Wall
7
August 2011