Life's ambition: Usman
Khawaja notched his maiden Test
century on day one against New
Zealand at the Gabba.
Recalled batsman Usman
Khawaja appears to have
ended Australia's long
search for a Test number
three after a masterful 174
against New Zealand at the
Gabba.
The first Pakistan-born
player to wear the baggy
green etched his name into
the history books of his
adopted nation with another
milestone.
The Sydney-raised batsman
was the toast of Australian
cricket on Thursday night
after a breakthrough century
which could go a long way to
establishing him as a Test
regular.
Khawaja is changing the face
of Australian cricket. Look
closely. The shift is
decidedly subtle, for
Khawaja is not a man
interested in courting
controversy or triggering
off-field ructions.
But privately, away from the
intense public glare, the
evidence of change lies in
Khawaja’s cricket kit.
There is, of course, the
usual cricketing
paraphernalia. Bats. Pads.
Helmet. Cream-coloured shirt
and pants. More recently,
Khawaja has added Australian
cricket’s coveted baggy
green cap and there is
another item that carries
equal significance ... a
religious prayer mat.
For 138 years, cricket in
this country has been
culturally homogenous but in
Khawaja, the sport possesses
a poster boy whose natural
talent and religious faith
can help break barriers and
reach wider audiences.
Born in Pakistan, reared in
Islamabad, Khawaja is not
your ordinary Australian
cricketer. When he blasted
his maiden Test ton at the
Gabba on Thursday, he became
the first Muslim to reach
three figures in Australia’s
storied cricketing history.
He has plans to visit Mecca,
regarded as the holiest city
in the religion of Islam. In
dressing rooms, it is not
uncommon for the 28-year-old
to find a quiet corner,
where he unfurls his rug
among teammates and respects
the precepts of his faith.
Khawaja is too humble to ram
his religious views down the
throats of his cohorts, but
it is what he stands for,
more so than any overt
Islamic stances, that make
him a beacon for Australian
cricket.
“Religion for me is pretty
personal,” says Khawaja, who
made his Test debut in 2011.
“It’s very much of a part of
my life and it ends up being
part of my cricket at times
too.
“It’s just something I
believe in and it’s
something I like to follow
as best as I can. Sometimes
it gets in the way and
sometimes it has to make way
for cricket but it’s
important I have that
balance on my life.
“My faith is a massive thing
for me when I go home, but I
also like to keep it
myself.”
In his unobtrusive way,
Khawaja has already been
forced to walk a delicate
tightrope between his
personal ideologies and the
corporate demands that
deliver millions to his
employer, Cricket Australia.
Having never touched a drop
of alcohol Khawaja has faced
some challenging moments.
Beer giant Carlton and
United has sponsored
Australian cricket for 19
years. Its product, Victoria
Bitter, is the official beer
of the Test team. At state
level, Khawaja is now
captain of the Queensland
Bulls, who have sponsorship
ties with XXXX.
In his embryonic years with
Australia and Queensland
sides, Khawaja donned
playing and training gear
emblazoned with VB and XXXX
logos. Privately, he felt
conflicted. Last year, more
assured with his place in
Australian cricket, Khawaja
had a quiet word with
authorities, where he
outlined his reluctance to
promote the very product he
shuns via the prism of his
faith. Cricket
chiefs respected Khawaja’s
request.
His Queensland gear has been
modified. While Bulls
teammates wear XXXX on their
sleeves, Khawaja’s kit
features a logo promoting
the Ovarian Cancer
Australia.
“VB are a massive sponsor
for Cricket Australia so
obviously there needs to be
some give and take there,”
Khawaja told a Sydney
newspaper in 2013.
“I just hope I do the right
things to be a role model by
my actions ... how I carry
myself on the cricket field
and off it.”
While Khawaja is a point of
difference, he is by no
means a pariah within
Australian cricket circles.
His former NSW coach Matthew
Mott sums him up in three
words: “Relaxed. Confident.
Loyal.”. At Queensland, he
is the cheeky prankster who
is so popular among
colleagues he was handed the
state captaincy three months
ago.
Cricket is his passion but
Khawaja has an intellectual
dimension. By his early 20s,
he had completed a bachelor
of aviation and put his
flying ambitions on the
backburner in his pursuit of
the baggy-green.
“He’s a very relaxed guy
with a great sense of
humour,” said former Test
teammate Michael Hussey. “He
can come across as very
laconic and pretty relaxed
and quiet, but he has a deep
care for the game and loves
batting.
“He loves the game. He is
very passionate about
playing cricket for
Australia.”
By the time he departed the
Gabba on Friday afternoon,
Khawaja had compiled 174 —
the highest score of his
Test career. It was the
ultimate reward for rising
from the canvas after
snapping the anterior
cruciate ligament in his
left knee last December.
“It (his century) means a
lot because of the hard work
I’ve had to do,” he said. “I
did rehab five days a week,
non-stop. I didn’t want to
come back after all that and
not have done everything
possible to come back and
play cricket again.”
After all, Usman Khawaja is
tweaking, shaping and
cultivating an unexpected
legacy. It is a baggy-green
journey he owes to his
father Tariq, who left
Pakistan for good after a
work trip to Australia with
computing conglomerate IBM
in 1990.
At the time, Usman was
three. Tariq spied a land of
prosperity and opportunity.
Almost three decades later,
Tariq, a rabid cricket fan,
takes pride in the good son
blazing a new cultural trail
to the baggy green.
“It will have a positive
impact. It’s good for the
(Muslim) community,” Tariq
recalled at the time of
Khawaja’s Test debut against
England four years ago.
“Usman doesn’t know too much
about Pakistan. There was
never any doubt about where
he would play, Australia is
his country
“It shows that it’s a fair
system and whoever puts in
effort can achieve anything
in this country. Not only
Muslims, any religion. As a
youngster, if you have
passion and if you have
dreams, you can make it
work.”
A project partnered
between Islamic
Women’s Association
of Qld (IWAQ) and
the Australian
Federal Police (AFP)
involved females in
creating mosaic art
work.
A group of 15 young
females participated
and created
beautiful individual
and group art
pieces. The aim of
the project was to
create social
cohesion and team
spirit as well as
breaking the barrier
and illuminating
misconceptions about
the police and to
build a better
perception and
engagement.
IWAQ would like to
thank everyone who
participated
including Shane and
Anisa from the AFP.
Whilst the north and
west of Melbourne
thrives with Islamic
Centres and Islamic
activities for the
youth the sprawling
South East of
Melbourne is much
more isolated.
With over 70,000
Muslims in the area
the youth earnestly
seeks Islamic
lectures and
guidance in English.
Many of our Muslim
youth are becoming
atheist and scores
are turning to
extremism.
Over the past year
two of our local
scholars, Imam Uzair
Akbar of Holland
Park and Imam Zeeyad
Ravat of the Islamic
College of Brisbane
regularly held
lectures for these
brothers and sisters
that so passionately
want to learn.
Seeing the thirst
these two scholars’
joint hands with a
professional group
of brothers in
Melbourne to build a
Masjid with a youth
centre and an
institution for
higher learning and
intellectual
dialogue that will
engage adults and
youth in programs
and classes that
will enrich their
understanding of the
Quran, Seerah and
Fiqh.
A cultural space
that will help
Muslims increase
their knowledge
and
understanding of
Islam as well as
build
understanding
between Muslims
and the broader
community.
A platform for
Ulema from
around the world
to deliver
discourses in
Melbourne.
An institute
purposely
designed to
produce dynamic
home grown
scholars.
To date they have
secured the land,
obtained council
approval, obtained
tax deductible
status, secured 300
car parks, built
relationships with
reputable
organizations and
Ulema from around
the world and are in
progress of building
the Masjid. Just
$200.000 more is
needed to complete
the Masjid.
The next phase after
the the Masjid will
be the educational
centre for higher
learning with
already 20 young men
and women registered
for the program to
become Aalims and
Aalimahs.
Imam Zeeyad Ravat
will be taking a
break from the
Islamic College of
Brisbane next year
for six months to
establish the centre
inshalllah.
To save costs on the
project all trade
work is done by the
volunteering
brothers of
Melbourne. They work
night and day to
achieve the pleasure
of Allah. All the
materials for the
building have been
purchased from China
as it was much
cheaper.
We wish to achieve
this Daarul Uloom to
produce confident
scholars relevant to
the Australian
context and
appealing facilities
for our sisters and
brothers to feel the
excitement of our
beautiful Islam and
connect to Allah
Taala with the
guidance of the
Ulema.
See you next week
supporting this
great initiative
inshallah at the
Islamic College of
Brisbane.
Broken windows
at the proposed mosque site in
Currumbin Waters
ANTI-Islamic groups are
celebrating an attack on a
proposed Gold Coast mosque
site, with Muslims fearing
the violence will spread
from property to people.
In an attack discovered at
the weekend and being
investigated by police, the
Currumbin mosque site was
pelted with rocks, leaving
windows and doors smashed.
Toy pigs daubed with
offensive slogans were
thrown inside.
The vandalism came three
weeks ahead of a court
showdown between mosque
proponents and those
opposing it, including local
residents, business owners
and the Gold Coast City
Council.
The mosque is earmarked for
a former roof truss factory
in the Currumbin industrial
estate but opponents are
already making their anger
known.
Anti-Islamic groups Reclaim
Australia and Stop the
Mosque Gladstone have used
their Facebook pages to
welcome the mosque site
attack.
“Ha, ha ... good work Gold
Coast!” Reclaim Australia
Rally’s Cairns group posted.
“You think the authorities
know by now, we don’t want
any more mosques built in
Australia?”
The sentiments were echoed
by Stop the Mosque
Gladstone, which shared
Reclaim Australia’s post
with its 4000-plus
followers.
“The Gold Coast locals are
not going to sit silent and
let this mosque be built
without opposing it ...” the
group wrote.
“Aussies everywhere do not
want any more mosques on
Aussie soil!!”
Followers urged more
attacks.
“Keep up the good work,” one
posted on the Reclaim
Australia page.
Islamic Council of
Queensland spokesman Ali
Kadri said Muslim
fundamentalism was rightly
being condemned but the same
could not be said for
“right-wing extremism”.
“We get these kind of things
on social media but nothing
gets done by the
authorities,” he said.
“There’s a fine line between
free speech and preaching
hatred and threats. If this
is allowed to keep up, I
fear we will see physical
violence against Muslims.”
Currumbin’s Stop the Mosque
group has denied
responsibility for the
attack, saying fighting the
mosque on town planning
rather than racial or
religious grounds.
A Planning and Environment
Court hearing is set down
for November 23.
Immediately after the
reporting of this incident,
Minister for Multicultural
Affairs Shannon Fentiman
issued the following
statement to CCN:
I was horrified by
news over the weekend of
the cowardly attack on
the Muslim community in
Currumbin.
I condemn the actions of
those responsible in the
strongest possible
terms.
I have personally met
with members of
Currumbin’s Muslim
community, and like the
rest of the Muslim
community here in
Queensland, they are
caring, compassionate
and tolerant people.
Police are currently
investigating this
crime, and if the
perpetrators are caught,
they should expect to
face the full weight of
the law.
Our Government will not
condone racial, cultural
or religiously motivated
vilification of any
kind.
In our vibrant
multicultural society,
an attack on any
community is an attack
on the whole community,
and an attack on any one
faith is an attack on
all faiths.
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.
Mufti Ismail Menk
(left) talks on
Cii Broadcasting
about his
interaction with
Sonny Bill Williams
(right), New
Zealand rugby
player, who reverted
to Islam a few years
ago.
Williams made
headlines when he
handed over his
Rugby World Cup
winner’s medal to a
14-year old boy, a
gesture that has
touched millions
worldwide.
Captain Mona Shindy is the
NSW Telstra Business Woman of
the Year.
WHEN Captain Mona Shindy
climbed aboard HMAS Canberra
to test missiles in the
Pacific, a locker had to be
converted into a sleeping
quarters to accommodate her.
Never before had an active
Australian warship carried
women. But aged 23 and
launching what would become
a 26-year career with the
Navy, this was just the
first hurdle of a
trailblazer.
Already she had a University
degree in the blokey domain
of engineering. Weapons
engineer. And if this were
not unusual enough, Captain
Shindy happens to be Muslim,
and for most of her career
in the navy, has been a
mother.
Australian Navy Captain Mona
Shindy
On board HMAS Canberra
Captain Shindy and her two
female room-mates were like
celebrities, and not all of
it was positive publicity.
“We were an absolute novelty
and people knew our every
movement, what we got up to
and where we were. Overall
the experience was a
positive experience but
there certainly were times
that were quite
challenging,” Captain Shindy
says.
“Most female engineers in
any work environment _ you
really do have to work that
little bit harder initially
to prove your worth, to
demonstrate your competence
to really be accepted fully
as valued member and a real
contributor to the team.”
Then came the challenge of
Ramadan, and explaining as a
young sublieutenant that she
was fasting and would
appreciate a meal being put
aside for her.
The response was along the
lines of: “You’ll eat with
everyone else, or you just
won’t.” Which left her “the
middle of the ocean with a
few cans of tuna”.
Once the right ranking
officer was made aware of
the problem, a solution was
soon found.
Accolade...Telstra NSW
Business Woman of the Year
Anger was never an option.
“My first reaction is to
empathise, rather than get
angry, and to try and be
part of the solution and
work on the education piece,
through engagement and
interaction and just being
professional about what I do
and delivering professional
outcomes and results. In the
end, people respect that.”
It’s an attitude that has
delivered her to the
pinnacle of her career,
recognised this week when
she was named NSW Telstra
Business Woman of the Year.
As Director Littoral Warfare
and Maritime Support,
Captain Shindy advises the
Government on the best way
to spend billions of dollars
on replacement tankers,
ships, patrol boats — almost
everything except
submarines.
She was previously charged
with turning around the Fast
Frigate System Program
Office, from an inefficient
organisation with
adversarial stakeholder
relationships, to a
collaborative culture with
performance-based contracts.
And she shaved 30 per cent
in costs from a $130 million
budget.
“People were happy at the
end of the tenure, ships
were leaving the wharf on
time with all the
maintenance done, when
initially they weren’t.”
Soon after her first tour of
duty on HMAS Canberra,
Captain Shindy married and
had a daughter, now 20 and a
son, 18, who finished his
HSC on Wednesday. Their
happy accident followed a
decade later in the form of
another daughter, now 11.
Captain Mona Shindy at Garden
Island Navy Base in Sydney.
The job has required service
on ships for two-year
durations, with time away
ranging from two to six
months.
“But six months in anyone’s
language for a mother with
two young children and a
young family, is a very
significant sacrifice.
“I’m not going to dress it
up. It was tough.”
It could not have happened
without an extended family
backing her up. Crucial were
her mother — “who in many
ways acted as a pseudo
mother for my children
sometimes when I was away” —
and husband, who has taken
many career breaks.
“For me, the only thing that
made it easier is knowing
that those kids had just as
much love and support from
those that were with them
than I could have given them
myself.”
Her family migrated from
Egypt when she was three.
“The moment my parents
migrated to Australia, they
were determined to feel as
Australian as anyone else.”
She holds the position of
Chief of Navy’s Strategic
Adviser on Islamic Cultural
Affairs, for which she was
awarded the Conspicuous
Service Cross in this year’s
Australia Day honours for
her work bridging cultural
divides.
Cpt Shindy is a weapons
engineer with 26 years
experience.
It is her aim to encourage
more Muslims to join the
defence force — around 100
of the 45000 defence force
personnel identify as
Muslim, 27 of them in the
Navy.
“There’s lots of Australian
Muslims who feel very hurt …
by previous military
campaigns that our defence
forces have been on that
have I guess resulted in
discomfort and difficulty ….
where those campaigns have
occurred that have caused
ramifications for a lot of
innocent people.”
She says terrorist attacks
which have hijacked aspects
of religious teachings to
justify those behaviours
have created “fear and
uncertainty for others who
are non-Muslims”.
“For some people that gets
looked at as the whole
Muslim community,” Captain
Shindy says. Some young
Muslim see this in black and
white “us and them” terms.
“They don’t have the
maturity necessarily to see
the greys and to understand
that this is not everyone
that has those views about
you. That erodes confidence
for those kids.”
There’s lots
of
Australian
Muslims who
feel very
hurt … by
previous
military
campaigns
that our
defence
forces have
been on
Her message to them is this:
“You can be a proud
Australian that loves
everything about this great
nation and still love your
roots and love where you
came from and straddle both
worlds and both communities.
That’s how I live my life
and I like to help other
people find their way in
living those two things.”
And she can cite her own
experience, including active
service at the start of the
2003 Iraq War.
“It’s always tough, when you
go anywhere, whether that’s
Iraq. They were difficult
times, they were interesting
times I think for the whole
nation.
“We are an instrument of our
democratically elected
government and I think
that’s something that is
very much accepted,
understood and part of the
contract that I personally
have with my organisation.
That’s my role, that’s what
I signed up to do.”
Studying abroad is an
experience many students
find exciting yet scary at
the same time. For Muslim
students, journeying into
the Western world may be
even more intimidating.
Siti Mokhsin reflects on
what it's been like for her
in Australia on the topics
of Islamophobia, the hijab,
performing prayers,
religious restrictions,
halal food and embracing
difference.
She concludes with these
words:
Since stepping off that
plane two and a half
years ago, I’ve learnt
that all my initial
worries and fears were
unnecessary. Being a
Muslim student in hijab
has not deprived me of
the privileges every
other student is
entitled to because,
similar to Singapore,
Melbourne is a very
multicultural society.
If anything, Melbourne —
and by extension,
Australia — is a place
where diversity is
embraced and I hope
future Muslim students
coming to study in this
city will have as
pleasant an experience
as I have had in the
last two and a half
years that I have been
an international student
here.
We may not realise it,
but more often than not,
the only thing standing
in our way is our own
misconception of Western
countries. It's normal
to be unsure of what
lies ahead, but from my
experiences, keeping a
positive mindset really
goes a long way.
James Carleton at Haldon St Lakemba
(Facebook Post)
This afternoon I picked
up my son Avi's new passport
from the post office and
went to my local shops at
Lakemba. Returning home, it
was gone.
I panicked and retraced my
steps..
childcare/chemist/green
grocer etc. In despair, I
passed the section of Haldon
st where I'd originally
parked.
A woman who was clearly
Muslim because she was
wearing a hejab saw my
distress.
She approached and said
"have you by chance lost a
child's passport?"
She'd parked in my spot
sometime after I left - and
happened to find it.
`
SHE THEN WAITED FOR ONE HOUR
WHERE SHE FOUND IT IN THE
HOPE THAT SOMEONE WOULD
RETURN.
I begged to pay a reward or
make some gesture of
recompense.
On Tuesday, the
Islamic Women's
Association of Qld (IWAQ)
had the children of
the Shahjarah
Islamic Kindergarten
visit them for
morning tea to
celebrate
Grandparents' Day
with some of its
senior clients.
"Everyone has lots
of fun, playing,
colouring in, making
cards and enjoying
free play," a
spokesperson for
IWAQ posted.
The messenger of Allah (S.A.W.)
left behind a Sunnah meant
to help Muslims cultivate
love, tranquility and
happiness in their
marriages. Such flourishing
marriages are seen to
enhance the well-being of
each partner and serves as a
strong foundation for a
thriving family. At the same
time, living as a Muslim
couple in Australia is not
without its challenges.
We want to know what Muslims
in Australia do to enhance
their marriages. Also, we
want to understand what
impact Islam has on their
marriages, such as what
Islamic teachings do they
believe they benefit from
the most, and what
challenges do they face in
implementing the Islamic
model of marriage living in
Australia.
We are looking for people
that are married to
participate in a one-hour
individual interview
discussing their marriage.
Males will be interviewed by
a male; females by a female.
All participation is
confidential and anonymous.
If you are interested,
please contact us.
NSW: Professor Mohamed
Khadra received the
University of Sydney Alumni
Award 2015 last month for
Professional Achievement in
recognition of his
outstanding contributions
and varied career as a
professor, surgeon,
urologist, author and
playwright.
Following a highly unique
career path, Mohamed first
studied medicine before
undertaking a Master of
Education at the University
of Sydney in 1994,
continuing with a PhD on the
neurophysiology of the
bladder in 1999.
A fellow of the Royal
Australasian College of
Surgeons since 1995 and
winner of the Prostate
Cancer Foundation Inaugural
Fellowship in 1997, Mohamed
went on to found the School
of Rural Health at the
University of New South
Wales. Administering medical
care in Western NSW, he
served as the director of
the School of Rural Health
between 1999 and 2001.
“The idea was to train
doctors in rural Australia
so that they would stay and
serve the community. We had
to rethink the way medical
education was delivered
knowing that we could not
simply replicate what was
happening in the big
tertiary institutions in the
city. The result was a
patient-centred model of
education which continues to
this day.”
In 2002, Mohamed was
appointed Pro Vice
Chancellor for Health,
Design and Science at the
University of Canberra. He
then founded and became the
CEO of the Institute of
Technology Australia, a
private university with a
social justice cause. The
institution supported more
than 1000 students from low
socio-economic countries,
including Kenya, to achieve
tertiary degrees.
After this role a new
chapter of Mohamed’s
distinguished career
emerged. While Professor of
Surgery at the University of
Sydney, he published his
first book, Making the Cut
(2009). It was quickly
followed by The Patient
(2010) and Terminal Decline
(2010). Non-fiction with an
autobiographical edge, one
of his books drew on his own
experience of making the
transition from doctor to
patient.
“For me, the experience of
having cancer and surviving
it certainly gave me an
insight into the health
system. It motivated me to
make a difference by
alerting people to the
simple truth that at the
heart of this mammoth health
system there is a patient, a
human being, with fears and
anxieties who deserves our
compassion and our
competence.”
His passion for writing led
on to another career avenue,
co-writing a play with
renowned playwright David
Williamson (Don’s Party; The
Club) after meeting him at
the Brisbane Writers’
Centre. Their play, At any
cost?, was performed at the
Ensemble Theatre in
Kirribilli.
Today, Mohamed serves as
Head of Urology at Nepean
Hospital and Professor and
Head of Surgery at the
University of Sydney. His is
also a member of the Board
of the Faculty of
Engineering and IT at the
University and the Bureau of
Health Information in the
NSW Department of Health.
His fourth book, Honour,
Duty, Courage, which honours
the humanitarian work of
doctors and nurses who serve
in the military, was
published this year.
Source: (Courtesy University
of Sydney Alumni Awards).
Note: Before taking up
medicine Mohamed spent two
years, during the early 80’s
studying dentistry at the
University of Sydney and was
the President of Sydney
University Muslim Students
Association (SUMSA), Public
Relation Officer of the
Australian Federation of
Muslim Students Association
(AFMSA) and a member of
Senior Usrah (Islamic Unity
Forum).
This week marked the
final hearing for the Senate
inquiry into food
certification. The focus of
the day was the fast growing
halal certification industry
that sees a huge variety of
products certified as
‘approved for Muslims’.
A fee is paid by companies
to make that claim and it
extends from exported food
and medicinal products
through to soccer balls, cat
food and football boots.
In the past I have referred
to it as a racket and based
on the evidence presented
yesterday, I am not alone.
Of the many halal certifiers
invited to appear only two
chose to do so. Both
identified the importance of
certification to our meat
export industries and both
were scathing of some
operators within the system.
The domestic certification
system was condemned as rife
with corruption and
over-servicing whilst being
described as simply a
‘rubber stamp’. The
operators of these
businesses were described as
‘con men’.
Halal certification has
caused a number of people in
the community to question
why all Australian consumers
are expected to contribute
to Islamic religious causes
in the purchase of their
everyday grocery products.
It seems a legitimate
question to ask and yet, for
daring to voice that
concern, these Aussies have
been given the usual labels
of racists and Islamophobes.
Cory Bernardi
ICQ
Spokesperson, Ali Kadri,
posted the following
response to the above:
"Cory
is suggesting that most
halal certifiers chose
not to attend and he is
using that as something
fishy. We at ICQ got the
invitation and did not
go because we were asked
to attend the senate
hearing on the day of
Eid ul Adha, which is
one of the most holiest
day in (the) Muslim
calendar. The (inquiry)
was a sham, something
(the) government wanted
to give to the MP's on
the right."
Muslim communities in
Australia have experienced a
dramatic spike in attacks, a
new report has found.
Increased anti-terror
measures after last year’s
16-hour Lindt cafe siege in
Sydney have prompted many to
feel a sense of “us versus
them,” it says.
Many complained of being
inadequately protected by
the Racial Discrimination
Act, which makes it unlawful
to treat a person unfairly
because of their race, color,
descent, national or ethnic
origin or immigrant status.
Since 1995, the Act has also
made it unlawful to express
racial hatred, commonly
referred to as “racial
vilification.”
“Representatives of Muslim
and Arab organizations also
reported that members of
their communities
experienced racial and
religious vilification with
regular frequency, not only
in verbal form, but also
through offensive letters
and pamphlets,” the report
by the Human Rights
Commission said. “Much of
this is linked to the issue
of terrorism and national
security.”
That sentiment allegedly
intensified after the siege
in Sydney’s Martin Place in
December 2014, in which two
captives and the gunman, an
Iranian refugee, were
killed.
One participant in the
research, of Muslim
background, reflected: “I
came to Australia two years
ago... after what happened
in Martin Place, I get
asked, ‘Are you a
terrorist?’”
Various other participants
confirmed that Muslim women,
particularly those who wear
the hijab, felt fearful of
being abused on public
transportation.
A number of community and
religious leaders have
questioned the relevance of
the Act in protecting Muslim
Australians, since religion
is not covered by the
legislation.
“There was some scepticism
about the relevance of the
Act, however, in protecting
Muslim Australians,” the
report, which took into
account testimony from
consultations with community
groups in the first half of
the year, said.
“One
participant
in
Melbourne,
for example,
said that
racial
discrimination
legislation
was
ineffective
in
protecting
against
anti-Muslim
abuse
because
perpetrators
would simply
claim, ‘I’m
not a
racist;
Islam is not
a race.’”
According to Tim
Soutphommasane, the race
discrimination commissioner,
the ability of the Act to
protect Muslim Australians
against discrimination or
vilification is limited.
“Complaints about racial
discrimination made by
Muslim Australians will not
be accepted by the
Commission unless there is
some racial or ethnic
element to the complaint,”
he said in the report.
Since the Act was
introduced, over 6,000
complaints about racial
discrimination have been
successfully conciliated.
During the year 2014/15, the
Commission finalized 405
complaints under the Act, of
which only 12 proceeded to
court, according to the
report.
There have been no cases
which identify Muslims as an
“ethnic group” for the
purposes of the Act.
“Existing legislative
protections against racial
discrimination are
incomplete and vulnerable,”
the commissioner said.
Last year, then-Prime
Minister Tony Abbott
withdrew plans to change
section 18C of the Racial
Discrimination Act to remove
the offense of offending,
insulting or humiliating
people on the basis of race.
“I don’t want to do anything
that puts our national unity
at risk at this time, so
those proposals are now off
the table,” Abbott said at
the time.
The report has meanwhile
revealed a “lack of
awareness about the Act and
its operation among some
sections of the Australian
community, particularly
newly arrived migrants and
young people.”
“This may explain to some
extent why there may be an
under-reporting of racism,
with many people declining
to lodge complaints when
they experience racial
discrimination or
vilification,” it added.
Walid use to be apart of a
group called flawless. After
many years of being in the
dancing industry and being
one of the best dancers in
the group brother Walid had
a accident which changed his
life for the better to see
the changing point in his
life watch.
We are an Independent
School with a wonderful
team and due to growing
enrolments are seeking
an Administration
Officer, Support Staff
(Library and Prep) and
Teachers for our Durack
Campus. Teachers must be
registered with
Queensland College of
Teachers.
SECONDARY
HPE, Science, and Maths
Teacher
ICT, Maths and Science
Teacher
Art, English and History
Teacher
English, History and
Geography Teacher
Arabic and Islamic
Studies Teacher
Guidance Counsellor
Administration Officer
Please forward your CV
to
admin@aiic.qld.edu.au
Applications close by
20th November 2015
Hijab House
Muslim
Controversy:
Australian
Police Mistake
Clothes For
Islamic Flags At
Fashion Shoot
Australian police targeted a
photo shoot of a fashion
company that makes hijabs,
the head scarf typically
worn by observant Muslim
women, mistaking their
hijabs and matching outfits
for “Islamic flags.” About
five officers interrupted a
photo shoot outside of an
army base near Sydney
Monday, and the owner of the
fashion company, Hijab
House, said his shoot was
targeted because the models
were wearing hijabs,
according to the Daily Mail.
“I'm still baffled by how
the police could have
mistaken ordinary looking
garments for flags,” Hijab
House owner Tarik Houchar
said, according to the Daily
Mail. “I’m saddened by it
all.”
Based in the suburbs near
Sydney, Hijab House was
founded in 2011 and designs
clothes that appeal to a
wide audience but also only
expose the face, hands and
feet. Police said officers
did approach the photo shoot
team and removed a group of
garments from a fence where
they were hanging.
“Their details were taken
and inquiries were made,”
police said in a statement
to the Daily Mail. “Police
left the area and it is
believed the parties
remained in the area. No
further action was taken.”
When asked why police were
questioning those at the
shoot, one of the officers
allegedly said it was
because of “things happening
overseas.” A bus driver who
reportedly filmed the
interaction said the people
at the photo shoot weren’t
doing anything wrong and
that they were being judged
for wearing hijabs,
according to the Australian.
International
Business Times
Why the Arabic
World Turned
Away from
Science
Contemporary
Islam is not
known for its
engagement in
the modern
scientific
project. But it
is heir to a
legendary
“Golden Age” of
Arabic science
frequently
invoked by
commentators
hoping to make
Muslims and
Westerners more
respectful and
understanding of
each other.
To anyone
familiar with
this Golden Age,
roughly spanning
the eighth
through the
thirteenth
centuries a.d.,
the disparity
between the
intellectual
achievements of
the Middle East
then and now —
particularly
relative to the
rest of the
world — is
staggering
indeed. In his
2002 book What
Went Wrong?,
historian
Bernard Lewis
notes that “for
many centuries
the world of
Islam was in the
forefront of
human
civilization and
achievement.”
“Nothing in
Europe,” notes
Jamil Ragep, a
professor of the
history of
science at the
University of
Oklahoma, “could
hold a candle to
what was going
on in the
Islamic world
until about
1600.” Algebra,
algorithm,
alchemy,
alcohol, alkali,
nadir, zenith,
coffee, and
lemon: these
words all derive
from Arabic,
reflecting
Islam’s
contribution to
the West.
Today, however,
the spirit of
science in the
Muslim world is
as dry as the
desert.
Pakistani
physicist Pervez
Amirali Hoodbhoy
laid out the
grim statistics
in a 2007
Physics Today
article: Muslim
countries have
nine scientists,
engineers, and
technicians per
thousand people,
compared with a
world average of
forty-one. In
these nations,
there are
approximately
1,800
universities,
but only 312 of
those
universities
have scholars
who have
published
journal
articles. Of the
fifty
most-published
of these
universities,
twenty-six are
in Turkey, nine
are in Iran,
three each are
in Malaysia and
Egypt, Pakistan
has two, and
Uganda, the
U.A.E., Saudi
Arabia, Lebanon,
Kuwait, Jordan,
and Azerbaijan
each have one.
There are
roughly 1.6
billion Muslims
in the world,
but only two
scientists from
Muslim countries
have won Nobel
Prizes in
science (one for
physics in 1979,
the other for
chemistry in
1999). Forty-six
Muslim countries
combined
contribute just
1 percent of the
world’s
scientific
literature;
Spain and India
each contribute
more of the
world’s
scientific
literature than
those countries
taken together.
In fact,
although Spain
is hardly an
intellectual
superpower, it
translates more
books in a
single year than
the entire Arab
world has in the
past thousand
years. “Though
there are
talented
scientists of
Muslim origin
working
productively in
the West,” Nobel
laureate
physicist Steven
Weinberg has
observed, “for
forty years I
have not seen a
single paper by
a physicist or
astronomer
working in a
Muslim country
that was worth
reading.”
Comparative
metrics on the
Arab world tell
the same story.
Arabs comprise 5
percent of the
world’s
population, but
publish just 1.1
percent of its
books, according
to the U.N.’s
2003 Arab Human
Development
Report. Between
1980 and 2000,
Korea granted
16,328 patents,
while nine Arab
countries,
including Egypt,
Saudi Arabia,
and the U.A.E.,
granted a
combined total
of only 370,
many of them
registered by
foreigners. A
study in 1989
found that in
one year, the
United States
published 10,481
scientific
papers that were
frequently
cited, while the
entire Arab
world published
only four. This
may sound like
the punch line
of a bad joke,
but when Nature
magazine
published a
sketch of
science in the
Arab world in
2002, its
reporter
identified just
three scientific
areas in which
Islamic
countries excel:
desalination,
falconry, and
camel
reproduction.
The recent push
to establish new
research and
science
institutions in
the Arab world —
described in
these pages by
Waleed Al-Shobakky
(see
“Petrodollar
Science,” Fall
2008) — clearly
still has a long
way to go.
The New
Atlantis
Humanist vs
Islamic
perspectives on
science and the
modern world
Jim Al-Khalili
(top picture),
physicist and
and Ziauddin
Sardar (bottom
picture), chair
of the Muslim
Institute, talk
science, western
colonialism and
religious
rigidity
Two important
figures came
head-to-head at
Conway Hall, to
discuss Islamic
versus Humanist
perspectives on
science and the
modern world.
Jim Al-Khalili
made the final
public
appearance of
his term as
president of the
British Humanist
Association
during this
stimulating, and
at times
provoking,
debate with
Ziauddin Sardar,
chair of the
Muslim
Institute.
Al-Khalili
advocated the
values of the
European
Enlightenment,
arguing that
ever since the
“Age of Reason”
took hold during
the 18th
century,
Humanists have
looked to
science instead
of religion to
explore and
comprehend the
world. Sardar
upheld the view
that it is the
combination of
faith and reason
that offers a
fuller
understanding of
the world,
maintaining that
it was this
worldview that
enabled the
development of
science in the
Islamic golden
Age.
A practising
Muslim, Sardar
is on an
independent
mission to
promote
rational,
considered
thought in
interpreting the
Qur’an. He
explained that
when he came to
the UK from
Pakistan, he
found comfort in
the familiar
language of
mathematics,
which set him on
a trajectory to
train as a
physicist: “God
doesn’t need me,
I need him. It
makes me a
better person
and a better
scientist”, he
said.
The
Guardian
Operation
Hammerhead stirs
up fear and
endangers Muslim
women
My feminine body
has been
attacked in a
new way. They
have used me as
a symbol of a
threat to
democracy. My
scarf and niqaab
are now not only
symbols of
subjugation, but
also that of a
facilitator of
terrorism. I am
now both the
oppressed and
the oppressor.
KOREA: The
aroma of Arab food permeates
the atmosphere, restaurants
displaying halal food
banners are everywhere,
women wearing hijab and men
with beards are seen walking
in the streets. There are
shops offering Haj and Umrah
tours.
At first sight, you feel
that you are in some Arab or
Muslim country, but the neon
signs and display boards
tell you otherwise. This is
the Itaewon area in Seoul, a
predominantly Muslim
neighborhood.
The Korean Tourism
Organization is promoting
this part of the city to
attract tourists from Muslim
countries.
“Tourists from the Arab
region are a big draw for
us,” Jaesung Rhee, executive
vice president for
international tourism, told
Saudi Gazette over lunch in
one of the halal food
restaurants in the area.
Just a few yards from the
restaurant is the Central
Seoul Mosque, an imposing
structure which also houses
the Prince Sultan Islamic
School.
It was Friday so the area
was bustling with Muslims:
Koreans and foreigners.
There are 35,000 ethnic
Korean Muslims, A Rahman
Lee, Ju-Hwa, imam of the
mosque run by the Korea
Muslim Federation, told
Saudi Gazette.
There are 15 mosques and 60
musallals (makeshift
mosques) in South Korea,
where Islam came just after
the Korean War, the imam
said.
After the Korean War,
Turkish soldiers were posted
to the region as
peacekeepers in 1955. They
introduced Islam to Koreans.
Slowly and gradually Islam
spread in Korea where about
50 percent of the people say
that they do not follow any
religion.
Maryam Monsef Came To
Canada As A Refugee. Now, She's A Cabinet
Minister.
Maryam Monsef is sworn in as
the minister of democratic
institutions on Wednesday
CANADA:
Canada’s newest democratic
institutions minister is a
30-year-old woman who fled
Afghanistan with her widowed
mother and two sisters when
she was a child.
Maryam Monsef is the new MP
for the bellwether Ontario
riding of
Peterborough–Kawartha. On
Wednesday, Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau elevated her
to his 31-member cabinet —
making her the youngest
minister and the
fourth-youngest ever.
Monsef was born in
Afghanistan and raised in
the western city of Herat,
near the Iranian border. She
lost her father when she was
a toddler and both her
sisters were under the age
of two. Her mother was in
her 20s. No one knows for
certain what happened to her
father
SAUDI ARABIA:
Saudi Arabia has been hit by
unprecedented ice flash
floods, as seasonal low
pressure brings huge
downpours to Iraq and Iran
as well. The shocking video
shows chunks of ice the size
of large ball bearings.
Extreme weather conditions
have been lashing the
country since October 28, as
the low pressure area
concentrated over the
northern part of the Persian
Gulf, according to climate
scientist Dr Abd al-Aziz al-Rubaie,
as cited by thewatchers.com.
Earlier meteorologists
predicted eight years of
rain in just two days over
the Arabian Sea.
As of October 30, 19 people
across the region have been
killed. In Saudi Arabia the
floods claimed six lives.
Civil Defense officials have
carried out 50 successful
rescues.
“NYPD Female Cop
‘Converted’ To Islam To Spy On Muslim
Students”
US: On the
leafy Midwood campus of
Brooklyn College, a lecture
at the school’s Islamic
Society had just ended when
a woman stood up and asked
to take the Shahada, the
Muslim testimony of faith.
Nobody knew the woman with
light skin and dark hair,
who appeared to be in her
twenties. In a voice that
lilted up at the end of each
sentence, she began
professing her new beliefs.
“Melike Ser” or “Mel,” was
not a student and had no
apparent connections to the
school, but the students
embraced her anyway, excited
about her conversion.
This past April, four years
after Mel’s public act of
faith, two Queens residents,
Noelle Velentzas and Asia
Siddiqui, were arrested and
charged with allegedly
planning to build a bomb.
The US Justice Department
issued a release stating
that the women were linked
to members of al-Qaeda in
the Arabian Peninsula and
the Islamic State, and
revealed that a Detective
from the NYPD’s Intelligence
Bureau was heavily involved
in bringing the women to
justice.
SAUDI ARABIA:
Arabian Business recently
released their first ever
list on the most powerful
Arabs under 40.
So here are some of the most
inspiring Saudis who’ve
managed to make the cut.
1. Fahd Al
Rasheed
Industry: Construction
Designation: CEO and
managing director
Awesome because: He is
currently coordinating the
world’s largest construction
project, KAEC. The
megaproject involves
building an entire city from
scratch. It comes with a
whopping price tag of $100
Billion
Maryam Mirzakhani, First
Woman to Win the “Nobel Prize” in
Mathematics
The International
Mathematical Union was
established to honour
excellent mathematicians
under the age of 40 years.
The award presented was
named after the Canadian
mathematician John C.
Fields. It is known as the
“Nobel Prize of
Mathematics.”
Since 1936 the field medal
was awarded every 4 years,
and 1 to 4 outstanding
mathematicians are honoured
with it.
In 2014 it was the first
time a woman was honoured by
the prize. A professor at
Stanford University, she was
rewarded for her outstanding
contributions towards the
“dynamics and geometry or
Riemann surfaces and their
moduli spaces.”
Maryam Mirzakhani, an
Iranian national, has
excelled in maths since she
was in high school. Over the
years she won numerous gold
medals at the International
Mathematical Olympiad; at
the most distinguished math
tournament in the world, for
per-collegiate students
TWICE.
In an interview with
Stanford Report she said;
“It is fun, like connecting
the dots to a case or like
solving a puzzle” added “It
was something I could
accomplish, and wanted to
pursue it.”
To book appointments -
Ph: 3341 2333 (Underwood)
Ph: 3299 5596 (Springwood)
M: 0406 279 591
Website:
www.diversenutrition.com.au
Is Sugar Toxic
for You?
(Part 1)
Sugar has been a part of human consumption for
centuries. However, it’s only in the recent
decades that obesity rates have begun to rise.
So is sugar the only factor to blame? Did you
know that fruit also contains sugar? Does that
mean chocolate bars and apples are equal?
The answer is no, because not all calories are
equivalent. Fruits contain fructose which is a
naturally occurring sugar. However, fruits are
also a great source for fibre, essential
vitamins and minerals. You get more health
benefits from all the nutrients in fruits than
harm from the fructose it contains.
It is
recommended to have 2 serves of fruits every
day; vary it up each day to get a wide range of
nutrients. In comparison, a block of chocolate
or a packet of lollies has large amounts of
refined sugar with little nutrient content. They
are what nutritionists call ‘empty calories’ as
they don’t provide us with any nutrition, only
the calories.
The bottom line is… not all sugars are bad for
you. It all comes down to its sources.
Stay tuned for Part
2 where I will talk about foods with hidden
sugars and how to avoid them.
Al-Khalil brings alive the
bubbling invention and delighted curiosity of the Islamic
world. The Greeks certainly provide the thread for the
story, but from such thread the Ummayyads and Abbasids wove
their own astonishing fabric of discovery and enlightenment.
Empires are built on bloodshed
but survive on know-how. "The ink of the scholar is more
sacred than the blood of the martyr," said the prophet
Muhammad, and the empire founded in his name had a
communication problem to solve before it could build its
knowledge economy.
Persian or Pahlavi texts had to be translated into Arabic,
among them studies of astrology, which may originally have
been based on mathematics texts in Sanskrit.
The new empire also needed
Arabic versions of texts on geometry, engineering and
arithmetic; it clashed with the Chinese, and from prisoners
learned the art of papermaking.
The first paper mills were
established in Baghdad at the end of the eighth century:
dyes, inks, glues and bindings followed.
During and after the reign of
Harun al-Rashid, the fabulous caliph of the so-called
Arabian Nights, Persian, Arab, Christian and Jewish scholars
all began to translate and publish medical and mathematical
texts from Greek and Syriac as well as Persian and Indian
scripts.
The Guardian
Would you like
to see the cover of your favourite book on our book shelves
below?
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.
By the Earth and its
(wide) expanse; By the Soul,
and the proportion and order
given to it; and its
enlightenment as to its
wrong and its right; - Truly
he succeeds that purifies
it, and he fails that
corrupts it!
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
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Cricket
chiefs respected Khawaja’s
request.
The
Islamic College of Brisbane
located in South Brisbane
with a roll of about 1100
students provides education
at both primary and
secondary levels. 
11th November 2015
Wednesday 9:00AM or
1:00PM
Zikr
- every Thursday 7pm, families welcome
post comments on
our Wall
7
August 2011