WITH heightened tensions
over a new mosque in
Maroochydore, a top cop says
we have nothing to fear from
the Muslim community.
Superintendent Darryl
Johnson, former head of
Queensland's Security and
Counter-Terrorism Group, has
also warned police won't
tolerate discrimination.
Supt Johnson said police
would not tolerate language
and actions that
discriminate against people.
He said police and the
Anti-Discrimination
Commission were looking at
ways to tighten laws around
discrimination to protect
vulnerable minority groups.
"We live in a land of free
speech and to use language
and actions that
discriminate is foreign to
what it means to be
Australian," he said.
"Police will take action
against this where we can."
Existing legislation has
made it very difficult for
police to prosecute and so
far only one case of verbal
racist abuse has ended up
with a conviction.
This was after a racist rant
on an Ipswich train in 2014
when a man swore at a train
guard, telling him to learn
English.
District Inspector Jason
Overland, who has lived on
the Sunshine Coast most of
his life, said tensions had
heightened since the
region's Muslim community
had bought a parcel of land
in Church Street for a
permanent place of worship.
Supt Johnson said the
community shouldn't be able
to tell other people where
they can or can't pray.
"We need to appreciate
their wants and needs and
for Muslims to be able to
pray and meet socially is
very important," Supt
Johnson said.
"Whether we have come for a
different future or have
spent our whole lives here,
we share a collective
identity based around common
fundamental shared values of
mutual respect, freedom of
speech and belief."
In his position as Security
Operations Unit commander,
Supt Johnson was involved in
the investigation of many
potential terrorist groups.
In this role, he had
developed many close friends
who are Muslim.
"Over the years, I have made
many genuine friends who are
Muslim.
"There is only a very, very
small percentage of Muslims
who become radical and
extreme in their
ideologies."
Supt Johnson's "greatest
fear" for Australia was the
risk of a right-wing attack.
"We all need to work
together to prevent harm to
our families and
communities," he said.
"In the main, Muslims are
very kind, peaceful people,
many of whom are
professionals who live and
work in our community.
"I find it abhorrent we have
people within our community
who marginalise members of
the Muslim community.
"They are marginalised
because of lack of
knowledge."
Supt Johnson said
conversations, like the one
organised by the
Anti-Discrimination
Commission and the
University of the Sunshine
Coast on Saturday, were
important.
Inspector Overland said the
Coast Muslim community was
"small" and had been here
for 10 to 15 years.
The Inspector said their
purchase of the Church
Street site coincided with
"world events that were out
of their control".
"They are regular, family
people who want somewhere to
pray," he said.
Mosque tour and
explanations/illustration of
ablutions and prayers – Imam
Abdul Kader
Activities – International
food, information booth,
jumping castle, women
decoration, police demo,
formal presentation, mosque
tour, community engagement.
THE proposed Currumbin
mosque will not go ahead
after a court dismissed the
developer’s appeal against
the Gold Coast City Council.
The Planning and Environment
Court today upheld the
council’s 2014 decision
against Salsabil Charitable
Organisation, which hoped to
create a place of worship
near residential houses.
City planning boss Cameron
Caldwell confirmed the
decision.
Howard Battye protesting
against the proposed mosque at
Currumbin
“The appeal has been
dismissed and the judge
upheld council’s refusal,”
he said.
Today’s decision brings to a
close a saga that began in
mid-2014 when the
development application was
lodged with the council.
While the council’s planning
committee voted in early
September 2014 to approve
the place of worship, this
decision was overturned at a
heated full council meeting
later that month.
Tracy Thompson, who led the
Currumbin residents against
the proposed development
said she was “still in
shock” over the result.
Anti-mosque protestors
outside a council meeting in
2014
“The news is great but I
feel that it has come at a
cost to the community,” she
said.
“We have been labelled as
racists and bigots but we
fought this on town planning
issues — nothing more,
nothing less.
“ I am proud that Currumbin
residents stood up for their
rights as land users.”
Imam Imraan Husain of the
Gold Coast Mosque said that
he was truly disappointed
with the Gold Coast Council
decision not allowing
Muslims to have a
much-needed Mosque in the
south of Gold Coast.
"The Gold Coast has a
growing Muslim community and
thousands of Muslim tourists
visit the Gold Coast area
annually. The rejection of
the mosque only reinforces
the negative perception that
the Gold Coast is not
inclusive. This goes against
the multicultural spirit of
Australia." Imam Husain
told CCN.
"The majority of Gold
Coasters are welcoming and
open minded. The Gold Coast
Mosque has excellent
relationships with people of
faith and no faith and we
pride ourselves on engaging
as constructive members of
the Gold Coast community,"
he added.
Federal funding for the Malek
Fahd Islamic School will cease
on April 8.
Millions of dollars in
federal funding for
Australia's largest Islamic
school in Sydney's
south-west will be stopped,
a review has reaffirmed.
The Malek Fahd Islamic
School in Greenacre
requested the review last
month after being told its
$19 million in federal
funding was being revoked
because of governance and
financial issues.
Federal Education Minister
Simon Birmingham said today
the Government's original
decision had been reaffirmed
and funding would stop at
the end of the week.
"The internal reviewer, who
was independent of the
original decision,
considered the new
information provided and
based on all the available
evidence, the school
authority remains
non-compliant with the
requirements of the
Australian Education Act
2013," he said in a
statement.
"Therefore, the internal
reviewer has affirmed the
original decision and
federal funding for Malek
Fahd Islamic School Limited
will cease from 8 April
2016."
School lawyer Rick Mitry
said the revocation was a
surprise, as a lot of work
had been done to remediate
the governance issues raised
previously by the Federal
Government.
We had taken steps to comply
with all of the requirements
of the Federal Government,"
he said.
"All of the issues raised by
them were addressed by us,
including new accounting
measures and a new interim
board.
"We'll immediately make an
application to the Federal
Administrative Appeals
Tribunal and an application
for a stay of the orders
revoking the funding until
the appeal process has been
completed."
'Some things that cannot be
fixed overnight'
Chairwoman of Malek Fahd's
interim school board Miriam
Silva said the interests and
welfare of students,
teachers, staff and wider
school community were the
school's main priorities.
"We'll do everything that we
can to address all of the
concerns — the staff are
pretty upset so I'm meeting
with them this afternoon and
obviously the parents and
the students are pretty
upset as well," Ms Silva
said.
She said the board would
work to address a number of
concerns raised by the
review, including the
recovery of funds that may
have been misspent.
"There are some things that
cannot be fixed overnight,
including documentation from
things that happened before
[the interim board was
installed]," Ms Silva said.
"We still have to find
documents and figure out
what happened in the past,
and whether we have any
recourse to recovering funds
that may not have been spent
in educating children.
"These all are matters that
must be rectified."
School to remain open
despite funding to stop
Mr Mitry said the school
would remain operational
with several months worth of
funding still available,
pending the appeals process.
Senator Birmingham said he
was committed to ensuring
that all school authorities
meet the requirements of the
Education Act.
"[As] to ensure that our
taxpayer dollars and any
private investment by
parents is being spent to
benefit Australian
students," he said.
"School governance should be
of the highest standard and
funding should be
exclusively used for the
education and welfare of
students."
Dr Tim Soutphommasane being
introduced by Hilal Yassin at
the office of Corrs Chambers
Westgarth, Brisbane CBD
Comments made in Brisbane at
the Crescent Institute by
Australian Race
Discrimination Commissioner
Dr Tim Soutphommasane
featured in
The Guardian Australia
as he explored a range of
influences on Race Relations
in Australia.
"It's through media to a
large extent that a society
projects it's identity and
comes to understand itself
and the world...When it
comes to our media, our
multicultural reality may
come across as some distant
fantasy"
"Racial discrimination
commissioner slams 'casual
racism' on Australian TV"
was the Guardian headline
that led into the following
synopsis of the
Commissioner's speech:
The racial
discrimination
commissioner, Tim
Soutphommasane, has
slammed the lack of
diversity on Australian
television and the
“casual racism” of
banter on commercial
programs following the
criticism levelled at
Waleed Aly for his
Logies nomination.
In a speech on cultural
harmony and tolerance
delivered in Brisbane on
Thursday night,
Soutphommasane decried
the lack of non-Anglo
faces on Australian
television.
“When inroads have been
made in cultural
diversity on TV, it
doesn’t take much to
reveal how threatened or
uncomfortable it can
make some people feel.
This is the only way we
can meaningfully
interpret the current
controversy concerning
Waleed Aly,”
Soutphommasane said.
This year’s nomination
list for TV’s top gong,
the Gold Logie, features
two non-Anglo
personalities, Aly and
SBS newsreader Lee Lin
Chin.
Presenters of Channel
Nine’s Today Show – who
did not receive a
nomination – joked that
they were “too white”
for the award.
“It is all of a pattern
with the casual racism
that can pass for banter
on Australian commercial
TV,” Soutphommasane
said, adding that some
of the criticism
levelled at Aly has been
deeply personal but also
“nonsensical”.
A lack of reporters and
newsreaders of colour,
and few opportunities
for non-Anglo actors in
the entertainment
industry was also a big
problem, he said.
“Actors from minority
backgrounds periodically
emerge with scathing
criticisms about a
‘white Australia’ policy
in Australian
television. Where
minority actors are cast
to play roles on
television dramas they
are often consigned to
play stereotypical roles
as drug dealers,
criminals or otherwise
shady characters,” he
said.
The commissioner gave a
bleak overall assessment
of cultural tolerance in
Australia.
“Many of us have good
reason for thinking that
the state of our race
relations and community
harmony is under some
challenge,” he said. “It
is also no exaggeration
to say our recent public
debates are punctuated
by controversies about
race and so-called
political correctness.”
Public rebukes over
political correctness
may have the “perverse
effect” of stifling
debate rather than
encouraging it,
Soutphommasane said.
“It is a challenging
time for our race
relations and community
harmony. It is
challenging not only
because the ugly faces
of racism and bigotry
are increasingly on
display in public, but
also because public
discussions about race
remain fraught with
sensitivities,” he said.
“Sometimes you get the
impression that calling
out racism can be
regarded as a worse
moral offence than the
perpetration of racism
itself.”
Concerns about terrorism
are often used as a
cover to mask
anti-Muslim sentiment,
Soutphommasane said.
“If we are to expect
Muslim communities to
repudiate extremism
perpetrated in the name
of Islam – as they have
– Australian society
must be prepared to
repudiate extremism that
targets Muslim
communities,” he said.
A recent report by the
Australian Human Rights
Commission found that
Muslim and Arab
organisations had
reported a spike in the
number of racist attacks
following the December
2014 Lindt cafe siege.
“Racism may be more
prevalent than we may
like to admit,”
Soutphommasane said.
“Perhaps the easiest
explanation is that any
multicultural success
remains incomplete. Our
sensibilities are still
catching up with the
changes that have
occurred within the
composition of our
population.”
The commissioner made
note of the lack of
diversity in leadership
– be it business,
political or social
leadership.
He said conscious and
unconscious bias was
prohibiting people of
colour from accessing
leadership positions.
“Leadership remains a
domain of privilege, one
where the boundaries
appear to exclude
certain others – in
particular, those of
non-European
backgrounds,”
Soutphommasane said.
He used a personal
example to illustrate
his point. Upon learning
that Soutphommasane, who
has Laotian heritage,
worked at the Human
Rights Commission, the
acquaintance asked if he
worked in finance or IT.
“The question, asked
with every good
intention, was one that
revealed some of the
assumptions my new
acquaintance had about
what someone who looked
like me was likely to
have as an occupation,”
the commissioner said.
Despite the obvious
problems with cultural
harmony, Soutphommasane
rejected the idea that
Australia is a racist
country.
“Too often, discussions
about racism are reduced
to this point. People
can be quick to find in
any episode or incident
confirmation of some
moral flaw in the
national character,” he
said. “Others meanwhile
are all too eager to
deny that racism exists
in Australian society,
or assert that any
racism that does exist
here pales in comparison
to what exists overseas.
“Either way, there is
something wholly
unsatisfactory in
thinking in these
terms.”
Hamza Al Ansari
(2nd from left) with
his proud family and Member
for Stretton, Mr Duncan Pegg
This year’s Stretton
representative for YMCA
Youth Parliament will be
Year 11 Stretton State
College student Hamza Al
Ansari.
Each year the program brings
together 93 young people
representing each electorate
in the state to debate in
Parliament House.
The YMCA Queensland Youth
Parliament offers young
Queenslanders the
opportunity to speak up for
their communities and learn
first-hand about
parliamentary processes,
about our democracy, connect
with their peers and have a
say about important issues
facing our state.
Member for Stretton, Duncan
Pegg said, “Queensland’s
Youth Parliament has a
strong history of empowering
young people to become
leaders of the future.”
“I know Hamza has worked
hard at school and at home.
He will do Stretton proud,”
he said.
Hamza’s favourite subjects
are Business and Science and
in the future he hopes to
become an entrepreneur or
politician.
Hamza said the reason he
applied was that he wanted
to be a better leader and to
help the community.
Hamza’s parents Faisal and
Ambreen are very proud of
their son’s achievements and
believe that it is important
to give back to the
community.
The Queensland Government
provides annual funding of
$60,000 to YMCA Queensland
to run the program.
The
Islamic Council of
Queensland (ICQ) is hosting
the 2016 ICQ Eid Festival.
The Eid Festival aims to
provide opportunities to
foster social cohesion and
harmony among the diverse
communities of Brisbane. It
is an opportunity for all
community members and groups
to participate in one of the
largest Muslim community
events in Queensland.
Eid Festival Day Claimer: Venue: Islamic
College of Brisbane,
Karawatha Date: 9th July 2016 Time: 10:00am till
9:00pm
Quick-witted TV personality
rendered speechless by debate on
his worthiness for coveted
award.
Waleed Aly is a writer,
academic, lawyer – among other
things.
TV presenter Waleed Aly has
shrugged off criticism of
his Gold Logie nomination by
saying he has simply “no
words” for his haters.
The Project co-host used his
solo segment ‘Something We
Need To Talk About’ to react
to the storm of controversy
surrounding the Sunday night
announcement of his
nomination for Australian
television’s most coveted
award.
In a five-minute piece
lambasting a budget and
timeline blowout in the NBN,
Aly briefly strayed
off-track to respond to
claims he was chosen simply
to racially diversify the
field of candidates.
We’ll have much slower
internet which will cost
about $10 billion more but
we’ll get it one year sooner
than Labor,” he said.
“Now, understandably, the
guy who set up the company
responsible for delivering
the NBN is more put out
about this than Karl and
Lisa were when Lee Lin Chin
and I were nominated for a
Gold Logie.
“No words.”
Aly, who is a Muslim born in
Melbourne to Egyptian
parents, was referring to
the unprecedented backlash
that erupted less than 24
hours after his Logie
nomination was announced.
Lee Lin Chin, an
Asian-Australian newsreader
for SBS famous for her
flamboyant outfits and
utterly deadpan delivery
style, was also nominated
for the award.
The furore regarding the
pair’s nomination began when
Today show host Karl
Stefanovic remarked on
Monday that co-host Lisa
Wilkinson was “too white” to
be nominated for the award.
“Where is Lisa Wilkinson’s
Golden Logie?” fellow
Channel Nine personality Ben
Fordham asked on the
breakfast program.
“Lisa’s too white,”
Stefanovic – who won it in
2011 – replied.
Wilkinson said: “I got a
spray tan and everything,
and I still didn’t make it.”
Aly’s comments on The
Project on Wednesday night
followed another veiled
swipe at his critics earlier
in the program during a
light-hearted discussion of
song lyrics.
Co-host Carrie Bickmore
said: “Lyrics are never the
way we talk. You don’t walk
around going: ‘haters, gonna
hate, hate, hate, hate'”, in
reference to the Taylor
Swift song.
Aly replied: “Actually I
spend a lot of time saying
that, but that’s separate!”
The controversy deepened on
Tuesday after News Corp
quoted a “well-placed TV
insider” who labelled Aly’s
nomination an
“embarrassment” and a
“complete joke”.
“What has Waleed ever done?
Because he does an editorial
slapping someone down every
now and then, does that
qualify him for a Gold
Logie? And is The Project
successful? No,” they told
News Corp.
A later editorial declared
“six reasons” the
37-year-old writer,
academic, lawyer, columnist,
host and musician did not
deserve the coveted TV
award.
Aly writes columns for News
Corp’s major rival, Fairfax
Media.
On the same day, The New
Daily published an article
in support of diversity in
the heavily
Caucasian-dominated history
of the Gold Logie.
Discussion of Aly’s
nomination dominated
Australian social media on
Wednesday.
Other nominees for the Gold
Logie this year were: Aly’s
The Project co-host Bickmore
– who won Gold in 2015 – The
Block’s Scott Cam, Miss
Fisher’s Murder Mysteries
star Essie Davis, and Family
Feud and The Great
Australian Spelling Bee host
Grant Denyer.
Despite the controversy, it
seems Aly has plenty of
supporters, including one
unlikely champion.
Queensland has
joined hands with
the rest of
Australia to make it
a Happy Eid for the
children of Syria by
sending shoe boxes
of gifts.
To
date, close on 300
boxes have
been packed and
collected.
Monetary donations have
also been received
to purchase items
for the shoe boxes,
as well
as donations like
toys and stationery.
The
target is 1000 boxes
before
the deadline on 24
April 2016.
"Help
put a smile on the
faces of these
children and let's
get packing. Come
on Queenslanders..............we
can do it!!!," one
of the Brisbane
organizers urged CCN
readers.
To
find out how you can
be a part of
this initiative,
visit the Facebook
page on Shoebox4syria/Melbourne
and Qld
or contact the area
coordinator closest
to you :-
Here’s an update on what the
New Muslim Care Brisbane
team has been doing within
the community to provide
support services to our new
brothers and sisters.
SOCIAL EVENTS & WORKSHOPS
A lovely time was had by all
at today’s new Muslim meet
and greet event at Rochedale
Masjid. People came from
Brisbane’s north side, south
side and the Gold Coast and
got to know each other over
lunch in the Bosnian
restaurant, then enjoyed the
beautiful atmosphere of the
masjid as they prayed dhuhr
salah. Today was the first
visit to a masjid for some
of those new Muslims who
came and feedback was very
positive.
Our next event is a Salah
Workshop for new Muslim
sisters inshaAllah this
Saturday 16th April at
United Muslims of Brisbane
in Logan Central. Topics
covered will include:
Purification & Cleanliness ,
How to pray step by step,
The Importance of Prayer and
more. Course notes and lunch
will be provided. To
register online for this
event
click here.
Coming up in May is our
annual Ramadan Refresher
course , where new Muslims
will be equipped with
essential knowledge about
Ramadan & how to make the
most of this blessed month.
Each participant will
receive a Ramadan gift bag
and plenty of take home
reading material.
June marks the return of our
very popular annual Iftar,
where new Muslims and their
families can connect with
our community and enjoy
delicious food and a
friendly atmosphere.
NEW MUSLIM WELCOME GIFT
We have been distributing
our new Muslim welcome gift
boxes which is the first
step in establishing a
connection with our new
Muslim brothers and sisters.
The gift box includes:
An English translation
of the Qur’an
Fortress of the Muslim
book with invocations
from the Qur’an and
Sunnah
New Muslim Guide which
is an illustrated
comprehensive guide book
to initiate their
journey in Islam
How to pray DVD and mat
Other DVD and audio
recordings
These gift boxes are also
being distributed to new
Muslims in Brisbane through
the Muslim Charitable
Foundation and Islamic Care
at the Gold Coast masjids.
NEW MUSLIM & VOLUNTEER
REGISTRATION
To join our dedicated New
Muslim Care volunteer team
click here.
To register a new Muslim so
they can receive any of our
support services
click here
Our free call number is 1800
NMC 000 (1800 662 000)
A MAN was taken to hospital
after violent clashes broke
out at a Halal expo in
Melbourne on Sunday.
The ugly scenes were
instigated by dozens of
protesters, some wearing ski
masks, who fought against a
group picketing the event.
According to The Herald Sun,
witnesses told police more
than 30 men from
anti-Islamic and
anti-fascist groups clashed
shortly after 12:30pm (AEST).
Photos from the event show
one man lying on the ground
bloodied, while other photos
show the protesters throwing
punches and bashing each
other with signs. Meanwhile
a number of men wearing ski
masks were apprehended by
police.
Authorities said one group
was protesting outside the
showgrounds, where the expo
was being held, when a
second group “moved through
them” about 12.30pm.
Punches were thrown as
police struggled to quell
the violence. One witness
said the fighting only
lasted a few minutes but was
“very intense”.
A political group calling
themselves Party For
Freedom, which is opposed to
multiculturalism and open
borders, was responsible for
picketing the expo.
They were reportedly met by
anti-fascist group Antifa
with members arriving in
black clothing and covered
faces.
“(Antifa protesters) rocked
up in a group and started
punching people,” witness
Erik Anderson told the The
Herald Sun.
“I saw some turn up, but
then hide as they were
waiting for more. Their
intention when arriving was
to start a fight.
“It wasn’t one-sided once it
started though.
“There was a lot of punches
thrown, brawling people
using flag (poles) to push
people away,” he said.
A man believed to be
affiliated with the Party
For Freedom group was taken
to hospital after suffering
head injuries. He was
reportedly in a stable, but
serious condition.
The Antifa group have
previously been involved
with protests that marked
the 10th anniversary of the
Cronulla riots.
Halal expo director Syed
Atiq ul Hassan said about
10,000 people had peacefully
attended the event, which
aimed to “spread awareness
about the significance of
Halal food, products and
services”.
“They are two groups who
have their own issues and
they fought,” he said. “(It)
had nothing to do with us”.
IPSO has upheld
another complaint against a
British publication for
inaccurate comments regarding
Muslims.
Less than 0.5 per cent of
journalists in the UK are
Muslim. No wonders so many
misleading stories make the
cut Once again, a
newspaper’s integrity has
been found wanting as the
press regulator, IPSO,
judged the Daily Star
Sunday’s headline, “UK
mosques fundraising for
terror”, to be
“significantly misleading”
following a complaint lodged
by myself. The paper
clarified its error on page
2, noting that UK mosques
were actually “not involved
in any way”. This came just
a week after The Sun was
forced to acknowledge that
its headline “1 in 5 Brit
Muslims’ sympathy for
jihadis” was similarly
misleading.
Such inaccuracies are not
restricted to the tabloid
press. The Times, for
example, claimed Muslims
were “silent on terror”.
This allegation has since
been unequivocally rebuffed
not only by Home Secretary
Theresa May but also by
senior counter-terror
officers such as Neil Basu
and Scotland Yard’s former
anti-terror chief Richard
Walton.
It’s not just misleading
stories which are the
problem - we also
consistently see articles
conflating the faith of
Islam with criminality, such
as the headlines “Muslim sex
grooming” or “Imam beaten to
death in sex grooming town”
- the latter of which
resulted in the Chief
Constable of Greater
Manchester Police being
“appalled” and writing an
open letter criticising the
paper.
Sensationalism and
scaremongering about the
apparent threat posed by
Muslims is also widespread.
Just look at headlines such
as: “BBC puts Muslims before
you” (Daily Star); “Halal
secret of Pizza Express”
(The Sun); “Muslim vote
could decide 25 per cent of
seats” (Daily Mail).
So what, you might say? We
rightly live in a country
that cherishes the freedom
of the press, and it’s not
unreasonable for newspapers
to use sensational headlines
to sell papers. We know that
there is an undeniable and
serious threat from many
groups identifying as Muslim
that strike terror into the
hearts of millions. But the
inaccurate stories, as well
as those that are re-framed
to align with the far-right
“othering” of Muslims, have
real-world consequences.
Recent research by the
University of Cambridge has
shown that mainstream media
reporting about Muslim
communities is contributing
to an atmosphere of rising
hostility toward Muslims in
Britain, corroborating the
findings of an Islamophobia
Roundtable in Stockholm two
years ago. Claiming that the
media has played no role in
the growth in Islamophobia
is no longer a tenable
position.
More than half of Britons
see Islam (the mainstream
religion, not Islamist
fundamentalist groups) as a
threat to Western liberal
democracy. Over 30 per cent
of young children believe
Muslims are ‘taking over
England’ and hate crime
against Muslims continues to
rise, up by 70 per cent in
the last year, according to
the Metropolitan police.
Of course, the government
needs to take the problem of
Islamophobia seriously and
we all need to hold the
media to account better,
reporting mistakes and
inaccuracies. However,
editors of newspapers also
need to own up to this
problem within the media and
take meaningful steps to
resolve it.
According to research
presented at the Muslim
News’ Conference on
reporting Islam last year,
there have been improvements
in the language that is
being used, but religious
illiteracy remains rife
within parts of our
newspaper elite. Special
training for journalists
working in areas touching on
Islamic faith and culture,
and guidelines for sensitive
topics, are now a must-have
for any serious paper.
Research from City
University in London shows a
huge under-representation of
Muslims in the media: less
than 0.5 per cent of UK
journalists are Muslim,
compared to almost 5 per
cent of the national
population. This lack of
diversity is likely to be
further magnified at more
senior positions. A more
diverse workforce, however,
is likely to improve
coverage and reduce the
likelihood of misreporting.
I am aware of specific
instances where the mere
presence of Muslim
journalists in editorial
meetings made a real
difference in ensuring more
balanced reporting.
To improve diversity, there
needs to be greater outreach
on the part of media
organisations to bring in
talent from all backgrounds,
through diversity
programmes, paid internships
and fast-track schemes to
proactively close this gap.
Finally, given the apparent
inability of the press to
self-regulate, there needs
to be more effective
regulation. Stronger
deterrents would prevent
stories that are just plain
wrong from making into print
or online. Papers should not
be able to get away with
“clarifications” that do not
admit wrongdoing without
“due prominence”. A
significantly misleading
front page headline needs to
be corrected by an equally
sized front page apology as
well as a financial penalty.
I expect that the
independent review of IPSO
currently underway would
cover these ideas and hope
that all those interested,
feed into that review. And,
among many potential
improvements to the Editor’s
Code of Practice,
incorporating Recommendation
38 from Lord Leveson’s
report is a key way to help
tackle the abuse of minority
groups by some sections of
the media: “The power to
intervene in cases of
allegedly discriminatory
reporting, and in so doing
reflect the spirit of
equalities legislation”.
Avoiding regular smears
about Islam or Muslims and
the conflation of the faith
of Islam with criminality is
a simple request of
fairness, not asking for
favours. It is not too much
to ask of the nation’s
editors.
Twin minarets placed within
a traditional Islamic social
complex called kulliye,
reflects the classical
Ottoman architecture of the
U.S.’s largest mosque that
will officially opened this
week.
The Diyanet Center of
America in Maryland, just 21
kilometers (13 miles) from
the nation’s capital,
Washington DC, was
officially launched on April
2 by Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan.
The marshy land was bought
in 1990 by the Turkish
Presidency of Religious
Affairs and had only a
100-square-meter
(1,076-square-foot) small
Turkish mosque and community
building on it, according to
the kulliye’s architect,
Muharrem Hilmi Senalp.
“After a declaration of
intention in 2009, we
started the process for the
kulliyah project which would
reflect the thought of the
Islamic world … with an
understanding to build an
ancient Islamic Turkish
city, we tried to include
what is needed in a kulliyah,”
Senalp told Anadolu Agency.
A classic city structure of
the Ottoman Empire featured
a mosque at the centre with
the city built around it.
The main dome
Senalp says the project was
based on that type of a
structural plan and the
architecture of the mosque
reflected the traditional
Ottoman Empire style of
the16th and 17th centuries.
“There is a mosque at the
centre, and a
Turkish-Islamic garden in
front of it. Right next to
it, there is the cultural
centre, which is a harmony
of classical and modern
architecture.”
The cultural centre includes
a library, conference and
exhibition halls, an
assembly hall and a
reception area.
The Islamic Research Center
within the building will
provide a consultancy
service for undergraduate
and graduate students coming
from Turkey to the U.S.
There is also a
300-square-meter
(3,229—square-foot) Islamic
Arts Museum below the mosque
and 10 traditional Ottoman
houses within the complex,
where guests can lodge.
The houses turned the
complex into a
Turkish-Islamic neighborhood,
according to Senalp.
While building mosques, the
Ottomans used a measurement
system called Turkish yard
which was used for a while
even by the newly founded
Turkish Republic after the
Ottoman Empire collapsed at
the beginning of the 1900s.
According to Senalp, he used
the system while building
the kulliye to abide by the
traditional style.
Inside view
Though having worked with a
U.S. company for the rough
construction of the kulliye,
all material in the
craftsmanship was
transported by sea or air
from Turkey, he said, adding
that all the craftsmen came
also from Turkey to build
complex.
Mustafa Iskender, a member
of the project’s
implementation and design
team, said the art and craft
performed on the kulliye by
Turkish artisans were very
special because the
techniques are ancient and
almost extinct.
Iskender said there were a
lot of conversations with
U.S. authorities about the
details of the architecture
while building the complex
as the structural type had
no previous examples.
“Therefore, this work has
somehow become a unique
category,” he said.
Internal artwork
Mihraab
The entire complex is built
on a 60,000-square-meter
(64,600-square-foot) area
and includes traditional
Turkish baths for men and
women, swimming pools, a
multipurpose hall and an
indoor sport complex. With
its two minarets — towers
from which worshippers are
called to prayer — the
mosque is built on 879
square meters (9,461 square
feet) and along with its
courtyard is large enough
for approximately 3,000
Muslims to pray at the same
time.
The pictures of the Masjid
were taken by Salam Aref of
New Dream Designs, an
upcoming architect, artist
and designer based in
Maryland.
Iranian game maker Mahdi
Bahrami is the kind of
person who answers a
question with more
questions. I don’t think he
can stop himself. “What will
happen if I add a short line
to one of the tiles in a
mosque?” he asks me. “If we
take into account the tiling
rules of the mosque, what
would the whole wall look
like after we add the line?
What if we change the rules?
What would the mosque
ceiling look like?” I don’t
know. But for Bahrami,
that’s entirely the
point—his upcoming puzzle
game Engare is about
exploring this unknown space
and finding the answer.
Engare started out life as a
question posed by Bahrami’s
high school geometry
teacher. This teacher asked
the class what shape would
be traced by a point
attached to a ball if the
ball was rolled across a
surface (it’d probably be a
series of loops). Years
later, this same question
essentially serves as the
concept for Engare, except
it asks you to experiment
with more than just a ball,
becoming more complex as you
progress. Each level gives
you an incomplete pattern
and you have to figure out
how to, well, complete it.
To do this, you attach a
point to one of the objects
in the level and then, when
you press play, hope that
the point’s movement upon
that object draws the shape
you’re after. If it doesn’t,
you rewind, move the point
somewhere else, and so
on—you can
see an early
prototype of the game in
action here.
It shouldn’t be a surprise
that Bahrami’s first love is
mathematics. The second is
programming. This shows
effusively in Engare: a game
about using a computer
simulation to visualize the
answers to mathematical
problems. However, the game
is also shaped by his native
culture, with the patterns
that you draw coming to form
as beautiful pieces of
Islamic art. The leap from
the bare bones prototype to
it becoming a game about
creating art was a small
one, given that Islamic art
is steeped in mathematical
knowledge. That Islamic art
bares its mathematical
systems so openly and
elegantly is something that
Bahrami loves. He contrasts
it to a lot of figurative
art in which you don’t see
many mathematical systems at
play:
“I’m not saying the human
body is not an interesting
subject. But a human
sculpture, for example,
doesn’t show us all those
interesting systems that
form the human body. When we
make a game about a guy
jumping on platforms,
normally we won’t get a lot
of interesting answers about
the human body.”
Engare is closer to the
expressive creativity of a
drawing tool
The visual flair of Islamic
art also helps to further
ensure that Engare doesn’t
ever feel “dry.” Yes, it’s a
game about math, but there
are no dull equations to
solve. Yet, the same ideas
that those equations belong
to are approached in Engare,
just from a different angle
and one that Bahrami reckons
can also evoke emotions.
“There are geometrical
shapes that make us feel
happy, patterns that make
someone nervous/hypnotized,
the tiling of a ceiling can
make someone feel lonely” he
says. In fact, Engare is
closer to the expressive
creativity of a drawing tool
than the cold numbers of an
abacus. This is why, when
Bahrami was showing the game
to a graphic designer friend
of his, he was encouraged to
take the puzzles out and let
the player explore the art
of drawing shapes with the
game’s tools freely.
Bahrami fully dived into
this and has since created a
separate drawing tool (among
other software) based on
Engare that people can use
to create original art.
Interestingly, while the
connection between the
swirling lines of Engare and
Islamic artwork and
architecture was too strong
for Bahrami to turn down, it
seems he had some doubts
about committing to it. The
reason being that Engare is,
in fact, Bahrami’s second
game based on his cultural
heritage. His first was
Farsh (2012), a puzzle game
that had you rolling out
Persian carpets in such a
way as to create paths
across the levels. As
fascinated and appreciative
of it as he may be,
Bahrami is looking to avoid
being pigeonholed as the guy
who makes games about
Islamic art. Hence his next
game after Engare avoids it
altogether. Called Tandis,
it’s inspired by Celtic
shapes, and is a wild and
unpredictable experiment in
topographical
transformation—we had a
chance to find out more
about it at GDC.
As to Engare, Bahrami is
hoping to get it out for PC
and mobile this summer. At
the moment he’s working on
finalizing the iOS version.
Saqib Shaikh: "AI is
improving at an ever-faster rate
and I’m really excited to see
where we can take
it."(Screenshot)
In a heartfelt demo that
rounded off the Microsoft
Build conference keynote
this year, software engineer
Saqib Shaikh outlined an
ongoing research project
that uses machine learning
and artificial intelligence
to help visually impaired or
blind people to better 'see'
the world around them.
London-based Shaikh, who has
been blind since the age of
seven, said that talking
computer technology inspired
him to develop the
application – titled
SeeingAI – that is built
upon Microsoft Intelligence
APIs to translate real-world
events into audio messages.
The application is intended
to work on both smartphones
as well as PivotHead
smartglasses. The video
demonstration, below,
depicts Shaikh taking a
picture with his glasses
which then describe to him
exactly what they 'see' –
from business meetings to
teenagers skateboarding on
the streets of London to a
woman throwing a Frisbee in
a park. While another scene
demonstrates how the
smartphone app uses a
device's camera to take a
picture of a menu then
translate the text into
audio.
"I love making things that
improves people's lives and
one of the things I've
always dreamt of since I was
at university was this idea
of something that could tell
you at any moment what's
going on around you," Shaikh
said in the presentation.
"Years ago this was science
fiction. I never thought it
would be something that you
could actually do but
artificial intelligence is
improving at an ever-faster
rate and I'm really excited
to see where we can take it.
As engineers we are always
standing on the shoulders of
giants and building on top
of what went before. For me
it's about taking that
far-off dream and building
it one step at a time."
The keynote gave no
indication of when, or even
if, the project will be
released as a commercial app
however if it comes to
fruition it will comfortably
sit beside the other
futuristic technology
announced during Build –
from the cutting-edge
HoloLens to enhanced Bot
integration.
Dr Bari is UK
community leader and runs
courses on Islamic parenting....
This is his first trip to
Australia, he has held many
roles in the Islamic community
in the UK and Europe + was a
board member of the 2012 London
Olympics.
Taking
Shahadah at the Gold Coast
Mosque
A Forgotten
Sunnah | Making Wudu Before
Sleeping
Supplied by Islam in
Focus Australia
Why Islam |
Robert (Omar) Czajkowski
Supplied by Islam in
Focus Australia
Omar is an Australian-Polish
brother. He was a Catholic
Christian. This is a short and
inspiring story of how he
discovered Islam.
SAUDI ARABIA:
The PBS
Frontline
documentary
titled “Saudi
Arabia
Uncovered” gives
Americans what
they want the
most: A deep
dish of Saudi
“oppression,
cruelty,
executions,
abuse of women
and assorted
nastiness” that
would disgust
any human being
with an ounce of
emotion and
empathy.
Much of it was
nonsense, of
course, and the
video segments
aired in
hour-long
documentary on
March 29 are
already online.
But people will
believe what
they want to
believe and me
whining about it
will not change
the perception
that Saudi
Arabia’s
citizens live in
the “dark ages.”
It’s difficult
to tell whether
the
documentary’s
undercover
videographer and
reporter
“Yasser” duped
writer and
director James
Jones, or Jones
duped PBS, which
up until now had
a reputation for
objective and
informed
documentary
reporting.
The documentary
alleges that a
quarter of the
Saudi population
lives in
poverty, that
Saudis are eager
for democratic
change and are
cowed into
submission by
the Commission
for the
Promotion of
Virtue and
Prevention of
Vice (Haia). It
purports that
Saudi schools
teach religious
intolerance and
that women are
subjected to
violence.
Dissidents are
imprisoned in
filthy and
overcrowded
conditions and
Shiites in the
Eastern Province
are under the
lethal thumb of
security forces.
One can’t argue
with the content
of the videos,
both culled from
online sources
and Yasser, but
context is
everything and
virtually the
entire
documentary is
edited and
narrated in a
fashion that
can’t be
explained other
than to say the
producers
fabricated a
great deal of
the narration
accompanying the
images.
Consider how the
documentary
loosely plays
with the facts:
— An early
segment implies
a Saudi woman is
begging in the
street. She is a
Yemeni illegally
in the country.
Without
documentation
illegal
residents can’t
obtain
employment,
which is typical
in any developed
country.
Arab News
A
man says a
prayer from
outside the
window of the
shrine of Bari
Imam on the
outskirts of
Islamabad,
Pakistan
Can imams drive
action on
climate change
in Pakistan?
ISLAMABAD:
(Thomson Reuters
Foundation) -
Imams and other
religious
leaders are an
under-used means
of pushing
action to combat
climate change,
experts and
religious
scholars say.
Religious
leaders have the
moral standing
to call on
people and
businesses to
consider the
environmental
impact of their
activities and
take a bigger
role in reducing
their own carbon
footprints and
finding ways to
cope with the
growing impacts
of climate
change, experts
said at a
multi-faith
meeting in
Islamabad.
Maulana Tahir
Ashrafi, central
chairman of the
Pakistan Ulema
Council - the
country's
council of
religious
scholars - told
the Thomson
Reuters
Foundation that
imams in
Pakistan could
have
"unprecedented
influence" in
bringing action
on climate
change.
But first, he
said, they need
training to both
understand and
communicate the
issues
accurately in a
country hard-hit
by
climate-related
drought,
flooding, crop
losses and other
problems.
"We religious
leaders in
Pakistan can
talk about
climate change
with people as
long as we
become
knowledgeable
about climate
change and its
other facets,"
he said.
At the recent
gathering, which
drew scientists,
religious
scholars and
academics,
Charles Amjad,
an American
professor
emeritus at the
Luther Seminary
in Minnesota,
said relying
only on
political and
non-governmental
organisation
leaders to drive
climate action
was a mistaken
approach.
"We must realise
that people do
listen to
religious
scholars in
mosques, priests
in churches,
rabbis in
synagogues and
pundits in Hindu
temples in most
developing
countries, far
more than they
do to
politicians,
bureaucrats,
media and
mayors," he
said.
"This power of
faith activists
must be tapped
for addressing
climate change,"
he urged.
Religious
leaders might
urge people to
use
energy-efficient
appliances,
bicycle instead
of driving,
reduce the
amount of water
they use or help
protect forests,
Amjad said.
Such appeals
could take the
form of
religious
anecdotes and
tales from the
lives of
prophets and
saints, some of
whom used
resources such
as water
judiciously and
sustainably in
their own lives,
said Bishop
Samuel Azariyah,
vice-chairman of
the World
Council of
Religions.
He noted that
most religions
and scriptures -
including the
Quran, Bible,
Torah, Gita and
Vedas - call
upon their
followers to
avoid
unsustainable
and
irresponsible
exploitation the
earth's
resources.
Nonetheless,
"humans have
used them
treacherously,
out of greed,
for relentless
pursuit of
economic growth
and
consumption," he
lamented.
Ingrid Naess-Holm,
an adviser on
climate justice
and energy
issues at
Norwegian Church
Aid, said that
engaging new
types of voices
on the need for
climate action
is key.
"It's really
valuable to have
a new kind
actors,
(particularly)
the most
influential,
like faith
leaders, on
board in this
regard," she
told the Thomson
Reuters
Foundation.
Leaders who
speak from the
pulpit on
climate change,
however, must
realise they are
taking on "a big
opportunity and
responsibility
for themselves",
she said - and
must be prepared
to lead by
example as well
as urging others
to act.
Ashrafi, of the
Pakistan
religious
scholars'
council, said
one key to
getting
religious
leaders to speak
out on climate
change is
ensuring they
get help to
understand the
issues in "the
simplest
possible
language".
Letting leaders
of different
faiths learn
what other
religious
leaders are
doing on climate
change would
also be useful,
he said.
To date, he
said, imams in
Pakistan have
rarely been
called on to
speak out about
climate change,
something that
"reflects
ignorance
about the
unprecedented
influence of the
religious
leaders", he
said.
Trust
How French
Secularism
Became
Fundamentalist
A militant form
of laïcité has
taken hold in
France, backed
by everyone from
intellectuals to
government
officials. Is
this what the
republic’s
founding fathers
envisioned?
Last week, the
headline of an
editorial in the
French satirical
weekly Charlie
Hebdo asked a
provocative
question: “How
did we end up
here?” it read.
By “here,” the
weekly meant, of
course, staring
at the
blood-stained
rubble of
airport
terminals and
metro stations.
But by the end
of the piece,
“here” had also
broadened into
something
bigger: “How the
hell did I end
up having to
wander the
streets all day
with a big veil
on my head?”
they asked
rhetorically.
“How the hell
did I end up
having to say
prayers five
times a day?”
“Here,” in other
words, was some
kind of
unrecognizable,
Islamized vision
of France, where
“the very notion
of the secular”
had been “forced
into retreat.”
Seeking the
reasons behind
the Brussels
terrorist
attacks, the
paper, which was
itself the
target last year
of Islamic
terrorists,
offered an
answer. It was
neither the
Keystone Cop
antics of the
Belgian police;
nor the
barriers,
linguistic and
territorial,
which prevented
European
governments from
sharing vital
intelligence;
nor the
festering
despair in
places like
Molenbeek, the
Brussels
neighborhood
that is home to
scores of
unemployed
youths of mostly
North African
background.
Instead, Charlie
Hebdo declared,
we must look at
the role played
by liberal
societies. Does
not France’s
passivity when
faced with
attacks on
French culture —
and specifically
on laïcité, or
secularism —
pave the way for
the extremists?
Does not one’s
acceptance of,
say, the local
Muslim baker — a
very nice and
fully integrated
fellow, who
nevertheless
refuses to sell
ham sandwiches —
comprise a form
of collusion
with Islamism?
In the end,
Charlie Hebdo
warns, the only
defense against
terrorism, the
only defense
against ending
up in a France
of veiled women
and daily
prayer, is a
form of militant
secularism: one
that doesn’t
flinch at making
the leap from
pious baker to
radical
bomb-maker.
But if France is
at war with
terrorism, it is
also
increasingly at
war with itself
over the meaning
of secularism.
These two
conflicts,
deeply entwined
with one
another, are
dramatically
reshaping
France’s sense
of national
identity.
Laïcité, the
French term for
secularism,
today has
acquired so much
mystique as to
be practically
an ideology, a
timeless norm
that defines
Frenchness. But
in fact, laïcité
began life as a
humble law.
Foreign Policy
An open
letter to Muslim
men from an
angry Muslim
woman I still
remember the day
my mother was
told her life
was in danger.
Her right to
exist on this
earth was
suddenly being
questioned
because she
decided she was
exhausted.
Exhausted for
all her sisters,
mothers and
daughters who
are unfortunate
enough to have
been born with
another X
chromosome
rather than a Y.
What were her
demands? Merely
a space to pray
in the mosque.
Despite knowing
she was
potentially
putting herself
on the line, she
stood her ground
to claim what
has been
snatched from
us. This did not
happen in a
faraway land,
but here in the
UK, and the
heinous crime my
mother committed
that warranted
such a savage
response was
requesting her
God-given
rights.
She should have
been smart
enough to know
not to ask for
something that
may threaten the
towering,
carefully
constructed,
religiously
disguised
pedestal that
has cradled the
male ego for
centuries. The
outrageous
desire to pray
in a mosque that
has only
welcomed men
since its
creation
represented
values far too
Islamic for
these
chauvinists.
.
We attended a
mosque meeting
advertised as
being 'open to
the public', and
were abusively
shouted down as
soon as my
mother attempted
to make a
contribution. No
one had yet
informed us that
'the public'
does not include
females.
Times of India
Dr Aref Ali
Nayed
Southeast
Asian Muslims
should
appreciate own
culture: Islamic
studies scholar
In an interview
with Channel
NewsAsia's
Conversation
With, Dr Aref
Ali Nayed says
that amid an
“Arabisation” of
Islam in the
region, Malays
should not give
up their own
culture to prove
they are more
Islamic.
SINGAPORE:
Muslims in
Southeast Asia
should embrace
their unique
cultural
traditions
instead of
adopting Arabic
customs,
according to
Libya’s
Ambassador to
the United Arab
Emirates (UAE)
Dr Aref Ali
Nayed.
“I think that
it’s high time
that Malaysia,
Indonesia,
Singapore and
Brunei actually
appreciated the
traditions that
have been taught
in small schools
and villages for
several
centuries now,”
said Dr Nayed,
who is also the
founder and
director of
think-tank Kalam
Research and
Media.
“Why should a
Malay give up
his way of
dressing, or his
way of talking
or his language
in order to
somehow prove
that he’s more
Islamic by
borrowing some
Arabic words?”
he said during
an interview
with Channel
NewsAsia’s
Conversation
With that aired
on Mar 28.
Dr Nayed was in
Singapore to
deliver a
seminar at the
ISEAS-Yusof
Ishak Institute
on defeating
Islamic State.
Dr Nayed, who
has been ranked
as one of the
top 50 most
influential
Muslims in the
world by
Jordanian
think-tank The
Royal Aal al-Bayt
Institute for
Islamic Thought,
made his remarks
as the
“Arabisation” of
Islam and
cultural
practices in
Southeast Asia
stir
controversy.
In similar
comments made
recently in an
interview with
Malaysia’s The
Star, the Sultan
of Johor last
week warned
Malays to stick
to their own
culture instead
of imitating
Arab trends. The
ruler was
responding to
the tendency for
some Malaysian
Malays to lean
towards Arab
culture amid
growing
conservatism.
NO NEED TO BE
ARAB TO BE A
GOOD MUSLIM
Dr Nayed - an
Islamic studies
scholar who has
lectured on
Islamic
theology, logic,
and spirituality
at universities
around the world
- also warned
against
mindlessly
accepting
religious
teachings from
Arabic
theologians.
He encouraged
religious
scholars in
Southeast Asia
to “not only
appreciate what
they have but to
actually foster
it and grow it
with their own
future
generations”.
“There is no
need to send off
kids to some
Arab countries.
(They) actually
teach a
flattened
version of Islam
that is quite
foreign to what
Islam is
actually about,”
Dr Nayed added.
While Islamic
studies scholars
like Shaykh
Abdallah bin
Bayyah are doing
good work in the
UAE, according
to Dr Nayed, the
ambassador
added: “Much of
the literature
coming off
Arabic presses
unfortunately
has been highly
politicised and
the theologies
have been
reduced to a
number of
principles that
are actually
quite
dangerous.”
When asked if
local cultures
are standing in
the way of
achieving the
belief of a
universality of
Islam, Dr Nayed
dismissed the
idea.
To be a good
Muslim, he said:
“One has to
first be a good
Singaporean
Muslim or a
Malay Muslim or
a good
Indonesian
Muslim.
“Only then can
you be a
representative
of the universal
Islam. So
respecting your
locality does
not mean giving
up on the
universality.”
How men and women should line up
in a mosque? This is the
question discussed by Dr. Jasser
Auda in this part of the series.
In
part 1, Dr. Auda argued that
isolating women from men in
mosques does not follow the
practice of the Prophet nor does
it conform to the design of his
Mosque during his lifetime.
Part 2 highlighted the
advantages women acquire when
they share the same mosque hall
with men and, thus, be able to
learn directly form the Imam.
The Hadith on the worst
of rows and its meaning
There is a Hadith reported
by Abu Hurayrah, in which
the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him)
stated that:
“The best of men’s rows
are the frontward ones
and their worst are
their rearward ones,
while women’s best rows
are its rearward ones
and their worst are
their frontward ones.”
Some people draw on this
Hadith to prevent women from
attending prayer at mosques
at all, or for isolating
them in separate halls. This
is a strange interpretation,
since the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) could
have got another prayer hall
built for women alone or
even prevented them from
performing prayers in
mosques from the very
beginning. Yet, he
absolutely did neither.
The Hadith rather asserts
the preference of men’s
standing in the first rows
and women’s standing in the
last rows in prayer, nothing
else. This is meant for
reasonable considerations
and justifications, first of
which is that the front
men’s row and the rear
women’s row are the ones
filled by those who come
earlier to mosque, which is
a well-known virtue.
About Islam
NEXT WEEK:
PART 4
About Dr. Jasser Auda Jasser
Auda is a Professor and Al-Shatibi
Chair of Maqasid Studies at
the International Peace
College South Africa, the
Executive Director of the
Maqasid Institute, a global
think tank based in London,
and a Visiting Professor of
Islamic Law at Carleton
University in Canada. He is
a Founding and Board Member
of the International Union
of Muslim Scholars, Member
of the European Council for
Fatwa and Research, Fellow
of the Islamic Fiqh Academy
of India, and General
Secretary of Yaqazat Feker,
a popular youth organization
in Egypt. He has a PhD in
the philosophy of Islamic
law from University of Wales
in the UK, and a PhD in
systems analysis from
University of Waterloo in
Canada. Early in his life,
he memorized the Quran and
studied Fiqh, Usul and
Hadith in the halaqas of Al-Azhar
Mosque in Cairo. He
previously worked as:
Founding Director of the
Maqasid Center in the
Philosophy of Islamic Law in
London; Founding Deputy
Director of the Center for
Islamic Ethics in Doha;
professor at the University
of Waterloo in Canada,
Alexandria University in
Egypt, Islamic University of
Novi Pazar in Sanjaq, Qatar
Faculty of Islamic Studies,
and the American University
of Sharjah. He lectured and
trained on Islam, its law,
spirituality and ethics in
dozens of other universities
and organizations around the
world. He wrote 25 books in
Arabic and English, some of
which were translated to 25
languages.
Chereen's interview with
Dr. Samir Iqbal, the
Pakistani-American scientist
who developed a device to
diagnose cancer rapidly.
Iqbal worked on the project
with Young-tae Kim, a UTA
associate professor in the
Bioengineering Department;
Muhymin Islam, a STEM
doctoral candidate; and
engineering students
Muhammad Motasim Bellah,
Adeel Sajid and Muhammad
Raziul Hasan.
Chereen: What was the
leading factor that
motivated you to work on
something so groundbreaking
and profound?
Dr. Iqbal: We all
have seen our loved ones
suffer with this disease. We
all have seen our loved ones
struggling and scared for
the rest of their lives,
because they went through
something like this. My
sister-in-law was a very
humble lady, and she died
from blood cancer. It
happens by the will of
Allah. We did not have tools
to see it. Allahu khairul
Makireen. I used to wish if
I could do something for
biochemistry, for the
chemistry of diseases. I did
not know how to go about it,
but alhamdulilah we end up
guided. I ended up having a
doctoral advisor who was
doing beautiful work in
bio-detection, who gave me
the opportunity to audit a
course in Bio-MEMS. I sat
and saw if this was
something I wanted to do,
and it changed my life. I
was able to work on genes
and detection of genes, and
then I began to collaborate
with people as an Assistant
Professor. I worked with
people that did remarkable
work, which motivated me to
want to do more.
Chereen: What kept
you motivated throughout
this journey?
Dr. Iqbal: The
support is very important;
you have to be in the
company of the right people.
My first doctoral advisor,
Dr. Rashid Bashir has always
been there to push me. My
parents, my wife, my kids
have always been there for
me and to make du'a'a for
me. They have given me the
freedom to spend my time on
this. My wife did a major
role in giving me my piece
of mind and full support.
This is the blessing of
Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala, He
puts you in the right
company and gives you the
correct support where you
are reminded of how you can
spend of your time and
opportunities wisely. Going
into the right company has
helped me, I have learned
from them and that has kept
me inspired. Being friends
with people that have been
good to you and people that
want to do well is what will
keep you motivated.
Chereen: How has this
accomplishment made you
feel?
Dr. Iqbal: I went to
the same school that Neil
Armstrong went to, Purdue.
He said, “It is one small
step.” I don't think we are
there yet; I think it is a
small step there. I am not
saying we have achieved
everything we can, but we
have achieved a lot.
However, there is much more
that needs to be done. I say
alhamdulilah, because we are
one step closer.
Chereen: What advice
would you give to anyone
that wants to make a change
in the world?
Dr. Iqbal: Gain
experience! Pick right role
models, your role models
have to be good people. The
beauty of America is that in
every city there is a major
university, where you can
find the type of people who
think about doing good for
others. Where they are from
does not matter, but it is
the common goal that
matters. It is their desire
to good that should teach
you how to become a better
person. You have to learn
how to be patient, to not
live in a cocoon, and to
learn how to be inspired
from other people's
differences. This helps you
get into the right
environment, and then Allah
subḥānahu wa ta'āla
(glorified and exalted be
He) will open ways for you.
From there, you will gain
experiences, and you will
learn from your experiences.
This world is full of many
different people. The
Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi
wa sallam (peace and
blessings of Allāh be upon
him) was sent for all of
humanity, and it is on you
to want to help all of the
world and everyone in it.
You should want to be a
mercy for all of mankind.
This is how you will begin
to change the world for the
better. This is how you will
make a difference.
The foundation of al-Mansur’s
‘Round City’ in 762 was a
glorious milestone in the
history of urban design. It
developed into the cultural
centre of the world
The round city of Baghdad in
the 10th century, the peak of
the Abbasid Caliphate.
Illustration: Jean Soutif/Science
Photo Library
For the great majority of
the city’s life, a
fluctuating number of these
bridges, consisting of
skiffs roped together and
fastened to each bank, were
one of the most picturesque
signatures of Baghdad; no
more permanent structure
would be seen until the
British arrived in the 20th
century and laid an iron
bridge across the Tigris.
A gatehouse rose above each
of the four outer gates.
Those above the entrances in
the higher main wall offered
commanding views over the
city and the many miles of
lush palm groves and emerald
fields that fringed the
waters of the Tigris. The
large audience chamber at
the top of the gatehouse
above the Khorasan Gate was
a particular favourite of
Mansur as an afternoon
retreat from the stultifying
heat.
The four straight roads that
ran towards the centre of
the city from the outer
gates were lined with
vaulted arcades containing
merchants’ shops and
bazaars. Smaller streets ran
off these four main
arteries, giving access to a
series of squares and
houses; the limited space
between the main wall and
the inner wall answered to
Mansur’s desire to maintain
the heart of the city as a
royal preserve.
The centre of Baghdad
consisted of an immense
central enclosure – perhaps
6,500 feet in diameter –
with the royal precinct at
its heart. The outer margins
were reserved for the
palaces of the caliph’s
children, homes for the
royal staff and servants,
the caliph’s kitchens,
barracks for the horse guard
and other state offices. The
very centre was empty except
for the two finest buildings
in the city: the Great
Mosque and the caliph’s
Golden Gate Palace, a
classically Islamic
expression of the union
between temporal and
spiritual authority. No one
except Mansur, not even a
gout-ridden uncle of the
caliph who requested the
privilege on grounds of
ill-health, was permitted to
ride in this central
precinct.
One sympathises with this
elderly uncle of the caliph.
Unmoved by his protestations
of decrepit limbs, Mansur
said he could be carried
into the central precinct on
a litter, a mode of
transport generally reserved
for women. “I will be
embarrassed by the people,”
his uncle Isa said. “Is
there anyone left you could
be embarrassed by?” the
caliph replied caustically.
A crane lifts the statue of
al-Mansur after it was hit by an
explosion in Baghdad in 2005.
End of last year, a
Malaysian company launched
halal mineral water called
Lumin Spring. Guess where
the water is from – a
natural spring in
Heavenly-Lake, Changbai
Mountain in China’s Jilin
province. Such an apt name…
Heavenly-Lake!
But dem expensive la one
bottle is between RM6 and
RM6.50. And yet it’s cheaper
than Evian or San
Pellegrino. Well, the
process of getting the water
sounds very complicated
(though all water oso memang
comes from the same source
la). It’s like Amazing Race
or an Indiana Jones movie,
where the water is like the
Fountain of Youth that they
find at the end of the
quest.
You can buy it online at
www.luminspring.com.my,
however you need to be
registered. Otherwise, try
looking out for a
gold-tinted water bottle.
MVSLIM's list of Muslim women
who achieved great things in
2015.
4.
Tawakkul
Karman
Meet the Iron woman;
Tawakkul Karman: a
journalist, politician, and
a human rights activist as
well as one of the 10
Muslims that has won a Nobel
Peace Prize.
Her face is stapled to the
2011 Yemeni Uprising and is
also known to have
co-founded “Muslim
Journalists Without Chains”.
She became the first Arab
woman and the second Muslim
woman to win a Nobel Prize
and the second youngest
Nobel Peace Laureate to
date.
Lahore is not short of
beautiful mosques. The
Badshahi Mosque,
commissioned by the sixth
Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in
the 17th century, is built
in red sandstone and marble,
and has a courtyard
spreading 279,000 sq ft. The
mosque's large minarets were
supposedly used for storing
zamburahs - light guns - in
the Sikh civil war in 1841,
while the British used the
building as a military
garrison during the period
of the Raj. Repairs during
the 20th and 21st centuries
have seen the building
restored to a much finer
condition than during its
time for military use.
Saudi man gets jail and 30 lashes
for slapping and spitting on his wife
According to
court details, the husband
justified hitting his wife after
she had 'gone out of the house
without seeking permission'.
SAUDI ARABIA:
A Saudi court of appeals has
confirmed the ruling of
sentencing a man to 30
lashes for slapping his wife
and spitting on her last
week.
The citizen, unnamed yet by
local media, was jailed for
a week after assaulting his
wife by slapping and
spitting at her face in
Saudi Arabia's Eastern
province, according to Saudi
online news website Sabq.
According to Sabq's news
report, the brother of the
wife had filed a formal
complaint with authorities
reporting his sister assault
from her husband who had
allegedly hit her twice on
the face.
According to court details,
the husband has confessed to
the assault and justified
hitting his wife after she
had "gone out of the house
several times without
seeking his permission."
The judge reportedly issued
an order for the wife to
abide by her husband's
request not the leave the
house without his permission
but he also ordered the
husband to one week's jail
time and 30 lashes for
having broken the law on
assault.
The ruling was applauded by
many users on social media
as a step in the right
direction in ending domestic
violence in Saudi Arabia.
Ban on outdoor music
concerts in West Aceh due to Sharia law
Sharia Police on parade at the
beginning of their shift in West
Aceh.
JAKARTA:
Outdoor music concerts have
been banned from a regency
in Indonesia's conservative
Aceh province on the grounds
they violate Sharia law.
Draconian regulations – such
as a ban on women straddling
motorcycles (they must ride
side-saddle), unaccompanied
women working or visiting
night spots after 11pm and a
requirement that boys and
girls are taught separately
at school – have been
introduced in different
parts of Aceh in recent
years.
The province, the only part
of Indonesia that enforces
Sharia law, also outlaws
gambling, drinking and even
fraternising with the
opposite sex outside
marriage.
Muslim women must wear a
hijab in public and gay sex
is punishable by 100 lashes
of the cane.
Sharia Police in Meulaboh, West
Aceh, check for women wearing
tight fitting trousers instead
of the regency's preferred
skirts.
The outdoor
music ban comes after local
singing sensation Ady Bergek
was told he could not
proceed with a gig on April
3 because it would violate
Sharia law.
West Aceh regent (bupati)
Teuku Alaidinsyah was quoted
in Kompas saying the ban was
based on a recommendation by
Ulema (a body of Muslim
scholars trained in Islamic
law), who believed a concert
had more disadvantages than
advantages.
"We will not be issuing a
permit for music concerts
since the recommendation by
the Ulema, but a music event
in a cafe or warung kopi
[coffee shop] is permitted,"
he said.
Feminism, the Kardashians
and being dissed on the tram - life as a
Muslim schoolgirl in Manchester
They
wear hijabs and pray five times
a day, but whatever you do,
don’t call these girls oppressed
UK: In an IT classroom at
an all girls Muslim school, a meme with
a woman wearing a hijab is pinned to a
display board.
The young woman is peering over a huge
pair of aviators as she adjusts her
headscarf.
“Forgot to be oppressed
“Too busy being awesome,” the meme
reads.
It’s an attitude that seems to pervade
at Manchester Islamic High School for
Girls.
They might all wear head scarves and
pray five times a day - but one label
they can’t stand is oppression.
"People think Muslims are oppressed but
we’re not,” says 15-year-old Bushra
Moqbel.
“Even though we’re visibly different
we’re just normal people.”
It’s a stereotype none of
the girls can stand.
Islam is central to the way the girls
dress and behave, but their faith is not
at odds with being educated, ambitious
and or being a feminist.
Noora Sayid, 15, explains: “People are
pretty shocked when I say I’m a feminist
and wear a headscarf. It’s my right to
wear it. It’s my choice and no one
else’s.”
The small independent school in Chorlton
prides itself in academic excellence and
was recently rated ‘outstanding’ by
Ofsted inspectors.
The girls work hard and are encouraged
to think about their career path from a
young age.
“I’d like to be a business woman, “ says
12-year-old Hauwa Alkali, who travels
from Liverpool to school every day.
“I’d like to be a computer game
designer,” says 14-year-old Sophia Raja.
“I’d like to be a journalist because
there are hardly any Muslim journalists
in the media,” adds Bushra.
Maseelah Shahzada, 15, who wants to be
an accountant, adds: “In this school we
are encouraged to do what we want to do.
The school don’t choose our careers, we
choose our own.”
Pictured
l-r - Sophia Raja, Bushra Moqbel,
and Hauwa Alkali
Drive and ambition is
clearly instilled in girls at Manchester
Islamic High. But teachers are keen to
stress that their students are just like
other teenagers.
Sobia Shaheen, an IT teacher, explained:
“They have the same interests as other
teenagers.
“They listen to the same music and watch
the Kardashians.
“The only difference is they practice
their faith.”
Unfortunately Muslim teens often find
themselves on the receiving end of
negative comments or misconceptions
about their faith.
“The media often portray being a Muslim
as a bad thing,” says Hauwa - a view
echoed by many of the girls.
Events like the recent Brussels attacks
tend to aggravate hostility, but it’s
something they are taught to take in
their stride and respond the way the
Prophet would, ‘in goodness’.
Arij El-Nagi, 12, said: “Whenever you
get on the tram, people notice our
uniforms are different.
Sometimes when something
bad has happened people will actually
try to avoid you. They’ll look at your
school badge and move across to the
other side of the tram.
“It feels weird when you’re on your own,
but when you’re with friends in the same
position as you, it’s not so bad.”
Teachers at the school are all too aware
of the impact global events can have on
attitudes towards their students.
The
girls pictured with head teacher
Mrs Mona Mohamed
Mona Mohamed, head of the
school, says extra care is taken to
prepare students for negative reactions.
She explains: “After an atrocity like
Brussels, people tend to react. They
tend to get upset. We try to help our
pupils understand people’s feelings. We
say don’t be angry and don’t let people
make you feel any less British. Don’t
let anyone make you feel like a less
valuable citizen.”
Muslim schools have come under fire in
the past for not promoting British
values - which is probably why there is
so much emphasis here on being British
and Muslim.
The girls don’t just learn about their
own faith and not all their teachers or
support staff are Muslim.
They learn about different religions,
and have links with other schools in the
region, like King David High School in
Crumpsall.
Liz Smart, French teacher and senior
leader, said extra care is taken to
ensure the girls are prepared for life
outside their small small school.
She explains: “They are going to leave
this educational setting and they have
got to know how to fit in.
“A lot of our students go on to big
colleges like Loreto where they are
going to meet all sorts of different
people. We have to prepare them for that
next stage.”
Ms Smart admits before she took her
current post, she had misconceptions
about what an all girls Islamic school
might be like.
Arij El-Nagi
She said: “In my head I
thought all the girls would meek and
mild but they’re not at all. They’re
open, chatty and interested in their
education.”
The results at Manchester Islamic High
speak for themselves.
In 2015, 89pc of students gained five
A*-Cs including English and Maths with
some students achieving straight A*s and
As.
Any suggestion Islam does not promote
the rights or education of women is
strongly challenged by teens and their
teachers.
As Mrs Shaheen, a former student, says
there is no reason why faith, education
and feminism can’t go hand in hand.
She explained: “I’m reluctant to use the
word feminism because it’s such a loaded
term. But in a way Islam is a feminist
religion. The wife of the Prophet,
Aisha, was responsible for delivering
the message to men and women. The
Prophet teaches us that everyone has a
right to an education - that women have
an equal right.
“That’s what try to do. We try to
empower these to girls to believe they
can be educated and embrace their
religion."
Masood Azhar: The man who
brought jihad to Britain
Masood
Azhar
UK: Masood
Azhar, today the head of one
of Pakistan's most violent
militant groups, was once
the VIP guest of Britain's
leading Islamic scholars.
Why, asks Innes Bowen.
When one of the world's most
important jihadist leaders
landed at Heathrow airport
on 6 August 1993, a group of
Islamic scholars from
Britain's largest mosque
network was there to welcome
him.
Within a few hours of his
arrival he was giving the
Friday sermon at Madina
Mosque in Clapton, east
London. His speech on the
duty of jihad apparently
moved some of the
congregation to tears. Next
stop - according to a report
of the jihadist leader's own
magazine - was a reception
with a group of Islamic
scholars where there was a
long discussion on "jihad,
its need, training and other
related issues".
The visiting preacher was
Masood Azhar. Today he is
wanted by the Indian
authorities following an
attack on the Pathankot
military base in January
this year. In 1993 he was
chief organiser of the
Pakistani jihadist group
Harkat ul Mujahideen.
A BBC investigation has
uncovered the details of his
tour in an archive of
militant group magazines
published in Urdu. The
contents provide an
astounding insight into the
way in which hardcore
jihadist ideology was
promoted in some mainstream
UK mosques in the early
1990s - and involved some of
Britain's most senior
Islamic scholars. Azhar's
tour lasted a month and
consisted of over 40
speeches.
Female Air France crew can
opt out of Iran flights over headscarf,
official says
Lionel
Messi's boots would no doubt
fetch a high price at auction.
FRANCE: Women employees
of Air France will be allowed to opt out
of working on the resumed flights to
Iran so that they can avoid having to
wear a headscarf, a company official
says.
Last week, company chiefs sent out a
memo informing female staff they would
be required "to wear trousers during the
flight with a loose-fitting jacket and a
scarf covering their hair on leaving the
plane", in accordance with Iranian law.
But a number of female Air France cabin
crew staff immediately resisted the
ruling, according to a union
representative.
In response, the airline now says it
will appoint a "special unit" to replace
those who do not wish to fly to Tehran.
"Any woman assigned to the Paris-Tehran
flight who for reasons of personal
choice would refuse to wear the
headscarf upon leaving the plane will be
reassigned to another destination, and
thus will not be obliged to do this
flight," human resources official Gilles
Gateau said.
Air France is to resume on April 17 its
Paris-to-Tehran services, which had been
suspended since 2008 because of
international sanctions against Iran
over its nuclear ambitions.
The headscarf rule is already in place
when flying to certain destinations such
as Saudi Arabia.
Unions, who held talks with the human
resources chief on Monday, argue that an
escape clause was already in place for
flights to Conakry in Guinea during the
Ebola crisis last year and for services
to Tokyo following the 2011 Fukushima
nuclear disaster.
Muslim Americans Are Model
Citizens, According to a New Poll
US:
The survey, from the
Institute for Social Policy
and Understanding, shows
that though Muslims living
in America are facing more
violence than ever, they are
actually among America's
most model citizens.
What exactly does that mean?
Well, in a land founded on
religious freedom, Muslims
are among the most religious
and patriotic citizens: 42%
of Muslims attend services
regularly compared to 45% of
Protestants. And 87% of
Muslims say religion is
important to their lives,
compared to 94% of
Protestants.
That Muslims would continue
to show religious pride and
attend service is a
testament to their faith,
especially when 2015 was the
worst year for mosque
attacks on record.
When it comes to identifying
as a patriot, 85% of Muslims
"have a strong American
identity," just like 84% of
Protestants. They are also
just as likely as other
Americans to identify
strongly with their faith —
89% of Muslims, 84% of Jews,
and 95% of Catholics and
Protestants shared the
sentiment.
While Republican
presidential candidates
continue to discuss "radical
Islamic terrorism" in
debates, most American
Muslims actually reject
violence by a much higher
margin than other groups.
Sixty-five percent of
Muslims oppose the targeting
and killing of civilians by
military groups, much higher
than other religious groups.
Additionally, the survey
found zero correlation
between Muslim religious
identity, mosque attendance
and attitudes toward
violence.
Muslims make pretty great
neighbours, too.
Thirty-eight percent of
Muslims work with neighbors
to solve problems, almost
equal to the percentage of
Jews (40%) and Catholics
(42%) who do so.
And while a much lower
number of Muslims are
registered to vote, among
those who are eligible and
registered, 85% plan to vote
(which is still lower than
most groups.) However, given
the Islamophobia in the
current political climate,
it's understandable. A
combined 27% of non-voting
Muslims said that they don't
like the proposed candidates
or the candidates don't
represent them.
Finally, even though more
than half of Muslims report
experiencing discrimination
on the basis of their
religion in the last year —
compared to 5% of Jews, 4%
of Catholics and 2% of
Protestants — they are the
most optimistic about the
future of America. Despite
facing rampant Islamophobia,
63% of Muslims believe
America is on the right
track.
And honestly, isn't
believing in the future of
America the most American
thing?
• Always warm up
before your HIIT session, as with any other
exercise.
• For your HIIT, try 30 seconds brisk walk, 30
seconds sprint and repeat 7 times (total: 8
minutes). On a treadmill, you will have the
clock to make your timing easy. There is also an
app on your phone that can be downloaded, so it
will beep when you should start and stop.
• Running is not the only option. You can cycle
fast for intervals, do jumping jacks or even
skip!
You're being mugged for your
money. Don't fish around in
your purse/wallet for bills.
Be cooperative. Give them
your whole wallet (prepare a
separate "mugging" wallet
with a few dollars).
Need to know how to fight
back? Southside Academy of
Combat will help email
info@sscombat.com.au or
call 0447004465 for more
information. Or visit our
Facebook page southside
academy of combat.
Click here for contact
and registration details for
Southside Academy of COMBAT
Review Set
in the Kashmir Valley, an American award-winning writer and
speaker takes a transformational journey through one of the
world’s oldest conflicts. This beautifully written,
heartfelt memoir finds compassion, courage, warmth,
generosity, and connection among the women of Kashmir.
The author, Farhana Qazi, takes us deeply into the lives of
women and gives us a compelling and disturbing vision of
what happens in a place caught between its own tenacious
past and two South Asian rivals.
A work of human empathy, Qazi combines first-hand
storytelling with balanced and penetrating analysis of each
situation to give us an important chronicle of communities
in crisis in the contemporary world.
“Traveling to Kashmir to meet its traumatised women turned
out to be one of the most amazing decisions I have ever
made,” said Qazi. “It was also terrifying, and sometimes
insane. This is not a story I had planned on sharing with
the world. But after what I saw and felt, I had no choice
but to tell the world these women’s stories.”
Qazi weaves her signature storytelling and her honest and
heartfelt observations by taking readers through an ancient
place where world religions and traditions co-exist
peacefully. With intimate detail, this book, Secrets of the
Kashmir Valley, reveals the power of love, faith, and
community.
“Kashmir changed me forever,” Qazi said. “For other
travelers, it’s a valley of gardens, rivers, and pashmina.
For me, Kashmir is a place of raw emotions.”
In this timely and important book, Qazi traces the lives of
women in the deeply divided Kashmir Valley and shows how
they have survived a 60-plus-year conflict.
With unique access, Qazi an American storyteller who travels
extensively through the region to interview mothers of
martyrs, militants’ wives, prisoners, protestors, and
political activists.
Her evocative reporting and extensive interactions brings to
life these women’s stories-their individual oral histories
make up a collective chronicle of suffering and struggle.
Ultimately, this is a hopeful book.
With strong voices and will power, the women of Kashmir are
changing their society. These reformers are the people
leading the way forward. This crucial book on Kashmir is a
brilliant and thought provoking work. Qazi’s unique
perspective on Kashmir and deep passion for the women she
writes about make this a definitive account of a proud
people.
About the Author:
Qazi has appeared in the mainstream media, including CNN,
BBC, Public Broadcasting Service, National Public Radio, Fox
News, C-Span, Bloomberg, ABC News, Canadian national
television, Voice of America, Al-Jazeera, The Daily Ledger
Show and many more. Her stories and interviews have been
published in The Washington Post, The Foreign Policy
Magazine, Dawn, The Christian Science Monitor, The New York
Post, Marie Claire, The International Herald Tribune,
Reuters, MSNBC, Forbes, The Daily Mail, The Baltimore Sun,
Levant News, The Associated Press, etc.
Qazi has won numerous awards including the 21st Century
Leader Award presented by the National Committee on American
Foreign Policy in New York, the VIP Woman of the Year Circle
by the National Association of Professional Women, and
multiple certificates of appreciation for her training to
the U.S. military.
Qazi holds an MA from The George Washington University in
Security Policy Studies. She received her BA from
Southwestern University in Political Science, where she was
chosen for the prestigious Humanitarian Award.
KB says:
This combination of baklava and ice cream is
pretty much out of this world. It's a lot of
hard work but is undoubtedly one of the best ice
creams you will have ever made, let alone,
tasted!
BAKLAVA ICE CREAM
INGREDIENTS
1 Litre long life
milk
2 Tab semolina/tasty wheat
2 tsp mazeina/corn flour
1 ½ cup fresh grated coconut or desiccated
coconut
2 Tab. finely ground dates
2 Tab. freshly ground almonds
½ cup ground pistachios
1 x 155g Nestle cream
1 x 397 tin condensed milk
¼ tsp elachi/cardamom powder
METHOD
Mix cornflour
and semolina with the cold milk in a pot
stir constantly on low heat until it
thickens.
Remove from heat
and add pistachios, almonds, dates, elachi,
coconut, nestle cream and condensed milk.
Beat well and
pour into moulds (I used a Tupperware mould)
or ice cubes trays and freeze.
Before serving
scoop into balls (or invert your mould onto
a serving plate)
Drizzle with
honey and sprinkle pistachios, almonds and
or pieces of baklava.
If you have an ice cream making machine, you
can place the mixture into the machine at
step 3.
Laylat al-Qadr
- Night of Power 1436 (27th Ramadan 1437)
6
July
Wednesday
Eid al-Fitr
1437 (1st Shawwal 1437)
9
July
Saturday
ICQ Eid Festival
Islamic Council
of QLD (ICQ)
TBA
TBA
TBA
20
& 21 August
Sat & Sun
The Divine Light
Sh Wasim Kempson
Al Kauthar
Brisbane
Griffith
University NATHAN
0438 698 328
All day
12
September
Monday
Eid al-Adha
1437 (10th Zilhijja 1437)
3 October
Monday
1st Muharram
1438 – Islamic New Year 1438
12 October
Wednesday
Day of Ashura
12 December
Monday
Birth of the
Prophet (pbuh) / Milad un Nabi
PLEASE NOTE
1. All Islamic Event dates given above are tentative and
subject to the sighting of the moon.
2. The Islamic date changes to the next day starting in
the evenings after maghrib. Therefore, 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 & Madressa - Wednesday & Friday
4:30 - 6:30pm, brothers, sisters and children
• New Muslims Program - last Thursday of every month,
6:30 - 8:30pm
• Salawat Majlis - first Saturday of every month.
Starting at Mughrib, families welcome
• Islamic Studies - one year course, Saturday 10:00 -
2:00 pm, brothers and sisters
• Ilm-e-Deen, Alims Degree Course - Three full-time and
part-time nationally accredited courses, brothers
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
Click on images to enlarge
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
Queensland Police Service/Muslim Community
Consultative Group
Next Meeting
Time: 7.00pm Date: TBA Venue: Islamic College of Brisbane - 45 Acacia Road
Karawatha
Please send any topics you wish to be added to the agenda to
be discussed on the night.
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
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someone you know who would like to subscribe to CCN please
encourage them to enter their details
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The
Islamic Council of
Queensland (ICQ) is hosting
the 2016 ICQ Eid Festival.
Jasser
Auda is a Professor and Al-Shatibi
Chair of Maqasid Studies at
the International Peace
College South Africa, the
Executive Director of the
Maqasid Institute, a global
think tank based in London,
and a Visiting Professor of
Islamic Law at Carleton
University in Canada. He is
a Founding and Board Member
of the International Union
of Muslim Scholars, Member
of the European Council for
Fatwa and Research, Fellow
of the Islamic Fiqh Academy
of India, and General
Secretary of Yaqazat Feker,
a popular youth organization
in Egypt. He has a PhD in
the philosophy of Islamic
law from University of Wales
in the UK, and a PhD in
systems analysis from
University of Waterloo in
Canada. Early in his life,
he memorized the Quran and
studied Fiqh, Usul and
Hadith in the halaqas of Al-Azhar
Mosque in Cairo. He
previously worked as:
Founding Director of the
Maqasid Center in the
Philosophy of Islamic Law in
London; Founding Deputy
Director of the Center for
Islamic Ethics in Doha;
professor at the University
of Waterloo in Canada,
Alexandria University in
Egypt, Islamic University of
Novi Pazar in Sanjaq, Qatar
Faculty of Islamic Studies,
and the American University
of Sharjah. He lectured and
trained on Islam, its law,
spirituality and ethics in
dozens of other universities
and organizations around the
world. He wrote 25 books in
Arabic and English, some of
which were translated to 25
languages.
Saudi man gets jail and 30 lashes
for slapping and spitting on his wife
Set
in the Kashmir Valley, an American award-winning writer and
speaker takes a transformational journey through one of the
world’s oldest conflicts. This beautifully written,
heartfelt memoir finds compassion, courage, warmth,
generosity, and connection among the women of Kashmir. 
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7
August 2011