Brisbane hosted its first
ceremony honouring seven
recipients of Human Appeal
International Australia's
10th Annual Year 12 Muslim
Achievement Awards.
Branch Manager of Human
Appeal’s Adelaide office,
Imam Akram Buksh welcomed
guests and spoke of the
importance of education and
recognising both outstanding
effort as well as
achievement.
The event was MC’d by Ali
Rane, a graduate of the
Aspiring Leaders Umrah Tour
and together with Furqan
Ahmed, they reflected on
their experiences
participating in the
once-in-a-lifetime tour.
Fahim Khondaker from the
Islamic Council of
Queensland spoke with
enthusiasm about the future
and the need for
entrepreneurship by young
people.
Other speakers included
Habib Jamal from the Islamic
Society of Gold Coast and Dr
Zac Matthews.
On Wednesday 22 March, the
Australian International
Islamic College (AIIC) was
privileged to host sixteen
Year 11 students from the
Samford Valley Steiner
School.
The purpose of the visit was
to bring awareness of key
Islamic beliefs, practices
and what it means to be a
Muslim in today’s world.
The students witnessed
practical aspects of Islam
such as Wudhu, Salah and
supplicating after Salah and
had a question and answer
session with Imam Ahmed
Azhari.
The students were also
fortunate to interact and
have lunch with Year 11
students of AIIC.
The school visit was an
opportunity for the Steiner
students to learn about
Islam and clarify some
misconceptions about the
religion and its people.
The day proved to be an
excellent forum for students
from both schools to
interact in person and learn
about each other’s schools,
cultural values and
religious practices.
A Roy Morgan Poll released this
week revealed that the
Australian public is much more
sympathetic toward the
Palestinians than the Turnbull
government.
When a classmate told
19-year-old Heraa Hashmi that
“all terrorists are Muslims” she
began to compile a dossier of
all instances of Muslims
condemning terror attacks
‘I wanted to show how weak
the argument is that Muslims
don’t care about terrorism’ …
Heraa Hashmi.
It happened in history
class. Heraa Hashmi, a
19-year-old American Muslim
student at the University of
Colorado, was supposed to be
discussing the Crusades with
the man sitting next to her.
Within a few minutes,
however, he was crusading
against Islam.
“Not all Muslims are
terrorists, but all
terrorists are Muslims,”
Hashmi’s classmate told her.
What’s more, he complained,
not enough Muslims were
making a stand against
terrorism.
t happened in history class.
Heraa Hashmi, a 19-year-old
American Muslim student at
the University of Colorado,
was supposed to be
discussing the Crusades with
the man sitting next to her.
Within a few minutes,
however, he was crusading
against Islam.
“Not all Muslims are
terrorists, but all
terrorists are Muslims,”
Hashmi’s classmate told her.
What’s more, he complained,
not enough Muslims were
making a stand against
terrorism.
Hashmi was perplexed by this
analysis. Muslims are
constantly denouncing
atrocities that have been
committed in the name of
Islam. Yet many people seem
to think Muslims don’t
condemn terrorism enough. So
Hashmi decided to put the
notion to the test. Using
Google spreadsheets, she
made a “712-page list of
Muslims condemning things
with sources”, which she
tweeted. The list includes
everything from acts of
domestic violence to 9/11.
“I wanted to show people how
weak the argument [that
Muslims don’t care about
terrorism] is,” she
explained.
Her stats struck a chord.
Within 24 hours, Hashmi’s
tweet had been retweeted
15,000 times. A couple of
her followers volunteered to
help her turn her
spreadsheet into an
interactive website and,
within a week of the tweet,
muslimscondemn.com was born.
This was last November, but
the website has grown
considerably since then and,
sadly, flickers into
prominence whenever a new
attack takes place.
Thanks to Hashmi, all these
condemnations are now
carefully recorded at
muslimscondemn.com. So for
anyone asking why more
Muslims don’t denounce
terrorism, you know where to
go.
Islamic
Relief is bringing you the
Old McDonald's Petting Zoo
this School holidays.
All money raised on the day
will be donated to the
drought affected communities
in East Africa.
The UN declared a famine in
East Africa... when does a
famine become official? When
20% of the population
experience extreme hunger
and at least 30% of the
population is malnourished.
23 Million People Urgently
Need Your Help.
Entry ticket is only $5 for
the kids but if you are able
to, please donate
generously.
We will also be having our
usual stall selling
cupcakes, artwork, toys and
offering face-painting.
Pauline Hanson has today
declared that Islam is a
“disease we need to
vaccinate against”, in a
statement that appears to
fly directly in the face of
her outspoken comments
against any and all
vaccination just last week.
“We in this country must
fight against the disease of
Islam,” said Mrs Hanson to a
crowd of supporters, “We
must all seek to vaccinate
ourselves against this
plague. But more importantly
still, we must learn to
embrace the plague and push
back against the rising tide
of vaccination. Unless the
diseases originate in
Islamic countries. For these
diseases are clearly another
ploy from the terrorists to
spread their … autism
through … hallal snack packs
… wait hold on I’ve got my
cards all mixed up here. In
any case we must stop these
gay … Muslim … squat toilets
from … buying all our
houses. Yes, I think that’s
right.”
Asked by a reporter whether
her outspokenness against
Islam was actually just a
front for her long-running
campaign for ethnic purity
in Australia, Mrs Hanson
said it was the ideas the
religion represents that she
opposes, and the fact that a
large number of Islamic
people are middle-eastern is
pure coincidence. “I’ve got
nothing against people of
colour. After all I’m not a
Xylophone,” said Mrs Hanson.
“But I don’t think anyone
could deny that there are a
lot of things wrong with
Islam. From their
unwillingness to embrace
other cultures, to their
hatred of liberal values
like gay marriage, this is
simply a set of beliefs I
cannot embrace.”
Mrs Hanson also pointed out
that often the people
criticising her of racism
overlook the dangerous
effects of unvetted
immigration. “Look at the
recent attacks in London for
example,” said Mrs Hanson.
“If immigration isn’t curbed
in England, the number of
homegrown terrorists like
the London attacker may soon
become an endangered form of
terrorist. And we can’t let
that happen. We have to make
our terrorists great again,
before the immigrants come
and take their jobs away.
Who’s with me!”
Mrs Hanson has since
retracted her statements in
support of terrorism,
blaming the statement on a
Malarial fever that she had
picked up at the last
anti-vaccine rally.
The Government had extended
the Senate's sitting hours
so it could deal with two
key pieces of legislation:
changes to the act and the
Government's cuts to company
tax rates.
The Government had wanted to
replace the words "insult",
"offend" and "humiliate" in
section 18C of the Racial
Discrimination Act with the
term "harass".
On Thursday evening it
became apparent the
Government did not have the
numbers to pass the changes,
but the debate continued.
After seven straight hours
of discussion, Labor, the
Greens and some of the
crossbench killed off the
amendments.
It means the wording of
section 18C of the Racial
Discrimination Act will not
change.
ABC News
Meanwhile,
back at the ranch.........
One Nation claims 18C
protects Muslims
Race-hate
speech laws must be changed
so people can 'call out'
Muslim terrorists, perverts
and child mutilators, a One
Nation senator has told
parliament.
Malcolm
Roberts says Australian
Islamists are the real
beneficiaries of section 18C
of the Racial Discrimination
Act, comparing restrictions
on race-hate speech to
'Stalinist repression'.
'If your
Muslim Sudanese neighbour is
engaging in female genital
mutilation or your Syrian
Muslim cafe owner is a
terrorist building a bomb or
maybe just the Afghan
Muslims in the public
housing flat next to you are
molesting small children,
chances are that you are
afraid to speak out,' he
said.
'Ordinary,
decent people are simply
afraid to speak the truth.
'We want to
be able to call out Muslim
drug dealers, child
mutilators, hate preachers ,
terrorists and perverts.
'The senator
used a debate on proposed
changes to race-hate speech
laws in parliament on
Tuesday to launch a tirade
against Australian Muslims,
claiming the community was
'bulging' with
hate-preachers and terrorist
apologists.
None of them
had been brought before the
Human Rights Commission for
race-hate speech, because
the laws only applied to
non-Muslims, he said.
He likened
the Greens to Islamic State
for defending the existing
laws, claiming they painted
those who disagreed with
them as wrong and immoral.
'The smug, elitist sense of
superiority that infuses
these koala-hugging commos
appears to leave them
without the slightest
awareness of the terrible
repression which they
champion in their pursuit of
ideological conformity with
their own frankly anti-human
world view,' he said.
This week Q&A throws the
focus to global issues with
a panel of big thinkers.
Controversial feminist and
author of Heretic, Ayaan
Hirsi Ali
Nobel Peace laureate and
founder of Grameen Bank,
Muhammad Yunus
Former Prime Minister of
Denmark, Helle
Thorning-Schmidt
Editor-at-large The
Australian, Paul Kelly
Watch Q&A Monday 9.35pm on
ABC, streamed live 9.35pm
AEST on ABC iview or on the
website
Maher Mughrabi is the
foreign editor of The Age and The Sydney
Morning Herald.
Ayaan Hirsi
Ali serves up pseudo-theology
just as the NutriBullet
infomercials use pseudo-science.
I don't know how many people
in this country remember
Curveball, or even know who
he is.
I never forget him, partly
because I am of Arab and
Muslim background and partly
because I work in
journalism, where you spend
a great deal of time each
day working out how it is
that we know what we say we
know.
Curveball told powerful
people in the West a story
they wanted to hear about
the Middle East. A
hair-raising story on which
reams of supposedly
considered analysis and a
clarion call to war that
cost hundreds of thousands
of lives were built.
A story which his captors
warned had holes in it, but
which their superiors ran
with in the name of a higher
cause. A story which turned
out to be completely and
utterly false.
Curveball is an extreme
example, but by no means
alone. Those of us who
remember him also remember
Norma Khouri and Australi
Witness and "Gay Girl in
Damascus". We remember how
each of these frauds tapped
into a desire on the part of
audiences to hear certain
kinds of stories about
Muslims and their world, and
how those stories were
convincing to the untrained
eye but upon close scrutiny
held little or no substance.
If people in the West who
are not themselves Arab or
Muslim want to understand
why Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Maajid
Nawaz and Irshad Manji cause
similar concerns, they need
to start with a remark like
this: "Violence is inherent
in Islam. It's a
destructive, nihilistic cult
of death. It legitimates
murder."
The
idea that more than a
billion people around the
world might be attached to a
faith either despite the
fact that it is a
"nihilistic cult of death"
or because of that fact is
not the remark of a heretic;
as anyone who has actually
met a significant number of
believing Muslims must
realise, it is the remark of
a lunatic – or a very canny
self-publicist. It is also,
for those keen to condemn
Islam and Muslims, as
soothing a reductionist
fable as Orwell's "four legs
good, two legs bad".
Above all, it fails any
number of empirical tests.
We can say with certainty
that the violence and
conflict racking much of the
Muslim world does not happen
because its inhabitants are
Muslims.
How? Because in recent
decades alone we have seen
every one of these types of
violence replicated in the
Democratic Republic of
Congo, Liberia, Rwanda,
South Sudan, Sri Lanka,
Myanmar and Cambodia, in
conflicts where next to no
Muslims were involved.
Contrary to the oft-stated
view that religion causes
much of the world's
violence, the past century
has shown the immense
potential for violence of
the centralising
nation-state. But that's
political science – a
subject one almost never
hears discussed in
connection with Ayaan Hirsi
Ali.
Some people will be quick to
say that none of the
aforementioned countries has
generated global terrorism –
that, surely, is "to do
with" Islam?
Again, a better explanation
is to hand – none of these
post-colonial nations was
deemed of crucial strategic
importance to the West, and
so none found itself
garrisoned by Western
troops; whereas the
countries where large
numbers of Muslims live
happen to lie across the
Suez Canal, the Strait of
Hormuz and a vast reservoir
of fossil fuels, as well as
the birthplace of the West's
major religion. All those
things made the West a
participant in the Muslim
world's conflicts and then –
eventually, after many
decades – a target for them.
But that is geopolitics –
again, no business of Hirsi
Ali's.
Rather than having to chew
and digest these complex
factors, and how different
kinds of Muslims have
interacted with them, Think
Inc gives us Ayaan Hirsi Ali
as the NutriBullet of Islam.
Just as the NutriBullet's
infomercials use
pseudo-science to turn a
glorified blender into a
machine that rescues the
nutrition "locked" inside
the cell walls of fruit and
vegetables ("Oh please.
That's what teeth are for,"
as one scientist put it),
Hirsi Ali serves up
pseudo-theology that tells
us that if we pulp the
nasty, warlike Madinan
verses of the Koran and
extract the kind and gentle
Meccan ones, we'll have
better Islam and better
Muslims.
Never mind the fact that
every religion and every
nation that has ever aspired
to create a community has
had both martial and
pastoral characteristics (is
that blood on the wattle?).
Never mind that in the past
two centuries far more
violence has been imported
into the Muslim world than
it has exported. Just drink
up! But if you're not
healthier in the morning,
don't say I didn't warn you:
some things in life are too
complicated to fix with a
smoothie.
Ed Husic is known to some as
'the minister for basketball',
to others as the first federal
MP sworn in on the Quran. He
became the first ever Muslim
frontbencher under Kevin Rudd.
What next for an outspoken Gen
Xer with a friend on the wrong
side of parliament?
“Would you like to say a few
words?” someone asks the
politician. Ed Husic,
federal Labor MP, is
visiting St Francis of
Assisi Catholic school in
Glendenning, a suburb that
forms part of his vast
Western Sydney electorate of
Chifley. The modest chapel,
which doubles as a
general-purpose hall, is
full of attentive and
excited children. The
school’s 25th birthday
celebration promises a
video, speeches, and a
jumbo-sized cake.
Yes, Ed Husic would like to
say a few words – more than
a few, if you’ll let him.
The MP has joined former
principals and other
honoured guests in the front
row. A tall, robust man,
Husic now sits confined in
his plastic chair, hefty
shoulders straining the
pinstriped jacket thrown on
minutes before entering the
room. The hyperkinetic MP
slows down to accommodate
the morning’s ceremony.
Later, a priest will say
Mass for the congregation,
and Husic will bow his head
respectfully in recognition
of the solemn Catholic rite.
In the meantime he accepts
the invitation, leaping to
his feet and taking to the
lectern to make a joke about
politicians making speeches.
Husic has come to the
school, he tells the kids
and their parents, not only
to celebrate its educational
achievements but to
recognise “a faith that has
done so much good in the
world”.
Earlier, on the way to St
Francis, Husic had told me
that Catholics in general,
and some at St Francis in
particular, supported him
when faith was turned into a
battering ram against him.
The 2004 experience as a
first-time political
candidate was an awakening
of sorts for Husic, who was
raised in a Bosnian Muslim
family in Sydney’s west. His
attempt that year to win the
neighbouring seat of
Greenway, historically Labor,
was not the kind of
electoral blooding he had
expected.
“Ed Husic is a devout
Muslim. Ed is working hard
to get a better deal for
Islam in Greenway”, read
leaflets distributed during
the campaign, falsely
purporting to be from the
ALP. In the end, the seat
was won by Liberal Louise
Markus, an evangelical
Christian.
Husic did not claim his loss
was a consequence of the
rogue tactic, saying he did
not believe he lost the
election “solely because of
my religion”. Nor did Husic
suggest his Liberal opponent
had anything to do with the
leaflets. But the experience
shook him to the core.
Being the son of Bosnian
parents had not registered
during his childhood as
anything other than a twist
of fate. “There was nothing
really special about my
parents being from overseas.
Nothing really stood out
about it,” Husic says. “I
saw it more as a point of
pride, growing up.”
While his father Hasib, a
welder, and Husic’s mother
Hasiba had insisted their
children Ed, Alan, and
Sabina learn English first,
the kids picked up Bosnian
at home in their primary
school years. A trip to the
Husics’ homeland as a
nine-year-old taught the
future politician something
essential about himself as a
first-generation Australian.
In a stoush with local
children in Belgrade, Husic
was taunted about his
accent: “‘What are you?
You’re not [one of] us’,”
Husic says, recalling the
barbs.
A compelling photo series
that explores the Muslim
faith in Indigenous
Australia, visually breaking
down preconceived ideas and
showing a rich and diverse
section of Australian
culture
The National Census reported
that 1,140 Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander
Australians identify as
Muslim. This figure has
grown significantly in the
last 15 years, almost
doubling that of what was
recorded in 2001. While
Muslim conversion and
identification is growing in
Indigenous communities,
there is already a long
standing history with Islam.
Dating as far back as the
early 1700s, influences came
from Asian neighbours who
worked, traded and
socialised with First
Nations’ people; Afghan and
Indian cameleers in Central
Australia, Malay pearl
divers in the Torres Strait
and Cape York Peninsula, and
Indonesian fisherman in the
Top End.
More recently, Indigenous
people have become drawn to
Islam independently,
interested in its guiding
principles, spiritual
beliefs and the cultural
parallels between the faith
and traditional Aboriginal
culture. However, each
journey is as diverse as the
people themselves.
In an 2012 interview boxing
great, Anthony Mundine was
asked about the portrayal of
him in the media, to which
he replied, “I’m three
things that you shouldn’t be
in this society, and that’s
Muslim, Aboriginal and
outspoken.”
Reflecting on Mundine’s
powerful words and the
preconceptions of minority
groups, we consider national
identity. NITV would like to
thank the participants,
those who are who are
dedicated to their faith and
simultaneously committed to
keeping culture strong, for
inviting us into their homes
and sharing their stories
with us.
(Continued from last week's
CCN)
Kayla, a Murrawarri/Gomeroi
woman, has known her
Lebanese-Muslim husband since
she was a teenager. Despite
being high school sweethearts,
Kayla came to Islam years later
and independently of her
partner, interested in faith,
identity and Aboriginality.
Kayla and her husband Khaled
have five daughters. Kayla’s
father is Aboriginal Elder,
Uncle Glen Doyle, a traditional
and ceremonial performer in
Sydney.
With 11 February declared
the international day for
women in science, its a
chance to celebrate the
contributions of Muslim
scientists.
Prophet Muhammed (peace be
upon him) has said: “Seeking
knowledge is a mandate for
every Muslim (male and
female).”
These women have embodied
this and shown the world
what it means to be an
active achiever and mover of
the world in which we live.
CCN brings you one of these
scientists each week from
different parts of the
world.
(Continued from last week's
CCN)
Pakistan: Professor Dr Bina
Shaheen Siddiqui
Professor Dr Bina
Shaheen Siddiqui
holds a PhD in
Organic Chemistry
from the University
of Karachi. She has
made significant
contributions to
medicine and
agriculture through
her study and
classification of
indigenous plant
materials.
Siddiqui has written
more than 250
research articles
and has been
honoured with
several prestigious
awards, including
the Khwarizmi
International Award
of Iran and Salam
Prize in Chemistry.
I finally have a
peace I didn’t
have in
Christianity, I
know what I
believe, who I
am, and how I
want my life to
reflect on this.
Media
Propaganda
against Islam
Made Me Muslim
Almost
immediately
after logging
onto Facebook
and posting that
she had
converted to
Islam, April
Fuller was
bombarded with
messages, from
both her close
friends and
acquaintances.
“Why did I
expect anything
less,” Fuller’s
former youth
pastor wrote.
“I am an infidel
according to
your cult so
therefore I am
your enemy.
Such a shame you
have chosen to
turn your back
on a loving God
and serve a
false prophet
who preaches
hate for anyone
not of said
cult.”
But an old
childhood friend
offered
congratulations.
“I know a lot of
people and
‘friends’ are
giving you hell
about this. It’s
your decision. I
hope it works
out for you
sweetie.”
Fuller’s uncle
was a pastor in
a Southern
Baptist church,
the largest
religion in the
state, in the
1,500-person
town of Raleigh.
Although her
family has long
been strict
adherents,
Fuller was drawn
to Islam
because, for
her, it was the
first time
religion made
sense.
“I always grew
up believing in
something, so I
knew there was a
god,” Fuller, a
sophomore
English major,
said. “I was
just trying to
figure out what
I wanted to be,
but I knew
Baptist wasn’t
for me.”
The second
semester of her
freshman year,
Fuller was
introduced to
another student,
a practicing
Muslim, through
a mutual friend.
They quickly
became friends,
and he began to
teach her about
Islam.
“I started
talking to my
friend, and he
was telling more
about it, and I
thought this
kinda makes
sense,” Fuller
said. “In Islam,
you use logic;
in Christianity
you have to go
on blind faith.
A lot of times,
when I tried to
question
Christian
beliefs, I was
shut down. With
Islam, they
welcome doubts
and attempt to
dispel them.”
About Islam
Media Muslims
shouldn't feel
obliged to
apologise for
terrorist
attacks Ruby Hamad
Unless you've
been living
under one
yourself, you've
probably heard
about the
women's silent
protest on
London's
Westminster
Bridge, where
about 100 mostly
Muslim women
joined hands to
show that
"terror will not
defeat and
divide us".
Around the same
time, Muslim
teenager Heraa
Hashmi made news
for her 712-page
Google document
"proving that
Muslims do
indeed condemn
terrorism".
The irony of
women being the
ones to object
to violence that
is
overwhelmingly
perpetrated by
men aside, why
are so many
Muslims still
falling into the
trap of proving
their humanity
to those who
insist it is
lacking?
have grown
accustomed to
the way
non-Muslim
citizens of
Europe and its
colonial
offshoots only
express
solidarity for
the victims of
violence and
terrorism when
it affects them.
This is the
legacy of 500
years of a
European world
view based on
the fallacy that
their lives
simply matter
more.
What is more
saddening is
witnessing
Muslims
succumbing to
this peculiar
notion that
terrorism only
really counts
when it hits
Western shores.
This means not
only must
Muslims "prove"
they don't
approve of this
violence, they
are also
expected to
mourn the loss
of Western life
above all
others.
But what has
made the past
week or so truly
unbearable is
that all this
was happening as
innocent Muslim
and other Arab
civilians in
Syria and Iraq
were being
bombed by one
US-led strike
after another.
On Saturday
March 18, a US
strike hit a
mosque in Idlib,
Syria, killing
47 people,
mostly
civilians.
Four days later,
an other US-led
coalition strike
hit a school
near Raqqa,
killing at least
30 people who
were sheltering
from the
never-ending war
that has taken
over their
lives.
The Sydney
Morning Herald
Mehdi Hasan of
Al Jazeera noted
differences in
media coverage
of violent
events involving
Muslims with
those involving
non-Muslims.
How to Reduce
Negative
Stereotypes of
Muslims in the
Media
Journalists say
building
relationships,
more diverse
newsrooms are
key
Media portrayals
of Muslims in
the United
States and
United Kingdom
are often
simplistic,
inaccurate and
focused on
violence,
journalists said
Tuesday during a
panel discussion
on the media’s
portrayal of
Islam and
Muslims.
This fuels
stereotypes and
irrational
fears, they
said, which
leads to
Islamophobia and
even bullying.
“In many ways
anti-Muslim
hysteria is
worse in the
United States,”
said Mehdi Hasan,
a British
journalist now
living in the
U.S. who hosts
the Al-Jazeera
program, “Up
Front.”
He noted that
last year about
one in four
people believed
President Obama
was a closet
Muslim. “(That)
shows the power
media has to
shape opinions
and bias and
prejudices.”
Along with
keynote speaker
Hasan, the
discussion
featured Abigail
Hauslohner, a
reporter at The
Washington Post,
Duke alum David
Graham, a
reporter at The
Atlantic, and
Nermeen Shaikh,
producer and
co-host of
“Democracy Now!”
Omid Safi,
director of the
Duke Islamic
Center,
moderated the
event, which was
sponsored by the
center and
Carnegie Corp.
of New York.
Hasan shared
research of how
the media
contribute to
negative
stereotypes of
Muslims in the
United States
and United
Kingdom. For
example, he
noted that when
a Muslim is
involved in a
terrorist act,
media tend to
give it much
more coverage
than such
incidents
involving
non-Muslims.
With the latter,
he said the
media often
“humanize” the
non-Muslim
perpetrator by
referencing
mental illness
or interviewing
family members.
More
relationships
between Muslims
and non-Muslims
could help
reduce negative
stereotypes, as
could more
Muslims working
in the media and
the arts, Hasan
said.
“Muslims need to
be seen doing
normal things
because we’re
normal people,”
he said, noting
“there’s no
silver bullet,
and it’s going
to take a
while.”
Social media can
also influence
the public’s
view of Muslims,
he said. “Thanks
to social media
you all have
platforms.”
Duke Today
When Marx
Meets Islam
TEA LEAF NATION
A Chinese
regulation would
prohibit online
insults based on
religion. Some
decry it as
antithetical to
Communist
values.
Almost every
Chinese person
with even a
middle school
education must,
at some point,
run into the
famous statement
about religion
by Karl Marx:
“Religion is the
opiate of the
masses.” It is
enshrined in
textbooks that
introduce
students to the
philosopher’s
materialistic
interpretation
of the world,
which considers
religion as a
“fantasy” used
by reactionary
forces to disarm
the
revolutionary
proletariat by
promising
salvation in the
afterlife while
preaching
endurance in the
current one.
Some will argue
that there is a
Leninist spin in
such a
presentation of
Marx’s view, and
that his is a
more nuanced one
that recognizes,
albeit
grudgingly, the
historically
progressive role
of religion.
Still, Marx’s
view has become
probably the
only modern
critique of
religion that
many ordinary
Chinese are
familiar with,
besides
Confucius’s
largely agnostic
approach to
spirituality. It
also forms the
basis of the
Communist
Party’s
self-branding of
a fundamentally
atheist party.
That being said,
the textbook
does not dictate
how millions of
Chinese actually
approach faith,
nor does Marxist
dogma completely
defines how the
Party handles
religion in the
People’s
Republic. Marx’s
harsh critique
of religion does
not stop a large
number of
Chinese from
embracing the
teaching of
Buddha, the
message of Jesus
Christ, or the
words of
Mohammed. If
anything, the
“value vacuum”
left by the
retreat of a
fanatic Maoist
ideology since
the death of Mao
Zedong has
increasingly
been filled by
religion,
demonstrated by
skyrocketing
numbers of new
converts.
Foreign
Policy
Although only
44, Adityanath
has extensive
experience
stirring up a
mob.
'If They Kill
Even One Hindu,
We Will Kill
100!’
ARGUMENT
Meet Yogi
Adityanath, the
fire-breathing
Hindu
nationalist monk
who’s leading
India’s largest
state on a
warpath against
Muslims.
Nationalist
leaders are used
to dashing
liberals’ hopes.
In their early
periods in
power, Turkey’s
Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, China’s
Xi Jinping, and
even Russia’s
Vladimir Putin
promised to
strike a balance
between populism
and economic
reform and even
hinted at moving
their countries
in a more
liberal
direction. That
didn’t last. And
it looks like
Narendra Modi is
following the
same regressive
path, after the
Indian prime
minister
appointed
rabble-rousing
Hindu monk Yogi
Adityanath to
one of the
country’s
biggest
political jobs.
Following a
landslide
victory this
month in
elections in
Uttar Pradesh,
India’s most
populous and
important state,
Modi shocked
many of his
countrymen by
appointing
Adityanath as
chief minister.
The decision
makes Adityanath
the leader of
more than 200
million people —
38 million of
them Muslims —
and thus one of
the most
prominent and
popular figures
in the Hindu
nationalist
Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP),
which Modi led
back to national
power in 2014.
The appointment
has been greeted
with barely
disguised dismay
by Modi’s more
implacable
opponents,
notably
liberals, and
anyone worried
about the health
of India’s
secular
democracy and
the fate of its
sizable Muslim
minority. But it
has also
dismayed those
who voted for
Modi in hopes he
would focus his
energy on making
the country’s
economy more
dynamic,
including, in
private at
least, some
moderates within
the BJP itself.
Adityanath’s
appointment was
Modi’s decision,
and his alone,
meaning it is
hard to view it
as anything
other than a
step toward a
kind of
majoritarian
populism that
puts hard-line
Hindu demands
above economic
development as
he gears up to
win re-election
in two years’
time.
Dressed in his
trademark
saffron robes,
the
shaven-headed
Adityanath moved
quickly to
describe the
BJP’s victory as
a rejection of
the politics of
“Muslim
appeasement.” In
a frenetic first
week in power,
he dominated
headlines,
especially by
launching a
crackdown on
slaughterhouses,
a move that is
popular among
Hindus, who want
to see literal
sacred cows
protected, but
which targets
businesses that
tend to be owned
by Muslims.
Until this week,
Adityanath was a
mildly infamous
but politically
minor figure. A
longtime BJP
parliamentarian,
he was known
mostly as a
pugnacious
preacher and
firebrand
activist. After
renouncing his
family for
clerical life in
his early 20s,
he rose rapidly
to become the
mahant (or chief
priest) of a
temple in the
hardscrabble
eastern city of
Gorakhpur. From
there, he first
built a
religious
following and
then a political
career, where
his
take-no-prisoners
attitude and
bellicose
rhetoric
endeared him to
the BJP’s rank
and file.
hat his politics
are extreme is
hard to dispute.
Although only
44, Adityanath
has extensive
experience
stirring up a
mob.Although
only 44,
Adityanath has
extensive
experience
stirring up a
mob. Like many
politicians in
Uttar Pradesh —
one of India’s
poorest states,
and one with a
dismal record
for
intermingling
governance and
crime — he has a
hefty police
record, with
pending charges
that include
attempted murder
and rioting. Yet
it is his talent
for fomenting
tension between
Hindus and
Muslims — who
make up about
four-fifths and
one-eighth of
India’s
population,
respectively —
that has caused
the most alarm.
Clips of his
incendiary
speechmaking
circulated
widely in India
following his
appointment. In
one, the
diminutive monk
whips up a crowd
with fiery
anti-Muslim
rhetoric. “If
they kill even
one Hindu, we
will kill—” he
calls out,
pausing. “100!”
the throng
eagerly
responds. In
another, members
of a radical
youth group he
founded in his
home city are
seen calling, as
Adityanath looks
on, for Hindu
men to rape the
corpses of
Muslim women.
Elsewhere, he
spoke warmly of
Donald Trump’s
ban on
immigrants from
Muslim
countries,
argued that
Hindu religious
idols should
forcibly be
placed in
mosques, and
called for his
party to press
on with plans to
build a
controversial
Hindu temple in
honor of the god
Ram on the site
of a mosque
destroyed by
Hindu activists
in 2002. Perhaps
unsurprisingly
he enjoys warm
ties with the
Rashtriya
Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS), the
hard-line Hindu
nationalist
organization
from which the
BJP originated
and for which
Modi, in his
youth, was a
longtime
activist.
Foreign
Policy
The Model
Halima Aden
Thinks Trump
Should Open His
Heart to Muslim Neighbours "You're going
to be amazed by
the things that
you can learn."
Halima Aden, who
made headlines
for being the
first hijab-wearing
Muslim to
compete in a
Miss USA
pageant, and
afterward, the
first one to
model in major
fashion shows,
doesn't like to
be categorized.
She's not just a
Somali-American,
a Muslim, a
refugee, an
immigrant, or a
citizen of the
U.S. — she's
Halima. But
she's more than
happy to be a
positive role
model and voice
for her
community in a
time she
considers to be
fraught with
negativity.
Cosmopolitan.com
caught up with
her at the Miss
Universe
headquarters in
NYC to find out
more about her
reaction to her
rise to fame,
her haters, and
even her message
to President
Trump.
(Continued from
last week's CCN)
You were born
in a refugee
camp in Kenya
and you moved to
America — to
Minnesota — when
you were six.
What exactly was
your reaction to
the recent
travel ban that
was mentioned
once again last
night?
America has
always been a
land of
diversity,
basically made
up of
immigrants, and
that is
something I want
to see
continued. It's
something I'm
proud of when
people think of
America. I want
them to see the
richness — how
we are close
together even
though we all
come from
different
creeds,
different
backgrounds,
different
religions.
That's something
I want to see
continue.
Do you have
anything you'd
like to say to
our current
president, that
you'd wish he'd
learn about your
community?
Yeah. Just
[that] what I do
is I always try
to educate
myself about my
neighbors, about
the people I
meet. I think
that's something
that our
president could
do. We all have
different things
that make us
strong and weak,
but if we
communicate and
we really open
ourselves and
open our hearts,
you're going to
be amazed by the
things that you
can learn.
Everybody that
comes from a
different
culture, they
always [know]
something that
you've never
thought of.
Something that
you could use,
you know? So
just educate
yourself.
You said
recently that
sometimes you're
called a
Somali-American,
sometimes people
call you
American, but
you don't see
yourself as
fitting into any
one category.
What do you mean
by that?
I feel like I'm
different and
I'm unique. When
people put
labels on us it
doesn't always
enclose
everything that
we are. So even
though I'm proud
to be Somali,
I'm proud to be
American, at the
end of the day,
I'm still Halima
and I take
things from both
sides and
combine them and
I make my own
little category.
I'm me!
Are you
interested in
continuing your
fashion career?
It's something I
want to
continue. Just
[because of] the
reaction they
gave me and how
open they are,
giving me a
chance to
succeed.
Where do you
see yourself
going from here?
I do know I that
I want to go
back home. I
want to make a
difference.
Somalia just
elected its
ninth president,
[Mohamed]
Farmaajo, which
I'm so excited
about. I want to
go see Somalia
because I've
never been there
and I feel like
I'm missing out.
I want to learn
that heritage, I
want to learn
about my
culture. That's
something that
I'm excited to
do. But also,
[I'd] like to
work with UNICEF
or the UN
because I know
they've done so
much to help me
growing up, and
when I was in a
refugee camp.
They're like
walking angels
among us —
that's what Iman
said in our
interview for CR
Fashion Book.
They really are.
One UK Muslim group who attended
a memorial for victims of the
British Parliament attack shared
their unique message with CNN's
Christiane Amanpour.
Muslim
Kids react to Pauline Hanson’s
Muslim Ban
OnePath Network
"We gathered
30 Muslim children from around
Sydney to participate in a
response to Pauline Hanson’s
proposed Muslim Ban and
Islamophobic comments. Their
reactions are priceless and yet
somewhat alarming."
BBC journalist
speechless after seeing biggest
mosque in the world in Turkey!
ICQ:
YouthConnect Club
Homeground
for YouthConnect:
The Islamic Council of
Queensland has secured the
lease for 3 years with
options to renew
Oates Park in Woodridge.
#AskAMuslim
campaign
The Secret
Life of Muslims
Mona Haydar
and Sebastian Robins fight
Islamophobia with doughnuts
and conversation. Meet the
couple who inspired the #AskAMuslim
campaign in response to San
Bernardino.
Pope
Francis surprises a Muslim
family as he visited a
housing project in Milan Channel 4 News
This is
how Australians die and the
statistics will leave you
breathless. Australian Workers Party
Basketball
Hijab ban The Guardian
Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir’s
is the all-time leading
scorer in Massachusetts high
school basketball, but she
couldn’t turn pro because
the International Basketball
Federation (Fiba) doesn’t
allow religious head
coverings in official
competitions. Bilqis has
campaigned with #FIBAAllowHijab
for two years, and hopes for
a change to the rules
"Don't
judge us by some guy on the
TV screaming, chanting,
who's got nothing to do with
our religion." Channel 4 News
Waz and Nav
from Channel 4's Extremely
British Muslims.
A man tore
up a Quran and yelled hate
speech at a school board
meeting.
AJ+
Organise
Your Prayers Around Your
Life | Umm Jamaal ud-Din IslamInFocus
PLEASE
NOTE
It is the usual policy of CCN to
include notices of events, video links and articles that
some readers may find interesting or relevant. Such notices
are often posted as received.
Including such messages/links or
providing the details of such
events does not necessarily
imply endorsement or agreement
by CCN of the contents therein.
How an Ottoman Sultan
Helped Ireland During the
Great Famine
The Great Famine
in the mid-19th
century was one
of the most
devastating
events in Irish
history. Between
1845 and 1852,
potato blight
hit the island’s
potato crop. The
potato was a
staple item of
food in Ireland,
so many years
without a good
harvest led to
mass starvation,
disease, and the
deaths of nearly
a million people
and emigration
of another
million to
different parts
of the world.
One of the
unexpected
sources of aid
in this crisis
was the Ottoman
Empire. Sultan
Abdülmecid I
went out of his
way to try to
help so he could
ease the
suffering of the
Irish people.
Sultan
Abdülmecid I was
only 23 years
old in 1847 when
he personally
offered ₤10,000
in aid to
Ireland, but he
had already
ruled his empire
for nearly ten
years. In that
time, he earned
the admiration
of many of his
own subjects and
others around
the world. But
this time he
would have to
scale back his
generosity.
British
diplomats
advised him that
it would be
offensive for
anyone to offer
more than Queen
Victoria, who
had only donated
₤2,000. It was
suggested that
he should donate
half of that
amount, so he
gave ₤1,000.
Henry Wellesley,
the British
ambassador to
Constantinople,
expressed his
gratitude on
behalf of the
British Empire.
The Sultan’s
donation was
appreciated by
the public in
Britain and
Ireland as well.
One English
religious
journal
published an
article titled
“A Benevolent
Sultan” in which
the author
wrote, “For the
first time a
Mohammedan [sic]
sovereign,
representing
multitudinous
Islamic
populations,
manifests
spontaneously a
warm sympathy
with a Christian
nation. May such
sympathies, in
all the genial
charities of a
common humanity,
be cultivated
and henceforth
ever be
maintained
between the
followers of the
crescent and the
cross!” The
press also
blamed the
British
diplomats in
Constantinople
for rejecting
the initial
donation of
₤10,000 just to
avoid
embarrassing
Queen Victoria.
MVSLIM
More Indigenous
Australians are
converting to
Islam. But it is
more than a
political
gesture. Unknown
to many is the
long history
between
Aboriginal
people and
Islamic culture
and religion.
Comment:
Indigenous Australia's long
history with Islam
Peta
Stephenson is the author of
Islam Dreaming. This article
was originally published on
14 December 2011, by The
Conversation.
Muslim conversion is growing
in Indigenous communities.
In the 2001 national census,
641 Indigenous people
identified as Muslim. By the
2006 census the number had
climbed by more than 60% to
1014 people.
This rise in conversions
among Indigenous Australians
may seem to be a political
gesture. But unknown to many
is the long history between
Aboriginal people and
Islamic culture and
religion.
(Continued from last week's
CCN)
The Rules
to live by
Against the
backdrop of what Shahzad
calls "the hurt of
colonisation", Islam offers
Indigenous people an
alternative system that
includes a strict code of
conduct and a moral and
ethical framework that, they
feel, connects them to their
traditional heritage.
For some Aboriginal people,
the adoption of a faith that
demands the avoidance of
alcohol, drugs and gambling
has also played a positive
role in their lives.
Islam emphasises the
equality of all people,
regardless of skin colour.
For Indigenous men and
women, inclusion in the
Australian national
community has historically
depended on the renunciation
of their Aboriginality.
Membership in an
international community that
not only tolerates
difference, but is
predicated on it, can be
very empowering.
It is likely that the number
of Indigenous Muslims will
continue to grow. Indigenous
people find that
identification with Islam,
of whatever kind, meets both
their spiritual and social
needs - offering a buffer
against systemic racism, a
clear moral template,
well-defined roles and entry
to a global society that
does not make assimilation
the price of admission.
To commence in Term 2.
Must be registered with QLD
College of Teachers
Please forward your CV to
Australian International
Islamic College
ATTENTION PRINCIPAL
E-mail:
admin@aiic.qld.edu.au
Successful applicants will
be notified via e-mail
Applications close MONDAY
10th April 2017
Scenes
from the South Africa's Ahmed Kathrada's
Funeral
Struggle
veteran Ahmed Kathrada is being
laid to rest at the Westpark
Cemetery in Randburg,
Johannesburg.
SOUTH AFRICA: ANC veteran
Ahmed Kathrada (87) passed away this
week at the Donald Gordon Hospital in
Johannesburg.
Kathrada passed away peacefully after a
short period of illness, following
surgery to the brain.
“This is great loss to the ANC, the
broader liberation movement and South
Africa as a whole. Internationally,he
was staunch in his support for the
Palestinian struggle.
‘Kathy’ was an
inspiration to millions in different
parts of the world,” said Neeshan Balton,
Executive Director of the Ahmed Kathrada
Foundation
.
Kathrada Foundation Chairperson, Derek
Hanekom, was overcome with emotion
saying he has lost a “revolutionary
mentor and dear friend”.
“Comrade Kathy was a gentle, humane and
humble soul. He was a determined
revolutionary who gave his entire life
to the liberation struggle in our
country,” he added.
Kathrada will be buried according to
Muslim religious rights, details of
which will be made publicly available in
due course.
Fellow Robben Island prisoner, Laloo
‘Isu’ Chiba (86) said that his comrade’s
death has left a deep vacuum in his
life.
“I have worked with Kathy for over sixty
years. He has been my strength in
prison, my guide in political life and
my pillar of strength in the most
difficult moments of my life. Now he is
gone,” said a visibly shaken Chiba.
Kathrada has had an illustrious
political career having served between
1994 and 1999 as the parliamentary
counsellor to late President Nelson
Mandela.
He was born on 21 August 1929 in rural
Schweizer-Reneke and was introduced to
politics as a young boy when he joined a
non-racial youth club run by the Young
Communist League.
At the tender age of 17, Kathrada
participated in the 1946 Passive
Resistance Campaign led by the South
African Indian Congress. He was part of
2000 resisters who were arrested and
imprisoned for defying a law that
discriminated against Indian South
Africans.
Kathrada, under the tutelage of
Transvaal Indian Congress leader, Dr
Yusuf Dadoo, later befriended emerging
ANC leaders such as Walter Sisulu,
Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo.
In 1951, Kathrada visited East Berlin to
attend the youth festival jointly
organised by the World Federation of
Democratic Youth (WFDY), and the
International Union of Students (IUS).
While there he visited Poland, where the
Auschwitz concentration camp left an
indelible impression on him.
Back home in 1952,
Kathrada was in a group of 20, including
Mandela and Sisulu, who were sentenced
to nine months in prison with hard
labour - suspended for two years - for
organising the Defiance Campaign against
six unjust, apartheid laws. The campaign
was jointly organised by the ANC and SA
Indian Congress.
In 1954, Kathrada was placed under
restrictions by apartheid security
police and was arrested several times
for breaking his banning orders. In
1956, he was among the 156 Congress
activists and leaders charged for High
Treason. The trial continued for four
years after which all the accused were
acquitted. Kathrada, Mandela and Sisulu
were among the last 30 to be acquitted.
While they were on trial in 1960, the
ANC and PAC were banned. In 1962,
Kathrada was placed under “house
arrest”. The following year Kathrada
broke his banning orders and went
underground to continue his political
and military work in the ANC’s armed
wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK).
In July 1963, the police swooped on
Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia, a
Johannesburg suburb where Kathrada and
other banned persons had been meeting
secretly. This led to the famous Rivonia
Trial in which eight accused were
sentenced to life imprisonment with hard
labour on Robben Island. His fellow
prisoners included ANC leaders such as
Mandela, Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Raymond
Mhlaba, Denis Goldberg, Elias Motsoaledi
and Andrew Mlangeni.
Kathrada spent 26 years and 3 months in
prison, 18 of which were on Robben
Island. In 1982, Mandela, Sisulu,
Kathrada, Mhlaba and Mlangeni were
transferred to Pollsmoor Prison in Cape
Town.
While in prison he obtained four
university degrees, namely, BA (in
History and Criminology), B Bibliography
(in African Politics and Library
Science), BA Honours (History) and BA
Honours (African Politics).
Soon after his release on 15 October
1989, the ANC was unbanned. At its first
legal conference in South Africa,
Kathrada was elected onto its National
Executive Committee. Until 1994, he
headed the ANC’s Public Relations
Department. At its Conference in 1997,
Kathrada declined nomination to the
National Executive Committee.
In 1992, Kathrada undertook the Islamic
Haj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
In 1994, Kathrada was elected to
Parliament and served as President
Mandela's Parliamentary Counsellor. He
was chairperson of the Robben Island
Museum Council from 1997 until his term
expired in 2006.
In 2008, the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation
was launched with the aim of deepening
non-racialism. Kathrada was an active
participant in the Foundation’s work,
which includes promoting Constitutional
ideals and human rights, youth
leadership and development, challenging
racism and preserving and promoting
liberation history.
Kathrada is survived by his wife,
Barbara Hogan, also an ANC stalwart and
veteran.
Julie Bishop says
Australia preparing for Isis to declare
'caliphate' in southern Philippines
Foreign affairs minister says
threat is on Australia’s
doorstep as Islamic State is
forced out of the Middle East
Julie Bishop
says Australia is readying
itself for the possibility of
Islamic State declaring a
‘caliphate’ in the Philippines.
PHILIPPINES:
Australia is readying itself
for the possibility of
Islamic State declaring a
“caliphate” in the southern
Philippines as the extremist
group is forced out of the
Middle East.
The foreign affairs
minister, Julie Bishop, who
has just returned from talks
in the US with countries
involved in the fight
against Isis, says
authorities are concerned
about an estimated 600
foreign fighters from
south-east Asia surviving
the campaign in Iraq and
Syria and returning home.
“There is concern that Isis
may well seek to declare a
caliphate, an Islamic
caliphate, in the southern
Philippines,” she told Sky
News on Sunday.
The leader of the
Philippines-based terrorist
group Abu Sayyaf had
recently been declared an
emir, or leader, by Isis,
Bishop said.
“This brings the threat
right to our doorstep,” she
said.
Australia’s security and
intelligence agencies have
been working closely with
Indonesia, Malaysia and the
Philippines to stamp out the
terrorist threat in the
region.
Bishop said last week’s
attack in London reinforced
how, although authorities
could track terrorist gangs
and keep people under
surveillance, it was “nigh
on impossible” to keep track
of individuals who
self-radicalised and acted
alone.
14-year-old Muslim
boy dubbed ‘the human calculator’ becomes a
British university’s youngest employee
teaching adults maths
UK: He may be younger
than their children but one of Britain’s
brainiest children, a Muslim, has been
hired by a University to help adults
with their sums as reported by Daily
Mail.
Yasha Asley, 14, is employed by the
University of Leicester – where he is
also a degree student – to run
tutorials.
He became the youngest ever student at
the University and is now the youngest
ever employee.
Yasha was interviewed and offered the
paid job when he was just 13–years old –
beating adult applicants. Admin staff
had to apply to Leicester city council
for special permission to employ him
because he was so young.
The weekly tutorials Yasha runs are for
adult students who need help and support
solving problems following lectures.
Proud Yasha said:
‘I am having the best years of my life.
I love going to university and I love my
new job helping other students.
No more school uniform for me thank you
very much.’
Yasha, who has been dubbed a ‘human
calculator’, is now in his final year
and plans to start a Phd when he
finishes his course.
No more school uniform for me thank you
very much.’
Yasha, who has been dubbed a ‘human
calculator’, is now in his final year
and plans to start a Phd when he
finishes his course.
After finishing year 6 at primary he
went straight to University. Of his
achievements, Yasha said:
‘I love maths because it is an exact
science. It is the only science where
you can prove what you say is correct.
It is so easy and an enjoyable subject
to study.’
Proud father Moussa Asley, 53, who
raised him single-handedly at their home
in Leicester, said his son had been made
welcome by staff and students alike.
Mr Asley, who drives his son to lectures
every day, said:
‘I am just so proud watching him
flourish and grow doing something he
loves.
He is so good at understanding problems
and explaining them in a clear way he is
perfect for the job.’
Istanbul
has always been a place where stories and histories collide.
From the Koran to Shakespeare, this city with three
names--Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul--resonates as an
idea and a place, real and imagined. Standing as the gateway
between East and West, it has been the capital city of the
Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires. For much of its
history it was the very center of the world, known simply as
"The City," but, as Bettany Hughes reveals, Istanbul is not
just a city, but a story.
In this epic new biography, Hughes takes us on a dazzling
historical journey through the many incarnations of one of
the world's greatest cities. As the longest-lived political
entity in Europe, over the last 6,000 years Istanbul has
absorbed a mosaic of micro-cities and cultures all gathering
around its core. At the latest count, archaeologists have
measured forty-two human habitation layers. Phoenicians,
Genoese, Venetians, Jews, Vikings, and Azeris all called a
patch of this earth their home.
Based on meticulous research and new archaeological
evidence, this captivating portrait of the momentous life of
Istanbul is visceral, immediate, and scholarly--narrative
history at its finest.
KB says:This salad and the
dressing can be made at least 8 hours ahead of
time and stored separately in the refrigerator.
Important
Tip: Pour the salad dressing just before serving
so the salad remains fresh and crunchy for a
longer period of time.
Homemade Coleslaw
Ingredients
4 cups finely chopped cabbage Ľ cup shredded carrot
(about 1 medium carrot)
2 tablespoons finely sliced red onions
1 green onion finely sliced
1 green chilly finely sliced
Optional : 1 small green apple finely sliced
which has been sprinkled with lemon juice
Dressing
Whisk together
˝ teaspoon pink salt
Pinch of pepper
Ľ cup milk
˝ cup mayonnaise
Ľ cup buttermilk
1 ˝ tablespoons white vinegar
2 ˝ tablespoons lemon juice
The word coleslaw
comes from the word koolsla, a conjunction of
kool (cabbage) and sla, a shortened version of
salade (salad). It is believed that Dutch
colonists near Long Island were the first to
grow cabbage in America. The Americanised
'coleslaw', the first recorded reference to
which appeared in 1794, added mayonnaise to the
earlier Dutch versions of the recipe.
Do you have a recipe to share with CCN
readers?
Send in your favourite recipe to me at
admin@ccnonline.com.au and be my "guest chef" for the week.
Welcome
to my weekly column
on Self-Care and
Clarity of Mind.
If you’re taking
time out to read
this, pat yourself
on the back because
you have shown
commitment to taking
care of your mind
and body.
Today, In Shaa
ALLAH, we will
explore the signs
and symptoms of
Anxiety and
strategies to
overcome them.
What is Anxiety?
There comes a moment
in everyone’s life
when the mind
perceives Stress.
This occurs when we
feel that there are
too many activities
to manage in too
little time. Or that
these activities
that need to be
managed are “too
expensive”, “too
difficult”, “too
embarrassing”, “too
unfamiliar”, and so
on. These
perceptions of “too
hard”, “too
expensive”, “too
embarrassing” and so
on, trigger the
brain to release
stress hormones in
the body. The most
common stress
hormone is Cortisol.
As this hormone
increases in the
body, the physical
reaction of the body
is to feel
overwhelmed.
Feeling overwhelmed
results in the
following symptoms
for most people:
• Heart palpitations
• Sweaty palms
• Dry mouth
• Fatigue
• Worry (constant)
• Fear of going
outdoors or
interaction with
people
To name a few.
The natural response
to these symptoms is
one of two things -
Fight or Flight
- that is, we choose
to either fight back
or to run away from
the situation in
order to minimise or
eradicate the above
symptoms.
The best part about
knowing this science
about Anxiety and
its symptoms is that
Anxiety can be
controlled with the
empowerment of your
own mind. Anxiety is
more often that not
a feeling of
“Exaggerated”
reality or
“Imagined” reality.
When we over
think things and
make it seem larger
than it actually is
in reality, we are
“Exaggerating”
reality.
When we over think
things and start
adding visuals in
our mind of things
that we fear may
happen but are
actually not
happening in
reality, we are
“Imagining” a
reality which is
completely false at
that moment in time.
Manage Anxiety
1. Acknowledge and
admit that you have
feelings of Anxiety.
Tell someone you can
trust that this is
how you have been
feeling. Once you
acknowledge and
admit it to yourself
and someone you
trust, the next
steps of managing
anxiety becomes
easier.
2. Avoid caffeine
and nicotine
3. Drink at least 2
litres of water
daily
4. Get at least 8
hours sleep
5. Eat wholesome,
fresh food with more
protein and less
carbohydrates
6. Walk for 30
minutes daily
7. Sit quietly for
at least five
minutes daily and
breathe deeply,
staying aware of
each breath
8. Tell yourself
this positive
affirmation:
“Everyday in every
way, I am better and
better. Thank you
Allah.”
Thought Switch
helps overcome
Anxiety
A daily practice of
Thought Switch
technique helps
overcome anxiety.
When we suffer from
anxiety our thoughts
begin to control us
to the extent where
we begin to believe
them to be real. For
example, fear of a
job interview, fear
of new parenthood,
fear of a new
relationship and so
on.
You can control your
thoughts.
Here is how to
practice Thought
Switch to change a
fearful thought to a
faithful thought.
1. Every time a
fearful thought
occurs in your mind,
become aware of it.
2. Feel the fear.
Fear is never a
pleasant thought.
3. The moment you
are aware of this
unpleasantness,
immediately start
imagining a happy
and joyful outcome
of your situation in
your mind.
4. The mind is not
able to
differentiate
between what is real
and what is
imagined. It will
entertain any
thought you plant in
it.
5. Consciously
choose only happy,
positive and joyful
mental images and
thoughts.
6. Repeat this daily
in order to form a
habit of only
positive thoughts.
In Shaa ALLAH, next
week we will explore
the signs and
symptoms of
Depression and how
to overcome it using
your Mind Power.
If you wish to know
about a specific
topic with regards
to Self-Care and
Clarity of Mind,
please text or email
me. If you wish to
have a FREE one hour
Finding Clarity
telephone session,
contact me on
0451977786
All questions sent in
are published here anonymously and without any
references to the author of the question.
Can Diet Help with Acne?
I have been asked
what can a person eat to prevent or reduce acne?
They say you are what you eat, but does it
really ring true?
Some people may tell you that eating a lot of
junk food can cause your skin to breakout.
Others may say that
eating a lot of oily foods does. Others say it
is due to consuming dairy food. There are a lot
of misleading and perhaps confusing information
out there which is why I have written a blog
post to uncover the truth according to
scientific research.
To find out the answer and read more on how diet
can affect your skin, head over to my blog at
www.diversenutrition.com.au/blog.
He wasn't sure how
many rolls of wallpaper he would need but he knew that
Habibullah who lived next door had recently done the
same job and the two rooms were identical in size.
"Brother Habibullah," he asked, "How many rolls of
wallpaper did you buy for your bedroom?"
"Ten" said Habibullah.
So Jallaludin bought the ten rolls of paper and
did the job. It looked wonderful, but he had two rolls
of wallpaper left over.
"Brother Habibullah," he said. "I bought ten rolls of
wallpaper for the bedroom, but I've got two left over!"
Do not say of anything, ‘I
will do that tomorrow,’
without adding, ‘God
willing,’ and, whenever you
forget, remember your Lord
and say, ‘May my Lord guide
me closer to what is right.’
Queensland Education & Cultural
Foundation has organised free Islamic lecture
series to inform society with regards to Islam
and its basic concepts.
The first lecture series is
related to Essentials of Islamic Faith; it is
ten weeks course and at the end, there will be
an exam to measure the knowledge and to
determine who is entitled to achieve a
certificate.
Lectures will be in two sessions;
informative (1 hour) and Q&A (30 minutes
tutorials).
There will be a break between
them for coffee/tea/refreshments.
1. All Islamic Event dates given above are supplied by
the Council of Imams QLD (CIQ) and are provided as a guide and 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.
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
MONTHLY COMMUNITY PROGRAMME
FIRST FRIDAY OF EVERY MONTH
Click on images to enlarge
IPDC
HOLLAND PARK MOSQUE
Queensland Police Service/Muslim
Community Consultative Group
Next Meeting
TIME: 7.00pm –
8.30pm DATE: Wednesday 5 APRIL 2017 VENUE: Islamic College of Brisbane [ICB].
Community Contact Command, who are situated in Police
Headquarters, will be taking over the secretariat role of
the QPS/Muslim Reference Group meeting.
Articles and
opinions appearing in this newsletter do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of the CCN Team, 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 CCN
The best ideas
and the best feedback come from our community of readers. If you
have a topic or opinion that you want to write about or want
seen covered or any news item that you think might be of benefit
to the Crescents Community please
e-mail us..
Share your
thoughts, feelings and ambitions for our community through CCN.
If there is
someone you know who would like to subscribe to CCN please
encourage them to enter their details
here.
Births, Marriages,
New Migrants and
Condolences
Race-hate
speech laws must be changed
so people can 'call out'
Muslim terrorists, perverts
and child mutilators, a One
Nation senator has told
parliament.
Controversial feminist and
author of Heretic, Ayaan
Hirsi Ali 
Scenes
from the South Africa's Ahmed Kathrada's
Funeral 
Istanbul
has always been a place where stories and histories collide.
Welcome
to my weekly column
on Self-Care and
Clarity of Mind.
If you’re taking
time out to read
this, pat yourself
on the back because
you have shown
commitment to taking
care of your mind
and body. 
post comments on
our Wall
7
August 2011