Last Sunday,
the Islamic College of
Brisbane held their Big
Autumn Fete, organised by
the College Parents’
Advisory Committee.
Alhamdulillah, this was
a great day for our Brisbane
community to get together
before Ramadan, with
something for everyone -
rides and activities for the
kids, a terrific variety of
stalls and different ethnic
cuisines.
The sun was shining brightly
and thousands
turned up to sample the food
and fun.
The
International Food Court was
a great success with an
amazing array of food from
many nations being sold.
Some were introduced to
waffle on a stick for the
first time!
The Crescents of Brisbane
team donated all their
profits from their
CresCafe cupcake and
coffee staff to the school.
Community
stallholders showcased a
huge variety of different
clothing, jewellery, islamic
books, toys and homewares.
The teachers and students at
ICB offered a variety of
showbags, sweets and treats
as well as fun activities
for the kids including
games, face-painting and
henna. The Dunkin’ Machine
was particularly popular
this year with many students
lining up to dunk their
teacher or sons lining up to
dunk their father!
Aunty Fawzi
versus Uncle Ossie
There was a
wide variety of rides for
the kids, an animal farm and
a reptile show. Our local
branch of the SES showcased
their ATV and
Chambers Flat Fire Brigade
joined us with their big
“yellow” rural fire truck!
There was an
impressive array of
entertainment on the stage
throughout the day,
showcasing the potential of
the students at ICB. Some
students presented Nasheed,
others a jump jam session
and some Year 2 students
encouraged everyone to be
happy and enjoy the day with
their Happiness song. This
year’s fete also played host
to an Adhan competition, the
3rd ICB Fete
Baking competition and our
inaugural ICB Great Spelling
Bee competition. Southside
Academy of Combat gave a
Silat demonstration. Over
100 students from 25 nations
demonstrated their
traditional dress during the
Multicultural Parade. It is
always a delight to watch
these young children
represent their heritage and
sing “We are Australian”
together.
The highlight
of the entertainment
programme had to be the
beautiful, soul touching
nasheed performance by Br
Mu’adz Dzulkefly & Br
Hafiedz from Malaysia and
the committee would like to
sincerely thank them both
for participating in our
fundraising event.
Junaid Ally did an excellent
job as the Master of
Ceremonies.
The day came
to a close in the evening
with some spectacular
fireworks!
The success
of the fete was truly in the
hands of the community who
attended.
The CPAC
Committee wishes to thank
everyone for attending and
making the day a huge
success.
All proceeds
from this event will go
towards the new Upper
Primary School Playground
due for construction later
this year and the Committee
looks forward to sharing
photos of the new playground
with all of you.
We would also
like to extend our sincere
appreciation to Cr Angela
Owen, Cr Kim Marx and the
Lord Mayor’s Suburban
Initiative Fund for their
contribution to the Fete.
We
would like to acknowledge
and thank all our sponsors
this year:
Platinum
Sponsors: ABD Poultry,
MCCA Islamic Finance &
Investments and Southside
Fitness.
Gold
Sponsors: Crescent
Wealth Islamic Super &
Investments, Kanoon Law
Group and ACRO Accounting &
Financial Planning.
Silver
Sponsors: Direct Mechanical
Service and Express Car
Cleaning.
The Q&A panel discusses
Yassmin Abdel-Magied's Anzac Day
comment and the public response.
Freedom Of Speech Is A
White Man's Privilege
By Masrur-Ul Islam Joarder
18-year-old Muslim
university student at UNSW
Yassmin’s concerns for
Manus, Nauru, Syria and
Palestine are futile.
When Muslim activist and ABC
television presenter Yassmin
Abdel-Magied posted "LEST.
WE. FORGET. (Manus, Nauru,
Syria, Palestine...)" on
Facebook on Tuesday, her
lack of sensitivity towards
Anzac Day certainly raised
eyebrows from her followers,
but it was the reaction from
the right which was most
shocking.
Multiple petitions, with
tens of thousands of
signatures, called on the
ABC to fire her from her
presenting role. She was
labelled a "bitch" by one of
Sydney's most prominent
housewives, inciting
laughter from Paul Murray on
live television. In regards
to her comments, the Deputy
Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce
said: "You can't just sweep
it under the carpet." Waves
of racist, sexist,
Islamophobic attacks came
her way because she dared to
exercise her freedom of
speech. She dared to even
utter a reference to Anzac
Day, an almost religious
occasion for most
Australians. People lost
their damn minds.
Abdel-Magied threatens every
conservative Australian who
may have reservations about
Islam and Muslims because
she is willing to engage in
discussion and reveal the
truth: that Islam advocates
for peace and the majority
of Muslims want exactly
that.
Abdel-Magied is a brown,
Muslim woman. Her opinion
does not matter. Her right
to free speech does not
count. Regardless of her
values, intellect and
demeanour, Abdel-Magied
needs to be silenced at all
costs because she is a
threat.
Abdel-Magied threatens every
conservative Australian who
may have reservations about
Islam and Muslims because
she is willing to engage in
discussion and reveal the
truth: that Islam advocates
for peace and the majority
of Muslims want exactly
that. The truth is
threatening as it limits an
individual's ability to
conceal their racism behind
a pretence of national
security and 'Australian
values'.
t does not matter exactly
what she says, the fact that
prime-time television
provides a platform for
Muslim individuals such as
Abdel-Magied and Waleed Aly
to share their views
concerns a lot of
Australians. The hate they
receive is not due to what
they say. It is due to who
they are. However, her
silencing did not begin
after she posted her Anzac
Day comment, nor after her
declaration that Islam to
her is "the most feminist
religion" in on 'Q&A'
February.
These incidents have proven
that speech is a freedom
given to the few privileged
people who already control
the narrative.
The silencing of Abdel-Magied
and other Muslim Australians
began when conversations
relating to Islam or Muslims
in any way were being led by
totally irrelevant people. A
former co-host of Dancing
with the Stars does not need
to be provided with a
national platform to target
a community struggling to
have their voices heard.
Likewise, it is not
necessary for Lisa
Oldfield's opinions on one
of the few Muslim women on
Australian television to be
broadcast. These incidents
have proven that speech is a
freedom given to the few
privileged people who
already control the
narrative about issues such
as Muslims in Australia. It
is not a freedom extended to
people who struggle to have
their voices heard.
Given the right wing's
obsession with freedom of
speech and their vitriolic
rhetoric defending their
right to offend, it is more
than just interesting when
the tables are turned. When
something as holy as Anzac
Day comes into the mix, then
suddenly free speech becomes
hate speech and causing
offense is actually a big
deal. But when it's Muslims,
people of colour, LGBT
communities etc. who are the
victims, then it's a whole
other issue. Their freedom
of speech does not need to
be respected then.
Ironic? Hypocritical? Call
it whatever you desire but
the fact is that people such
as Yassmin Abdel-Magied need
to understand something
about Australian society
today. If she does indeed
lose her presenting role or
her DFAT job due to her
insensitive Anzac Day
comments, it is not really
from that moment that her
silencing begins. It begun a
long time ago. And that is
what is truly unforgivable.
Yassmin's concerns for
Manus, Nauru, Syria and
Palestine are futile. She
needs to understand that
unfortunately freedom of
speech is only a white man's
privilege in today's
Australia.
Media group consents to
judgment as part of settlement
with Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohamed,
after paper said he had not
condemned Paris attacks
Australia grand mufti Dr
Ibrahim Abu Mohamed’s statement
of claim said he had been
brought into hatred, ridicule
and contempt.
Australia’s grand mufti has
won a defamation case over
News Corp articles depicting
him as an “unwise” monkey
and asserting he had failed
to condemn the 2015
terrorist attacks in Paris.
News Corp consented to the
judgment as part of a
confidential settlement.
Sydney’s Daily Telegraph
newspaper published two
stories highly critical of
the response of the grand
mufti, Dr Ibrahim Abu
Mohamed, to the co-ordinated
terrorist attacks that
killed 130 people in
November 2015.
One depicted him as three
“unwise” monkeys, covering
his ears, eyes and mouth,
next to the words “Sees no
problems, hears no concerns,
speaks no English”.
The second article was
headlined: “Even Hamas
condemn the Paris attacks so
why won’t Australia’s Grand
Mufti Ibrahim Abu
Mohammed?”.
Mohamed, Australia’s most
senior Sunni scholar, sued
News Corp for defamation
early last year, and
verdicts were entered by
agreement with News Corp in
his favour in the NSW
supreme court on Friday. The
terms of the settlement were
confidential.
Mohamed had alleged the
articles wrongly implied he
had failed to condemn the
terrorist attacks and
shifted blame away from the
perpetrators.
He had issued a statement
days before the defamatory
articles, which mourned the
loss of innocent lives in
Paris and expressed his
deepest condolences to
families and friends of the
victims.
The statement canvassed
“causative factors” of
terrorism, including racism,
Islamophobia, curtailing
freedoms, foreign policies
and military intervention.
Mohamed had earlier posted a
Facebook statement about the
Paris attacks and a bombing
in Beirut, which said:
“There are no words to truly
describe the devastation of
these acts but we will
continue in solidarity and
pray for peace.”
He had previously condemned
all forms of terrorism,
including on Facebook, in
interviews with the ABC and
in other formal statements.
His statement of claim
alleged he had been brought
into hatred, ridicule and
contempt, and was gravely
injured in his character and
reputation.
News Corp had previously
defended the claim, arguing
that the imputations of the
articles were substantially
true. It also argued that
some of the defamatory
imputations were an
expression of honest
opinion.
But when the matter returned
to the NSW supreme court on
Friday morning, Justice Lucy
McCallum was told the matter
had been settled.
The Australian National
Imams Council released a
statement welcoming the
outcome.
“The grand mufti ... holds
the highest religious post
for an Islamic scholar in
Australia. He has dedicated
his life to the pursuit of
knowledge, justice, and
peace, and is proud to
continue to represent the
religious views of the vast
majority of Australian
Muslims,” the statement
said.
“It is hoped that the
outcome of the proceedings
is the first step towards
improved harmony between
Australian Muslims and the
media in the future,” the
statement said.
The mufti, who was in court
on Friday, declined to
comment further.
Three
members of our P&C
Association, Sisters
Fizzah Raza, Mariyum
Lim and Daud
Abdullah, recently
attended a
roundtable meeting
presented by the
State member for
Southside, Peter
Russo MP.
The
main speaker,
Minister for
Education Hon Kate
Jones, spoke about
funding for schools
and support programs
as well as universal
Kindergarten access.
She
outlined the
benefits and
challenges of the
pending change of
secondary school
student ranking from
OP to ATAR.
The
Education
Department’s
fast-tracked
development of the
new Digital
Technology
curriculum, which
includes coding and
robotics, was
discussed and the
future focus of
other curricula
upgrades to follow.
This was a very
informative meeting
and a wonderful
opportunity for our
P&C members.
A
book titled Not
Just Black and
White, a
conversation between
mother and daughter
who tell an
inspirational story
about the power of
family and pursuing
your dreams, was
presented to our P&C
president Mr Daud
Abdullah.
Keysar Trad is seeking
re-election as the
organisation's spokesman.
The future of controversial
Muslim leader Keysar Trad
will be decided this weekend
at elections of the
Australian Federation of
Islamic Councils (AFIC).
The New South Wales Supreme
Court has ordered the
organisation to hold a fresh
vote after a messy internal
dispute ended up in the
courts.
The organisation has been in
crisis since allegations
surfaced at its six schools
around the country in 2015
that at least some schools
were operating for profit
and sending money back to
its parent organisation.
That ultimately led to Mr
Trad being installed as the
president in late 2016.
The organisation was also
forced to sever ties with
the schools, remaining only
as landlord.
In February, ousted leaders
seized the headquarters and
bank accounts in a dramatic
coup and the matter ended up
in court.
Mr Trad also made headlines
in February when he claimed
in an interview on Sky News
the Koran states it was okay
for a husband to beat his
wife, but only as a last
resort.
He later apologised for what
he said were clumsy
statements and said he did
not condone violence against
women.
Mr Trad said he has learned
his lesson and is seeking to
be re-elected as the
organisation's spokesman.
"Of course we all learn from
our mistakes and I've
learned from my clumsiness,"
he said.
"I'll be presenting to the
members that there will be a
media committee.
"We will work very hard to
focus on the positive and
keep away from controversial
territory."
The elections come as the
organisation's schools
continue to struggle to keep
federal funding.
Its Sydney school Malek Fahd
lost $19 million in federal
funding and its Canberra
school has also lost funds.
Mr Trad said they were still
working through some of the
issues that were raised by
the changes.
"In March last year, the
Australian Federation of
Islamic Councils voted to
relinquish control of the
schools to independent
boards and has only acted as
landlord in that period," he
said.
"There has been some
turbulence, some of the old
guard have refused to let
go."
Opponent weathers own
share of storms
Mr Trad's opponent in the
elections is Professor
Shahjahan Khan — a respected
statistics academic from
Toowoomba.
He said the recent turmoil
was not representative of
AFIC or the Islamic
Community.
Professor Khan has had to
weather his own share of
storms in the region.
"It took 125 years to get
the first mosque in
Toowoomba in 2014, " he
said.
"Unfortunately, there were
two fire attacks in the
following year [in] 2015 and
the mosque has been
seriously damaged and yet to
be repaired.
"I'm very happy to say
Toowoomba is a very diverse
community. I feel very proud
of the city I live in."
Promoting Australia as
'the land of the fair go'
Also on the ticket is Rateb
Jneid from the Islamic
Council of Western
Australia.
He received a $300 fine in
2014 and had a conviction
spent after being charged
with not securing a gun
cabinet properly.
Dr Rateb Jneid
It followed a raid on a
family home where his
brothers Rabih and Ziad were
charged with intent to
supply methamphetamine.
He was unavailable for
comment.
Regardless of who wins the
elections, Keyser Trad said
they will need to be a voice
for Muslims in Australia.
"We are in a way Australia's
Muslim ambassadors to the
rest of the world," he said.
"We are promoting Australia
as a great model of multi-culturalism,
inter-faith diversity and
the land of the fair go."
On
behalf
of the
Muslims
in
Toowoomba,
I want
to thank
you for
support
the
first
Mosque
in
Toowoomba
and
stood
behind
the
community
when it
was
burned
by an
arson
attack
(please
see some
media
reports
on the
fire
below
this
email).
Alhamdulillah,
finally
Toowoomba
Regional
Council
has
approved
the
rebuilding
plan of
the
burned
Masjid
and
lifted
all the
unreasonable
conditions
initially
imposed.
The
community
has done
the hard
work
with the
Council,
town
planner,
architect,
surveyor,
engineer,
acoustic
expert
and now
is ready
to start
the
rebuilding
work.
Special
thanks
to those
Muslims
in
Brisbane
and Gold
Coast
who
joined
Toowoomba
Masjid
Community
Consultation
meeting
on 7
April at
the
Holland
Park
Masjid
Hall and
made
some
valuable
suggestions
including
Friday
Masjid
collections
in
Ramadan
and
Fundraising
dinner
on 5
August
2017 at
the ICB.
May
Allah
accept
your
efforts
and
charity
to help
His only
house in
Toowoomba
and
reward
you
unboundedly.
The UK Muslim News Awards
for Excellence event was
held 27 March 2017 in London
to acknowledge British
Muslim and non-Muslim
contributions to the
society.
Annemarie
Schimmel Award for
CHAMPIONING A MUSLIM
CAUSE:
For a non-Muslim
Individual or
organisation who has
supported a Muslim
cause.
Winner: David & Liz
Gould
David and Liz Gould
are dedicated
community workers
who, despite losing
their daughter Helen
to the horrific
terrorist bombings
in London on 7 July
2005, have
vigorously supported
the most vulnerable
refugees,
particularly
Muslims. Inspired by
their Christian
faith, the couple
set up Sanctus St
Marks, an
organisation that
aims to welcome,
support and walk
alongside people who
are isolated, due to
leaving behind the
country of their
birth to seek
sanctuary in the UK.
They also
established
Interfaith Council
in Carlisle. Through
this initiative, in
2010 they organised
the first ever
Indonesian Evening
at the Carlisle
Cathedral which was
the first time that
seven different
scriptures were read
in that building in
900 years. David and
Liz, who live in
Stoke-on-Trent, have
for over five years
through donations
and speaking
engagements,
supported Woman’s
Voice, a grass root
charity which helps
women in distress.
"When you remove the
labels, people are
people and you
should treat them
equally" -
David Gould
..........The Muslim News
Awards for Excellence CONTINUES IN NEXT
WEEK'S CCN
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?
(Continued from last week's
CCN)
Whatever injury Husic
inflicts on himself by
embracing vaudeville, it is
not for lack of
contemplation. The shadow
minister has had a long time
to consider the perils of
politics. His first
opportunity came in 1995
when, as a 25-year-old
communications graduate, he
failed in a bid for
preselection in Greenway.
This was the same seat that
would elude him nine years
later as an endorsed
candidate.
Following Labor orthodoxy,
Husic spent many of his
pre-parliamentary years as a
political adviser, and union
organiser with the
Communications, Electrical,
Plumbing Union (CEPU) in the
Postal and
Telecommunications Branch.
He became National President
of the union, negotiating
hard deals with tough
managements such as those of
Australia Post and Telstra.
The only significant
departure from the
well-trodden Labor path was
in 1999 when Husic joined
energy company Integral as a
media relations manager. His
job, newspaper reports from
the time reveal, was to be
chief explainer of power
blackouts to irate
customers.
“He went through a bit
of a change when he was
targeted for being a
Muslim, and he then
became more alive to his
own religion."
Chris Bowen recalls that
after the election loss in
2004, the failed candidate
“went through quite a dark,
black period in his life. He
thought he was never going
to make it. That’s what you
do when you lose a seat. You
think, well, that’s it,
then, I’m done. He drifted a
bit.”
Bowen also observed a
significant shift in his
friend when it came to
matters of faith. “He went
through a bit of a change
when he was targeted for
being a Muslim, and he then
became more alive to his own
religion, a bit more aware
of it, and taking it a bit
more seriously.”
Husic admits to being
stricken at the loss. “I
felt really embarrassed and
ashamed that I was not able
to hold a seat we’d held
since it was created,” he
admits. “The aftermath of
that campaign…” He pauses
and groans. “God, I wish I
could turn back time because
I just dealt with it really
badly.” The most wounding
effect of the loss, Husic
insists, was personal rather
than political.
“I did feel very bad when my
dad said to me – and it
still cuts me to the core
today – ‘I hope that there
was nothing about us that
held you back’, which I knew
was code. And I said to him,
we’ll never drop our face in
shame.”
“My parents had saved us.
They’d lifted us through
their own sacrifice, and
gone through a period of
isolation themselves, way
worse than what I’d ever
experienced, to make sure
that their kids had done
well. And for them to
internalise what they had
seen in their son, and to
say [they] had been
responsible – that was the
worst thing,” says Husic,
eyes shining with tears.
The retirement of the
previous, long-serving, MP
for Chifley, Roger Price,
eventually provided Husic
with his winning opportunity
six years later in 2010. As
it happened, Husic had
worked in Price’s office at
a critical juncture – the
90s, marked by war in the
Balkans. It was a
nerve-wracking time for
Husic’s family as they
waited for news of relatives
in Bosnia. The conflict, in
part a campaign of ethnic
cleansing, tore apart Serbs,
Croats and Bosnian Muslims.
Ms Mobinah
Ahmad,
Multimedia
Journalist,
AMUST and Mr Zia
Ahmad, Managing
Editor, AMUST
with Hon Ray
Williams MP.
AMUST Interview
with NSW
Minister Ray
Williams
By Zia Ahmad,
Managing Editor
of AMUST
The Hon Ray
Williams MP,
Minister for
Multiculturalism
and Minister for
Disability
Services in the
State of NSW
granted a 45
minutes’
audience with
AMUST Team at
his offices at
the Parliament
of New South
Wales on Monday
24 April 2017.
You’ve been
in this
portfolio for
almost three
months, how do
you feel about
it?
It’s a great
portfolio. It’s
given me the
opportunity to
look at the
world in a very
short space of
time through all
the cultural
festivals. Every
week there is a
major cultural
festival across
Sydney
Metropolitan
area and New
South Wales.
Literally,
hundreds of
thousands of
people attend
these festivals
and the
wonderful thing
about it is that
they’re being
embraced more
broadly by the
community. The
community sees a
festival
regardless of
what it is, and
they want to be
there.
It’s colourful,
its bright,
there’s dancing
and in
particular,
there is food
and nothing
encourages
Australians more
than a good
feast. They’re
flocking to
their great
cultural
festival, and
that in itself
is creating
great social
cohesion and
harmony. I’m
very proud to
represent this
portfolio.
What sort of
commitment do
you have in
terms of
Multiculturalism
in this climate
and trend
towards populism
which we are
seeing in Europe
and maybe to
some extent in
Australia as
well and that
some people are
against
Multiculturalism?
My message from
day one has been
our culture, our
great Australian
culture and this
country is the
sum total of
every
nationality
around the
world. We’ve
each come
together and
built a country
that is the envy
of the world. It
is unique in its
nature and is
richer from its
diversity.
It is unique in
the fact that we
are living
peacefully and
respectfully as
one, I think
that’s very
important. I’m
not that naďve,
that I don’t see
that there are
always
challenges, and
there have
always have been
in this country.
We’ve never
backed away from
that, we’ve
never hidden
away from those
challenges,
we’ve met them
head on, we’ve
discussed those
things
rationally and
reasonably and
we’ve moved
forward and
we’ll continue
to do that, and
continue to
build a better
country.
I wish the world
would focus more
closely, whilst
they envy us, I
just wish they
would take on
board what we’ve
built through
respect, peace
and freedom.
The interesting
thing about it
is it has
largely come
about through
respect and
freedom, we
don’t place any
restrictions on
people, it is a
free country. We
respect the
people that come
here, we respect
their cultures,
their religions
and then we just
move forward
together as one.
AMUST
Christians,
Muslims and
monotheism
The disciplining
of a professor
raises an old
philosophical
question
The conundrum of
whether
Christians and
Muslims revere
the same God
EVERY so often a
question that
seems purely
abstract and
philosophical
passes into the
realm of hard
reality where
people's lives
and destinies
are determined.
One such
conundrum is
whether or not
Christians and
Muslims can be
said to worship
the same God.
For nearly a
decade, the
question has
preoccupied
judges,
politicians and
ordinary folk in
Malaysia, a
country where
Islam is the
most
widely-followed
faith but large
minorities
follow other
faiths,
including
Christianity. In
2007, a court
ruled that
non-Muslims (and
Christians in
particular)
could not use
the word "Allah"
although that
happens to be
the Malay or
Bahasa word for
God. The Islamic
authorities
reasoned that
Muslims might be
confused, and
tempted to go
astray, if they
came across
people of other
persuasions
addressing a
deity which only
Muslims fully
understood. In
the course of
many legal
battles, this
view has
prevailed;
Christian
printed matter
using the word
"Allah" has
often been
impounded as a
result.
In 1965, the
Roman Catholic
church
approached the
question in a
very different
spirit, in its
landmark
treatise, Nostra
Aetate. A key
passage states:
The Church
regards with
esteem also
the Muslims.
They adore
the one God,
living and
subsisting
in Himself,
merciful and
all-powerful,
the Creator
of heaven
and earth,
who has
spoken to
men; they
take pains
to submit
wholeheartedly
even to His
inscrutable
decrees,
just as
Abraham with
whom the
faith of
Islam takes
pleasure in
linking
itself,
submitted to
God.
But when Larycia
Hawkins, an
African-American
assistant
professor at
Wheaton College,
an evangelical
campus near
Chicago, voiced
similar views
last month, she
created a
firestorm. She
was suspended
from teaching,
and procedures
which could lead
to her dismissal
were initiated.
It all started
with a Facebook
posting in which
she declared her
intention, as an
act of
friendship with
stigmatised
Muslims, to wear
a hijab to work
in the run-up to
Christmas, and
added: "I stand
in religious
solidarity with
Muslims because
they, like me, a
Christian, are
people of the
book. As Pope
Francis stated
last week, we
worship the same
God."
When challenged
by the college
authorities
about what she
believed, she
replied with a
statement of
stricter
theological
orthodoxy than
many a liberal
or "mainline"
Protestant
cleric would be
able to make: "I
believe in one
sovereign God,
eternally
existing in
three Persons:
the everlasting
Father, his
only-begotten
Son Jesus Christ
our Lord, and
the Holy Spirit,
the giver of
life..." On the
commonality
between the two
monotheisms, she
had something
more enigmatic
to say. After
citing various
Catholic and
Protestant
sources,
including Nostra
Aetate, she
added:
Like them I
acknowledge
that the
statement
"we worship
the same
God" is a
simultaneous
"yes" and
"no" to the
question of
whether
Christians
and Muslims
(as well as
Jews) turn
to the same
object of
worship..."
Yes and No?
That's where
philosophy may
be able to help.
In 1905, the
great British
philosopher
Bertrand Russell
started a
century of
discussion by
penning a famous
essay showing
how an
apparently
simple statement
can in fact be
asserting many
things at once.
Specifically, to
say, "the king
of France is
bald" is to
imply both that
i) there is a
king of France,
and only one of
them and ii)
that sovereign
has a hairless
scalp.
Compared with
that assertion
about the royal
pate, the
statement that
"Christians and
Muslims worship
the same God" is
much more
complex and
multi-layered,
and it means
entirely
different things
on the lips of
different
people. If you
are an atheist
and think that
all "gods" are
human
constructs, then
it is true, in a
sense, that
every
worshipper's god
is different,
because slightly
different
constructs are
being made. If
you are a
monotheist,
convinced there
is only one
transcendent
deity, then
discussion about
"the same" God
or different
ones doesn't
make much sense.
God is God
whether or not
people have the
right ideas
about Him. If
you are a
polytheist, then
it is logically
possible to
discuss whether
two groups of
people worship
the same god;
but on that
view, both
Christians and
Muslims must be
radically
mistaken.
In the
philosophical
debate about the
royal pate,
everybody agrees
on an important
background fact:
with due respect
to claimants
from the House
of Bourbon,
there is no king
of France. So
the statement
about his scalp
is false. But
there is no
consensus on the
crucial
"background
fact" in the
Christian-Muslim
question: do one
or more gods
exist? For that
reason, it is
almost
impossible to
discuss; and
certainly not an
appropriate
yardstick to
assess the
suitability of a
professor.
The ECONOMIST
We must
challenge the
idea of male
guardianship
that normalises
the violation of
Muslim women's
rights, says
Sarah Malik
How can Muslim
feminists
reclaim their
religion from
men?
OPINION By Sarah
Malik
I'm at a wedding
and my heart
sinks. The imam
is smiling as he
addresses a
large South
Asian banquet
hall fragrant
with biryani
waiting to be
devoured.
The imam
proclaims how it
is the duty of
the groom to
love and be kind
to his wife, as
if she were a
dog or a child.
He then reminds
the bride to
respect and obey
the authority of
her husband.
This seems at
best benign and
paternalistic.
But it is just
one example of
how male
guardianship and
authority
proliferates in
Muslim faith
communities.
It is a form of
control that has
a profound
impact on women
seeking divorce
and religious
mediation in
marital
disputes, and
normalises the
social policing
of a woman's
movements,
behaviour and
even dress, the
kind of control
that defines
domestic
violence.
So why is this
occurring?
In part it is
because of the
problematic
Quranic verse
4:34, which is
misused by some
men to claim
superiority over
women.
It's an evasion
to say beliefs
in male headship
are only
cultural when
the framework of
guardianship
asserted in
understandings
of this verse
inform roles and
expectations of
women.
The recent video
of two women,
reportedly
belonging to the
fringe Islamic
group Hizb
ut-Tahrir,
discussing the
apparent
permissibility
of symbolic
wife-disciplining
has highlighted
the schisms in
diaspora Muslim
communities
struggling to
understand how
to adapt to a
modern Western
context.
While the
controversial
video was widely
condemned by
Muslim community
leaders who
reject the
notion that
Islam permits
violence against
women, the Hizb
women aren't
entirely
misinformed.
It doesn't
negate the fact
some Muslims do
believe it is
permissible to
discipline your
wife.
They are getting
their
information from
readings I've
heard myself in
the Uncle-led
mosques of the
western suburbs.
These are the
circles not
privileged by
the affluent or
middle-class
intellectuals.
They are
ordinary
Muslims.
Male
authority
controls
relationships,
Mosques
Imams need to be
as vociferous in
condemning these
interpretations
in their private
groups to the
working class
faithful as they
are in public to
the media.
The application
of this verse is
filtered in the
advice given to
women who are
told to
tolerate, "be
patient" or
acquiesce to
male authority
at every stage
of their
relationship —
or to think of
their husband as
a CEO who should
lead the family.
It's reinforced
by spaces and
religious
settings where
girls are
directed to sit
at the back and
literally take
up less space.
For young,
second-generation
Muslim couples,
these wedding
speeches by
Imams are a kind
of shrugging
formality.
Hasan
Minhaj's COMPLETE ROAST At The
2017 White House Correspondents'
Dinner
Hasan Minhaj's full comedic
roast of Donald Trump, media
outlets, and Washington D.C. at
the 2017 White House
Correspondents' Dinner.
Before you
Rush to Judge Someone OnePath Network
Living Muslim
presents a hilarious new
reminder that sheds light on
the importance of clarifying
any situation before jumping
to conclusions. The video is
based off an authentic
narration of the Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) who is narrated
to have said: "Beware of
suspicion, for suspicion is
the worst of false tales.
And do not look for the
faults of others and do not
spy, and do not be jealous
of one another, and do not
desert (cut your relation
with) one another, and do
not hate one another; and O
Allah's worshipers! Be
brothers (as Allah has
ordered you!").
Coming
soon: A closer look at halal
certification
Q Society / HalalChoices
Kirralie
Smith has interviewed
Senator Cory Bernardi,
George Christensen MP,
Debbie Robinson (Q Society &
Australian Liberty Alliance)
and Bernard Gaynor regarding
halal certification.
The full video is coming
soon.
Pope in Egypt Catholic News Service
On Saturday,
Pope Francis celebrated Mass
for Egypt's small Catholic
community
Marine Le Pen and Muslims
Marine Le Pen
calls for Mosque closings
and the elimination of
Muslim Brotherhood in
France.
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.
SOUTH
AFRICA: Muslim boys who attend Ordinary
Public Schools (OPS) or Independent
Schools (IS) were and are experiencing
great difficulties of different and
varying magnitudes whenever they grow a
Sunnah Beard. Darul Ihsan Offices is
constantly inundated with requests from
desperate parents and even more anxious
school-goers to approach Principals for
leniency.
In some instances the affected boys,
some even in their Matric Year, were:
● barred from attending classes;
● chastised and humiliated in front of
the school assembly;
● compelled to shave off their Sunnah
Beards in the presence of fellow pupils;
● forced to perform some demeaning
menial task as punishment for
“transgressing” the school’s
“disciplinary code”; etc.
Darul Ihsan was/is
greatly concerned about this flagrant
transgression of the Bill of Rights as
encompassed in the Constitution of our
beloved Land. In order to ease the
pressure and pain of the affected boys,
Darul Ihsan made a direct approach to
the Ministry of Basic Education for
clarity and a binding decision.
Alhamdulillah,
the response from the Department of
Basic Education, dated 07/04/2017
clearly defines the right for Muslim
adult boys to keep the beard.
The
extraordinary ways in which China humiliates
Muslims
Bans on “abnormal” beards and
even the name “Muhammad”
CHINA: CHINESE officials
describe the far western province of
Xinjiang as a “core area” in the vast
swathe of territory covered by the
country’s grandiose “Belt and Road
Initiative” to boost economic ties with
Central Asia and regions beyond. They
hope that wealth generated by the scheme
will help to make Xinjiang more
stable—for years it has been plagued by
separatist violence which China says is
being fed by global jihadism. But the
authorities are not waiting. In recent
months they have intensified their
efforts to stifle the Islamic identity
of Xinjiang’s ethnic Uighurs, fearful
that any public display of their
religious belief could morph into
militancy.
Xinjiang’s 10m Uighurs (nearly half of
its population) have long been used to
heavy-handed curbs: a ban on
unauthorised pilgrimages to Mecca,
orders to students not to fast during
Ramadan, tough restrictions on Islamic
garb (women with face-covering veils are
sometimes not allowed on buses), no
entry to many mosques for people under
18, and so on.
But since he took over last August as
Xinjiang’s Communist Party chief, Chen
Quanguo has launched even harsher
measures—pleased, apparently, by his
crushing of dissent in Tibet where he
previously served as leader. As in
Tibet, many Xinjiang residents have been
told to hand their passports to police
and seek permission to travel abroad. In
one part of Xinjiang all vehicles have
been ordered to install satellite
tracking-devices. There have been
several shows of what officials call
“thunderous power”, involving thousands
of paramilitary troops parading through
streets.
Last month, new rules came into effect
that banned “abnormal” beards (such as
the one worn by the man pictured in
front of the main mosque in Kashgar in
south-western Xinjiang). They also
called on transport workers to report
women wearing face veils or full-body
coverings to the police, and prohibited
“naming of children to exaggerate
religious fervour”. A leaked list of
banned names includes Muhammad, Mecca
and Saddam. Parents may not be able to
obtain vital household-registration
papers for children with unapproved
names, meaning they could be denied free
schooling and health care.
Residents have also been asked to spy on
each other. In Urumqi, the region’s
capital, locals can report security
threats via a new mobile app. People
living in Altay in northern Xinjiang
have been promised rewards of up to 5m
yuan ($720,000) for tip-offs that help
capture militants—over 200 times the
local income per person.
Across Xinjiang residents have been
asked to inform the authorities of any
religious activities, including weddings
and circumcisions. The government is
also testing its own people’s loyalty.
In March an official in Hotan in
southern Xinjiang was demoted for
“timidity” in “fighting against
religious extremism” because he chose
not to smoke in front of a group of
mullahs.
Mr Chen is widely rumoured to be a
contender for a seat in the ruling
Politburo in a reshuffle due late this
year. Displays of toughness may help to
ingratiate him with China’s president,
Xi Jinping, who has called for “a great
wall of iron” to safeguard Xinjiang.
Spending on security in Xinjiang was
nearly 20% higher in 2016 than the year
before. Adverts for security-related
jobs there increased more than threefold
last year, reckon James Leibold of La
Trobe University and Adrian Zenz of the
European School of Culture and Theology
at Korntal, Germany.
Uighurs have been blamed for several
recent attacks in Xinjiang. In one of
them in February, in the southern
prefecture of Hotan, three
knife-wielding men killed five people
and injured several others before being
shot dead by police (local reports
suggested the violence occurred after a
Uighur family was punished for holding a
prayer session at home). Officials may
be congratulating themselves on the
success of their tactics; reported
large-scale attacks by Uighurs inside
and outside Xinjiang have abated in the
past 18 months. Yet as in Tibet,
intrusive surveillance and curbs on
cultural expression have fuelled
people’s desperation. “A community is
like a fruit,” says a Uighur driver from
Kashgar. “Squash it too hard and it will
burst.”
This
Muslim Woman Who Wears Niqab Spent Most Of
This Week Shutting Down Haters
At the end of
the day I'm not a terrorist, I'm
not a bomber as they call me in
the street. I'm a scientist,"
Sahar Al-Faifi told BuzzFeed
News.
UK : This is Sahar Al-Faifi
from Cardiff, a molecular geneticist who
works at an NHS cancer diagnostics lab
in a hospital.
She works at an NHS cancer diagnostics
lab in a hospital during the day, and is
a community leader with Citizens UK, the
community organisation. She also has an
executive position on the Muslim Council
of Britain.
And she goes skydiving five times a
year.
However, she's been pretty busy this
week after UKIP launched their
integration policy pledging to ban face
coverings. Paul Nuttall, the Ukip
leader, told the Andrew Marr Show: "You
need to see people's faces".
After a week of back to back interviews,
including two TV interviews and around
five radio interviews, Al-Faifi spoke to
BuzzFeed News: "It's been really hectic
for me the last 48 hours," she said.
"Since Ukip announced their manifesto
[and burka ban policy] on Sunday, I've
been receiving phonecalls constantly,
personally and through the Muslim
Council of Wales, from radio interviews,
and TV shows."
She was meant to have a week off, she
said. Yet on Monday she found herself
being invited to do an interview with
BBC's Victoria Live Show, alongside
UKIP's Liz Jones. She then did an
interview on ITV's This Morning, which
has been watched nearly a quarter of a
million times on YouTube.
She was interviewed
alongside Dr Taj Hargey, the founder of
the Open Mosque initiative, who
disagrees with face coverings. He
brought along a Qur'an and niqab on set,
which he picked up, saying: "How is this
thing symbolic of Islam?"
Al-Faifi says that since the interviews
this week she has been inundated with
messages of support. Straight after the
interview a This Morning poll showed 71%
of viewers said no to the question:
"Should Britain ban the burka?"
"I must say I am overwhelmed by the kind
messages that I received from my Muslim
friends, and friends of faith and
non-faith groups, Jewish friends, from
LGBT [groups], from all over society
sending me messages of support, kind
feedback and I'm thinking: alhamdulillah,
God has blessed me to do that, and I can
only work with other people to make sure
that hate is history, and hate has no
place in our country," she said.
"It's almost [as if] Muslims are guilty
unless proven otherwise. It's the other
way around."
She says despite working for four years
in a cancer diagnostic laboratory and
having a masters in genetics, and
community activism, she's faced a great
deal of anti-Muslim hate.
"I have been struggling and suffering a
lot because of the [amount] of physical
and verbal abuse I've been facing. At
the end of the day I'm not a terrorist,
I'm not a bomber as they call me in the
street. I'm a scientist."
The assistant
secretary general for the Muslim
Council of Wales, Sahar Al-Faifi,
has defended wearing a face
veil, saying it is an "act of
worship". UKIP has pledged to
ban burkas or niqabs because
they are a "potent symbol of
female oppression" and a
"security risk". Ms Al-Faifi,
who has worn a niqab since she
was 14, said it was a "false
narrative" to suggest a face
veil was a security threat.
Speaking to the Victoria
Derbyshire show, she said: "It
suits the context that we live
to demonise and scapegoat
minorities and the easiest
target for that is the Muslim
woman." She said empowering
Muslim women should involve
supporting their right to
"express their faith in the way
they want".
In one recent case, she says she was
doing an interview with the BBC when
someone looked into the camera and
called her a "fucking bomber".
"In another incident inside the hospital
where I work I was walking from one
department to the other with patient
samples and someone passed by and said:
'Don't cut off my head you Isis.' Yes,
inside the hospital," she said.
"I just said: At least respect the
patients around us. Keep your hate and
bigotry outside the hospital."
For Al-Faifi, such abuse has "become
part of my life unfortunately. She
added: "There are many sisters wearing
the headscarf have been abused and
sisters who don't wear the hijab and
have been abused.
"So you can say the hate and bigotry has
become normalised so much so it has been
accepted and people wouldn't interfere.
In most cases I've been abused and
people would watch."
Al-Faifi, who first began wearing the
niqab when she was 14, says she grew up
seeing discussions about it. "Oh yeah
I'm fed up. I'm fed up with it. It's
every year. Almost every year we're
still talking about this piece of
fabric."
Circuits of Faith: Migration, Education, and the Wahhabi
Mission
by
Michael Farquhar
Description
The Islamic
University of Medina was established by the
Saudi state in 1961 to provide religious
instruction primarily to foreign students.
Students would come
to Medina for religious education and were then
expected to act as missionaries, promoting an
understanding of Islam in line with the core
tenets of Wahhabism.
By the early 2000s,
more than 11,000 young men from across the globe
had graduated from the Islamic University.
Circuits of Faith offers the first examination
of the Islamic University and considers the
efforts undertaken by Saudi actors and
institutions to exert religious influence far
beyond the kingdom's borders.
Michael Farquhar
draws on Arabic sources, including biographical
materials, memoirs, syllabi, and back issues of
the Islamic University journal, as well as
interviews with former staff and students, to
explore the institution's history and faculty,
the content and style of instruction, and the
trajectories and experiences of its students.
Countering typical
assumptions, Farquhar argues that the project
undertaken through the Islamic University
amounts to something more complex than just the
one-way "export" of Wahhabism.
Through
transnational networks of students and faculty,
this Saudi state-funded religious mission also
relies upon, and has in turn been influenced by,
far-reaching circulations of persons and ideas.
KB says:This is an easy recipe
to follow and it's great for any occasion. It's
a very moist loaf cake, ideally cut into slices
and buttered. It keeps very well in an airtight
container but it usually doesn't last longer
than a day before it's all gone!
Date
and Nut Loaf
Ingredients
150g chopped dates
5ml bicarbonate of soda
200ml boiling water
60g butter
100g brown sugar
1 egg
5ml vanilla essence
50g chopped pecan or walnuts nuts
200g flour
5ml baking powder
Chopped Pecan nuts or walnuts for decorating.
Method
1. Sprinkle bicarbonate of soda onto the dates,
pour boiling water over and allow it to soak.
2. Cream the butter and brown sugar, beat in the
egg, and add essence and the nuts.
3. Gently fold in the sifted flour and baking
powder.
4. Lastly add in the date mixture resulting in a
soft mixture.
Pour into a greased
loaf pan or mini loaf pans, decorate with pecans
and bake at 180”c for approx 10 mins for mini
loaf pans or approx 20 mins in a loaf pan.
This can be served
warm with ice cream as a desert or sliced and
served with tea.
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 topic
“Live from
Abundance”.
In recent times, due
to an increase in
popularity of New
Age Philosophy,
certain words have
been trending on
social media with a
purpose to motivate
people into living
better lives. Words
such as Mindfulness,
Gratitude and
Abundance, to name a
few. Whilst
motivational quotes
may be poetic and
profound, their
purpose is only
fulfilled if the one
who reads them truly
understands the
essence of these
words and actually
practises them by
having a mindset
that aligns with
these words.
Abundance
(plenty) is a
mindset. Living from
Abundance is a
conscious practice.
As Muslims, when we
ponder on ALLAH’s
creations, we
realise that HE has
actually blessed us
with ABUNDANCE. All
limits or lack that
we perceive are
self-imposed.
For example, how
often do
relationships suffer
due to arguments
concerning money? Or
the lack of it? How
often do we find
ourselves feeling
anxious because we
fear we may not have
enough - enough
courage, enough
money, enough
knowledge about a
subject, enough
physical beauty,
enough intelligence,
enough children,
enough material
possessions?
Notice, it is only
humans who have this
fear. ALLAH has
created this entire
planet for our
benefit and yet we
live from fear.
Unless we open our
minds to embrace
this abundance, we
will go on living
from lack.
If you take a
teaspoon to the
ocean, you will fill
only a teaspoonful
of water. The
abundance of the
ocean remains before
you and yet you only
fill a teaspoonful.
Similarly, ALLAH has
blessed us with an
abundance of joy,
kindness, love,
creativity, peace -
all in nature within
us and outside of us
- yet we present our
own limiting vessels
(our closed minds)
to capture only a
fraction of this
abundance.
Furthermore, we
begin to believe
that the vessel is
the source and its
limitation gives us
an illusion of a
false security. All
along, the one and
only source -
ALMIGHTY ALLAH -
bestows us with an
abundance that we
reject because we
begin to live in
fear of the lack of
space in our own
vessels.
Let us transform
ourselves right this
moment and cultivate
a mindset whereby we
live from abundance.
How to change
mindset from “Lack”
to “Abundance”
1. Praise
ALMIGHTY ALLAH
for all that HE
has already
given you. Write
down a list of
everything you
are blessed
with.
2. Now, Praise
ALMIGHTY ALLAH
for all the
things you wish
you had but
don’t have.
Believe it or
not, there is
goodness in all
that you don’t
have.
3. Consciously
choose positive
words when
talking about
your situation.
The more you
affirm your life
positively, the
more positive
outcomes arise
from situations.
Refer to
examples below:
Someone wise once
said, “When you
change the way you
look at things, the
things you look at
change.”
In Shaa ALLAH, next
week we will explore
the topic:
Emotional Blackmail
If you wish to know
about a specific
topic with regards
to Self-Care and
Clarity of Mind,
please text or email
me or visit
www.muslimahmindmatters.com.
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.
I'm new to this healthy
thing..
where do I start?
I often come across people who wants to start
eating healthy or adopt a healthy lifestyle,
however, it seems one of the main problems is
that they don't know where to begin... Or they
take the wrong step to begin with.
Adopting the latest diet or trend you have read
on your Facebook feed or watched on YouTube that
day may not actually be the healthiest or the
best diet for you. Sure, it may have worked for
the person in the before/after photos, but that
person is not you,
You don't need to go Paleo, Vegan or quit sugar
in order to be healthy.
Here's the truth... there is no ONE diet that
fits every body. Because, let's face it,
everyone is different. Can we agree that we all
have different genes, backgrounds, tastes,
preferences, and lifestyles, to say the least ?
This is why when I work with clients, I match my
advice individually to that person according to
these factors.
So you're probably reading this and thinking, ok
that all makes sense but this doesn't answer the
question of where I can begin to be more
healthy?
Those who spend their wealth
for increase in
self-purification, and have
in their minds no favour
from anyone for which a
reward is expected in
return, but only the desire
to seek for the Countenance
of their Lord Most High; and
soon will they attain
(complete) satisfaction.
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 17 MAY (postponed from 5 APRIL) 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.
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here.
Births, Marriages,
New Migrants and
Condolences
Beard
issue finally resolved for high school boys 
SOUTH
AFRICA: Muslim boys who attend Ordinary
Public Schools (OPS) or Independent
Schools (IS) were and are experiencing
great difficulties of different and
varying magnitudes whenever they grow a
Sunnah Beard. Darul Ihsan Offices is
constantly inundated with requests from
desperate parents and even more anxious
school-goers to approach Principals for
leniency.
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. 
Mula
Nasruddin
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7
August 2011