On
Thursday June 8 the
Queensland Intercultural Society
and ACCES Services put on an
Iftar dinner with 300 meals for
local families, the homeless and
refugees in the ACCESS social
enterprise café Harmony in Carmody
cafe carpark.
The occasion was
used to help in
"demystifying
Ramadan, build
understanding and
break down barriers
through shared food
and friendships".
Saudi Arabia's football
association has apologised after
its players appeared to snub a
minute's silence for the victims
of the London attacks during
their match against Australia.
Politicians and comedians
were left outraged after
Saudi Arabia did not observe
a minute’s silence for the
London terror victims before
Thursday’s FIFA World Cup
qualifier against Australia.
That was despite the
Adelaide Oval ground
announcer calling for
silence to honour those who
lost their lives in London
last weekend, including
Australian women Kirsty
Boden and Sara Zelenak.
The Socceroos lined up at
the centre circle with arms
linked when prompted, but
some of their opponents
moved to their positions,
while others appeared to be
warming up.
The Saudi Arabian Football
Federation on Friday issued
an unreserved apology for
the incident, saying it
regretted the failure of
“some players” to properly
observe the tribute.
Football fans reacted in
outrage after the incident,
with Football Federation
Australia [FFA] issuing a
statement saying that “this
tradition was not in keeping
with Saudi culture”.
The Saudi apology did not
stop the likes of Labor
frontbencher Anthony
Albanese and comedian Dave
Hughes condemning the
behaviour.
“That was a disgraceful lack
of respect, not just for the
two Australians killed, one
of whom was a young South
Australian, all of those
victims of that terror
attack in London,” Mr
Albanese said on Channel
Nine’s Today Show.
“There is no excuse here.
This isn’t about culture,
this is about a lack of
respect.
“I thought it was
disgraceful. It’s bloody
disgraceful, I’m so angry
about this.”
Deputy Prime Minister
Barnaby Joyce added: “I am
sure the Saudi government
themselves will be having a
strong word to them.
“When you are in another
nation, you respect the
issues that are important to
them.
“I am going to give them the
benefit of the doubt and say
that they did not know what
they were doing.”
Victorian federal senator
Derryn Hinch said their
behaviour “should not be
forgotten”.
“It is an insult. Saudi
Arabia – that is where those
terrorists came from,” he
told the Seven Network.
Hughes posted on Twitter
that in future, the Saudi
Arabian football team should
be barred from entering
Australia.
The Saudi Arabian Football
Federation said the players
“did not intend any
disrespect” in an official
statement.
“The Saudi Arabian Football
Federation deeply regrets
and unreservedly apologises
for any offence caused by
the failure of some members
of the representative team
of the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia to formally observe
the one minute’s silence in
memory of the victims of the
London terrorist attack on 3
June 2017, prior to the
World Cup qualifying match
against Australia in
Adelaide,” it read.
“The players did not intend
any disrespect to the
memories of the victims or
to cause upset to their
families, friends or any
individual affected by the
atrocity.
“The Saudi Arabian Football
Federation condemns all acts
of terrorism and extremism
and extends its sincerest
condolences to the families
of all the victims and to
the government and people of
the United Kingdom.”
Initially responding to the
incident, the FFA reportedly
said: “Both the AFC [Asian
Football Confederation] and
the Saudi team agreed that
the minute of silence could
be held.
“The FFA was further advised
by Saudi team officials that
this tradition was not in
keeping with Saudi culture
and they would move to their
side of the field and
respect our custom while
taking their own positions
on the field.”
The New Daily
CORRESPONDENCE
Dear Ash Kip
and Lutsy and Suzie!
My name is Ahmet, I have
enjoyed your program for a
very long time, and have
cherished Suzie since a
child watching her compete
at the Olympics and making
us proud as an Australian
Nation. I write to you as an
ardent listener of your
program and a concerned
citizen. On this morning’s
program (9th June), I also
shared your sentiments of
disappointment when hearing
about the Saudi soccer teams
lack of coherence towards
the moment of silent
proceeding in last night’s
match.
As an Australian practicing
Muslim I understand the
feelings of disappointment
of our Australian public
regarding their actions of
this soccer team. As FIFA
does not promote any
religious sentiments during
games, it’s a no brainer
that local customs,
traditions and protocol
should be respected. On this
morning’s show, it had been
quoted from a website
stating that the moment of
silence in Islam is
‘reprehensible’, this is
merely is an opinion amongst
millions of other opinions
on the world wide
web(internet) and such
opinions are void and does
not have any context towards
a local application or
context that is rooted in
sacred sources. As a local
born and bred Australian
Muslim I can quote you from
reliable sources that A
funeral passed by the
Prophet Muhammed and he
stood up in silence out of
respect. It was said to him,
“It is a Jew.” The Prophet
said, “Was he not a human
soul?” Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī
1250, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 961.
As it would be applicable in
any industry and profession,
It is due diligence we
approach our local experts
to consult and confide with
such concerns to gain an
informed understanding,
particularly as you at Nova
are the 4th estate that
informs us the public of
realities, offers balanced
perspective and protects our
civil liberties. It is most
important in these trying
times where powerful people
aim to divide and perpetuate
fear that our broadcasting
promotes understanding,
circumspection, respect and
harmony.
In the future please contact
The Islamic Council of
Queensland Ali Kadri or a
credible local community
representative to provide an
Australian Muslim community
perspective.
yours sincerely
Ahmet Ertan
Dear Ahmet,
I refer to
your complaint dated 9 June
2017 regarding your concerns
with comments made on the
“Ash, Kip & Luttsy” Show
(the ‘Show’) on Nova 106.9
on 9 June 2017 (the
‘Complaint’).
I am the
General Manager and Program
Director of Nova 106.9 and
wanted to personally contact
you on behalf of Ash, Kip,
Luttsy and Susie. Thank you
kindly for contacting us
with your feedback. It is
always very touching for us
to hear from our most loyal
listeners such as yourself.
I personally
sat down with them today to
discuss your complaint and
they asked me to extend
their sincere apologies for
any offence they may have
caused to you, that was not
their intention at all. Nova
106.9 takes great pride in
ensuring all our listeners
and all parts of our
community are treated with
respect regardless of
culture, nationality and
religion.
We thank you
for better informing us of
local community
organisations we can contact
for future segments so we
can better represent,
reflect and understand the
Australian Muslim community
here in Brisbane. We have
made efforts to look into
such organisations and will
certainly do our best to
present a more verified and
balanced understanding of
Islamic practices.
We take our
responsibilities as a
broadcaster very seriously
and it is feedback such as
yours that assists us in
determining the types of
things that our audience
both like and dislike when
listening to the radio. If
you’d like to discuss your
Complaint with me further, I
welcome you to contact me
directly on 07 3872 6803.
Thank you for being a loyal
and valued listener of Nova
106.9.
Yours
sincerely,
Jay
Walkerden
NOVA General
Manager/Program Director
Dear Jay,
I am sure Ahmet will be
pleased to read your kind
response but let me take
this opportunity to
personally and on behalf of
Islamic Council of
Queensland, thank you for a
kind and prompt response to
Ahmet’s concerns.
Terrorism has effected
Muslim community a lot more
than any other community as
we are the biggest victims
of terror and we are
expected to explain or
apologies for atrocities
which we have no influence
on. I do believe that most
of the hostility against
Muslim community is a result
of ignorance about Islam and
that is exactly why we have
been trying to be as
proactive as we can in
engaging media organisations
like yourself. Ahmet is
respected member of our
community and I am heartened
to know that he recognises
me and our organisation as a
proper representation of
Muslims in Queensland.
I am sure as a leader who
has influence over public
opinion, you try you best to
ensure that programs on your
station provide fair and
balanced view. I do
understand that sometimes
emotions do take over but I
am positive that as a nation
and as a community we will
rise above the mistrust and
will prevail over ignorance.
I can be contacted on 0430
029 718 and would love to be
able to provide a counter
narrative to some
misconceptions about Islam.
Our organisation represents
16 Mosques and is supported
by most of the individuals
and non-member
organisations. Our team of
volunteers have worked hard
to rebuild this organisation
and engage our community to
ensure that we speak for
most if not all the Muslims
in Queensland.
Once again I thank you and
Ahmet for starting this
important conversation.
Kind Regards,
Ali Kadri
Spokesperson
Islamic Council of
Queensland
The fourth
annual iftar-dinner
meeting of
the
Queensland
Police
Service was
held in the
Greek Club
Restaurant
in South
Brisbane
during the
week.
Community
representatives
from a
diverse
range of
ethnic and
local
represent
communities
turned up
for the
occasion.
The keynote
address was
delivered by
Leading
Senior
Constable,
Albert
Fatieh in
the Victoria
Police where
he serves as
an Advisory
Community
Liaison
Officer and
tasked with
strengthening
relationships
and
understanding
between
community
and police.
In 2013, Mr
Fatieh
founded the
Victorian
Police
Muslim
Association
which has
over 60
police
members.
The pupils
of the
Wisdom
College led
the singing
of the
National
Anthem, and
a minute's
silence was
observed in
memory of
Senior
Constable
Brett Forte
and the
victims of
the recent
London
attack.
Commissioner
of Police,
Mr Ian
Stewart APM,
welcomed the
guests and
wished the
Muslim
community of
Queensland a
safe,
prosperous
and
spiritually
rewarding
Ramadan and
Eid-al-Fitr.
Mukarram
Rane called
the Azaan to
break the
day's fast,
Dr Nora
Amath
delivered
the vote of
thanks and
Dr Recep
Dogan ended
the day's
formalities
with a
closing du'a.
Several
community
leaders were
honoured for
their
long-term
contribution
to
maintaining
and
improving
relations
between the
Muslim
community
and the
Queensland
Police
Service.
Performance by Wisdom College
students at QPS Ifhaar Dinner
There is never a boring
moment if you are a
spokesperson of Muslim
community. I am sure those
who do this will agree with
me. However, it is also a
learning experience and in
four years I have been
volunteering to do so, I
have changed and grown in
many ways. I want to share
one such experience.
A journalist from a major
national newspaper contacted
me for some comments on a
story he was writing.
Background of the story was
that he purchased a book
from a particular book store
in western Sydney. This book
was around 1000 pages and
had a lot to do with Islamic
jurisprudence of war. Some
of the statements in that
book without context can be
misunderstood as extreme and
other statements were
opinions which are usually
considered extreme by most
Muslims.
The Journo called me and
asked me for my comments.
Obviously the fact that he
worked for a particular
organisation and their
agenda was on the back of my
mind. But I thought of
Prophet Mohammad's teaching,
which is "beware of false
assumptions, for assumption
is falsest of speech.....".
So i asked him why did he
feel compelled to do this
story. He replied "in given
climate it is important that
we ban such books". He cited
some of the things including
persecution of homosexuals
as as one of the reasons
this book should not be
sold.
I asked him if he believes
all such books should be
banned and he said indeed
they should. So i quickly
jumped on my computer and
Googled Levictus 20:13 which
says "If a man has sexual
intercourse with a male as
one has sexual intercourse
with a woman, the two of
them have committed an
abomination. They must be
put to death; their blood
guilt is on themselves". I
read the verse to him and i
said what do you think we
should do with this book. He
said we should ban this too.
I told him if he knew this
was from Bible, he responded
that while he is not a
Christian, he believes that
new testament is better than
old. I could have argued
further with some quotes
from Bible. But my intention
was not to prove that Bible
is worse than Quran as that
would be doing the same what
is done to Muslims. At this
time i was thinking of
Jesus' sermon on the Mount
where he is reported to have
said "do unto others as you
would have them do unto
you". So I changed my line
of argument.
I argued that this book has
an opinion of "god knows
who" from "god knows where"
as the author of the book
was not a well known Islamic
scholar or it was not from
an authentic publishing
house. I pointed out
historical and current
examples of Muslims acting
in exact opposite of some of
"rulings" within this book.
Like the fact that Jerusalem
still has Church of Holy
Sepulchre and Muslims have
elected 7 females as head of
states and so on. I pleaded
for him to drop the story as
it is unnecessary
sensationalism and does not
do good to our country or
does not help in countering
radicalisation. He said, "I
don't want to give you false
hope and i wont be dropping
the story".
So I asked him if I was to
give him quotes, how much of
my quotes would he use
against the quotes from the
book. His response was that
he will use 18 quotes from
the book and 3 or 4 of my
quotes in response. I asked
him is it fair that he
quotes so heavily from a
book written by "god knows
who" from "god knows where"
and give very little ink to
the spokesperson, who speaks
on behalf of a large section
of Muslim community. He
asked me to send him my
response in an email and I
did. He promised to call me
back to ensure that I am not
misquoted or taken out of
context in the article. A
few hours later I received
an email from him simply
saying "We are going to hold
the story for now mate". I
have heard this before and
usually these stories don't
come back again.
Why am I sharing this, well
because i want to highlight
the importance of the
teachings of our religions.
If I assumed that his
intentions are bad just
because he worked for an
organisation which many
rightly say is biased. I
would not have been able to
engage with him. If I
attacked him or blocked him,
he would have not seen my
perspective and believed
that Islam's teachings are a
reason behind extremism.
When I first volunteered
many in my community who did
a weekend of media training
said that "I am not media
trained". My experience
tells me, you don't have to
be media trained, all you
need is an ability to listen
to others without being
judgemental, aggressive or
defensive. It works
Ali Kadri is
the Spokesperson of the
Islamic Council of
Queensland (ICQ)
Steve Price's awkward
interview on Hard Chat with Tom
Gleeson
CONTROVERSIAL broadcaster
Steve Price is usually the
one pulling no punches. But
on Wednesday night, he met
his match.
During Tom Gleeson’s
satirical “Hard Chat”
segment on ABC’s The Weekly,
Price remained stone-faced
as the comedian hit him with
a solid string of potshots.
“Do you think I’m A
Celebrity Get Me Out Of
Here! should be called I’m
NOT A Celebrity THAT’S WHY
I’m here?” Gleeson
deadpanned about Price’s
appearance on the reality
show earlier this year.
As Price agreed, another
punch rolled.
“Now you ate some disgusting
things in the jungle. Was it
worse than the disgusting
shit you feed your listeners
on 2GB?” Gleeson asked.
It was only a matter of time
before Waleed Aly was
brought into the mix — a
personality Price frequently
clashes with on The Project.
“In the jungle Nazeem
Hussain opened your eyes up
to the pressures Muslims are
under. Do you realise that
for the past several years
you’ve been working on The
Project where you sit next
to one?” Gleeson asked.
Price quipped back: “Carrie
Bickmore is a Muslim?”
In an attempt to prove both
his acceptance and knowledge
of Aly’s background, the
broadcaster recalled a
rather clumsy anecdote.
“I called Nazeem Hussain
‘Waleed’ three times in the
first week that I was in the
jungle which gave rise to
him suggesting I really only
knew one Muslim and that
Muslim’s name was Waleed.
So, yes, I did know Waleed
was a Muslim,” he said.
And Gleeson wasn’t done.
Gleeson: Now that
you’ve got a Muslim friend,
is it easier to be racist?
Price: Two Muslim
friends and I’ve never been
racist.
Gleeson: You came
across as a nice guy on I’m
A Celebrity. Deep down
though, are you still an
asshole?
Price: No. I think
deep down I really am a nice
guy.
Gleeson: So are you a
nice guy trapped in an
asshole’s body?
Price: I’m a nice guy
trapped in an aggressive
person’s body.
Tom Gleeson’s Hard Chat on
The Weekly with Charlie
Pickering airs 830pm
Wednesdays on ABC TV.
By Dr Mohammad Nurul Islam,
Operational Coordinator & Chemistry
Teacher
The annual R.A.C.I.
Queensland Regional
Titration Competition was
held at Griffith University
(Nathan Campus) on Saturday
3 June 2017 and Australian
International Islamic
College (A.I.I.C) entered
two teams. The six year 11
and 12 Chemistry students
who entered were Kushida
Binti Mohd Ayub, Sara Ahmed,
Rumana Akter, Saimur Rahman
Siam, Ayub Khalif (Year 12)
and Rahim Ullah (Year 11).
Titration is a method used
to accurately determine the
concentration of an acid, by
carrying out a
neutralisation reaction with
a base of known
concentration. The point of
equivalence is determined by
a colour change from clear
to light pink. The
difficulty is compounded
because the teams must first
determine the concentration
of the base from a known
acid, effectively performing
two separate titrations
each.
The competition was fierce
and comprised of
approximately 51 teams from
many schools across
Brisbane. AIIC team 1 (Kushida,
Sara and Rumana) did
exceptionally well and they
received the first place
(within 1% of the true value
for the sample) and Team 2
got within a close range of
the correct results. The
accuracy comes down to 4
decimal places, with the
winners being determined by
a fraction of a drop of the
basic solution.
Congratulations to Kushida
Binti Mohad Ayub, Sara Ahmed
and Rumana Akter who has
achieved the excellent team
award and been selected for
the National Titration
Competition 2017.
Congratulations to Kushida
who achieved excellent
participant award (within 0%
of the true value for the
sample). We congratulate our
six students for their
efforts and enthusiasm and
we look forward to achieving
a medal in the National
competition in October.
Cory Bernardi
has surveyed his party's members
on their views of Islam.
Cory Bernardi's new
Australian Conservatives
party has responded to the
London Bridge terrorist
attack by surveying its
members about their views on
Islam, saying "we can't put
it off any longer".
The survey, titled "We Need
to Talk About Islam" was
emailed to supporters of the
former Liberal Senator's
party on Monday, just a day
after knife-wielding
attackers murdered seven and
injured nearly 50 in
London's Saturday night
attack.
A graphic next to the survey
showed the Islamic "shahada"
or proclamation of faith,
written in Arabic with a
large cross through it, a
move labelled "fiercely
extremist" by the Australian
Federation of Islamic
Councils, and offensive by
Sydney Muslim community
leader Dr Jamal Rifi.
Senator Bernardi defended
the timing of the survey.
"When is going to be the
right time for these
people?" he asked Fairfax
Media.
"We're
not politicising anything,
we're trying to decide what
the Australian people want."
The survey aims to "begin
the national conversation
Australia has to have about
Islam in our country", and
asks questions about prayer
spaces in public buildings,
the construction of new
mosques, child marriage,
banning the burqa and sharia
law. It provides
multiple-choice answers.
One question states that
"some have attributed the
migration of people of
Islamic belief to terror
attacks in Australia and
abroad" and asks people for
their view.
Other questions include,
"What is your view on the
practice of sharia law in
Australia?" and, "What is
your view on the Islamic
practice of allowing men to
marry girls who are under
the legal age of sexual
consent?"
The email states, "Your
responses will inform how
Australian Conservatives
respond to the present
national security
challenge."
Timing slammed
Dr Rifi said the timing was
"malicious" and accused
Senator Bernardi and his
party of trying to "ride the
wave of sentiment" following
the London attack and
Manchester concert bombing.
"The end product will be
used to justify right-wing
policies that do not work in
the interests of society as
a whole. It will be quoted
as justification for such
policies," he said.
Dr Rifi said to draw a red
slash through the shahada
was "more than insulting" to
Muslims, who repeat the
proclamation 15 or 20 times
a day.
AFIC spokesman Ali Kadri
said to cross out the
shahada was "fiercely
extremist".
"The shahada is what makes
us Muslim, so by putting a
red mark through it, it's
saying you are not allowed
to, or it's not safe, to
practise your religion," he
said.
Mr Kadri said Senator
Bernardi was "providing the
best support he could to
ISIS".
"To blame Muslims for the
crimes committed by
extremists is empowering
[ISIS]. They want to
convince Muslims the whole
world is against them."
"Bernardi's party are trying
to reverse the gains of the
Western world and eventually
the people will pay for it,
just as people in the Muslim
world are paying now,
because they excused
extremism and thought it was
the answer."
Susie Latham, the founder of
Voices Against Bigotry, said
the survey was a form of
push polling "which clearly
aims to instil and reinforce
anti-Muslim attitudes".
Senator Bernardi, who formed
his breakaway party to cater
to conservatives
disillusioned with
mainstream politics, said
"tens of thousands" of
people had completed the
survey.
He would not say how many
financial members the
Australian Conservatives
has.
His party is set to release
its immigration policy next
week but the senator would
not say if it included a
proposed "Muslim ban".
Michael Jetter, Lecturer in
Economics, University of Western
Australia
David Stadelmann, Chair of Development
Economics, Bayreuth University
In
the fight against terrorism,
seemingly easy conclusions may
be drawn too quickly.
Recent events in London,
Manchester and elsewhere
highlight that Western
societies are vulnerable to
terrorist attacks – and
political decision-makers
need to find solutions.
Two key questions to
consider are:
How likely are you to
fall victim to
terrorism?
What increases or
decreases that
likelihood?
Our natural way of thinking
about the first question
should be similar to
considering crime (murder or
robbery, for instance),
mortality (infant mortality
at birth, or cancer), car
accidents, or other threats.
And the salient point is not
so much the total number of
murders in a large country,
but rather the total number
in relation to the size of
the population.
Put simply, we should
consider the number of
affected people on a
per-capita basis – that is,
murder rates, or mortality
rates.
For example, from a policy
perspective, it makes sense
that ten murders in a
populous country like China
(which has 1,371,000,000
citizens) would be much less
significant than ten murders
in a tiny country like
Liechtenstein, with its
37,000 citizens.
Terror per capita vs
total terror
However, when it comes to
terrorism, almost all the
knowledge that drives policy
decisions comes from studies
analysing the total number
of terror casualties in a
given country and year.
India is a good example. It
ranks fourth on the list of
terror-prone countries since
1970, with 408 deaths from
terrorism in an average
year.
But the average Indian need
not be particularly worried
about terrorism. The country
is home to 1.27 billion
people, and terrorism kills
only one in 2,500,000 people
– or 0.0000004% of the
population – per year, once
we translate total terror
deaths to terror deaths per
capita. The likelihood of
dying from crime or in a
road accident is far higher.
India ranks only 82nd in the
world when we compare
terrorism victims per
capita.
So, although India has a
relatively high number of
terrorist attacks, an
individual’s likelihood of
dying in such an attack is
minimal – because India has
such a large population.
Once we switch from focusing
on total terror deaths (or
attacks) per country to
terror deaths per capita,
relevant conclusions about
what drives terrorism change
dramatically. And thus
potential policy reactions
also change when focusing on
terror deaths per capita.
Democracy, Muslims and
terrorism
A somewhat baffling
conclusion from a long list
of research articles states
that terrorism is more
likely to emerge in
democracies, rather than
non-democracies. This idea
is difficult to reconcile
with our intuition of
democracy giving people
political (and usually
religious) freedom – so why
should we see terrorism in
such free countries?
It turns out that once we
analyse terror per capita,
democratic nations are less
likely to witness terrorism.
Again, take India, a large
democracy that, at first
glance, suffers a lot from
terrorism. But, in
per-capita terms, terrorism
becomes less important.
Another popular belief
states that countries with a
sizeable Muslim population –
such as Pakistan, Indonesia,
Bangladesh or Nigeria – are
experiencing more terrorism
than non-Muslim countries.
This is true when looking at
the total numbers of deaths.
But that result is also
overturned once we consider
terror per capita. A larger
share of Muslims in a given
country relates to
marginally less terrorism.
Pakistan (202 million
people), Indonesia (258
million), Bangladesh (156
million) and Nigeria (186
million) all feature
exceptionally large
populations.
This result is informative
for the current policy
debate. More caution is
needed before classifying
certain countries as more
prone to terrorism based on
their religion.
Another – admittedly
simplistic – way of
considering the link between
Islam and terrorism comes
from comparing the share of
terror attacks conducted by
Muslim groups with the share
of the world population
identifying as Muslim. If
Muslims were more likely to
be terrorists, we should
expect the latter figure to
be lower.
Approximately 23% of the
world population identifies
as Muslim. But, since
September 11, Islamist
groups have conducted about
20% of terrorist attacks
worldwide. Thus, terrorist
attacks are – historically
and today – less likely to
be conducted by a Muslim
than by a non-Muslim group.
Where to go from here?
Our results suggest it may
be time to rethink the way
we approach terrorism.
On an average day,
terrorists kill 21 people
worldwide. On that same
average day, natural or
technological disasters kill
2,200 people – or more than
100 times as many.
The likelihood of dying at
the hands of a terrorist is
comparable to the odds of
drowning in one’s own
bathtub.
This does not mean we should
be afraid of bathtubs, nor
does it mean terrorism is
not among the problems that
need to be solved with a
high priority.
Rather, in the fight against
terrorism, seemingly easy
conclusions may be drawn too
quickly – and we should not
forget other matters that
affect people’s lives far
more than terrorism does.
A mosque in Sydney,
Australia. A 2015 fact sheet for
hajj pilgrims on re-entering the
country notes that it is illegal
to bring in “material that
advocates or praises acts of
terrorism.”
SYDNEY, Australia — The
advice for Australian
Muslims traveling overseas,
in a booklet from a legal
rights group, was
straightforward: If anything
on your phone could be
construed as advocating
violence, delete it.
When the immigration
minister, Peter Dutton,
learned about it — from The
Australian, a newspaper that
published an article on
Tuesday headlined “Muslim
tips to evade airport
security” — he wrote to the
Muslim Legal Network NSW,
which published the booklet,
demanding an explanation.
“In the current
international climate, I am
very concerned this guidance
could be interpreted as
advice to evade Border Force
and conceal illegal
activity,” Mr. Dutton wrote
in the letter.
“I seek your urgent
clarification on what
purpose is served in
providing this advice.”
Zaahir Edries, the president
of the legal rights group,
was taken aback — since the
advice had originally come
from Mr. Dutton’s own
department.
A 2015 fact sheet for
Australian hajj pilgrims on
re-entering the country,
from the Department of
Immigration and Border
Protection, includes the
heading “Know what is on
your electronic devices,”
noting that it is illegal to
bring in “material that
advocates or praises acts of
terrorism.”
“By keeping images like this
on your electronic devices
such as a hard drive,
computer or mobile phone,
even if someone has sent
them to you, you may be
committing an offense,” the
fact sheet says.
Mr. Edries said his group
had received similar advice
in 2015 from representatives
of the Border Force, which
is under Mr. Dutton’s
authority, in a training
session. He said he was
dismayed by Mr. Dutton’s
letter Tuesday and by how
the network’s guide,
“Anti-Terrorism Laws: ASIO,
the Police and You,” had
been depicted in the news
media. (A.S.I.O. stands for
the Australian Security
Intelligence Organization, a
national security agency.)
“It was pretty upsetting for
it be portrayed as anything
other than an education
piece, particularly because
we used information provided
by the government,” Mr.
Edries said.
It was not the first time
Mr. Dutton, a conservative,
had offended Muslim
communities. Last year, he
caused an outcry after
asserting that former Prime
Minister Malcolm Fraser
should not have allowed
Lebanese Muslim migrants
into Australia.
The 95-page booklet by the
Muslim Legal Network NSW,
released last week, is the
most recent edition of its
guide to Australia’s complex
counterterrorism laws,
originally published in
2004. Mr. Edries said
lawyers and other experts
had worked on the latest
version for more than 18
months.
Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull visited the
Islamic Council of Victoria last
year for a meeting with Muslim
youth.
VICTORIA: The Islamic
Council of Victoria
submission calling for
spaces where Muslim youths
could make inflammatory
comments without
surveillance from
authorities has come under
criticism from several media
and political sources.
The idea was floated in a
submission to the federal
parliamentary Inquiry into
the Status of the Human
Right to Freedom of Religion
or Belief.
The council says the safe
spaces would allow youths to
talk about a "range of
issues in emotional terms,
[and] where they can be
frank and even use words,
which in a public space
would sound inflammatory".
The Islamic Council of
Victoria hit back at
"inflammatory" reporting on
Thursday, saying the
recommendation in its
submission to the government
inquiry had been
misrepresented.
"It calls for additional
funding to allow young
Muslims to express their
opinions on a range of
issues in a forum where
their views can be
respectfully and
intelligently debated and
challenged," the council
said.
"This is not a controversial
suggestion and it is
supported by extensive
research.
In its inquiry submission,
the council also called for
new government funding for
counsellors of Muslim
parents of children affected
by new control orders for
children.
"This will acknowledge the
risks to mental health,
employment, rental housing,
poverty and education as a
result of any unforeseen
consequences of legislation
which disproportionately
affects Muslim youth," its
submission said.
Victorian Premier Daniel
Andrews described the idea
as troubling and stated
there was "no safe way" to
rail against the West or its
values.
"This is wrong, it is not
going to receive any
Victorian government funding
and we will be having a very
close look at the Islamic
Council of Victoria's
funding in a broader sense,"
he said on Thursday.
"I am very troubled by the
suggestion that we might
have a space were people
could be radical as part of
a de-radicalisation program.
That makes no sense to me
whatsoever," Mr Andrews
said.
Malcolm Turnbull at last
year’s iftar dinner in Sydney
with Waleed Aly and his wife
Susan Carland.
Malcolm Turnbull will not
have a second iftar dinner
with Islamic leaders after
he became the first
Australian prime minister to
host the Ramadan feast at
Kirribilli House last year —
an event that cost taxpayers
$33,694.
The Australian was informed
yesterday there would be no
second iftar, with last
year’s event being
overshadowed by the
attendance of Sheik Shady
Alsuleiman, the national
president of the Australian
National Imams Council,
given his past comments
about homosexuals.
The Prime Minister was
forced to condemn his
comments, Sheik Alsuleiman
having said AIDS was a
“divine punishment” for
homosexuals, and adulterers
should be stoned to death.
Calls from One Nation leader
Pauline Hanson to "intern" those
on the terror watch list invoke
a dark history of detainment
that stretches back to World War
Two.
Australia's race
discrimination commissioner,
Tim Soutphommasane, has
condemned proposals from a
handful of political figures
for the mass internment of
all Muslim citizens
suspected of terror
offences.
Dr Soutphommasane said calls
from One Nation leader
Pauline Hanson and others to
detain all suspects,
seemingly without charge or
trial, "show an astounding
ignorance of history" and
would represent capitulation
to terrorism.
"Having internment would
involve a violation of
liberty and the rule of law.
It would entrench division
in our society and play into
the hands of extremists," he
told Fairfax Media.
The calls have emerged as
federal and state
governments consider
toughened and nationally
consistent parole and bail
laws that make it harder for
people with violent and
extremist backgrounds to be
released.
Kuraby Masjid would
like to thank all
Huffaz that have
performed Taraweeh
at Kuraby in the
past especially Kari
Fida Ur Rahman who
mentioned that he is
unable to join us
this year.
انشاء
اللہ we will
have Hafez Imraan,
Hafez Gazaleh and
Imam Ahmed leading
Taraweh this year.
1.
Magreb will be 10
minutes after
stipulated Iftaar
Times.
2.
Esha will be at 6:45
for the entire
month.
3.
All brothers and
sisters are
encouraged to come
early for Esha and
Taraweh as we will
not be opening any
extended prayer area
outside the Masjid
this year.
We
expect a full crowd
and encourage others
who might be late to
pray at the Islamic
School as they have
a large prayer hall.
جزاگلله
خيـــــرا and
Ramadaan
Continuing
the tradition we started
couple of years ago, we
would like to invite non
Muslim members of our
community to break a fast
with us at Holland Park
Mosque. Ramadan is a month
when adult, healthy and able
Muslim Men and women fast
from sunrise to sunset.
During this
period we refrain from most
basic of human desires to
practice self control and
patience. Iftaar is a meal
we have to break our fast
after sunsets.
We would like
to invite non Muslim members
of our community to come and
share a meal with us.
Food will be
provided along with a
question and answer session
conducted by Imam Uzair
(Imam of Holland Park
Mosque) and Ali Kadri (
spokesperson of Islamic
council of Queensland).
There will be
an opportunity to witness
prayers and to have a tour
of our mosque.
We encourage
you to bring along your
families including children.
Please RSVP for catering
purposes and mention any
dietary requirements you may
have.
The
Established
in 1989 MAA
focusses its
attention on
distributing
aid which
not only
provides
immediate
relief, but
encompasses
long-term
support to
help
alleviate
poverty.
This Ramadan
MAA is
reaching
millions in
over 25
countries
around the
world,
including
Syria,
Palestine,
Myanmar,
Somalia, and
Australia by
distributing
Iftar meals
& Family
Food Packs,
Life-changing
gifts, eid
gifts for
children,
and water
solutions.
Reach more
people in
more places
with MAA
this
Ramadan.
To donate
please visit
www.muslimaid.org.au
or call
their 24/7
toll free
number on
1800 100
786.
All
donations
over $2 are
tax
deductible.
Visit
MAA’s stall
at Underwood
Marketplace
from Monday
to Saturday
9:30am-4pm
during
Ramadan.
I WAS told Amna Karra-Hassan
was an agent of change, a
deep thinker, and that we
should talk. We did. And she
is. Amna is daughter of
migrant parents who came to
Australia seeking better
opportunities. Amna has
inspired many in her quest
for equality, unity and
success.
She is founder of the Auburn
Giants Women’s AFL team,
which consists of various
nationalities including
Lebanese, Palestinians,
Fijian, Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander,
Croation, Serbian, Turkish,
Maltese, Macedonian, Greek
and Chinese.
She has partnered with
Holden as part of their
Supporting the Drivers of
Change diversity and
inclusion program. We spoke
about the challenges of
being a Muslim in 2017, the
effects of Trump, building a
football team to create
unity and opportunity and
cohesion, racism and Pauline
Hanson.
(Continued from last week's
CCN)
HM: In the second
season you finally won a
game, and in 2014 you took
on the colours of the
Giants.
AKH: Yeah, that was
significant. A huge
decision. We were the Auburn
Tigers from 2011 to 2013.
HM: You took on the
Giants for what reason?
AKH: Opportunity. I
met their media manager,
Nick Johnston, who is a very
persuasive personality. I
say that with endearment and
positivity; he really pushed
for it. He thought it would
be fantastic in getting
exposure to commercial
organisations who might be
interested in sponsoring us.
GWS wanted to come into
Western Sydney, and
community engagement was a
priority. The ROI for us
would be that commercial
bridge. I sat with it and I
was scared of the change,
but I knew he was right.
HM: When did Katie
Page notice what you’d
created?
AKH: I saw Katie at a
dinner News Corp was
hosting, and I went up to
her and introduced myself
before going up to her
office to have a chat. Much
to my surprise, she was
incredibly warm and so
different from what you’d
stereotype a CEO to be like.
She listened, asked me a lot
of questions about who I
was, about how I created the
team, about what I was
trying to achieve, and about
what my partnership with GWS
looked like. Little did I
know at that stage that the
world of business was very
small, and that everyone
knew everyone! She was good
friends with Tony. I got
called into a meeting with
GWS and Katie, and they were
having a conversation about
how we could improve that
partnership, and what that
relationship could look
like. I cannot tell you how
much of a positive influence
she has been on me
personally outside of the
football club. What she did
by doing that was let me
know that I deserved a seat
at the table. She basically
told me that the work I’ve
done speaks for itself, and
the work I do should be
recognised. I was deeply
uncomfortable with that.
It’s not engraved or
conditioned in us to be
boastful and own our space
in a room. I learnt from
observing her, and from how
she conducted herself, how
to own that space, and how
to learn to become
comfortable in an
uncomfortable space. It had
everything to do with my
leadership development, and
my personal development as a
human being.
HM: She’s a
formidable woman. Tell me,
how many women have been
through and played for the
Auburn Giants now?
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.
Fazlur Rahman
Khan Award For
Excellence in
ENGINEERING, SCIENCE
OR TECHNOLOGY
Winner: Mohamed
Bashir Gadi, Dr
Dr Mohamed Bashir
Gadi is an Associate
Professor at
Nottingham
University and
Director and
Admissions Tutor for
the MSc course
Renewable Energy and
Architecture. He has
so far written and
published over sixty
conference and
journal
papers/articles on
renewable energy and
architecture,
computer modelling
and software
engineering and
postgraduate
education. Dr Gadi
was awarded the Gold
Medal for best
research work on
energy modelling
presented at the
international
Energex’98
conference. He also
developed, modelled
and tested a Novel
Energy Conscious
Building-integrated
System for low-cost
housing, for which
he was awarded the
Gold Medal. He has
presented at several
academic conferences
around the world,
including at UNESCO,
and the United
Nations. He has been
a Fellow of the
International Energy
Foundation for over
20 years. His
expertise is called
upon by major
publishers who have
commissioned Dr Gadi
to evaluate books,
journal articles and
papers.
..........The UK Muslim News
Awards for Excellence CONTINUES IN NEXT
WEEK'S CCN
Dr. Mustafa
Ceric, Grand
Mufti Emeritus
of
Bosnia-Herzegovina
An Appeal to the
European
Muslims: Let Us
Have a Common
Word with Our
Neighbours
Dr. Mustafa
Ceric, Grand
Mufti Emeritus
of
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Honorary
President,
Religions for
Peace
There is no
recipe for
success, but
there is a
recipe for
failure. The
recipe for
failure is
violence "in the
name of Allah."
I have never
felt so shocked
nor so shameful
as a I felt
while listening
to the world
media about the
bloody London
Bridge attack
claiming to be
done "in the
name of Allah."
I cannot accept
it because this
is not my faith.
This is not the
Allah I believe
in. My Allah is
not a hater! My
Allah is not
violent! My
faith is not the
knife! My faith
is not terror.
My Allah is
Loving and
Merciful! My
faith is common
sense and a warm
word. But how am
I going to
explain it to my
neighbors in
Europe? After
Manchester and
London attacks,
they have no
will to listen
to me anymore.
They don't buy
my faith's
stories of love;
they don't care
about my faith's
beautiful
narratives. They
are no longer
interested in
the stories of
my faith. They
want to know
what I have done
to stop the
bloody violence
"in the name of
Allah" in the
streets of
Europe! I have
done a lot, but
it seems it is
not enough.
I confess, I
have never felt
so confused and
so helpless to
explain what is
going on in and
around my faith
community. I was
interpreting it
as a conspiracy
against Muslims.
I consoled
myself that it
was just a
transitory
episode. I
argued that it
is an act of
extreme
minorities. I
have been
avoiding to be
pressed by it. I
explained that
it is just a
political game
by big powers to
gain the Muslim
wealth. And I
was listening to
those who say:
"They hate
Muslims." This
was all I could
think of to
avoid the clear
and loud
confession that
my Faith
community has a
big problem in
and around
itself. But now
I confess: my
Faith Community
has many
problems. And
the biggest of
all is the
problem of
denial as well
as the
delegation of
its problems to
others to be
solved. I have
realized that I
have to be clear
and loud that my
Faith Community
has a problem,
which can no
longer be
denied, nor can
it be delegated
to others to be
solved. Indeed,
my Faith
Community (my
Ummah) must
solve the
problem within
itself before it
can solve the
problems around
it. Indeed the
problem inside
of my Faith
Community is
much more
difficult and
dangerous than
the problem
outside of it.
I know there are
those who will
assert that I
believe that the
bloody attacks
against innocent
civilians in
Manchester and
London are more
important than
the attacks in
Palestine,
Kabul, Mosul,
Sa'an and
Misrata. It is
not more
important, but
it is certainly
more dangerous
for Muslims in
Europe, a
majority of whom
have fled from
Muslim majority
countries to
seek peace and
security for
their children
in Europe. Now,
this peace and
security that
they have
experienced so
far is greatly
threatened.
After the
attacks in
Manchester and
London, and
before that in
Paris, Berlin
and Zurich, a
great cloud of
uncertainty
hovers over
Muslims in
Europe. European
Muslims must be
aware of this.
Therefore, the
European Muslims
must be loud and
clear not only
to condemn the
violence "in the
name of Allah,"
but they must
also take
concrete steps
against the
abuse of Islam
in any way.
European Muslims
must have a
united, clear
and unequivocal
voice in the
fight against
violence claimed
to be in "the
name of Allah."
It is no longer
a matter of the
good will of
individuals and
groups working
on interfaith
dialogue, but
this is an
existential
question of
Islam and
Muslims in
Europe.
Therefore, I
urge European
Muslims to
immediately
gather around
the "common word
between us and
them," our
neighbors in
Europe,
regardless of
their faith,
race and
nationality to
take an oath
before God,
ourselves and
our neighbors in
Europe to
cherish and
promote peace,
security and
neighborly
cooperation to
which we are
bound by our
Islamic faith
and our Islamic
culture. Indeed,
we must take an
oath that we
will do whatever
it takes to
fight violence
against innocent
people together
with our
neighbors. We,
the current
generation of
European
Muslims, owe
this to our
descendants --
we must not
leave our debts
to our innocent
descendants!
There is no time
for hesitation!
There is no room
for calculation!
There is no
excuse for
procrastination!
There is no
justification
for waiting!
There is no
salvation in
silence!
There is no
point in
indecision and
indifference!
There is no
collective
innocence
without the
conviction and
the isolation of
individuals!
There is no
future for Islam
or Muslims in
Europe except in
coexistence and
tolerance with
our European
neighbors!
If we do not do
our sacred duty
today, our
descendants will
curse us
tomorrow for our
failure!
"Demonising
Muslim leaders
for engaging
with Governments
will only
benefit those
right wing
populist who
seek to gain
from these
divisions."
Participating in
de-radicaliztion
Ali Kadri,
facebook posting
There are a
small number of
well meaning
Muslims who
believe that
participating in
de-radicalisation
is unhelpful and
inadvertently
strengthens the
notion that
Islam and
Muslims are the
reason behind
terrorist
atrocities
committed by
groups like
ISIS. I have a
serious issue
with this
notion, as first
of all we cannot
deny the fact
that those who
are committing
these terrorist
acts believe and
claim that they
are doing it for
Islam and are
following
teachings of
Islam. Secondly
these criminals
are Muslims and
like Muslims who
abuse drugs or
are involved in
fraud, these
terrorists are
are committing a
crime of murder,
which makes them
criminals but
does not make
them non
Muslims. The
fact that some
agenda driven
governments and
agencies are
trying to
benefit by
playing
radicalisation
card does not
justify tip
toeing around
the issue. If
anything it
should make us
more actively
address radical
notions because
not only are the
terrorists
killing and
damaging Muslim
community but
their actions
are being used
to further
demonise Muslims
for political
gains. Many
mainstream
Muslim scholars
from around the
world have
strongly
condemned
terrorism and
have in fact
provided strong
religious
arguments
against false
narrative sold
by slick ISIS
propaganda.
Unfortunately
these scholars
do not have a
media machinery
behind them like
the right wing
populists who
benefit from
terror have. And
they are not an
ardent social
media users like
some disruptive
Muslim populists
are.
So by arguing
against publicly
challenging
radical ideas
which pollutes
the mind of our
young men and
women, we are
playing into the
hands of those
who are
politically
benefiting from
creating these
terrorists. ISIS
or Al Qaeda
never was and
never will be an
existential
threat to the
west or in fact
to heavily
weaponize
regimes of
Middle East.
While lone wolf
attacks are
becoming
frequent and
bold, they are
not as big of a
threat to the
west as
polarisation of
political
discourse caused
by these attacks
is. After
Trump's visit to
Saudi Arabia and
current Qatar
crisis, it
should be clear
to anyone who
had any doubts
that these
terrorist
organisations
are nothing but
strategic pawns
in a Geo
political game.
While we can
lobby our
politicians to
start playing a
constructive
role, given our
size, i don't
think we as a
country have
enough influence
to go against
giant
corporations and
their proxies in
U.S., Russian
and Middle
Eastern
administrations.
Demonising
Muslim leaders
for engaging
with Governments
will only
benefit those
right wing
populist who
seek to gain
from these
divisions.
Challenging
radicalisation
and defeating
ISIS's narrative
as loudly as
possible will
take the steam
off the right
wing extremists
as one cannot
survive without
the other. I
don't mind
constructive
criticism but
bullying Muslim
leaders and
scholars on
social media for
attending iftaar
dinners is not
productive or
helpful for the
community.
Discrediting
legitimate
Muslim leaders
will empower
those who seek
to pollute the
mind of Muslims
and use them for
political
advantage. I am
sure that these
"activists" have
had bad
experiences in
dealing with
governments and
their feelings
are genuine. It
is frustrating
to deal with
bureaucratic and
agenda driven
agencies in
modern
democracies but
to make it about
us and them is
just not on.
So the solution
is to challenge
extreme
interpretations
of Islamic texts
and political
misuse of "deradicalisation"
programs.
Perpetual
complaining for
some likes on FB
is not helping.
As Prophet
Mohammad (pbuh)
said " speak a
good word or
remain silent".
Offer solutions,
we all know what
our problems
are.
We need to embed
a culture of
respect for
difference’:
Ahmet Keskin at
Melbourne’s
Sofitel Hotel.
Muslim Australia
must face
extremist
reality’
Muslim Australia
has been asked
to “place a
mirror to
ourselves’’ in
the wake of
Ramadan terror
attacks around
the world and
question whether
it genuinely
supports human
rights, the rule
of law, equality
and other basic
tenets of
Western society.
In pointed
comments to a
Victorian
parliament iftar
dinner the day
after the latest
Islamic
State-inspired
atrocity in
central London,
Australian
Intercultural
Society
executive
director Ahmet
Keskin said it
was the
responsibility
of Muslim
communities to
draw disaffected
young people
back to the core
of society and
to shut down
hate speech.
“We Muslims need
to work much
harder in
building bridges
between hearts
and keep the
dialogue
going,’’ he told
the gathering of
Muslim community
leaders, federal
and state
politicians and
police top
brass.
“We also need to
navigate through
this turbulent
era by placing
a mirror to
ourselves so we
could face up to
the reality of
where we are and
where we ought
to be. We also
need to embed a
culture of
respect for
difference —
difference of
ideals, faith
and ethnicity —
and promote
healthy debates
however
uncomfortable
the subject
matter
“This can be
done by shutting
down divisive
discourse,
irrespective of
which corner of
society it comes
from, to rebuke
it and respond
with positive
action.’’
Theresa May’s
declaration that
British society
is too tolerant
of extremism
have prompted
condemnation and
introspection
among
Australia’s
Muslim
leadership.
Islamic Council
of Victoria
president
Mohammed
Mohideen said
Muslim Australia
was ahead of
Britain in
calling out
extremism in its
own communities.
“The community
as a whole has
been educated on
this a lot. We
have had forums
and discussions
with the federal
police,’’ he
said.
“Parents want to
protect their
children as much
as possible from
going down this
path. We do not
call these
people Muslims.
They are
basically
murderers,
villains and
cowards. There
is nothing
Islamic about
it. What Muslims
would promote
killing,
especially
during the month
of Ramadan?’’
The campaign of
suicide bombings
and other
attacks to
coincide with
the holy month
of Ramadan has
been acutely
felt by Muslim
communities in
Australia. With
two more weeks
to run in the
fasting season,
they fear more
attacks are
inevitable.
Zynab al-Harbiya,
a 12-year-old
Melbourne girl
murdered by a
car-bomb at a
Baghdad ice
cream parlour,
went to the same
school as Mr
Keskin’s
daughter.
Mr Mohideen said
it was
heartbreaking to
read of children
being killed
while eating ice
cream to break
their Ramadan
fast. “There are
lots of families
who are
grieving,’’ he
said.
Abraham Zoabi,
the program
manager for the
Voice of Islam
radio station
which broadcasts
from Sydney’s
Lakemba, said
imams at
mainstream
mosques were now
consistent in
preaching
against the evil
of ISIS.
“All our
listeners are
against his act
in Britain,’’ he
said. “We
believe this is
a barbaric act.
We need to live
in peace here
and if anything
happened, God
forbid, we would
all be very
affected. We
will guard
Australia. We
will now allow
any of these
things to
happen.’’
Human Rights
Commissioner
Edward Santow
delivered the
key note address
to last night’s
iftar dinner in
Melbourne. He
noted that
Australia had
legislated more
than any other
Western nation
since 9/11 to
strengthen its
counter-terrorism
laws and said it
was vitally
important to
combat violent
extremism.
“Too often we’re
told that
liberty and
security are
mutually
exclusive,’’ he
said. “They’re
not. Our federal
and state
governments are
absolutely
correct to
target violent
extremism and to
do so robustly
with the many
tools that the
state has at its
disposal. This
is important in
protecting one
of the most
fundamental
rights of all:
to live in peace
and safety.’’
Former
Australian
Federation of
Islamic Councils
president Keysar
Trad said the
attitude of
Muslims towards
extremism within
their own
communities had
hardened, with
parents now
willing to call
the police
against their
own children to
prevent a terror
attack.
“We as Muslims
are far less
tolerant of
extreme
commentary in
our community
than we were
before, and
rightly so,’’ Mr
Trad said. “We
don’t want any
acts of
violence to be
committed in our
names. The
number of
parents who have
come to me after
their kids have
been radicalised
and they have
lost their kids,
I think the
message is out
there now. Many
more parents are
keen to deal
with this issue
before it gets
out of hand.’’
In OnePath's
Living Muslim Youth segment
children were invited to share their thoughts about Ramadan,
including what they enjoy
specifically about the
month.
With a short twist, they
were then
showed a video of what
Ramadan is like for those
around the world. Their
responses would bring a tear
to your eye.
MANCHESTER: Burying of
terrorists
Channel 4
News
"We do not
want terrorists amongst us.
Not in life, not in death."
Imams and scholars say they
will not perform funeral
prayers for the London
attackers or let them be
buried among Muslims.
Tariq
Ramadan on Terror attacks
BBC RAdio 4
"We have a
moral duty as Muslims to say
and to acknowledge the fact
that they are distorted
interpretations of Islam and
this is against the
principles of Islam and to
take responsibility – this
is a moral duty."
Powerful words from Tariq
Ramadan, professor of
Contemporary Islamic Studies
at the University of Oxford,
when asked what Islam has to
do with the recent terror
attacks in the UK.
"Muslims
this...ISIS that..." Peach House
What does
Ramadan mean to you? Crescent Wealth
Family, Food,
#Fasting and a Re-connection
with Allah (God), Ramadan has
many meanings to us, but what
does Ramadan mean to you?
Bachar
Houli SBS News
Observing
Ramadan helps footballer
'excel as a person'
Ramadan is a time that
brings unique challenges to
Richmond FC star Bachar
Houli, but observing it is
helping him 'excel'.
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.
Religious
scholars issue unanimous fatwa declaring
suicide attacks Haram
ISLAMABAD: Religious
scholars from all schools of thought on
Saturday issued a fatwa (religious
decree) that declared suicide attacks,
armed insurgency against a state and use
of force in the name of imposing Shariah
as ‘Haram’ or forbidden in Islam.
The fatwa carrying signatures of 31
noted scholars was released at a seminar
“'Reconstruction of Pakistani society in
the light of 'Mithaq-e-Madina' (Charter
of Madina) and announcement of 'Paigham-e-Pakistan'
(Message of Pakistan). The event was
organised by the Islamic Research
Institute of the International Islamic
University Islamabad.
The unanimous declaration was presented
by Professor Masoom Yasinzai while Mufti
Rafi Usmani read out the fatwa. The
religious edict condemned terrorism and
extremism and declared suicide attackers
and their supporters as traitors. It
also declared Jihad a jurisdiction of
Islamic state and disallowed use of
force in name of enforcement of Islamic
laws.
On the occasion, a unanimous decalartion
titled 'Paigham-e-Pakistan', also signed
by religious scholars from all schools
of thought, was presented. Paigham-e-Pakistan
called for action against the forces
fanning extremism, true implementation
of the law dealing with blasphemy and
discouraging mob justice in this regard.
Rector IIU Professor Masoom Yasinzai,
President IIU Ahmed Yousuf Darweish,
Chairman Higher Education Commission Dr
Mukhtar Ahmed, prominent religious
scholars, including Mufti Rafi Usmani,
Mufti Muneebur Rehman, Maulana Hanif
Jalandhari, Mufti Naeem Ahmed and others
attended the seminar.
The decree fully backed the operations
Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad.
The fatwa was signed, among others, by
Mufti Muneebur Rehman, Mufti Rafi Usmani,
Maulana Hanif Jalandhari, Mufti Muhammad
Naeem, Maulana Abdul Razzak Sikandar,
Allama Riaz Hussain Najafi, Maulana
Muhammad Yasin Zafar, Maulana Ghulam
Muhammad Sialvi, Maulana Zahid Mahmood
QasmiMufti Mahmoodul Hassan Mahmood and
Maulana Hamidul Haq Haqqani.
Prince Harry eats with Singapore's Muslim
community as prayers offered for victims of
London terror attack
US: Prince Harry has
eaten with a Muslim community breaking
its Ramadan fast - as words of sympathy
were said for the victims of the London
terrorist attack.
Before the Prince and others began a
simple dish of dates and porridge as the
families of the seven people killed by
the attackers were remembered.
Harry, who is on a two-day trip to
Singapore, was visiting a community
centre run by a Muslim-faith led
voluntary welfare organisation called
Jamiyah Singapore, which provides a
range of services from help for
recovering addicts to residential homes
for young people.
Minutes before the sun went down and the
call to prayer was made by an Islamic
scholar, Muhammad Rafiuddin Ismail,
secretary-general of Jamiyah, said: "Our
thoughts go out to the families of the
victims of the London terror attack last
night."
Harry bowed his head as he began
speaking and the secretary general
added: "Let peace and harmony prevail in
communities all over the world."
Weekends
for maids means forbidden sexcapades, says
UAE lawmaker
There are
around 750,000 domestic workers
in the UAE
UAE: Female domestic
workers should not be allowed to have
weekends because they will have unlawful
sexual relations and become pregnant, an
Emirati parliamentarian has said.
Mohammad al-Ketbi made the remarks this
week, arguing against new legislation in
the United Arab Emirates that grants
household workers greater rights.
"If I have a maid and I allowed her to
go out, she will get involved in illicit
relationships and tomorrow she will come
back to me pregnant, and then there will
be a problem," Ketbi, who represents
Sharjah, told The National.
He added that he was less concerned
about male workers: "I am only concerned
with maids."
The UAE's federal national council on
Wednesday passed a bill that gives
domestic workers one day off per week,
ensures that shifts do not exceed 12
hours and grants them 30 days of paid
annual leave.
The new bill requires final approval
from the UAE President Sheikh Khalifa
bin Zayed al-Nahyan to become law.
The move has been hailed as a milestone
in workers rights in Gulf countries,
which have long records of violating the
rights of the millions of migrant
workers in the region.
"Good move, at last: UAE FNC passes
draft law on domestic workers to provide
some basic rights," Human Rights Watch's
Middle East and North Africa director,
Sarah Leah Whitson, tweeted.
What are the ideas that drive the Islamic State?
How did it develop and systematise its unique
form of apocalyptic violence?
In this gripping account, Robert Manne shows how
the Islamic State’s worldview evolved, from the
1960s prison writings of Sayyid Qutb all the way
to its elegant online magazine of horror, Dabiq.
This gripping account reveals the crucial role
of texts such as The Management of Savagery, and
figures such as al-Zarqawi, who set out to pit
Sunni against Shi’a, tearing Iraq apart.
Shortly after the fall of Mosul in June 2014, US
General Michael Nagata said of the new jihadist
threat: ‘We have not defeated the idea. We do
not even understand the idea.’
By examining the beliefs and strategies at the
heart of the Islamic State, Manne shows how a
dark ideology came into being.
‘If you want to understand how it all began,
this is an essential read: a deep dive into how
the ideologues behind salafi jihadism shaped the
global menace that we now know as Islamic
State.’ —Martin Chulov, Middle East
correspondent for the Guardian
‘In The Mind of the Islamic State Robert
Manne has given us a crystal clear guide to
jihadist thought: why they do what they do and
why they believe what they believe. Essential
reading for anyone interested in terrorism and
how it has evolved, this concise but thorough
study takes one on a rich and fascinating
journey of ideas, introducing a rogue's gallery
of beguilingly dark characters. The Mind of the
Islamic State is intellectual history at its
most vital. The stakes could not be higher.’
—Mark Danner, author of Spiral: Trapped in the
Forever War and Stripping Bare the Body
Robert Manne
is emeritus professor of politics at La Trobe
University. His recent books include Making
Trouble: Essays Against the New Complacency, and
The Words that Made Australia (as co-editor). He
has written three Quarterly Essays and is a
regular contributor to the Monthly and the
Guardian.
Step 2
Beat 2 eggs and 1 cup buttermilk, (leaving 2 Tab
aside to glaze) and mix with the above dry
ingredients to form a batter.
Step 3
Steak Filling
Make a spicy steak filling (see below for a
recipe)
Step 4
Using a ring dougunut pan or a muffin pan fill
1/3 of the container with the batter, you may
need to wet your hands to spread the scone like
batter.
Step 5
Layer with steak filling, salsa (see below) and
cover with batter again.
Step 6
Glaze with egg/buttermilk mixture and sprinkle
with poppy or sesame seeds.
Step 7
And bake at 180degrees until light brown.
Steak Filling
˝ kg rump steak cubed
1 tsp crushed green chillies
1 tsp crushed red chillies
Juice of ˝ a lemon
Ľ tsp tumeric powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ginger garlic
1 onion diced
2 tomatoes diced
2 tab ghee
Method
Heat the ghee, add all the spices, cook for a
minute add the steak and lemon juice and cook
until steak is tender and all the water has
evaporated. Add the onion and tomato and cook
until the mixture is dry, taste for salt. Shred
the steak using your fingers.
Salsa
ľ cup diced onion
2 Tab. diced red pepper
Ľ cup spring onion
1/4 cup mayo
Salt and pepper
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:
How to Overcome
Jealousy
One of the most
common, complex
emotions felt by
humans is known as
Jealousy. It
originates from the
root Greek word,
Zeal, meaning
extreme passion or
enthusiasm.
Jealousy manifests
in the body when a
person has thoughts
of envy towards
someone’s
achievements,
relationships or
material
possessions.
Jealousy usually
creeps into the
person in the form
of fear, anger or
humiliation.
From
the Islamic
perspective, the
story of brothers
Qabil and Habil,
sons of Adam (AS),
fabulously portrays
the manifestation
and consequences of
jealousy in humans.
Why do we feel
Jealousy?
The underlying cause
of jealousy is lack
of self-worth.
Self-worth is how
you feel about
yourself. If you
lack love, respect
and trust in your
own self and your
abilities, your
self-worth
diminishes. It makes
sense then to be
negatively affected
by someone else’s
joys and
accomplishments.
Your negative
thought patterns
(whispering from
Shaytaan), will find
ways to justify
those feelings of
jealousy in ways
whereby you hold
other people
responsible for your
own lack of
self-worth.
For
example, if the
husband feels
jealous about his
wife’s close bond
with her brother, it
is time he reflected
on his self-worth,
especially with
regards to feelings
of rejection he may
be harbouring from
the past. Another
example is when a
woman is jealous of
the accomplishments
of another woman.
This indicates deep
rooted insecurities
and requires the
woman who is feeling
jealous to process
the memories and
feelings that evoke
her insecurities.
Jealousy is nothing
but a yearning for
approval because
somewhere deep in
your subconscious
mind there is a
belief, toxic and
unchallenged, that
you are beneath
others. This
negative perception
of self convinces
you that you are
worth less than
another and
therefore you feel
hurt, humiliated,
fearful and
sometimes angry with
this feeling of
“inequality in
worthiness”.
Jealousy = False
Perception that
someone is better
than you
The Truth = You are
neither beneath nor
above anyone else.
How to Overcome
Jealousy
My motto in life is
“awareness is the
first step towards
transformation”.
Like anything in
life, if you wish to
transform something,
you first need to
become aware and
identify what it is
that requires
transformation.
1. Become aware
of how your body
behaves when you
feel jealousy.
2. Acknowledge
that you are
feeling this
negative emotion
called jealousy.
3. Express this
feeling to
someone you
trust by saying
these words : “I
am experiencing
feelings of
jealousy
towards....and I
need to
understand why.”
The moment you
express it
verbally, you
are no longer
letting the
emotion control
you. You empower
yourself to
respond
appropriately to
this emotion
rather than
react mindlessly
and be
controlled by
it.
In
Shaa ALLAH, next
week we will explore
the topic:
Practise
Understanding and
Give Up the Need to
Be Right All The
Time
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
Wouldn’t it be great
to have a constant
stash of fresh home
grown lemons? It’s
not as difficult as
you think. Follow
these simple rules
and you have it
made.
Whether in the
ground or in a large
pot, there are only
2 issues: pest
control and
nutrition.
Nutrition The lemon
tree is a ravenous
feeder Ever hungry,
it needs large
amounts of added
nitrogen,
phosphorous,
potassium, trace
elements and water.
Depending on soil
conditions, most
established trees
will respond to a
feed every 8 weeks.
Fertilisers come
ready mixed so
simply follow the
instructions on the
packet. An
established tree in
the ground should be
deeply watered at
least twice a week
and a pot bound tree
thrice.
Pests The leaves and
stems are under
constant attack from
sucking pests like
scale, aphids and
citrus miner. This
leads to curled and
deformed leaves or
sooty mould that
develops in the sap.
This brings ants.
The gall wasp is
another constant
threat because its
young burrow into
the stem causing
damage. Thankfully,
you need only PEST
OIL to control all
of these threats.
Spray it on monthly
and see the
difference. You can
easily make your own
(see
my website for the
recipe) or
choose WHITE OIL.
These oils leave a
thin film of oil on
the leaves and stems
which stops pest
action. Spray the
underside of leaves
as well.
Follow these
programs regularly
and you will have
juicy lemons all
year round.
PEST CONTROL
Deformed and
diseased leaves
damaged by the
citrus miner pest.
Use white oil or
pest oil to stop
further attacks.
Another type of
deformed leaf caused
by sucking pests.
Use white oil or
pest oil to prevent
this!
Hot tip: Pick
the lemons when they
start yellowing very
slightly. This will
encourage new
flowers and allow a
more continuous
harvest. Make lemon
atchaar with
the excess!
The
baby gall wasps
emerging
from the stem after
feasting on the stem
tissue. Cut just
below the swelling
and remove infected
stem. Use white
oil or pest oil to
prevent future
infections.
Aphids, mealy bugs
and other suckers.
Use white oil or
pest oil to
eliminate.
Hot tip: Put
a thick layer of
mulch around trees
that are in the
ground or coir
around a potted
tree. Citrus has
shallow roots and
love the coolness of
mulch.
Mula Nasruddin is a
tourist in Vienna is going through a graveyard and all
of a sudden he hears music. No one is around, so he
starts searching for the source.
He finally locates the origin and finds it is coming
from a grave with a headstone that reads: "Ludwig van
Beethoven, 1770- 1827".
Then he realizes that the music is Beethoven's Ninth
Symphony and it is being played backward!
Puzzled, he leaves the graveyard and persuades his
friend Jallalludin to return with him.
By the time they arrive back at the grave, the music has
changed.
This time it is the Seventh Symphony, but like the
previous piece, it is being played backwards. Curious,
the men agree to consult a music scholar.
When they return with the expert, the Fifth Symphony is
playing, again backwards.
The expert notices that the symphonies are being played
in the reverse order in which they were composed, the
9th, then the 7th, then the 5th.
By the next day the word has spread, and a crowd has
gathered around the grave. They are all listening to the
Second Symphony being played backward. Just then the
graveyard's caretaker ambles up to the group.
Someone in the group asks him if he has an explanation
for the music.
"I would have thought it was obvious," the caretaker
says.
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: TBA VENUE: Islamic College of Brisbane [ICB].
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
CORRESPONDENCE
"We're
not politicising anything,
we're trying to decide what
the Australian people want."
Religious
scholars issue unanimous fatwa declaring
suicide attacks Haram 
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