The Eid prayer
gathering at the
Islamic College of
Brisbane, hosted by
the Islamic Council
of Queensland (ICQ)
and the Holland
Park, Kuraby and
Slacks Creek Mosques
topped 8000 men,
women and children
worshippers on
Monday 26 June,
making it the
largest turnout in
Queensland. The prayer hall,
basketball court,
grassy area and the
function hall were
packed to capacity
this year.
Toowoomba residents
celebrated Eid with
prayers in a rented
auditorium of
Centenary Heights
State School on
Sunday 25 June.
It was one of the
largest Eid prayers
in the history of
the city, and over
1000 Muslims
participated in the
salat.
Families brought
sweets and the
Islamic Society of
Toowoomba provided
water, juice, plates
etc.
The Imam emphasised
the importance of
the unity of Muslims
and encouraged
everyone to get
actively involved in
the rebuilding of
the burned Toowoomba
Mosque.
The results of the latest
national Census released on
Tuesday 27 June 2017 reveal
that Muslims are now the
largest religious minority
in Australia.
Christianity remains the
most common religion (52
percent of the population).
Catholicism is the largest
Christian grouping in
Australia, accounting for
almost a quarter (22.6
percent) of the Australian
population.
Other than Christian, Islam
(2.6 per cent) and Buddhism
(2.4 percent) were the next
most common religions
reported. Nearly a third of
Australians (30 percent)
reported in the Census that
they had no religion in
2016.
The religious makeup of
Australia has changed
gradually over the past 50
years. In 1966, Christianity
(88 percent) was the main
religion. By 1991, this
figure had fallen to 74
percent, and further to the
2016 figure.
Australia is increasingly a
story of religious
diversity, with Hinduism,
Sikhism, Islam, and Buddhism
all increasingly common
religious beliefs. Hinduism
had the most significant
growth between 2006 and
2016, driven by immigration
from South Asia.
The growing percentage of
Australia’s population
reporting no religion has
been a trend for decades and
is accelerating. Those
reporting no religion
increased noticeably from 19
percent in 2006 to 30
percent in 2016. The largest
change was between 2011 (22
percent) and 2016 when an
additional 2.2 million
people reported having no
religion.
Remarks at the St Mark
Coptic Orthodox Church (25
June)
Let me say to you my
friends, that we in
Australia are the most
successful multicultural
society in the world. We
are.
And you could not imagine
modern Australia in all its
diversity and magnificence,
without you. What you have
done, what your families
have done, the commitment
you’ve made – respecting our
values, freedom, democracy,
the rule of law, mutual
respect – there is the
foundation. That mutual
respect is the foundation of
the harmony we enjoy in
Australia, in a world where
regrettably, as we see,
particularly in the Middle
East where there is so
little harmony and so much
intolerance.
One of the greatest
tragedies of our times has
been the persecution of
Christians right through the
Middle East. It is a
devastating tragedy to see
the persecution of Churches
that were founded by the
apostles, by men who knew
Jesus, men who had walked
with Jesus, worked with
Jesus. His apostles
foundations, these Churches,
the most ancient in the
world, as Bishop Daniel
described, these have been
threatened. And I am
delighted to hear from
Bishop Paula, how strongly
President el-Sisi is
standing up to defend the
Coptics and standing up for
the unity of Egypt, defying
the Islamist scourge that is
seeking to destroy
Christianity in the Middle
East. But also, is a disease
within Islam itself.
We mustn’t mince words here.
We have to be very
clear-eyed about this. As
President el-Sisi and I have
discussed this matter
directly – and I’ll come to
your requests in a moment
your Grace, your Grace –
I’ve discussed these matters
with President el-Sisi and
he has called it out for
what it is. These
terrorists, these people are
blasphemers and heretics.
They seek to destroy their
own religion as they seek to
destroy others.
They must be resisted,
defied and destroyed. That
is my commitment and the
commitment of my Government.
My friends, we stand with
you to defy the terrorists.
Full speech
Remarks at the Eid event
hosted by the Bachar Bouli
Cup and Leadership Program
(26 June)
Now I’m
delighted to be here to
announce the government’s
continued support for the
Bachar Houli Cup and
Leadership Program. And I
want to wish everyone here
and all those in the wider
Australian Muslim community
a joyful Eid-al-Fitr.
Eid Mubarak!
Eid marks the end of the
holy month of Ramadan. It’s
a month of spiritual
reflection, forgiveness and
compassion. By fasting,
through acts of charity,
Muslims take time in Ramadan
to remember those in our
community who are less
fortunate.
Celebrations like this one
today and all those around
the nation remind us of our
success as a multicultural
society.
Now let me, I want to stress
this, we are the most
successful multicultural
society in the world. One of
the important things is to
turn your phone off. We are
one of the most successful,
I would say the most
successful multicultural
society in the world. And
I’ll tell you why we are.
Because our Australian
values are open to
everybody. It doesn’t matter
what the colour of your skin
is, what your religion is,
what your ethnic background
is, our values are
accessible to everyone. And
so anyone, whatever their
background, whatever their
race, they’ve looked in the
mirror and say “I look like
an Australian”.
So we do not define
ourselves by reference to
religion, or ethnicity or
race as so many nations do.
We are a remarkable nation.
Our success as a
multicultural society is
built upon those values;
freedom, democracy, rule of
law, mutual respect. Mutual
respect is so vitally
important. It is of course
connected to all the other
values, the equality of men
and women. It is a
fundamental element in our
society. And it’s one of the
things that has made us so
successful. Now I was
talking about these issues
yesterday at the St Mark’s
Coptic Church in Sydney,
Arncliffe, in Sydney.
The Copts you know have been
attacked, persecuted by
extremists, violent
extremists who have, who are
seeking to undermine Islam,
destroy Islam from within
and attack other faiths. And
they spoke there about the
support they have in Egypt,
their community has in Egypt
from the wide community,
from the government, from
the army, the support that
they have, the solidarity
across the religious faith
and the difference between
faiths, the solidarity which
define and defeat those who
seek to divide us.
Remember extremists seek to
make us turn on each other
and that is why this program
and the work the AFL does
and in particular that
Bachar does here is so
important. To those who seek
to divide us we say we
unite. To those who seek to
create disunity and tension
and conflict we say we come
together in a strength of
mutual respect and peace, as
Rana said, in peace, in that
harmony that makes us so
successful as a
multicultural society.
And it is harder, it is very
hard to think of a better
example of the strength and
resilience of our great
nation our great
multicultural society than
the work that Bachar does.
Bachar’s skills on the
sporting field, though as
Gillon said, he is human,
are matched by his
commitment to his community
and building a stronger and
more cohesive Australia.
As the AFL’s Multicultural
Ambassador, Bachar has
introduced young people from
diverse communities to the
national game through the
Bachar Houli Cup - an
inter-Islamic schools
football competition - and
the Bachar Houli Academy,
established as we know, to
nurture aspiring young
Muslim footballers. Bachar’s
mentoring program for Muslim
youth demonstrates the power
of sport to foster
multicultural unity and
develop teamwork and
leadership skills.
As Rana said, in her life,
being in an Indian-Muslim
family, football has gone
from being just something
that happens in the cricket
offseason, and become
something that she and her
friends are as passionately
committed to. Or are you as
to cricket? One would hope
so. Anyway, equally. That’s
good. Equally committed.
Community groups on the
Southside are being
encouraged to apply for
grants of up to $20,000 to
build stronger community
ties, as part of the
Palaszczuk Government’s We
Are Queensland action plan
and social cohesion program.
Member for Stretton Duncan
Pegg said the We Are
Queensland small grants
program was aimed at
connecting neighbours and
communities, as well as
linking families to help
build connections in the
broader community.
“Queensland is a great state
for many reasons, but our
people and our diverse
communities are our greatest
asset,” Mr Pegg said.
“We are Queensland is about
recognising the strength of
our diversity and the
contributions we all make as
Queenslanders to our state
great.
“Through the small grants
program, local groups are
able to apply for funding
between $5,000 and $20,000
to carry out projects that
build connections in our
communities.
“Eligible projects could
include linking young people
of different ages and faith
groups, events that help
neighbours get to know each
other and sporting or
cultural activities that
support community
participation.
“I encourage our local
not-for-profit groups,
parents and friends
associations and other
eligible organisations in on
the Southside to apply for
this new grants program.”
Mr Pegg said the grants
programs complemented the We
are Queensland campaign,
which targets young people
who may feel disconnected
and are more vulnerable to
negative and extreme
influences.
The Palaszczuk Government
will invest $7.4 million
over the next four years to
implement a state-wide
action plan to strengthen
communities, counter
anti-social behaviour and
promote benefits of our
state’s diversity.
This funding is in addition
to the $5 million already
allocated for a dedicated
Social Cohesion
Implementation Committee to
enhance social cohesion and
counter violent extremism in
Queensland.
Mr Pegg said the Queensland
Government’s action plan
would deliver funding to
implement targeted,
place-based initiatives to
support marginalised
individuals into jobs,
volunteering training and
community activities.
“Our community is built on
shared values, like respect
for others, tolerance and a
fair go, and this campaign
is about recognising the
strength of our diversity
and the contribution we all
make as Queenslanders to
make our state great,” he
said.
“In the wake of recent
violent and divisive events
around the world, this
powerful and inclusive
message of this campaign is
even more important.
Demand from Muslim
millennials combined with public
disaffection over recent food
scandals sees Islamic food go
mainstream
Wilf Lewis by the halal food
production line at his family’s
firm in Swansea, Wales.
UK:
On an industrial estate on
the outskirts of Swansea, a
small revolution is taking
place. Lewis Pies, a family
firm that has been making
British staples such as beef
and onion pies, traditional
pasties and sausage rolls
for more than 80 years, has
turned over a third of its
business to halal products
over the past decade to meet
burgeoning demand. According
to the managing director
Wilf Lewis, halal is the
future. “As a business, you
set greyhounds off, and this
is the one that’s running
fastest,” he says. “We could
get to the point during the
next decade where halal is
the majority of what we
produce.”
Lewis Pies is part of a
rapidly expanding market
that reflects the demands of
the growing Muslim
population. The spending
power of Muslim millennials,
and their mix of faith and
consumerism, is driving the
trend.
As the world’s 1.6 billion
Muslims prepare to celebrate
Eid al-Fitr, which starts on
Sunday, the latest figures
suggest the global halal
food and drink market will
be worth close to Ł1.5
trillion by 2030. Other
sectors of the Islamic
economy – pharmaceuticals,
travel, finance, modest
clothing, cosmetics – are
also set to grow.
But halal food may be on the
verge of moving beyond the
Muslim consumer market,
according to industry
experts, driven in part by
food provenance scandals,
such as the use of
horsemeat, in recent years.
Abdalhamid Evans, a
strategist at Imarat
Consultants, which
specialises in halal market
intelligence, told a recent
conference: “Halal products,
if well designed and
marketed, can appeal to the
general population. Halal is
moving from niche to
mainstream.”
Halal meat comes from
animals slaughtered in
accordance with Islamic law.
They must be alive and
healthy at the time of
slaughter, killed by hand
and have all blood drained
from the carcass. More than
80% of animals killed for
halal meat are stunned
before slaughter, although
it is not a legal
requirement in the UK. The
RSPCA, British Veterinary
Association, the Farm Animal
Welfare Council and animal
rights groups say slaughter
without pre-stunning can
cause unnecessary suffering.
Lewis Pies has worked hard
to get accreditation from
halal governing bodies,
source halal ingredients and
win the confidence of Muslim
customers by inviting them
to the factory to see the
separate halal production
lines.
Its halal journey began with
an approach from prison
service catering contractors
asking if the company could
create a halal product for
Muslim inmates. At that
stage halal accounted for
less than 5% of the
company’s business. Within a
few years it had removed all
pork products from its
lines.
“It was a tough decision. In
one way you’re limiting your
market – no more pork pies
or pork sausage rolls,” says
Lewis, 40. “We had suppliers
asking for chicken, ham and
leek pies, and we had to say
no – but we can do a good
chicken and leek pie.”
The firm also had to deal
with a backlash from
Islamophobes and animal
rights activists. “I once
spent two hours drafting a
very careful reply to
someone, explaining the
issues and the background,”
adds Lewis. “I sent it off
and got a totally
inappropriate response. So
we don’t engage with people
who don’t want a rational
discussion.”
Now halal is the company’s
main growth area, accounting
for more than 35% of the
business, and selling to
wholesalers, retailers and
brands that market products
under their own labels. The
biggest demand is for
traditional British staples.
“There’s a preconception
that with halal products you
need to ‘currify’
everything, but what people
really want is [beef]
sausage rolls and meat
pies,” says Lewis. The
company has now been
approached by two football
clubs interested in halal
pies to be eaten on the
terraces.
This desire among Muslims
for classic British food led
30-year-old entrepreneur
Shazia Saleem to launch a
range of halal ready meals
under her ieat label. “I
wanted shepherd’s pie from
the age of seven, and no one
was making a halal version,
so I made it myself,” she
said at a recent Muslim
lifestyle conference.
“Since 2013, there’s been a
sixfold increase in Muslims
shopping in chilled meals
aisles looking for something
halal,” she said. Her
products are stocked in
several big supermarket
chains.
The demand for halal food is
also driving restaurant
reviews and ventures such as
the Halal Dining Club and
the food blog Halal Girl
About Town.
In Swansea, the factory’s
adjustment to halal has led
the family in unexpected
directions.
“If you had told me five
years ago, when I was
managing a software company,
that I’d be selling halal
pies, I wouldn’t have
believed it,” says Lewis.
“But we’ve overcome
suspicions and made some
good friends. We’ve had a
fantastic reception.”
Bachar Houli received a
two-week suspension after the
trial took his character into
account.
Richmond star Bachar Houli
has escaped a healthy whack
from the AFL’s match
tribunal after citing Prime
Minister Malcolm Turnbull
and The Project host Waleed
Aly as character references.
Houli’s case was sent
directly to the tribunal
after he was charged with
intentionally striking
Carlton’s Jed Lamb in
Sunday’s game.
Lamb was knocked out in the
first quarter when collected
by Houli’s swinging forearm.
He took no further part of
the match after being ruled
out with concussion.
But after nearly two hours
of deliberation, Houli got
off lightly with a two-week
suspension, as the tribunal
took his character into
account.
The AFL wanted four weeks.
The tribunal panel noted it
was “rare” that they came
across someone of such
character, which Richmond’s
counsel played on, quoting
Houli’s “unique” reputation
throughout the trial.
“I’ve never hit anyone in my
life. Never at all,” Houli
said in his defence.
“It’s something I’ve never,
ever done in my life and
I’ll never intend to do that
in my life. It’s part of my
practice in my religion –
I’m a peaceful person. And
I’ll continue to conduct
myself in that manner.”
Houli, an AFL multicultural
ambassador, is the
mainspring behind the Bachar
Houli Academy which promotes
football programs in the
Islamic community.
But it appeared to be Mr
Turnbull and Aly’s remarks
that held the most sway.
“It’s very hard to think of
a better example of the
strength and resilience of
our great multicultural
society than the work that
Bachar Houli does,” Mr
Turnbull said as part of his
submission.
The federal government
announced on Monday that it
will provide $625,000 in
funding to Houli’s academy.
Mr Turnbull and Houli
reportedly exchange regular
text messages.
Aly, an ardent Tigers
supporter, backed up Mr
Turnbull’s sketch of Houli’s
character and praised him as
the spirit of “humility and
gentleness”.
As “the first devout Muslim
to play AFL”, Aly said,
Houli “bears the burden of a
community that is
desperately short of heroes
and role models”.
“He delivers some of the
most powerful and
constructive messages that
any athlete in recent times
has been seen to offer young
minds.
“He does this in the face of
racial abuse, which Aly has
seen time and time again,”
Richmond counsel said.
The suspension has ignited
outrage among fans and
former players alike.
Former Hawthorn and Gold
Coast Suns star Campbell
Brown said on radio he was
“gobsmacked” by the lenient
suspension.
“I don’t care who the
character references are. We
all understand he is an
outstanding citizen and has
been a fair player,” he
said.
“But the incident speaks for
itself. I thought three to
four weeks was appropriate.
To get two weeks is quite
staggering.
“The AFL goes along and
pretends to talk about image
for the game, and they’ll
slap blokes hard when they
need to.
“I think this is a case of
preferential treatment. I’m
not having a go at Houli,
but gee whiz, they’ll be a
lot of shocked people out
there and rightfully so.”
Houli did not speak to the
media after the hearing.
The AFL appeals board has
doubled the ban of Richmond
defender Bachar Houli to
four weeks.
After a marathon two-hour
hearing on Thursday night,
the three-man board ruled
that the original two-match
ban for striking Carlton’s
Jed Lamb was manifestly
inadequate.
Houli made a brief statement
afterwards, saying he
accepted the decision.
“The decision has been made
and I accept it,” Houli told
reporters.
“My concern is, and always
has been, for Jed [Lamb] and
I hope he recovers really
quickly. We move on with
life and I’ll do my best to
help the team prepare for
the next few games.”
Karen Armstrong, British
scholar of comparative
religion, finds that there
is a long and inglorious
tradition of distorting
Islam in Europe. She
criticises the notion that
Islam is essentially more
violent than Christianity
and speaks about the genesis
of Western disdain for the
Arab world. Interview by
Claudia Mende.
(Continued from last week's
CCN)
French knights from the
Languedoc on the First Crusade
by Pierre-R. d'Hautpoul. "Until
the modern period, Islam had a
far better record of tolerance
than Western Christianity. When
the Crusaders conquered
Jerusalem in 1099, they
slaughtered the Muslim and
Jewish inhabitants of the city
in a massacre that shocked the
Middle East, which had never
seen such unbridled violence,"
says Karen Armstrong
There is a popular
understanding that Islam has
violence incorporated into
its beliefs from the very
beginning. What do you
think?
Armstrong: This
popular belief originated at
the time of the Crusades,
when it was Western
Christians who were
attacking Muslims in the
Near East; it may reflect a
buried anxiety and guilt:
Jesus had told his followers
to love their enemies not to
exterminate them. The
conviction that Islam had
always been a religion of
the sword was promoted by
learned monks during the
twelfth century: they were
projecting their concern
about their own behaviour
onto their victims.
But what about the
beginnings of the Islamic
empire?
Armstrong: In the
early years, while the
Muslims were an embattled
minority in Mecca, the Koran
forbade them to retaliate
and attack their aggressors.
But when they were forced by
intensified persecution to
flee Mecca and found an
infant state, the Muslims,
like any state-builders, had
to fight, and the Koran
endorses this. But military
historians tell us that
Muhammad and the first
caliphs are almost unique in
building empires more by
diplomacy than by violence:
Muhammad, by uniting the
Arabian Peninsula, which had
previously consisted of
warring tribal societies,
and imposing the Pax
Islamica there; and the
first caliphs, the Rashidun,
in the cultivated lands of
the Middle East.
Another difference
between East and West is the
lack of separation between
state and religion in the
Arab world. Why does
secularism have such a
difficult stand?
Armstrong: The
secularism that developed in
the West during the
eighteenth century was a
radical innovation. Before
the modern period, religion
permeated all human
activities because people
wanted to make their lives
significant. The idea of
"religion" as a personal,
private quest essentially
separate from all other
pursuits was unknown in
pre-modern Europe as well as
in the rest of the world. No
other culture has anything
like it. Words that we
translate as "religion"
(such as "din" in Arabic or
"dharma" in Sanskrit) refer
to an entire way of life.
Trying to take "religion"
out of politics would have
been as difficult as taking
the gin out of a cocktail.
This was not because they
were too stupid to
distinguish two entirely
different activities but
because such questions as
the plight of the poor, the
maintenance of public order
and public security, and
justice were matters of
sacred import.
.....CONTINUED NEXT WEEK IN
CCN
Interview conducted by
Claudia Mende Karen Armstrong is a
British scholar of
comparative religion. She is
the author of several
bestsellers on the history
of religion. Her newest
publication deals with
violence in Judaism,
Christianity and Islam.
"Fields of Blood: Religion
and the History of Violence"
(2014).
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.
Ibn Sina Award
for HEALTH:
This award
recognizes those who
excel and promote in
health issues.
Winner: Mehrunisha
Suleman
Dr Mehrunisha
Suleman is a
bioethicist at
Balliol College,
Oxford, where she is
researching Islamic
perspectives on the
ethics of Global
Health Research in
Developing
Countries. She holds
a BA in Biomedical
Sciences Tripos from
the University of
Cambridge and an MSc
in Global Health
Sciences from Oxford
University.
As a trustee at the
Centre for Islam and
Medicine, she has
been instrumental in
shaping the vision
and agenda and has
applied her
knowledge and
experience to
advance the Islamic
bioethics discourse.
Before joining
Oxford, she worked
with the Department
of Health’s QIPP
Right Care
Programme. As a
UNESCO trainer for
ethics teachers,
Mehrunisha has
facilitated and
delivered ethics
teaching for
researchers and
practitioners
through courses held
in Kenya and
Bangladesh.
She is an honorary
Clinical Teaching
Fellow at the Oxford
Radcliffe Trust, and
a teaching associate
for the MSc Global
Health Sciences
programme at Oxford.
..........The UK Muslim News
Awards for Excellence CONTINUES IN NEXT
WEEK'S CCN
The Palace
Intrigue at the
Heart of the
Qatar Crisis
The Saudis don’t
believe the
young emir of
Qatar is really
running the
country — and
they’re looking
for regime
change.
Who is the real
leader of Qatar?
On paper, it is
Emir Tamim bin
Hamad Al Thani,
the 37-year-old
son of Sheikh
Hamad bin
Khalifa Al Thani,
who abdicated in
Tamim’s favor in
2013. But the
leaderships of
Saudi Arabia and
the United Arab
Emirates, who
have become
involved in a
messy diplomatic
squabble with
Qatar, think it
is actually
Sheikh Hamad,
now known as the
“father-emir,”
who is still
pulling the
strings. The
truth could
dictate the
outcome of the
Gulf crisis,
where the United
States is trying
to broker an
early settlement
while Iran
watches
mischievously
from the
sidelines.
There are a
variety of
judgments of who
is really in
control in Doha,
none of which
are particularly
complimentary to
the Al Thanis,
the onetime
desert tribe
that number a
mere few
thousand but
effectively own
the world’s
third-largest
reserves of
natural gas.
Thousands of
worshippers have converged on a
Lakemba street to celebrate Eid
Sam
Dastyari on steps of Lakemba
Mosque Sam Datyari
As Aussie
as it gets.
Mehdi
Hasan on Unity
The Muslim
Vibe
I'm Not A
Muslim But...
The Unquiet
Mind
Suhaiymah
Manzoor-Khan Roundhouse
"If you need
me to prove my humanity, I'm
not the one who's not
human."
The second place runner up
of this year’s poetry slam
final Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan,
with the poem 'This Is Not A
Humanising Poem'. Part of
Last Word Festival 2017.
ISLAMIC EDUCATION VIDEOS
Motivation
To Memorise The Qur'an | Umm
Jamaal ud-Din Islam In Focus Australia
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providing the details of such
events does not necessarily
imply endorsement or agreement
by CCN of the contents therein.
Halima
Aden on Allure: Hijab-wearing model appears
on the front cover of mag to bust Muslim
stereotypes
US: A Somali model has
become the first woman ever to grace the
cover of Amercian beauty magazine
Allure, while wearing a hijab.
Halima Aden, who is only 19-years-old,
is pictured wearing Nike's
high-performance hijab on the cover of
the July issue of the women's magazine,
with a caption that says "This is
American Beauty".
Aden has long been working to busy
stereotypes of Muslim women in the
media, having appeared in the bikini
round of the 2016 Miss Minnesota USA
beauty pageant while wearing a burkini
and hijab.
Since then, she's also walked in the
Yeezy season five show at New York
Fashion Week and made headlines by being
the first hijab-wearing woman to grace
the cover of Vogue.
250,000 Muslims flock to Moscow’s cathedral
mosque for Eid prayer
Jami Mosque in Moscow on the Eid
al-Fitr holiday.
RUSSIA: Despite being one
of the largest in Europe, the mosque in
Moscow can only accommodate about 10,000
people, so the majority of believers
placed their prayer mats on the streets
outside the building. The authorities
cordoned off the entire area to traffic
for the occasion.
Moscow police deployed 3,000 officers to
preserve order near the cathedral mosque
and several other large Muslim prayer
sites in the Russian capital. They
reported no incidents.
Akhmat Kadyrov Mosque in Grozny
on the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
In Russia, Eid al-Fitr
is marked as an official holiday in
nine predominantly Muslim republics
in the southern part of the country.
Remarks
by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa during
Eid al-Fitr Lenasia, Johannesburg
Deputy
President Cyril Ramaphosa
SOUTH AFRICA: 26 JUNE
2017
Our
Muslim Brothers and Sisters, Friends and
Compatriots,
Assalamu Alaikum
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent,
the Merciful.
I would like to wish
all Muslims in our country a Blessed Eid
al-Fitr.
I also wish to thank
the leadership and community of Lenasia
for welcoming us to share this special
morning with you.
We are deeply honoured
to share this celebration with all of
you.
Today, you break the
Fast of Ramadan and welcome on the
horizon the gift of light of the new
moon. Throughout the holy month of
Ramadan, you radiated on our nation the
value of self-discipline, self-
sacrifice and generosity.
By working to purify the heart from
wrong-doing, by refraining from avarice
and selfish desire, Ramadan cultivates
inner spiritual strength.
It builds character and refines inner
vision.
The bodily deprivations of Ramadan allow
us never to take for granted our own
blessings and success.
In
strengthening your faith and moral
stamina through fasting, you reminded us
that for a nation to attain
righteousness and the pinnacle of its
success, sometimes it has to turn its
back on trivial worldly desires.
The Fast became a
mirror through which we could reflect
and identify with the suffering of
others.
It amplified that the
true value of religion still lies in its
capacity to identify with the suffering
of others.
As you performed
service and acts of goodwill and charity
for the poor and needy members of our
communities, you reminded us that Islam
is a faith founded on compassion,
justice and universal brotherhood.
It is about giving,
not taking.
It is about generosity, not greed.
It’s about love, peace, truth and
tolerance. Not hatred, violence,
dishonesty and bigotry.
And these are universal human values
upon which we need to anchor our new
society.
By embracing and
applying these traits consistently, we
can root out the high levels of poverty
that confront many South Africans. We
can provide quality education and create
decent jobs for millions of young people
who are out of school and out of work.
We can, as the Quran teaches us, end
social strife and bring lasting hope to
orphans and widows.
Brothers and Sisters,
Today’s
celebration of Eid al-Fitr coincides
with the adoption of the Freedom Charter
on the 26th of June 1955 at nearby
Kliptown.
After listening to all
South Africans across the length and
breadth of our country, our forebears
declared that:
“South Africa belongs
to all who live in it, black and white,
and that no government can justly claim
authority unless it is based on the will
of all the people.”
They said, “Only a
democratic state, based on the will of
all the people, can secure to all their
birth right without distinction of
colour, race, sex or belief.”
We
continue to pay tribute to the role
South African Muslims - such as the late
Ahmed Kathrada and Ahmed Timol - played
in our Struggle for freedom and to the
role you are playing today in securing a
better life for all South Africans.
We are pleased that
the inquest into the death of Ahmed
Timol is starting today in Court so that
we may finally know the truth about his
murder.
Today, we ask you and
all religious communities in our country
to offer special prayers for the African
National Congress as it deliberates on
its policies from Friday this week to 5
July at the Nasrec Exhibition Centre.
The ANC carries an
immense responsibility to craft and
adopt effective policies that will
advance the interest of the poor. It
carries a historic mandate to unite all
our people from the ruins of past
divisions. This is a responsibility that
demands wise and visionary leadership.
So we ask you to pray
for us to elect ANC leaders in December
that will move our country forward and
restore South Africans’ faith in
democracy. We pray for leaders who will
embrace values that you have practiced
devoutly during Ramadan. They must
approach political office as a long
period of fasting, self-sacrifice, and
service to the poor. And so as we break
the fast today, we must enter into a
national covenant that we will continue
to be on the side of justice, truth and
righteousness. We must be courageous to
stand up against those who act against
the interest of the poor and
marginalised. Together we must pray and
work for the salvation of our nation.
I wish you Eid Mubarak
as you begin a day of fellowship, family
and reaching out once more to the poor
and needy in our communities.
A young Muslim leader's
memoir of his struggles to forge an American Muslim
identity.
Haroon Moghul was
first thrust into the spotlight after 9/11, as
an undergraduate leader at New York University's
Islamic Center.
Suddenly, he was
making appearances everywhere: on TV, talking to
interfaith audiences, combating Islamophobia in
print.
He was becoming a
prominent voice for American Muslims.
Privately, Moghul
had a complicated relationship with Islam. In
high school he was barely a believer and
entirely convinced he was going to hell. He
sometimes drank. He didn't pray regularly. All
he wanted was a girlfriend.
But as Haroon discovered, it wasn't so easy to
leave religion behind. To be true to himself, he
needed to forge a unique American Muslim
identity that reflected his own beliefs and
personality.
How to Be a Muslim
is the story of a young man coping with the
crushing pressure of a world that shuns and
fears Muslims, struggling with his faith and
searching for intellectual forebears, and
suffering the onset of bipolar disorder.
This is the story of
the second-generation immigrant, of what it s
like to lose yourself between cultures, and how
to pick up the pieces.
KB says:Great idea for
stocking up lolly jars for school holidays
Homemade
FERRERO ROCHER
Ingredients
2 packets of chocolate flavored wafer biscuits
1 cup chopped pecan nuts
1 cup chopped almonds
1 × 350gr bottle Nutella
Cadbury chocolate
Method
1. Place chopped nuts in an oven tray and roast
but turn continuously so as not to burn.
2. Crush biscuits.
3. Allow nuts to cool.
4. Mix nuts, biscuits and Nutella until it's all
well combined.
5. Leave in the fridge for half an hour.
6. Make small balls, you may need to wet your
hands so the mixture does not stick to your
hands.
7. Leave overnight in the fridge to harden.
8. Melt chocolate and coat the ball evenly.
9. Leave to dry and place in small paper cups.
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
Insecurity
Do you ever feel
anxious, little or
no confidence, or
unsafe in your
circumstances? Do
you feel the need to
depend on others for
things or approval?
Do you feel
self-pity or that
you need to prove
your worth to
others? If so, you
could be feeling
insecure.
Insecurity creates
self-doubt and fear
and cripples you
from living a
joyful, productive
life. When you feel
insecure, you resist
total submission to
ALLAH swt. You begin
to believe in
shaytan's whispers
that you are “not
good enough” or that
you “don’t have what
it takes” or that
you are a “fraud”.
These negative
whisperings not only
create massive
blocks in every
aspects of your
life, such as,
relationships,
finances,
spirituality, to
name a few, but also
affect your mental
health and holistic
wellbeing.
For thirty-seven
years of my life I
was a slave to
shaytan’s whispers
about my own
insecurity. It had
crippled me to the
point where I would
create situations to
prove my worth. The
saddest part about
those years was that
I was not a Muslim
and I did not know
how to handle
feelings of fear,
rejection,
self-loathing,
self-pity and
self-doubt.
Insecurity stems
from emotional hurt
or pain that has not
been healed. Instead
of processing hurt
and emotional pain,
we tend to put on a
brave face and slap
on a big, padded
band-aid over them.
We become fearful of
our own
vulnerabilities by
moving on with life
carrying a load of
unprocessed
emotions.
The way to process
emotional hurt and
pain is to identify
what happened, when
it happened and who
were involved. You
may need
professional help
from a therapist to
successfully
identify these
suppressed, or
sometimes blocked,
memories. Once you
have identified
them, you are then
on the road to
overcome feelings of
insecurity that are
as a result of these
memories.
Journaling or
Writing Therapy is a
great way to not
only identify
memories of hurt and
pain but also
process them and
experience
catharsis. Contact
me if you wish to
find out more about
this therapy.
Strategies to
Overcome Insecurity
Below are six
typical situations
which may cause
feelings of
insecurity. Try to
practise
corresponding
affirmations to
become aware of your
insecurities and
therefore overcome
them.
In
Shaa ALLAH, next
week we will explore
the topic: How to
Unlearn Your Fears
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.
Ladies it’s never
late to
convince the men in your life to be more
vigilant
about their health and visit a GP more regularly
for check-ups.
Studies show that women tend to visit their
doctor two-times more
on average than their male counterparts.
Visiting the
doctor’s office can dramatically increase the
chances of being diagnosed with a serious
illness in it’s early stages, which, in turn,
increases the chances of survival.
So, lets not only
encourage them to visit their GP, but get out
there with
them and move a little more! N-JOY!
•
Fantastic
feature
tree.
• It is
native
to
Australia
so can
take the
heat.
• Does
not grow
too big
and
there
are many
smaller
species.
From 2m
to15m.
• It
flowers
in
winter
when
most
other
plants
are
dormant.
• It
attracts
birds.
Lorikeets
love the
sap on
the bark
while
Galahs
enjoy
the seed
pods.
• Some
species
have
lovely
grey
foliage.
• The
roots
are not
destructive.
Allah enlarges, or grants by
(strict) measure, the
sustenance (which He gives)
to whomso He pleases. (The
worldly) rejoice in the life
of this world: but the life
of this world is but little
comfort in the Hereafter.
This
is an environment where our children will learn
about Allah and his beloved Prophet Muhammad
S.A.W., recite their duas and surahs, learn
about the 5 pillars of Islam, following the
Sunnah, the values of Ramadaan and Eid and go to
sleep listening to the beautiful recitation of
the Quran or Zikr. ……
HELP!!! THE ONLY ISLAMIC KINDY IN BRISBANE!!
Assalamualaikum. Shajarah Islamic Kindergarten
is in need of your help! The Department of
Transport who owns the current premises at 2
Rothon Drive, Rochedale South, require the
property to create a new busway through the
area. We need to find a new location a.s.a.p.
Going back to the beginning…. Shajarah Islamic
Kindergarten was the inspiration of a new
Muslimah’s concerns that there was no Islamic
Kindy where she could send her son to for the
most critical years of his life i.e the 1st five
years. (As we are all aware of the importance of
the foundation phase in the correct upbringing
of our children). She noticed this empty
Kindergarten building at No. 2 Rothon Drive and
in October 2012 the first Islamic Kindy in
Brisbane opened it’s doors to a pressing need in
the community. From such humble beginnings up
till now, we are pleased to say that through the
Rahmah and mercy of Allah we have grown to
become an established institution serving the
needs of the Muslim community.
In October 2016 we were assessed by the Office
of Early Childhood Education and Care and
Alhamdullilah we were rated as “EXCEEDING THE
NATIONAL QUALITY FRAMEWORK”. We meet all
government requirements for the National
governing body “ACECQA” as well as the
Queensland State Government Office of Early
Childhood Education and Care.
Our Service Approval currently includes :-
An Approved Kindergarten Program for children
in their final year before school,
Long Day Care for 3year olds to school age,
Before School Care
After School Care
Vacation Care for School Aged Children
A Montessori Program across all ages.
We
have 24 childcare places per day. Our
Kindergarten is set in a beautiful garden
setting and it will be sad to see it go. We even
have parents coming from the North side and as
far as Gold Coast, braving the traffic for up to
an hour just to place their child in our Islamic
Kindy!
To
date we have approached various organisations
and individuals and visited buildings for rental
but unfortunately have not been successful in
securing premises for our new Kindy.
We beseech anyone who can be of any assistance
in helping us to find new premises, renovate if
required, and relocate by the 31st December 2017
to come forward and assist us in continuing this
humble but integral venture for the future of
our children in this environment we find
ourselves in.
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..
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Births, Marriages,
New Migrants and
Condolences
Halima
Aden on Allure: Hijab-wearing model appears
on the front cover of mag to bust Muslim
stereotypes 
Our
Muslim Brothers and Sisters, Friends and
Compatriots,
In
strengthening your faith and moral
stamina through fasting, you reminded us
that for a nation to attain
righteousness and the pinnacle of its
success, sometimes it has to turn its
back on trivial worldly desires.
Today’s
celebration of Eid al-Fitr coincides
with the adoption of the Freedom Charter
on the 26th of June 1955 at nearby
Kliptown. 
post comments on
our Wall
7
August 2011