ABOUT RAEESA

In amongst the aisles of a Brisbane health food store lies a sugary surprise many aren’t expecting – sweet tooth and baking fanatic Raeesa. The mum-of-two, who moved to Australia 10 years ago from South Africa, fell in love with baking three years ago while she was working as a lawyer, and is a fan of all things sweet and naughty.

“I just love baking cakes, cakes and more cakes!” laughs Rae, who helps out with the running of her father-in-law’s health food store. “Vanilla bean is my absolute go to and features in everything I make. My motto is it should taste as good as it looks.” Her two children are massive fans of their mum’s passion, particularly her profiteroles. “They are the reason I got into baking because of their crazy requests for birthday cakes!” she explains. “And my mum and grandma are extremely creative, beyond my depth.”

As for having her creations judged by Matt and Maggie, Rae is hoping the feedback will be as sweet as her bakes.“I have butterflies in my tummy to be honest!” she says. “I’m completely overwhelmed by the level of talent of the other bakers.”

There are approximately 1.84 billion Muslims in the world today, making up 24.38% of the world’s population, or just under one-quarter of mankind. As well as being citizens of their respective countries, they also have a sense of belonging to the ‘ummah’, the worldwide Muslim community.

The Muslim500 publication sets out to ascertain the influence some Muslims have on this community, or on behalf of the community. Influence is: any person who has the power (be it cultural, ideological, financial, political or otherwise) to make a change that will have a significant impact on the Muslim world. Note that the impact can be either positive or negative, depending on one’s point of view of course.

China’s Greatest Muslim Explorer– Zheng He

When people think of great explorers, they think of the usual names: Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, Evliya Çelebi, Christopher Columbus, etc. But not many know of one of the most interesting and influential of all time.

In China, he is well known, although not always globally recognized or glorified. He is Zheng He, the Muslim who became China’s greatest admiral, explorer, and diplomat.

Continued from last week.
 

Spreading Islam
Economics and politics were not the only effects of this great fleet that was commanded by Zheng He. He and his Muslim advisors regularly promoted Islam wherever they traveled. In the Indonesian islands of Java, Sumatra, Borneo and others, Zheng He found small communities of Muslims already there. Islam had started to spread in Southeast Asia a few hundred years before through trade from Arabia and India. Zheng He actively supported the continued growth of Islam in these areas.
 

Zheng He established Chinese Muslim communities in Palembang, and along Java, the Malay Peninsula, and the Philippines. These communities preached Islam to the local people and were very important to the spread of Islam in the area. The fleet built masjids and provided other social services the local Muslim community would need.

Even after the death of Zheng He in 1433, other Chinese Muslims continued his work in Southeast Asia, spreading Islam. Chinese Muslim traders in Southeast Asia were encouraged to intermarry and assimilate with the local people on the islands and Malay Peninsula. This brought more people to Islam in Southeast Asia, as well as strengthened and diversified the growing Muslim community..

 

TO BE CONTINUED IN NEXT WEEK'S CCN.

Source

What No One Told You about Spiritual Abuse in Islam
By Janet Kozak

Abuse in relationships is not only black eyes, bruises, and broken bones. With the exception of traumatic brain injury in Muslim victims, it’s often the abuse hidden from plain view – like financial, verbal, and spiritual abuse – that does the most damage to victims long-term.

However, it’s the spiritual abuse we experience in a relationship that can leave us doubting ourselves, our goals, and even our belief systems – changing us for the worse and leaving lingering invisible scars over time.

Continued from last week.

Know the signs
Spiritual abuse entails exerting power and control over a victim using religion as an excuse or explanation to abuse. It can be exhibited in many ways:

Using isolation
Isolation is typical emotional abuse technique used on Muslim victims, and all victims, of domestic abuse. It works well because it prevents victims from reaching out to others to get the help and support them need to end or escape their abusive relationships.

In the case of Islamic spiritual abuse, a husband may use his status as the “qawwam” (protector and maintainer) of his family unit to argue that he has a right, given by Allah, to dictate what his wife does with her time. This may include where she goes, who she interacts with, and even what she reads or thinks.

In spiritually abusive relationships, the woman may have to ask permission any time she wants to leave the house – even if it is to go grocery shopping, attend a doctor’s appointment, or visit her own family. It’s also possible that even if a woman’s marriage contract explicitly states that she is to have full autonomy and freedom of movement; a spiritually abusive husband will ignore the stipulation.

TO BE CONTINUED IN NEXT WEEK'S CCN.

Source

Muslims Fashion diplomacy sparks cover-up uproar

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been criticised for its foray into “fashion diplomacy” after sponsoring an Australian-made Islamic clothing exhibition targeting the burgeoning Southeast Asian “modest fashion” market.

Tony Abbott yesterday launched an attack on DFAT for backing the initiative, accusing bureaucrats of having a “very unfortunate readiness” to ignore mainstream Australian values.

The former prime minister said he was “flabbergasted” that DFAT had sponsored an exhibition of Australian-made “modest fashion” for women in Malaysia, a majority-Muslim country.

The exhibition, which has featured burkini swimsuit inventor Aheda Zanetti and academic Susan Carland, was taken to Malaysia by DFAT to capture the “booming” fashion market while promoting Australian diversity. The move comes as the federal government is increasingly working with governments in Southeast Asia to reduce radicalisation in the region.

In 2010, the Gillard government agreed to spend $500 million building 2000 schools in Indonesia to combat radicalism in the education system.

While Mr Abbott said DFAT should drop its taxpayer-funded support for the exhibition and “get with the mainstream”, Australian designers, including Ilham A. Ismail, welcomed the assistance. Ms Ismail, whose designs featured on the catwalks of the world’s first “modest-wear fashion shows” in Turin, Italy, and Dubai last year, saw her work honoured at the Malaysian exhibition Faith, Fashion, Fusion.

The young designer was positive about DFAT’s initiative.

“I think it’s great,” Ms Ismail said.

“Australia is the most multicultural country in the world and if we’re not promoting different parts of our society here, where would we?”

Themes of unity and acceptance in society are central to Ms Ismail’s work, whose first collection as a fashion student at the University of Technology Sydney, was based on “coexistence in Australia after Martin Place”.

Ms Zanetti said the DFAT-sponsored tour was promoting Australian products and opening up new markets. “This is a product that is made in Australia, providing jobs for Australians, and showcasing our products to other countries such as Malaysia,” Ms Zanetti said.
“I was quite honoured to be invited and excited the Australian government was supporting it.”
She said the Islamic clothing industry had “enormous untapped potential” for the burkini and other modest clothing.

“We are the original burkini swimsuit and we have exported and do export worldwide,” she said. “We are quiet achievers and totally, totally Australian-made. There are 1.5 billion Muslims around the world and more than half of them are women. We haven’t tapped into it enough.

“Companies such as Speedo are making similar suits too. It shows there is a massive market out there, and I was honoured they chose to showcase my work.”

Mr Abbott said he was “dismayed, to put it at its mildest, that DFAT should apparently be pandering to what can only be described as a very old-fashioned view on modesty.
 

“To the extent that DFAT is getting into this space, it should be comforting people’s right to defy stifling orthodoxy, not to be coerced by it.

“I am just quite frankly flabbergasted that an official Australian government agency should be pandering to what is, to put it at its kindest, an incredibly old-fashioned view of modesty. Now I think this shows a very unfortunate readiness to sell out mainstream Australian values.”

Mr Abbott said people in Australia could dress very old-fashioned, or even “medieval”, if they wanted.

“But that is not our way,” he said. “We want Australians to be free and open, we want them to show their face and if they want to show a bit of their arms and their legs and wear a bikini, well, we celebrate that, we don’t apologise for it.”

DFAT expects spending on the “booming” Islamic modest fashion to increase by more than 7 per cent by 2021. A department spokeswoman said the fashion ¬industry should support “all sorts of fashions”.

“Fashion diplomacy is about promoting Australian designers, manufacturers and textile producers around the world,” the spokeswoman said.

“The industry adds $12bn annually to Australia’s economy and employs 220,000 people.”

A spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said fashion diplomacy was about respecting diversity and making all cultures feel valued and equal.

The exhibition — Faith, Fashion, Fusion: Muslim Women’s Style in Australia — was developed by the NSW government’s Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in 2012 and has featured in Australia, including at the National Archives of Australia.

Its Malaysian launch was held in Kuala Lumpur in November with the support of DFAT, the Australia-ASEAN Council and corporate sponsor Lendlease-Malaysia.
  

The Australian

Islamic fashion is none of our government’s business
By IDA LICHTERThe Australian12:00AM February 2, 2018

Diplomacy and fashion are not usually chic bedfellows, particularly in the case of government sponsorship of Islamic clothing. Designed to tap into the lucrative Islamic fashion trade and promote Australian diversity, the partnership is controversial, if not unprincipled.

Australia has a creative and dynamic fashion industry, and the government should be commended for supporting national designers in exhibitions abroad. Though well intended, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade-sponsored tour of “modest fashion” in the southeast Asian market is a worrying move.

Modest clothing is usually defined as loose, with long sleeves, high neck, a head covering or hijab, and a cloak, also known as an abaya. Alternatively, pants are worn with a gown over the top.

The thriving market for stylish clothes within the confines of the Islamic dress code is estimated to grow to more than $400 billion in 2020. With an eye for lucrative profits, designers such as Dolce & Gabbana and Nike have embraced the hijab in advertisements targeted to well-heeled, brand-conscious youth. Dolce & Gabbana has produced a collection for “Muslim women with a taste for luxury fashion”, and Oscar de la Renta and Tommy Hilfiger have released “modest wear” ranges. H&M and House of Fraser in Britain have advertised sportswear hijabs.

Svelte items are also seen in the catalogues of leading retailers of Islamic clothing. A new Barbie doll wears a hijab with the aim of breaking down social barriers.

Not all Muslim women are in favour of high-fashion Islamic clothing; the more conservative are opposed to any Westernisation of the religious dress code. Australian Muslim fashion designers should be applauded for their readiness to enter the competitive and profitable international market. In the Western capitalist world of retail, they are free to create, advertise, sell and invest their profits as they please.

The problem does not lie with the designers or their products. It lies with government sponsorship. The government is committed to promoting Australian diversity but this exhibition of Muslim women’s clothing, spotlighting the religious variety, would imply that Islamic attire is the correct and necessary dress for upstanding Muslim women.

Rather than promoting diversity, such an exhibition is more likely to endorse the idea that religious clothing is desirable for Muslim women, who should dress within the parameters of Islamic modesty. Diversity is recognised in the barometer of choice. In this case, diversity could be reflected in a range of religious and secular dress. Most Muslim schoolgirls may wish to don the hijab, but those who are unwilling should have their choice respected.

Although many Muslim women observe Islamic dress codes for reasons of piety and modesty, the government is ignoring traditional patriarchal views as well as political aspects of religious clothing. In many traditional societies, centuries of oppressive cultural practice were underwritten by religion.

In some societies, the veil is regarded as protection from the male gaze and sexual predators, and women who are insufficiently covered may not be considered innocent victims of violence.

These notions are underpinned by fear of the female as a dangerous temptress, adept at causing fitna, or social chaos. In order to protect men’s honour in society, female dress requires regulation.

Compulsory veiling in the public space is a restriction Iranian women know too well. From the inception of the Islamic Republic in 1979, they were subject to criminalisation of hijab violations.

For modern-day Islamists, the veil has become an iconic symbol of their movement, and many women have espoused a new identity as political flag-bearers. However, many non-politicised women, such as those in Iran, continually rebel against enforced veiling. Some women in Raqqa, Syria, demonstrated their feelings by burning their veils when freed from Islamic State.

Not recognising the political oppression that the veil can represent is a betrayal of women who are forced to accept Islamic dress codes. The veil is also a political tool for extremists who attempt to lower the bar for Islamisation.

In a case in Britain, Shabina Begum, a teenage Muslim student, was encouraged by Islamists to challenge her Muslim-majority school because it denied her the option of wearing the jilbab (full-length Islamic dress) in place of the regulation Pakistani-style school uniform. She argued for her rights in the name of modesty and entitlement to education but refused to go to a neighbouring school where the jilbab was permitted. Shabina lost her case in the High Court but won in the Court of Appeal under the UK Human Rights Act. After the school appealed, the House of Lords ruled against her.

The hijab and Muslim clothing in general are minefields. Islamists can justify Islamic brands that exploit and commercialise piety, as such fashion advances identification with the ummah, the global community of Muslims. There’s only a dubious comparison to be made between Islamic modest dress and that of the Mormons or fundamentalist Christians, as the latter kind is not associated with political aspirations.

Muslim fashion diplomacy is not a fitting place for governments. Such sponsorship is tantamount to an imprimatur for Islamic dress codes.

Ida Lichter is the author of Muslim Women Reformers: Inspiring Voices Against Oppression.

The Australian

Linda Sarsour: Trump’s Anti-Muslim Rhetoric Helps Unite America Against Him
By Linda Sarsour

It was almost a week after the 2017 Women’s March — possibly the largest single-day protest in U.S. history — that President Trump signed an executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries. At the time, I was sitting with friends in Los Angeles and found myself in tears. I couldn’t believe it.

The new administration was wasting no time in keeping their campaign promises to target the communities I love and belong to. Soon after the executive order was signed, a tweet went out asking people to show up at airports across the country in order to stand up against the order.

I went to Los Angeles International Airport and saw an image that continues to fill my heart with hope — hundreds of people demanding entry for Muslim immigrants and refugees from countries placed on the travel ban. As a Muslim American who has been working to defend the rights of Muslims in the post 9/11 era, this act of solidarity was especially important and meaningful.

Two days after the executive order, I became the lead plaintiff in Sarsour vs. Donald J. Trump, a lawsuit filed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations against the Muslim ban based on Trump’s clear anti-Islam bias during his campaign. We were not going to sit back. We were going to organize and fight back regardless of the consequences.

Over the past year, this administration has put forth multiple versions of the Muslim ban, worked to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, targeted undocumented immigrants in mass deportation sweeps and employed manipulative, hateful rhetoric against our communities. Their shameless use of the courts to defend what they know is immoral and unconstitutional further shows their disregard for our nation’s laws. It has been both a privilege and an inspiration to stand with people resisting each effort, because behind the policy arguments are real people whose lives are being upended.

Each Muslim ban has separated families, many of whom live in my community in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. I know Yemeni-American fathers who are longing to see their children but are in visa limbo in countries like Ethiopia, Egypt and Djibouti. Syrian refugees — who have already suffered in the journey to leave their homes — have been further separated from half of their families because of the ban.

TIME

‘Padmaavat’: an attempt to demonise Muslims?
By Zahid Jamil

The controversial Bollywood movie ‘Padmaavat’ was finally released on Thursday 25 January showing all across the globe after several months of protests and court actions in India.

Cinemas in Australia also began showing the movie the same day with several sessions each day. It has already grossed record earning in India and several cities in the West including Australia during the last weekend grossing $A 1,728,642 in Australia alone.

Reviewers said the film, Padmaavat, depicting a warrior Hindu Rajput queen Padmaavati fighting advances of a Muslim sultan, was “visually spectacular” and a “fabulous tale”.

Padmaavat attempts to be a historical depiction based on a fictional poem by 15th-century poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi, as claimed by the filmmaker and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

It shows attempts, through military invasions, by Indian Sultan (King) of the time Alauddin Khilji in pursuit of the queen Padmaavati of Chittor as he got obsessed by stories of her extreme beauty.

Padmaavat stars Deepika in the lead role of Rani Padmini. Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh portrays Alauddin Khilji, the 13th century ruler of the Khilji Dynasty.

The 13th-century Muslim king Alauddin Khilji is depicted as a barbarian character, extremely vulgar who has kohl-rimmed eyes, scarred face, rips meat off the bone with his teeth and treats his own queen and maids in a brutal manner. He is a drunkard, murderer and cruel person which houses deceit and debauchery.

Leading Indian historians claim that Sultan Alauddin Khilji was anything but savage and the film makes a mockery of his character through false depictions.

He was the second and most powerful ruler of the Khilji dynasty that ruled the Indian Subcontinent from Delhi from 1296 to 1316. He wished to become the second Alexander (Sikander Sani), and this title of his was mentioned on coins and during public prayers.

Khilji was an astute administrator whose tax and revenue collection system was followed by the Mughals and the British till the 19th century.

He personally looked at prices of essential goods on a daily basis and built food grain warehouses to fight inflation. But his most important contribution to India was as a military general.

Historians say Khilji saved India from marauding Mongolian armies by defeating them six times during his 20-year rule.

It was under his rule the Delhi Sultanate was heavily influenced by Persia, one of the oldest and most sophisticated civilisations of all times.

The great Sufi poet Amir Khusro of his time did not project his king as a barbarian ruler either. However, in the film, even Amir Khusro, the much celebrated Sufi poet for centuries and founder of devotional music of Qawwali, is depicted as a petty poet with little intelligence.

On the other hand, the Hindu king of Chittor is shown as noble glorious Rajput ruler and a warrior king who fought to his dying breath to defend his kingdom and his wife’s honour.

His wife Padmavati is depicted as a legendary Mewar queen who was known as much for her beauty and intelligence as she was for her courage. She is shown committing self-immolation to save her honour rather than being captured by a brutal king.

Most historians say Jayasi’s Padmaavati was a fictional character, about whom he had written 200 years after Khilji’s death in 1540.

It can be questioned if this movie is another attempt to distort Muslim history in India as part of a wider movement by Hindu fundamentalists.

Muslim kings and sultans who, for more than a thousand years, ruled over a vast region — today’s India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and parts of Afghanistan left a lasting impression on the subcontinent’s landscape, culture and institutions.

Cinema is a powerful medium and those behind the camera must act responsibly. Padmaavat is demonisation of an entire community that is increasingly coming under attack from various quarters.

Source: AMUST

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Zahid Jamil is an engineering post graduate from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and runs a financial planning practice based in Sydney. He heads South Asian Muslim Association of Australia, SAMAA: http://samaa.org.au ), a benevolent institution offering wide range of services to the community elders. He also moderates an Islamic website “Islamic Forum for Education and Research” http://isfer.info/

KB says: Muhammara is a hot pepper dip originally from Aleppo, Syria, found in Levantine and Turkish cuisines and this has to be one of my favourite dips. The flavour of the roasted peppers and the sweetness of the pomegranate molasses are amazing.

Princess Lakshman

Writer, Clarity Coach, Founder and Facilitator of Healing Words Therapy - Writing for Wellbeing

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