BACK ISSUES

Al Mustapha Institute

Hillcrest

PDF version

           Post comment here

The Islamic Society of Toowoomba organized a very successfully Food festival and Mosque open day on Saturday, 13 April 2019.

This was the 6th Annual International Food Festival and Mosque Open Day at the Garden City Mosque in Toowoomba.

Hundreds of people from all walks of life – women, children, youth and men – gathered in the Mosque premises for delicious food, warm friendship, enjoyable fun and genuine faith.

The food and other stalls were set up in the carpark and formal presentation session was held at the temporary prayer hall of the Mosque property.

The speakers included Queensland Minister Stirling Hinchliffe MP; Dr John McVeigh, Federal Member for Groom; Mayor of Toowoomba, Cr Paul Antonio; State MP Trevor Watts; Dr Hass Dellal of Australian Multicultural Foundation and Chair of SBS TV and Radio; USQ Vice Chancellor, Professor Geraldine McKenzie; Dr Nora Amath, National Manager at IWAA; AFIC President, Dr Rateb Jneid; and Professor Shahjahan Khan, President of the Islamic Society of Toowoomba. Imam Abdul Kader answered questions from the audience and Eng Shabbirul Mujib offered the vote of thanks.

USQ Vice Chancellor, Prof McKenzie, reported in a communication to the University this week:

As we prepare to break over the Easter holidays, it seems the perfect time to reflect on the wealth of new beginnings in the USQ and wider community. It was my honour to attend and speak at the Garden City Mosque Open Day last Saturday. As promised, it was a day of food, fun, friendship and faith, with many locals attending the festivities. Professor Shahjahan Khan (founding President of the Islamic Society of Toowoomba) was also joined by a number of dignitaries including Minister for Local Government, Minister for Racing and Minister for Multicultural Affairs Stirling Hinchliffe, Groom MP Dr John McVeigh, State Member for Toowoomba North Trevor Watts and Mayor Paul Antonio. The event coincided with the annual International Food Festival, bringing together people from different faiths and cultures in a commemoration of diversity on the Darling Downs.

This year’s event has been a stunning success as Toowoomba people wanted to see the progress in the rebuilding of burned Toowoomba Mosque. With fresh in memory of the tragic murder of Muslims in Christchurch Mosques in New Zealand also inspired some people to participate in the celebration.

The Garden City Mosque also raised funds to finish rebuilding after it was badly damaged in an arson attack four years ago.
 

"The Garden City Mosque has been the subject of hate attacks itself so it's particularly poignant for this community to be making sure that its doors are open,"  MP Stirling Hinchliffe said about the event.

The presentation of Dr Nora Amath on compassion as an inbuilt human instinct and Dr Hass Dellal’s talk on life as an Australian Muslim were well received.

The local daily Chronicle published a pre-event story on Saturday and ran another story after the event on Monday. The TV channels (Win and 7) also covered the story.

On behalf of the Society, Professor Shahjahan Khan thanked the Toowoomba community for its continuing support and commitment to leave in peace and harmony with compassion and respect.

He also thanked all the sponsors including Queensland Government, AFIC and Phamcay4Less. The contributions of Muslim families and members of the community who provided food and organized activities for children and women, and all dedicated volunteers were highly appreciated.

           Post comment here

The Islamic Council of Queensland (ICQ) is hosting its annual Eid Down Under festival on Saturday 8 June. More than 15,000 people attend for hours of fun, food, rides, entertainment, competitions, cultural performances and more. Brisbane City Council considers this a major event in Brisbane. It provides a chance for the Muslim community to connect with other groups and communities in Queensland, promoting an inclusive and harmonious Australian society.

Many companies and organisations host stalls at the event to sell products and showcases their services. The promotion opportunity is huge as the event brings together people from all walks of life, and many different communities from across Queensland.

ICQ invites business and organisations to host a stall at the event. For stall information and prices, email stalls@teamlacey.com.au.
 

ICQ is also seeking sponsorships to help make this year and even greater success. Contact eid@icq.org.au if your organisation is willing to sponsor.

Follow the Eid Down Under page on Facebook for updates.

           Post comment here

IWAA CEO, Ms Galila Abdelsalam received the Order of Australia Medal at Government House on Tuesday, 9 April 2019.

The Medal was in recognition of Galila’s selfless and tireless work in not only the Muslim community but in the wider Australian community.

           Post comment here

           Post comment here

The Hurricane Stars Club has been busy again this School Holidays, with our volunteers organising programmes and activities for the community, to keep children of all ages entertained. We worked with both Brisbane City Council and Logan City Council to run a series of free programs, as well as our amazing volunteer program coordinator Iman Shahrain created her own Ramadan Ready Series of programs to get children motivated about the imminent arrival of Ramadan.

BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL YOUTH WEEK PROGRAM We were excited to volunteer to work together with the Brisbane City Council to do two free programs for young people for Youth Week 2019. The activities were created, planned and organised completely by the youths themselves. The first activity was the Amazing Race in which the more than 60 teen boys and girls raced around the Islamic College of Brisbane (ICB) in teams competing to complete a variety of activities and challenges. The winners received prizes of gift cards sponsored by Brisbane City Council. The participants then had a free all you can eat sausage sizzle and canned drinks. It was a fun day for all participants and a great learning experience for the young organisers, who planned their first big programme. It also provided opportunity for the youths to make new friends outside of their usual circle of friends.

The second Brisbane City Council sponsored activity was a L.A.N. Party in Cybergames, Sunnybank Hills. A record 75 teenage boys came to the programme. The boys came together and met old friends and made new ones as they had fun playing computer games in a social environment as opposed to playing games online alone in their rooms at home. Although there were not enough computers for everyone, the boys had fun sharing with their friends, watching them play and taking turns using the computers. Free snacks, lunch and drinks were provided all day. The boys all went together as a group to pray zuhr, asr and magrib prayers in congregation when the time came. Most boys stayed from beginning to end and didn’t want to leave even when their parents came. It was a very successful event.
 

The final activity was kayaking at Lota Camping Reserve. Where a group of youths were guided by kayaking instructors to kayak up the Brisbane River. The participants learned some basic kayaking techniques, then the children kayaked and explored the river. They saw interesting wildlife like beautiful eagles, white herons, snails, kites, crabs, spiders and tadpoles. The group went back to the shore after 5-6 kilometers of kayaking. Some of them were soaked wet but all of them had a wonderful time. Our volunteers look forward to continuing to work together with the Brisbane City Council Youth team and youth leaders in the community to organise more activities for the community in the future school holiday periods.

KIDS DAY CAMP As parents and kids complained that the Brisbane City Council activities were all for teenagers and at the same time the Logan City PCYC and the Southside Academy of Combat were enthusiastic to continue our successful partnership started in the last school holidays. Our volunteers organised another of our popular school holiday day camps at the Southside Academy of Combat. The program started with a fun session playing games and learning about road safety with Cherie from PCYC Logan City. Then the kids had delicious pizza from Sam’s Pizza. Finally, they had fun learning about about Indonesian Silat martial arts from one of the Southside Academy’s experienced instructors. We look forward to doing a variety of fun day camps in future school holiday periods.

COACHING PROGRAM The Hurricane Stars Club is proud to have received a grant from Logan City Council to train multicultural women to be sports coaches. As we have more women wanting to train to be coaches than the funding has allowed, we partnered with the Multicultural Sports Club (a division of Access Community Services) to run the program as they could fund the extra places needed for the other participants and offer places to males wanting learn to be coaches. We had a very successful training day in which 6 women and 6 men did the professional coach training course and received their coaching certificates. Free lunch was provided and everyone enjoyed the day and we are looking forward to continue their training in their chosen sport. Our volunteer program coordinator will continue to support the participants to further their training and become active sports coaches in the community.

KRANK SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAM We also partnered with the Multicultural Sports Club to offer a Little Gardeners program for primary school aged children where the kids painted and decorated their own flower pot and then filled it with potting mix and planted a flowering plant. This was a low-cost school holiday program sponsored by the Logan City Council. The Hurricane Stars Club is excited to have been accepted as a provider by Logan City Council to provide low cost activities for the next year as part of both the Krank school holiday programs and Live Well Logan programmes. We look forward announcing these exciting activities as we approach the next school holidays in June/July.

RAMADAN READY SERIES Our amazing volunteer Iman Shahrain created, organised and ran the amazing Ready for Ramadan series by herself. It aimed to help participants to prepare in welcoming Ramadan by doing a series of activity stations in our Hurricane Stars Club Centre. The first programme was for teen girls with more than 15 girls in attendance. At the Ramadan Games station, the girls had an entertaining time playing the unique Ramadan Challenge board game which pits contestants against each other in answering questions about Ramadan, fasting and general Islamic Knowledge. Meanwhile, at the DIY Snacks station, the girls tried their hands at preparing easy snacks, that the girls then ate as their lunches. At the Ramadan Deco station, the girls learned to make personalised Ramadan Times Board and their own Ramadan beautiful lanterns. Finally, at the Quran Journal station, the girls were introduced to how to do reflections of what they read in the Quran and internalising the meanings and making the journals their own interactions with the Words of Allah. This will be a good preparation for Ramadan, when most Muslims would increase their time in reading of the Quran. The participants all had a phenomenal experience and everyone said they enjoyed themselves learning more about Ramadan in a variety of interesting activities.

Our fun Ready for Ramadan program for kids was similar and kept the kids busy for hours doing a variety of activities. The kids also learned to make delicious snacks, they participated in a Ramadan quiz game and made colourful wooden Ramadan calendars. The Ramadan calendars were made up of 30 boxes that children could put little treats or reminders in everyday of Ramadan to celebrate the passing of each day of fasting. The next session in the Ramadan Ready series was a talk specially for ladies, which was also children-friendly on the topic of The Fiqh of Ramadan and Fasting, presented by sister Rehab Hassan. The talk was also designed to help new reverts to understand what to do in Ramadan for the first time.

Finally, we ended the school holidays with a final program of Ready for Ramadan, this time a special Northside edition for kids aged 5-15 years old, which was conducted in Lutwyche, North Brisbane. It was very well-received with cooperation from Masjid As-Sunnah, Lutwyche, and attendance of 15 participants in the program, while at the same time, younger siblings and under 5s were kept entertained by other volunteers with storytelling and playing in the park.

All in all, it had been a very busy but productive school holidays for the Hurricane Stars Club and it’s volunteers. For updates and the latest activities, please like and follow our facebook page and instragram.

           Post comment here

           Post comment here

Member for Stretton, Duncan Pegg, this week announced over $150,000 in capital assistance funding for the Islamic College of Brisbane at Karawatha.

Mr Pegg said that the latest funding round for the Queensland Independent Schools Block Grant Authority and the Queensland Catholic Capital Assistance Authority was part of the Government’s capital assistance grants program for eligible non-state schools – valued at over $98 million for the 2018-19 financial year.

“The funds provided through these grants help to significantly ease the external infrastructure costs associated with capital works projects.

“Schools typically use the funds for a wide range of important works such as new buildings including specialist classrooms, libraries, canteens and sports courts,” she said.

“Funds can also be used for refurbishing or converting existing facilities, improvements to schools ground including pick-up and set-down areas, covered walkways and landscaping.

“For Islamic College of Brisbane, this funding will assist with a material change of use development permit for the I Block.”

Mr Pegg said that this particular grant program helped to ensure all Queensland students have access to a quality education with the best possible school facilities.

“Capital grant funds are made available on the recommendations of the two non-state schooling sector Capital Assistance Authorities – the Queensland Catholic Capital Assistance Authority and the Queensland Independent Schools Block Grant Authority.

“Our Government remains committed to ongoing support for non-state schools and I’m pleased that Islamic College of Brisbane has received this much-needed assistance,” Mr Pegg said.

           Post comment here

You Will Find A Way
 

By

Shakira Mohammed

Dedicated to women who suffer domestic violence. This poem was inspired by brave friends who rose above the tide.

You will find a way,
when you are torn.
Slaps you weren't
meant to bourne.

You will find a way,
when you are shattered.
You weren't meant to be
cursed or battered.

You will find a way,
when you are broken.
Your silence won't be
the common token.

You will find a way,
when you are down,
to erase the blemish
on your mind's gown.

You will find a way,
when you are fallen,
to stand tall and glare
never to be crestfallen.

You will find a way,
when you are lost,
to get your dignity
back at any cost.

You will find a way,
and when you are there,
he will know the pain,
he made you bear.

You will find a way,
when you are shaken,
on the lighted path Allah
shines for those chosen.

You will find a way,
to when you are whole,
to find peace and love

that will free your soul.
 

           Post comment here

Officers from across the South Brisbane District gathered at the Kuraby Mosque on Friday April 12th as part of their ongoing community engagement strategy for Operation Wake Up: Road Safety.

The stall 'popped up' during Jumu‘ah (Friday) Prayers to raise awareness about the fatal 5 (speeding, drug/ drink driving, fatigue and distracted driving, and how to stay safe on our roads during the Easter Holiday period.

The team from the District Crime Prevention Unit was also on hand to provide timely advise on home and personal safety.

Senior Constable Sherry Ho from DCPC said “Our roads are very busy during the Easter break and we are campaigning very hard to ensure the community is onboard in working with us to reduce road trauma on our roads”.

Over 500 attendees came to show their support to the Queensland Police, with plenty of conversations, photos, and selfies shared.

Community members attending the Friday prayers expressed their appreciation for the overwhelming support they have received from the Service, especially after the Christchurch tragedy.

“We are very happy to have a Police presence during Friday prayers, it makes the community feel safe in light of recent events" said Imam Naffa. "Thank you for sharing road safety information with us.”

Kuraby Mosque Imam, Imam Ahmad Nafaa stated that the SBD Police have been proactively promoting the safety of all people in the community.

"The road safety campaign awareness will hopefully help reduce fatalities on our roads during the holidays," he added.

PLO Ricky Lashand offered a special thanks to the South Brisbane District Road Policing Unit for bringing the police vehicles for viewing, and thanked the community for its support for this initiative.

           Post comment here

Greens Senator, Larissa Waters, along with Max Marther-Chandler candidate for Griffith; Patsy o’Brien, candidate for Moreton; Steven Purcell, candidate for Oxley; Barbera Bell, candidate for Bonner and Navdeep Singh met the Holland Park Mosque community before and after the Friday prayers.

They were also taken on a tour of the Queensland Muslim Museum.

           Post comment here

He was dubbed the “Greatest Sheikh” and the “Greatest Infidel.” Muhyiuddin Ibn Arabi’s life was defined by great intellectual and religious clashes that began centuries ago and continue to this day.

The Sufi scholar, author of “The Meccan Illuminations” (“Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya”), “The Bezels of Wisdom” (“Fusus al-Hikam”), “The Interpreter of Desires” (Turjuman al-Ashwaq), “The Book of Certainty” (“Kitaab al-Yaqiin”), “The Tree of Being” (“Shajarat al-Kawn”) and many other works, grew up in Andalusia and travelled all over the Islamic world in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Ibn Arabi stayed in Hijaz, Iraq, Syria and Armenia. He lived in Mecca, where he wrote his most famous Sufi compositions about the love of God. He spent the last years of his life in Damascus, where he died in 1240 at the age of 75. In Damascus, Ibn Arabi enjoyed a great deal of respect and love.

Today, there is a large shrine, which draws many Muslim and non-Muslim visitors, a mosque and a neighbourhood named after Ibn Arabi in the heart of Damascus’s old city, adjacent to the ancient Neighbourhood of the Immigrants.

Abu Dhabi TV is producing a historical series about the life and moderate ideas of Ibn Arabi. Written by Mohammed al-Batoush, the series is directed by Ahmed Ibrahim Ahmed, who said he was influenced by the Sufi current.

“Ibn Arabi is very important in our culture and life,” Ahmed said. “Ibn Arabi represents the enlightened thinking that existed at that time and that is still valid today, the real and moderate Islam that totally opposes the radical extremist version of Daesh and its ilk.” Daesh is an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State.

“Ibn Arabi’s thought represents a tendency towards a moderate Islam that does not negate the other but accepts him,” continued Ahmed. “He gives us the true model of Islam that we want. This is why Abu Dhabi TV, which has the right experience in the field, has chosen to produce the series.”

The producing team is racing to have the series ready to be shown during Ramadan, which begins May 5.

Ahmed insisted that it is difficult to summarise Ibn Arabi’s life and ideas in a single series. This is why the production team opted to steer away from making a chronological documentary about him and instead focus on specific stages of Ibn Arabi’s life that best represent and explain his ideas.

“We wanted the events to be interesting and flexible and to carry the intellectual messages that we aspire to highlight and pass on,” he said. “We also included some important intellectual figures in the history of Andalusia, including the great philosopher Ibn Rushd, who was a friend to Ibn Arabi’s father, Sheikh Ali. It is well-established that the young Ibn Arabi had seen Ibn Rushd in the company of his father.”

The series is to be divided into three periods. The first stretches over 15 episodes and covers Ibn Arabi’s early life in Andalusia. The second included his life in Mecca where he met Lady Nizam, the daughter of his teacher Sheikh Zaher al-Asfahani and who inspired him to write a different type of love poem.

Ibn Arabi’s experience in Mecca allowed him to reach significant depth of thinking related to the distinction between the material and the abstract. His human love for Lady Nizam soon turned into a love of the divine being. It was then that Ibn Arabi started writing his seminal work “The Meccan Illuminations.” He finished it 17 years later.

The third period of the series deals with Ibn Arabi’s life in Damascus.

Key episodes deal with Ibn Arabi as a Sufi savant. “This particular point was a great creative challenge for me and a strong motivating factor,” Ahmed said.

“I’m a student of Sufism and I wanted to illustrate in my work those profound moments of enlightenment that Sufis experience. Therefore, I adopted a special symbolic and visual language that would express these ideas. I promise Arab viewers they will be seeing a new style that I have not used in such an intense manner in my previous work, given the requirements of the show’s topic.”

Ahmed said: “No doubt that the mere idea of working on Ibn Arabi in the current context is a great challenge that demands great audacity but we are in dire need of it now.

“Ibn Arabi was someone who was way ahead of his time. He understood the fundamental issues and spoke with very deep ideas relating to God, mankind and existence. Not everyone understood his ideas and that’s why he’s the Great Sheikh for some people and the Great Infidel for some others.”

It is these intellectual disputes about Ibn Arabi and his life that are represented by the conflict between the Islamic right and the Islamic left. Ahmed said he expects this great controversy will be revived after the series airs.

“I believe that Islamist extremism will be fighting this work because, for them, Ibn Arabi is an unusual case,” said Ahmed. “For them, religion is not open to discussion, changes or modern interpretation. Some clerics refuse the slightest change.

“Islam is a great and deep religion with a profound philosophical dimension. The religious right has taken away this depth of Islamic thought and frozen the faith in old templates that it refuses to revise.

“Many influential figures in Islamic history, however, broke away from this framework and were able to offer new and different ideas which combine the spirit of Islam and the spirit of the times, as did Ibn Rushd and Hallaj, Suhrawardi and others… Unfortunately, the battle is still there and, when we took up this work, we were expecting it and we are ready for it.”

Ahmed said the Syrian context in particular and the Arab context in general have a great need for strong television works based on knowledge and intellect, instead of the usual commercial works usually referred to as fast-food.

           Post comment here

A week before Year 12 exams, Abshir heard an unexpected knock on his front door.

The Canberra student's family say he was confronted by two Australian Federal Police officers who were responding to a tip-off from his teacher. The teacher was concerned the young Muslim man was at risk of radicalisation.

The warning signs?

The teenager wrote an essay about Muslim terrorists and western intervention. He also travelled to the Horn of Africa to donate sporting equipment to needy children as part of a compulsory volunteering subject.

While the investigation was eventually dropped and the student was never charged, the experience left him shaken and affected his grades.

Federal and state governments have identified schools as a key battleground in the fight against radicalisation, with teachers being trained to spot potential extremists.

But there are growing concerns about the effectiveness of many of these school-based initiatives for countering violent extremism - known in the handbook jargon as CVE.

Dr Clarke Jones, a criminologist from the Australian National University who is familiar with Abshir’s case, said teachers lack the expertise to identify students at risk of radicalisation.

He said these initiatives often target Muslim students who have done nothing wrong and can sever important connections between children and schools.

“The parents are not consulted, the kids are automatically referred through the school to police,” he said.

“When a person is confronted by police it automatically creates this thinking: ‘What have I done wrong? This is embarrassing, who has seen the police come to the door? Am I in trouble? Will I go to jail?’."

The academic has read Abshir’s essay and said he didn’t find anything unusual or concerning about it.

“I write material that is far more critical of overseas operations,” he said.

“There was nothing in the essay that would stand out to me as any indication that this young man was radicalised.”

The AFP and ACT Education Directorate would not comment on the case.

In another incident, Dr Jones claims a high-achieving Muslim student in Melbourne’s north-west was reported to police after his teacher noticed he seemed subdued.

Dr Jones said police charged him with carrying a weapon after he was spotted with a ceremonial sword in a car.

While he wasn't convicted, the student missed out on the university placement of his choice because he didn't pass the required police check.

“Instead of training teachers in spotting suspected extremists, schools should be focused on programs that build resilience in students,” Dr Jones said.

Sometimes it’s more complicated.

The Age and Sydney Morning Herald are aware of another case in Sydney’s south where an eight-year-old Muslim boy was hauled into the principal’s office after wearing his backpack across his chest.

He allegedly told a classmate he was carrying a bomb - a claim he denied.

“My son was upset and hated the school after that,” said his mother, who did not want to be named. “They blamed my son for something he didn’t do. We came here for looking for a new life, to live better. We like Australia more than any other country because we feel more welcome here.”

She said the school later investigated the incident and could find no evidence that the boy said he was carrying a bomb.

The federal government has funded training to help teachers recognise the warning signs of radicalisation.

Federal government fact sheets state that the warning signs of radicalisation include becoming isolated from family and friends and advocating for violence in the name of an ideological, political or religious goals.

In Victoria, the state’s Education Department strengthened its ties with Victoria Police following the death of 18-year-old Numan Haider, who was fatally shot in 2014 after stabbing two counter-terrorism police officers in Endeavour Hills.

Under the changes, a senior staff member in each department regional office works with a Victoria Police counterpart to provide advice and support to schools.

It has also rolled out radicalisation training to Victorian principals and wellbeing coordinators to help them identify students at risk of violent extremism and refer them to support programs.

“Victorian government schools have a comprehensive range of programs and services that contribute to social cohesion and reduce the risk of attraction to violent extremism, a key part of which involves ensuring students remain in education,” a spokesman said.

In NSW, staff have been trained to spot students at risk, and provided with guidelines for antisocial and extremist behaviour. In the ACT, teachers must report all suspicious student behaviour to a hotline, where information is relayed to police.

Dr Susie Latham, an adjunct post-doctoral fellow at Curtin University who lives in Melbourne, said it was impossible to run neutral programs in a society with rampant levels of Islamophobia.

She has researched a similar program in the UK which mandates that public sector workers, including teachers, report suspicious behaviour.

“Children have been reported for using common arabic phrases, wearing Islamic clothing, receiving toy guns from their parents and one 4-year-old was reported for drawing a cooker bomb that was later found to be a cucumber.”

           Post comment here

Leaked messages have revealed the Australian alt-right's secret plan to use Queensland senator Fraser Anning to expand its extreme agenda in the Australian Parliament and beyond.

The texts, seen by Background Briefing, offer a rare insight into the strategy the movement intends to use to further its goals and spread its ideology.

Members of the group are seen discussing plans for confrontational racist stunts to be performed during the current federal election campaign.

The proposed stunts, designed to attract global attention and help Senator Anning get re-elected, include performing in "blackface and other taboos" and "burning the Koran".

Another stated goal is "obtaining and accessing a giant email and SMS database" in order to send messages that are "extremely right-wing".

Andrew Wilson, who has a long history with Australia's white nationalist movement, is one of the men identified in conversations.

In one message, Mr Wilson claims to be working for Senator Anning as an online content producer.

He also states he is recruiting members for his fledgling Conservative National Party, which Senator Anning denies.

The party is just the latest organisation to be targeted by a group of white nationalists with a long track record of covertly infiltrating politics and institutions to gain access to their platform and assets.

           Post comment here

There were fireworks inside Sydney's Land and Environment Court as two men who took part in illegal land clearing began shouting and heckling before they were fined $100,000.

Brothers Mustapha and Diaa Kara-Ali illegally cleared land and developed on a bush block in Sydney's north west, claiming the Islamic spiritual group they ran on the property was exempt from Australian law.

The pair were asked to leave the courtroom by their lawyer at one stage and came back after they had calmed down.

Hawkesbury City Council took the brothers to the Land and Environment Court in June last year.

From the beginning, the duo refused to take part in court proceedings and ignored orders by the court to stop construction works on the land.

On Thursday, they were convicted of 12 counts of contempt of court.

The Kara-Alis argued they were exempt from Australian law because their spiritual group, Diwan al Dawla, was classed as a basic religious charity.

That claim was not endorsed by the Australia Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, who later stripped the group of its charity status.

The brothers were also accused of locking in a man delivering them court documents by padlocking the gates on the Colo property while he was still inside.

In sentencing the two men, Justice Terence Sheahan said the brothers only engaged in the court process "following my reluctant decision to have you arrested … to address the problems you've created", describing their contempt of the court as "flagrant".

In his published reasons, Justice Sheahan said the brothers' claim they do not have to comply with Australian law is false.

"In December 2017, the Australian National Imams Council ('ANIC'), with the assistance of the NSW Judicial Commission, prepared a document entitled 'Explanatory Note on the Judicial Process and Participation of Muslims'," he wrote.

"The note clearly envisages that Muslims in Australia will often be expected to participate in court processes.

"It even stresses that there are many similarities between the Western tradition and the Muslim concept of justice."

But Justice Sheahan pointed out Mustapha Kara-Ali "disowns" that note, quoting him telling the court "that document belongs in the trash bin".

The judge also ordered the pair would be fined $2,000 for every month after June this year they failed to remediate the Colo property.

The pair were eligible to appeal or have their fines adjusted.

Outside court, Mustapha Kara-Ali repeated previous claims of religious persecution and said, "our religion is prime".

Ian Dickson, whose son lives in the area, was at court for the sentencing and said it was unfortunate the case had gone on for so long.

"It could have been avoided [by] putting in a DA application as everyone has to do," he said.

           Post comment here

The country's largest Muslim school is at the centre of a probe after complaints to the Ministry of Education.

Last week auditors from PricewaterhouseCoopers began a forensic financial investigation into mismanagement of funds and staffing issues at Al–Madinah School, in Māngere, Auckland.

The principal had hired his brother as a head of department and his sister-in-law as a school counsellor.

Parents were notified in a newsletter that the board of trustees had been dissolved and replaced by a new commissioner, Bruce Adin; a former Minister of Education regional manager.

"I have been in this job for a week so I am unable to comment. I am aware there has been statutory intervention in the past," Adin told the Weekend Herald.

In a letter to parents Adin wrote that the role of commissioner had "all the powers, functions and responsibilities of a board of trustees".

"I will work closely with the principal, the senior managers and the Ministry of Education to address any concerns so that Al-Madinah School can continue to educate the students successfully," he wrote.

The school's founder and principal, Asin Ali, has also emailed staff to read a chapter from the Quran "at least once this morning so that Allah protects our school and the community".

"Please may I request you to forgive me and make special dua [prayer of supplication or request]."

Ali would not comment to the Herald and referred questions to Adin.

But the sole remaining member of the school's board of trustees, and now its acting chair, Sonny Tazeen Ali said he had raised concerns with the Ministry of Education and was supportive of the investigation.

"There is a lack of compliance of procedural policy at school" he claimed.

A parent from the school claimed the board had been dissolved because of "financial" issues and "conflicts of interest".
 

They also said Asin Ali had hired several family members in key roles, with his brother Amjad Ali an assistant principal and the Digital Technology head of department, and his sister-in-law Moveena Rasheed, the school counsellor.

Amjad Ali said his background was in electronics.

"I am a qualified technology teacher but not in computers. I was forced to take the job HOD of computers because we are short staffed," he said.

Katrina Casey, the Ministry of Education's Deputy Secretary, Sector Enablement and Support, said a "small number" of schools developed difficulties or "unanticipated events that they cannot resolve without outside help".

"Where we do step in, an intervention aims to bring expertise and a fresh perspective. It also acts as a circuit breaker so that the focus of the school can go back on teaching and learning."

She said the ministry had been "supporting" Al-Madinah School for just over two years, after receiving several complaints about "employment issues, financial mismanagement and issues with recruitment of staff".

"Mr Adin will work with the school and its community to particularly focus on specific issues and concerns; including assessing board financial management, employment and health and safety responsibilities are met, and to ensure the school can be returned to self-governance as soon as this is appropriate," Casey said.

"We will continue to work with Al-Madinah School to address issues and ensure that the education outcomes for students are supported effectively."

In June last year the Ministry engaged a "specialist" to perform a forensic investigation of the school's finances.

"The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) has previously raised concerns regarding the school's financial management and compliance, including related party transactions, conflicts of interest and the school's fundraising practices."

The 2017 OAG audit of the school "noted multiple irregularities including: inadequate documentation for some payments, payments that appeared excessive for the purpose, and uncertainties over the extent of transactions with related parties and whether these had been carried out at arms-length."

           Post comment here

The Islamic Council of QLD (ICQ), in conjunction with the Islamic Council of Algester, has made arrangements with the Brisbane City Council Mt Gravatt Cemetery to be opened at magrib on Saturday 20 April to Sunday 21 April with the gates closing at normal time at 6PM. 

The only access will be from University Drive entrance. Security will be patrolling throughout the night and the QPS will be on alert.

BCC has been very accommodating as always and visitors are requested  to obey all the rules, regulations and decorum of the cemetery.

There will be full lighting facilities at both the old and new Muslim sections. For safety reasons, please be mindful that all visitors do not speed or cause any issues that would be detrimental to our community/Ummah.

If you see anyone doing anything untoward please bring it to their attention in a courteous manner.

 
Shukraan/WAASSALLAAM .
 

CO-ORDINATOR
Hj Abdul Rahman Deen
PO Box 1067 OXLEY QLD 4075
Ph: (07) 3879-8476
Fx: (07) 3879-6586
M: 0418 738 432

           Post comment here

Muslim News UK readers nominated the following illustrious men, women, children and projects deemed worthy of short-listing for a Muslim News Award for Excellence. These exemplars of good practice, excellence – future role models – will be treated to a Gala Evening in the presence of their peers and other renowned guests in April, when the finalists are announced for the 15 coveted Awards for Excellence
 

CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK'S CCN.......

Alija Izetbegovic Award for GOOD CITIZENSHIP

Aamer Anwar is a lawyer and human rights campaigner. In 1995 he made legal history in a successful civil action against the police for a racist attack on himself in 1991 whilst a student at Glasgow University, when he was told ‘this is what happens to black boys with big mouths’ as his teeth were smashed out. Since then, for over three decades, he has tirelessly advocated for civil liberties and defended the vulnerable. He demonstrates outstanding achievement and longstanding commitment to promoting understanding between different cultures and faiths, both through his legal work and as a political campaigner. Aamer had been involved in some of Scotland’s most high profile cases and been named lawyer of the year multiple times at law awards in Scotland. Among the cases he is best known for is that of murdered waiter Surjit Singh Chhokar which led two judicial inquiries, a change in the law and an unrelenting 17-year campaign.

Elected to office Islington Council’s Holloway Ward in 2012, Rakhia Mohammed Ismail is among first British Somali female politicians in the UK, She is also the first Muslim and BAME cabinet member in Islington. A champion of diversity, Rakhia is a founding member of Islington Stand Up Racism, where she campaigns against Islamophobia. In 2017, she famously led the protest outside McDonald’s after a young student was asked to remove her hijab. Before becoming a local councillor, Rakhia worked as a freelance surface pattern designer and teacher. She also led numerous art projects placed at venues across London, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Crafts Council, the October Gallery, Islington Museum. Rakhia is also the founder of Back 2 Basics create, an art organisation that teaches women art and craft.

Imran Hameed is the founder of Bearded Broz, an initiative that aims to demonstrate how Islamic values go hand in hand with British values. Prior to its founding in 2017, Imran had already set up Salma Food Bank in June 2016, in memory of his late mother Salma Parveen, who died when Imran was only 17 years old. The principles of the food bank were simple: Not to take any money off anyone, seek out people that required help and then deliver the food aid directly to their doorstep – all with the help of community donations of food and volunteer drivers. To date, the Broz have reached out and fed in excess of 10,000 people across the West Midlands. They now produce short documentaries highlighting community issues, which have been dubbed in several languages, with a massive 51 million total views worldwide to date.  

TO BE CONTINUED IN NEXT WEEK'S CCN

           Post comment here

Editors' Introduction (Vol 3 No 3 2018): The history of Islam within Australia is an important, yet often overlooked, part of Australian history. Muslim presence in Australia has helped shape multicultural experience facilitating intercultural dialogue as well as contributing significantly to the development of the Australian nation. However, to date, it has received minimal scholarly attention. There have been significant studies on the engagements of the Maccasans, Muslim fishermen from Indonesia, with the Indigenous peoples of northern Australia. These studies have detailed the cultural interactions and trade between them and the lasting impacts of the inclusion of language foreign to Australian soil. There is also an increasing awareness of Australia’s cameleers, many of whom were Muslims, and the contribution they made to maintaining trade routes and assisting early Australian explorers. Despite the growing interest in the field, the history of Islam in Australia remains an understudied area of research. This rich history dates back further than we thought and has possibly had a greater impact than what is recognised. Given the current political and social climate surrounding Islam globally, it is timely that this volume of the Australian Journal of Islamic Studies is published. This volume brings to light the depth and richness of Australia’s Islamic heritage, challenging some of the prevalent assumptions on the topic, and calls for further studies in this field. Australia has proclaimed itself as being a successful example of a multicultural society. It is a society that has been shaped, and continues to be shaped, by a diverse range of cultural inputs. With this being the case, it is justifiable to ask how and why the contributions of Muslims to Australia have been largely overlooked.

Over the weeks, CCN highlights extracts from the Australian Journal of Islamic Studies which is an open access, double-blind peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the scholarly study of Islam.

REVULSION AND REFLECTION: THE COLOURED AND WHITE MUSLIM IN AUSTRALIA’S PRINT MEDIA FROM THE LATE 19TH TO THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY (Katy Nebhan)

LOCAL PAPERS AND AUSTRALIA’S EARLY MUSLIM PIONEERS

Distance has played a critical role in shaping Australian history and society. Distance between places within the vast country, to the rest of the world, and between Australia and the mother country have created a unique context, which has had an inevitable effect on perceptions and formulations of identity, security and national preservation. From the very beginning, the Australian print media sought to articulate, shape and at times, challenge these perceptions and constructs.

First published in 1831, Australia’s oldest, perhaps most important, newspaper, the Sydney Herald upheld conservative views on politics, society and economics. As such, it appealed to the literate, upper class of the growing colony. Other publications sought to diversify their target audience to reflect on domestic news like farming and court cases as well as developments overseas. Religion also featured in numerous publications and sermons preached in the major churches on Sunday were often included in the papers on Monday. The unusual and the mundane were well-documented across the various Australian news media publications.

Yet, when the first Muslims who were recruited to handle the camels in what became known as the Burke and Wills expedition arrived in 1860,they barely received a mention. The three men were Belooch Khan, Botan and their headman Dost Mahomet, who came from the Peshwar district of Afghanistan.

These men, who had done some service in the British army as sepoys, were casually dismissed in the account of the ‘Departure of the Exploring Expedition’ published in The Sydney Morning Herald on 27 August 1860. Following a lengthy description of the preparations and the various locals and dignitaries in attendance, the article stated: The officers and men forming the expedition numbered fifteen, exclusive of three sepoys, whose duty it is to attend to the camels. The men are fine healthy-looking fellows and seem to enter with all their soul into the adventure. The camels accompanying the expedition number twenty-six, the horses twenty-two. These Muslims were British subjects and, for the governing class in the colonies, the presence of small diasporic communities from the British Empire would not have been unusual in the 19th century.

References to the Muslim ‘Indians,’ ‘Afghans’ or ‘sepoys’ who took part in various expeditions in the late 19th century were common and relatively neutral. This changed, however, with the emergence of The Bulletin Magazine in the 1880s and other weekly publications that “spoke to both the city and the bush with a distinctive Australian voice.”

There were a number of reasons for this change that saw references to the cameleers as ‘handlers,’ ‘Afghans’ and ‘sepoys’ shift to derogatory terms like “Mohammedan Fanatics ”and “the filthy scum of Asia.”

While there were underlying economic factors, perhaps the most critical development in the late 19th century was the growing national consciousness, particularly in outback Australia.
 

MORE IN NEXT WEEK'S CCN....

           Post comment here

           Post comment here

           Post comment here

           Post comment here

           Post comment here

Would you like to see the cover of your favourite book on our book shelves below?

Then simply email the title and author to admin@ccnonline.com.au

CCN's Bookshelf

CCN's favourite books »

           Post comment here

Spicy Chicken Croquettes

INGREDIENTS & METHOD

Ingredients

• 500 g chicken mince (a combination of thigh and breast chicken)

• ˝ cup of sweetcorn

• One medium onion grated

• ˝ tsp crushed jeera/cumin seed

• ˝ tsp crushed coriander seeds

• Salt and pepper

• 2 tab. chopped dhania (fresh coriander)

• 1 tsp. ground green chillies

• ˝ tsp ground garlic

• ˝ tsp ground ginger

• Juice of half a lemon

• 2 slices brown bread (remove crusts)

Method

1. Combine all the ingredients and knead well.
2. Mould into mini kebabs, place on a greased tray and bake at 190°c oven until done.
3. When cool, dip in egg and then bread crumbs and fry in shallow oil until browned on all side.

Serve with a lemon butter sauce or chutney of your choice.

NB. Can be frozen after crumbing.

Baba's Halal Kitchen

(Hussain Baba is the host and chef of *BABA’S HALAL KITCHEN*, a show where he uses his own unique style to cook 'Quick, Easy and Delicious' dishes.)

COOKING Boiled Egg in Coconut Sauce

           Post comment here

 

Habibbulah and his wife, Tamasha, were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary.

 

The couple had married as childhood sweethearts and had moved back to their old neighbourhood after they retired.

 

Holding hands, they walked back to their old school. It was not locked, so they entered. They found the old desk they'd shared, where Habibbulah had carved ‘I love you, Tamasha’.

On their way back home, a bag of money fell out of an armoured car, practically landing at their feet. Tamasha quickly picked it up and, not sure what to do with it, they took it home. There, she counted the money - fifty thousand dollars!

Habibbulah said, "We've got to give it back."

Tamasha said, "Finders keepers."
She put the money back in the bag and hid it in their attic.

The next day, two police officers, who were canvassing the neighbourhood looking for the money, knocked on their door. "Pardon me, did either of you find a bag that fell out of an armoured car yesterday?"

Tamasha said, "No."

Habibbulah said, "She’s lying. She hid it up in the attic."

Tamasha said, "Don't believe him, he’s getting senile."

The agents turned to Habibbulah and began to question him.

One said: "Tell us the story from the beginning."

Habibbulah said, "Well, when Tamasha and I were walking home from school yesterday .."

The first police officer turned to his partner and said, "Let’s get out of here."

           Post comment here

           Post comment here

PLEASE NOTE

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, except for Lailatul Mehraj, Lailatul Bhahraat and Lailatul Qadr – these dates refer to the commencement of the event starting in the evening of the corresponding day.

           Post comment here

           Post comment here

Disclaimer

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

           Post comment here

Write For Us

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.

           Post comment here