If you
are a business who is
hiring or someone
looking for a job please
post jobs you are
offering etc. in this
newly formed
Facebook Page. Also
for those looking for
jobs please post what
your skills and
qualifications are.
Not-for-profit professionals
network Crescent Institute
has appointed its first
board, with the new members
including a university
chancellor and a Deloitte
director.
The institute, which is a
sister organisation to
retail Islamic super fund
Crescent Wealth, has named
Western Sydney University
chancellor Peter Shergold as
its new chair.
Professor Shergold served as
secretary of the Department
of the Prime Minister and
Cabinet from 2003 to 2008
and has also worked as a
senior public servant for
four prime ministers and
eight ministers in both
Labor and Coalition
governments.
Crescent Wealth founder and
managing director Talal
Yassine has taken the role
of company secretary.
Mr Yassine had spent more
than 10 years at
PricewaterhouseCoopers and
law firm Dunhill Madden
Butler before joining
investment company Babcock &
Brown.
Crescent Wealth chief
strategy officer Vanessa
Liell has also joined the
institute board.
Other board director
appointments include
Deloitte Australia director
Affy Bhatti, Ten Network
national affairs editor Hugh
Riminton, PageGroup managing
director for Australia and
New Zealand Matthew Gribble
and Legal Exchange Lawyers
lawyer and registered
migration agent Sara Mansour.
Cross-cultural consultant
Tasneem Chopra and LiveHire
and World Scout Foundation
Australian Chapter chair
Geoff Morgan have also taken
seats on the board.
Professor Shergold
commented: “It’s an honour
to be given the chance to
chair such an important
piece of Australia’s
diversity jigsaw puzzle.”
“The Crescent Institute,
over the past 20 years, has
led many important
discussions around a broad
range of topics from sexism
in the public sector to the
defeat of extremism and the
future of liberal democracy.
“At the heart of the
[institute’s discussions] is
inclusivity and that is
something I plan to champion
during my tenure as chair.”
Mr Yassine commented he
hopes to see the institute
grow and continue to add its
perspective to the national
discourse, with its new
board of directors
assembled.
“From humble beginnings, the
Crescent Institute has grown
and thrived as Australians
from across the political
spectrum, cultural divide,
politics, the business
community and the media have
come together to share their
ideas in an inclusive
diverse environment,” he
said.
“When I started the Crescent
Institute in 1999, I never
could have imagined
something as unique and
important to the country’s
social fabric growing from
that idea.”
Previously the institute has
hosted speakers at its
functions such as former
prime ministers Kevin Rudd
and Tony Abbott, as well as
media personality Waleed Aly,
Volt Bank managing director
Steve Weston and Latitude
Financial Services chief
executive Ahmed Fahour.
Police and protesters are
seen during a rally in support
of asylum seekers detained at
the Kangaroo Point Central Hotel
in Brisbane, Saturday, August
15, 2020.
They are among more than
100 men detained in a
Kangaroo Point hotel after
they were evacuated from
Nauru and Papua New Guinea
for medical reasons.
Muslim immigration detainees
in Brisbane have filed a
complaint with the
Australian Human Rights
Commission saying they have
not been given certified
halal food for more than 12
months.
They are among more than 100
men detained in a Kangaroo
Point hotel after they were
evacuated from Nauru and
Papua New Guinea for medical
reasons.
Many of the Kangaroo Point
refugees and asylum seekers
are Muslims who eat halal
food.
"After research and
investigation we find out
the food has been provided
by Serco is not halal food
and this is from the
beginning when we arrive in
Brisbane,” said Iranian
detainee Amin Afravi.
Detainees challenged the
guards to show them halal
certification and contacted
the caterers who are
providing the food to Serco,
the company responsible for
operating the facility.
The caterers replied that
they were not halal
certified.
Serco subsequently confirmed
to the detainees the current
and previous caterers were
“not halal certified” but
“purchase meat from halal-certified
suppliers”.
Serco’s contract with Home
Affairs - obtained under
Freedom of Information laws
- said it “must prepare food
for detainees of Islamic
faith which meets the
requirements of halal meals
by sourcing produce
certified as halal by a
recognised halal food
certification organisation”.
Serco declined to comment
and referred enquiries to
Home Affairs, which in a
statement to SBS News said
“compliance with the
contract is regularly
monitored”.
The department did not say
whether monitoring had
identified any breaches.
"My understanding is that
they are not following that
particular clause of the
contract because these two
source companies are not
halal-certified,” said Ali
Kadri, spokesman for the
state’s peak Muslim body and
main halal certifier, the
Islamic Council of
Queensland.
“So it’s irrelevant where
these companies are sourcing
their food from, because
their processes, their
procedures, the other
ingredients they use do not
have assurances.
“We are doing enough
injustice to them by locking
them up without a crime for
such a long period of time
and if we can’t even provide
them, meet their dietary
requirements, it's a really
horrible form of mental
torture.”
Assisted by lawyers from the
Asylum Seeker Resource
Centre, detainees have filed
a complaint with the
Australian Human Rights
Commission.
“They feel this is a huge
violation and a huge
betrayal of their rights,
they feel this needs
redress. The substance of
the complaint is that it has
breached their rights to
practise their religion,”
said ASRC case worker Nina
Field.
"Many of the men have
significant physical and
mental health conditions,
they were transferred to
Australia because the
couldn’t get treatment in
Nauru or PNG. Adding this to
that mix is not going to
lead to good outcomes for
their health and wellbeing."
Ms Field stressed that
detainees were unsatisfied
with Serco and Home Affairs,
rather than the third-party
caterers.
“It’s not necessarily the
caterers as such, it is
actually Serco and ABF that
hold the responsibility
here,” she added.
Mr Afravi said he had been
surviving on a basic diet as
the issue played out.
“Having just rice and
yoghurt and losing a lot of
weight and I’m 55 kg. I feel
tired, weak, dizzy, and I
get headaches. I have no
choice,” he said.
In a
live Facebook session,
Rita Jabri Markwell and Ali
Kadri encourage any Sisters
or Brothers who have
experienced Islamophobic
hate to come speak to them
about their stories.
Dr Qazi Ashfaq
Ahmad received his Order of
Australia Medal this week
Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad OAM,
90, a retired professor of
mechanical engineering and a
Quranic scholar and long
time community leader was
presented with his Order of
Australia medal on Tuesday 8
September 2020 by Her
Excellency the Honourable
Margaret Beazley, the
Governor of NSW.
The award was announced on
26 January earlier this year
but the investiture ceremony
was much delayed due to the
pandemic and was held this
week at the Government House
in Sydney under COVID-19
restrictions.
Dr Ahmad, professor and head
of department of mechanical
engineering in Kashmir was
forced to leave his job and
arrived in Australia in 1971
and has been in the
forefront of building
Islamic institutions,
founding community
organisations and promoting
interfaith harmony for
almost half a century.
Renowned WA artist, Abdul-Rahman
Abdullah (pictured above)
of Mundijong on the
outskirts of Perth has been
awarded the Australian
Muslim Artists prize 2020
for his work Transplants, a
tribute to his mother and
her love of family.
Australian Muslim Artists is
an annual exhibition hosted
by the Islamic Museum of
Australia (IMA) in
partnership with La Trobe
University, which this year
saw a record number of
entries from artists across
the country.
Abdullah said it’s an
amazing feeling to be
recognised amongst a
talented group of Australian
Muslim artists.
“Sometimes it feels like
there are so few of us
working in the visual arts,
especially over here in WA
and it means so much that
our contributions to the
broader Australian cultural
landscape are acknowledged
by the Islamic Museum of
Australia and La Trobe
University,” said Abdullah.
Film credits offer thanks to
eight government entities in
region where rights abuses are
documented
Liu Yifei, who plays the
title role in Mulan, was
criticised after expressing
support for Hong Kong police
cracking down on protests.
Disney’s live-action remake
of Mulan, already the target
of a boycott, has come under
fire for filming in
Xinjiang, the site of
alleged widespread human
rights abuses against
Uighurs and other Muslim
minorities.
The film, directed by Niki
Caro, is an adaptation of
Disney’s 1998 animation
about Hua Mulan, a young
woman who disguises herself
as a man to fight in the
imperial army in her
father’s stead.
The remake attracted
criticism when the actor Liu
Yifei, who plays Mulan, said
she supported Hong Kong
police in their often
violent crackdowns on
pro-democracy protesters.
After the film’s release
last Friday, observers noted
another controversial
element: in the final
credits Disney offers
“special thanks” to eight
government entities in
Xinjiang, including the
public security bureau in
Turpan, a city in eastern
Xinjiang where several
re-education camps have been
documented.
The film also expresses
thanks to the “publicity
department of CPC Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomy Region
Committee”, the Chinese
Communist party’s propaganda
department in Xinjiang.
Disney has been approached
for comment.
China has faced
international scrutiny over
its treatment of Muslim
minorities in Xinjiang,
where it is estimated at
least 1 million residents
have been detained in
extrajudicial internment
camps. Uighur women have
reported forced
sterilisations and birth
control as part of a
government campaign to
suppress birthrates, in what
experts have described as
“demographic genocide”.
According to media reports
before its release, Mulan
was shot in about 20
locations in China,
including the Mingsha Shan
desert, part of which is in
Xinjiang, and the Tuyuk
Valley, an oasis village
east of Turpan.
Filming took place in 2018,
the same year China’s
“strike hard” campaign in
Xinjiang ramped up with the
construction of the camps.
According to researcher
Adrian Zenz, Turpan was the
first documented case of
“re-education” or political
indoctrination used against
Uighurs to “eradicate the
soil for the breeding and
spread of religious
extremism”.
Activists calling for a
boycott of the film are now
highlighting its links to
Xinjiang, while other
researchers noted that the
public security bureau in
Turpan oversees at least 14
internment camps in the
area.
Human rights advocates have
called on Disney to be
transparent about its
dealings with authorities in
Xinjiang. According to a
report in the Wall Street
Journal, Disney shared its
script with Chinese
authorities and consulted
with local advisers in order
to guarantee a release in
China.
“Disney should disclose the
details about the human
rights due diligence it had
conducted — if there was any
— before making the decision
to film in Xinjiang, what
agreements it had made with
Xinjiang authorities in
order to do the filming, and
what assistances it received
from authorities,” said
Human Rights Watch China
researcher Yaqiu Wang.
Posted by Hussain Baba on Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Topic: Did Prophet Muhammed
(pbuh) make a “hasty” or a
“planned” decision to go on
Hijra?
Episode: 14
In this show Imam Mohamed
Ali (Imam of the Gold Coast
Mosque and graduate from the
renowned Al Azhar university
in Egypt) will address
questions that you wish
answered.
UK's
Muslim News readers
nominated
illustrious men,
women, children and
initiatives deemed
worthy of
short-listing for a
Muslim News Award
for Excellence. The
nominees were
short-listed by an
independent panel of
judges who reviewed,
deliberated and
mused over the list.
Over
the next weeks, CCN
presents a
shortlisted
candidate who will
be treated to a gala
evening in the
presence of their
peers and other
renowned guests,
when the finalists
are announced for
the [15] coveted
Awards for
Excellence.
PLEASE
NOTE:
Due
to the
unprecedented
uncertainty
regarding
the
coronavirus
pandemic,
The
Muslim
News has
postponed
its
prestigious
annual
awards
ceremony
until
late UK
summer.
Dr
Kawther Hashem
researches nutrition
at Queen Mary
University of
London.
She is the Campaign
Lead for Action on
Sugar which is part
of Consensus Action
on Salt, Sugar, and
Health, a charitable
organization
concerned with the
effects of salt and
sugar on health.
Kawther’s research
has helped uncover
the astonishing
amount of salt and
sugar added to our
food and has driven
her to be a
vociferous
campaigner for
healthier food
products.
Her regular local,
national, and
international media
appearances and
interviews have
helped her place
pressure on food
manufacturers and
governments to
review food policy.
Consequently, and
with the efforts of
her colleagues, the
UK Government
launched Sugar
Reduction Programme
and the Soft Drinks
Industry Levy.
Kawther is
optimistic that
these programmes
will have an
important impact on
public health and is
committed to
monitoring their
effect.
In 2017 Kawther was
a recipient of the
GG2 Leadership Young
Achiever Award in
acknowledgement of
her work.
Maulana Nazur Rahman is the
fourth Amir of the Pakistani
Tablighi Jamaat. He
succeeded Hajji Abdul-Wahhab
who passed away in November
2018, aged 96.
Influence New Leader: A change
of leadership changes
nothing for the Pakistan
chapter of the Tablighi
Jamaat—a transnational
Islamic organization
dedicated to reminding
Muslims of their duty to
fulfill their religious
obligations. Maulana Nazur
was the Deputy Amir and one
of three people named by the
previous Amir as contenders
for the position of Amir
upon his demise.
Missionaries: As
Amir, or leader of
Pakistan’s Tablighi Jamaat,
Maulana Nazur Rahman’s
influence spans globally due
to the organization’s
emphasis on missionary work.
It is active in over 150
countries and famously
involves people in small
groups travelling to Muslim
communities reminding
individuals about their
religious duties. This act
of da’wa or exhortation
towards fulfilling religious
duties is seen as a
cornerstone of the faith and
has enabled it to acquire a
massive membership base. The
Tablighi Jamaatt has close
ties with the prominent
Islamic institution Darul
Uloom Deoband, in India. It
is where the founder,
Maulana Muhammad Ilyas
Kandhelvi, studied before
establishing a following in
Pakistan.
Mass Appeal: Among
the throngs of Pakistanis,
diaspora South Asians, and
others who carry the flag of
the Tablighi Jamaat are
notable Muslim leaders. In
Pakistan alone, prominent
politicians, actors, and
sports stars all publicly
show allegiance to the
group. This is done easily
because the TJ is wholly
apolitical. It is identified
as a spiritual revivalist
movement. It condemns
violence and distances
itself from any militant
groups. Annual gatherings in
Raiwind, Pakistan draw close
to 2 million people, and
those in Biswa, Bangladesh
attract over 3 million.
Dr Abdallah
Rothman, new
Principal of
Cambridge Muslim
College, speaks
about his early
career and his
work in Islamic
Psychology.
00:00
Introduction
00:16 The Study
of the Soul
01:58 Journey to
Islam
04:15 Islamic
Psychology (Ilm
an-Nafs)
05:23 Early
Career
08:07
Integrating
Islam into
Practical Life
10:30 The Need
for a Framework
14:07 Research
Focus
21:35 Practical
Guidance for
Contemporary
Muslims
24:06 Hope for
the Future of
Islamic
Psychology
Sh. Abdullah Oduro describes
his early life growing up
detached from his Ghanian
roots, and how he found
Islam. Follow along with us
as he recounts his journey
to connect with his culture,
and how his spiritual
journey inspired it all.
MAA Weekly
Wrap
MAA's Weekly Wrap: A 60-sec
summary of the week
Presented by Shameema Koila
ISLAMIC
The Gem of
Ikhlas: Tafseer with Sheikh
Uzair Akbar
PLEASE
NOTE
It is the usual policy of CCN to
include notices of events, video links and articles that
some readers may find interesting or relevant. Such notices
are often posted as received. Including such messages/links
or providing the details of such events does not necessarily
imply endorsement or agreement by CCN of the contents
therein.
‘I won’t be controlled by fear’: Muslim
mum’s crusade against hate crimes
It was the racist attack on a pregnant
woman that shocked Sydney. Now 10 months
after Rana Elasmar was randomly bashed
at a Parramatta cafe, the mother-of-four
has spoken out about the attack and how
all she wanted to do was protect her
baby.
Rana Elasmar was 38 weeks pregnant and
about to enjoy dessert and coffee to
finish a last night out with her friends
before the birth of her fourth child.
In the middle of the buzzing cafe on
November 20 last year, Mrs Elasmar
became the victim of an unprovoked,
vicious and racially-motivated attack
that created headlines around the
country.
For the first time, a brave Mrs Elasmar
has chosen to speak publicly about the
brutal assault and to shine a light on
violence against women and
religious-based discrimination.
The 32-year-old former schoolteacher
hopes her strength will empower other
women and raise awareness that
Islamophobia is more prevalent than
ever. She and her friends had not even
ordered when a stranger approached her
table.
Stipe Lozina held his hand out and asked
for change. His gaze shifted from the
two friends seated with Mrs Elasmar to
the expectant mother.
“I felt he did have different
intentions, I felt uneasy and
uncomfortable,” she told The Saturday
Telegraph.
Lozina leaned over the table and threw
at least a dozen punches at Mrs Elasmar
before she dropped to the floor of the
cafe. He screamed anti-Muslim abuse,
which Mrs Elasmar will not repeat.
“Once he started hitting I thought: ‘I
need to protect the baby’,” she said.
“I was thinking: ‘That’s OK, hit my
head, as long as you don’t hit my
baby’.”
As the blows continued, Mrs Elasmar
wondered why no one had stepped in.
“Finally I was just thinking, praying to
my god, Allah please help me,” she said.
“You are the only one who can help me.
No one else is stopping him.”
Mrs Elasmar’s two friends yelled for
help and tried to pull him away but he
towered over the women.
While on her hands and knees in a bid to
keep her stomach off the ground, Lozina
stomped on Mrs Elasmar’s head.
The CCTV footage finally showed a man
run out of the chaos and tear Lozina
away.
Other bystanders stood back as the
assault unfolded, stepping in after the
other man did.
“If he hadn’t stepped in, he probably
might have kept going,” Mrs Elasmar
said.
“I might have been killed that night, my
son might have been killed that night.”
Back home, husband Azzam Elasmar
received a panicked phone call from his
wife’s distraught friend.
The pharmacist rushed down to Parramatta
as a shaken Mrs Elasmar was being loaded
into an ambulance. She suffered head
injuries and lingering pain in her jaw
and ear.
But, over the following weeks, Mrs
Elasmar was increasingly anxious about
the health of her unborn child. Scans at
hospital did not raise any red flags but
Mrs Elasmar felt something was wrong.
Her baby had barely kicked since the
assault and doctors warned he may have
been affected by her trauma.
“It was extremely stressful,” she said.
Finally, three weeks
after the attack, Mrs Elasmar gave birth
to a happy and healthy baby boy, Zayn.
While the mother-of-four has recovered
from her physical injuries, she is still
dealing with a ripple effect.
Her voice cracked as she described the
impact the attack had on three other
children, aged seven, five and three.
In the aftermath, her eldest son and
daughter grew anxious when she left the
house and cried when a stranger walked
past their driveway out of fear he would
attack them.
Mrs Elasmar wanted to set an example,
especially for her daughters, of what a
strong woman should be.
“I wanted to show them that no matter
what happens we pick ourselves up and
move on and I don’t accept people to
treat me in that way,” she said.
“I won’t be controlled by fear. That’s
the reason why I picked up and started
going out again.”
Sadly, it was not the first time Mrs
Elasmar had been targeted with abuse
because of her religion.
After making the personal decision to
start wearing a hijab eight years ago,
Mrs Elasmar was hissed at in the street
and sworn at in the supermarket.
At the crowded Sydney Fish Market with
her daughter one day, a man verbally
abused her and yelled “Go back to where
you came from”.
“It was really hurtful because I was
born and raised here,” she said.
“Just because I wear the hijab doesn’t
mean that I am not Australian.”
Even after her attack, she was inundated
with stories from Muslim women about
their own experiences of unprovoked
abuse and insults by strangers.
A staggering 96 per cent of Muslim women
who report Islamophobic abuse were
wearing a hijab at the time, according
to a damning Islamophobia In Australia
report released last year.
Women and children were the most common
targets, the report found, with almost
half of victims claiming no one stopped
to help them.
For Mrs Elasmar, her experience is
equally about violence against women as
it is about Islamophobia.
“I want to make it known, the issue of
violence against women, particularly
Muslim women,” she said.
“It’s a real issue. That man (Lozina)
made it known that this attack was based
on his hatred of Muslims.
“He was violent, calculated and a lot of
the time these attacks are brushed under
the rug. Sometimes, there is not enough
evidence or the woman doesn’t have the
courage to come forward and report the
crime.”
She hopes people understand that her
experience is not a one-off and that
victims draw strength from her story.
Lozina is due to be sentenced in
Parramatta District Court next month
after he pleaded guilty to assault
occasioning actual bodily harm.
A charge of affray was withdrawn
although Lozina pleaded guilty to that
offence too. The 43-year-old has a track
record of random and vile verbal attacks
against Muslim women.
Last September, he hurled Islamophobic
abuse at two women, who were wearing
hijabs, inside the Westfield Shopping
Centre in Liverpool.
The Saturday Telegraph understands the
women went straight to Liverpool Police
Station and even pointed out Lozina, who
happened to walk past when they were
talking to an officer. But the complaint
was not acted on.
It was only after Lozina attacked Mrs
Elasmar two months later, that one of
the victims from the Westfield assault
recognised Lozina in the CCTV footage.
She contacted police and made a
statement.
Lozina pleaded guilty to a string of
charges, including stalking and was
sentenced to a maximum 16 months jail.
The court has previously heard Lozina
had a history of mental illness but in
determining his fitness to enter a
guilty plea, a magistrate said in June
he appeared “very lucid”.
Right-wing extremism a 'growing but largely
ignored' threat to Australia
Shadow Home Affairs Minister Kristina Keneally says there is an “easy slippage” from positive mainstream concepts to their twisted right-wing extremist counterparts.
Hon. Carolyn Walker-Diallo, Kings County
Supervising Judge
US: Schneps Media is sitting
down with judges across the
city’s court systems to discuss
their roles and how they’ve
changed in the age of COVID-19.
This week’s interview is with
the Hon. Carolyn Walker-Diallo,
Kings County Supervising Judge
and Acting Justice of the
Supreme Court.
Schneps Media:
Could you describe your duties
as a Civil Court Judge?
Hon. Carolyn Walker-Diallo:
As Supervising Judge of the
Kings County Civil Court, the
busiest Civil Court in the State
of New York, I oversee all
aspects of court operations and
administration, including
judicial and non-judicial
assignments, case management,
court facilities, technology
development, public information,
and access to justice. I also
preside over the Trial Part,
which include transfer cases
from Supreme Court and up until
the pandemic, I presided over
jury trials.
Also, I am the first Muslim to
serve as a judge in the State of
New York, taking the ceremonial
oath of office on the Holy Quran
after being elected to represent
the 7th Municipal Court District
on December 10, 2015.
UK: An imam has
joined the police force and
hopes to inspire young Muslims
to follow in his footsteps.
Emad Choudhury says his becoming
a police officer is an extension
of his role as a religious
leader
A modern-day Muslim Pride
and Prejudice for a new
generation of love.
Ayesha Shamsi has a lot
going on. Her dreams of
being a poet have been set
aside for a teaching job so
she can pay off her debts to
her wealthy uncle.
She lives with her
boisterous Muslim family and
is always being reminded
that her flighty younger
cousin, Hafsa, is close to
rejecting her one hundredth
marriage proposal.
Though Ayesha is lonely, she
doesn't want an arranged
marriage.
Then she meets Khalid, who
is just as smart and
handsome as he is
conservative and judgmental.
She is irritatingly
attracted to someone who
looks down on her choices
and who dresses like he
belongs in the seventh
century.
When a surprise engagement
is announced between Khalid
and Hafsa, Ayesha is torn
between how she feels about
the straightforward Khalid
and the unsettling new
gossip she hears about his
family.
Looking into the rumours,
she finds she has to deal
with not only what she
discovers about Khalid, but
also the truth she realizes
about herself.
Jallalludin: "Imagine that
you are out on the ocean having an enjoyable cruise when
your ship starts to sink and you are surrounded by
sharks. What would you do?"
The Prophet’s hijra to
Medina did not mean the end
of conflict with the Quraysh.
The Muhajirun were still
bitter at their treatment by
their fellow clansmen in
Mecca and the Ansar were
eager to punish those who
had oppressed their new
brothers in Islam. But the
Muslim community had not yet
been given permission to
fight by the Prophet.
Warfare is, of course, a
serious endeavor, especially
in the Arabian Peninsula
where complex rules
regarding honor and
vengeance had reigned for
centuries.
Furthermore, the Quran
itself testifies to the
sanctity of life and the
egregiousness of unjustly
taking one.
The Muslim community was
thus hesitant to act
militarily against Mecca,
despite the years of
oppression they faced at the
hands of the Meccans.
But that changed early on in
Muhammad’s time in Medina.
He proclaimed to his
followers a new revelation
from God, which stated
“Permission [to fight] has
been given to those who are
being fought, because they
are wronged.
And indeed God is competent
to give them victory. [They
are] those who have been
evicted from their homes
without right—only because
they say, ‘Our Lord is
Allah’” (Quran 22:39–40).
These new verses made clear
to Muhammad’s followers that
war was permissible, even
obligatory, when Muslims
were being oppressed.
They also signaled an
important aspect of Islam’s
role in the world: that this
religion was not just a set
of beliefs about the unseen,
but a complete way of life
that encompassed everything
from prayer rituals to
foreign relations to
theology.
Like they did with other
instructions given in the
Quran, the Muslim community
of Medina was eager to show
their worth and follow this
new command.
Ahmad Totonji’s 35
Principles for Success in
Life and Work
1 Godliness
continued from last week's CCN.....
Believers are
self-policing regarding
everything that they as
individuals do and engage in
before people (especially
those they respect) and must
not engage in bad behaviour,
both when they are alone and
when they are under the
watchful gaze of others. It
is essential that believers
avoid all that is bad and
reject bad behaviour, even
if it is hidden and behind
closed doors, for Allah
always sees us and watches
over us.
Hurry to do
good deeds as much as you
can, engage in volunteer
work as much as possible,
and try to be at the
forefront of those seeking
their Creator. Do not be
lazy or make excuses;
rather, go forth toward
goodness on the wings of
God-consciousness and with
strong faith in God’s plan.
Pay attention
to your faith with your eyes
wide open and with full
consciousness; look for
faith in all aspects of your
life; and continuously
evaluate the level of your
faith and its vagaries of
increase and decrease. In
this way your faith will
grow rather than diminish,
and faith will increase in
your heart so that it will
lead to good deeds. Hold
yourself accountable for
every lapse in faith and try
your best to preserve your
honour and your high level
of character.
The
Global Muslim Women’s
Conference
is a series of virtual
events focused on showcasing
and celebrating Muslim women
from all walks of life. It
provides an opportunity to
listen and speak to one
another on a local, national
and international level.
The virtual conference
provides a space to connect
and focus on significant
topics affecting the Muslim
woman. Its aim is to create
meaningful dialogue by
sharing unique skills,
knowledge, by unlocking
strengths and talents to
create collective progress.
The Islamic Council
of Queensland (ICQ) encourages
Muslims to participate in activities
that benefit charitable causes.
One such activity in
September is Tour de Kids, a cycling
event that raises funds for the
Starlight Children’s Foundation
which helps children with leukaemia.
We are already aware of some Muslims
participating in the event in
September and it would be great if
more Muslims joined the effort.
More information is available
here including registration.
The Academy Alive annual
Queensland tour is only 5 WEEKS AWAY!!
Our team is working hard on bringing you the
BEST tour yet, and we are counting down until we
get to meet all our beautiful brothers and
sisters around the state.
We are also excited to share that our production
crew will be travelling with us, and putting
together some amazing Live events, to showcase
the Muslim communities in regional areas of
Queensland.
We will be starting our journey on the 24th of
September, making our way north all the way up
to Cairns. A timetable for the full tour will be
released soon.
If there is anything you’d like to see us do
during our tour, please reach out to Academy
Alive and let us know!
JazakAllah.
The
Academy Alive scholars are getting ready for
their annual Queensland Tour!
With the intention of connecting with our Muslim
brothers and sisters in regional Queensland,
Sheikh Ikraam Buksh and Sheikh Luqman Najib will
be driving from Brisbane, through to North
Queensland with several stops along the way.
We are so excited for this tour! To keep up to
date with the tour schedule and details,
please sign up here.
Please share this information with anyone you
know in regional Queensland, as we would love to
meet them and connect with our brothers and
sisters all around Queensland.
The Academy Alive
crew has been so excited for the
upcoming Queensland tour; they have
been camping in their garages.
Do you want to be
part of the Academy Alive Journey?
Be there with us every step of the
way as we connect with our Muslim
community living in regional areas
of Australia.
We have got a surprise for you!
👀🤫 . . . . We have been so excited for the upcoming Queensland tour; we
have been practicing our camping skills in our garages. ⛺️⛺️⛺️ Do you want
to be part of the Academy Alive journey? Be there with us every step of the
way as we connect with our Muslim communities living in regional areas.
https://qldtour2020.academyalive.com/register #QLDtour #Relationships
#Health #Finance #leadership
As restrictions ease, the Hurricane Stars Club
Inc is restarting it's programs in August
inshallah. We want to ensure we are providing
effective services for the community to support
and engage men, women and children with the
programs they need.
Please assist us in
this process by completing two short surveys
that will only take 5 minutes. Have your say and
help us to provide the most beneficial programs
for the community.
World Wellness Group are
pleased to announce the launch of
Multicultural Connect Line. A culturally
tailored service to help link community
members to supports to help with stress,
worry and practical issues that the
covid-19 pandemic has brought to our
lives.
This initiative is funded through the
Queensland Health covid-19 Immediate Support Measures.
Please give the helpline a
ring on 1300 079 020 or visit our website
www.worldwellnessgroup.org.au (new site
launching soon!) to find out more about the
suite of services offered at World Wellness
Group.
Alhamdulillah, over many years
I have worked with many non-Muslims who have
always asked me about Muslims & Islam, and I
have shared as much and as best as I could
within my understanding and knowledge.
Alhamdulillah I have watch them develop a
beautiful understanding of our practices, to the
extent I have seen them explain and clarify
misconceptions to others.
Once again during this past Ramadan, much was
discussed over our staff iftar dinner meeting.
So I decided to document some of this basic
Islamic information in a simple to read and
understand website and share with my staff and
colleagues.
It’s intended to be as simple as can be, whilst
still providing a good overview, including some
multi-faith interviews which I found very
valuable even to me as a Muslim.
Feel free to use and share if you feel
appropriate.
I have also shared some of the beautiful Quran
recitations and supplications with English
translation.
DR MOHAMMED IQBAL SULTAN
MFS JANAZA
Muslim Funeral Services guidelines adopted on
dealing with Janazas during this pandemic.
This includes the Covid and non-Covid Janazas, for
burials in South East Queensland.
This is the Southport
Masjid in the heart of
the Gold Coast Australia
where Muslims make up
less than 5%.
Southport
Masjid is the second
masjid on the Gold
Coast. It was
established to
accommodate the growing
Muslim community. It is
situated less than 10
minutes from Cavill
Avenue, Surfers
Paradise, making it a
prime location to also
serve the needs of
Muslim tourists. There
is ample parking and
easy access.
Because of COVID we
cannot fundraise
traditionally putting
the masjid in grave risk
of immediate
foreclosure.
Help us pay for the
masjid before it is
forced to close.
We are in desperate and
urgent need of the
masjid to save our
community.
From protest to piety,
from hate to love, from
loneliness to community,
from ignorance to
guidance, from church to
masjid, from dunya to
akhira.
With your help, our
desperation will turn to
hope. Fight alongside us
to save the masjid!
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.
HikmahWay offers online and
in-person Islamic courses to
equip Muslims of today with
the knowledge, understanding
and wisdom to lead balanced,
wholesome and beneficial
lives.
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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Dr
Kawther Hashem
researches nutrition
at Queen Mary
University of
London.
‘I won’t be controlled by fear’: Muslim
mum’s crusade against hate crimes
Hon. Carolyn Walker-Diallo, Kings County
Supervising Judge
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