It is indeed with a heavy
heart that we leave you, our
dear Readers, Subscribers,
Contributors and Supporters,
with our FINAL ISSUE of
Crescents Community News (CCN).
Since our
initial announcement and
rationale for this day,
some 5 weeks ago in CCN830,
we have been inundated with
messages of well wishes,
praise, appreciation, dismay
at this end, as well as
generous offers of support
and suggestions,
We thank you sincerely to
all of you who have written
or called us over the past
weeks. It has been humbling
to note the impact that CCN
has had on so many people
over these past 16 years.
Jazakallah and thank you for being a part
of this wonderful journey
together with us.
Hossain Juhar
was invited by Amnesty
International at a College
students event in Brisbane,
to speak on the plight of
Rohingya in Bangladesh
refugee camps, in Myanmar
and life in Australia.
IWAA took the opportunity
for its Settlement
Engagement & Transition team
to showcase their journey in
2020, and engage with the
community to receive
feedback for the next phase
of the SETS program.
The session was well
received by Community
Leaders and Clients.
(l to r)ANIC Spokesperson, Bilal Rauf,
AFIC CEO, Keysar Trad and,
Australian Muslim Women’s
Association's Sr Maha Abdo
The Australian National
Imams Council appeared this
week before the Joint
Parliamentary Inquiry
relating to the NSW
Anti-Discrimination
Amendment (Religious
Freedoms and Equality) Bill
2020.
Bilal Rauf appeared on
behalf of ANIC and the 43
organisations that
undersigned
the submission.
NSW does not have any
legislative protection
against discrimination on
the ground of religion.
Against this backdrop, Bilal
highlighted the importance
of having legislative
protection and ensuring that
minority faith communities
had a level of protection
equal to that provided to
other protected attributes,
such as race and gender.
Moreover, in the face of
increasing right wing white
supremacist sentiment and
rhetoric and instances of
discrimination, this glaring
deficiency could not
continue unaddressed.
It stood as a blight on a
multicultural and
multi-religious State such
as NSW.
The Australian Muslim
Women’s Association and
Australian Federation of
Islamic Councils also
appeared at the session
today.
Jon Toogood built
a career as the frontman for the
rock band Shihad by infusing
stadium-sized songs with his
avowed atheism.
As the frontman for Shihad,
Jon Toogood won plenty of
fans by wearing his
anti-authoritarianism on his
sleeve.
"[At the time] I was a
staunch atheist ... I was
under the impression that
all people who believed in
religion were suckers," he
said.
In time, two terrorist
attacks separated by decades
would challenge him to
wrestle with everything he
held true, from family to
faith.
Rewind to 1988: two heavy
metal-obsessed teens in
Wellington, New Zealand are
firing up a VHS tape. It's
David Lynch's adaptation of
the sci-fi novel Dune, and
Jon Toogood and Tom Larkin
are glued to the screen.
The film builds to an epic
battle scene called the
'Jihad', taken from the
Arabic word for struggle.
Mistaking 'Jihad' for 'Shihad',
the two mates decide it's
the perfect name to headline
their rock ambitions.
Fast-forward to early in the
new millennium and the
friends are now longstanding
bandmates.
Shihad have released four
critically acclaimed albums,
played to audiences around
the world, and won
influential support from
bands such as Metallica and
Faith No More.
Those hard yards earned them
the opportunity to record a
big-budget album in Los
Angeles, and the band
believed it had a good
chance of cracking the
all-important American
market.
Then 9/11 happened, changing
the course of the world —
and the band's history.
'World War Three's started!'
Toogood found himself in a
hotel room watching the
breaking news that filled
every television station.
"Tom's going, 'Turn on the
television, World War
Three's started!'" Toogood
recalled of the terrorist
attack on the Twin Towers in
New York.
He said the band soon
learned what it would mean
for their future.
As the US national discourse
descended into President
George W Bush's 'either you
are with us, or you are with
the terrorists' ultimatum,
Toogood's worst fears were
realised.
"We started realising, our
name's a bit like calling
yourself 'Death to
America'."
Having fought for 15 years
to release a record in
America, Shihad decided they
had to change their band
name.
They reintroduced themselves
as Pacifier, the title of
one of their biggest songs.
"It was tongue in cheek," he
admitted.
"But it's a terrible name
for a band. Pacifier, what
is that, a dummy?"
The group released the album
as Pacifier, but their
fanatical fan base dismissed
the band's name change as
selling out.
Confronted with an
ever-present 'Shihad' chant
at shows, the band
eventually reclaimed its
original moniker.
While Shihad stayed tight,
Toogood's marriage fell
apart. He steadied himself
with new ventures, including
a side project with a
controversy-free name: The
Adults.
At an afterparty for a
songwriting workshop, he
introduced himself to a
Sudanese student.
"Her name was Dana. She had
a headscarf on, so I thought
she might be Muslim," he
said.
"And it was one of those
moments in your life where
you just go, oh, there you
are."
Their relationship prompted
deep changes in Toogood's
life.
He had spent his music
career giving voice to
issues of identity, but he'd
never had to question his
belief system in the way his
new relationship demanded.
"I remember I said to her,
'So you're telling me that
if I want to marry you' —
which she was very taken
aback by — 'I have to
convert to Islam?' And she
went, 'Well, yeah.'
Pastry
chain Pie Face caught out on
‘halal’ porky pies
Popular Australian bakery
chain Pie Face sold
“halal-certified” pastries
that contained pork, and
cooked other pies and
sausage rolls in a manner
considered “haram” —
strictly forbidden to
Muslims — according to
several leading Islamic
authorities.
An investigation by The
Australian has revealed that
Pie Face sold pork and
fennel sausage rolls as
“halal-certified” and a
breakfast pie that contained
bacon.
A Wagyu beef pie listed as
halal in an allergen chart
sent to Pie Face outlets in
February is made with brandy
essence, which contains
small amounts of alcohol.
Other pies and sausage rolls
claimed to be halal were
baked in the same ovens as
pastries containing pork
products, which is forbidden
under Islamic dietary codes
prescribed in the Qur’an.
Pie Face is owned by
Australian petrol giant
United Petroleum, already
under fire following
revelations in The
Australian that it has been
selling E10 fuel containing
only 1 per cent ethanol or
less, rather than the 10 per
cent common in the product.
Pie Face has outlets in more
than 200 of United’s service
stations, as well as 20
shopfront locations around
the country.
Both companies are owned by
Israeli-born Melbourne
billionaires Avi Silver and
Eddie Hirsch, who debuted on
this year’s edition of The
List – Australia’s Richest
250 with a combined wealth
of $3.5bn.
There is no suggestion Mr
Silver, Mr Hirsch or other
senior executives had any
involvement in, or knowledge
of, misconduct by the
companies.
Pie Face has been slammed by
outraged Muslim customers.
One described the conduct of
both United and Pie Face as
“an abomination to all
observant Muslims”.
Sydney lawyer Stewart Levitt
of Levitt Robinson
Solicitors has alleged in a
complaint to the Australian
Competition & Consumer
Commission that the sale of
ostensibly halal pies from
United Petroleum service
stations and Pie Face
outlets amounts to
misleading and deceptive
conduct.
He said Muslims who bought
the pies in good faith would
be horrified they had
unwittingly gone against
their faith: “They will be
mortified by the knowledge
that haram (forbidden) Pie
Face pies have been sold as
halal.”
In a written statement,
United’s chief executive,
David Szymczak, admitted
that “United have recently
become aware of some errors
in the Pie Face Allergen
Chart on display which
identified product as being
halal that was not, in some
of its stores and in its
internal point of sale
programming information”.
“Upon being alerted to these
errors, these charts were
immediately removed from
stores and rectified,” he
said.
Several reputable halal
certifiers told the
Australian that if pork
products were being sold
along with halal pies and
sausage rolls, they must be
cooked in separate stoves,
kept in separate pie warmers
and be separately handled
and served with different
gloves and kitchen utensils.
That does not occur at Pie
Face outlets, which do not
have separate ovens and are
run by staff with little or
no training in halal food
preparation.
The Australian called a
dozen Pie Face outlets at
random to inquire whether
they sold halal pies. More
than half replied that all
their pies were halal. Two
were unsure. Two others
recommended the steak, bacon
and cheese pies among the
halal options they had
available.
Last week, after The
Australian posed questions
to Pie Face, the company
issued an updated baking
chart to many outlets,
effective immediately, with
strict instructions to “bake
only halal products
together” and to “bake pork
and fennel roll separately.”
At the weekend, Pie Face
removed all its signage and
kitchen equipment from one
Melbourne service station
owned by a United franchisee
who had previously
complained to the company
about selling the pastries.
When website Halal Advisor
announced Pie Face’s list of
halal pies in a Facebook
posting in March last year,
hundreds of Muslims
responded with delight.
Pie Face markets pies and
sausage rolls as halal-certified
based on certificates issued
by Sheik Moussaab Legha,
from Direct Islamic Welfare
Services in Lakemba in
Sydney’s southwest.
One certificate declares
that Pie Face Bakery
“produce and manufacture all
foods … in accordance with
Islamic guidelines and under
the supervision of Direct
Islamic Welfare Services.
The products contain halal
ingredients and comply with
sharia law, and therefore
are lawful for Muslim
consumption.”
Underneath it says: “Exempt
Non Halal Products: Every
Product Has Ham or Bacon.”
Pie Face products are
shipped frozen from central
kitchens to retail outlets,
where they are baked
“oven-fresh” on the
premises.
Pie Face told The Australian
it engaged in “extensive
training to ensure those
handling products understand
how to correctly handle
halal products”.
However, a Pie Face training
manual distributed in June
this year contains no
guidance to storage,
handling, cooking or
presentation of halal food.
The only reference to halal
food in the 250-page
document is in a Pie
Allergen Chart that ticks
“sausage roll pork and
fennel” as halal-certified.
A non-Muslim Pie Shop
franchisee told The
Australian: “We just put
them all together in the
oven because it costs us too
much time and money to do
each of them separately.”
He said he had had no
training in halal food
handling.
The Australian has spoken to
five reputable halal
certifiers, including the
peak Muslim body, the
Australian Federation of
Islamic Councils, who all
condemned any certification
that allowed such gross
cross-contamination of
halal and non-halal foods.
AFIC president Rateb Jneid,
said: “One hundred per cent,
we would not give a
certificate if there is
contamination or any working
together — any pork on the
site has to be a completely
separate site, from A to B,
to be completely separate
premises.”
Pie Face said Sheik Legha
was an experienced, highly
respected halal certifier
with a PhD in Islamic
studies. “He performs halal
certifications for a number
of large and respected food
companies, including
airlines”, Mr Szymczak said.
On his now-defunct website —
the domain name is for sale
— the sheik lists his
qualifications as a diploma
in Islamic studies and
describes himself as a
marriage celebrant and a JP.
Sheik Legha told The
Australian he was shocked to
learn that pork products had
been classified as halal by
Pie Face. “I went through
the production list item by
item — nothing was like
that.”
He said he had inspected the
central Pie Face
manufacturing sites in
Sydney and Townsville and
found them halal compliant.
When The Australian pointed
out that Pie Face pastries
are actually baked on site
in stores and service
stations around the country,
he agreed it would be a
problem if halal and non-halal
foods were cooked in the
same oven.
He said he would speak to
Pie Face urgently about the
issue.
United acquired the Pie Face
chain from receivership in
2017.
“2020 for me has been a
rollercoaster to say the
least. It started off a
great year…then COVID hit
and the year just took an
ugly turn.” Nada, Year 12
student, Melbourne
For the class of 2020, their
final year of school has
been challenging in ways
they never imagined. The
global pandemic has
disrupted their education
and preparation for final
exams and upended many of
those “rites of passage”
moments that create memories
for life.
“Year 12 is this grand
spectacle of an occasion
that all your parents and
your aunts and your uncles
and all the older students
always build up for you.
You're always told that you
live life for moments like
you'll get in year 12, you
know? Your formal, your
graduation day.” Joseph,
Year 12 student, Sydney
On Monday, students from
across Australia open up
about this year of
uncertainty and disruption.
Filmed mainly on their
smartphones, these young
Australians explain what the
year of coronavirus has been
like for them.
“It was just really
shocking, I guess that I
couldn't believe that this
would be happening in my
senior year.” Seleena, Year
12 student, Mount Isa
Some found themselves at the
epicentre of the crisis and
experienced first hand what
it means to be in a hard
lockdown.
“Everyone started to panic,
they're like, ‘What's going
on?’ …There was (sic)
officers all around the
estate blocking all the
entrances and exits of the
buildings, telling us we
can't leave.” Nada, Year 12
student, Melbourne
Others found themselves
trapped at boarding school
on the wrong side of a state
border with the prospect of
months away from their
families.
“The school was told, if you
can go home, you've got to
go home. Once that happened,
a lot of people left and we
got put into the house,
which we nicknamed the
orphanage.” Barney, Year 12
student, Bourke
Many found themselves
questioning their future
career plans as they watched
the nation fall into
recession, and saw the
impact of the pandemic on
their loved ones.
“We stopped asking questions
about ‘can I pursue my
dreams?’ and we started
asking things like, ‘is
there even a dream for me to
pursue?’” Joseph, Year 12
student, Sydney
“Both my mum and my dad have
lost their jobs to
redundancies…it was an
emotional toll because you
can see that the loss of
their jobs has impacted them
both.” Zoe, Year 12 student,
Melbourne
These eloquent young
Australians are already
reflecting on how 2020 has
shaped them.
“This year has definitely
changed me as a person. I
think this year has really
made me more driven, a bit
to reach my goals and it's
made me want to reach those
goals, and it's made me not
take things that I took for
granted.” Zoe,
Despite the mental and
emotional toll, they want
Australia to know that they
are ready to face the
future.
“It's not going to be easy.
No one said it's going to be
easy but I think that it hit
the right group of young
people, because we're
fighters.” Nada, Year 12
student, Melbourne
The ABC FOUR CORNERS The
Class of 2020, reported by
Lauren Day, went on air on
Monday 2nd November at
8.30pm.
There are 20 vulnerable
Australian women and 47
innocent Australian children
abandoned in a refugee camp
in Syria. Recent media
reports have exposed the
endless and violent raids
and mistreatment that these
fellow Australians face on a
daily basis. These women and
children have been the
victims of repeated abuse,
including in some cases
rape, exploitation, hatred,
malnutrition and severe
illness.
Recently, the camp housing
these women and children was
raided at night and they
were taken elsewhere, we
presently have no
information as to their
whereabouts.
The Australia Government has
been well informed of the
extreme level of terror that
these women and children
have had to endure. It has
become impossible to
comprehend why nothing has
been done.
We acknowledge their past
and we do not agree with
their former choices or
actions. However, we believe
that they have suffered
extensively in the Syrian
refugee camps. This torment
will not cease and may
result in further needless
and destructive loss of life
if Australia does not
intervene. It is time to
bring these Australians home
where they can be treated as
human beings and
rehabilitated.
It is heart-breaking that
the innocent children are
the first to suffer with the
majority of deaths in
refugee camps between
December 2018 and July this
year, being children under
the age of five, according
to the International Rescue
Committee.
You can sign the petition to
bring them home now
here.
AFIC is starting its
Newsletter again which will
be distributed widely.
AFIC has requested Member
Councils and Societies to
share or showcase any of the
following:
• Important projects
• Recent past events or
presently working on
including any fundraising
projects
• profiles of high achieving
young men and women (ages
from 18 to 30) including
their contact details.
The deadline for the
upcoming newsletter is 6
November 2020.
Academy Alive is
excited to announce the
birth of a new platform
that's going to provide you
with the most valuable news
today.
It's a website where you can
read life-inspiring stories,
family guides, and
motivational pieces. We aim
to make it a place of love
and positivity in this
challenging world.
Our goal is to make lives
better by sharing anything
that can fuel your heart to
help you reach your
aspirations. We believe in
the power of community, and
that is why we want to show
it through articles, videos,
and any online material that
will touch those who need it
the most.
If that sounds awesome to
you, we need a little bit of
help. We are looking for
people like you; people who
want to make the world a
better place. We need
authors, content creators,
and anyone who can add value
to other people's lives.
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.
Somali Youth For
Integrity (SYFI)
is a student-led
umbrella
organization for
Somali student
societies across the
UK, including in the
North, the Midlands
as well as London.
Founded in 2015, it
is the first
organization of its
kind. In its year of
inception, SYFI
raised over £1,000
for a mental health
hospital in
Mogadishu and has
since raised much
more for the relief
of poverty and
disaster, in
sometimes very
creative ways.
In 2017, for
example, £50,000 was
raised with the
support of Human
Appeal to provide
emergency relief to
victims of one of
the worst droughts
in Somalia’s
history.
Also in 2017,
following one of the
worst bomb attacks
in the history of
Somalia, over
£16,000 was raised
in the space of two
weeks. In 2018, SYFI
members raised
£58,000 within one
month to build a
school in the
southwestern Somali
city of Baidoa.
SYFI has also
organized Black
History Month
events, worked to
help vulnerable
youth in the UK, and
run mentorship
programmes and
workshops.
Islamic State
attacks in
Europe risk a
violent backlash
from the far
right
The attack in
Vienna this week
— where an armed
assailant killed
four people and
injured others —
was claimed by
the Islamic
State and was
one in a string
of recent
attacks in
Europe this
week, following
three other
jihadist
motivated
killings in
Paris and Nice.
The perpetrator
of the Vienna
attack was
another
frustrated
traveller: he
was convicted of
terrorism
charges last
year for
attempting to
travel to Syria
to fight for the
Islamic State.
Like previous
frustrated
travellers, he
chose to follow
the late Islamic
State leaders
Abu Bakr al
Baghdadi's call
for followers to
commit attacks
wherever they
are able.
The attacker had
complied with
court ordered
rehabilitation
programs and was
released early
from prison. The
data shows that
there is a lower
risk of
recidivism for
terrorism
offences, yet he
still went on to
commit violence.
This
demonstrates the
enduring appeal
of the jihadist
cause despite
the Islamic
State's
territorial
defeat.
But it also
points to the
potential for
reciprocal
radicalisation —
where the
jihadist threat
provokes a
far-right
backlash. This
could threaten
the cohesion of
multicultural
societies,
driving
individuals to
extreme
positions and
creating a loop
of cyclical
responsive
violence and
cumulative
extremism.
This phenomenon
of how extremist
actors or groups
respond to, and
fuel extremist
sentiment in
relation to each
other, is what
extremist
scholars refer
to as reciprocal
radicalisation
or cumulative
extremism.
STOP BEING
CHEAP & PAY YOUR
TEACHERS
By SAMIR HUSSAIN
Many Muslims
today expect
that Islamic
education should
be a community
service. It
should be
offered at the
cheapest
possible price
and the teacher
is expected to
be paid little
to nothing for
their work.
Their reward is
in the akhirah,
after all. If
they are
sincere, then
they should not
be expecting any
material benefit
from their work.
Not only is
this
hypocritical,
cruel, selfish
and downright
petty, this
attitude is
characteristic
of a trend that
has partly
defined the
decline of
Islamic
civilization.
Yes it’s
hypocritical.
The same people
who often are
not willing to
pay for
teachers,
classes and
books in the
Islamic sciences
are also usually
paying thousands
of dollars for
textbooks &
degrees at
University. You
might fool
yourself with an
economical
argument like
‘my degree pays
for itself
because it helps
me get a job’
etc but what it
really reveals
is how little
you value
Islamic
knowledge.
Islamic
knowledge pays
for your ākhirah.
It’s worth
infinitely more
than secular
education.
Yes it’s
cruel.
Qualified
teachers and
scholars need to
put a lot of
time into prep,
teaching and
research. These
people work
hard, and they
deserve to be
compensated for
it. I know too
many seekers of
knowledge who
are intelligent,
hard working and
have been
studying for
more than a
decade, but are
not able to
dedicate time to
community or
students because
they have to
work a regular
full-time job.
It’s to the
point that
senior seekers
of knowledge
often remind the
new ones not to
depend on their
knowledge as a
form of
livelihood. Why?
Because it’s
either a dark
path of bad
intentions if
you have to sell
your sincerity
and what is
right for a
higher wage, or
slaving away in
underpaid masjid
Imam or teaching
positions where
you are expected
to work for
peanuts. Still
don’t want to
pay for teachers
and courses?
Don’t expect the
teachers to have
time for you
either.
This also
affects the
books and
translations
that some
seekers of
knowledge and
budding scholars
are producing
for their fellow
Muslims. I can
understand if
you’re willing
to cut corners
for $200
academic books
and journals
from Oxford or
Routledge where
the academic
authors are
working salaried
academic jobs
anyways. But you
don’t want to
pay a meagre $30
to an
independent,
full-time
translator or
author who spent
months or years
working on it?
That’s not
cheap, that’s a
lack of care and
mercy for your
fellow Muslim,
let alone adab
for someone
senior to you in
religion.
Yes it’s
selfish. You
might think I’m
saying this
because I’m a
seeker of
knowledge and
teacher myself.
I also charge
for teaching the
Islamic
sciences. So did
I just write
this to justify
myself charging
money for
teaching?
No. I’m actually
saying this from
my own
experience of
paying for the
vast majority of
my Islamic
education. I
paid most of my
teachers.
Sometimes I paid
more than they
asked. Sometimes
they asked me
for an advance
because of some
family issue and
I complied. This
was not only to
gain leverage
and win more
personal time
with the
teacher, which
was a very
advantageous
side effect to
be honest. I
knew my teachers
had families and
wanted to be
financially
independent and
comfortable just
like anyone
else. If you
don’t have the
decency to think
about others
like that,
especially
righteous people
dedicating their
lives to Islamic
knowledge, then
you need to
check yourself.
Yes it’s
petty. Okay
so some Muslim
speakers charge
exorbitant fees
for speaking
engagements.
Does that mean
that the
majority of
seekers of
knowledge and
scholars should
suffer? In fact
the reason why
these speakers
can charge so
much is because
there is demand.
You’re willing
to pay a couple
of thousand
dollars for a
one hour lecture
or a khutbah but
not willing to
pay for full
courses or
living wages for
proper teachers?
This a symptom
of the same
disease, a lack
of understanding
of the value of
proper Islamic
knowledge.
People complain
about these
speakers but
then they still
pay them and
bring them in.
Why? Because
they’re more
looking out for
the prestige and
popularity of
their
institution or
masjid. You’re
willing to pay
an hour for a
feel-good
celebrity da’wah
lecture but not
a ‘boring’ class
with a
little-known
teacher that
requires you to
put in work?
Seriously?
Lastly, it’s
important to
recognize how
this trend
characterized
the decline of
quality and
quantity of
intellectuals
and scholarship
in the Islamic
sciences.
In early Islamic
history (right
from the time of
the Companions
themselves) you
see plenty of
examples of
people being
paid to teach
Qur’an and then
eventually
Hadith.
Governors and
rulers would
establish
stipends & open
universities so
that scholars
had relatively
decent salaries
and stability,
which left them
free to pursue
travel for
studying,
research &
teaching. There
were plenty of
private
endowment
contracts
supporting
teachers and
scholars too.
Although these
stipends or
wages were not
always glamorous
– and became
even less so
over the
centuries – they
showed that
Muslims and
their societies
understood the
value of Islamic
knowledge to
some extent. The
understood that
students and
teachers needed
some sort of
financial
freedom to
perform their
necessary
function in
society.
Not only this,
but study of the
Islamic sciences
and scholarship
was also a
gateway into the
bureaucracy. In
early Ottoman
History the
viziers were
often graduates
from twenty-year
long seminary
programs. Judges
were senior
scholars in
their level of
Islamic study
and knowledge.
With the advent
of secularism
and colonialism
in the Muslim
world, these
support systems
were dismantled
either by
colonial powers
or secular
‘Muslims’
themselves. The
path to the
bureaucracy
transformed from
an education in
the Islamic
sciences to one
in the European
languages or
schools. Wages
for teachers and
scholars in the
Islamic sciences
had already been
dwindling for
centuries. But
now the systems
by which these
scholars would
be employed or
supported were
almost
completely taken
apart.
As the earning
potential and
social prestige
of being a
student and
teacher in the
Islamic sciences
has gone from
decline to
inadequacy. Not
only do students
and scholars
struggle to get
by – they have
families like
anyone else –
but there has
been a decline
in the quality
of Islamic
research &
scholarship.
Most Muslims
today who study
get into it
because of their
sincerity, but
we are in need
of more than
sincerity these
days. We need
intelligent
scholars working
hard at
intensive
research
projects. We
need brains and
funding.
Is it any
surprise that
academics from
Western
universities
have been
responsible for
some of the best
scholarship in
the Islamic
sciences that
Muslims have
seen in
centuries? It’s
not just the
updated research
methodology,
it’s the
funding,
endowments and
generosity of
people. Where
Muslims fail to
support their
intellectuals,
Allah will
maintain His
religion without
them.
This has also
affected the
production and
printing of
literature.
Western
universities
have accumulated
tons of our
manuscripts. Yes
it was partly
due to
Orientalist
looting Muslim
lands, but it
was also because
libraries were
falling into
disrepair
because of a
lack of funding
and care.
Sometimes these
books were being
sold to
Orientalist
collectors
because of how
impoverished the
seminary or
library was.
By now I’ve read
more than a few
books detailing
this history.
And when I see
Muslims being
cheap with
regards to
Islamic
knowledge it
makes me angrier
than usual
because its the
same mentality
in a new
manifestation.
In recent
history –
despite their
political
motivations –
what has made
countries like
KSA and Turkey
so influential
not just
politically but
in the
dissemination of
Islamic
knowledge is the
amount of money
they have put
into students,
teachers and
scholars of the
Islamic
sciences. But in
the West or
where government
support doesn’t
exist, the
student must be
willing to take
on the
responsibility
of paying for
their education
if they want to
have a rich &
quality
education with
qualified
Islamic
scholarship.
Stop complaining
about it.
If you refuse
except to have
free – or cheap
– Islamic
education and
are willing to
pirate PDFs of
Islamic books by
struggling
authors that are
decently priced
– then you are a
continuation of
the problem that
has been
plaguing the
Muslim world for
centuries. If
you want to
continue doing
it, then at
least have the
decency and
honesty to admit
that you don’t
value Islamic
knowledge and
scholarship to
the level you
claim to. If you
are sincere but
you want to
bargain and be
cheap about it,
then save it for
Walmart or the
local bazaar.
Tune in for
weekly tafseer lessons every
Wednesday at 7.30PM 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.
France's 'crisis' with Islam: A legacy of
200 years of colonial brutality
France is in crisis.
Official and unofficial Christian French
radical extremism, legitimising itself
under the umbrella of what the French
ostentatiously call laicité, continues
to increase its attacks on French and
non-French Muslims.
The Collectif contre l’islamophobie en
France (CCIF) listed 1,043 Islamophobic
incidents that occurred in 2019 (a 77
percent increase since 2017) - 68
physical attacks (6.5 percent), 618
incidents of discrimination (59.3
percent), 210 incidents of hate speech
and incitement to racial hatred (20.1
percent), 93 incidents of defamation
(8.9 percent), 22 incidents of vandalism
of Muslim sacred places (2.1 percent),
and 32 incidents of discrimination
linked to the fight against terrorism
(3.1 percent).
French Christian and so-called "secular"
hatred of Muslims is part of everyday
speech by the French government, the
pundits, and the media.
In fact, the normalisation of hate
speech against Muslims not only
legitimises the institutionalised
discrimination to which French Muslims
are subjected, but also incites violence
against them inside and outside France,
including the shootings at the mosque of
Brest and the targeting of its popular
imam Rachid Eljay in June 2019 and the
attack on the mosque of Bayonne in
October 2019 that wounded four.
Outside France, the terrorist who
committed the 2019 massacre at the
Christchurch mosques in New Zealand,
killing 51 Muslim worshippers and
wounding 49, cited the murderous
theories of the Islamophobic French
thinker Renaud Camus as influencing his
actions.
In October 2019, French President
Emmanuel Macron (whose first name is the
name which the angel Gabriel gave to
Jesus in the Gospels, meaning "God is
with us") and his then Interior Minister
Christophe Castaner (also named after
Christ himself) connected terrorism in
France to any signs of French Muslims'
faith and culture, including having a
beard, praying five times a day, eating
halal food, etc.
It is purely coincidental that the
president and his interior minister are
named after Jesus Christ, which should
not implicate all those named after
Jesus with having a crisis with "Islam",
but rather only some of them who express
anti-Muslim "secular" hatred.
'Liberating' Islam
Last week, Macron declared that "Islam
is a religion that is in crisis all over
the world today, we are not just seeing
this in our country". He added that he
is seeking to "liberate" Islam in France
from foreign influences by improving
oversight of mosque financing.
But Macron is not the first French ruler
who wanted to "liberate" Islam.
This is an old French "secular"
tradition. When Napoleon Bonaparte
invaded Egypt and Palestine in 1798, his
clever plan was to lie to the Egyptians
by announcing that he and his army were
"faithful Muslims" and that they came to
liberate Muslims and Islam from the
tyranny of the Mamluks.
October Is Islamic History And Heritage
Month In Canada!
Islamic History
Month aims to celebrate, inform,
educate, and share with fellow
Canadians, the rich Muslim
heritage and contributions to
society that have greatly
benefited human progress.
Building bridges with
understanding is another major
goal of Islamic History Month
Canada.
Amina has never been
comfortable in the
spotlight.
She is happy just hanging
out with her best friend,
Soojin.
Except now that she’s in
middle school everything
feels different.
Soojin is suddenly hanging
out with Emily, one of the
“cool” girls in the class,
and even talking about
changing her name to
something more “American.”
Does Amina need to start
changing too? Or hiding who
she is to fit in?
While Amina grapples with
these questions, she is
devastated when her local
mosque is vandalized.
[KB SAYS] Thank you to all those of you who have come
to this column of mine over the years. I will
miss not sharing with you my favourite recipes
each week. Happy cooking and baking!
Soft Chocolate Bundt Cake
by Monowara Mohammad Bhamjee
INGREDIENTS & METHOD
Ingredients:
1) 2 cups self-raising flour
2) 1 level tsp salt
3) 1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
4) 2 level tsp baking powder
5) 2 cups castor sugar
6) 4 heaped Tablespoons Cocoa
7) ½ cup boiling water
8) 1 cup buttermilk
9) 2 Tblsp plain yoghurt
10) ½ cup oil
11) 2 tsp vanilla essence
12) 4 jumbo eggs (separated)
Method
Beat egg whites until
stiff but not dry. (Keep aside
Sift no's 1.2. 3. 4 & 5 (keep
aside)
Mix no's 6 & 7 until the cocoa dissolve.
Then add no's 8. 9. 10 & 11
Mix well then add in the egg yolks, beat well and add it to
the dry ingredients.
Fold the egg whites into tho mixture with a spatula very
gently
Leave mixture to stand in bowl for 10 minutes while setting
the oven.
Set oven to 180°C
Pour into a well prepared greased Bundt pan then let the
mixture stand for about about 2 minutes.
Place pan in the centre of the oven. Or where your cakes
normally bakes best.
Bake the cake for +- 40 minutes or until the skewer comes
out clean
Remove from the oven and let it cool a bit before turning
the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Make a chocolate ganache by melting 1 big slab of (150g)
Cadbury plain or whole nut chocolate
Add +-1 small can of Nestle
cream that was beaten a bit to soften Mix to a thick ganache
Pour over cooled cake and decorate with milky bar curls
Do you have a recipe to share with CCN
readers?
Send in your favourite recipe to me at
admin@ccnonline.com.au and be my "guest chef" for the week.
The death
of the Prophet caused an
emotional outpouring in the
streets of Medina.
The
Muslims had a very difficult
time dealing with the fact
that their prophet was no
longer with them, with some
initially refusing to
believe the news.
But the
death of Muhammad also
brought questions of
leadership to Medina.
For over
twenty years, Muhammad had
led the Muslim community
both politically and
spiritually.
His
direct connection with God
meant that society was
guided by divine power in
accordance with a divine
plan.
Now that
that connection was no more,
what would happen to the
society that Muhammad had
established?
Specifically, who would lead
the Muslim community after
the death of the Prophet?
Before
Muhammad was even buried, a
group of leading figures
from among the Meccan
emigrants and the people of
Medina gathered to answer
the question of leadership.
Disagreements between the
groups about who should be
given authority over the
young Muslim state could
threaten to divide the
community indefinitely.
There may
have even been some
proposals for a twostate
solution—one led by a
Medinese and one by a Meccan.
In the
end, ‘Umar nominated Abu
Bakr to be the political
leader of a unified Muslim
state based in Medina.
Abu Bakr
was the natural choice.
After
Khadijah, he was the first
person to accept Muhammad as
a prophet and convert to the
new religion.
He had
been with Muhammad during
his flight from Mecca.
He was
even appointed by Muhammad
to lead the prayers in the
Prophet’s
Mosque in
the final days of his life.
Yes, he
was from the people of
Mecca, but no one—neither
the Muhajirun nor the Ansar—could
dispute his qualifications.
Ahmad Totonji’s 35
Principles for Success in
Life and Work
4 Improving
and Developing Volunteer
Work
continued from last week's CCN.....
By
definition, progress is not
underway when the situation
yesterday was better than
the situation today.
Two days in a row without
improvement is a sign of
being cheated!
This is not a surprise, for
progress can certainly be
accomplished through
planning, preparation,
innovation,
self-improvement,
motivation, and seeking the
blessing of our supportive
Creator.
Believers are constant
givers, like the sun,
renewing their contributions
every morning.
To get onto the path of
success, believers must
learn and perfect the best
ways to benefit from the
resources available and
their current circumstances.
This is achieved through
proper allocation of
resources; the correct
investment of available
means; avoidance of waste
and negligence; a constant
search for alternatives for
each circumstance we face; a
focus on winning; and the
preparation of alternative
plans in case our original
plan fails.
Achieving the highest levels
of success in Islamic work
is not easy, but nor is it
impossible, it is directly
related to how we conduct
our work.
What is needed first and
foremost is harnessing the
experience of all those who
possess it, in all fields
and specialties. We also
need to train the workers,
whether they are volunteers
or full-time employees.
Every believer must
appreciate and be thankful
to everyone who contributes
for the sake of Allah,
whether it is an individual
contribution or a group
contribution.
Everything we do for the
sake of Allah may appear
small or insignificant, but
properly recognizing
everyone’s contribution will
promote more contributions
of effort.
Investing in human resources
is one of the priorities of
every believer, so we must
pay attention to developing
the knowledge and skills of
those we are dealing with.
We should never restrict
ourselves to the surface
level but rather, delve deep
and move forward, for human
resources development is an
essential component of
success.
As believers we must work
diligently and
professionally to develop
our cadres and empower our
organizations (which must be
provided with as much
experienced personnel as
possible).
This will allow them to
engage in projects that
succeed on the basis of
scientific research, and in
this way we may achieve the
truly essential goals of the
community of believers.
Volunteer work is not
limited to speeches and
advice; there must also be
an expenditure of effort and
a great deal of work.
All work that is done must
be followed up in the field
and be provided with
oversight from A to Z.
We should not limit our
oversight to reports and
phone calls, proper
oversight is essential for
volunteer work to be
conducted properly and at
the foremost levels of speed
and accuracy.
Volunteer work is not based
on one mode of activity; it
is a multidimensional and
multi-modal effort that
conforms to the nature of
each project and its
particular needs.
The work and the stages
involved must be studied
thoroughly; practices must
be analysed carefully; and
finally, the results must be
analysed objectively and
professionally. By doing so,
work is corrected and the
results are reviewed in a
way that achieves the
greatest benefit and
provides the best lessons
for future work.
We must always expand our
horizons and continue to
overcome obstacles and
achieve what is best.
Islamic work today is in
great need of meticulous
efforts that will help us to
achieve our goals
successfully.
Volunteer work must not be
an emotional or ad hoc
effort: it must be based on
good planning, proper
organization, a focus on
orderliness, and proper
follow-up.
It is a complex effort that
is based on proper planning,
groundwork prepared
beforehand, and creativity
in execution, it is not at
all a random activity.
In this regard, we must rely
on the science of management
as a guide, along with other
sciences.
We can then properly prepare
the cadres of believers and
the special few who are
working in the Islamic
arenas (making sure that
every worker has been
prepared intellectually and
practically for the work).
Management science is
extremely important for
voluntary work – it is one
of the essential elements
for achieving integration
between the various elements
of our work and the variety
of skills available, which
enables us to ultimately
achieve our goals..
Your expert
in Recruitment and
Selection, with a speciation
in Government recruitment. I
will soon be launching a
specialised service in Sha
Allah, with a focus on
delivering a 1:1 service
relating to CV writing and
editing, cover letter and/or
selection criteria writing
and editing, interview
coaching and mock sessions
and other tips and traps.
My prices
will differ depending on
your needs and also your
experience. Prices will
start at around $50 for a CV
only for a Graduate Role, to
a maximum of $500 for a full
package (CV, cover letter,
selection criteria and
interview coaching etc) if
you’re applying for a more
senior role.
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.
Assalam-o-Alaikum my Dear
respected brothers and
sisters.
What if there was an
investment opportunity that
provided you with Heavenly
Returns On your Investment (HROI)?
In under a minute, I share
what you stand to gain.
Watch it, then click through
to discover all the HROI
options available to you.
Jazakallah Khair Imam Uzair Akbar
THE PROJECT
A once in a lifetime
opportunity to completely
transform and renovate the
Mother Mosque 'Holland Park
Mosque'
The new transformed mosque
will feature:
• Additional
basement level • Increased praying capacity
for men • Complete new area for
women doubling the existing
praying capacity • New elevator
• Multi functional rooms • New facilities for
students education • New
toilets & wudhu area
• Modern fittings and
fixtures, facilities, and
security systems
Follow the links to
explore more and INVEST.
Click the button
Southport Mosque Gold Coast
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..
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.
France's 'crisis' with Islam: A legacy of
200 years of colonial brutality
October Is Islamic History And Heritage
Month In Canada!
post comments on
our Wall