Several hundred men, women and children attended the inaugural Symposium and Expo on Queensland Muslims at the Mercure Hotel, Brisbane on Saturday 31 March.
The expo boasted representation from some forty organizations ranging from government to non-profit making and community groups.
The Symposium kicked off with a performance of synchronized Indonesian styled dancing by the Saman Dance Troupe - a group of 15 young local girls whose ability to perform in intricate unison had the audience enthralled. This was followed with a taekwando demonstration by the the multi-award winning Kuraby-based team of young boys and girls from the
Rami Maani stable.
The Symposium Master of Ceremony was Ms Nora Amath-Rane and the keynote address was delivered by Dr. Mohamed Abdalla who spoke on the Muslim contribution to Western civilization. Other speakers included Dr. Mohammed Hanief Khatree of MBN, Mr. Bashir Ebrahim of Guide Dogs Queensland, Mr. Faisal Hatia of Hatia Property Corporation, Ms Javed Afroz Khan of IWAQ, Ms. Aisha Dennis of Harmony House, Mr. Sultan Deen of Rotary, Mr. Oscar Akbar of the Islamic Rugby League and Ms. Yasmin Khan of Icare.
Crescents of Brisbane Inc. took the occasion to formally present a cheque of $10 500 to Ms Sue Esposito, Principal of the Kuraby Special School, and another of $49 000 to the CEO of The Leukaemia
Foundation, Mr. Peter Johnstone.
Two panel discussions followed later in the day. Facilitated by Dr. Zlatko Skrbis of the University of Queensland, the first of them discussed the implementation of social participation. The Panel was made up of:
Mr. Steve Maguire (Director: Multicultural Affairs Qld) Ms. Susan Booth (Anti-Discrimination Commissioner) Cr. Helen Abrahams (Councillor for Dutton Park) Mr. Suliman Sabdia (President: Islamic Council of Queensland Inc.) The Hon Gary Hardgrave MP (Member for Moreton)
The youth panel tackled the challenges facing the next generation of Muslims in Queensland and comprised some of Queensland brightest young men and women:
Mr. Umar Batchelor
Mr. Ahmad Ghanem
Ms. Maryam Yousufzai
Mr. Owais Gurdezi
Ms. Salam El-Merebi
CCN will post a photo gallery of images of the day in next week's issue.
Queensland Roars Against Racism
Supersport United's Stanley Matthews, Siboniso Gaxa and Khulu Sibiya, Premier Peter Beattie, Supersport keeper Andre Arendse and Roar chairman John Ribot at the announcement of the feature match.
The Queensland Roar Against Racism campaign will receive a high profile boost when local heroes Queensland Roar kick-off against South African Premier League team Supersport United in a special anti-racism fundraiser at Suncorp Stadium on July 1.
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie announced the feature match between Queensland Roar and the Pretorian Premier League side Supersport United during an official Queensland Government reception in Johannesburg on 21 March.
As part of the launch of Queensland's newest anti-racism campaign, the Queensland Government invited Supersport United to visit the state to play a match in the spirit of global harmony.
This announcement follows on from the recent launch on 22 February of a new three-year partnership between Multicultural Affairs Queensland and the Queensland Roar FC to deliver anti-racism campaign, 'Queensland Roars Against Racism' using a variety of special events during the course of the year and beyond to promote community harmony.
Mr Beattie said the State Government would provide $50,000 sponsorship for the match with all profits raised going to support the Queensland Roar Against Racism campaign.
“As part of the launch of Queensland’s newest anti-racism campaign, we invited Supersport United to visit our state to play a match in the spirit of global harmony,” Mr Beattie told guests at the Queensland Government reception.
“I am confident that thousands of football mad Queenslanders will flock to Suncorp Stadium to show their support for this initiative. Queensland Roar has a real international flavour about it with players from Korea, Brazil, Germany and Scotland in their present team.
“The world game has an amazing capacity to bridge racial and ethnic divides and our Queensland Roar players are excellent advocates and good role models for ethnic diversity,” Mr Beattie said.
Queensland Roar Chairman John Ribot, who joined Supersport United players and officials in Johannesburg for the announcement, said it was a bonus home game for local football fans.
“The winter kick-off against a class South African team will give our football starved fans a real excuse to turn out in force for this match,” Mr Ribot said.
“Supersport United’s major sponsor M Net Television will enable Supersport’s supporters to share the experience in South Africa.
“Queensland Roar Against Racism is a great initiative and one our club is delighted to be involved with.
“Queensland Roar’s management, staff , coach Frank Farina and his players will work with Multicultural Affairs Queensland to send positive, anti-racism messages to footballers, school children and the community in general.
“The message will be that we’re all part of the one community and are all valued, irrespective of where we come from,” Mr Ribot said.
Mr Beattie said Queensland was keen to build relationships with South African teams in advance of the World Cup in 2010, and share knowledge of each others’ approaches to combating racism.
“I’m confident this ‘friendly’ between Queensland Roar and Supersport United will be played with the competiveness and intensity that marks all sporting contests between our sports loving countries,” Mr Beattie said.
“It promises to be an exciting match that will stimulate great interest in both Australia and South Africa.”
Born in 1997, Supersport United FC have been consistent performers in the South African Premier Soccer League and in only their second year of inception took out the Bob Save Superbowl. While the name Supersport United came into play in 1997, the club has a rich and long history, previously known as Pretoria City. While the club finished 8th in their 16 team competition last season, this year they are proving contenders for the Championship currently in 4th and pressing forward.
On the Road to Wedded Bliss.....
Saffiyah, daughter of Ismail and NaseemaCajee, married Tariq, son of Reza and Zaida Ismail yesterday.
The marriage ceremony took place yesterday (Saturday, 31 March) at the Kuraby Mosque and the reception at the Hope Island Golf Resort.
The CCN Centre Link
Chief Executive Officer of the Islamic Council of Victoria ("ICV"):
- RARE OPPORTUNITY
- DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT
- MAKE A DIFFERENCE
The ICV invites applications from suitably qualified candidates to fill the role of Chief Executive Officer ("CEO").
Based in Melbourne, the ICV represents Victoria’s more than 90,000 Muslims, through its 28 member organisations located throughout metropolitan Melbourne and rural Victoria. The ICV's vision is to build a better community for all Australians through the empowerment of Muslims in Victoria. The CEO will report directly to the ICV's board.
The ICV is seeking an outstanding candidate to:
- lead, manage and supervise all the activities and resources of the ICV.
- champion the process of identifying and guiding ICV's board towards crystallising a high-quality vision for the ICV that recognises present, emerging and envisaged stakeholders, opportunities and threats.
- institutionalise this vision by developing and successfully implementing robust and effective policies, processes and structures.
- provide leadership to all units of the ICV and champion the transformation of the ICV organisational culture to that compatible with the vision.
For a more detailed position description click here.
To apply please send your resume to either (1) the following address: Islamic Council of Victoria PO Box 14156 Melbourne Victoria 8001 Australia; or (2) by e-mail to: admin@icv.org.au.
CCN makes dua that all goes well for Shaheena Chothia who is in hospital recovering from a kidney transplant. After a four year wait, Shaheena received the news this week that a suitable donor had been found.
The Holy Mosque
For a 360 degree bird's eye view of the Holy Mosque in Mecca click and run.
On Your Mark and Get Set! CresWalk2007 is around the corner
CresWalk2007 is set down to take place on Sunday 20 May 2007 at Orleigh Park, West End.
There are three levels of sponsorship for this year's walk which promises to be bigger and better than ever.
What you won't get at this year's CresWalk is this sort of fare!.
International Essay Contest for Young People
Young people from around the world are invited to enter the 2007 International Essay Contest. This annual contest is a joint UNESCO-Goi Peace Foundation program.
The theme for this year's contest is "The role of media and information and communication technologies in building a peaceful world."
The deadline for entry is June 30, 2007.
First prize winners will receive a cash award and a trip to Japan.
CAIRO — Showing solidarity with the Muslim principal, Christian students in an Egyptian secondary girls school and their parents rushed to defend wearing headscarves in class, insisting they were not coerced but were simply following in the footsteps of Virgin Mary.
"All Christian girls in the school wear headscarves out of their own volition," Merriam Nabil, a student at Al-Ayyat Technical School in the Giza governorate, told IslamOnline.net.
"We have decided to stand by our principal to demonstrate to all that he did not force us to don the headscarf."
A state-owned magazine had reported that the entire 2,700 students of the school, including 55 Christians, cover their hair with white headscarves.
It claimed that the school's principal, Magdy Fikri, coerced the Christian girls into putting on the Muslim head cover.
Accordingly, he was rebuked by the Ministry of Education and transferred along with two teachers from the school.
"We received complaints from some parents and girl students, who said that the principal forced Muslim and Christian girls to wear hijab," Ministry of Education Undersecretary Hussein el-Sheikh told IOL.
Fikri refuses to swallow claims that complaints had been lodged with the ministry from his students.
"I can never believe that a student or one of my Christian colleagues is behind these alleged complaints," he said.
"I have known them for years, they can never behave like this. We, Muslims and Christians, are one and do not bear grudges for one another."
Minister of Education Yousri el-Gamal only backed down after the Christian girls joined hands with their Muslim colleagues in defending their principal.
"The minister was moved by the Muslim-Christian solidarity in the case," el-Sheikh said.
Virgin Mary
Merriam Nabil has been wearing a headscarf since the preliminary grade.
"We wear the headscarves inside and outside the school just like our mothers," said the Christian student.
"I having been covering my hair since the preliminary school. We don't feel offended if we are likened to our Muslim peers."
The disciplinary action against Fikri drew fire from parents of the Christian students and Christian school teachers alike.
The school's deputy principal, Magdy Rasmi, a Christian, defended his colleague.
"Fikri is one of the best people I know," he told IOL. "Injustice has been done to him and we must stand by him."
Lotfi Adly, the father of a Christian student, agreed.
"If our daughters had been really forced to wear hijab, we would have never kept our mouths shut," he told IOL.
"But we are convinced that there is nothing wrong with the headscarf."
The Christian father said the overwhelming majority of Egyptians are devout and conservative.
"Do you think I would be happy seeing my kid's hair uncovered?"
Said Ghobriyal, another father, insisted that the headscarf is all about chastity.
"It really unnerves me to see women on the streets with uncovered hair."
The mother of Fayza Awad, a Christian student, asserted that herself and her daughter were modeling themselves after Virgin Marry.
"I wear a headscarf because Virgin Mary covered her hair. This is all about respect and there is no compulsion."
Dr Mustafa Ceric (pronounced "tseritch") holds the highest position of Islamic leadership in three European states and is one of the most senior religious leaders in Europe.
In his first public appearance in Australia recently he enthralled his Sydney audiences for three hours at a stretch with his wit, charm and knowledge. In his repertoire of stories and jokes he tells the one about Bosnian villagers' fixation with beards.
"When the Arab mujahideen came to this village, they told the men to all grow beards. Some of the elders at the jami (mosque) said: 'Why should we grow beards?'
"Then there was an argument and they called me to resolve it. I could not believe it. We had the Serbs firing rockets at us and these men are arguing about beards? I said to them: 'Forget about the hair on your chins. I would be happy if you just kept your head on your shoulders!"'
Irfan Yusuf wrote on his encounter with the Mufti that Dr. Ceric was quiet confident that Islam will survive in the West, notwithstanding Muslims. "God promises He will protect Islam. And I believe him. If stupid words and actions of Muslims themselves cannot destroy Islam, what hope do non-Muslims have?"
Dr. Ceric, 50, is the Reis-ul-Ulama President of the Council of Ulama in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He graduated from an Islamic school in Sarajevo and received a scholarship to Al-Azhar University in Cairo. After his schooling there, he returned to his native Bosnia, where he became an Imam.
In 1981, he accepted the position of Imam at the Islamic Cultural Centre and settled in the US for several years.
He learned English and earned a PhD at the University of Chicago in Islamic Theology. When he finished his studies, he returned to his homeland, left the ICC and became Imam in a learning centre in Zagreb in 1987.
The indefatigable Dr. Ceric made a flying visit to Brisbane's Rochedale Mosque in Logan Road recently where he led the prayer on the foundation of the new Mosque being built there.
Years ago, footage emerged from a remote village in India. The video shows a young girl receiving surgery to separate her fingers, which were badly burned and fused together. Why did this operation make headlines around the world? The surgery was performed by a 7-year-old boy named Akrit Jaswal.
Now 13 years old, Akrit has an IQ of 146 and is considered the smartest person his age in India—a country of more than a billion people. Before Akrit could even speak, his parents say they knew he was special.
"He learned very fast," says Raksha, Akrit's mother. "After learning the alphabet, we started to teach him joining of words, and he started writing as well. He was two."
At an age when most children are learning their ABCs, Akrit was reading Shakespeare and assembling a library of medical textbooks. When he was 5 years old, he enrolled in school. One year later, Akrit was teaching English and math classes.
Akrit developed a passion for science and anatomy at an early age. Doctors at local hospitals took notice and started allowing him to observe surgeries when he was 6 years old. Inspired by what he saw, Akrit read everything he could on the topic. When an impoverished family heard about his amazing abilities, they asked if he would operate on their daughter for free. Her surgery was a success.
There will be an Islamic Book Exhibition at the Darra Mosque (219 Douglas Street, Oxley) from April 6th to April 16th. During the Public Holidays and weekends the exhibition will remain open between 10am – 8pm and on weekdays from 11am – 7.30pm.
NEW STOCK ARRIVED: Colour Coded Qur’aan, Men’s clothing – Kufi, Thaub, Jubba, Khutra, Women’s clothing – scarves, abayas, jawantas, Children’s clothing (boys and girls), DVDs, Children’s Books, Cartoons, Animated Movies and much more.
For further information call 07 38797349 or Fuwaad Mohammed on 0401 819 887.
Muslim Employment Project
Back Row: Sandra Arrold ( Director - Regional Services [South East Queensland] Employment and Indigenous Initiatives, Department of Employment and Industrial Relations, Queensland Government), Michael Choi MP (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Environment and Multiculturalism – Queensland Parliament), Abdullah Ibrahim (Muslim Employment Project worker), Garry Fenlon MP (Parliamentary Secretary to the minister for State Development, Employment and Industrial Relations and State Minister for Greenslopes – Queensland Parliament)
Front Row: Dr Adil Noor, Dr Thu Nguen- Hoan (Assistant Secretary Multicultural Affairs Branch, Department of Immigration and Citizenship – Australian Government), Galila Abdalsalam (Director Islamic Women’s Association of Queensland), Sushil Sami (Muslim Employment Project worker)
The official launch of the Muslim Employment Project took place during the week in Cresmead.
The Government and community groups have combined to employ two specialised project officers, Mr. Abdullah Ibrahim and Ms. Sushil Sami, to help jobseekers from the Muslim community overcome employment barriers and increase their involvement in Queensland’s workforce.
Both are working out of Logan based ACCES Services Inc, providing support, professional development, supervision and training to jobseekers from the Muslim community.
They will identify the employment needs of up to 80 disadvantaged jobseekers and help them access employment related training and assistance.
Mr Ibrahim and Ms Sami will help link unemployed Muslim people with work and educate, train and raise awareness among employment service providers about the specific needs of workers.
The $146 000 Muslim Labour Market Participation Project has been funded from the Queensland Government’s Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative with $150 000 contributed over two years by the Australian Government’s Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs.
The Hon. Michael Choi, MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Environment and Multiculturalism as well as Dr. Thu Nguyen-Hoan PSM, Assistant Secretary, Department of Immigration and Citizenship
were on hand to launch the project.
The project Workers are based at ACCES Services INC’s Woodridge office at 2/4 Carmody Street, Logan Central. For clients convenience, ACCES Services INC also provides outreach posts around Brisbane, Inala, Ipswich, Gold Coast and Beaudesert. Phone : 38089299
Crescents of Brisbane Team Members:
Bilkish Omar, Safia Casoojee and
Zubeida Abrahams
A word from this week's sponsor.......
PAID ADVERTISEMENT
The CCN Chuckle
A couple of young boys were fishing at their special pond off the beaten track. All of a sudden, the Game Warden jumped out of the bushes. Immediately, one of the boys threw his rod down and started running through the woods like a bat out of hell.
The Game Warden was hot on his heels. After about a half mile, the young man stopped and stooped over with his hands on his thighs to catch his breath, so the Game Warden finally caught up to him. "Let's see yer fishin' license, Boy!" the Warden gasped.
With that, the boy pulled out his wallet and gave the Game Warden a valid fishing license. "Well, son," said the Game Warden, "you must be about as dumb as a box of rocks! You don't have to run from me if you have a valid license!" "Yes, sir," replied the young guy, "but my friend back there, well, he don't have one."
The Inbox
Salaams
I am from Gold Coast but I know of a new daycare/learning centre that just opened in the Underwood area. Two Rane sisters, Naylah and Nardia, are the founders.
The learning centre is called the Young Academics and it caters for small kids as well as preschool children. They are different form the normal daycares as they combine education and learning in their daily activities.
The phone number is 38411542 or mob 0410421366. Also you can email them at youngacademics@bigpond.com.
I hope this will help sister Nafeza.
Amra Zlatic-dhedhi
Dear Crescents Team,
Wow! Congratulations.
What a successful fundraiser. You all look fantastic and look like you had a wonderful time. It is great to see people enjoying participating in the World's Greatest Shave. I think next year we may need to send you additional hairspray and display materials for all those that attended.
We are all so impressed with your efforts.
Thank you for all your support for the Leukaemia Foundation.
Regards
Inga Hendy
Regional Community Fundraiser
Greater Brisbane South
Leukaemia Foundation of Queensland
Dear Editor
I lost a bracelet at Nasreen and Idrees's wedding reception at the Hilton. If any of your CCN readers picked it up or saw it, could you please contact me at amzy_k@hotmail.com?
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Disclaimer
Articles and opinions appearing in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Crescents of Brisbane team, CCN, its Editor or its Sponsors, particularly if they eventually turn out to be libelous, 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 either CCN or Crescents of Brisbane Inc.
