The
Crescents of Brisbane and Chinese and Kuraby Lions Fund
Raising Dinner for the Kuraby Special School Bike Track
Appeal turned out not only to be an entertaining evening
but ended up exceeding even the wildest of expectations
of the organizers for the amount of money they hoped to
raise on the night.
There was a staggering
number of donations from a number of Muslim
organizations, businesses and individuals and the target
of $20 000 was well within reach before the night was
out.
Crescents of Brisbane
Team member, young Zaheer Suleman, co-hosted the
night with the delightful Lions Miss Personality Quest
Candidate Fiona Qiu-Yue Chen who delivered a
stirring rendition of the National Anthem to kick off
the nights packed programme.
Congenitally blind
Gerrard Gosens was the keynote speaker on the night,
drawing gasps of amazement at the number and extent of
his achievements, not least of which included climbs to
base three of Mt. Everest, a myriad of ultra-marathon
runs, surfing and airplane flying.
As their gesture of
appreciation, the children of the school made up
specially prepared table gifts for each of the 180
guests who included local political candidates and
sitting members (for whom the night had all the theatre
and drama of the last supper); Chinese Consul General
Ren Gongping and Vice Consul Zhang Qing and
members of the Chinese communities; members of the
African communities including Mr. Bobby Whitfield,
the President of the African Council of Queensland; and
a wonderful turnout from our local Muslim community.
Ceri McCoy and
Fred Graham complimented the international flavour
of the night with Irish and other national music on
their fiddles, jigs and reels.
Mr. Faisal Hatia,
who was the main sponsor of evening, was awarded a
special certificate of appreciation by the Chinese and
Kuraby Lions and Crescents of Brisbane for his support
of this project.
The word 'election'
became a 'swear' word on the night and use of it in any
conversation invoked a fine that went to the cause. With
the number of politicians present it was not hard to
bait guests into an 'expletive' or two by the end of the
night.
By all accounts it was a
fabulously inspirational and entertaining evening out
and the success of the fund raising itself proved to be
just the cherry on the top for the school and the
organizing team.
As one of the guests
commented on the night: "There was more community
awareness, understanding and appreciation here tonight
than a thousand United Nations meetings!"
Crescents of Brisbane
would like to thank DavidForde of the
Kuraby Lions and Chinese Lions' President Lewis MP
Lee and Vice President Jack Sun for all their
efforts in helping organize this event and for the very
affable spirit that prevailed throughout its planning,
co-ordination and execution. We look forward to working
with you and your organizations again!
QLD Hat
Trick at Australian Muslim Achievement Awards
Saturday
24 November 2007 was Election Day for Australia, but for
the Muslim community it was also the long-awaited 3rd
Annual Australian Muslim Achievement Awards (AMAA).
Organised by Mission of Hope, a
Sydney based Islamic organisation, the AMAA seek to
recognise, celebrate, and award those Muslim
individuals, organizations, and businesses from all over
Australia who exemplify the Islamic concept of amal
or positive work within the Muslim and the wider
society.
An unprecedented 86 nominations were
received by the organisers this year, but only 3 made it
to the finals in the 11 categories. Queenslanders were
finalists in six categories and winners in three. The
Islamic Women’s Association of Queensland won the
award for Community Organisation of the Year;
Dr Mahomed Hanief Khatree won in the category of
Professional of the Year; and Halim Rane was
awarded Man of the Year.
A special tribute was made to
Sheikh Fehmi Naji El-Imam who was awarded the
Lifetime Achievement Award.
The full list of the 2007 AMAA
winners is as follows:
Woman of the Year
Dr Alia Imtoual SA
Man of the Year
Halim Rane QLD
Youth of the Year (16-26)
Bilal El-Hayek NSW
Role Model of the Year
Hazem El Masri NSW
Sportsperson of the Year
Bilal El-Hayek NSW
Professional of the Year
Dr. Mahomed Hanief Khatree QLD
Event of the Year
Sounds of Light NSW-VIC
Media Outlet of the Year
Muslimvillage.net NSW
Business of the Year
Fresh Poultry Company NSW
Community Organisation of the Year
Islamic Women's Association of QLD
Best New Community Project / Initiative of the Year
RMB Lawyers NSW
Congratulations to all the winners and to Mission of
Hope for organising the event. Congratulations to our
Queensland winners who received their well-deserved
accolades.
Algester Mosque’s Groundbreaking Ceremony
The
Algester Mosque held it's groundbreaking ceremony on
Sunday 18 November 2007 and several hundred guests and
supporters turned up to take part in this very well
organized historical event.
This ceremony marked the official start of the building
of the all new Algester Mosque complex.
The
programme started with a Quranic recital by Maulana
Aslam and the translation was by Khalid Ansari.
This
was
followed by the National Anthem, a qaseedah, naat
shareefs and 4 guest speakers contributing towards the
success of the programme.
The speakers were Sheikh Ahmed Abu Ghazaleh,
Mr. Sulaiman Sabdia, the Hon. Gary Hardgrave
and Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson.
The
official "turning of the soil" was carried out by Dr.
Ahmed Hussein, the
son of the late Haji Abdul Aziz and Sara
Hussein, as a sign of respect for his parents who
originally purchased the land for the building of a
Mosque.
Thereafter
a number of dignitaries who were present also took part
in the "turning of the soil".
The formal proceedings
was concluded
with a speech by Mr. Rahman Deen, who, after
thanking all those who had helped the Mosque,
prioritized the focus of future donations as (1) the
Eight Mile Plains mosque which had reached roof height,
(2) the Algester Mosque complex, (3) the Turkish Mosque
in Capalaba, and (4) the new Brisbane Islamic Centre to
be built on land recently acquired in Underwood Road.
A generously prepared
lunch rounded off a very pleasant Sunday afternoon.
CIQ
Establishes Executive
The
recently formed Council of Imams Queensland (CIQ)
met on 11th November and nominated the following office
bearers:
President: Imam
Yusuf Peer Vice President: Imam Shazad Khan Secretary: Imam Imraan Husain Assistant Secretary: Shk. Ahmed Abu Ghazaleh Treasurer: Imam Mohammed Abdul Tauab Assistant Treasurer: Imam Ikraam Buksh Members: Imam Abdul Quddoos, Imam Uzair Akbar,
Imam Syed Asadullah Tariq, Qari Fida-ur-Rehman, Imam
Akram Buksh, Shk.Makrouk Houadchia, Shk. Chamseddine
Mokrani, Shk Abdul Basit, Imam Noor-ul-Hassan, Imam
Mohammed Nawaaz, Imam Mohamed Aslam, Imam Hayrettin
Yilmaz, Imam Sifet Omerovic, Shk. Tawfique Chowdhury, Dr
Mohamed Abdulla, Imam Abdul Qadir Jilani, Mufti Junaid
Akbar
Some of the Council's
immediate aims and objectives include education, prison
visits, hospital visits, counselling, dealing with
Masaa'il, setting up of the website, and Qir'at
competitions.
Imams wishing to join the
Council should contact its Secretary for Registration
details.
Queensland Multicultural Summit
At the
Queensland Multicultural Summit held during the week at
the Queensland State Library Mustafa Ally and
Faiza el-Higzi presented workshops on Citizenship
and Integration.
The
two-day event was attended by some 300 delegates from
all parts of the country.
Mr. Ally explored the use
of the Internet as a vehicle for building social
capital, cohesion and confidence in communities and
spoke on a panel that addressed a variety of issues
related to multiculturalism.
Ms. el-Higzi reflected on
being an Australian Muslim and the issues Muslims as
citizens face in Australia and other western
democracies.
One of the two keynote speakers,
Philippe Legrain, spoke on his controversial
call for a more liberal policy of open borders
throughout the world.
Cairns
Mosque Plans Shelved
Far north Queensland's Muslim spiritual
leader, Imam Abdul Aziz, says plans to build a
mosque in Cairns have been shelved indefinitely.
Cairns City Council approved the Parramatta Park mosque
in May, but opponents of the development have since
lodged an appeal with the Planning and Environment Court
to stop construction.
Imam Aziz says it is unlikely the matter will go to
court until next year.
"It is a frustrating wait and I know council is very
much in favour of it. I've spoken to the Mayor about it.
The council isn't happy about what's going on ... I
understand that it's a democratic right of these people
to appeal the decision," he said.
The
Australian Postgraduate Award Industry (APAI) is
offering a scholarship for three years of full time
study at Monash University for a PhD research project in
the general area of Islamic finance.
The
proposed research should entail empirical work relating
the application of finance theory to some aspect of
Islamic banks, insurance companies, fund managers,
markets or instruments.
Islamica Magazine is a full-color, glossy
quarterly international magazine. It is published by the
Center for Inter-Civilizational Dialogue Inc., a
non-profit organization based in the US.
Islamica Magazine's main aims are to broaden
perspectives on Islam and provide a voice for Muslims to
articulate their concerns while establishing
cross-cultural relations with their neighbors and
co-religionists. The majority of its readership is in
North America, but they claim to have a significant
presence in the UK and Europe and are distributed in
over 20 countries worldwide.
The topics covered include Religion, Family, Mysticism,
Law, Politics, History, Philosophy, Economics,
Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, Psychiatry, Health,
Education, Current Affairs, Culture, Science &
Technology, Media, Literature, Poetry, Fiction, Art &
Architecture.
In this 90-minute documentary, Rageh
Omaar uncovers the hidden story of Europe's Islamic past
and looks back to a golden age when European
civilization was enriched by Islamic learning.
Rageh travels across medieval Muslim Europe to reveal
the vibrant civilization that Muslims brought to the
West.
This evocative film brings to life a time when emirs and
caliphs dominated Spain and Sicily and Islamic
scholarship swept into the major cities of Europe.
His journey reveals the debt owed to Islam for its vital
contribution to the European Renaissance.
....and
now a word from this week's sponsor.......Tommarco's
Shop 6, Le Metro, 8 Station Road
Indooroopilly
Kareema's Keep Fit Column
Q: Kareema, I normally promise myself
that I'll burn off the hot chips before I have it, or
walk off that slice of cake.... Can you give us some
examples of what really
involves burning off what we eat??
A: Well, where do I start?... Following
is a ROUGH GUIDE of the amount and type of exercise you
need to do to work off the kilojoules that some popular
foods add to your body...
All questions sent in are published here
anonymously and without any references to the author of
the question.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• 1 pound firm or baked tofu drained and cut into strips
The interesting Asian-style vegetable melanges in the
frozen vegetables section are great to have on hand when
you crave a quick stir-fry but don't feel like chopping.
Serve with hot cooked rice or noodles and raw carrot and
celery sticks.
Steam vegetables in a stir-fry pan or wok with about
1/2- inch of water, covered, until completely thawed.
Drain well and transfer back to stir-fry pan.
Stir in sauce and stir-fry over medium-high heat until
vegetables are tender-crisp.
Add tofu strips and toss gently.
Cook just until heated through, then serve right away.
Do you have a recipe to share with
CCN readers?
Send in your favourite recipe to
theteam@crescentsofbrisbane.org and who
knows, you could be our "guest chef" for a future
edition of CCN.
The CCN Chuckle
Mula Nasruddin
walks into a doctor's office.
He has a cucumber
up his nose, a carrot in his left ear and a banana in
his right ear.
"What's the matter with me?" he asks the
doctor.
The doctor replies, "You're not eating properly."
What's
happening in our neck of the woods......
Click on image to enlarge
George Negus: Interfaith Forum
Conference: Racism in the New
World Order
AIIC Eid-ul-Adha Programme
FLYER REMOVED ON REQUEST
Night of
Dinner & Entertainment
GIRU
Conference
The CCN Date Claimer
Date
Day
Event
(Click on
link)
Organizer
Venue
Contact
Time
25
November
Sunday
Hajj Seminar
Darul Uloom Islamic Academy and Durack Islamic
Centre
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
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 send an e-mail to
theteam@crescentsofbrisbane.org with the words
“Subscribe Me” in the subject line.
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.
The
Crescents of Brisbane and Chinese and Kuraby Lions Fund
Raising Dinner for the Kuraby Special School Bike Track
Appeal turned out not only to be an entertaining evening
but ended up exceeding even the wildest of expectations
of the organizers for the amount of money they hoped to
raise on the night. 
Saturday
24 November 2007 was Election Day for Australia, but for
the Muslim community it was also the long-awaited 3rd
Annual Australian Muslim Achievement Awards (AMAA).
The
Algester Mosque held it's groundbreaking ceremony on
Sunday 18 November 2007 and several hundred guests and
supporters turned up to take part in this very well
organized historical event.
Madrasah Classes: Kuraby