Sunday, 2 December 2007

Sunday 22 Thw al-Qi`dah 1428 A.H.

Newsletter 0160

This week's CCN is kindly sponsored by

TOMMARCO'S

CCN wishes all those going on Hajj this year Hajj Mabroor.

May your journey be one of fulfillment and reward, inshaAllah.

Five men from South Africa have embarked on a journey to travel for Haj by land, using public transport.

They departed from Johannesburg on the 19th of November and hope to reach Jeddah some time this week.

Their progress is being documented online at the Radio Islam website.

Jameela Omarjee (eldest daughter of Saeeda Vorajee and Rashid Omarjee) and Mohammed-Shafiq Suleman (eldest son of Shenaaz and Dr. Faisal Suleman) were married at Kuraby Mosque on Friday after Jumma at a nikkah ceremony conducted by Imam Peer.

A wedding reception was held in their honour at the Hope Island Golf Course resort on Friday and a walihmaah at Michael's Oriental Restaurant last night (Saturday).

The happy couple, both pharmacists, fly off to Fiji for their honeymoon.

CCN wishes them all the very best in their new life together. 

Footnote: Both Jameela and Mohammed-Shafiq are members of the Crescents of Brisbane

Team. Jameela is their Secretary.

The Hajj to Mecca is undoubtedly one of the greatest religious gatherings on earth. It is the fifth requirement in the Five Pillars of Sunni Islam which orders every able-bodied Muslim to complete this pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime. With over 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide, the sheer number of people that pass through the gates of Mecca each year is overwhelming.

Through special access granted to Discovery Channel, viewers will go behind the scenes and follow engineers, security officers, and medical doctors as they prepare for the influx of pilgrims. See the proceedings from a pilgrim’s point of view through the eyes of Australian Matthew Nelson, a recent convert to Islam, as he embarks on his first Hajj.

With millions inundating the city, crowd control is top priority for the Ministry of Hajj. Hundreds of deaths have occurred in past decades. In 2006, Saudi officials learnt a painful lesson when a failure in crowd control left more than 350 pilgrims dead at the Jamarat Bridge during the symbolic ritual of stoning huge pillars.

Revealed: The Hajj provides the first look at the very latest technologies such as advance logistics software, satellite imaging and computer modelling used by the Command and Control Centre personnel to ensure efficiency and safety.

Revealed: The Hajj chronicles how an age old tradition is made possible in the 21st century. Join Discovery Channel on this amazing journey and experience the Hajj like never before.
 

Foxtel: Tonight, Sunday 2 December 6.30pm

Source: http://www.discoverychannel.com.au/ontv/revealed_the_hajj/index.shtml

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

The Muslim Business Network (MBN) ran a free seminar on investment opportunities recently at the Runcorn Tavern.

According to MBN executive and session chair, Mr. Yusuf Alikhan, the aim was to encourage Muslim investors to "think outside of the traditional square" when it came to identifying investment opportunities.

Discover Islam Australia has announced that it has made arrangements to bring world renowned Daee - Yusuf Estes to Australia.

0401 819 887

The Federation of Indian Communities of Queensland Inc. is planning a Brisbane Indian Cricket Carnival for Saturday, 22 March 2008 (Easter Sunday) at the Brisbane Grammer School (Northgate).

This is going to be a one day 15/15 event and a “MINI world cup” with teams representing all the cricketing countries.

The organizers are currently looking for a Zimbabwean and a South African team.

If you think you could put together a team to represent Zimbabwe or South Africa for this event, please email theteam@crescentsofbrisbane.org.

While all of the above candidates might have lost their deposits, election day was far from a doom and gloom affair for other local supporters.

AFIC's letters to Kevin Rudd and to Wayne Swan.

The Israel Lobby
John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt
 

For the past several decades, and especially since the Six-Day War in 1967, the centrepiece of US Middle Eastern policy has been its relationship with Israel. The combination of unwavering support for Israel and the related effort to spread ‘democracy’ throughout the region has inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardised not only US security but that of much of the rest of the world. This situation has no equal in American political history. Why has the US been willing to set aside its own security and that of many of its allies in order to advance the interests of another state? One might assume that the bond between the two countries was based on shared strategic interests or compelling moral imperatives, but neither explanation can account for the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the US provides.

Instead, the thrust of US policy in the region derives almost entirely from domestic politics, and especially the activities of the ‘Israel Lobby’. Other special-interest groups have managed to skew foreign policy, but no lobby has managed to divert it as far from what the national interest would suggest, while simultaneously convincing Americans that US interests and those of the other country – in this case, Israel – are essentially identical.

Since the October War in 1973, Washington has provided Israel with a level of support dwarfing that given to any other state. It has been the largest annual recipient of direct economic and military assistance since 1976, and is the largest recipient in total since World War Two, to the tune of well over $140 billion (in 2004 dollars). Israel receives about $3 billion in direct assistance each year, roughly one-fifth of the foreign aid budget, and worth about $500 a year for every Israeli. This largesse is especially striking since Israel is now a wealthy industrial state with a per capita income roughly equal to that of South Korea or Spain.

Other recipients get their money in quarterly installments, but Israel receives its entire appropriation at the beginning of each fiscal year and can thus earn interest on it. Most recipients of aid given for military purposes are required to spend all of it in the US, but Israel is allowed to use roughly 25 per cent of its allocation to subsidise its own defence industry. It is the only recipient that does not have to account for how the aid is spent, which makes it virtually impossible to prevent the money from being used for purposes the US opposes, such as building settlements on the West Bank. Moreover, the US has provided Israel with nearly $3 billion to develop weapons systems, and given it access to such top-drawer weaponry as Blackhawk helicopters and F-16 jets. Finally, the US gives Israel access to intelligence it denies to its Nato allies and has turned a blind eye to Israel’s acquisition of nuclear weapons.

Full Review

Believe it or not! A parish Church turns into a mosque every Friday, for the Muslims brothers and to offer their customary prayers.

This isn't a sequence from any Bollywood film, but a reality in the parish of Our Lady of Assumption of Ponzano near Venice, the romantic city of Italy.

The pastor of the parish, Don Aldo Danieli, 69, affirms, "It's useless to speak of religious dialogue and then bang the door on their face. Pope John Paul II addressed them as, 'dear Muslim brothers'. How can we close our church doors to them?"
 

The Full Story......

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Muslim leaders are to carry out spot checks and will introduce programmes to fight extremism in the first set of national guidelines for mosques in Britain.

The draft guidelines represent the most radical attempt so far by leaders of the country’s two million Muslims to tackle extremism and introduce an effective system of self-regulation.

The guidelines, in the form of a ten-point code of practice, will be sent out to consultation at Britain’s 1,500-plus mosques before being issued in their final form next March.

Under the new guidelines, mosques will agree to random visits by trained teams to check that standards are being met. They will have to commit themselves to “open, democratic, accountable management” and introduce policies on equality, child protection and racial and religious harassment. Mosques will have to agree to give women access to religious and scholarly training.

The Full Story.......

Shop 6, Le Metro, 8 Station Road
Indooroopilly

Q: Kareema, I've done a few swissball classes and found that it has really helped ease my back pain. I know that the gym balls come in different sizes and would like invest in one, can you tell me how to go about choosing the right size?



 

A: I'm glad you checked before buying one as the wrong size ball can do more harm than good. The guidelines for the ball size, depending on your height is as follows:

Less than 165cm tall -- 55cm ball
Between 165cm and 185cm -- 65cm ball
Taller than 185cm -- 75cm ball

If you're planning on getting one ball for the family, the 65cm ball will be most versatile.

Another way to check that the size is ok for you is if you're sitting on the ball, your knees should be in line with your hips or slightly lower.
Enjoy - and keep strengthening your back muscles.
 

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Need an answer to a fitness related matter? Send your question to Kareema at  fitness@crescentsofbrisbane.org.

All questions sent in are published here anonymously and without any references to the author of the question.
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A tip from Simple Savings:
 

KNITTING INSTEAD OF SNACKING

I have saved over $300 and lost weight by taking up knitting!  In the evenings I would sit in front of the TV with my husband eating snacks.  This was adding to my weight which I was busily working at removing during the day with exercise and weight training.  How silly to work at keeping fit during the day and sit eating snacks whilst watching TV at night!

So I decided that I would knit to keep myself busy – doing something that I enjoyed by using what I had in the way of yarn and using donated wool from friends.  Each night I knitted an item which saved me at least $3.00 per item. Over 105 evenings that’s a saving of around $315. With the money I’ve saved from not eating snacks ($2.00 per evening), I’ve saved another $210!

Not only that, but rather than gain around 7kg, I’ve lost 3.5kg – now that’s priceless!

www.simplesavings.com.au

RECIPE

GRANADILLA DESERT
Ingredients
A small tin nestle cream (155g)
1 tin condensed milk (397g)
Pulp of 8 granadillas / Passion fruit

Method
Chill nestle cream and condense milk in fridge over night.
Combine the cream and condense milk to taste.
Mix in granadilla pulp and chill.
Decorate with fresh cream.

One day Jamal Golaamuddin asked his good friend Mula Nasruddin, "Brother Nasruddin in the old days you didn't have mobile phones, e-mail, internet, fax and all, how did you all communicate?"

Mula Nasruddin replied: "Yes Brother Jamal in our days we did not have Internet, fax, telephone, e-mail, snail mail and all. We used pigeons. Begumbibi and I used to send love letters with the pigeons".

 
Confused Jamal Golaamuddin asked, "How did you use pigeons Brother Nasruddin?"
 

"You see Brother Jamal", responded Mula Nasruddin, "I would tie a message to the pigeon's leg and then fly the pigeon to Begumbibi's house. It's that simple. But one day I did not tie a message and when the pigeon came to Begumbibi's house she saw no message. She became very angry and asked me what I thought I was doing! I said to her, Begumbibi, I just gave you a missed call".
 

Click on image to enlarge

REGULAR ACTIVITIES

Madrasah Classes: Kuraby

Where: Islamic Society of Kuraby; 1408 Beenleigh Rd Kuraby 4122 QLD
Contact: Sheikh Ahmad Abu Ghazaleh
Phone: (07) 3219 7994
Mobile: 0401 331 298

When: Monday - Thursday, 3:00 - 8:00pm

Quraan Classes For Youth and Adults

Where: Islamic Society of Rochedale Inc; 2674 Logan Rd Eight Mile Plains 4113 QLD
Contact: Qur’an Classes by Sheikh Ahmad Ghazaleh (07) 3841 2504

When: Tuesdays 7:30pm

Sister's Tafsir Classes

Where: Islamic Society of Algester; 48 Learoyd Rd Algester 4115 QLD
Contact: (07) 3272 4111
When: After Isha (around 8pm) every 2nd Wednesday night.
http://isoa.com.au

To claim your date for your event email theteam@crescentsofbrisbane.org.

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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.