On Saturday the 10th of November, 2007,
IWAQ hosted their Annual Women’s Fun Night at the
Clairvoux MacKillop Hall in Upper Mt Gravatt and over
550 women were in attendance.
Some of the entertainment for the night
included: fashion shows by Siitra and Nina’s Fashions,
and performances from the Pacific Islands, Bosnia,
Indonesia, and the Shahara Belly Dancing Troupe.
Throughout the evening, random prizes
were given to those ladies who were lucky enough to have
their tickets drawn out of a hat; prizes included
jewellery, beauty hampers and pamper products from Myer.
To top off a fantastic night, an
International Bridal Fashion Show of modern and
traditional wedding gowns from around the globe was on
display.
Overall, the night was a huge success for IWAQ and many
ladies left asking when the next one would be.
Everyone who attended the night was also
presented with a ‘goody bag’ to take home which was full
of vouchers, flyers and discounts.
IWAQ would like to take this opportunity
to thank all those who contributed their time and effort
in organizing the event, and we hope to deliver an even
bigger and better fun night next year InshaAllah!
[Editor] Sorry, no photos folks - secret women's
business!
2007 Community Organization of the Year
Proud
IWAQ Office staff
and IWAQ clients
with AMA Award
On Saturday the 24th of
November, the Islamic Women’s Association of Queensland
Inc. won the Australian Muslim Achievement Award for the
2007 Community Organization of the Year.
Galila AbdelSalam (IWAQ Director) and
Hajja Fatima Abdel-Karim (IWAQ President) attended the
ceremony in Sydney, where they were presented with the
prestigious award.
The award was a much welcomed
accomplishment for all the hard work that IWAQ staff and
management committee members have contributed to the
organization since its establishment in 1992.
We would like to take this opportunity to
thank all those who have supported us over the years,
and InshaAllah we hope to continue delivering these much
needed services to the community.
Ministerial Regional Community Forum - Brisbane
On Monday the 3rd of December,
2007, The Ministerial Regional Community Forum for the
Greater Brisbane Region was held at the Ridge Hotel in
Acacia Ridge. The forum was organized by the Honorable
Andrew Fraser MP (Treasurer), the Honorable Warren Pitt
MP (Minister for Main Roads and Local Government) and Ms
Karen Struthers MP (Member for Algester, and
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health).
Sr. Galila AbdelSalam, (Director of IWAQ)
is a member of the Ministerial Community Forum. Galila
delivered a paper about the idea of a universal
suitability card for community based employment. i.e.
employees and volunteers obtaining just one card to
cover police clearances, background checks for
disability, aged care, youth and child related
employment. The paper was very well received by the
audience, as it touched on an important issue that has
been causing problems for community organization
employees and volunteers.
Other participants of the forum included:
Ms Vicky Darling (Member for Sandgate) and Councilor
Kevin Bianchi (Councilor for Acacia Ridge Ward, Brisbane
City Council).
As part of the forum, a bus tour was
organised on Sunday the 2nd of December, to
show the forum members the work that the local
government has been doing to improve the greater
Brisbane region.
Islamic
Finance: Applying religion to economics
Congratulations
Anas Abdalla (brother of Dr.
Mohamad Abdalla) held a wedding party on Friday at the
Kuraby Special School Hall to celebrate his marriage to
Salam el-Merebi.
Anas is the Youth Worker for a community
organization, MyServices, and Salam is completing her
Bachelor of Human Services at the Queensland University
of Technology.
2008,
International Year of Languages
Message from Mr Koïchiro Matsuura,
Director-General of UNESCO,
on the celebration of
“2008, International Year of Languages”
“Languages matter!”
The year 2008 has been proclaimed
International Year of Languages by the United Nations
General Assembly.
UNESCO, which has been entrusted with the
task of coordinating activities for the Year, is
determined to fulfil its role as lead agency. The
Organization is fully aware of the crucial importance of
languages when seen against the many challenges that
humanity will have to face over the next few decades.
Languages are indeed essential to the identity of groups
and individuals and to their peaceful coexistence. They
constitute a strategic factor of progress towards
sustainable development and a harmonious relationship
between the global and the local context.
They are of utmost importance in achieving the six goals
of education for all (EFA) and the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) on which the United Nations
agreed in 2000.
As factors of social integration, languages effectively
play a strategic role in the eradication of extreme
poverty and hunger (MDG 1); as supports for literacy,
learning and life skills, they are essential to
achieving universal primary education (MDG 2); the
combat against HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases (MDG
6) must be waged in the languages of the populations
concerned if they are to be reached; and the
safeguarding of local and indigenous knowledge and
know-how with a view to ensuring environmental
sustainability (MDG 7) is intrinsically linked to local
and indigenous languages.
Moreover, cultural diversity is closely linked to
linguistic diversity, as indicated in the UNESCO
Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity and its
action plan (2001), the Convention for the Safeguarding
of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Convention
on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of
Cultural Expressions (2005)
However, within the space of a few
generations, more than 50% of the 7,000 languages spoken
in the world may disappear. Less than a quarter of those
languages are currently used in schools and in
cyberspace, and most are used only sporadically.
Thousands of languages – though mastered
by those populations for whom it is the daily means of
expression – are absent from education systems, the
media, publishing and the public domain in general.
We must act now as a matter of urgency.
How? By encouraging and developing language policies
that enable each linguistic community to use its first
language, or mother tongue, as widely and as often as
possible, including in education, while also mastering a
national or regional language and an international
language. Also by encouraging speakers of a dominant
language to master another national or regional language
and one or two international languages.
Only if multilingualism is fully accepted
can all languages find their place in our globalized
world. UNESCO therefore invites governments, United
Nations organizations, civil society organizations,
educational institutions, professional associations and
all other stakeholders to increase their own activities
to foster respect for, and the promotion and protection
of all languages, particularly endangered languages, in
all individual and collective contexts.
Whether it be through initiatives in the
fields of education, cyberspace or the literate
environment; be it through projects to safeguard
endangered languages or to promote languages as a tool
for social integration; or to explore the relationship
between languages and the economy, languages and
indigenous knowledge or languages and creation, it is
important that the idea that “languages matter!” be
promoted everywhere.
The date of 21 February 2008, that of the
ninth International Mother Language Day, will have a
special significance and provide a particularly
appropriate deadline for the introduction of initiatives
to promote languages.
Our common goal is to ensure that the
importance of linguistic diversity and multilingualism
in educational, administrative and legal systems,
cultural expressions and the media, cyberspace and
trade, is recognized at the national, regional and
international levels. The International Year of
Languages 2008 will provide a unique opportunity to make
decisive progress towards achieving these goals.
The
Brisbane Girls Glide
Last Monday, a number of Muslim girls
participated in the Al-Nisa’ – MYServices Ice Skating
Session at Ice World in Acacia Ridge. For most of
the girls, it was their very first attempt at
ice-skating.
But despite the bruises, blisters and
sore backsides, the girls had a rocking good time! By
the end of the afternoon many of the Muslim girls were
gracefully gliding on the rink.
The girls were treated to pizza after all
the hard fun, demanding at least another ice-skating day
before the school holidays finish.
Watch this space for updates on the next
CCN issue.
MYServices wishes to thank local Muslim girls for the
record number of eager registrations we received for the
MYServices Girls Swimming Session which was
scheduled for the 3rd of January.
Unfortunately, the session was cancelled
by the pool hours ahead of schedule, much to the
disappointment of the girls.
The good news is that the pool has now
confirmed the new date: 10th of January, 2-5pm.
So if you missed registering last time,
make sure you have registered for next Thursday.
Free transport to and from Kuraby Mosque
is available.
Remember, first come best dressed!
Around the Muslim
World with CCN
US court overturns ruling against Muslim charities
WASHINGTON (AFP) — A US court
overturned a ruling that ordered Muslim charities with
alleged links to the Palestinian Hamas movement to
compensate the family of a US teenager killed in the
West Bank.
The groups had been ordered in a 2004 civil case to pay
156 million dollars to the family of 17-year-old David
Boim, killed in 1996 in an attack. A federal appeals
court ruled Friday that the groups' role was not fully
established.
It ordered a new trial to examine more closely the links
between the organizations and the boy's death.
"The Boims will have to demonstrate an adequate causal
link between the death of David Boim and the actions" of
the groups, the court ruling said.
"This will require evidence that the conduct of each
defendant, be it direct involvement with or support of
Hamas's terrorist activities or indirect support of
Hamas or its affiliates, helped bring about the
terrorist attack that ended David Boim's life."
The groups had been charged with taking part in
terrorism by aiding or financing Hamas, a powerful
Islamist movement in the Palestinian territories.
"The Boims' theory ... was that in promoting, raising
money for, and otherwise working on behalf of Hamas,
these defendants had helped to fund, train, and arm the
terrorists who had killed their son," the ruling said.
The defendants included the American Muslim Society and
the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development,
which was the biggest Muslim charity in the United
States until it was outlawed after the attacks of
September 11, 2001.
The foundation also faces separate criminal charges for
alleged links with Hamas. It is charged with giving 36
million dollars to committees controlled by the movement
from 1992 to 2001.
A leading US Muslim rights group, the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), welcomed the
appeal court's decision Friday.
"This landmark ruling is a strong rejection of the
recent disturbing trend of political lawsuits against
American Muslims who have committed no crime other than
providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians," it said in
a statement.
British-born South African diamond
tycoon Cecil Rhodes left a lasting legacy of learning
for brilliant minds aspiring to study at one of the
world’s oldest centers of higher learning – Oxford
University. Despite his adamant support of colonialism
and overt claims of British superiority in all world
affairs, the endowment of the Rhodes scholarship in his
bequest is considered one the most significant acts of
global educational philanthropy.
Notable
politicians such as Wasim Sajjad in Pakistan or Bill
Clinton in the United States have been Rhodes scholars
and one can make a good bet every year that winners of
the scholarship will end up in notable political
positions within a decade or so later.
Among the recipients this year is a young
Pakistani-American named Isra Bhatty who is currently a
first year law student at Yale University. While South
Asian families are well known for being “model
minorities” and often produce many overambitious
youngsters that end up with prestigious scholarships,
Isra stands out as a particularly remarkable recipient.
She attended high school in the Chicago suburb of
Glenview and came from a devoutly religious family that
was deeply committed to bridging Islamic learning with
modern education.
One of her professors at Yale Law School,
Dr. Ian Ayres spoke glowingly of her ability
to balance her Faith in Islam with her Faith
in science and the democratic process: “Isra
is amazing in how many different worlds she
can simultaneously inhabit. She is devoutly
religious but at the same time can be
speaking at the same time about Monte Carlo
simulations.”
Even though Isra attended
an American public school, she also was intimately
involved with a mosque school that her parents helped
establish on weekends and is a deeply observant Muslim.
She wears the hijab but considers it a personal choice
and has no ill feelings towards those who choose not to
do so.
Isra has only visited Pakistan three times in her life
for brief family visits, but her ethnic identity is
strong and she can read and interpret Urdu poetry.
Her parents were quite insistent that she always embrace
her multiple identities as a Muslim, an American and a
Pakistani.
Australia-Indonesia Muslim Exchange Programme invites
Applicants
Applications are invited from young Australian Muslim
leaders to travel to Indonesia in 2008 under the
Australia-Indonesia Muslim Leaders Exchange.
The Exchange was established by the Australia-Indonesia
Institute in 2002 to enable young Muslim leaders in
Australia and Indonesia to visit each others' countries
for approximately two weeks to meet Muslims and
non-Muslims, to exchange views and to share experiences.
Since 2002, 64 young Indonesian Muslim leaders have
visited Australia and 18 young Australian Muslims
leaders have travelled to Indonesia.
All costs are covered for the visit to Indonesia.
Applications are due by Wednesday 9th
January 2008. Applicants should be under forty
years of age, and be an active member of the Muslim
community in Australia.
The Australia-Indonesia Institute (AII) supports a range
of people-to-people exchanges aimed at promoting greater
mutual awareness. The Muslim Leaders Exchange Program is
intended to raise the level of informed opinion about
Islam in both countries, increase awareness about the
diversity of cultures and faiths in Australia and
Indonesia, and encourage the development of links
between Australian and Indonesian Muslims.
The 2008 Exchange is managed by the Islamic Council of
Victoria with the support of the Asia Institute,
University of Melbourne.
HOW TO APPLY
Letters of application should include the
following:
Brief
Curriculum Vitae (CV) including full contact details
and a summary of work/education experience and
relevant qualifications.
A statement of
purpose, containing the following information:
What you would hope to gain from participating
in the Exchange;
What you can offer the Exchange, during and
after the visit (such as creating better
awareness of Australian Muslims about Indonesia,
strengthening relationships and understanding
between Islam and other religions; etc.);
An outline of your current involvement in the
life of the Muslim community in Australia;
How you would share and build on your
experiences, during and after the program, with
others;
An indication of people and organisations in
Indonesia you would like to meet and particular
topics you are interested in pursuing; and
Any previous visits to Indonesia (with dates).
Two letters of
reference supporting your suitability for the
Exchange, one of which should be a recommendation
from an Islamic organization in Australia with which
you are associated.
The Islamic Women’s
Association of Qld Inc is currently seeking a bus
driver for their day respite groups.
The hours will be Monday to Thursday from 8:30am to
4pm
Open drivers licence required (bus licence not
essential).
All applicants must have a police clearance or blue
card.
A First Aid Certificate would be highly preferable.
If you are interested, please post or email a copy
of your resume to:
....and
now a word from this week's sponsor.......Tommarco's
Shop 6, Le Metro, 8 Station Road,
Indooroopilly
Mention CCN when you place your order and you can claim
a 5% discount
Kareema's Keep Fit Column
Q: Kareema, I often go for a walk or
cycle and hardly take the time to stretch. Can you
please explain the benefits of stretching?
A: Stretching improves more than just
your range of motion. Studies have found that through
regular stretching, you can improve performance, speed
and stamina. Flexibility, muscular endurance and the
amount of weight you can lift may also be increased.
Stretching also reduces the risk of injury and prepares
the muscles for your next workout, so why not include it
as part of your walks or exercise sessions!
All questions sent in are published here
anonymously and without any references to the author of
the question.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
Culinary Corner
RECIPE
BRAISED CHICKEN STRIPS
--------------------------
INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup plain non-fat yogurt - 2 tablespoons low-fat
mayonnaise - 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese - 3
tablespoons finely chopped green onions - 1/4 teaspoon
ground black pepper - 1 teaspoon vegetable oil - 1/2
pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut
into strips - 1/4 teaspoon salt - 2 teaspoons butter - 1
tablespoon hot pepper sauce.
DIRECTIONS
To Make Dip: In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt,
mayonnaise and bleu cheese. Stir in green onion and
pepper; cover and refrigerate.
To Make
Strips: Heat oil in a large skillet. Season chicken with
salt and sautee over medium high heat, stirring
frequently, until lightly browned and cooked through,
about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove skillet from heat. Add
butter and hot pepper sauce to skillet and swirl until
the butter melts and the sauce coats the chicken. Serve
hot chicken with refrigerated dip mix.
GENERAL
COOKING TIP
2 tablespoons of dry yeast is the cooking equivalent of
2/3 ounce cake of compressed yeast.
Source: Radio Islam
Newsletter - Friday, 04 January 2008
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
A neighbour who Mula Nasruddin didn't like very much came over to his
compound one day.
The neighbour asked Nasruddin if he could borrow his donkey.
Nasruddin not
wanting to lend his donkey to the neighbour he didn't
like told him, "I would love to loan you my donkey but
only yesterday my brother came from the next town to use
it to carry his wheat to the mill to be grounded. The
donkey sadly is not here."
The neighbour was
disappointed.
But he thanked
Nasruddin and began to walk away.
Just as he got a
few steps away, Mullah Nasruddin's donkey, which was in
the back of his compound all the time, let out a big
bray.
The neighbour
turned to Nasruddin and said, "Mullah Sahib, I thought
you told me that your donkey was not here.
Mullah Nasruddin turned to
the neighbour and said, "My friend, who are you going to
believe? Me or the donkey?
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.
IWAQ Night of Nights
Notable
politicians such as Wasim Sajjad in Pakistan or Bill
Clinton in the United States have been Rhodes scholars
and one can make a good bet every year that winners of
the scholarship will end up in notable political
positions within a decade or so later.
Bus Driver 
