......a sometimes
self-deprecating and occasional tongue-in-cheek look at ourselves and
the world around us ......
Sunday, 11 May 2008
.Newsletter
0183
News you won't find on CNN!
This week's CCN is kindly
sponsored by
Z&A Grill House
CresWalk2008: The Countdown Begins
If
you have registered for CresWalk2008 you should pick up
your race kit with your race number and CresWalk2008
shirt this Saturday (17 May) at the Kuraby Community
Hall, Svoboda Park between 2pm and 5pm.
You are also advised to make your
way to Orleigh Park on the day of the run (18 May) in
good time to get to the starting line at 7.30am for the
warm-up sessions which, this year, will be conducted by
a local Queensland sporting hero.
The starter's pistol will be fired
off at 8am promptly.
For the latest updates on our
sponsors, random draw prizes and all other Creswalk2008
information
click here.
Also joining us for the morning
will be Gerrard Gosens, who, despite being
congenitally blind, has, amongst a raft of other
impressive achievements, climbed to Mt Everest Camp 3,
co-piloted an ultralight motor glider around Queensland,
and competed a number of marathons.
Read the rest of Gerrard's bio......
Brothers Ali and Sadiq Deen mind the Holland
Park Mosque book store and reminisce over
the Mosque since first arriving in Brisbane
in 1949
The Deens: Nisha, Munifah, Sahiden, Sultana,
Kamrun and Nazreen enjoy a cuppa and a
cupcake at the Crescents of Brisbane oasis.
Suliman Girach and Fakhri Shamsodien
discussing their strategies for CresWalk2008
A flattened jumping castle proves to be as
much fun down as it was up!
Yacoob Bassa, Omar Abdulla, Yunus Solwa and
Yunie Omar carbo load for CresWalk2008
Nasreen Abdulla's Pitter Patter perfect for
your next pajama party!
Leadership Australia
The
Leadership Australia Resource Guide was developed by the
Australian Multicultural Foundation as an outcome of our
Leadership Australia - a New Generation Program.
The leadership program was developed for young
Australian Muslims. As a resource the guide itself can
be helpful to all young people.
The purpose of the guide is to assist young people with
contacts, networks, information and opportunities to
engage in further community activities.
Seventeen
young Australian Muslims from across Australia were
selected to participate in the Leadership Australia
program. Initially participants attended a three day
intensive training course in Melbourne. The course
components include leadership skills in mentoring,
public speaking, communications, working with the
media, community networking, innovation and
entrepreneurship, conflict resolution and team building
On returning
home, participants are required to complete several
tasks and to apply the knowledge and skills gained
throughout the training course. The tasks are
multifaceted and participants must:
• identify
and contact a mentor who is prepared to support them in
their endeavours
• initiate two public speaking engagements—one to a
school and one to the general community
• arrange a personal media interview, including a daily
or local newspaper journals or a radio station
• arrange a meeting with either the premier of the
state, the Multicultural Affairs Minister or
Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and
Settlement Services with the aim of introducing
themselves as a young person interested in being engaged
within the community.
The Fred Hollows
Foundation has been named as ‘Best Practice
not-for-profit’ at the Annual Australian Charity Awards,
held in Melbourne during the week.
In a
media
release CEO Brian Doolan said the award represented
a tick of approval for The Foundation, which carries on
the work of ophthalmologist Fred Hollows.
CCN congratulates Ms
Sue Larsen and the rest of the Foundation for a well
deserved award.
Volunteers Needed
Discover Islam, who are
promoting the Yusuf Estes Tour 1429 (2008),
require volunteers to help them out during this period.
U.S. Officials Urged to
Avoid Linking Islam, Jihad with Terror
U.S. officials are being
advised in internal government documents to avoid
referring publicly to al-Qaida and other terrorist
groups as Islamic or Muslim, and not to use terms like
jihad or mujahedin, which "unintentionally legitimize"
terrorism.
"There's a growing consensus (in the administration)
that we need to move away from that language," said a
former senior administration official who was involved
until recently in policy debates on the issue. . .
Urging officials not to
use the word Islam in conjunction with terrorism, the
guide notes that, "Although the al-Qaida network
exploits religious sentiments and tries to use religion
to justify its actions, we should treat it as an
illegitimate political organization, both terrorist and
criminal."
Instead of calling terror groups Muslim or Islamic, the
guide suggests using words like totalitarian, terrorist
or violent extremist -- "widely understood terms that
define our enemies appropriately and simultaneously deny
them any level of legitimacy."
(WASHINGTON, D.C.,
5/6/08) - A prominent national Islamic civil rights and
advocacy group today said an emergency preparedness
drill in Illinois, in which a fake "mosque" was stormed
by law enforcement authorities, sends the "wrong
message" that all Islamic houses of worship may be
potential security threats.
The Washington-based
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said
officials from almost 30 government agencies
participated in the drill Thursday in Irving, Ill.,
targeting a community facility that had been re-named
the "Irving Mosque" for the purposes of the exercise. In
the exercise, officers from the Illinois Law Enforcement
Alarm System (ILEAS) stormed the "mosque" using an
armored car. One "hostage" was hooked up to an explosive
device and the "suspects" in the "mosque" released nerve
gas.
For many, September 11
means candlelit vigils and prayers in memory of those
who lost their lives in the attack on the World Trade
Centre. Sad as that was, it was an inevitable
consequence of US foreign policy that had systematically
emasculated and humiliated the vast majority in the
Middle East for more than four decades.
No, my candle is lit instead for the day when democracy
as we know it was murdered in Santiago.
..........
As Edward Said once
wrote: "So far as the United States seems to be
concerned, it is only a slight overstatement to say that
Moslems and Arabs are essentially seen as either oil
suppliers or potential terrorists. Very little of the
detail, the human density, the passion of Arab-Moslem
life has entered the awareness of even those people
whose profession it is to report the Arab world. What we
have instead is a series of crude, essentialized
caricatures of the Islamic world presented in such a way
as to make that world vulnerable to military
aggression."
McCain's "Spiritual
Guide" Wants America to Destroy Islam
You may have heard of
Rev. John Hagee, the McCain supporter who said God
created Hurricane Katrina to punish New Orleans for its
homosexual "sins." Well now meet Rev. Rod Parsley, the
televangelist megachurch pastor from Ohio who hates
Islam. According to David Corn of Mother Jones, Parsley
has called on Christians to wage war against Islam,
which he considers to be a "false religion." In the
past, Parsley has also railed against the separation of
church and state, homosexuals, and abortion rights,
comparing Planned Parenthood to Nazis.
John McCain actively sought and received Parsley's
endorsement in the presidential race. McCain has called
Parsley "a spiritual guide," and he hasn't said whether
he shares Parsley's vicious anti-Islam views. That's
because the mainstream media refuses to ask. And so,
we've taken matters into our own hands, joining Mother
Jones to present the truth about McCain's pastor.
Using our book
club you can see what books we at CCN have
on our shelves, what we are reading and even
what we and others think of them.
You can even
create your own book shelf, find out what
your fellow CCN readers are reading, get and
give recommendations for what to read next,
create book lists, and even share your
opinion on a book with us.
Come see the
books we have selected and see if we have
any in common.
Then pick our
next book so we can all keep on reading.
..and
now a word from this week's CCN sponsor..... Z & A Grill
House
Kareema's Keep Fit Column
Q: Dear Kareema, I've been following the training
program in preparation for the Creswalk. What is a good
cardio exercise to do during our strength session
circuit?
A: Definitely skipping. THE BENEFIT: mega kilojoule
burn!! Jumping rope for 1 min. and then resting between
sets of weight-training exercises can nearly
double the kilojoules you burn.
IN PREPARATION FOR
CresWalk2008, FOLLOW THIS 5 WEEK TRAINING PROGRAM:
REMEMBER TEAM:
TRAIN SMART, NOT HARD!!
WEEK 5 of our 5 week
training program:
Please note that the following program is
suitable for beginners. For the more
competitive or serious athlete,
intensity, duration and frequency of
exercises need to be increased!
REMEMBER: NUTRITION IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS
YOUR TRAINING REGIME.
ENJOY A HEALTHY
DIET AND DON'T FORGET TO DRINK YOUR
WATER!
DAY 1:
Interval Training; continue the soft sand
running if possible and include some 30 sec.
sprints into your routine, jog for a minute
(recovery), then sprint again.. (include
this into your 60 min session today for
about half of your workout time)
Wear some ankle weights for extra
resistance!
PLEASE REMEMBER TO STRETCH AFTER EVERY
WORKOUT!
Healthy Tip: Always keep your body hydrated
- carry a bottle of water with you daily!
DAY 2:
Much the same as what you did for day 1, but
find some hills and more challenging courses
than what you're used to.
Remember the ankle weights for extra
resistance!
DAY 3:
Try a weight- training session, head for a
pump class if possible otherwise use your
own body weight (tricep dips, push-ups,
sit-ups, chin-ups, etc).
Be conscious of your posture and technique
and remember your stretching routine!
For a further challenge, incorporate today's
'question' into your strength training
routine - a minute of skipping between
your weight circuit.
DAY 4:
A spin (cycle) class will be great for
strengthening the legs so be sure to give it
a go. Alternatively, a ride in the park
could be just as challenging. Ensure good
posture and technique. Again, add
more time / distance to last weeks program.
Remember, we are in our last week of
training so GO HARD!! Add extra time and
MAXIMISE YOUR EFFORT!!
DAY
5:
Back to interval Training. Improve on day
2's workout. Find those hills and wear your
ankle weights. 30 sec. sprints, 1 min jog
(recovery), then sprint again.
Continue this for more than half of your
workout time.
Include your stretching routine.
DAY 6:
Tomorrow's the big day, so take a dip in the
pool for some active recovery of the legs.
Take it easy and be sure to get a good
night's sleep.
Stay well hydrated.
DAY 7:
D - DAY!! Have a good breakfast and don't be
late.. Come and enjoy YOUR run/walk with
some great people.
SEE YOU THERE INSHA-ALLAH
Please note that the following program is
suitable for beginners. For the more
competitive or serious athlete, intensity,
duration and frequency of exercises need to
be increased!
PLEASE NOTE: The above training
program assumes a healthy participant.
Those with medical conditions or who are not
already physically active, need to seek
clearance from their GP before starting any
form of exercise.
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 Inbox
Assalam aleikm wa rahmatullahi wa
barakatuhu,
‘FACE Inc’ or ‘Faith And Cultural
Exchange Inc’ is an incorporated non-profit
association, established November 2006. We are
presently a small organisation of family and
friends, formed initially with a view to potentially
providing settlement programs to new immigrants and
refugees. We found though that that area was already
well-covered and turned our hand to the educational
needs of the poor in my husband’s country of birth,
Chad, which is in the middle of North Africa.
The
‘Care for Education Project: Chad’ was
established in June 2007, sponsoring 12 children
from an ex-nomadic extended family who had never
before been to school and undertaking plans to
eventually build an Islamic School in the area. In
the ensuing months, an after-school Madrassa has
begun, employing a live-in Sheikh to teach the
children Qur`aan and Islamic studies, and a Masjid
building has commenced construction on land donated
for the purpose. InshaAllah when this is complete,
the local people will pray there, the Madrassa
program will move-in and we will begin construction
of school buildings and plans for the establishment
of an accredited Arabic-based Islamic school.
In the short term we would like to
sponsor many more children to attend the local
French-language school and after-school Madrassa
program. As of now, we are researching the
requirements (human, logistical, financial) of
setting -up the school and for its on-going
maintenance. It is intended to also establish a
business of some sort in addition to ongoing
charitable donations from which to fund the school.
We are just now beginning publicity
and fundraising efforts including the ‘Sisters Souq’
on 24th May on the Gold Coast and
appreciate all enquiries about the project.
Mula Nasruddin and
his wife went to the local agricultural show and one of
the first exhibits they stopped at was the breeding
bulls.
They went up to the first pen and there was a sign
attached that said, 'THIS BULL MATED 50 TIMES LAST
YEAR.'
Mula Nasruddin's wife playfully nudged him in the ribs
and said, "He mated 50 times last year. That's about
once a week."
They walked to the second pen which had a sign attached
that said, 'THIS BULL MATED 150 TIMES LAST YEAR.'
Mula Nasruddin's
wife gave him a healthy jab and said, "That's almost 3
times a week! You could learn a lot from him."
They walked to the third pen and it had a sign attached
that said, in capital letters, 'THIS BULL MATED 365
TIMES LAST YEAR'.
Mula Nasruddin's
wife was so excited that her elbow nearly broke his
ribs, and said, "That's once a day. You could REALLY
learn something from this one."
Mula Nasruddin looked at her and said, "Go over and ask
him if it was with the same old cow."
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.
Two vacancies of Imam and Assistant Imam at Darra
Mosque
