......a sometimes
self-deprecating and occasional tongue-in-cheek look at ourselves and
the world around us ......
Sunday, 26 October 2008
.Newsletter
0207
News you won't find on CNN!
Pampered Bliss - All For A Great Pink Cause
Saalihah Seedat
On Saturday, Crescents of Brisbane hosted
the Pink Ribbon Pamper Brunch. This was a
blissfully indulgent experience for over 150
Brisbane women who are focused on supporting
and raising funds for the National Breast
Cancer Foundation (NBCF).
The NBCF is Australia's only national
not-for-profit foundation established to
promote and support research into every
aspect of breast cancer including into the
prevention, detection and treatment of
breast cancer.
The ladies were fortunate to learn from Ms
Ann Marie Perkin from the Queensland Cancer
Fund about how to detect breast cancer early
by regular self examination.
We were inspired by Mrs Lyndsey Baigent
Founder of Essentially For Women, who spoke
candidly about how she turned the
adversities of her life into cherished
gifts.
She reminded many women how important it is
to develop and sustain our emotional wealth
to be effective as the nucleus of our
families. As many of our husbands know "a
happy wife is a happy life!"
These educational and inspiring messages
were accompanied by a sumptuous brunch of
delectable treats, beautifully prepared by
the dedicated team of ladies from Crescents
of Brisbane.
The afternoon was spent indulging in most
women's favourite passions of shopping,
pampering and cooking.
There were innovative art and craft pieces
including hand made jewellery, Islamic art
canvasses, glassware, embroidery and cakes
donated for auction.
Of course all the proceeds were donated to
the NBCF.
There were a series of indulgent pampering
sessions of blissful massages and hand
treatments, cooking demonstrations and
informative talks about how not to wear your
hijab (which proved a great success with the
ladies).
Blissful pampering whilst raising funds for
a much needed cause was a wonderful way to
celebrate and promote Pink Ribbon Day.
Most importantly though it was an important
reminder for all women to regularly screen
for breast cancer.
May Allah keep us all healthy and grant
those of our sisters who are enduring breast
cancer shifa, Ameen.
Tickets sold out rapidly for this years Pink
Ribbon Event so be sure to book early next
year.
In
Memory of Mohammed Husam
Abdullah Ibrahim
I would like to share with
you all some of the qualities that Mohammed Husam
Elshemy (May Allah have mercy on his soul) had and a
little bit of his life.
Husam was a cheerful young teenager whom I saw grow into
one of the kindest and most humble young man who I had
the pleasure of knowing very well. Alhamdulillah Allah
sent him a wonderful companion. Nazmin, the daughter of
the late Taj Mohammed. Uncle Taj was a great friend of
my father (May Allah have mercy on their souls and
elevate them in Jannah). So when I heard that they were
getting married I was very happy to see two great
individuals from two very great families come together.
In years to come he grew to be an excellent son, a
wonderful husband and indeed an excellent friend to all
that had the pleasure to meet and know him.
He had a sense of humour
second to none and a personality to match. Where ever he
went he would automatically draw people to him who would
not forget him. And whoever he met would look forward to
meeting him again. That alone was a reflection on his
excellent character and fantastic upbringing thanks to
his Mother, Auntie Galila and his Father Uncle Emad who
didn't have to work too hard in making him the good man
that he was.
On Saturday the 18th of October 2008, we were left with
a huge hole in our community. The disbelief of losing
such a fantastic person at the age of 28 was felt
throughout Brisbane spanning across many communities
both Muslim and non-Muslim. For many the day stopped at
7.45am! Team Moto Honda, shut their doors for business
for the whole day as colleagues mourned the loss of the
one person who would put a smile on their faces as they
walked in through the doors in the morning and as they
walked out in the afternoon. His family and friends were
left speechless. No one till this day has many words to
say.
He loved his family dearly. His brother Alaa and his
sister Maryam. He loved his two little girls Hana and
Amina dearly. So much so that we stopped going out for
our "Thursday night coffee with the boys" which was a 3
to 4 year habit. He used to say that he would rather
spend it at home with his wife and kids. He couldn't
wait to get back home from wherever he was.
He opened his heart and house for all his friends.
Brothers and sisters, please pray that Allah opens the
doors of Jannah for him and elevates his status.
If he has wronged anyone please forgive him and if
anyone feels that Husam owed them anything even if it
may be an apology please see me and I will take care of
it InshaAllah.
I am sure everyone will join me to pass on our sincere
condolences to his family.
May Allah rest his soul.
Two
Websites for Brisbane's Muslim Youth
Abdul Rahman Keri
A joint initiative by Muslim Youth Services and Brisbane
City Council has seen the development of two social
networking websites for Brisbane Muslim Youth to
communicate their ideas and opinions on issues that
affect them.
‘Muslim Youth of Brisbane’ web
pages from the Brisbane City Council's Community Portal,
Visible Ink, (under construction) and the
YMBriz
social network site give Brisbane Muslim youth the
opportunity to upload multimedia files such as digital
pictures, video, audio and text; as well as different
mediums for blogging space to communicate youth matters.
Muslim Youth Services community
development officer Taufan Mawardi said the web
pages also created a medium for the wider Brisbane
community to familiarise themselves with Islam and
Muslims.
‘There has been a lot of media
misrepresentation of Muslims and in order to break down
these social barriers...it is vital for Muslims to
engage society about Islam’, he said.
Planning the structure and
content of the websites at the
Brisbane City Council
offices
(l to r) Mustafa Ally, Tim
Graham and Taufan Mawardi
‘A lot of the [Muslim] youth are
second and third generation Australians...sometimes they
are caught up between what is Australian and what is
Muslim...they don’t get accepted as mainstream
Australians but they also feel they should be Australian
because that’s all they know, they’ve been brought up
and born in Australia’, Mr. Mawardi said.
Brisbane City Council Web Space
Coordinator, Tim Graham said the social
networking pages are associated with ‘ning.com’, which,
unlike established networking sites, emphasise more on
group orientated web pages as opposed to individual
based content.
‘It is a platform where you can
really talk about anything...because all of the content
is generated by people who are members’ he said.
But Mr. Graham said there would
be oversight by web page administrators to ensure that
breaches of the law wouldn’t occur but in general, a
culture of civic participation would be encouraged on
the web pages.
Editor-in-Chief of Crescent
Community News (CCN), Mustafa Ally, said it is
important for Muslim youth to express themselves through
a medium where they feel comfortable, and amongst peers
from different ethnic backgrounds who share a Brisbane
Muslim identity.
CCN extends its deepest
condolences to the Osman family on the passing away on
Thursday morning of Mr. Sami Osman (88).
Mr. Osman was a very
active member of the Holland Park Mosque during his
younger days and was well known to the community for his
contribution to the Mosque.
His Ghusal
was carried out at Holland Park Mosque and his Jannazah
(funeral service) and burial took place at the Mt. Gravatt cemetery immediately after.
''Innaa lillah hi wa Innaa
ilay hi Rauji'oon''
To Allah do we belong and to Him is our return
IWAQ
Ladies Night Out
The Islamic Women's Association of Qld
hosted it's Annual Ladies Night 2008 on
Saturday 18th October at the Greek Orthodox
Hall, Mt Gravatt.
Jas and Susan (Event's Co
ordinators) hosted some 400 ladies and the
event boasted a delicious multicultural
feast.
Ladies were given table service as well as
entertained by a variety of performances
including Bosnian singing and dancing,
Chinese Lion Dance and Hip Hop Dance.
The show also included innovative and unique
catwalk routines and a compilation of
fashion and accessories.
Jas and Susan would like to sincerely thank
the IWAQ Director, Management Committee and
Staff, Sponsors, Models, Catering Team and
the numerous helpers who assisted in making
the night a success.
Australia considers adopting Islamic banking
Financial institutions and
the government are considering introducing Islamic
banking and its principles to the Australian financial
system.
Industry experts say Islamic banking is one of the
fastest growing sectors in the global banking industry,
and is worth an estimated $US200 billion worldwide.
The Asialink Islamic Banking Colloquium, held in the
Australian city of Melbourne, has heard Islamic banks
have largely escaped the fallout from the economic
crisis by adhering to Islamic principles of prohibiting
interest and sharing of profit and loss between banks
and borrowers.
A leading academic on Islamic banking, Professor
Abdullah Saeed from Melbourne University, says there is
potential for further growth in Australia.
"There is a significant Muslim community here, but its
not just for Muslims in Australia," he said.
"A lot of conventional banks are interested in and a
number of Islamic banks are actually moving into
Australia so we're not just talking about a Muslim
issue.
"It is one of the ways of dealing with banking and
finance [which just] happened to be called Islamic."
The Australian Federal
Police (AFP) has pointed the finger at the office of the
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for
the police's decision to charge former Gold Coast Dr
Mohamed Haneef.
The AFP admits it made mistakes in the bungled terrorism
case, but says its application of counter-terrorism laws
was appropriate.
...........
The AFP firmly believes
that the officers involved in the investigation into Dr
Haneef acted professionally and they were motivated by
the need to protect the Australian public and Australian
interests.
Australian Federation of Islamic Councils president
Ikebal Patel says it is further evidence of a
witch-hunt.
"To blame the DPP of not having briefed some of the
ministers, just makes one wonder as to whether the AFP
at that time was really playing a very political police
force instead of being an independent one," he said.
Using the book
club you can see what books fellow CCN
readers have on their shelves, what they are
reading and even what they, and others,
think of them.
Dr. Mohamad Abdalla,
Director of the Griffith Islamic Research
Unit (GIRU), was a one of three finalists
in the "Pride
of Australia" awards on Friday in the
Fair Go category of.
The winner in this category was Reverend
Tass Augustakis for his work in establishing
the family and Kids care Foundation, a
social welfare institution in Logan which
provides practical and emergency assistance,
accommodation support, crisis care, training
and education programs to anyone who asks
for it.
The awards (which include such categories as
True Blue, Peace,
Role Model, Young Aussie,
Mateship, Bravery,
Courage, Environment
and Community Spirit) were introduced in 2005 to
uncover the stories about everyday
Australians who have made extraordinary
contributions to their communities through
their selfless actions, courage, compassion
and heroism.
They represent countless Australians who
make our communities better places to live
by going out of their way to help their
neighbours. The awards are a way of bringing
to public attention these unsung heroes of
our communities (John Hartigan Chairman &
Chief Executive Officer News Limited).
Mr. Emad
Soliman, Dr. Abdalla and (rugby
league legend) Mr. Wally Lewis
Catch the QMHS on the Net
The Queensland Muslims
Historical Society Inc. (QMHS) has set itself up as
a social network at
www.qmhsoc.ning.com.
Anyone with even a passing
interest in the area is most welcome to join the (free)
online community.
Kareema's Keep Fit Column
LADIES, THINK PINK AND GET FIT
AS EXERCISE REDUCES RISK OF BREAST CANCER!
Evidence suggests that if a woman exercises for an
average of four hours per week throughout her life then
her risk of getting breast cancer falls by around a
half.
Exercise is good for a lot of things from heart disease
and obesity reduction to cancer. One of the first
malignancies found to be prevented by physical activity
was breast cancer.
It's been looked at in all sorts of ways and results
suggest that whether a woman is pre or post menopausal,
if she exercised around three hours a week moderately in
her adolescence her risk of breast cancer falls by about
a third. And if she kept up and average of four hours
per week throughout her life then her chances fall by
around a half.
One explanation is that exercise may lower oestrogen
levels and oestrogen stimulates breast tissue.
The evidence suggests though that if you're already
getting a lot of exercise, that increasing it further
won't make a lot of difference. Women with most to gain
are probably the one's not taking much exercise at all
or taking their physical activity too easily.
So if you've enough puff to chat on your morning
walk, you're probably not doing it hard enough!
KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED FOR ANOTHER
'MY HEALTH AND FITNESS PROGRAM' COMING YOUR WAY SOON:
Program name: WOW - WOMEN OUT
WALKING!!
Regular walking sessions for all fitness
levels......don't miss out, come and walk and talk while
enjoying the great outdoors!!
MY HEALTH AND FITNESS
PRESENTS
**
BOX 'N BOUNCE BOOTCAMP -
Fun & fitness with
fitballs combined with a challenging boxing
routine
WHERE:
YIMBUN PARK, Padstow
Rd, Eight Mile Plains
WHEN: Every
Saturday morning - 7:30 to 8:30 am
DATES: Saturday 18th
OCT. through to
the end of November.
COST: $10 per
session
CONTACT: Kareema
- 0404844786
EXCITING NEW ACTIVITY SOON
TO BE LAUNCHED:
PREGNANT PAUSE PROGRAM
- Low impact, gentle exercise classes for
all our mums-to-be out there!!
Keep your eye on CCN for the
start of this great new program..
Venue:
Room S201,
University of Queensland, 323 Hawken Drive,
St. Lucia
Contact: 0421 731 797
Time: 6.45pm to 9.00pm
Sunnah Inspirations is a
non-profit organisation to cater for Muslim
social support and supplying information to
Muslims and non-Muslims. They have
been doing various activities around
Australia, and have organised Da'wah
information stalls at various universities
in Brisbane. More info can be found on
their website above.
Please feel
free to post an entry on our Wall, start up a
Discussion thread and/or become a Fan.
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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.
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