CCN has initiated preliminary plans to set up an online Internet Radio Broadcast of Queensland community news and views from (initially) 10-10.30am on Sunday mornings starting early in the new year.

Local community groups, organizations and individuals will now be able to be heard through live and pre-recorded community news, interviews, panel discussions and commentary.

If you or your organization would like to be a part of the planning and production team or you wish to contribute any suggestions or find out more please email ccn@crescentsofbrisbane.org.

SO, it's the traffic and the noise generated by a proposed Islamic school in Carrara, apparently, that has whipped up such passionate opposition by locals.

On that basis I can only assume that a proposal for, say, the TSS Academy of Excellence in Polo, or the St Hilda's Lacrosse Incubator, would generate the same outpouring of civic concern.

Well, it is about the traffic and noise after all.

I mean, all those horse floats and four-wheel drives ... 

While I don't doubt the fact that many of the Carrara residents opposing this school are worried about the traffic jams and awful din created by 60 students and their teachers at a school nestled between a church and a hospital in the greenfields of Carrara, letters to local councillors seem to indicate other concerns.

One councillor told me some time ago letters that they had received were offensive and disturbing.

They painted a picture of Armageddon in the greenfields of Carrara, which would become a nest of terrorism and sin. Some of the letters were from members of the Dream Centre - a Christian church which, according to its website, believes in the `resurrection of believers unto everlasting life and unbelievers unto everlasting punishment in hell'.

It also talks about Satan's `present influence over the unbeliever'. Oh dear, there goes my stint in Paradise. Presumably in Carrara it's OK to go to church and speak in tongues, but not to teach the traditions of your religion if your God happens to be Allah.

Admittedly, I have never lived in Peshawar or Penang.

I did, however, live in a place called Coburg for seven years.

Coburg lies in Melbourne's City of Moreland - the municipality with the largest proportion of Muslims in Australia.

Coburg is a great community.

It's diverse  and open, where only 22 per cent of households speak English only.

There we had Muslim neighbours, shop keepers and business people who (in our experience at least) were warm and massively hospitable people.

Some attended Islamic schools which were accepted elements of the community, competed against other schools in sports and had non-Muslim teachers.

As far as we could tell, they were not hotbeds of radical Islam, schooling students in bomb-making or the destruction of Christianity. 

Some of the Carrara residents also expressed concern about their property values.

I  remember the same dire warnings of how Melbourne's Footscray would become a Vietnamese ghetto.

The concerned residents of Carrara should look what has happened to property values in Coburg and Footscray in recent years - both suburbs were recently rated in the nation's 100 hottest property hotspots.

Why do we so damn Islamon the basis of the evil and irrational acts and the illconsidered statements of a crazy few?

There are more than a billion Muslims worldwide.

Former mufti Taj Din al-Hilali is one man.

The Bali bombers were three men, with an evil and warped interpretation of Islam.

Why do we not reserve the same mistrust for Protestants whose one-time spiritual leader in Ireland, Ian Paisley, once called The Pope The Antichrist' and backed the atrocities committed under Slobodan Milosevic?

Why do we not fear Catholicism which had something called an inquisition?

Why do we not fear Irish Catholics who once waged such terror on the streets of London?

And what about those Hindus who continue the violent persecution of Christians in India?

Should we fear North Americans because Timothy McVeigh killed 168 people (and maimed 450) in the Oklahoma bombing?

I guess not, because they are mostly, well, more like us.

I think the concerned residents of Carrara have little to fear from an Islamic school of 60 students with a syllabus of reading, writing, arithmetic and some of their own religious instruction.

But, sorry, I forgot - it's all about the traffic and the noise, isn't it?

Source: Gold Coast Bulletin Tuesday 25/11/2008

Muslim Aid Australia

  Wanted food for families around the world

  Ways to donate

Imam Akram and Ml Shazad Khan

Operation Qurbani

At the Queensland Multicultural Awards presentations held in Parliament House during the week a number of nominated individuals and organizations were recognized for their contribution to multiculturalism in Queensland.

The Queensland Multicultural Awards recognise people and groups whose outstanding efforts over a sustained period have helped promote multiculturalism, support new migrants and increase community awareness of the value of multiculturalism.
 

The awards were presented by Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Lindy Nelson-Carr and Parliamentary Secretary, Michael Choi.

Amongst this year's recipients were Ms Adele Rice, Principal of the Milperra State School. for her work with refugee students and students from different backgrounds, religion and culture; Ms Gail Ker of ACCES (employment) Services and the University of Southern Queensland for its role in creating a multicultural learning environment for their students from diverse backgrounds.

CCN congratulates these outstanding winners for their valuable contributions to multiculturalism in Queensland.

At Tijaarah, South Africa's first Islamic finance magazine is now available by subscription.

If you are concerned about the financial crisis, the global meltdown, and the credit crunch then you can find out about Islamic finance, how shariah compliant are current investments offerings, is there such a thing as Islamic banking etc.

At Tijaarah has an editorial board consisting of experienced ulema, and legal and financial professionals.
 

You can subscribe for 4 issues a year at 350 South African Rand

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD SUBSCRIPTION FORM.

This is a joint initiative between Muslims at Work and An-Nakheel.
 

Muslim clerics need to work harder to understand the needs and rights of Muslim women in Australian society, writes Jamila Hussain
 

TAXI drivers around the world are known as a source of comment and (sometimes) wisdom. So when I found myself in a taxi driven by a Lebanese Muslim, I decided to seek his opinion on reports in this newspaper about discrimination against women by Muslim clerics. After some preliminaries, he said: "Your hijab is not proper. You have some hair showing."

A 2nd year Muslim female student at UQ is in need of accommodation.

Her contact details are:

Sharni Galvin
sharni.galvin@gmail.com
Mobile: 0431 815 807
 

Australia's most senior Muslim wants men and women to pray together.
 

AUSTRALIA'S most senior Muslim has said he will end segregation of men and women in mosques, in a bold response to Islamic women's anger at entrenched discrimination.

The Mufti of Australia, Sheikh Fehmi Naji el-Imam, said he would put his proposal to the next meeting of the Australian National Imams' Council and consider how women could share the room with men during prayers.

Sheikh Fehmi said segregated worship had been introduced long ago, as a cultural change, not a religious one, and he would argue to end it.

"It is good to hear the complaints of the sisters, and to try to find some solution to their concerns," he told The Age in an exclusive interview.

"My duty is to propose, to discuss and try to convince. I can't guarantee the outcome."

Sheikh Fehmi said that in the time of the Prophet Mohammed 1400 years ago, women were not segregated.

His announcement is likely to attract international attention and may spark fierce debate among highly conservative mosque communities within Australia.

In some mosques overseas, there are no physical barriers between men's and women's areas but in Australia almost every mosque separates men's and women's sections.

Sydney lecturer Jamila Hussain this week told a conference at the National Centre for Excellence in Islamic Studies that women found facilities at some mosques "insulting" and that they were treated as second-class citizens.

Last night, Ms Hussain welcomed Sheikh Fehmi's promise to try to end segregation.

"It's an excellent start. But I'm a bit hesitant about when or whether it will happen — it will be a while."

She said many men would oppose such a move and, sadly, some women too. Imams didn't necessarily have much say.

Islamic Council of Victoria vice-president Sherene Hassan said it was a fine initiative, and it was good to see imams being proactive. She said it was in line with true Islamic teaching.

Sheikh Isse Musse, imam of Werribee mosque, agreed that at the start of Islam men and women had prayed together, "but it's not allowed that a man stands to the right of a woman or to the left of a woman".

At his mosque, all pray in the same room, with men in rows at the front, then children in rows, then women. But he did not think this was palatable to many Muslims, especially as many new mosques gave better facilities to women in their own areas.

Several Muslim women spoke out about discrimination and disadvantage this week at the conference.

In particular, a report by the Islamic Women's Welfare Council of Victoria highlighted problems with imams, claiming some were condoning domestic violence, polygamy, rape in marriage, welfare fraud and exploitation of vulnerable women.

Sheikh Fehmi, who is also secretary of the Victorian Board of Imams, acknowledged there were problems.

"Imams are human beings, and every human being is fallible, so if one imam errs on a point we should not generalise and say all imams are the same."

Sheikh Fehmi also addressed many of the criticisms in the council report.

Read the rest....

Islamic Posters (UK) has just launched a NEW Poster Project Pack.

They are printed and ready to be shipped.

They contain 12 High Quality posters (like the Adhaab poster Collection) size A3, and they are aimed at both Muslim and Non-Muslims - young and old.

If you are a member of a Masjid (Mosque), Islamic Charity or Daawah Organisation or any Non Islamic organisation in any country and you need an English poster to promote Islam these posters are just for you.

They are based on 12 very important topics such as the Quran, the Prophet (pbuh), the status of women in Islam, Ahadith, Sunnah etc.

The price is only £15 plus P&P. All proceeds go towards the Islamic Posters Dawaah Projects.
 

Visit www.islamicposters.co.uk for contact details.

Note: CCN has developed a slide show of the 12 posters for you to view.
 

As a Muslim woman living in the Illawarra (New South Wales), Hadijat Lawal often has people ask her lots of questions.

“They usually want to know what it’s like to be Muslim in Australia and how I deal with racial and cultural differences,” she said.

As one of Kiama Library’s Living Books, Mrs Lawal has the chance to challenge stereotypical ideas about the Muslim faith and lifestyle and open people’s minds.

“It’s a beautiful, soft way of breaking barriers,” she said.

“I think it’s a good opportunity to interact with people and shed stereotypical views and let people see that I am a Muslim woman and I am human.”

She and several other Muslim women in the area established the Illawarra Muslim Women’s Association, which has been successfully running for more than seven years.

“We organise information sessions and advocacy groups and aim to provide young Muslim people with links to services, individuals and the community,” she said.

Mrs Lawal said she enjoyed the opportunity to be a Living Book and would try to answer any questions that people asked.

“I don’t have a problem with any questions, but if it’s too close to home or personal I answer it the best way I can, but I also tell people not to go in that direction,” she said.

Other Living books include an Asian migrant, an indigenous person, an environmentalist and a clairvoyant.

At a ceremony held in Sydney during the week, Dr Jamal Rifi, a founding member of Muslim Doctors Against Violence and president of the Lakemba Sports Club, was named NSW Local Hero of the Year, alongside cricketer Glen McGrath who was named NSW Australian of the Year.

Source

Australian Muslims Condemn Mumbai Atrocity