MAA and MCF are helping
desperate Australian
families who are struggling
to find immediate
accommodation due to
unfortunate circumstances in
their lives.
Sara Mansour, a Sydney-based
commercial law graduate and
the director of Bankstown
Poetry Slam, is doing her
bit to keep the momentum of
the #MeToo movement alive in
Australia.
The nine founding board
members of NOW Australia
were named this week, in the
latest show of solidarity
for victims of workplace
harassment and as part of a
broader conversation about
the relevance of the #MeToo
and #TimesUp movements in
Australia.
Veteran journalist Tracey
Spicer AM launched the
not-for-profit national
organisation last month,
along with a $250,000
crowdfunding campaign to
help staff a centre with
legal and counselling
support officers.
The goal of NOW Australia is
to provide assistance to any
employee who has endured
sexual harassment,
intimidation or abuse in the
workplace.
Graduate lawyer Sara Mansour
(pictured) has been named
among nine other volunteer
board members, who bring
with them backgrounds in
diversity, law, HR,
research, communication and
education.
Ms Mansour is the co-founder
of a popular slam poetry
group in south-west Sydney
and also a law graduate in
the Sydney office of top
tier firm Allens.
The young lawyer said that
her community work with the
Bankstown Poetry Slam led to
an introduction to Tracey
Spicer, which in turn led to
an invitation to the board
of NOW Australia.
“I am super excited to be a
founding board member of NOW
Australia,” Ms Mansour said.
“We are hoping to keep
driving social and cultural
change and this can only
happen when victims are
bolstered by active
organisations that exist to
support and empower them.”
Ms Mansour said she hoped to
bring a perspective to the
board that would assist NOW
Australia engage with
culturally and
linguistically diverse
communities and also ties to
the legal sector.
She added that the
organisation intended to
make something tangible out
of the #MeToo and #TimesUp
movements, as well as an
accessible support service
for those who have suffered
workplace harassment.
“NOW Australia is
essentially taking the
hashtag to the next stage in
offering legal, counselling
and media advice/support to
victims of sexual harassment
or sexual assault in the
workplace,” she said.
“[The organisation] will be
working collaboratively
across a number of sectors,
including with law firms and
legal service providers to
ensure that victims of
sexual harassment are
supported in taking legal
action.”
The other founding board
members of NOW Australia are
Katherine Teh-White, Avril
Henry, Liza-Jayne Loch,
Erica Lovell, Nareen Young,
Tasneem Chopra, Katrina
Irawati Graham and Milly
Petriella. The members will
guide Now Australia through
its crowdfunding,
consultation and
philanthropy phase and
beyond.
Yassmin Abdel-Magied posted
the news of her deportation to
Instagram.
Australian author Yassmin
Abdel-Magied says she has
been deported from the US.
In a series of tweets, Ms
Abdel-Magied said she was
put back on a plane after
arriving at Minneapolis
airport ahead of an
appearance at an April 18
event in New York called The
M Word: No Country for Young
Muslim Women.
The controversial TV
personality, who moved from
Australia to the UK in 2017,
said US authorities
cancelled her visa and took
her passport and phone.
She said she was not given
any reason for her
deportation.
In a statement, US Customs
and Border Protection
confirmed to the ABC that Ms
Abdel-Magied was refused
entry because she had the
wrong travel visa.
"During the inspection, CBP
officers determined this
individual [Ms Abdel-Magied]
did not possess the
appropriate visa to receive
monetary compensation for
the speaking engagements she
had planned during her visit
to the United States," a CBP
spokesperson said.
"As such, she was deemed
inadmissible to enter the
United States for her visit,
but was allowed to withdraw
her application for
admission. The traveller is
eligible to reapply for a
visa for future visits."
Ms Abdel-Magied was born in
Sudan but said she was
travelling on her Australian
passport.
Minister for Citizenship and
Multicultural Affairs Alan
Tudge earlier told Sky News
he had not heard the details
of the incident, but that
"it is unusual for an
Australian citizen to not be
granted a visa to go into
the US".
"I just don't know the
details underpinning this
and whether or not it was
that she had a tourist visa
but perhaps there was
evidence that she was going
to do other things there
other than being a tourist,"
he said.
"Every Australian citizen
has the right to consular
access so she has that right
as well."
In its statement the CBP
added "it is important to
note that issuance of a visa
or a visa waiver does not
guarantee entry to the US."
The event Ms Abdel-Mageid
was due to speak at was part
of the annual PEN World
Voices Festival, which
starts on Monday next week.
A spokesperson said they
were "dismayed" that an
invited guest was turned
away by US immigration
officials.
"[Ms] Abdel-Magied is an
advocate of the rights of
Muslim women and refugees
and is a citizen of
Australia, travelling on
that country's passport."
The spokesperson said they
understood Ms Abdel-Mageid
was travelling on a type of
visa she had used in the
past for similar trips
without any issues.
"We call on Customs and
Border Patrol to admit her
to the US so that she can
take her rightful place in
the urgent international
conversation to take place
at the festival next week."
Abdul Aziz from
Nigeria, who won the Gold Medal
for weight lifting at the
Commonwealth Games, cannot hold
back his joy at meeting with two of the
Game's celebrities.
Gifts from the Gold Coast
The
Gold
Coast Mosque and I-Care
Queensland donated more than 100
copies of the Holy Quran as well
as abayas, hijabs and other
items to the Muslim members of
the Nigerian team who
participated at the Games. Dr.
Ozi Abdulrahim (pictured in
the middle) said that they
were constructing a Mosque with
a Madrassa back home, and that
the gifts would be well utilised
there.
The Games' Shapers and Movers
Three weeks of
dedicated service to the Muslim
participants at the Multi-faith
Centre at the Commonwealth Games
Village and representing the
Muslim community of the Gold
Coast with grace and dignity
have come to an end for the Gold
Coast Mosque Team (Hussain Baba
(right), Sheikh Mohamed
Ali (2nd from left) and
Hussin Goss (left))
The
acknowledgement from the Games'
Organizers graphically
illustrates their contributions
towards the success of the
event.
A one day summit for Muslim
youth was held yesterday
(Saturday) at the
Novotel Sydney Parramatta to
engage them in robust
discussions on social,
socio-political and
religious viewpoints and the
challenges facing them in
the current climate in
regards to leadership.
It was also an opportunity
to meet other socially and
religiously active and
successful Muslim youth from
around Australia.
There weer panel
presentations with Youth
Leaders and workers,
facilitated group
discussions on specific
leadership issues,
presentations from youth
representatives on proposed
solutions and a comedy
performance by Khaled
Khalafalla
The list of speakers
included Sarah El-Assaad,
Deng Adut, Dawud Ilham and
Jumaana Abdu
Four Australians,
two Muslims and two
Christians, who had
been invited by the
Palestinian
Authority to attend
an international
conference on
Jerusalem at
Ramallah in the West
Bank, on 11 and 12
April were prevented
by Israeli officials
from entering Israel
from Jordan on
Wednesday. No reason
was given as they
were ordered to
return to Jordan,
with their
Australian passports
stamped “Entry
Denied”.
The Australians were
Dr Rateb Jneid,
president of the
Australian
Federation of
Islamic Councils, Mr
Adel Salman,
vice-president of
the Islamic Council
of Victoria, the
Reverend Gregor
Henderson, public
officer of the
Australia Palestine
Advocacy Network and
a former president
of the Uniting
Church in Australia
and Dr Kevin Bray, a
member of the board
of the Palestine
Israel Ecumenical
Network and chair of
Australians for
Justice and Peace in
Palestine. Both Rev
Henderson and Dr
Bray had entered
Israel several times
previously without
incident.
The conference had
taken on a
particular
significance by US
president Donald
Trump’s recent
decision to
recognise Jerusalem
as Israel’s capital
and to relocate the
US embassy there
from Tel Aviv – a
decision, contrary
to international
law, which the
Australian
government does not
support. Israel also
denied entry to more
than 60 others,
Muslim, Hindu and
Christian, from
countries including
Ghana, Tanzania,
India, Kazakhstan,
Kenya, Zambia,
Guatemala,
Kyrgyzstan, Belgium,
Senegal, Bulgaria,
Italy and
Mozambique.
Speaking for all
four Australians, Dr
Jneid said:
“Israel’s
heavy-handed
exclusion is sadly
not unexpected, but
it will backfire by
reinforcing within
Christian, Muslim
and other
communities in
Australia and
elsewhere a
determination to
strengthen their
advocacy for
Palestine and to
combat Israel’s
continual attempts
to shut down
international
consideration of the
real situation in
Gaza and the
occupied Palestinian
territories.”
Despite Israel’s
efforts, the
conference took
place in Ramallah as
planned, with those
denied entry from
Jordan able to take
part via video link,
and one speaker, a
Ghanaian MP,
addressed the
conference from
Amman.
Palestinian
Authority president,
Mahmoud Abbas gave
the keynote speech
affirming East
Jerusalem as the
capital of a future
Palestinian state
and the importance
of Jerusalem as a
holy place for
Christians, Jews and
Muslims, and
welcomed the wide
international
participation in the
Conference as
indicative of
Jerusalem’s unique
importance to the
whole world.
Applications for the Lord
Mayor’s Multicultural
Business Scholarship and
Mentoring Scheme are now
open.
The scholarship program and
mentoring scheme will
provide an excellent
opportunity for aspiring
business owners to enhance
their commercial and
entrepreneurial skills, and
expand their business in
Brisbane.
The courses on offer this
year are below. In total,
there are 30 scholarships
and at least 20 mentoring
placements on offer:
• Certificate IV in
Small Business
Management (BSB42515)
with TAFE Queensland
• Certificate IV in New
Small Business
(BSB42615) with TAFE
Queensland
• Certificate IV in
Business with Site
Institute
• Diploma of Leadership
and Management with Site
Institute
• Master of Information
Technology or Master of
Business Administration
(Health Services
Management) with
Federation University
Australia
• Diploma of Beauty
Therapy with the
Brisbane School of
Hairdressing and Beauty
• Non-certificate
Multicultural Round
Table Mentoring.
Applications for the Lord
Mayor’s Multicultural
Business Scholarship Program
and Mentoring Scheme are
open until 5pm, 30 April
2018.
She might be the head of the
Church of England with a
bloodline that traces some
of the greatest kings and
queens in history, but Queen
Elizabeth may also be a
direct descendant of the
Prophet Mohamed, according
to researchers.
A Moroccan newspaper claims
it has traced the Queen’s
lineage back 40 generations,
through English, Scottish
and European royalty until
it reaches the Muslim kings
of Spain and, through them,
to the founder of Islam.
The revelation, published in
the Assahifa Al-Ousbouia
newspaper, has been greeted
with glee in the Muslim
world, with some declaring:
“Allah save the Queen!”
The claims may not be as
outlandish as they seem.
They were, in fact, first
aired in Burke’s Peerage,
Britain’s bible of
aristocratic genealogy, back
in 1986.
At the time Harold
Brooks-Baker, publishing
director of Burkes Peerage —
which has provided
authoritative genealogical
records of aristocratic
families for over 200 years
— wrote to then Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher
asking for greater security
for the royal family. “The
royal family’s direct
descent from the prophet
Mohammed cannot be relied
upon to protect the royal
family forever from Muslim
terrorists,” he said.
“It is little known by the
British people that the
blood of Mohammed flows in
the veins of the queen,” he
added.
The Queen’s family tree
stays in England back to
Richard of Conisburgh,
grandfather of King Richard
III, who died in 1415.
However after that —
according to the researchers
— it moves to Spain, and to
Richard’s mother, Isabella
of Castile, daughter of
Pedro, King of Castile and
Leon until 1369.
From here, the line is
traced to Abbad al-Qasim
Muhammad ibn Abbad, the
Muslim king of Seville who
died in 1042, then on back
to Hasan ibn Ali, the
Prophet Mohamed’s grandson
through his youngest
daughter Fatima. From there,
it reaches the Prophet who
died in the 7th century in
what is now Saudi Arabia.
David Starkey, the acclaimed
British historian, said the
theory was “not at all
outlandish,” although it
remained unproven. Dr
Starkey told The Times of
London that the family tree
was “rock solid” back to
Richard of Conisburgh and
there was a lot of
intermarriage between
English and Spanish royal
families (Henry VIII’s first
wife, for instance, was
Catherine of Aragon,
daughter of Isabella I of
Castile). He added that the
“the medieval monarchs of
Spain and the Islamic royal
houses were very close and
totally intermeshed,” while
the early caliphates of
Islam were based in Spain.
The Umayyed Caliphate,
established after Mohamed’s
death, reached over 15
million square kilometres
from the Caucasus to Muslim
Spain, Portugal, Andorra and
Gibraltar.
At the age of 7, he told his
father he wanted to be a
farmer. Together they
formulated a plan to pursue
his dream.
New Zealand's global farming
reputation was attractive
and after some secondary
schooling in Singapore,
Abdul-Jabbar was accepted
for his final year Glenfield
College in Auckland.
He then studied agricultural
science at Massey University
before completing a Masters
and becoming assistant herd
manager on a 750-cow dairy
farm outside Hamilton.
Within months, he was
promoted to farm manager at
just 22 years old.
By then, he'd also met
Silvia, a banking and
finance major working for
Westpac in Wellington. She
shifted to Hamilton and
worked at National bank
before a stint at Ministry
for Social Development and
then starting a family.
After sharemilking in
Rotorua and Winton, the
Abdul-Jabbars bought
185-hectares south-east of
Invercargill in 2007. They
soon bought neighbouring
properties and now operate
two dairy farms and three
support blocks, milking more
than 1000 cows a day.
It's been a great move for
the Abdul-Jabbars and their
five children: Aisha, 15,
Hafsha, 13, Maryam, 10,
Omar, 7, and 3-year-old
Talha. Despite Southland
being known as a
conservative region, they've
become prominent members of
the local community.
Reza is a member of the
Gorge Road School board of
trustees while Silvia is on
the PTA, while they both act
as translators for police
and as Consulate-general for
the Republic of Indonesia.
Reza Abdul-Jabbar and his
wife Silvia.
Reza lectures for schools
and other organisations
while being involved in a
research centre for dairy
production. All the while
running five farms, caring
for five children, hunting
wild geese, goats, and deer,
touring Harley Davidsons
across the Catlins, and
praying to Allah six times a
day.
"You can always sleep less,"
Abdul-Jabbar says, tucking
into stuffed chicken
prepared earlier by Silvia.
He spreads homemade chilli
and passes the jar, warning
with smile, that it's got a
kick.
"Yes, we're busy, everyone
is busy but you've got to
give something. It's good to
make money and have
businesses, but nothing is
more rewarding than serving
others. You can always do
something, at lunchtime, in
the evening. We have an open
door policy at the farm here
and it's the same for the
mosque."
A
Shaykh in Florida by the
name of Shaykh Azhar Nasser
is currently winning at
Twitter! Not too long ago he
began tweeting the questions
posed to him alongside
responses to those
questions.
It’s probably worth stating
at this point that if you
don’t have a sense of
humour, please read no
further.
His Twitter feed is a great
reminder that religion
doesn’t always have to be
about punishment, hell and
brimstone and that sometimes
we need to take a moment to
stop and actually have some
fun!
I’m not entirely sure what
the straw was that broke the
camel’s back, so to speak,
but the Shaykh isn’t holding
back anymore. Ask him
questions at your peril!
Here is another of these tweets
(continued from
last week's CCN):
There are approximately 1.84
billion Muslims in the world
today, making up 24.38% of
the world’s population, or
just under one-quarter of
mankind. As well as being
citizens of their respective
countries, they also have a
sense of belonging to the ‘ummah’,
the worldwide Muslim
community.
The Muslim500 publication
sets out to ascertain the
influence some Muslims have
on this community, or on
behalf of the community.
Influence is: any person who
has the power (be it
cultural, ideological,
financial, political or
otherwise) to make a change
that will have a significant
impact on the Muslim world.
Note that the impact can be
either positive or negative,
depending on one’s point of
view of course.
15
"We have to strike a balance
of responsibility between
our duty to update other
sources of energy,
protecting our environment
and ensuring a proper legacy
for the next generation."
Crown
Prince of Abu Dhabi and
Deputy Supreme Commander of
the UAE Armed Forces
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed
Al-Nahyan is the Crown
Prince of Abu Dhabi and
Deputy Supreme Commander of
the UAE Armed Forces, as
well as next in line to be
President of the United Arab
Emirates. The UAE is
increasingly becoming an
important centre for global
weapons trading, with Abu
Dhabi host to one of the
world’s largest defence
expos.
Political and Military
Leadership: Sheikh
Mohammed is chairman of the
Abu Dhabi Executive
Council—an executive
leadership body in Abu
Dhabi, which is constantly
engaged in the assessment of
public policy. Since
becoming Crown Prince in
2004, Sheikh Mohammed has
been recognized for his
groundbreaking initiatives
as an influential leader of
Abu Dhabi.As Deputy Supreme
Commander of the armed
forces, Sheikh Mohammed’s
directives were central to
the Arab coalition military
campaigns against Houthi
strongholds in Yemen. He is
a special advisor to UAE
President HH Sheikh Khalifa
bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
Economic Development:
With Abu Dhabi sitting on
the 10th of the world’s
proven oil reserves, Sheikh
Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan
maintains immense political
influence in the Muslim
World as a leading member of
the Abu Dhabi National Oil
Company—which directs
development efforts for the
UAE’s role in the oil and
gas industries. Sheikh
Mohammed is chairman of the
Abu Dhabi Council for
Economic Development (ADCED),
which has been developing
initiatives to boost
entrepreneurship among youth
in the UAE.
Humanitarian: Sheikh
Mohammed is noted for his
philanthropic and
humanitarian efforts in
charitable giving. He has
donated billions of dollars
to various causes, including
DH55 million to the UN
Global Initiative to Fight
Human Trafficking, and
purchasing vaccines in
Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Sustainable Development
and Conservationist:
Sheikh Mohammed has been a
champion of sustainable
development in Abu Dhabi as
an advocate for the
implementation of green
technologies. He pledged $15
billion for the development
of clean energy through
solar, wind and hydrogen
power. He is also a keen
falconer and is committed to
protecting falcons and other
species in the region.
ANOTHER FROM THE TOP 50
INFLUENTIAL MUSLIMS IN NEXT
WEEK'S CCN
14 stages of
love according
to the Arabic
language
By Rayana Khalaf
Arabs are in a
league of our
own when it
comes to
romance. I mean,
just look at the
ways we express
love, we're
always ready to
sacrifice our
skin and bones
for the people
we love.
Over-the-top
demonstration of
love goes beyond
our everyday
conversation, as
it is rooted
deep within our
literature.
There is no
shortage of epic
and fiery poems
in Arab
literature,
brought to us by
the likes of Abu
Nawas and Nizar
Qabbani.
In these poems,
we see
variations of
words referring
to love, like "'oshk"
and "gharam"...
but contrary to
popular belief,
these words are
not synonymous.
They each refer
to a unique
degree of love.
Actually, there
are 14 degrees
of love in
Arabic language.
Here they are in
increasing order
of intensity:
"Al-wasab"
translates
to pain
and
illness.
In this
stage,
love is
just not
healthy.
There is
so much
pain and
suffering,
it's the
stuff
for epic
love
poems.
To Build a More
Just Malaysia,
We Need a More
Complex
Understanding of
Islamic Legal
Theory
By Zainah Anwar
How do we
apply authentic
Islamic
principles to
solve the
problems we face
in multi-ethnic
and
multi-religious
Malaysia, to
ensure that
justice is done?
Zainah Anwar is a founding
member and former executive
director of Sisters in Islam,
and is currently the director
for Musawah, a global movement
for equality and justice in the
Muslim family.
My longing and
the goal of my
work for decades
is for
Malaysians to
make a conscious
decision to be
civil, informed
and fair-minded
in managing our
differences -
particularly on
matters of
religion.
To threaten to
rape or kill
someone for just
having a
different
opinion, to
declare a group
of eminent
establishment
figures who have
and are still
serving state
and society with
distinction as
deviants, and
threaten them
with a fatwa
indicates the
depths of
ignorance,
misguidance and
hysteria we have
plunged into
when talking
about Islam.
Really, the only
way one can shut
up any public
debate on
matters of
religion is for
the government
to decide to end
the use of Islam
as a source of
law and public
policy to govern
our lives, in
private and in
public.
The stark
reality,
however, is that
Malaysia is a
country where in
the name of
Islam, we can be
sent to prison,
fined, lashed,
shamed, fatwa'ed
and declared
deviants and
apostates. What
are considered
personal sins in
the eyes of God
have been turned
into crimes
against the
state. And we
are supposed to
remain silent
and be silenced
while our
fundamental
rights and
liberties are
abused and rule
of law is
violated by some
self-appointed
God's "soldiers"
on earth?
But we still
live in a
democracy with
the Constitution
as the supreme
law of the land.
We do not live
in a theocratic
dictatorship
that some of us
seem to imagine.
So let's end
this grandiose
claim that we
speak in God's
name and let's
stop invoking
God's wrath on
anyone and
anything
different. We
need to find
ways to conduct
a sane,
constructive and
productive
discussion on
Islam.
By Ian AlmondIan
Almond,
Professor of
World Literature
at Georgetown
University in
Qatar
To be Muslim is
not to be
politically
asleep, but
rather to be in
a permanent
state of
critique.
The critical
tradition of Islam might well be
compared with a city which is
under attack on two fronts -
from without, and from within,
writes Almond
Nothing is more
satisfying than
the conviction
that your enemy
lacks the
ability to think
critically. What
could be more
gratifying than
the idea that
the person you
are fighting is
trapped in an
airlock of
unreflection? It
blesses your
struggle,
redeems your
cruelty,
legitimises your
violence. If a
definition of
humanity is the
ability to think
for oneself,
then what could
be wrong with
fighting the
unfree?
The modern
pairing of Islam
with the
incapacity for
critical thought
is a fairly old
gesture - the
Enlightenment
philosopher
Leibniz said
Muslims were so
fatalistic they
wouldn't even
jump out of the
way of carts.
Over the past
fifteen years,
however, the
internet has
enabled and
amplified a
panoply of
voices with this
view.
From the digital
rooftops, a
thousand voices
are shouting
down Islam as a
space inimical
to any form of
rational
reflection:
millionaire
right-wingers
masquerading as
free-thinkers
such as Bill
Maher,
Eton-educated
"voices of the
people" such as
Douglas Murray,
sophisticated
hate-distillers
such as Ann
Coulter and her
not-so-bright
British version,
Katie Hopkins …
even Greek
classics
professors-turned-Islam
experts such as
Tom Holland have
joined the fray.
Some of the
historical
acrobatics
involved in this
gesture are
awe-inspiring.
Any academic
would be laughed
out of the room
if they
suggested St
Augustine was
somehow
complicit in the
bombing of
abortion
clinics, or that
the medieval
Hohenstaufen
culminated in
the Third Reich,
or that the
Renaissance
never happened.
Almost on a
daily basis,
however,
confident,
context-defying
lines of
continuity are
drawn for Islam
across centuries
and continents,
monocausally
linking the
Ottomans to the
Islamic State of
Iraq and the
Levant (ISIL,
also known as
ISIS), or
seventh century
theology to
attacks on
shopping malls.
In these
re-writings of
history,
contrary or
problematic
episodes (such
as the vast
contribution of
the Islamic
world to
geometry,
astronomy and
the vocabulary
of science in
general) are not
just left out -
anyone even
trying to
mention them is
mocked as a
naive, idiot
liberal. It's a
wonderful age to
be alive.
I often wonder
what can be done
against this
collective
dumbing-down of
an entire faith.
Patiently
repeating points
and examples
from history -
in the manner of
explaining
something
difficult but
obvious to an
eight-year old
child - does not
seem to go very
far in
combatting a
million views on
Youtube. Raising
consciousness is
not enough -
there almost
seems to be a
will not to know
here, a decision
to remain in the
foetal warmth of
a particular
narrative. When
a Western,
best-selling
public
intellectual
openly laughs at
the idea of
"Islamic
inventions", and
garners online
10,000 likes in
doing so, it is
difficult to see
what benefit the
provision of
empirical facts
can provide.
Large sections
of our society
seem to be
locked into
certain
fantasies about
Islam and the
West - and how
we are going to
unlock those
fantasies
remains as
unclear as ever.
Not that
scholars have
given up. Irfan
Ahmad's latest
book, Religion
As Critique:
Islamic Critical
Thinking from
Mecca to the
Marketplace
(2017), offers
an interesting
opposition to
the
West-and-the-rest
narratives of an
European
Enlightenment
radiating
outwards from
Greece and
Germany into the
backward corners
of a darker
world. Positing
the Prophet
Mohammed as "a
critic of the
Meccan social
order", Ahmad
constructs an
alternative
genealogy of the
verb to critique
(tanqid/naqd),
one which is not
by any means
dismissive of
Greek/pre-Islamic/Western
traditions, "but
which at the
same time can't
be subsumed
within them". It
is a welcome
move that
intelligently
and articulately
condenses the
work of previous
scholars (Talal
Asad, Gayatri
Spivak, J G A
Pocock) on two
important
points.
First of all, it
demonstrates the
extent to which
the
Enlightenment
was an "ethnic
project" - an
ethnic project,
moreover, which
was in constant
need of an
enemy. When Kant
spoke about the
space of
philosophy to be
defined, he
often alluded to
the space of
Europe, whose
boundaries
needed to be
patrolled.
Secondly, the
tired linking of
the critical
with the secular
- and
"uncritical"
with the
religious - is
something
Ahmad's book
goes on to
rigorously
deconstruct.
Perhaps a touch
controversially
for some, he
declares:
"Against the
reigning doxa,
which views
Islam and
critique as
mutually
exclusive
domains … I
propose we begin
to think of
Islam as
critique;
indeed, Islam as
permanent
critique."
To be Muslim, in
other words, is
not to be
politically
asleep, or
passively
receptive to a
divine will, but
rather to be in
a permanent
state of
critique.
Not everyone
will be
politically
comfortable with
some of the
choices Ahmad
has as examples
of this critical
tradition (Abul
Ala Maududi, the
founder of
Pakistan's
Jamaat-e-Islami,
is given a
central
chapter), but
the gesture he
makes -
developing an
alternative
genealogy of
critical thought
in the Urdu
Islamicate
traditions of
South Asia - is
a valuable one.
To be fair,
there is another
aspect to this
issue we have
not yet touched
upon. The
critical
tradition of
Islam might well
be compared with
a city which is
under attack on
two fronts -
from without,
and from within.
In addition to a
certain
relentless
Western
reduction of
Islam to an
unreflective
cult, there are
those within the
Muslim world
would wholly
reject some of
its most famous
philosophers and
critical
thinkers as
un-Islamic. The
late Shahab
Ahmed's
monograph What
Is Islam?: The
Importance of
Being Islamic
(2015), in this
respect, stands
interestingly
alongside Irfan
Ahmad's book as
a parallel
attempt to
re-define the
parameters of
the Islamic
world - and,
implicitly, its
relationship to
both the Western
and the secular.
Although Shahab
Ahmed's focus on
activities such
as wine drinking
lends it a
different tone
from Religion As
Critique, both
books share a
frustration with
narrow
definitions of
the Islamic
tradition. In
Shahab Ahmed's
case, this is a
desire to expand
the idea of
being Islamic
well beyond the
"putative
centrality" of
jurisprudence
which most
convention seems
to define the
religion by; in
Irfan Ahmad's
book, a similar
belief in the
value of
everyday
experience -
"the practice …
of the
nonscholarly and
commoners" as
Ahmad puts it -
is given as much
weight as the
pronouncements
of the ulema in
deciding what an
Islamic critical
tradition might
be.
These debates
will go on. In
closing, it
might be worth
ending with the
words an Arab
philosopher
wrote in the
city of
Damascus, just
over 800 years
ago. Words which
demonstrate (if
you'll forgive
my anachronism)
a remarkable
pre-psychological
awareness of the
extent to which
we personally
construct the
God we worship:
"… you will see
no one who
worships an
unmade God,
since man
creates in
himself that
which he
worships and
judges. When a
person sees
something of the
[divine] Real,
he never sees
anything but
himself."
The writer is
Ibn Arabi
(1165-1240), and
the extracts are
two lines taken
from his Futuhat,
written at some
point during the
1220s. Of course
I am ripping
these words out
of context, and
yet the
sentiment they
express - the
God we pray to
always reflects
us, even comes
out of us, in
some way or
another - is a
suspicion to be
found across
Jewish and
Christian
traditions too (Maimonides,
Meister Eckhart).
Eight hundred
years ago, a
keen
epistemological
querying of
religious
experience was
already at work.
Admittedly, the
goal of this
querying was not
a secular
demolition of
God, but a purer
experience of
the divine; not
the exposure of
God as a
psychological
illusion, but a
clearer
demarcation
between what we
imagine God to
be, and the
thing that lies
beyond it. Some
might call this
a deferred
critical
thinking:
critical thought
put to the
ultimate service
of the
uncritical. It's
a fair charge -
people are
entitled to
their opinion.
But there must
be something
valuable in
trying to
remember that
lines like these
were being
written in
Damascus, and
Cairo, and
Cordoba,
centuries before
Gramsci, Marx
and Descartes.
And certainly
800 years before
Youtube.
The third issue
of the annual
European
Islamophobia
Report (EIR)
consists of an
overall
evaluation of
Islamophobia in
Europe in the
year 2017, as
well as 33
country reports
which include
almost all EU
member states
and additional
countries such
as Russia and
Norway. This
year’s EIR
represents the
work of 40
prominent
scholars and
civil society
activists from
various European
countries.
In addition to
highlighting the
developments of
Islamophobia in
key fields such
as employment,
education and
politics, the
report provides
country-specific
policy
recommendations
to counter this
phenomenon and a
detailed
chronology of
events.
East London Takeaway Serves
Free Food to Over 300 Needy
People Every Thursday
IlmFeed
Why Inmates Are Converting To
Islam
AJ+
Islam isn't just
the fastest growing religion in
the world, it's also the fastest
growing faith in U.S. prisons.
But why do so many inmates turn
to this religion?
Baby 'Prays' Like His Muslim
Teachers
IlmFeed
In Memory of Br Khodre Kanj
The Maze
PLEASE
NOTE
It is the usual policy of CCN to
include notices of events, video links and articles that
some readers may find interesting or relevant. Such notices
are often posted as received. Including such messages/links
or providing the details of such events does not necessarily
imply endorsement or agreement by CCN of the contents
therein.
IMAM:
Mowlana
Imtiaz
(Islamic
College of
Brisbane)
Summary
by Mohideen:
Mowlana
Imtiaz
started with
advising how
to safe
guard all
the good
deeds we do.
He explained
how the
Prophet (pbuh)
held his own
tongue and
told the
Sahabi “this
is the most
dangerous
thing”
Mowlana went
on to say
how Allah
has placed
sharp guards
around our
tongue and
said think
32 times
before
saying
something.
He reminded
the Ayah
from the
Quran where
Allah said
two Angels
will record
every word
uttered. He
also
reminded
that once
something is
uttered from
the mouth it
can never be
returned and
in fact it
will be
recorded. He
gave an
example of
how when we
buy goods
from the
supermarket
we check the
ingredients
to see if it
contains
even a small
amount of
Alcohol or
other haram
ingredients,
this is so
that we do
not consume
any haram
via our
mouth.
However, he
questioned
at the same
time do we
think what
comes out of
the mouth?
He spoke at
length about
a question
asked by
Muaz ibn
Jabal. He
gave an
example of
your Amal
like water
going into a
tank and the
tap at the
bottom of
the tank is
open. He
concluded
with the
example of a
bankrupt
person and
also gave
five advices
to save our
Amals.
Pompeo
and Bolton Appointments Raise Alarm Over
Ties to Anti-Islam Groups
Mike Pompeo,
the C.I.A. director, has been
chosen by President Trump to
replace Rex Tillerson as
secretary of state.
US: Nearly two months
after the Boston Marathon bombing, Mike
Pompeo, then a congressman from Kansas,
took to the floor of the House to
denounce American Muslim leaders for
what he called their “silence” in
response to the heinous terrorist
attack.
“Silence has made these Islamic leaders
across America potentially complicit in
these acts,” Mr. Pompeo said, reading
from prepared remarks.
In fact, more than half a dozen American
Muslim organizations had issued
statements condemning the bombing within
hours of the attack. In the days
following, Muslim groups organized news
conferences, blood drives and prayer
vigils. Mr. Pompeo was immediately
informed that he was wrong, but did not
apologize or respond to Muslim groups
stung by his remarks.
Mr. Pompeo, now the C.I.A. director, has
been chosen by President Trump to
replace Rex Tillerson as secretary of
state. He faces what is expected to be a
relatively smooth confirmation hearing
in the Senate. But an array of voices
are raising alarm over what they say is
Mr. Pompeo’s record of anti-Muslim
remarks and ties to anti-Islam groups.
American Muslims, Jews, civil rights
groups like the American Civil Liberties
Union and former State Department
officials are among those pushing
senators on the Foreign Relations
Committee to take a closer look.
“My concern is that Mr. Pompeo has left
a trail of horrific, inaccurate, bigoted
statements and associations vis-à-vis
Muslims around the world,” said Shaun
Casey, former director of the State
Department’s office of religion and
global affairs under the Obama
administration. Mr. Casey questioned
whether Mr. Pompeo, with such a record,
could be “a credible representative” for
the dozens of Muslim-majority countries
he would have to conduct diplomacy with.
Islamic and Jewish groups have raised
similar concerns about John R. Bolton,
Mr. Trump’s choice for national security
adviser and a former ambassador to the
United Nations.
Mr. Bolton and Mr. Pompeo both have ties
to individuals and groups promoting a
worldview that regards Islam not so much
as a religion, but as a political
ideology that is infiltrating the United
States and other Western countries with
the goal of imposing Shariah law, the
Muslim legal code. These groups believe
that the vehicle for this takeover is
the Muslim Brotherhood, and they allege
that American mosques, civic
organizations and leaders and even
government officials who are Muslims are
suspected
of being Muslim Brotherhood operatives.
Mr. Pompeo as a congressman arranged a
briefing for one such group called Act
for America, or ACT, on Capitol Hill and
accepted the group’s National Security
Eagle Award in 2016, according to the
group’s website. Local ACT chapters have
protested the construction of mosques,
as well as school textbooks that include
information about Islam, and have
promoted “anti-Shariah” bills in state
legislatures. The founder of ACT,
Brigitte Gabriel, has written that “the
purest form of Islam” is behind the
terrorist attacks: “It’s not radical
Islam. It’s what Islam is at its core.”
Crown
prince’s moves making Saudi’s future more
uncertain
Mohammed bin Salman’s reforms to
Saudi Arabia’s economic and
foreign policies could
destabilise the country, writes
Shlomo Avineri.
Mohammed bin Salman’s reforms to
Saudi Arabia’s economic and
foreign policies could
destabilise the country, writes
Shlomo Avineri.
SAUDI ARABIA: Some of
Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud’s actions in
Saudi Arabia have garnered favourable
coverage, not least his decrees allowing
women to drive.
‘The most dangerous moment for a bad
government,” the 19th-century French
statesman and historian Alexis de
Tocqueville observed, “is usually when
it begins to reform itself.”
Reform, after all, implies that
traditional norms and institutions may
have already been discredited, but that
alternative structures have yet to be
firmly established.
Tocqueville’s classic example was the
regime of Louis XVI, whose attempts at
reform quickly led to the French
Revolution, and to his own execution in
1793.
Another example is Mikhail Gorbachev’s
effort to reform the Soviet Union in the
1980s. By the end of 1991, the
Soviet Union had collapsed and Gorbachev
was out of power.
Today, something similar could very well
happen to the young Saudi crown prince,
Mohammed bin Salman (widely known as MBS),
as he takes steps to modernise his
country.
Saudi Arabia has long maintained
(relative) internal stability by
spreading its enormous oil wealth among
its subjects, and by imposing on Saudi
society fundamentalist Islamic doctrines
based on the austere Wahhabi tradition.
After the kingdom’s founding in 1932,
many Saudis enjoyed unprecedentedly high
standards of living, and hundreds of
members of the Saudi royal family were
transformed from desert sheikhs into
enormously rich members of the
international moneyed elite.
Various sons of the regime’s founder,
Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, succeeded each other
as rulers a kingdom that, following Arab
tradition, bore the name of its founding
and ruling dynasty (another is the
current Hashemite kingdom of Jordan).
Chaplain Asma
Inge-Hanif receiving the MLK Jr.
Drum Major Service award from
the United States Secretary of
Education, Betsy DeVos and a
letter from the U.S. Department
of Education (ED) Center for
Faith Based and Neighborhood
Partnerships and the White House
Initiative on Educational
Excellence for African Americans
in Honoring Martin Luther King
Jr.’s Drum Major Legacy.
The MLK Jr.
Drum Major Innovation Service
Award is awarded to individuals
who perform extraordinary acts
of service.
Whatever hopes
people may have for the region are being dashed
over and over, in country after country.
Nicolas Pelham, a
veteran correspondent for The Economist, has
seen much of the tragedy first hand, but in Holy
Lands he presents a strikingly original and
startlingly optimistic argument.
The Middle East was notably more tolerant than
Western Europe during the nineteenth century,
because the Ottoman Empire permitted a high
degree of religious pluralism and
self-determination within its vast borders.
European powers
broke up the empire and tried to turn it into a
collection of secular nation-states; it was a
spectacular failure.
Rulers turned
religion into a force for nationalism and the
result has been ever increasing sectarian
violence.
The solution, Pelham
argues, is to accept the Middle East for the
deeply religious region it is, and try to revive
its tradition of pluralism.
Holy Lands is a work of vivid reportage--from
Turkey and Iraq, Israel and Palestine, Abu Dhabi
and Dubai, Bahrain and Jordan--that is animated
by a big idea. It makes a region that is all too
familiar from news reports feel fresh.
KB says:
Sharing Raeesa Khatree's recipe from her The
Great Australian Bake Off appearance.
Coconut oil
pastry is the perfect base for these fig and
frangipane dairy-free tarts.
Fig
and frangipane tarts
Recipe by Raeesa Khatree
from The Great Australian
Bake Off
Ingredients
Method
Pastry base
1¼ cup pastry flour
¼ cup icing sugar
¼ tsp fine salt
½ cup solid coconut
oil (approx. 105
grams)
1 egg yolk
1 tsp (heaped)
vanilla bean paste
Zest of 1 lemon
¼ cup almond meal
¼ cup olive oil
Fruit
7 fresh figs- cut
finely to form
flower pattern
1 pomegranate or
punnet of seeds from
1 pomegranate- for
top
Glaze
1 cup sugar
¾ cup water
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
Pinch of cinnamon
powder
1. For the pastry
base, using a food
processor, pulse
together the flour,
salt and sugar. Add
coconut oil, lemon
zest, egg yolk,
vanilla bean paste
and almond meal.
Pulse well until
dough comes
together, then add
olive oil in a
single drizzle.
Remove dough and
lightly form
together. Very
gently, press into 6
tart pans- thin
layer.
2. Place each tart
onto a large baking
pan and place in
freezer for 5
minutes prior to
baking if needed.
Place baking paper
into each tart and
top with blind
baking beads. Bake
for 10 minutes,
remove bead weights
and then bake for a
further 10 minutes
with frangipane
filling on 180°C.
3. Remove from oven
and place figs into
filling and bake for
another 10 minutes
or until golden. If
need be, place under
grill on 200°C.
4. For the filling,
blend or whisk honey
and coconut oil
thoroughly for 5-6
minutes. Add vino
cotto and eggs and
stir well, fold in
almond meal and then
flour.
5. For the fruit,
slice figs length
wise into very thin
slivers and then
split half the
piece, then place
onto filling very
carefully to make a
rose/flower pattern
by overlapping
pieces of fig. Bake
in preheated oven on
170°C for 20
minutes.
6. For the glaze,
using a saucepan,
dissolve sugar in
water on medium heat
and once mixture
starts bubbling,
reduce heat and add
all other
ingredients. Let it
simmer on low heat
till mixture
thickens and the
glaze forms,
approximately 10
minutes. Keep aside
and cool before
brushing over fruit
tart.
7. To assemble,
remove tarts from
cases and gently
place on serving
platter. Brush glaze
over fig and place
pomegranate seeds on
edge of tart and in
the middle of the
fig flower.
Welcome to my weekly
column on
Self-Care and
Clarity of Mind.
If you’re taking
time out to read
this, pat yourself
on the back because
you have shown
commitment to taking
care of your mind
and body.
Today, In Shaa
ALLAH, we will
explore the topic:
Do You Suffer
From WWPSS (what
will people say
syndrome)?
This figure is
increasing daily.
100% of my clients
have symptoms of
depression and
anxiety.
I too battle with my
own Complex PTSD
diagnosis. I manage
it without
psychotropic drugs,
however, it wasn’t
always the case. I
also do not define
myself with the
label of the
diagnosis. I guess
the psychiatrist had
to tick a box and
after studying my
symptoms at the time
‘Complex PTSD’ was
the best box she
could tick. Prior to
coming off the
drugs, I had to go
through intensive
self-reflective
therapy to
understand my
biggest fears and
how to manage them
or overcome most of
them.
The sessions made me
understand what
perpetuated my
fears. I was
suffering from, in
my own words, WWPSS
- What Will People
Say Syndrome. Every
fear I had was based
on insecurities of
how people would
view me, how they
would judge me and
whether or not I
would measure up to
their expectations.
Bottom line was that
I was in the
business to
constantly please
everyone. Also
commonly known as
the ‘disease to
please’ or
‘people-pleasing
syndrome’. All I was
doing was trying my
hardest and still
failing at getting
approval from
people. It never
dawned on me that
the people whose
approval I was
desperately seeking
had displayed highly
disrespectful and
immoral behaviours
for as long as I
could remember. Not
only did they not
deserve my efforts
to constantly please
them but they also
didn’t deserve any
justifications of my
choices. I was not
answerable to them.
Period.
So, now, I’m asking
you to pause your
life for a moment
and reflect on your
day today. How much
of your day today
revolved around
pleasing people? Who
are these people you
are trying to seek
approval from? And
why?
As Muslims, we must
constantly remind
ourselves this
truth: We are here
to please only
ALLAH, not to please
Muslims or any other
being. You may be
displaying symptoms
of WWPSS without
even realising it.
It’s because we want
to be liked by
everyone. The
yearning for
acceptance and a
sense of belonging
is natural. However,
acknowledging that
you are NOT a slave
to people’s
expectations is
vital if you are
seeking better
mental health and
wellbeing.
7 Strategies To
Overcome WWPSS
The following
strategies will
hopefully help you
understand your
tendency to seek
approval from others
and better equip you
with ways to beat
this syndrome.
1. Know that you
probably don’t
like everybody
in the world and
that not
everybody in the
world has to
like you. It is
better to
respect someone
and celebrate
your differences
than to like
someone for the
sake of it.
2. ‘No’ is a
complete
sentence. Use
it. Do not feel
the need to
justify it. If
something
doesn’t feel
right in your
gut, SAY NO.
3. Examine the
boundaries you
have set in your
life with
people. What do
these boundaries
look like? How
much do they get
away with? If
you haven’t set
boundaries yet,
now is a great
time to do so.
(If you are
struggling with
setting
boundaries,
contact me and I
may be able to
help).
4. Write down
all the things
that would be
different in
your life if you
stopped pleasing
people.
5. Take your
time to respond
to people’s
requests or
favours. You
have the right
to say “I’ll
think about it
and let you
know”. You don’t
need to react
immediately to
their requests.
You are not
their puppet.
You are a human
being who
deserves
respect.
6. Become
comfortable with
the thought that
you are not here
to please
people. You are
here to please
only ALLAH. When
you are pleasing
people you may
be compromising
on being in
alignment with
ALLAH’s
commandments as
per the Holy
Quran.
7. Read and
re-read your
Holy Quran often
to remind
yourself why you
are here.
Knowing your
ultimate purpose
will empower you
to banish all
fears,
insecurities and
yearning for
approval from
people.
In Shaa ALLAH, next
week we will explore
the topic:
Visioneering
DOWNLOAD
Muslimah Reflections
- my new ebook of
poetry and
affirmations
DOWNLOAD The
Ultimate Self-Care
Guide For Muslimahs
WATCH VIDEOS
from Muslimah Mind
Matters YouTube
Channel.
DOWNLOAD
Muslimah Meditation
Moments - audio
files for
self-awareness
meditation.
If you wish to know
about a specific
topic with regards
to Self-Care and
Clarity of Mind,
please text or email
me or visit
www.muslimahmindmatters.com.
If you wish to have
a FREE one hour
Finding Clarity
telephone session,
contact me on
0451977786.
Q:
Dear Kareema,
I’m coming towards the last 5kgs that I’m hoping
to lose. Any tips on how to drop it?
A:
Commit to
a set period of time, and start each day with a
high-protein breakfast.
Eat smaller light
meals throughout the day and mix your workout
routines up (cardio / strength) etc, and try
doing body weight exercises whenever possible.
Don’t just think of
working out for long periods at a time. Try 5 –
10 min mini-workouts whenever the chance
presents itself and push your body to the limit.
Have fun with your workouts!
Karrimmudin,
Habibullah and Nasruddin are in local coffee shop trying
to convince Jallaludin that there are people worse off
than him.
Karrimmudin: Never give up on people, Br. Jallaludin. I
know that most of the time they don't seem to
understand. But when you're in trouble and you cry out
for help, some will always be there. Habibullah's cousin
Rahimullah is a perfect example. He owed 10,000 dinar on
his mortgage.
Habibullah: They were going to be thrown out on the
street the following day. he was very worried about it.
Nasruddin: So what happened Br. Karrimmudin?
Karrimmudin: He drove out to Pamukkale. Parked about 2
metres from the edge of the cliff.
Nasruddin: What, he was going to drive off it?
Habibullah: Yes! He just sat there for a couple of
hours, his head resting on the steering wheel. People
tried to talk to him out of it but he was too depressed
to listen.
Karrimmudin: But then, and this is the what I mean about
people, Br. Jallaludin, they had a whip-round and got
him his 10,000 dinar.
We have entrusted the human
being with the care of his
parents. His mother carried
him through hardship upon
hardship, weaning him in two
years. So give thanks to Me,
and to your parents. To Me
is the destination.
Treat yourself or a special
lady in your life to a
ladies only, afternoon of
high tea.
We have an exciting
afternoon lined up for you.
Help yourself to tea and
some delicious food as soon
as you enter and then enjoy
a motivational talk from the
very talented Safeera
Sabdia.
Following, we will have a
cake auction and give away
our lucky door prize.
Enjoy a relaxing afternoon
with friends over a cup of
tea and also have a browse
at the market stalls
available.
All proceeds made will go
towards the Masjid building
fund.
If you would like to
purchase tickets,
please contact Sister Salma
Ismail on 0411 411 107.
We look forward to seeing
you!
SYDNEY
Promote your
business, advertise your
services, sell your products
and connect your business to
the Australian Multicultural
community at this vibrant
and fantastic annual event.
The Multicultural Eid
Festival and Fair (MEFF) is
the largest Eid Festival in
Australia, welcoming tens of
thousands of people from
over 35 diverse communities.
IWAA is delivering a small
business program to Muslim
women in the Ipswich area.
It is a free 12 week
program, every Saturday
morning, with a start date
of 7 April.
The program aims to provide
business support, training
and mentoring to Muslim
women to help them
commercialize and
operationalise an idea into
a successful small business
in Ipswich.
The participants will be
provided with mentoring and
one on one skills to assist
them to establish their own
business.
Participants will also be
able to commercialise a
business idea, price and
value it, and be given step
by step guidance and ongoing
mentoring (from mainstream
businesses) to establish and
operationalise a business.
At the end of the 12 week
course participants will
have developed a simple
business and marketing plan,
set up an ABN, registered
their company, set up a
website and Facebook page;
set up accounting systems
and business processes, set
up weekly and monthly cash
flow and other simple book
keeping tasks and will have
established a customer base
and be working on their
business.
Ongoing mentoring and
support will be provided
through the Ipswich Chamber
of Commerce, and individual
business mentors selected to
be part of this program.
The main facilitator is
Christine Mudavanhu who also
resides and owns a business
in Ipswich.
There are only 8 places
available so participants
will need to register ASAP.
If you have any questions,
please do not hesitate to
contact Nora Amath at
nora.cams@iwaa.org.au.
Are you looking at starting your own
business? Do you have a business idea that you would
like to explore with a professional?
This interactive, practical
experience that provides you with tools to start or
grow your business!
Workshop 1: Thinking like an
Entrepreneur Workshop 2: The Entrepreneurship
Journey Workshop 3: Branding and Design Workshop 4:
Communication and Pitching
COST: $80 Workshop Series (Four
Workshops)
MELBOURNE
click on image
Need to improve your English for work or
social settlement? Learn for FREE with the Adult Migrant
English Program at TAFE Queensland.
The AMEP provides up to 510 hours of free English
language, literacy and numeracy training to eligible
refugees and migrants, at more than 40 sites throughout
Queensland.
1. All Islamic Event dates given above are supplied by
the Council of Imams QLD (CIQ) and are provided as a guide and are
tentative and subject to the sighting of the moon.
2. The Islamic date changes to the next day starting in
the evenings after maghrib. Therefore, exceptfor Lailatul
Mehraj,
Lailatul Bhahraat
and
Lailatul Qadr – these dates refer to the commencement of the event
starting in the evening of the corresponding day.
HikmahWay offers online and
in-person Islamic courses to
equip Muslims of today with
the knowledge, understanding
and wisdom to lead balanced,
wholesome and beneficial
lives.
Articles and
opinions appearing in this newsletter do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of the CCN Team, its Editor or its
Sponsors, particularly if they eventually turn out to be
libellous, 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 CCN
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
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A
Shaykh in Florida by the
name of Shaykh Azhar Nasser
is currently winning at
Twitter! Not too long ago he
began tweeting the questions
posed to him alongside
responses to those
questions.
European
Islamophobia
Report 
Pompeo
and Bolton Appointments Raise Alarm Over
Ties to Anti-Islam Groups 
post comments on
our Wall
7
August 2011