From the get go, Australia
has been a multicultural
nation, but where do we
stand when it comes to
rights, perceptions and
representation in politics?
Senator Andrew Bartlett from
the Queensland Greens will
be hosting an open forum
event, with soon-to-be NSW
Senator Dr Mehreen Faruqi at
the Newmarket Bowls Club on
Sunday August 26, from 2pm
–5pm. The panel discussion
aims to understand where
Australia’s migration system
works, and where it is
broken.
Discussions will include the
erosion of family reunion
principles, why it’s
becoming harder to become a
citizen, and the need for a
greater representation of
migrants in Australian
politics. We will also
consider the long hangover
of 9/11 and how it shaped
society’s perceptions.
“The 2016 Census shows 49%
of Australia’s population
are either migrants, or have
at least one parent born
overseas. The remaining
50.7% have been here for at
least three generations, yet
these percentages are not
always reflected in
politics.”
The Queensland Greens are
encouraging members of the
community to engage with
them in this upcoming public
forum, with guest speakers
Dr Mehreen Faruqi and
Navdeep Singh. More speakers
to be announced.
Dr Mehreen Faruqi
Mehreen
is the member of the NSW
Parliament's Upper House and
the first Muslim woman to
win a seat in an Australian
parliament.
She is an engineer,
academic, and activist,
working for social and
environmental justice.
Since migrating from
Pakistan, Mehreen has spent
the past two decades working
and raising her family in
regional NSW and Sydney.
Navdeep Singh Navdeep
is a proud working class man
who migrated from to
Australia from Punjab,
India, in 2006 and runs a
vehicle workshop in
Moorooka, Brisbane.
He was the Greens candidate
for the seat of Inala in the
2017 Queensland election.
This venue is wheelchair
accessible, while there is
parking available it is
limited, so it is important
to arrive early to secure a
spot. Public transport is
also available on the day,
with routes: 345, 357, 359,
360, 361, 372, 373, 390,
921, 934, 935 to Enoggera Rd
at Newmarket (Bus stop no
20) being the routes that
stop the closest to the
venue.
An AUSLAN interpreter has
been arranged for this
event, and volunteer
childcare and a kids' corner
can be arranged if parents
who wish to attend request
it.
This forum is open to
everyone in the community.
People of all backgrounds
are encouraged to attend. We
expect this to be an
informative and interesting
afternoon.
If you have any other
questions, ring the office
of Senator Andrew Bartlett
on 3367 0566 or drop us a
line on
carolina.caliaba@aph.gov.au.
Authorised by Andrew
Bartlett, Queensland Greens,
L2/251 Given Tce, Brisbane
4064
THE academic
and wife of Waleed Aly has been
announced as the host of a new
quiz show.
SUSAN Carland has landed her
own TV show.
The academic, who is married
to The Project’s Waleed Aly,
was yesterday announced as
the host of an SBS quiz show
called Child Genius which
will air later in the year.
“Presided over by
quizmaster, Dr Susan Carland,
this brand new six-part
series to find Australia’s
brightest child in a unique
competition documentary
format, follows the lives of
some of Australia’s
brightest children and their
families,” an SBS statement
said. “These gifted children
all have very high IQs and
showcase phenomenal
cognitive abilities in
maths, general knowledge,
memory and language.
“Presented in association
with Australian Mensa, the
series features participants
and their families from all
over Australia, and provides
unique insight into the joys
— and challenges — of
parenting a gifted child.”
.............
Carland converted to Islam
pre-9/11, and has now
watched her religion become
closely linked to global
terrorism in many people’s
perceptions. Even now,
Carland says her life would
be “so much easier” if she
wasn’t a Muslim: Time and
again, she says she comes up
against people who “cannot
believe that someone,
especially an educated
woman, would possibly choose
it for herself.”
But this hasn’t swayed her
from her religious beliefs.
“I really believe in Islam
as a religion. I really
believe it has something to
offer the world and it’s a
thing of beauty. I just want
people to see that,” she
says.
In late June, Senator
Richard Di Natale, Federal
Greens leader, granted
Manarul Islam, representing
AMUST, an exclusive
interview in his offices at
Parliament House in
Canberra.
AMUST: What is your view
on the approach some
political parties take on
targeting Muslims and other
minorities.
RDN: Well there’s no
question that Islamophobia
is on the rise. Muslims are
an easy target and that the
political parties of
different persuasions attack
Muslims because they see
political advantage in doing
it.
It’s not just in Australia –
although in Australia
there’s been a significant
shift. I mean One Nation
represents obviously the
focus of that and you only
need to look at Pauline
Hanson’s first speech which
was disgraceful – where the
Greens stood up as a team
and walked out as a show of
our disgust with those
comments.
I suppose my own personal
experience is informed by
that as a son of migrants I
see some of the things that
have been said about Muslims
and I reflect on some of the
things that were said about
my parents and grandparents.
I see politicians, Peter
Dutton for example,
criticising Lebanese Muslims
and saying that it was a
mistake “to let in” Lebanese
Muslims. What I hear is not
just an attack on Muslims
but an attack on people like
my family and the many
immigrants from right around
the world that have settled
here.
Those of us who value
multiculturalism and believe
that we’re a better country
because of the contribution
of Muslims and many other
faiths cultures need to take
the stand and so that’s why
we’ve continually been a
strong voice in support of
Australian Muslims.
AMUST: Regarding
refugees, how do you balance
the human rights aspect
which you seem to focus on
with the idea of protecting
Australian borders and the
risks that refugees take in
crossing the seas to get
here.
RDN: This is it’s a
very difficult and complex
area but our response is one
that is guided by compassion
and decency towards fellow
human beings. People often
talk about protecting
Australia’s borders but what
are we protecting them from?
I mean we have people who
are fleeing persecution and
torture, who are coming here
seeking our help.
Refugees are not a threat.
In fact refugees have made a
huge contribution over many,
many generations to the
Australian community. The
language of border
protection is intentionally
designed to try and create a
sense that somehow we have
something to fear when the
reality is the complete
opposite – that we can
enrich the country and
improve the lives of our
fellow human beings by
showing more compassion and
decency.
If (the loss of life) is the
concern, and of course we
are all concerned about
that, then we have to direct
resources in those areas
that refugees are coming
from to ensure that there
have an opportunity to be
processed – where there’s an
ability through the UNHCR
assess people’s refugee
status and to bring people
to Australia. If that’s the
concern that should be the
response.
The reality is for most
people who argue against
what the Greens are saying,
their concern is not driven
by compassion or humanity or
a concern about the welfare
of refugees.
In fact when this first
become a big political issue
with Tampa, the government
at the time wasn’t talking
about concern for the
welfare of those people – in
fact it was doing the
opposite. It was implying
that they were prepared to
throw their children
overboard.
John Howard’s famous cry “we
will decide who comes and
the circumstances in which
they come” wasn’t born out
of compassion or concern.
So there’s a bit of a
rewriting of history here.
I think that many people who
continue to advocate for
indefinite detention and for
the cruelty that that is our
refugee policy right now are
not driven by those
concerns.
If they were they’d be
putting in place a number of
policies like a greater
investment in the UNHCR
process and increasing the
humanitarian intake.
The Greens want to see a
doubling, at least, of our
humanitarian intake – that’s
what you’d be doing if you
were concerned about the
welfare of refugees.
AMUST: Muslims tend to
see the Greens as faithful
allies however they see a
conflict of values when it
comes to LGBTI and the
current issue of voluntary
euthanasia. How do you
counter that amongst the
Muslim supporters?
RDN: Well, I think
firstly I would say that
Muslims, like any other
religion, are not a
monolithic group. They don’t
all share exactly the same
beliefs and I have met
Muslims who do support LGBTI
equality and who do support
the choice of people being
able to choose the terms on
which they die.
The second thing is we fight
for the rights of minority
groups whether that be on
the basis of sexuality or on
the basis of ethnicity,
culture or religion and we
say that is a universal
proposition that we should
be supporting individuals
who are discriminated
against no matter what the
reason for that
discrimination whether that
be gender sexuality
religion, race, culture and
disability.
AMUST: Why should Muslims
vote for the Greens?
RDN: Firstly, because
we’re a party that values
the contribution of the
Muslim community. We’re very
proud supporters of
multicultural Australia. We
think that Muslim
Australians have made an
enormous contribution to the
Australian community and
will always be strong
allies.
We are also a party that
believes in the notions of
equality between people,
economic equality and
equality on the basis of
religion, race, ethnicity
and agenda.
We’re a party that is
founded on the notion of
protecting our environment.
In fact I’ve been to many
Muslim events and it’s
interesting that one of the
central features of the
Qur’an is this notion of
protecting the earth that
sustains us.
Also a recurrent theme in
the Qur’an is the notion of
equality between people.
So I would say to the Muslim
Australians, as I would say
to Australians right across
the board, the Greens is a
party that cares for the
people, wants to protect the
environment and thinks about
the future.
I’d also say that if you
want to see more
accountability and
transparency in politics,
the Greens is a party that
is there to ensure that
whoever governs is
accountable to the
community, acts in a way
that’s transparent and aims
“to keep the bastards
honest.”
The day Brisbane's Agim
Kruezi was arrested for
planning a terrorist attack
on home soil, he had
arranged to meet with one of
his most trusted friends for
a gym workout.
But that friend was an
undercover police officer
who for months had been
building a case against the
25-year-old radicalised
Muslim.
Known as UCO317656, the
Australian Federal Police (AFP)
officer met Kruezi at the
iQraa Islamic Centre at
Underwood, south of
Brisbane, in June 2014.
The centre was soon bugged
with a listening device.
Kruezi had been on the radar
of counter-terrorism
authorities since he tried
unsuccessfully to leave the
country to fight with rebel
forces in Syria.
He would eventually plead
guilty to preparing for a
terrorist attack in
Australia and was yesterday
sentenced to 17 years in
prison.
UCO317656 played a critical
role in foiling the attack
by working tirelessly to
gain the trust of Kruezi and
his friends, even converting
to the Islamic faith in a
ceremony conducted by
Kruezi.
A documentary feature film
on Australian Amateur boxer
Bianca ‘Bam Bam’ Elmir.
Australian Flyweight
champion and Oceania
Bantamweight champion,
'Bam Bam' aims to be the
first Australian to win a
World Amateur Boxing Title.
A Lebanese Muslim from
suburban Australia, she
smashes the stereotypes of
her family, society and her
sport, to prove she is the
best in the world.
Female, Muslim and a boxer:
Bianca Elmir comes out
swinging in doco
Boxer Bianca Elmir recently
turned professional but
she’s hardly getting around
in a limo and eating
truffles.
‘‘Australia isn’t a boxing
nation, so you’re really
pushing shit up hill,’’ says
the diminutive but outspoken
36-year-old, about being one
of about 10 pro female
boxers in this country.
She says she earns ‘‘pocket
money’’, with maybe some
tracksuits donated if she’s
lucky.
‘‘There are women in the
world who’ve made quite a
lot of money being
professional boxers, but
mostly in Europe,’’ says
Elmir, who is training for a
national featherweight title
fight (she's won two
national amateur flyweight
titles) in Canberra next
month.
Her heart is set on winning
a world championship.
She would like sponsors to
contact her but she is
afraid no one cares ‘‘unless
I get my tits out’’.
The
AGE
The
official trailer for the feature
documentary Bam Bam, which
follows Australian Flyweight
Champion Bianca 'Bam Bam' Elmir
on her journey to be a World
Champion.
Australian International
Islamic College is seeking
an experienced and
self-motivated Teacher
aid/Administration assistant
to join our small team at
our City Campus.
This is a contract position
from 1st August to 7th
December 2018.
The applicant must be:
• Experienced in or
willing to work in a
composite class.
• Comfortable working in
upper primary- MUST hold
a valid blue card.
• Able to multitask
(teacher aid and admin).
• Proficient at
Microsoft suite.
• Willing to work as
part of a close-knit
team.
• Be able to conduct
self in a professional
manner over the
telephone and in person.
• Eager to learn all
aspects of the role.
Previous experience in
either Teacher Aid or
Administration preferred.
Amna hopes to
inspire other girls to take the
field.
Interview continued from last week's CCN......
Helping others to heal my
heart
I'm currently on a year's
unpaid leave from the
Australian Federal Police
where I've been in community
engagement for eight years.
I needed the time to heal
after losing my younger
brother Fathi in a road
accident.
He was a tradie by day and a
personal trainer by night
and when he wasn't doing
those things he was in the
gym with my younger sister.
We're a very active family;
we've always supported each
other. His death was
heartbreaking.
The community response was
unbelievable. Thousands of
people came through the
mosque for prayers, to the
cemetery, to our home.
People were giving us a lot
of money to do good work to
honour his life. We built a
deep water well in Somalia
but we felt that was not
enough because he was such a
larger than life, generous
person.
So we decided to build a
school, in his memory, on a
little island called Tanna
in Vanuatu. We have teamed
up with Muslim Aid Australia
to help this remote
community which was hit
badly by Cyclone Pam.
We're half way with the
fundraising to finish that
school and we're hoping to
do some other things to help
the Tanna community become
sustainable with good
facilities.
This is my consistent way of
being committed to honouring
Fathi's life and healing my
heart.
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.
Former Field Marshal Abdel
Fattah Saeed Al-Sisi was
sworn into office as
President of Egypt on 8 June
2014, having earlier that
year resigned from his post
as the Commander in Chief of
the Egyptian Armed Forces.
Army: Sisi first came
to public attention when
then President Muhammed Al-Morsi
of the Muslim Brotherhood
retired the head of the
Supreme Council of the Armed
Forces ( SCAF) Mohamed
Hussein Tantawi and promoted
Sisi to take his place; to
serve as the
Commander-in-Chief as well
as Minister of Defence in
Morsi’s new cabinet.
A Coup by Popular Demand:
On June 30 2013, millions of
Egyptians again took to the
streets in large numbers
demanding that Morsi step
down. The military apparatus
led by Sisi removed Morsi
from power and banned the
Muslim Brotherhood. Morsi
supporters believed that the
coup violated a
democratically legitimate
government, albeit a hugely
polarizing and unpopular
one. Outbreaks of violence
ensued across Egypt that
included the death of many
hundreds of protesters at
the hands of pro-military
police at Raba’a Al-Adawiya
Square in Cairo.
Presidential
Expectations: Sisi has
inherited a politically and
economically battered Egypt,
with a weak infrastructure,
plummeting currency, and
violent insurgency and
unrest in Sinai. Under Sisi,
Egypt has enjoyed excellent
relations with members of
the Arab League, most
notably with Saudi Arabia
and the UAE. Sisi supported
the blockade on Qatar as
well as the GCC-led military
intervention in Yemen. He
has publicly supported the
Asad regime in Syria and has
called on the Palestinian
people to make peace with
Israel in his UNGA speech in
September 2017, promising
the Israeli people “Egypt’s
unwavering support.”
ANOTHER FROM THE TOP 50
INFLUENTIAL MUSLIMS IN NEXT
WEEK'S CCN
CNN spent a year
interviewing more than 100
American Muslims, asking who
they think are the most
influential Muslims in their
fields. We sought nominees
for whom religion is part of
their public identity, but
other than that, we let
American Muslims do most of
the talking.
Raised in a Baptist family
and educated in Catholic
schools, André Carson
converted to Islam when he
was 16.
A year later, he says, he
was arrested by Indianapolis
police as they tried to
enter his local mosque
without probable cause.
The experience helped
motivate Carson to become a
police officer himself, and
he gravitated toward
counter-intelligence work.
Now a member of the House
Intelligence Committee,
Carson is one of two Muslims
in Congress, where he
represents Indiana’s 7th
District.
“Having been a Muslim who
was targeted by law
enforcement as a young man,
and having worked in
counterintelligence as a
police officer, I offer a
unique perspective” on the
tensions between safety and
civil rights, Carson says.
What other Muslims say about
Carson:
“André Carson is the first
Muslim to sit on the House
Intelligence Committee. That
alone is a very big deal.”
Go ahead, white
Australia, eat
your kebabs
while you remind
us of your
'values'
By Randa Abdel-Fattah
‘We are
endlessly
reminded
of our
proud
British
heritage,
of our
inherited
values
and
institutions.
The
bloodstains
are
almost
always
covered
up.’
I know who I am.
Most racialised
people do.
History matters
to us. We know
that the answers
to who we are as
a nation lie in
a story that did
not start with
the last
election or 9/11
or Tampa or
deaths in
custody or the
stolen
generations. We
know that if we
were to approach
the question of
who we are as a
nation the way
we would a
jigsaw puzzle
then the most
logical and
coherent
approach is to
first assemble
the pieces that
make up the
frame to see its
shape and how
the border
determines the
shape and fit of
all the pieces
inside.
We know that the
frame of
Australia is
race. As a
white-settler
colonial outpost
of the British
empire, it could
only ever be
race. The
dispossession,
genocide and
exploitation on
which this
country was
founded; the
legacy of its
status as a
British settler
colony; past
efforts to build
a racially
exclusionary
nation via the
White Australia
policy; its
evolution from
“racial” to
“cultural”
dominance
through the
vehicle of a
highly
politicised
policy of
multiculturalism;
and, above all,
the denial of
Indigenous
sovereignty –
racialised
people know that
this is where
any discussion
of this nation’s
identity must
start.
And so, who am
I? I am writing
this essay on
the land of the
Darug people. I
was born in
Sydney in the
year that the
National
Aboriginal
Conference
called for a
treaty between
Aboriginal
people and the
Australian
government. A
treaty that has,
39 years later,
still not been
achieved. I am
here only
because my
father had the
good fortune to
migrate on a
scholarship to
Sydney
University in
1972, a time
when the last
vestiges of the
White Australia
policy were
being
dismantled. My
father was a
stateless
Palestinian
because the same
imperial
government that
colonised
Australia set
the course for
the theft of my
father’s
homeland,
Palestine.
I am writing
this on the land
of the Darug
people and not
in, say, Cairo,
my mother’s
birthplace,
because my
mother migrated
to Australia in
1974. Her family
saw no future in
Egypt after
Gamal Abdel
Nasser’s
nationalisation
of Egypt’s
economy. My
mother’s family
left a country
in the throes of
resisting years
of British
colonialism and
imperialism only
to migrate to a
former British
colony because
its government
decided their
brown skin was
now palatable.
I am the child
of the
dispossessed.
And I am
complicit in
dispossession. I
know that this
country’s wealth
is bloodstained
and that the
ships that
invaded these
shores more than
200 years ago
were built and
financed by
Britain’s slave
trade. We are
endlessly
reminded of our
proud British
heritage, of our
inherited values
and
institutions.
The bloodstains
are almost
always covered
up. But I know
that I walk on
bloodstained
land.
Sasha Baron
Cohen unveils phoney plans
for a $385 million mosque in
Arizona to a room full of
Trump supporters.
He tells them the project is
being funded by the Saudi
government and the Clinton
Foundation
Gold Coast Mosque Revert
Function
How a Pie Tells an
Essential Story About
Muslims in America
This pie tells
one of the most essential
stories about Muslims in
America. And it’s delicious.
Behind the Scenes: Trevor
Noah
Trevor chats with an audience
member who had to change his
name after 9/11.
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.
Islamic Leaders Have Nothing to Say About
China’s Internment Camps for Muslims
A demonstrator
wearing a mask painted with the
colors of the flag of East
Turkestan and a hand bearing the
colors of the Chinese flag
attends a protest in front of
the Chinese consulate in
Istanbul, on July 5, 2018
CHINA: Internment camps with up to a
million prisoners. Empty neighbourhoods.
Students, musicians, athletes, and
peaceful academics jailed. A massive
high-tech surveillance state that
monitors and judges every movement. The
future of more than 10 million Uighurs,
the members of China’s Turkic-speaking
Muslim minority, is looking increasingly
grim.
As the Chinese authorities continue a
brutal crackdown in Xinjiang, the
northwest region of China that’s home to
the Uighur, Islam has been one of the
main targets. Major mosques in the major
cities of Kashgar and Urumqi now stand
empty. Prisoners in the camps are told
to renounce God and embrace the Chinese
Communist Party. Prayers, religious
education, and the Ramadan fast are
increasingly restricted or banned. Even
in the rest of China, Arabic text is
being stripped from public buildings,
and Islamophobia is being tacitly
encouraged by party authorities.
But amid this
state-backed campaign against their
religious brethren, Muslim leaders and
communities around the world stand
silent. While the fate of the
Palestinians stirs rage and resistance
throughout the Islamic world, and
millions stood up to condemn the
persecution of the Rohingya, there’s
been hardly a sound on behalf of the
Uighur. No Muslim nation’s head of state
has made a public statement in support
of the Uighurs this decade. Politicians
and many religious leaders who claim to
speak for the faith are silent in the
face of China’s political and economic
power.
“One of our primary barriers has been a
definite lack of attention from
Muslim-majority states,” said Peter
Irwin, a project manager at the World
Uyghur Congress. This isn’t out of
ignorance. “It is very well documented,”
said Omer Kanat, the director of the
Uyghur Human Rights Project. “The
Muslim-majority countries governments
know what’s happening in East Turkestan,”
he said, using the Uighur term for the
region.
God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215
by
David Levering Lewis
Description
Hailed by critics as an
essential book, God's Crucible is a bold, new interpretation
of Islamic Spain and the birth of Europe from one of our
greatest historians.
David Levering Lewis's
narrative, filled with accounts of some of the greatest
battles in world history, reveals how cosmopolitan, Muslim
al-Andalus flourished—a beacon of cooperation and
tolerance—while proto-Europe floundered in opposition.
At the beginning of the eighth
century, the Arabs brought a momentous revolution in power,
religion, and culture to Dark Ages Europe. David Levering
Lewis's masterful history begins with the fall of the
Persian and Roman empires, followed by the rise of the
prophet Muhammad and the creation of Muslim Spain.
Five centuries of engagement
between the Muslim imperium and an emerging Europe followed,
from the Muslim conquest of Visigoth Hispania in 711 to
Latin Christendom's declaration of unconditional warfare on
the Caliphate in 1215.
Lewis's narrative, filled with
accounts of some of the greatest battles in world history,
reveals how cosmopolitan, Muslim al-Andalus flourished—a
beacon of cooperation and tolerance between Islam, Judaism,
and Christianity—while proto-Europe, defining itself in
opposition to Islam, made virtues out of hereditary
aristocracy, religious intolerance, perpetual war, and
slavery.
A cautionary tale, God's
Crucible provides a new interpretation of world-altering
events whose influence remains as current as today's
headlines.
KB says:
This recipe was inspired by the very popular
Pigalle Restaurant in the mother city of Cape
Town, South Africa where you can enjoy fine
dining.
Caramelized pear & toasted almond
salad
with creamy Dijon dressing
INGREDIENTS & METHOD
3 pears, cored and
sliced to medium
thickness
1 tbsp butter,
2½ tbsp brown sugar
Melt butter and
sugar in a large
frying pan, arrange
pear slices neatly
in pan so that the
slices to not
overlap or bundle.
Cook on medium-high
heat until butter
and sugar caramelize
and coats the pear
slices. Turn over
gently to brown the
other side. Use a
spatula or lifter so
the pear slices do
not break. Set aside
and allow to cool
down to room
temperature before
using.
On a platter
assemble the
following;
1 packet mixed
lettuce leaves
1 packet butter
lettuce leaves
1 avocado, sliced
½ a red onion,
thinly sliced
Rosa tomatoes,
quartered (you may
use half a regular
tomato and slice
thinly)
½ a cucumber,
seeded and sliced
Feta cheese is
optional as it is
not found on the
original salad from
the restaurant.
Place caramelised
pears onto salad and
scatter with toasted
slivered almonds.
Serve with creamy
Dijon dressing.
Creamy Dijon
dressing recipe:
* ¼ cup mayonnaise
* 1 tbsp Dijon
mustard
* 1 tbsp apple cider
vinegar
* 3 tbsp honey
* ½ tsp salt
* ½ garlic clove
* ½ cup vegetable
oil
* ¼ cup clear
apple juice
* Freshly ground
black pepper
* Gently heat salad
dressing ingredients
in the same pan used
to caramelize the
pears. Pour into
glass jar and keep
refrigerated,
drizzle over the
salad just before
serving
Do you have a recipe to share with CCN
readers?
Send in your favourite recipe to me at
admin@ccnonline.com.au and be my "guest chef" for the week.
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 FOMO - Fear Of
Missing Out?
If you are a social
media user who feels
symptoms of anxiety,
jealousy or regret
while looking at
posts of other
people having a good
time at a party,
event, trip or work,
you could be
suffering from FOMO
- fear of missing
out.
FOMO is a pervasive
apprehension felt by
those who think that
they are missing out
on great experiences
and feel stuck in
their current
situation. It’s a
vicious cycle that
takes over your life
whereby you feel you
need to constantly
check your social
media to give
yourself a dopamine
hit to feel good
about yourself by
not feeling left out
or miss the action
of celebrity
lifestyles and so
on. The phenomenon
of finding instant
gratification of
one’s own self-worth
through Insta...or
many other such
social media front.
While you
addictively obsess
over social media
updates, what you
are really missing
out on is LIFE. The
moment of NOW. Your
moment of NOW.
How you spend your
moment of now will
determine the
quality of the past
that you will look
back on. Future is
merely an illusion.
It’s not happening.
The only truth is
your moment of now.
You are living your
future in this
moment right now,
through your
thoughts, words,
deeds, choices,
decisions. NOW is
all there is.
Once you begin
living in the now,
there won’t be any
fear of missing out.
Wherever you may be
right now, ALLAH has
put you there for a
reason. That spot
you are standing or
sitting on. The
clothes you are
wearing. The country
you are in.
Everything that is
happening to you
right now is
ordained for you by
ALLAH. Feeling
anxious in your
moment of now is to
deny HIS mercy.
Instead, practise
gratitude. Instead
of asking ‘why me?’,
practice saying
‘what lesson is
ALLAH teaching me in
this experience
now?’
How To Overcome
FOMO
Replace Regret With
Gratitude
1. Praise ALMIGHTY
ALLAH for all that
HE has already given
you. Write down a
list of everything
you are blessed
with.
2. Now, Praise
ALMIGHTY ALLAH for
all the lessons you
have learned from
past experiences,
negative and
positive.
3. Replace all
what-if statements
with “Alhumdolillah”.
4. Avoid comparing
your life with
someone else’s. Your
unique abilities and
experiences make you
different from the
rest of the world.
Focus on your
soulful connection
with ALLAH. Increase
your own ibaadah and
good deeds. Don’t
worry about who is
saying what and who
is doing what. Focus
on your deeds, your
thoughts, your
words.
5. Daily positive
affirmations.
Consciously choose
positive words when
talking about your
situation.
If you give
thanks, I will
give you more…
(Al Quran 14:7)
Someone wise once
said, “When you
change the way you
look at things, the
things you look at
change.”
In Shaa ALLAH, next
week we will explore
the topic:
What To Do When
Your Child Tells You
That He/She Has Been
Abused
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, what can I do to strengthen or
stabilise my hips? I do yoga and was wondering
if there were other exercises I could try as
well?
A:
Yoga is great as there are many poses that
target the hip and core area. Try Pilates –
You’ll find that there is a lot of pelvic floor
engagement, working your hips and core muscles.
Other exercises such as lunges, side-leg lifts,
squats, and plank-holds are all great moves to
build your hip stability.
Cycle from Brisbane to Byron
Bay on the 10-12 August and
raise money for children’s
education in Hebron and help
spread understanding and
awareness about the
Palestinian plight with our
local community.
Riders from all backgrounds
and faiths take part because
they want to be a beacon of
hope for the people of
Palestine showing that all
over the world there is
support for the Palestinian
cause and an aim to bring
about peace in the region.
There is something for
riders of all levels of
fitness with a free family
city ride and community
event on the Friday night
and then the two day main
event cycling from Logan to
Byron Bay. You can sign up
for one, two or all three
days. Remember your sign up
costs include: accommodation
(Saturday), food, jersey,
support vehicles, insurance,
stickers, flag and
wristband. Sunday includes
bus back to Gold Coast or
Brisbane.
A lot of
people are doing it tough
right now, but instead of
standing up against big
corporations and a morally
corrupt banking industry,
politicians are turning us
against one another, blaming
migrants of non-European
backgrounds when they should
be blaming our broken
economic and political
systems.
The
government has been pushing
massive tax cuts for big
corporations and cutting
basic services, while
simultaneously whipping up
fears about immigration,
scapegoating migrants for
everything from traffic
congestion to crime rates.
Racism and
anti-immigrant rhetoric is
on the rise in mainstream
discourse, and we need to
stand up against it.
Everyone
seems happy to condemn
isolated examples of overt
racism on public transport.
But when racists like Tony
Abbott and Andrew Bolt make
similar comments in
parliament or in the
mainstream media, they are
rewarded with more coverage.
All this
happens against a backdrop
of ongoing colonial racism
against First Nations
peoples - the theft of land,
wages and children, and the
continued rejection of
Aboriginal sovereignty.
In the next
few months, the federal
government will try to
change citizenship and
immigration laws. If passed,
these changes will:
- Make
the English language
tests and ‘Australian
Values’ tests even
stricter
- Require
permanent residents to
have lived here for 4
years before becoming
citizens, when it’s
already very difficult
and can take many years
just to get permanent
residency
- Require
citizenship applicants
to ‘prove they have
integrated’
- Make it
harder to reunite with
elderly parents and
disabled relatives, even
after you become a
citizen
- Make it
harder to have overseas
educational
qualifications
recognised in Australia
- Make it
harder for asylum
seekers to be accepted
as refugees
- Give
the Immigration Minister
stronger powers to
deport people and reject
visa applications
without going through
fair processes
Without
strong public opposition to
these changes,
anti-immigrant policies will
become the new normal, and
refugees will continue to
languish in offshore
concentration camps.
Please join
us at a positive,
family-friendly public rally
to say no to racism and
imperialism, and yes to
unity and multiculturalism.
This will be
a short rally and march,
featuring poets and
performing artists but not
too many speeches. After the
poetry, we'll be marching
down Adelaide St to the
Immigration Department
building, then back up to
King George Square.
We want to
remind politicians of all
parties that racist policies
and messages are a
vote-loser, not a
vote-winner, and remind
broader society that with
the exception of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander
people, everyone on this
continent has come from
somewhere else.
Multiculturalism should be
celebrated and encouraged,
not undermined.
This event is
taking place on stolen land.
We acknowledge the Jagera
and Turrbul peoples, and pay
respects to their elders
past and present.
Sovereignty was never ceded,
and the struggle against
racism and anti-immigrant
xenophobia is fundamentally
a struggle for
decolonisation and justice
for First Nations peoples.
Event banner
image by artist James
Fosdike.
QPS
RECRUITING WORKSHOP
This workshop
is designed to
educate/encourage youths of
Islamic background re the
recruiting process in
Queensland Police Service (QPS).
"Let's Talk Women" is a monthly
support program for Women in the community. It is an
opportunity for women to seek knowledge and most
importantly, to connect with one another. Our first
event will be a panel discussion on Women's Health.
This event is organised by women, for women, and is
supported by the Islamic Council of Queensland.
New Muslim Care (NMC) are proud to
be working in alliance with Sisters Support Services
(SSS) and National Zakat Foundation (NZF) to
support new Muslims with the Islam 101: The Foundations
courses.
Through collaboration we are strengthening our
organisations and sharing resources in order to continue
to provide much needed services to the community.
Our aim is to offer continuous support to new Muslims
through Islamic workshops, classes and social avenues
and enable a more seamless transition successfully to an
Islamic way of life Insha'Allah.
Sessions for brothers are envisaged for the near future.
On 31 December 2017 the only
Islamic childcare centre in the whole of Brisbane had to
unfortunately close its doors due to the Department of
Transport requiring it for their future expansion. To
date they are still in the process of securing new
premises to continue serving this very important need of
the community and the wait continues….
In the interim the need is
still there. The question most Muslims would be asking
themselves is “Where do I send my child so that he/she
can learn, grow and develop in an Islamic environment,
and establish a sound Islamic foundation?”
Msasa Montessori is a private home based learning centre
for 3-5 year olds. The focus is an Islamic based
learning environment alongside the Montessori method of
teaching. Children will be taught their basic duas,
surahs, tasbeehs, stories of the Prophets will be read
and enacted, and Inshallah their love for Allah and His
Noble Prophet Muhammed S.A.W will develop. Supported by
the Montessori method of teaching they will develop
their independence and will utilise equipment which will
enable them to develop and grow.
Montessori is a method of education based on
self-directed activity, hands-on learning and
collaborative play. The Montessori materials cover
developmental activities designed to meet the needs of
children in five curriculum areas:
Practical life skills, Sensorial activities,
Mathematics, Language and Cultural Studies.
By providing such an
environment, the children will develop a strong sense of
wellbeing and identity as Muslims and they will become
confident and involved learners with the ability to
communicate effectively and with confidence.
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
seen covered or any news item that you think might be of benefit
to the Crescents Community please
e-mail us..
Share your
thoughts, feelings and ambitions for our community through CCN.
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someone you know who would like to subscribe to CCN please
encourage them to enter their details
here.
Mehreen
is the member of the NSW
Parliament's Upper House and
the first Muslim woman to
win a seat in an Australian
parliament. 
Navdeep
is a proud working class man
who migrated from to
Australia from Punjab,
India, in 2006 and runs a
vehicle workshop in
Moorooka, Brisbane. 
Islamic Leaders Have Nothing to Say About
China’s Internment Camps for Muslims 
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7
August 2011