Woolworths will be the first
Australian supermarket to
develop and sell its own
private label
halal-certified product.
It is part of the retailer’s
wider strategy to grow its
range of ethnic and
international groceries that
are in demand from an
increasingly diverse
multicultural community.
Led by Woolworths head of
supermarkets Claire Peters,
the supermarket chain will
look to develop other
private label products and
bring new brands that fit
into the ethnic foods
category, as well as devote
more shelf space to these
groceries in stores where a
large ethnic community lives
within its Woolworths will
be the first Australian
supermarket to develop and
sell its own private label
halal-certified product.
It is part of the retailer’s
wider strategy to grow its
range of ethnic and
international groceries that
are in demand from an
increasingly diverse
multicultural community.
Led by Woolworths head of
supermarkets Claire Peters,
the supermarket chain will
look to develop other
private label products and
bring new brands that fit
into the ethnic foods
category, as well as devote
more shelf space to these
groceries in stores where a
large ethnic community lives
within its catchment zone.
The new Woolworths halal
brand developed in-house
is called Al-Sadiq,
which in Arabic means
truthful, and was
created with the advice
and certification from
the Islamic Council of
Queensland, which
Woolworths believes will
help it gain the
confidence and trust of
Muslim shoppers that
rely on the credentials
of halal food.
Woolworths director of
buying Peter McNamara told
The Australian the Al-Sadiq
private label would first
cover chicken products but
could be extended to include
other fresh and packaged
grocery items if there was
support from local
communities.
The Al-Sadiq brand will
initially be sold in about
20 Woolworths supermarkets
where there are strong
Muslim communities nearby,
such as Bankstown, western
Sydney, where around one in
three shoppers are
identified as halal eaters.
The range will start selling
in May or June.
It is the first step in a
major strategic push by
Woolworths to better curate
the brands its 1000-plus
stores nationwide carry, as
changing demographics and
growing multicultural
populations look for ethnic
foods and brands they
enjoyed in their homelands
such as China, Malaysia,
India, South Africa and the
Middle East.
Mr McNamara said the
evolution of the Woolworths
private label halal brand
began when the chain wanted
to be able to provide to its
shoppers a consistent and
quality offer.
“We have identified over a
period of time that the
opportunity to better serve
what is an increasingly
diverse clientele across
particularly Sydney and
Melbourne, and other parts
of Australia as well, and
when it comes to halal it is
religiously sensitive,” he
said.
“So when our fresh poultry
team went looking to source
product we found it
difficult to find the
quality and consistency and
certification confidence for
that style of product.’’
The creation of its own
private label brand for
halal goes to the heart of
why the chains such as
Woolworths and Coles have
embraced in-house branding,
as it puts the supermarket
in charge of quality and
supply while also generating
fatter margins.
And it now joins hands with
another trend running
through the community that
retailers are certainly
taking notice of — the rich
and growing multicultural
flavour of many Australian
cities, suburbs and towns.
“Woolworths has a strategy
of trying to better serve
our customers, and one of
the macro trends, which has
been in Australia for a
while but has certainly
accelerated at the moment,
is the diverse nature of the
population,’’ Mr McNamara
said. “And we have done a
lot of work strategically, a
lot of customer work.’’
Woolworths will not rely
solely on private labels to
fill this gap, sourcing
branded products that are
already favoured by these
customers and bought at
specialty shops or local
markets.
Woolworths is rolling out
more branded Asian foods,
both packaged and fresh, to
its supermarkets and has
even started to offer pork
cut and prepared in ways
that appeal to Asian
customers and are better
suited to Asian cooking.
Mr McNamara said some
Woolworths stores would have
more shelf space assigned to
international or ethnic
groceries, a strategy
fleshed out by Ms Peters
last year when she addressed
the Australian Food and
Grocery Council conference
in Melbourne.
“What we are seeing
happening over time in
Woolworths is curating the
range better to suit that
store … and when it comes to
ethnic or international it
is about identifying those
stores where clearly there
is a concentration of
customers of different
backgrounds and we can
better serve them,” Mr
McNamara said.
“We have started with Asian
because that is the biggest
opportunity for us, but we
have a road map that
includes areas like Indian
foods, Middle Eastern,
halal, South African, kosher
and we are doing some of
that work today but in a lot
of those areas we think we
can do a better job.
“As we better tailor our
stores we will not just
modify the range but we will
also play with what we call
the macro space, the total
available space or footage
in that particular store.
“So if over time people are
buying less DVDs, printer
cartridges or dog food or
whatever it is, we will look
at that store’s data and see
how best to optimise our
space … so, yes, we will
give international and
ethnic foods more space if
they require more space.’’
A short film presented by
Shaykh Wesam Charkawi,
followed by Q&A panel with
special guests.
The History of Muslims in
Australia
The short film documentary
entitled "Before1770" is a
film designed to encapsulate
the history of Muslims in
Australia before 1770.
Abu Hanifa Institute, a
centre for education in
traditional Islam and youth
mentoring, utilised its
resources and community
support to document the
facts in this space.
This meant embarking upon a
journey to critical
locations in the Northern
Territory, such as Arnhem
Land, Bawaka, and Groote
Eylandt to see first hand,
the places and people who
hosted the Macassan Muslims.
This endeavour also meant
speaking to academics
specialised in the field as
well as Aboriginal elders
from the Yolngu clan.
The idea of this short film
is to establish Islam's
long-standing connection
with Australia. It is not
designed to cause pain or
disrespect to any figure,
person, organisation or a
particular community.
Date And Time
Sat, March 2, 2019
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
AEST
Location
HOYTS Sunnybank
McCullough Street
Sunnybank
Musa’s one-man show, Since Ali
Died, is a densely packed hour
of theatre, hip-hop and spoken
word
Omar Musa holds the stage on his
own with little more than a
sonorous voice and evocative
writing.
Those who think Australia is
a land of pretty beaches,
long lazy Januarys and no
culture wars should be
marched tout suite to the
Sydney festival, and made to
watch Omar Musa’s one-man
show, Since Ali Died. It’s
all there, densely packed
into an hour of theatre,
hip-hop and spoken word.
There’s Musa’s own story of
how his life fell apart
after the death of his hero,
Muhammad Ali. There’s his
best mate, out of Goulburn
jail and riding a
self-destructive streak.
There’s the woman he fell in
love with – inscrutable,
captivating him as she
halves MDMA caps, and
breaking his heart when she
starts calling him “champ”.
But there’s also the other
stuff. The Australia stuff.
It’s being told at school
that your skin is the colour
of shit. It’s being singled
out by Mark Latham on
Twitter. It’s shock jocks
and far-right rallies and
riots declaring war on the
religion you were raised
with. It’s race-baiting by
politicians to win
elections. It’s learning,
Musa says, “what it means to
be a young brown boy on
black land run by white
people”.
Born and raised in
Queanbeyan, the son of
Australian arts journalist
Helen Musa and Malaysian
poet and actor Musa bin
Masran, Musa is a confident
performer who can hold the
stage on his own with little
more than a sonorous voice
and evocative writing (the
river is a recurring motif
that he invokes memorably
with just a few lines of
poetry, and a flowing
movement of his hands).
But sitting in the gloom of
the empty theatre before the
second night of his show, he
admits to feeling conflicted
about the work.
“Since Ali Died is based on
autobiography but still it’s
fictive, conflating several
people into one character.
What I like to do with a lot
of my work is take
autobiographical elements
and heighten them to the
level of some type of myth –
sometimes almost like a
fairytale.
“Of course it’s fucking
scary because, having said
all of that, you are still
putting your life out on
show, your pain and grief –
and the dark side of
yourself. It’s a very
vulnerable, dangerous spot
and I’m still not sure how
it makes me feel.”
The work was first performed
last year, to rapturous
public response. Doesn’t
that somewhat ease the
vulnerability? “I’d venture
to say it makes me feel
uneasy rather than
overjoyed,” he answers.
“You are risking your
sanity, you are risking your
life every time you get on
stage. I see art and writing
as dangerous. I have made
the mistake of thinking art
is the best type of therapy.
I can only present my words
in a confident way because I
have gone through a fire to
make the work – but it’s all
on unsteady foundations.”
Omar has been writing and
performing for more than a
decade; he has recorded
albums, written a novel –
Here Come The Dogs – and
books of poetry, and
performs as a slam poet. The
play, his first, is directed
by Anthea Williams, who Omar
says “was able to identify
some of the chaotic threads
in my work”, and found a way
to bring them together in
one story. The pair spent
ten intensive days nutting
out a structure that
combines rap performance
with prose, and poetry with
theatre.
But for all the praise and
his increasing reach, Musa
says he has grown ambivalent
about writing and
performing.
“I don’t think this play
will live much longer than
this year,” Musa says. “It’s
painful, it’s difficult to
dredge all that personal
stuff up again night after
night, when you are trying
to write a new chapter in
your life and put some of
this stuff behind you.
“Maybe I’m just not
professional enough to be
more detached from it but I
feel so depleted. Art
destroys you as much as it
fulfils you – even more –
which is why I’m getting to
a point where I might even
give it up.”
He hesitates before
qualifying this: “I would
never be able to fully give
it up – it’s within me. I
want to do another novel.
But making my passion into
my profession, I sometimes
wonder if that’s a big
misstep. It feels like the
audience is getting more out
of it than I am and, as the
audience is getting bigger
and bigger, I’m getting
smaller and smaller – and
one day, am I just going to
vanish into thin air? And
what was it worth? Do I have
to sacrifice my mind and
life and my liver and my
everything to make art?
Maybe it’s better if I just
go and tend to a garden in
Borneo – grow eggplants and
chillies.”
In fact, Musa is seriously
considering spending more
time in the archipelago,
“towards Malaysia, towards
Borneo, towards Indonesia”,
he says.
He recently stayed with his
father in Sabah, Borneo.
Each day “you just trundle
down to the local
restaurants, grab a plate of
kway teow, squeeze a
calamansi lime over it, have
an iced lime tea, sip on
that – get a nice mangostein,
the princess of the fruits,
or the king of the fruits: a
durian.”
Writing comes easy there, he
says. “The humidity ignites
my creative mind.”
But one also gets the sense
that, at 35, Musa has not
only grown weary of
Australia’s rolling culture
wars, but of being betwixt
and between. “I’m
Australian-Malaysian – I am
in between. I will be
forever stuck on the hyphen.
You have access to different
identities and different
eyes, but it can also be
very dislocating. You can
feel lost a lot of the time,
as much as you try to let
these dual identities enrich
you. But they sometimes can
leave you feeling completely
lost.”
Right now, his imagination
is fired up by the stories
and myths of Borneo. “It’s
good to have a change every
few years and shake things
up. Yes, Australia does get
me down a lot, but I’m
choosing Malaysia because it
interests me and I have a
lot to learn, not because of
an outright rejection of
Australia.”
So what does he love about
Australia?
He thinks about his answer
carefully.
“I love the landscape. I
love the river in my
hometown. I love the smell
of Australia – fire and
smoke and earth and salt,
the height of summer –
there’s nothing else like
that smell. You’re on the
edge of an adventure. But
also its dangerous – it
feels like things could blow
up or combust.
“I also love the sort of
interconnected ethnic groups
that would happen nowhere
else in the world –
Aboriginal kids friends with
Macedonian kids friends with
the Malaysian kid. Where
else would you have that
kind of mix?
He continues: “There’s a
sense of possibility – but
that’s also what
disillusions me. It could be
a really great place if we
managed to grapple with our
past. There’s still a small
enough population on this
big island that we could
sort of negotiate an outcome
that’s as fair and as even
minded as [Australia]
pretends to be – whereas you
look at America, and it’s
inexorably fucked. The
wealth disparity, the
population, the guns; you
think, ‘What could anyone
ever do with that mess?’
That’s what kills me.
Australia could be so much
better – but instead we
indulge our worst instincts
and we’re small-minded and
we’re petty, we lack empathy
and it’s like, ‘Why?’”
Maybe Musa will spend his
early middle period tending
to a garden in Borneo and
writing “only for lovers or
friends” but his is a
restless, hungry mind. Even
through the burnout, there’s
a sense that he’s not done
yet.
• Since Ali Died runs
at SBW Stables theatre,
Darlinghurst, until 19
January, and at Riverside
theatres, Parramatta, 22-25
January
The
Moonlight actor has followed his
Oscar win with a Golden Globe
for Green Book. He talks about
fatherhood, being a Muslim in
Trump’s America and years of
typecasting
Mahershala Ali: ‘I wouldn’t
wear clothes that allowed people
to identify me with what they
would view as the typical black
man.’
Exactly two years ago, in
early 2017, the actor
Mahershala Ali and his wife
were about to give birth –
one after the other. “It’s
something we still joke
about,” says the 44-year-old
American, sitting in a
London hotel, smiling at the
memory. “My wife was
pregnant with a baby. And I
was pregnant with an Oscar.”
The actor knows that sounds
glib. He knows that however
exciting or worked-for an
industry prize – Ali won his
best supporting actor award
that year for a standout
performance in the
coming-of-age drama
Moonlight – nothing compares
to the graft of bearing an
actual child. But aspects of
the comparison stand.
There’s a lot of build-up
and then things go crazy all
at once. Taking home a
newborn, like taking home an
Oscar, turns life on its
head. And forget about
sleep. Ali’s wife, the
artist Amatus Sami-Karim,
gave birth to their
daughter, Bari, that
February, and 100 frazzled
hours later Ali was on stage
at the Dolby Theatre in
Hollywood, looking blinky
and delighted, and bringing
an audience of grandees to
their feet when he croaked:
“I just wanna thank my
wife.”
He considers his answer
carefully. The actor is an
observant Muslim, a
thoughtful guy who speaks in
long, unhurried sentences.
Combined with today’s outfit
– a navy blue kimono-like
gown, buttoned to the throat
– it projects a potent sense
of spiritual calm. Ali says
that having the baby and the
Oscar “was like a jigsaw
puzzle which my wife and I
had to try to put together.
And as soon as we felt like
we’d figured it out, it
changed. It took a lot of
listening to each other.
Reacting. Every now and then
we had to hit a tuning fork,
to make sure we were in
sync.”
Ali grew up close to his
mother until he was in his
early 20s, at which point
there was a difficult breach
over religion. “We lost a
lot of years. Being in a
relationship with God
through Christianity had
carried me for a period of
time,” he remembers. “And
then I felt like I needed to
understand something deeper.
So I went through a process
of digging through different
religions and philosophies,
and ways of connecting to
God. And that ended up being
Islam for me.” He converted
at the start of 2000,
changing his name from
Gilmore to Ali. His mother
was upset and many of his
friends were politely
confused. But on the whole,
Ali recalls, “it didn’t
necessarily seem that deep a
thing to do. And then 9/11
happened.”
Moving through airports
became difficult. After a
few years of being taken
aside at security gates, Ali
learned that his name was on
a watch list for air travel.
Meanwhile, his wife, also a
practising Muslim, had
stopped wearing a headscarf
on city streets: too much
grief. There was trouble
with the couple’s bank
account, their funds had
been mysteriously frozen,
Ali was told.
The SAG ceremony took place
in January 2017, at the end
of a difficult weekend.
President Trump had just
unveiled the policy that
became known as his “Muslim
travel ban”. Ali had a lot
going on in his life (the
baby was due, the Oscar was
due) and he could have been
forgiven for ignoring the
politics of the moment. But
it was rare for a Muslim
actor even to be nominated
at these ceremonies, and on
the way to the SAG awards he
kept thinking about Trump’s
travel ban. The actor didn’t
fancy declaiming or
fist-waving – not his style.
At the same time he felt it
worth pointing out that here
he was, up for famous
prizes, “and if I was a
person they felt enough
respect for to honour with
an award, well, I’m not that
different from those people
that are not allowed to
travel into the country”.
When he won, Ali wound up
telling a story about his
mother. Tender, as personal
as it was political, the
speech has since been viewed
hundreds of thousands of
times online. “My mother is
an ordained minister,” Ali
said: “I’m a Muslim. She
didn’t do backflips when I
called her to tell her I’d
converted 17 years ago. But
I tell you now, you put
things to the side [and] I’m
able to see her, she’s able
to see me, and we love each
other.” His was one of the
first Muslim-American voices
the country heard that
weekend, certainly from
within the arts, and it was
a powerful moment. Talking
softly from the podium about
the particular pain of
persecution that comes from
within one’s own community,
Ali’s voice cracked as he
said: “I hope that we do a
better job.”
Muslim Funeral Services Ltd
provides funeral director
services to the Muslim
community across South East
Queensland.
We have paid positions
available for male
assistant/s to work on a
part-time, on-call basis,
with our team to facilitate
with the funeral
arrangements in Brisbane.
Duties will include driving
and doing all transfers of
the Janaza, assist with the
preparation of the grave,
assist with the Ghusl if
required, the burial process
and liaise with the family
of the deceased.
No specific experience is
necessary but the ability to
work with a team, be
available on-call, be
empathetic, be fluent in
English and have a valid
class C driver’s licence are
essential. Training for the
position will be provided.
For further details of the
position including
remuneration please contact
Muslim Funeral Services at
1300 896 786 or 0412 845 786
or via email
admin@mfs.asn.au.
Hanan Dover –
PsychCentral, Mission of
Hope & a few taboos
Recent times have seen
massive strides in Muslim
mental health awareness.
The ways in which we
understand wellness have
shifted a great deal and
it's increasingly clear that
mental illness is not to be
pushed under the rug.
However, we often don't hear
of the individuals who
tirelessly work on the
ground to create this
awareness.
One such personality is
Hanan Dover: Vice President
of the International
Association of Muslim
Psychologists and a Founder
of PsychCentral.
Hanan’s fight against the
taboos and superstitions
surrounding Muslim mental
health, alongside the
struggles of being an
outspoken Muslim woman,
mother and community leader
(who's on her fifth degree
and counting!), Hanan's
story is nothing short of
inspiring.
The Second International
Conference on Organ
Transplantation in Islam was
held at the Western Sydney
University on 22 and 23
November 2018. This
conference explored a rare
topic in Islamic theological
and social scientific
discussions; how Islam deals
with organ transplantation.
Existing studies on organ
transplantation, rare as
they are, either look at the
argument in support of organ
transplantation and
donation, or the argument
that considers organ
transplantation and donation
to be prohibited in Islam.
What is missing is a clear
and authoritative response
to the question of organ
transplantation and donation
in Islam. Whether
organ transplantation and
donation is permissible or
not in Islam, robust
theological and social
scientific discussions are
necessary for individuals to
make an informed
determination
Each week CCN presents the
abstract and biography of
one of the speakers at the
conference:
International
studies of young
Muslim men show
that
radicalisation
follows a sense
of isolation
from society
For years
western
policymakers
have tried to
establish what
causes
individuals to
be radicalised.
Now a pioneering
study has used
medical science
to gain fresh
insight into the
process – in the
brains of
potential
jihadists.
University
College London (UCL)
researchers were
part of an
international
team that used
neuroimaging
techniques to
map how the
brains of
radicalised
individuals
respond to being
socially
marginalised.
The findings,
they claim,
confirm that
exclusion is a
leading factor
in creating
violent
jihadists.
The research
challenges the
prevailing
belief among
western
policymakers
that other
variables, such
as poverty,
religious
conservatism and
even psychosis,
are dominant
drivers of
jihadism. “This
finally dispels
such wrongheaded
ideas,” said the
study’s co-lead
author, Nafees
Hamid of UCL.
“The first ever
neuroimaging
study on a
radicalised
population shows
extreme
pro-group
behaviour seems
to intensify
after social
exclusion.”
The complexity
of
radicalisation
was highlighted
in the Old
Bailey last week
when a British
Muslim convert
who swore
allegiance to
Islamic State
revealed he
tolerated
authorities
trying to
deradicalise him
as he plotted an
attack on Oxford
Street, London.
The findings
also emerge
after recent
Islamic
State-linked
attacks in
Strasbourg and
Morocco and as
British police
continue to
investigate a
possible motive
behind the New
Year’s Eve
stabbings in
Manchester.
Using
ethnographic
fieldwork and
psychological
surveys,
researchers
identified 535
young Muslim men
in and around
Barcelona, the
Spanish city
where in 2017
Isis supporters
killed 13 and
wounded about
100 people in
the Las Ramblas
district.
Of those
identified, 38
second-generation
Moroccan-origin
men, who had
“expressed a
willingness to
engage in or
facilitate
violence
associated with
jihadist
causes”, agreed
to have their
brains scanned.
The results
showed a
striking effect
when they were
socially
excluded by
Spaniards while
playing a
virtual
simulation
called Cyberball,
a ball toss game
with three other
players who
abruptly stopped
throwing them
the ball.
Later scans
showed that the
neurological
impact of being
excluded meant
that when issues
were raised that
the individual
had not
previously
considered
inviolable –
such as
introducing
Islamic teaching
in schools or
unrestricted
construction of
mosques – they
became far more
important and
were deemed
similar to
“sacred” and
worth fighting
for.
The Guardian
Space
for everyone?
The Cambridge
mosque project
offers a new
vision of
community
By Dr H.A.
Hellyer
One of
Britain's newest mosques in
one of England's oldest
cities offers a elegant,
ingenious vision of space
open to Muslim men and women
alike.
A recent article
in The Economist
lamented that in
many of
Britain's
mosques women
are excluded
from leadership
positions, with
a large
proportion of
mosques not even
accommodating
women by
providing space
for worship. In
a piece that
appeared in The
National,
Shelina
Janmohamed
similarly
levelled a
critique of this
phenomenon that
is at once
impassioned and
bewildered. She
asks:
If women are not
able to join
their friends
and neighbours
at the mosque,
then where
should they go?
If they can't
use places of
worship to gain
knowledge and
discuss the
issues of the
day, to whom
will they turn?
t the same,
there are
several Muslim
women serving as
MPs in the House
of Commons, as
well as
Baronesses
within the House
of Lords. On the
other side of
the Atlantic
pond, two Muslim
women have just
been voted into
Congress ― and
none of these
women have
denied their
Muslim
identities. Will
the mosques
catch up, one
wonders?
I had the
distinct
pleasure
recently of
seeing the early
stages of one of
Britain's newest
mosques in one
of England's
oldest cities,
Cambridge. The
mosque
organisers,
headed by a
Cambridge
University don
in Islamic
studies, Dr
Timothy Winter ―
otherwise known
as Shaykh Abdal
Hakim Murad ―
had clearly
thought very
carefully about
the needs and
requirements of
this community.
I am not
familiar with
many places of
worship that
send out opinion
surveys as to
what the mosque
ought to provide
in terms of
services and
spaces ― but
this mosque did;
including very
specific
questions, it
seems, about the
provision of
space for female
worshippers.
This created, it
appears, its own
dilemmas ― but
it also allowed
for the
opportunity to
be rather
creative.
As one walks
into the mosque
complex, one
immediately
finds a
cafeteria,
teaching area
and a garden.
The mosque
organisers
reminded me that
all of these
were obviously
gender
inclusive, but
that,
additionally,
the garden was
designed by an
English Muslim
woman, Emma
Clark, who
trained at the
Royal College of
Arts. So far, so
good. But the
real question
for Muslim women
in places of
worship is
simple: does it
allow for their
empowerment in
terms of space,
or does it
entrench their
disempowerment
in the same?
The answer to
this question is
answered as soon
as one enters in
the main prayer
hall. There are
three prayer
spaces: the main
hall; another,
smaller hall
separated from
the main hall by
sound-proof
transparent
glass; and a
balcony area
above the
smaller hall,
from which the
entirety of the
main hall can be
seen. The
balcony is
reserved for
women; the
smaller hall is
reserved for
women who might
have crying
babies, but who
still want to be
a part of the
broader mosque
community
without feeling
they might be
bothering them
with the
infants' crying.
The reserved
"women-only"
prayer spaces
probably make up
a good fifth of
the overall
prayer space.
But that still
leaves the main
prayer hall.
A common topic
of discussion in
many mosques in
the UK where
there is
provision for
women is: do
women have
access to the
main prayer hall
and, if so,
should there be
a screen
therein,
separating the
men from the
women? The
mosque
organisers
decided to ask
the prospective
community this
question, in the
form of a
survey. Around
40% of
respondents
wanted a screen;
the majority did
not. So what was
the mosque to
do? Whom should
the mosque try
to satisfy?
The answer was
easy: both. The
mosque
constructed
arabesque
screens that
were a couple
metres high for
those who wanted
to pray in
complete
seclusion, and
screens that
were about a
half a metre
high for those
that did not.
These smaller
screens,
nonetheless,
functioned to
demarcate the
different
spaces.
Moreover, gaps
existed in
between those
sections, so
that families
who came to the
mosque with
children who
might want to go
back and forth
between the
men's and
women's sections
could do so
easily. If that
was not flexible
enough, the
screens
themselves are
movable, so that
the space can be
adjusted to
accommodate more
women should the
occasion demand
it. Such a
simple solution
to a potentially
divisive problem
is as elegant as
it is ingenious.
Perhaps crucial
for the success
of this project
will be the
appointment of
the Mosque
Director at the
Cambridge Mosque
Trust ― a
position that,
at present, is
yet to be
filled. On more
than one
occasion, the
chairman of the
Trust, Dr
Winter, stressed
that the
position was
gender neutral ―
both men and
women were
welcome to
apply. He
volunteered that
information
without any
prompt from me.
This is a
thrilling new
project, and one
that is well
placed to
welcome all
sections of the
Cambridge Muslim
community. It is
also a project
that is designed
to be
accommodating to
Cambridge's
ecosystem: the
mosque will
feature solar
panels, as well
as
rain-gathering
(for use in
maintaining the
grounds) and
water
conservation
(such as motion
sensors near the
taps in the
ablution areas)
measures.
Consistently, I
saw a mosque
that was
designed to
bring the wider
community ―
Muslim and
non-Muslim alike
― into the
mosque grounds,
and to a means
of regenerating
the local
surroundings as
a genuinely
communal space.
One can only
hope that the
Cambridge mosque
serves as a new
standard in
England, the UK
and Europe more
generally for
mosque design.
It still needs
support, and for
the good of
social cohesion
throughout
Cambridge and
Great Britain, I
hope it receives
all the
assistance it
needs.
Dr H.A. Hellyer
is senior
non-resident
fellow at the
Atlantic Council
and the Royal
United Services
Institute, and a
visiting
professor at the
Centre for
Advanced Studies
on Islam,
Science and
Civilisation in
Kuala Lumpur. He
is the editor of
The Islamic
Tradition and
the Human Rights
Discourse, and
author of
Muslims of
Europe: The
"Other"
Europeans, A
Revolution
Undone: Egypt's
Road Beyond
Revolt and the
forthcoming A
Sublime Way: The
Sufi Path of the
Makkan Sages..
the
INDEPENDENT
How
Islam Spread
Throughout the
World
By Hassam Munir
CONTINUED FROM
LAST WEEK'S CCN....
I: The Spread of
the Message
Migration
Migration, both
forced (e.g., as
slaves or
refugees) and
voluntary (e.g.,
economic
migration), has
played an
important role
in the spread of
Islam,
especially since
the 15th
century.
However, there
are earlier
examples; in
fact, the
earliest
presence of
Muslims outside
of Arabia was
that of a group
of Muslims who
sought refuge in
Abyssinia during
the lifetime of
Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ and at his
instruction.[56]
It should be
noted that
though Muslims
who have been
forced to
migrate have
given daʿwah—an
example of this
was given in the
section on
daʿwah above,
and another
example is that
effective daʿwah
of Jaʿfar ibn
Abī Tālib to the
Abyssinian
ruler, the
Negus—the
argument here is
that their mere
presence in the
regions to which
they were
relocated can be
seen as a form
of the spread of
Islam. In other
words, as
Sylviane Diouf
and others have
argued, wherever
these Muslims
went they
commonly brought
with them their
embodied
knowledge of
Islam.
Forced migration
brought the
first Muslims to
the “New World”
by way of the
Transatlantic
Slave Trade,
laying the
foundations for
an early Muslim
presence in the
Americas. It has
proven difficult
to reliably
estimate how
many slaves of
African origin
were Muslim, but
they must have
numbered at
least in the
hundreds of
thousands.[57]
The United
States makes for
a useful case
study, and it
may have held a
higher
proportion of
Muslim slaves
than any other
region in the
Americas. 24% of
the African
slaves brought
to the Thirteen
Colonies or,
later, the
United States
were from
Senegambia,
which makes it
likely that they
were
Muslims.[58] The
city of St.
Augustine,
Florida is the
oldest
continuously-occupied
European city in
the mainland
United States,
and was
originally built
largely by
African Muslim
slave laborers.[59]
Gradually, the
descendants of
these forced
migrants became
distanced from
Islam, but they
held on to
enough awareness
of their
heritage so as
to establish
pseudo-Islamic
communities in
the early 20th
century, such as
the Moorish
Science Temple
of America (MSTA)
and the Nation
of Islam (NOI),
and to
eventually
return to
mainstream Islam
en masse
starting in the
late 1970s.
Today, Muslims
of African
descent make up
around 25% of
the U.S. Muslim
population.[60]
A less known
case of forced
migration of
Muslims occurred
by way of the
Indian Ocean
slave trade
organized by the
Dutch East India
Company (DEIC).
The first known
Muslims in
present-day
South Africa,
the Amboyan
Mardyckers from
Southeast Asia,
had arrived in
1658 not as
slaves but as
political
prisoners or
mercenaries for
the DEIC.[61]
However, the
DEIC soon began
to transport
slaves to Cape
Town, obtaining
them from the
Muslim-majority
regions of East
Africa, South
Asia (especially
the Arakan-Bengal
coast), and the
Southeast Asian
islands by
raiding the
coasts.[62] By
1731, 42% of the
population of
Cape Town were
slaves;[63] it
is noteworthy
that a
significant
portion of these
may have been
Rohingya
Muslims.
Educated Muslims
from Southeast
Asia―especially
Shaykh Yūsuf al-Maqassarī
(d. 1699) and
Tuan Guru (d.
1807), both of
them exiled
political
prisoners[64]―established
the roots of
Islam in South
Africa. Shaykh
Yūsuf’s farm at
Zandvliet became
a sanctuary for
fugitive slaves
from Cape Town.
Tuan Guru
established Cape
Town’s first
madrasah
(Islamic
seminary) in
1793, and the
city’s first
mosque was
opened in
1798.[65] By
1850, about 40%
of Cape Town’s
population was
Muslim, and by
1891 their
number had risen
to over 11,000,
in part due to
the arrival of
indentured
laborers from
South Asia
starting in the
1860s.[66]
Examples of
voluntary (or
economic)
migration are
more numerous,
especially
because this has
been the driving
force behind the
spread of Islam
to virtually
every country in
the world―even
those as remote
as
Fiji[67]―since
the 19th
century. One
example is that
of the famous
Afghan (and
Baluchi)
cameleers who
“helped to
pioneer
Australia,”
particular the
vast Outback,
where they did
everything from
exploring and
conducting
rescue missions
to laying
railway and
telegraph
lines.[68] In
the process,
they married
European or
Aborigine women
and established
their own
settlements,
which were
generally built
around a small,
makeshift
mosque. Another
example is that
of Canada, where
Lebanese Muslim
immigrants began
to arrive in the
late 19th
century, often
hoping to take
part in the
Klondike Gold
Rush or the
lucrative fur
trade; some of
them, such as
Ali Abouchadi,
became very
successful
entrepreneurs
and laid the
foundations for
Canada’s
present-day
Muslim
community.[69]
There are Two Types of
People: The Salih and the
Muslih
OnePath
Network
There are two
kinds of righteous people in
this world.
One is a صالح and the other
is a مصلح.
One is a righteous person
while the other is a
reformer who aspires to
bring about righteousness in
others.
They might sound the same,
but the truth is they are
worlds apart. For starters,
righteous people are loved,
while those who try to
reform society are quite
often despised.
Just look at the Prophet
Muhammad ﷺ. Before
Prophethood, he was loved by
all and praised for his
righteousness, but the
second he became a Prophet
and attempted to bring about
righteousness amongst others
and called them away from
evil; his people started to
turn against him.
Nevertheless, the truth is,
reformers who establish
righteousness will always be
far greater in the eyes of
Allah than those who
restrict their righteousness
to themselves.
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.
Muhammad Ali's name to go on airport
in Kentucky hometown
US: Muhammad Ali's Kentucky hometown
will honour the late boxer by renaming
its airport for him.
The Louisville Regional Airport
Authority's board voted Wednesday to
change the name to Louisville Muhammad
Ali International Airport. Ali would
have turned 77 Thursday. He died in
2016.
Ali's widow, Lonnie Ali, said in a news
release from the board that she is proud
of the name change. She said although
Ali was a "global citizen," he never
forgot his hometown.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer cited
research showing that Ali's name
recognition is greater than Louisville's
and said he's organizing a group to work
toward celebrating Ali's Louisville ties
more broadly.
The airport board said the decision came
after a working group studied renaming
the airport for more than a year.
Pakistan university rebrands
Valentine's Day as 'Sister's Day' with free
headscarves for women
University of Agriculture in
Faisalabad says it is attempting
to encourage 'Eastern culture
and Islamic traditions among the
youth'
PAKISTAN: A Pakistani university is
attempting to rebrand Valentine’s Day as
“Sister’s Day” by distributing
headscarves and shawls to female
students.
The University of Agriculture in
Faisalabad (UAF), in central Punjab
province, said the move was an attempt
to encourage “Eastern culture and
Islamic traditions among the youth”.
Valentine’s Day has become increasingly
popular in many cities in Pakistan in
recent years, but religious groups have
denounced it.
In 2017, the country prohibited all
public celebrations and any media
coverage of the event, saying the
celebration was not part of Muslim
traditions.
“In our culture, women are more
empowered and earn their due respect as
sisters, mothers, daughters and wives,”
the institution’s vice-chancellor, Zafar
Iqbal, said on the university’s website.
“We were forgetting our culture, and
Western culture was taking root in our
society,” he continued.
“UAF was mulling a plan to distribute
scarves, shawls and gowns printed with
the UAF insignia among female students”
on February 14, the statement on the
site added.
The vice-chancellor said ‘Sister’s Day’
has been conceived with the aim of
promoting respect for women.
“Unlike in the West, our religious
values encourage respect for women and
guarantee protection of their rights,”
Mr Iqbal said at a university event last
week.
He said that although some Muslims have
turned Valentine’s Day into a threat,
his “thinking is that if there is a
threat, convert it into an opportunity”.
The attempt to relaunch Valentine’s Day
as Sister’s Day has been criticised by
some on social media.
“Faisalabad University, if you are so
concerned about your sisters’ well
being, why don’t you pledge to allow
them to inherit equally. I bet that
would mean more to them than this
monkey’s tail of a day,” tweeted one
critic.
“This is completely irrational. Like
celebrating Sister’s Day won’t stop
people from doing what they want to do,
creating an opposite event to the
existing one will only increase its
value. If your purpose is to stop it, it
won’t,” added another user.
William
Pickthall's masterpiece chronicles the
story of a debauched, hypocritical, yet
sympathetic Arab fisherman whose life
begins and ends in tragedy.
The novel
stirred Britain at the time of it's
publication and drew high praise from HG
Wells, EM Foster and DH Lawrence, each
respectively citing Pickthall's
permanent place in the canon of English
literature as a result of this work.
KB says:
This recipe is so aptly named...the cupcakes
turn out nothing short of amazing! They are
moist, yet light and fluffy and absolutely
delicious with a cuppa' tea.
Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes
INGREDIENTS &
METHOD
Ingredients
1¼ cups flour
1¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
2 eggs
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
½ cup oil
½ cup buttermilk
Method
1. Sift together dry ingredients. Set aside.
2. Beat eggs till creamy. Add sugar and beat for half a
minute.
3. Add vanilla essence and oil and beat for a minute.
4. Alternately add buttermilk and flour mix to the oil mix
till all are incorporated.
Fill muffin cups to half full for flat cupcakes. This should
yield about 15.
Bake 14-16mins till done.
Baba's Halal Kitchen
(Hussain Baba is the host and
chef of *BABA’S HALAL KITCHEN*,
a show where he uses his own
unique style to cook 'Quick, Easy and Delicious' dishes.)
COOKING Fish Balls in Sweet Chilli Sauce
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.
Q:
Dear Kareema, I’m trying to lose weight and was
wondering what the difference between cardio and
weight lifting is? Is either better for weight
loss?
A:
Both cardio and weights can help with weight
loss and also getting stronger and fitter.
A cardio
session might burn more calories than a
weight-training session; however, your
metabolism may stay elevated for longer after
weights than cardio.
Lifting
weights is better for building / toning muscles,
while cardio will strip fat.
So try
incorporating both training styles into your
workout routine for faster results. N-JOY!
Writer, Clarity
Coach, Founder and
Facilitator of
Healing Words
Therapy - Writing
for Wellbeing
Muslimah
Mind
Matters
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:
How to Trust Again
Three decades ago
when I started my
own journey of
learning to trust
again, my counsellor
asked me to define
what trust meant to
me. Today, I ask my
clients the same
question. Take a few
moments and reflect
on what trust means
to you. Often, after
naming different
emotions and
experiences that
revolve around the
practice of trust,
we come to two words
that pretty much sum
up what trust means
to almost all of us
- safety and
security.
Learning to trust
again requires you
to first identify,
acknowledge and
understand two
things:
• Where do you
feel safe and
secure?
• With whom do
you feel safe
and secure?
The process of
identifying,
acknowledging and
understanding these
two aspects of your
life requires you to
be completely honest
with yourself.
Remember not to
confuse love with
trust. Sometimes we
may love people,
however, we may not
be comfortable
trusting them.
Trust gets damaged
when your sense of
safety and security
is attacked. It may
happen in your
marriage, at work,
in your other
relationships with
friends and
siblings. It may
happen with your
doctor, dentist,
tenant, landlord.
Each time you feel
unsafe or insecure,
that small, calm
voice, known as
intuition, will
caution you to “be
careful”.
Following this
intuitive voice of
caution is crucial
to living
authentically.
However, be mindful
that you are not
obsessing over it
and letting it
manifest in you as
fear. It is vital to
understand that
safety and security
depend on the
choices that you
make in your daily
life. Where you go
and with whom you
spend time are as a
result of your own
choices.
This world would be
difficult for us to
live in if we
stopped trusting
each other. If you
have experienced a
time where your
safety and security,
in other words, your
sense of trust, was
damaged, your safety
violated, it is
vital that you heal
from that experience
and learn strategies
to live from
acceptance,
forgiveness and
faith. When you
dwell in those past
experiences you
begin to live in
fear, not faith.
Learn To Trust
Again
Try these strategies
to help you to
accept, forgive and
allow yourself to
trust again.
1. Know that
first and
foremost, you
need to trust
ALLAH. If you
feel uneasy,
unsafe or
insecure, ask
ALLAH to give
you strength to
let go of your
fears and move
on in life
fearlessly.
Being fearless
means having
less fear and
more faith. It
is difficult to
have zero fear,
but it is
possible to have
less fear and
more faith. Try
it.
2. Know that
trust happens
gradually and
respectfully.
Building a wall
around you and
shunning people
out in the fear
that they may
hurt you is NOT
the answer. Let
go and let
in...gradually
and
respectfully. Do
not feel
compelled to
share intimate
details about
your life with a
new friend. Wait
for when you
feel totally
comfortable,
safe and secure.
3. Make choices
with confidence
that only ALLAH
is your
protector, not
people.
4. Be kind to
yourself and
acknowledge that
your past
choices are in
the past. Right
now, this is
your present
moment and you
are mindfully
choosing with
utmost faith in
ALLAH.
5. Listen
attentively to
the small, calm
voice inside you
and follow it
fearlessly. Your
intuition will
never lie to
you. Your
intuition is
always joyful
and loving. If
you hear
negative
whispers
instead, that is
NOT intuition.
That is Shaitaan.
Recognising
intuition
requires
constant and
consistent faith
in ALLAH and
total
abandonment of
fear.
6. Observe
people without
judging. Observe
how they treat
other people.
Trusting people
who practise
kindness is
important.
People who
display kindness
will not gossip
about others or
use unkind
words.
7. Learn to
respect
confidentiality.
For you to trust
others, you must
also display
trustworthiness.
If you wish to know about
a specific topic
with regards to
Self-Care and
Clarity of Mind,
please email me on
info@healingwordstherapy.com.
If you wish to have
a FREE one hour
Clarity Coaching
phone session,
contact me on
0451977786
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.
Jallalludin went to
a dentist in Australia for a tooth extraction and first
enquired about the cost.
The dentist said it
would cost $1200.
Jallalludin thought
that this was too much.
After some thought, he asked about cheaper methods.
The dentist said, "Yes, it can be done without
anaesthesia and will cost only $300, but it would be
very very painful.
Jallalludin said, "OK Dr, do it without anaesthesia".
The dentist removed the tooth without anaesthesia and
during the entire procedure Jallalludin sat quietly,
even smiling a little.
The dentist was not only surprised, but was quite
impressed and said he have never seen such a brave and
patient man like him.. "I don't even want my fees,
instead, take this $500 as a reward, you've taught me
such a powerful lesson today about mastering one's pain
and feelings!".
In the evening he met his fellow dentists and told
everyone about Jallalludin.
One doctor jumped up and shouted: "That Jallalludin
fellow first came to me, I gave him an anaesthesia and
asked him to wait outside for half an hour! After half
an hour when I called him he had left.
To any that desires the
tilth of the Hereafter, We
give increase in his tilth;
and to any that desires the
tilth of this world, We
grant somewhat thereof, but
he has no share or lot in
the Hereafter.
Brisbane Muslim Fellowship
is having another BBQ for
converts, their families and
friends on Saturday 2nd
February at 12.30pm at the
site of the planned Brisbane
Islamic Centre at 161
Underwood Road, Eight Mile
Plains.
Our thanks to BIC for
allowing us to use the old
house on the site. As the
road is very busy, please be
careful in entering the site
and park inside rather on
the side of the road.
Imam Ahmed from Kuraby
Mosque will give a short
talk insha'allah and we are
hoping that there will be
some that want to throw a
football around. It's a huge
block of land if you have
not seen it before. See
http://www.bic.org.au/
It would be great if you
could bring some food to
share but we will have
plenty and to bring a picnic
rug or blanket if you have
one.
The aim is that this will be
relaxed social occasion to
meet other converts - new
and old and their families
and will allow anyone to ask
any questions they would
like to.
Or you can call the secretary Abdul
Samim Khan on 0413669987.
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.
This is
urgent plea to all our
brothers and sisters.
We have paid
a deposit to purchase a
church on the Gold Coast to
make it into a Masjid, the
church is already approved
as a place of worship as a
Masjid.
So far we
have raised $2.6m in loans
qarz e hasna and donations
and are $500,000 short.
Our
settlement is in just over
1week time. We are pleading pay
back in 12 months.
We cannot
miss out on this church
which can accommodate 500
people. We will not get this
opportunity again in the
middle of Gold Coast.
There is only
1 Masjid on the Gold Coast
which is overflowing, again
I point out we can not miss
this opportunity we will
never get this opportunity
on the Gold Coast again.
Please help
towards this house of Allah
as the reward great - a
house in Jannah Insha’Allah.
Complete the
Pledge Form or please
message or contact me......
.
Please contribute whatever
you can and share with
family and friends.
May Allah swt grant you and
your family a dwelling in
Paradise.
Imam Akram
Buksh
0431201164
Gold Coast
Islamic Cultural Centre
Bank
Account Details:
Commonwealth
Bank of Australia, Toowoomba
Plaza Branch
A/C Name: Toowoomba Islamic
Charitable Organisation
BSB No
064459,
A/C No 1034
1586,
Swift Code: CTBAAU25XXX
Contacts:
Prof Shahjahan Khan Ph
+61421081048, Email:
khans@usq.edu.au, Dr
Mainul Islam Ph
+61432533550, and Br Shahbaz
Rafiq Ph 0402398608
(Brisbane).
Water
scarcity is a major concern
for those living in Yemen,
especially those in conflict
areas. This has resulted in
people seeking water from
unclean sources and the
spread of water-borne
diseases to over 1 million
people.
MAA has embarked on a major
project to provide water to
over 3,000 people by digging
an artesian well with a
depth of 170m.
The structure will include a
concrete reservoir,
generator room, and pipes
networked to distribute
water to local areas.
You now have the opportunity
to invest in the
construction of this
life-saving Sadaqah Jaariyah
project for just $50.
Invest on behalf of
yourself, your family, and
your friends and reap the
rewards!
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
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Space
for everyone?
The Cambridge
mosque project
offers a new
vision of
community
How
Islam Spread
Throughout the
World
Queensland 1918
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our Wall
7
August 2011