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www.amust.com.au ISSUE # 158
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Multicultural News & Views
JANUARY 2019; RABI ‘UL AAKHIR 1440
The Miracle of Democracy
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Ibrahim Dellal, Australian Muslim pioneer passed way Ibrahim Dellal.
Dr Salih Yucel Ibrahim Dellal, 86, the Melbourne based veteran community leader passed away on Friday 7 December 2018. A funeral service attended by more than 400 people was held at Quba mosque on Monday 10 December and he was buried at Fawkner cemetery. İbrahim Dellal (1932-2018) of Turkish Cypriot origins was a community activist and played a pioneering role in establishing Islamic organizations and educational institutions since his arrival in Melbourne in early 1950’s. Continued on page 18
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Celebrating UN Disability Day
COMMUNITY PAGE 9
Souha Korbatieh, wife of Dr Gazi Husain and a mother of four was recognised for her excellence in Master of Islamic Studies at the Islamic Science & Research Academy (ISRA) during the graduation ceremony held on Saturday 8 December at Waterview, Sydney Olympic Park. Three students enrolled at ISRA have graduated with University medals from Charles Sturt University (CSU) in 2018. Only 5 students won medals this year from a total population of 40,000 students enrolled at CSU. This year in 2018, 52 ISRA students have graduated from Arabic and Islamic Studies across Bachelor and Masters degrees as well as Graduate Diplomas and Graduate Certif-
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Free speech about Israel/ Palestine UMMAH PAGE 25
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The Message of Mary
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Bangladesh elections condemned as ‘farcical’
Zia Ahmad
The Bangladesh elections held on Sunday 30 December 2018 under the authoritarian watch of PM Sheikh Hasina were marred with violence, intimidation, arrests, crackdown on dissent and withdrawal by opposition party members. “We urge the election commission to void this farcical result immediately. We are demanding that a fresh election is held under a neutral government as early as possible,” opposition leader Kamal Hossain said soon after the election. Bangladesh National Party (BNP) have alleged that there have been “irregularities” in 221 of the 300 seats being contested. At least 47 candidates from the main opposition alliance withdrew before polling closed, alleging vote rigging and intimidation. Human Rights Watch South Asia director Meenakshi Ganguly said that “with serious allegations of voter intimidation, restrictions on opposition polling agents and several candidates seeking a re-poll, there are concerns about the credibility” of the election. Although the Bangladesh election commission earlier said that it had heard vote-rigging allegations from “across the country” and would investigate, the commissioner said voting had been held in a peaceful manner and hence there would be no new vote. The results of the elections declared indicate that Sheikh Hasina’s ruling Awami
Islamic Studies student wins University medal Mehar Ahmad
Digital Newspaper Available
League has won almost all of the 300 parliamentary seats contested. Sheikh Hasina’s long-term rival, Mrs Khaleda Zia, was sent to prison on corruption charges earlier this year and barred from competing in the vote, in a case which she claimed was politically motivated. In Mrs Zia’s absence, Kamal Hossain, leads the main opposition grouping, the Ja-
tiya Oikya Front, which includes Mrs Zia’s Bangladesh National Party (BNP). Amnesty International has said that members of the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami were arbitrarily arrested, human rights defenders were harassed and intimidated, the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association were restricted and enforced disappearances persisted during 2018 in Bangladesh. Souha Korbatieh (right) with Professor Lesley White.
icates. The formal event on Saturday 8 December was attended by 24 graduates, ISRA staff from Sydney as well as Melbourne and Charles Sturt University academics, community leaders and families of the graduates. In addition to brief comments by staff, the graduates also shared their feelings from the stage in a one-minute speech, many of them shedding tears of joy at the completion of their unique educational journey and thanked their spouses, parents and children for their support. ISRA graduations are a unique combination of intellectual, academic, emotional and spiritual experience held in a dignified yet family-friendly atmosphere. Continued on page 17
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Labor pledges to recognise Palestine AMUST
Ibrahim Taha
The Australian Labor Party’s 48th national conference held in Adelaide from Sunday 16 to Tuesday 18 December 2018 has called for a future Australian Labor government to recognise Palestine as a state. The final decision on the issue will be taken by the cabinet. The conference was attended by over 2000 Labor party members and delegates gathered to set the policy agenda for a future Labor government. This year’s conference was marked as historic, with the strongest resolution on the issue of Palestinian statehood. The resolution that was moved by Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong and seconded by Tony Burke called “on the next Labor government to recognise Palestine as a state.” Penny Wong stressed the importance of
recognising a Palestinian state for the future success of a two-state solution. “Labor is a friend of the Israelis. I’m a friend of the Israelis. Labor is a friend of the Palestinians. I’m a friend of the Palestinians,” Penny Wang said. She further added, “We recognise that a just two-state solution will require recognising the right of both the Palestinian and Israeli people to live peacefully.” This was flagged as an important priority for a future Shorten-led Labor government, which appears to become a palpable reality at the next election, as the coalition heads into electoral abyss. Tony Burke said that this Labor policy shift was “a rejection of some of the hardliners who believe that the occupation of another people can be permanent.” He criticised recent Israeli policy, claiming two-thirds of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet was on public record saying a Palestinian state would never happen. “In recent years, particularly with the growth of settlements, we’ve seen the balance of negotiations shift,” Mr Burke said.
“We have reached
the point where the arguments to wait have become thinner, and the arguments for recognition have become stronger.
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On recognition of Palestine as a state, he further added, “We have reached the point where the arguments to wait have become thinner, and the arguments for recognition have become stronger.” The passing of the recognition of Palestine resolution is seen as a success for advocates in the party like Former Premier of NSW Bob Carr, Shaoquett Moselmane MLC and other supporters. The Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network (APAN) has praised the Australian Labor Party for “injecting dynamism and hope into the stalled peace process.” Although the resolution is not binding on the next Labor government, leaders from the Zionist Federation of Australia and Council of Australian Jewry have voiced their opposition and slammed the move as “unproductive.” These criticisms have been overshadowed
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by recent support from the Jewish community of the Morrison Government’s decision to announce West Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel. Despite receiving backlash from neighbouring Muslim nations like Malaysia and Indonesia, Bahrain was outspoken in defending Australia’s move in a symbolic sign of the growing benign relations between Israel and the Gulf states. Labor has pledged to reverse the Government’s Jerusalem decision, portraying Morrison’s decision on Jerusalem as fulfilling his personal interests in garnering votes ahead of the national interest, without consulting experts and allies. Ibrahim Taha is a young, first year student at Sydney University. Ibrahim is involved in many organisations and has keen interest in politics, religion and social issues.
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Muslim Lawn KEMPS CREEK CEMETERY
Kemps Creek Cemetery now has a dedicated Muslim Lawn, offering a peaceful rural cemetery to the Muslim community. Located only 25 minutes’ drive from Blacktown and 35 minutes from Auburn. › Single and double burial graves available › 3 year interest free payment plans available
Part of the local community For further information please contact:
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Kemps Creek Cemetery on 02 9826 2273 from 8.30am-4pm 230-260 Western Rd, Kemps Creek NSW 2178 www.kempscreekcemetery.com.au
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The miracle of democracy
Time for India-Pakistan reconciliation Time and again, the largest democracy in the world has surprised political pundits by kicking out incumbent powerful governments, showcasing the highly developed political consciousness of the Indian electorate. This has happened in the past when popular and powerful Indira Gandhi government was removed by people power due to her authoritarian excesses where she even lost her seat in the parliament, bringing the opposition coalition into power. However, the Janata Party coalition was removed by the electorate swiftly at the next election due to their poor performance bringing Indira Gandhi’s Congress Party back to power. At the state elections during more than a decade and at the last general elections, This brought the extremist Hindu priest it was the incompetence of the Congress cum politician Yogi Adityanath to power Party combined with the disarray of other with an anti-Muslim agenda who has crepolitical parties that the Hindu nationalist ated havoc in and outside the state with his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Narhate speeches and anti-Muslim pogroms. endra Modi won with a landslide As Abraham Lincoln said, “you victory and consolidated its can fool some of the people all of electoral base in various oththe time, and all of the people er states. some of the time, but you can The BJP had invested its not fool all of the people all electoral success on the of the time. Zia Ahmad basis of divisive politics, The political pundits appealing to the Hindu thought that Modi’s BJP Assalamu majority while targeting juggernaut cannot be minorities especially the stopped and it will sweep Alaikum Indian Muslim community to electoral success one afGreetings trying to deny and eradicate ter the other at state elections their 1000 years old legacy in culminating with an ultimate of Peace India. landslide success at national elecTo everyone’s surprise, BJP was tions due by mid-2019. highly successful in the largest state of However, the miracle of democracy in Uttar Pradesh with a population of Mus- India yet again repeated itself last month lim reaching almost 20% where it did not in key state elections. The BJP lost in all give ticket to a single Muslim candidate three state-level elections, with Congress and managed to form a Muslim free state grabbing clear majorities in Rajasthan and government mainly due to the division be- Chhattisgarh and ousting incumbent BJP tween two major parties. governments. In a third race, in Madhya
EDITORIAL
Readers comments
Very sad to hear about Br. Ibrahim passing Re: Divisive politics backfired away. Ina Lila he wa Ina La Rajeon. for Libs at Victorian elections We (the people who follow Islam) really need to work together as an Umma. Focusing on Surak Ikhlas and Surak Asr. amei
I had met Ibrahim twice with my Turkish friends from NZ and was impressed with his contribution to Muslim community development in Australia over many decades. Ashraf
right wing Israel leaders who are hawks in their backyard and play the dove on international stage other less polished politicians cannot get away with ‘forked’ tongues. Political leadership 101 demands that leaders should have the interest of their country over another as a default position. Moving the embassy to Jerusalem at this point of time will do nothing for the peace effort. If anything it is just a tradie’s blunder. Throwing the spanner in the .........! mal
The tide seems to have turned in VictoRe: Ibrahim Dellal, Australian ria. The Liberal party machine and its drift Muslim pioneer passed way Ibrahim was an active Muslim when I first came to the community in the 1970s. He was always involved in building a united community and always did his best to short-circuit any disputes. I will miss him. Bilal Cleland
Very sad to hear about Br. Ibrahim passing away. Ina Lila he wa Ina La Rajeon. I had met Ibrahim twice with my Turkish friends from NZ and was impressed with his contribution to Muslim community development in Australia over many decades. Ashraf JANUARY 2019 / ISSUE 158
towards extremism have been well exposed and rejected. The NSW election will be interesting and will indicate whether this trend is spreading. The days of incitement to bigotry and hate as vote winners, the Howard recipe for power, might be over. The impotence of the Murdoch media was certainly demonstrated. We have faith that the fitrah, inbuilt in us, will push a democratic vote towards justice rather than bigoted hate. Bilal Cleland
Yes, Bilal, that was good news and we hope that this is repeated in NSW and then
AMUST ISSUE # 158 FRIDAY 4 JANUARY 2019 27 RABI ‘UL AAKHIR 1440 News
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- Bangladesh elections condemned - Islamic Studies student wins medal - Labor to recognise Palestine
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- The miracle of democracy - Scott Morrison’s Jerusalem muddle - West African slavery
Community
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- UN disability day - Gambling harm awareness - Muslim heritage project
Australia
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- No neutrality in injustice - Muslims win multicultural award - A day in Merriwa
Pradesh, Congress fell just short of an outright majority in the state assembly but nevertheless ended a decade and a half of BJP rule. Ahead of India’s general election this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been rattled and is starting to look weak. The opposition parties including the Congress Party has gained confidence in taking on BJP and countering its divisive politics head-on. It’s time that Congress and other major parties join together and unite all Indians irrespective of their religious and cultural affiliation against division and hate and counter the Hindu chauvinist agenda of BJP to bring about peace and prosperity to India. With another recent democratic miracle occurring in neighbouring Pakistan bringing to power a cricketer turned politician who has already send an olive branch to India, its time for both neighbours to work towards reconciliation for progress and peace in South Asia.
later at federal elections. Labor has to become distinctly and clearly away from Liberal policies rather than being a soft Liberal Party. The recent global events look great as well with good news from Ethiopia, Malaysia, Pakistan and now India during the state elections and rejection of divisive politics. We hope this trend continues in the largest democracy in India next year at national elections followed by the exit of Trump Inshallah in the richest democracy. Zia Ahmad
Re: No neutrality in the face of Re: Scott Morrison’s Jerusainjustice Re: Unity Grammer Robotics Hussain ibn Ali was a 7th century revolu- lem Muddle Sco-Mo’s Wentworth gamble that unfor- teams advance to International tionary leader who made the ultimate sacrifice for social justice in the face of corrup- tunately backfired should remind him that Championships representing we live in a Globalised world. Unlike some Australia tion and tyranny. Some of his sayings: The greatest struggle is to speak truth in front of an oppressive ruler. If you don’t believe in any religion and don’t fear the Resurrection Day, at least be free in this world. Nothing is more disgraceful for rulers than treating their subordinates cruelly. Avoid oppressing the one who does not have any supporter against you, other than the Almighty God. mal
AMUST
Thats amazing...really happy for the students. Touseef Khawaja
HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your thoughts about news or current events to be published in the next issue of AMUST
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Lifestyle
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- Seeking knowledge from pub - Guards at the Taj’ - Awards at WGS
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- Indians reject politics of hate - Free speech about Palestine - Yemen: Man made crisis
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- The message of Mary - Towards building Iraq - AMUA’s unique Quranic course
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- App review: Player Cloud - Top 6 Muslim Memes
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in articles, and Letters to the Editor, Website Comments are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Australasian Muslim Times.
AMUST Team
Editor-in-Chief: Zia Ahmad Graphic Designer: Rubinah Ahmad Chief Adviser: Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad Multimedia Journalist: Mehar Ahmad Multimedia Journalist: Mobinah Ahmad Sub-Editor: Mohammed Sinan Siyech Sub-Editor: Aisha Mohsin Columnist: Dr Abul Jalaluddin (Finance) Columnist: Dr Ameer Ali (WA) Columnist: Bilal Cleland (Victoria) Columnist: Manarul Islam (ACT) Columnist: Dr Daud Batchelor (QLD) Columnist: Simon Harrison (QLD) Columnist: Zahid Jamil (NSW) Columnist: Shahjahan Khan (QLD) Columnist: Prof Irfan Shahid (India) Columnist: Imam Malik Mujahid (USA) Promotion: Dr Wali Bokhari Web Developer: Shadow Approved Multimedia: iMoby Productions Printers: Spotpress Pty Ltd Distributers: Abul Fateh Siddiqui, Shujaat Siddiqui, Usaid Khalil, Aamir Ahmad, Ibrahim Khalil, Usman Siddiqui, Zahid Alam, Shahab Siddiqui, Mahmoud Jaame, Mateen Abbas, Rashid Idris, Sakinah Ahmad, Anjum Rafiqi, Hasan Fazeel, Dr Quasim, Ismail Hossain, Hanif Bismi, Zohair Ahmad, Luqman Landy.
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Scott Morrison’s Jerusalem Muddle Dr Ameer Ali
governments against an overwhelming international consensus regarding the status of Jerusalem,” Bishop Browning further added. Prime Minister Scott Morrison is yet to learn the art of leading a nation. A leader should take care of what comes out his/her mouth to avoid regret, embarrassment, humiliation and even trouble
for the nation as consequence. The PM’s thoughtless utterance to shift the capital of Israel to Jerusalem, which he made in Wentworth, NSW, to capture the Jewish votes during the by-election campaign, has forced him to juggle around what he said, because of adverse international reaction from neighbouring Muslim countries. It is possible that he might have been prompt-
“Prime Minister
Scott Morrison is yet to learn the art of leading a nation.
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The P-Plated Prime Minister has made yet another rushed announcement recognising West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel implying thereby East Jerusalem would be recognised as the capital of Palestine when the socalled two-state solution comes into effect. Israel all along has claimed Jerusalem as its undivided capital. Now even the Israeli cabinet, at least one section of it, is in uproar. The Israeli ambassador to Australia in a recent radio interview with ABC has been embarrassingly pushed to a corner by a journalist where the ambassador was struggling for words to smoothen the rough edges of Morrison’s Jerusalem muddle. He used the phrase ‘Palestinian aspiration’ to justify Morrison’s unsaid words on East Jerusalem. The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) has heavily criticised Morrison government’s announcement that it will recognise West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a move that only serves to appease extremist elements of the Party while further slamming closed the door to peace. “As Israel claims exclusive sovereignty over all of Jerusalem and refuses to abide by United Nations resolutions calling it to withdraw from occupied East Jerusalem, we cannot give them a free kick,” said Bishop George Browning, President of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network. “It serves no Australian interest, will weaken our trade and security relations with regional partners, and may irreparably injure our international reputation by aligning Australia with the Trump and Netanyahu
ed to make that announcement by one of his ministerial lieutenants Mr Josh Frydenberg, a Jew and ardent supporter of Israel. As a consequence, Scott Morrison immediately put Australia’s trade deal with neighbouring Indonesia into Jeopardy, and the damage control had to be done by none other than Malcolm Turnbull, whose unjustified dismissal as party leader by a conspiratorial cabal brought Morrison as PM by default. Dr Mahathir, the Prime Minister of Malaysia also expressed his concern about Morrison’s reckless announcement. However, the damage has been done and it is left to him to camouflage the whole affair to the best of his ability to minimise the damage. We Muslim citizens of Australia must not allow this Prime Minister’s insensitivities towards our feelings go unpunished. The Prime Minister’s undercover Islamophobia, first through his immigration control and border security policy and now with his divided Jerusalem, is crystal clear and there is nothing to stop him to go even further. Even those Muslim voters who are card-carrying members of the Liberal Party should reconsider their support to the coalition as long as this P-plated PM remains the leader. This is the only peaceful and democratic way of expressing our disgust. Let us show our protest at the ballot box. ANIC and AFIC that claim to be the apex bodies of the community must start an anti-Morrison campaign. Dr Ameer Ali is a Sri Lankan born Australian citizen. He is a retired academic and research fellow. He was a former president of AFIC and Head of Muslim Advisory Group under Howard Government. Ameer has authored more than fifty journal articles and is a regular contributor to newspapers and periodicals on Muslim affairs.
AIC WACE High Achievers 2018 Australian Islamic College, Perth PH: 08 9362 2100 E: info@aic.wa.edu.au www.aic.wa.edu.au
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Congratulations to our high achieving students and best wishes to all our graduating students for a great future ahead SUBJECT CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE ❖ Mathematics Specialist ❖ Mathematics Methods ❖ Physics ❖ Chemistry
AIC STUDENTS ACHIEVED ATAR ABOVE 90
▪
Azmain Ahnaf Talukder
CERTIFICATE OF DISTINCTION ▪ Fatimah Ahmadi ▪ Tasabeeh Mudathir El Hassan ▪ Mariam Sayour
UNIVERSITY OFFERS MADE TO AIC STUDENTS BY VARIOUS UNIVERSITIES IN WA IN THE FIRST ROUND Number of students offered their 1st preference (includes students without an ATAR)
Number of students offered any of their preference
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Curtin 47
38
ECU 5
7
Murdoch 3
6
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Total 77
17
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CERTIFICATE OF MERIT ▪ Israa Soliman Ahmed ▪ Saad Ibn Hossain ▪ Bothayna Ibrahim ▪ Arfa Atif Malik ▪ Benaldy Lillahi Merdi ▪ Hamzah Adal Shafi ▪ Azmain Ahnaf Talukder
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Emergence of three great indigenous Muslims during the British Empire Bilal Cleland Recently there has been a noticeable sense of despair in the comments and posts on social media about the state of the world. What is encouraging is the awareness that evil has never been able to overcome the right and justice. It is always only temporary. One of the two perfect women in history, Asiya the wife of Pharaoh, came from the very household of perhaps the worst oppressor in history. Asiya after witnessing the meeting between her husband and Prophet Musa (a)
was able to stand up to the power of the one who thought he was a living god. In more recent times, from the depths of the then centre of world oppression, the British Empire, three great Muslims emerged, who have made a major contribution to the spread of the knowledge of Islam and awareness of the nature of imperialism. In 1887, the conversion of William Quilliam to Islam and the establishment of the Liverpool Muslim congregation commenced the process of establishing Islam in England at a time when anti-Ottoman propaganda was high. There were hostile demonstrations against the mosque but the Muslims, mainly English converts, knew their rights and their place in society and returned insults with the truth. An insight into their tactics is provided in a recent Al Jazeera article, 15 December
2017, “How did Victorian Muslims celebrate Christmas?” As Timothy Winter explained: “This reminds us there was an earlier generation of Muslims, looking to spread the word of Islam through finding points in common rather than things to argue about.” Another two English Muslims who emerged from the highpoint of imperialism were Marmaduke Pickthall, who publicly accepted Islam in 1917, and Harry St John Philby who wanted to accept Islam in 1924 but was dissuaded by Abdul Aziz. He became Muslim in 1930. Pickthall’s translation of the Quran is still well known, as is his stance in defence of the Ottomans and later the Committee for Union and Progress. In his novel “Said the Fisherman” he wrote his famous account of the defence of
Britain’s leading role in West African slavery Dr Daud Batchelor Britain’s colonial civilisational legacy, often condoned, is tainted by major actions against humanity, which clamour down the ages. These include the New World slave trade, which principled Englishmen such as William Wilberforce ended through their magnificent emancipation ‘jihad.’ However, other programs continued, causing wholesale devastation, such as Britain’s facilitation following the ignoble Balfour Declaration,during its Trusteeship of Palestine, for Zionists to establish a homeland, not in Britain, but on predominantly Palestinian-owned land; and Britain’s covert support in helping build Israel’s nuclear WMD capability. Israel’s existence continues to destabilise the Middle East. Much of Britain’s industrial growth was related to slave-sourced products – sugar, cotton and tobacco. Following the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, the Government raised £20m (£300bn today) to compensate slave-owners for emancipating slaves. The British Public were surprised to learn this loan was only finally paid-off in 2015. Between the 1600s and 1807, Britain became a pre-eminent trader of African slaves surpassing all Europeans. British participation began in 1573 with support and investment by Elizabeth I. Serfdom, like slavery but less onerous, was imposed on Britons by Norman Vikings. Britain continued in this and imperial Roman tradition - a source of ‘civilisational’ inspiration - to deal in slaves. “Nothing in human history compares with the Atlantic Slave Trade (1441-1840) in its magnitude, cruelty or sustained brutality.” Over 10 million Africans slaves were shipped to the Americas. Three million died during their capture and march to the coast and from inhumane conditions aboard slave ships. “In the British colonies the slaves were treated as non-human: they were ‘chattels’, to be worked to death as it was cheaper to purchase another slave than to keep one alive. … There was no opprobrium attached to rape, torture, or beating your slaves to death. The enslaved in the British colonies had no legal rights.” Roman Catholics reportedly treated slaves JANUARY 2019 / ISSUE 158
Britain’s Atlantic Trade in Slaves and Commodities (1573-1833).
Syrian nuns from a fanatical Muslim crowd by Abdul Cader. Philby became a close friend of Abdul Aziz ibn Saud and a committed Wahhabi. Today most Muslims have developed interpretations of the role of the CUP in Turkey and the Wahhabis in the Kingdom of the Hejaz which might differ from these men, but that does not detract from the influence they exerted. Pickthall was under surveillance by military intelligence during the First World War because of his Ottoman-CUP sympathies, but he was not intimidated. Philby was in a different situation. He worked with British intelligence to bring the Saudi leader into the British camp and to have him attack the allies of the Ottomans. He opposed the way the British betrayed their promise of Arab independence and their imposition of a king on Iraq in 1921. He resigned from his position as chief British representative in Transjordan in January 1924, citing his inability “to work with the present High Commissioner who, being a Zionist Jew, cannot hold the scales even between Zionist and Arab interests.” Philby did an effective job of exposing the machinations going on to establish the basis of what was to become Israel. An interesting account of the careers of both men is given in “Brave Hearts, Pickthall and Philby: Two English Muslims in a Changing World.” By M A Sherif, published by Islamic Book Trust. Humayun Ansari, “The Infidel Within: Muslims in Britain since 1800” Hurst and Company, London 2004, is a useful reference for those interested in this period. Bilal Cleland is a keen reader, a prolific writer and a regular columnist of AMUST based in Melbourne.
Three headed rock hued in orange and brown Fazlul Huq
better as humans compared to British Protestants who forbade them church attendance and justified slavery and their atrocities by claiming they were barbaric savages. Twenty percent of American slaves were Muslims. Online Etymology Dictionary proffers the origin of the word ‘slaves’ to the Latin word sclavus, which was applied to Slavs enslaved from defeats suffered from the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I. Muslim Moors enslaved by the Portuguese were the first West African slaves in this ‘nefarious trade.’ The Portuguese however, found this practice dangerous. Europeans found it easier to arm degenerate chiefs from states such as the Asante, Dahomey, Congo, Angola, who enslaved neighbours. Muslim chiefs did not play significant roles. Differing from traditional slavery, the European-backed approach promoted perpetual warfare, surprise raids and kidnapping of free natives. Devastating impacts on West African societies continue until today. Professor Nathan Nunn of Harvard University found that countries which are today
Africa’s poorest are also those from which the most slaves were taken. Without prisons in many other traditional societies, slave-hood securitised criminals or defeated populations after battles. Islam raised the dignity and treatment of slaves who became members of owners’ households and were provided with similar food and clothing. Prophet Muhammad (s) encouraged freeing of slaves as worship (ibadah). The trajectory of his teachings should have led to wholesale emancipation. Tony Blair in 2006 described Britain’s participation in slavery as a ‘crime against humanity’ and expressed deep sorrow without, however, apologising, while the US Senate apologised in 2009. Blood stains from Britain’s civilisational legacy - from the West African slave trade, and today’s continuing turmoil in the Middle East - deserve severe opprobrium. Dr Daud Batchelor, holds an MA in Islamic and Other Civilisations and a Diploma in Islamic Studies from the International Islamic University Malaysia, PhD from University of Malaya, MSc from the University of London.
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Three headed rock dressed in orange and brown, As the elongated body hued in the same would rise from the ground covered in green and gold, While body of the hill at near distant too would have cover of green, As the mass of cloud constantly on the move would dress in pink and gold, grey and black, While the foreground would have tufts of blue made by the shrubs and the wild grass. Associate Professor Fazlul Huq is based in Sydney and leads the Biomedical Science Cancer Research Group in the School of Medical Sciences, Sydney Medical School. He is also an accomplished poet with over 12,000 compositions in Bengali and English and has also been involved in various community projects.
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Seena celebrates UN disability day Zia Ahmad The International Day of People with Disability was observed on Saturday 22 December 2018 in Sydney at Dar-ul-Islam in Bonnyrigg organised by Seena Incorporated, a not for profit organisation that publishes AMUST. United Nations’ International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPwD) is observed on 3 December every year to promote an understanding of disability issues and support for the dignity, rights, well-being and the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life. The theme to mark the in 2018 was “Empowering persons with disabilities and ensuring inclusiveness and equality.” The event brought together diverse people for networking purposes and included disabled people, their carers and family members, social workers, community leaders and disability service providers. The program was started with the recitation of Quran by Hafiz Dr Waliullah Bokhari with the following meaning projected on the screen that emphasised the believers to take care of the weaker sections of the society. Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah , the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous. (Quran 2:177). The President of Seena Inc, Mrs Mehar Ahmad during her welcome address listed the objectives of the organisation as follows: 1. Render social services to the community at large. 2. Develop web media skills among people with disability, women and people from diverse backgrounds. 3. Establish multimedia enterprises for the expression of ideas, exchange of information and entertainment. 4. Provide a forum for ethical learning and teaching. 5. Exchange skilled and experienced personnel in the field of administration, accounting and technology with other organisations. Mrs Ahmad during her presentation gave a history IDPwD initiated in 1992 by the UN in order to increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability as well as to celebrate their achievements and contributions. She said that in Australia, the Nation-
al Disability Strategy 2010-2020 commits all governments to a nationwide approach aimed at improving the lives of people with disability and provide support to their families and carers. “The Strategy’s ten-year national framework for reform focuses on better inclusion for people with disability and seeks to create a society that enables people with disability to fulfill their potential as equal citizens,” Mrs Ahmad explained. The keynote speaker at the event was Mr Waqas Shiraz, the Managing Director of Sydney Health and Care Services (SHCS), an NDIS approved disability service provider for NSW. Mr Shiraz said that the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) was initiated by the Australian Government for Australians with a disability, including people with intellectual, physical, sensory and psycho-social disabilities. “The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) is an independent statutory agency and its role is to implement the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which will support a better life for hundreds of thousands of Australians with a significant and permanent disability and their families and carers,” he further explained. While introducing his organisation, Mr Shiraz said, “Sydney Health & Care Services is a disability service provider offering a wide range of disability support services throughout the Sydney Metropolitan as well as rural NSW, with prospects to expand interstate.” “Our mission is to provide unprecedent-
ed quality and flexible “one stop shop” care for our participants, we work hard with third-party organisations and our employees to broaden our service scope to enhance participants lifestyle and choice for maximum inclusion in the community,” he further explained. Mr Shiraz together with his colleague Mr Rehan Masood fielded questions and comments from the audience. Mrs Robina Yasmin, a social worker with vast experience in the field commented on the teething issues during the implementation of the scheme while Ms Najla Turk,
an experienced community worker and author interrogated Mr Shiraz on the detailed workings of SHCS and offered some valuable advice. The event ended with dinner, compliments of Mrs Mehar Ahmad followed by Maghreb prayer and dua by Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad, who highly appreciated Seena Inc initiative in organising a highly successful event for the benefit of disabled people, young and old, their carers, family members, experienced community workers as well as service providers.
Waqas Shiraz, Managing Director of SHCS.
Mehar Ahmad, President of Seena Inc. JANUARY 2019 / ISSUE 158
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Muslim leaders raise gambling harm awareness AMUST
Gulhan Eryegit Yoldas The Muslim Leaders Forum for Gambling Harm Awareness was held on Wednesday 5 December in Melbourne equipping them with resources to help families experiencing gambling harm. The event, held at Al Siraat College was sponsored by Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria and supported by Victoria Police, City of Whittlesea, Arabic Welfare, SHARC and Banyule Community Health. The purpose for the gathering was to raise awareness on gambling harm in Victoria and equip Muslim leaders with the local resources available to them in supporting families experiencing gambling harm. The event was MC’ed by senior student Abu Bakr Ayoubi and the Welcome to Country was made by local indigenous Muslim elder Andrew Gardiner. Keynote speaker, former mayor of City of Whittlesea and ECCV chair, Kris Pavlidis said that residents of her municipality currently lose 300 thousand dollars at the Pokies every single day. She explained that the council has petitioned heavily this year towards having fewer machines and reducing operating hours for pokies venues. She shared some of the successes they’ve had in blocking new pokies machines being introduced to the City of Whittlesea. One case with Commercial Hotel who wanted to introduce pokies machines went
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From left: Ansam Sadik (Vic Police), Dr. Zuleyha Keskin (ISRA), Gulhan Yoldas (AMUST), Kris Pavlidis (ECCV), Manal Shehab (SHARC), Zainab Mourad (ISRA), Senior Constable Shanice Vilone. all the way to the Supreme Court but was later withdrawn, a significant win for the community. Inspector Andrew Falconer shared some alarming local statistics which highlights the correlation between gambling harm and family violence and crime in the area. Manal Shehab from SHARC, Wendy Khalil from Arabic Welfare and Sarah Quirk from Banyule Community Health each shared the effective resources they currently offer families seeking help in Victoria.
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Mufti Aasim Rashid shared the Islamic perspective on gambling and the importance of preserving life. The closing dua was made by Br Fazeel Arian. If you or someone you know is experiencing harm from Gambling please call Gamblers Help on 1800 858 858. Language support is available via the link below: https://gamblershelp.com.au/get-help/ help-in-other-languages/
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Gulhan Eryegit Yoldas is on the advisory board for ECCV Gambling Harm project. She’s an active member of Whittlesea Interfaith Network and currently works as the Community Engagement Facilitator for Al Siraat College. Gulhan has a robust history of advocacy for Interfaith dialogue & building resilient, compassionate communities. She is passionate about empowering and developing Muslim youth as spokespeople for their communities.
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Indonesian gender linguistics group visits Australia Manarul Islam Indonesian scholars visited Australia in early December 2018 as part of their linguistic study entitled “Linguistic Realizations of Gender Equality Promotion by Female Ulama.� This study is by three Indonesian scholars, Drs Nurul Chojimah, Puspita Mayaratri, and Mulia Ardi, all of whom are lecturers of State Islamic Institute of Tulungagung, East Java, Indonesia. The purpose of this study is to find out patterns or regularities used by female ulamas in promoting gender equality. Data of this study are the utterances containing gender equality promotion spoken by female ulamas when they are delivering their speeches in Islamic gatherings. As such, the data are obtained by attending and recording gatherings in which a female alimah delivers her speech. This study is conducted in two countries, Indonesia and Australia; it involves five Indonesian female ulama and one Australian female alimah. Gender equality is a universal issue, in the sense, it happens across countries. Relying on the pertaining universality, this study is intended to see the patterns of linguistic expressions used by female ulamas having different nationalities. Their visit to Canberra was to attend an Islamic gathering from which they recorded the speech and took some utterances as the
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From left: Dr. Zulfatun Nikmah, Dr. Nurul Chojimah, Puspita Mayaratri, Dr. Mulia Ardi.
data. This study is funded by the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. Such kind of research grant is intended
to open international networks for Indonesian lecturers and researchers.
Manarul Islam is an IT professional, community worker and AMUST correspondent based in Canberra.
Muslim Speakers for Department of Human Services FREE & CONFIDENTIAL LEGAL ADVICE Multiculturalism Training Session on 570 Bourke Street. Seyma Ordu Department of Human Services (DHS) Victoria has initiated a great program, Multiculturalism: Our Stories. The program aims to increase the cultural understanding and capability of staff in the Department of Human Services. The participants are given opportunities for training in cultural awareness and meet with people from the community to listen to their experiences as minorities in Australia. ISRA (Islamic Sciences and Research Academy) has been asked to provide Muslim speakers for the training sessions. For each session, there are approximately 15 to 20 participants in attendance from the department and the Muslim speaker has 30 minutes to talk about their experiences as a JANUARY 2019 / ISSUE 158
practicing Muslim living in Australia. The talks involve a Muslim speaker sharing their own experiences especially pre and post 9/11, challenges they face as a Muslim, aspects of Islamic faith and what those mean to them and their families. Training sessions are done in a very friendly environment, and attendees made feel comfortable to ask any questions they may have. Speakers from ISRA have successfully run more than 10 sessions and received great feedback by the attendees. The organisation will continue providing speakers to DHS Victoria during 2019.
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COMMUNITY www.sirius.vic.edu.au NEWS 1-4
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Reunion to update on Muslim heritage project
AMUST
Dr Mahsheed Ansari.
Zia Ahmad A reunion between the Ahmad family and key researchers was organised on Sunday 16 December 2018 in order to get an update on the ISRA research project “A Journey through Australia’s Muslim Heritage: The life and times of Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad.” The family-friendly event was joined by members of the extended family of Dr Ahmad with presentations from the researchers on the project, Chief Investigator, Dr Mahsheed Ansari, lecturer at Charles Sturt University and Co-Investigator, Ms Katy Nebhan, researcher and lecturer at the University of Sydney. The researchers provided an update for the work done during the last one year giving glimpses by means of historical photos and video footage as well as images of important documents that they have collected and archived during the course of their investigation. They also fielded a number of questions from the audience, most of whom have been interviewed and who had provided a lot of archival materials for the project in terms of documents, photos, videos, publications and audio and video interviews. The project on Dr Ahmad is one of the three Australian Muslim Heritage projects undertaken by Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation (CISC) simultaneously on history of Muslim community development in Sydney and Melbourne concentrating on the life and times of Sheikh Fehmi Imam, Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad and Dr Abdul Khaliq Kazi, three of the key pioneers in the
Muslim Community. The project specifically on the life and times of Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad is a joint venture between Islamic Foundation for Education & Welfare (IFEW) and CISC within Charles Sturt University (CSU) and aims to examine this critical period of Australia’s Muslim history through the life and works of Dr Ahmad. Dr Ahmad was active at a time from 1971 onwards when there were few or no relevant services for the rapidly growing Muslim community in Sydney. This includes places for prayer and worship, access to halal foods, religious education and so forth where he helped with founding key institutions which continue to service Australia’s broader Muslim communities to this day. Dr Ahmad is a well-known and highly regarded figure within the Muslim community and part of this research is looking beyond his public persona to explore his private struggles, motivations and personal narratives. Interviews with Dr Ahmad, key members of his family and colleagues, family as well as community documents have been sourced, categorised and analysed and electronically archived in order to identify and document family history and biography with local, institutional and ideological histories and locate Dr Ahmad’s vision within broader historical contexts. During the course of a year, a lot of materials from Dr Ahmad’s family residence, Dar-ul-Islam in Bonnyrigg have been electronically archived and preserved that will result in a number of publications, books and documentaries shedding light on Australian Muslim history. The deliverables from this research project will include 1. Published biography 2. Joint paper to be presented at the biennial
Ms Katy Nebhan.
Oral History Australia Conference 2019. 3. Plan for exhibition at the Islamic Museum of Australia (late 2019). 4. Launch biography. 5. Peer-reviewed journal articles This research will lay the foundations for a separate future project that will include an
in-depth history of Australian Muslim institutions, ‘stand-alone’ oral histories as well as the production of an e-book with embedded oral recordings. Zia Ahmad is the Editor-in-Chief of the Australasian Muslim Times AMUST.
“A Journey through Australia’s Muslim Heritage: The life and times of Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad”, project researchers with members of the Ahmad extended family. JANUARY 2019 / ISSUE 158
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A VR experience in time and space Zeinab Mourad The Islamic Museum of Australia in partnership with ISRA launched the “Mecca to Marree, A Journey in Virtual Reality Experience” on Wednesday 5 December in Melbourne. The VR experience took the audience through a historical journey from the Mecca of 650 CE to Australia in the year 1885, following the development and spread of Islam through its humble beginnings to the ages of the Caliphs and to its arrival on the shores of Australia in Maree. A number of Islamic school principals, community leaders and volunteers attended and played with the new VR equipment. The virtual reality experience goggles gave individuals a guided tour and historical narrative while giving them a depiction on what these sites would have looked like. The most common comment made by those who took the tour was, “it feels so real.” The VR tour begins in Mecca and concludes in Maree, one of Australia’s very first mosques. It gives the audience a better sense of connection from where it all started to its
first presence in Australian society. The VR Launch is currently available at the Islamic Museum of Australia in Mel-
bourne. There are plans to take the ‘tour’ to other states of Australia, including rural areas, as well as overseas.
Zeinab Mourad is an Enrolment Officer and Academic Mentor at Charles Sturt University.
Sukoon Quteifan
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “Your smiling in the face of your brother is charity, commanding good and forbidding evil is charity, your giving directions to a man lost in the land is charity for you. Your seeing for a man with bad sight is a charity for you, your removal of a rock, a thorn or a bone from the road is charity for you. Your pouring what remains from your bucket into the bucket of your brother is charity for you.” [Tirmidhi] Sukoon Quteifan is a graphic designer and illustrator. She is the creator and the illustrator of “Sukoon Al Quloob - Peace of Hearts”, an Islamic Cartoons facebook page. Sukoon is based in Sydney, Australia.
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Robotics success at Unity Grammar An exclusive insight into Unity Grammar’s Robotics playground by AMUST
Zia Ahmad All three of Unity Grammar’s Robotics teams have been victorious at the 2018 FIRST® LEGO® League National Championships held at Macquarie University from Saturday 8 to Sunday 9 December 2018. Senior Girls team STEM Cells X were placed 3rd for Gracious Professionalism, Senior Boys team STEM Cells Y were placed 2nd for Mechanical Design and Junior team, STEM Cells Z, the latest addition to the STEM Cells family, were awarded 1st place for their Project Innovative Solution Award. Two of the teams, STEM Cells Y and STEM Cells Z, advanced to the International Championships where they will represent Australia at the 2019 World Festival in Houston, Texas. This is the second year in a row that Unity Grammar Robotics teams have made it to the International Championships representing Australia. STEM Cells Z were also awarded the Global Innovation Award nomination that will be held in 2019 in Silicon Valley, California being the ninth annual FIRSTLEGO League Global Innovation Award The eighth annual FIRSTLEGO League Global Innovation Award was held 19-21 June 2018 in San Jose, California at the San Jose State University Student Union. The FIRSTLEGO League Global Innovation Award is designed to showcase the real-world, innovative solutions that FIRSTLEGO League teams create as a result of their Project. I was given the opportunity to visit Unity Grammar on Tuesday 18 December facilitated by Ms Allison Maher, Head of Marketing and Communication and talked to the
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BACK: Mr Zia Ahmad, Zain Khan (coach), Affaan Ali, Zayn Khan, Riad Naanai (coach), Akram Maarban. MIDDLE: Eaman Badaui (coach), Ayesha Khan, Jessica Farhat, Mona Hafza. FRONT: Muhammad Hardan, Malek Maarbani, Rayaan Nabi. bright young members of the robotics teams and their coaches as well as see them in action in their well-resourced robotics lab. I interviewed members of the two most successful teams, STEM Cells Y team members Zayn Khan, Affan Ali and Akram Maarbani as well as STEM Cells Z mem-
bers Ayesha Khan, Jessica Farhat, Mona Hafza, Muhammad Hardan, Malek Maarbani and Rayaan Nabi. The highly talented and successful teams consist of members from diverse backgrounds and a wide range of ages. The senior students pass on their skills to the
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younger ones with a very smooth mentoring process. Although the school was closed for summer holidays, most of the robotics team members were present and working on their projects. I was told that they worked on their projects mostly on non-school hours or during their lunch breaks and spare time. Most of the students were aware of AMUST and had read the previous stories published in AMUST on the robotics teams’ achievements over the years and the celebration of 10 years anniversary since the foundation of Unity Grammar. I asked some basic questions from the students and they explained exactly what legos were and how they were incorporated into making robots to do certain tasks. Every year the competition has a theme to work with and develop their projects based on the theme. The teams had to find a problem and then use their skills to find the solution to the problem working together as a team, developing ideas and sharing their skills and collaborate with one another. After our table talk, the team members demonstrated the workings of their robotics systems in action to carry out various tasks on the table top. They put together various robots and programmed them using their laptops to carry out various tasks. I also met the coaches who guide the students during their robotics sessions namely Zain Khan, Riad Naanai, Laila Qadan and Eaman Badaui. Unity Grammar has developed a strong reputation in robotics by attracting highly competent coaches both males and females and attracting again a gender-balanced team of bright young students who are most competently winning not only national competitions but hopefully international ones as well.
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Muslim leadership program to bring positive change AMUST
Dr Bulent (Hass) Dellal AO The graduation ceremony for the Australian Muslim Youth Leadership and Peer Mentorship Program developed by Australian Multicultural Foundation and Islamic Council of Victoria was held in Melbourne on Sunday 23 November. In 2018 the Australian Multicultural Foundation (AMF) partnered with the Islamic Council of Victoria for a second year to deliver a leadership program for Muslim Youth. The Australian Muslim Youth Leadership and Peer Mentorship Program was developed based on the AMF’s previous leadership programs delivered across Australia and on the findings from national and international literature in the area. The 5-month program was designed to broaden the social participation of young Muslim leaders in Victoria. Dr Hass Dellal, Executive Director, Australian Multicultural Foundation said, “The Foundation has delivered youth specific leadership programs for over ten years. These programs are designed to build practical skills, enhance personal development and foster resilience and self-awareness to enable young people to become involved and active participants in their own community and in the wider Australian society. Evaluations of the leadership programs have consistently shown the benefits and positive outcomes for the young participants and have highlighted the importance of such programs to the target audiences.” One of the key intentions of the AMF Muslim youth leadership programs is to ensure the active and meaningful involvement of youth in issues of social harmony and resilience building. The AMF Muslim youth leadership programs have assisted young people to recog-
Participants of the 2018 program. nise their potential as leaders and to realise their capacities for positive change in these areas. The following quote from a 2018 Australian Muslim Youth Leadership participant encapsulates the program’s ethos of providing young people with the opportunities to develop their strengths to become agents of change in our society: “The Islamic Youth Leadership program hosted by the AMF stemmed from values that harness collaboration, focus, commitment and positive energy. AMF provided an opportunity for young Muslim individuals that are highly motivated to connect with structured organisations, experienced and successful individuals to develop skills and expand networks to assist their direct community in more ways than one. It has been an inspiration to be a part of such a high calibre of individuals who have a direction,
focus and specific expertise to directly be involved in reducing some of the issues in our local communities” (Participant, 2018). Young men and women aged between 24 and 30 years old from Muslim communities in Victoria who demonstrated an openness to diversity of thought and showed aspiration to become positive agents of change participated in a 2-day training program, which was followed by a month of mentorship, a subsequent 2-day training program, and a post training phase with ongoing mentorship. The program was promoted broadly and after the interviews, thirteen young people were selected to participate. There were four females and nine males who were born in several countries including; Somalia, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. The cultural backgrounds of those born in Australia included; Turkish, Laotian, Fijian/
Indian, Afghani, Lebanese, and Ethiopian. The four-day training program (split into two 2-day training) was designed to: • Deepen their engagement with the broader community. • Express their views and thoughts with confidence. • Interact with prominent community leaders, scholars and politicians. • Gain the necessary leadership and mentoring skills to influence change in their community. Dr Bulent (Hass) Dellal AO is the Executive Director of the Australian Multicultural Foundation, an organisation established in1989 to promote a strong commitment to Australia as one people drawn from many cultures. He is also the Chair of the Board of Directors of SBS Television and Radio.
Mawlid concert at Sydney Olympic Park
Mohammad Chams The annual Sydney Multicultural Mawlid Concert was held on Sunday 2 December 2018 at Sydney Sports Centre, Sydney Olympic Park under the slogan “Muhammad, a guide and more for every era”. The event held with the patronage of Darulfatwa, the Islamic High Council of Australia and led by the Islamic Charity projects association (ICPA) was attended by a number of Government representatives including Mr Ray Williams MP, Minister for Multiculturalism and
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Minister for Disability Services, Mr Michael Daley, MP Leader of the Opposition, ambassadors, consul generals, ministers, councillors, community leaders, sheikhs and imams. The VIP reception was opened by Chairman of Darulfatwa, Professor Sheikh Salim Alwan Al Husainyy who welcomed delegates and spoke about the Mawlid celebration and the important role Darulfatwa has played over the past two-decades in promoting moderation and peace. This was followed by a speech from the president of the ICPA Hajj Mohamad Mehio who spoke about the exemplary manners of the Prophet (s) and how Muslims always strive
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to take him as an example and guide across all eras. Mr Ray Williams spoke about the importance of social cohesion and how celebrations such as the Mawlid contribute to the government’s commitment to social cohesion and harmony. The leader Michael Daley thanked the Muslim community and particularly the ICPA and Darulfatwa for their positive contributions to Australian society that lead towards peace, harmony and our success together through multiculturalism. The concert was opened by Sheikh Ibrahim El-Shafie who welcomed attendees and stated in his open-
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ing speech “Your attendance here today reflects in a small way the world-wide keenness of Muslims to celebrate the commemoration of the Mawlid, each culture adorning their celebrations in their own colour and taste. Muslims of every race, colour, language, gender and age, gather on this occasion”. The speech was followed by a role play based on a true story titled “The Princess and the Crown” – about a young woman who was God-fearing and had a profound love for Prophet Muhammad (s). The role play was followed by a number of performances in several languages. ISSUE 158 / JANUARY 2019
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Islamic Studies student wins University medal
Professor Lesley White. Dr Zuleyha Keskin.
A/Prof Mehmet Ozalp.
Continued from page 1 The degrees were awarded by CSU academics, Professor Lesley White, Executive Dean, Faculty of Arts and Professor Ross Chambers, Former Vice Chancellor of CSU. Professor Ross Chambers during his address emphasised the importance of graduating Islamic scholars from ISRA for their contribution to Australian Public life. “My background is language. Australia has not given that much importance to language studies. I am absolutely delighted to know that ISRA students are doing Classical Arabic. You are not only contributing to your community but you are contributing to the whole Australian community,” Professor Chambers said. The keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony was David Purcell, CEO Director of Toyota Tsusho PNG based in Port Morsby in Papua New Guinea. Mr Purcell talked about living knowledge and corporate responsibility in helping out the community at large and gave details of how his company contributed towards health and education of Papua New Guineans over the years. Dr Zuleyha Keskin Course director of ISRA based in Melbourne thanked the ISRA team for serving the community in a unique way and said that the doors of ISRA are open to all in order to gain quality Islamic education. Associate Professor Mehmet Ozalp during his concluding remarks talked about the unique position of ISRA, that could not be matched by any other institution in the Western world including in the US and UK in combining traditional Islamic scholarship together with Western educational standards. He talked about ISRA’s partnership with the community at large on various projects from education, Australian Muslim heritage, history, community development and building of toerance and harmony in the Australian Society. He expressed his condolences at the passing of Australian Muslim pioneer Ibrahim Dellal. Talking about ISRA’s Australian Muslim Heritage projects, A/Prof Ozalp said, “We are working on three projects simultaneously on history of Muslim community development in Sydney and Melbourne concentrating on the life and times of Sheikh Fehmi Imam, Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad and Dr Abdul Khaliq Kazi, three of the key pioneers in the Muslim Community. A lot of materials are being electronically archived and preserved that will result in a number of publications, books and documentaries shedding light on Australian Muslim history.”
Professor Ross Chambers. Mr David Purcell.
Dr Mahsheed Ansari (centre) with two graduating students.
Mehar Ahmad based in Sydney is a public school teacher and President of Seena Inc, Publishers of AMUST. JANUARY 2019 / ISSUE 158
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Ibrahim Dellal, Australian Muslim pioneer passed way AMUST
Continued from page 1 Being the grandson of late Ottoman Mufti in Cyprus, İbrahim’s parents, especially his mother, raised their son to be Osmanli Efendisi, an Ottoman gentleman. His parents planted the seed of serving humanity in Ibrahim’s soul. Once he told me, “My mother may not be a scholar of Islam. However, when it comes to practice, she lived like a saint.” I met him in the late 80s. He was a ‘living history’, perhaps one of the most important figures in the Australian Muslim community since the mid-20th century. It was not until 1956 when İbrahim met Huseyin Ara Efendi, an Ottoman citizen who lived with dignity in Australia. Huseyin Ara Efendi was blind but he did not want to be reliant on state welfare. He would catch fish and sell it in the market to get by. His indebtedness to the state left indelible marks on İbrahim’s soul. İbrahim felt spiritual emptiness during the early 50s and gradually returned to his roots. He played an important role in establishing Cypriot Turkish Society in 1956, Islamic Society of Victoria in 1957, Preston Mosque in 1962, Australian Federation of Islamic Societies (AFIS) in 1964, Coburg Mosque in 1971, Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) in 1976 and Selimiye Foundation in 1991, which established Sirius College with six campuses and Sunshine Mosque in 2001. His colleague working with him in AFIS from the early 1960s, Dr Abdul Khaliq Kazi said, “Ibrahim never quit and left. He never just sat at home. Ibrahim never divorced himself from the community.”
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Dr Abdul Khaliq Kazi at Ibrahim Dellal’s funeral service. Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad, Founder President of AFIC while offering his condolences said, “I have known Ibrahim Dellal for more than four decades. He was instrumental in the transformation of AFIS into AFIC during the early 1970s and we used to meet regularly at AFIC annual congress. I met him last time in January this year at the Janaza and burial of my daughter, Sadia Siddiqui who passed away in an accident in Melbourne. He looked so robust and energetic and I am still shocked at his passing away. May Allah grant him Jannah.”
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İbrahim made substantial contributions to earning Australia billions of dollars through the export of halal meat to Muslim countries. His contributions led to him being awarded the Silver Jubilee Medal by Queen Elizabeth in 1977. In 2007, İbrahim’s name appeared on the Queen’s Birthday Honours List as a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia. The idea of writing his biography came when I travelled with İbrahim to Canada for a retreat. Through our conversations over the 10-day trip, I discovered that İbrahim
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was a “living history.” For İbrahim, serving others was an act of worship. Not all agreed with İbrahim’s actions and views. He was criticized by some community leaders and members and accused of being an opportunist. Yet his gentle nature and dislike of conflict prevented him from even responding. He so would say: “I have no time to quarrel with others. We should be heroes of compassion.” So often he would say: “The life is too short, and we have important tasks need to be done.” He told me a decade ago, “If I don’t do this (serving community), I will die. I will do this until my last breath.” He did till his last breath. When I visited him in the hospital about a month ago, he did not talk about his health, pain but talked the new projects in his mind. Ibrahim will live in the hearts and minds as a man of God, lover of education, the hero of compassion, and servant of the community. May Allah rest him in peace. Dr Salih Yucel is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation, Charles Sturt University. He worked as an Imam at Redfern Mosque in Sydney between 1987-1992 and then as a Muslim chaplain at Harvard Medical Schools’ hospitals for seven years. Subsequently, he was lecturer and senior lecturer in Islamic Studies at Monash University. He completed Master of Theology at the University of Sydney in 1996 and his Doctorate at Boston University in 2007.
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No neutrality in the face of injustice Monday 10 December 2018 marked the International Human Rights Day. On this day we come together as part of a concerned international community to recommit to the cause of human rights. This year’s commemoration is particularly significant given that it is 70 years since the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, an international instrument which has formed the foundation of the fundamental human rights regimes across the globe. When this declaration was first adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, Australia, through Dr Evatt, was among the eight nations who played a key role in its drafting. Since then Australia’s commitment to human rights has been enduring. We have advocated for social justice and human rights within our sphere of influence. We have adhered to these values because we believe that the protection and promotion of human rights is vital to global efforts to achieve lasting peace, security, freedom and dignity for all. Despite ongoing efforts to protect human rights, there are many individuals across the globe that still live with deprivation of the very basic human rights that we would take for granted. In Vietnam, for instance, we see a crackdown on dissidents continuing. The Vietnamese government maintains a monopoly on political power, supported by a justice system that operates on the whim of the government and does not deliver justice without fear or favour. We see a government suppressing any attempt by its citizens to exercise basic freedoms of speech or expression of the rights of association or assembly. On behalf of many concerned Cambodian Australians, I lend my voice in support of human rights and true democracy in Cambodia. I specifically want to acknowledge my
constituents Sawathey Ek, Chhayri Marm and Virak Um for their tireless efforts. This is a significant setback for democracy in Cambodia, undermining the principal work of the international community, particularly in the lead-up to the Paris Peace Accords, as Cambodia once again returns to being an autocratic one-party state. If this weren’t concerning enough, the influence of Hun Sen is now being played out in Australian universities and businesses and various charities in an effort to recruit students and members of the Cambodian diaspora to build an Australian support base for this Cambodian dictator. In the Philippines, where I visited only recently, we have extrajudicial killings as the principal human rights concern, an issue which has certainly escalated with the national war on drugs. Summary and lethal justice, based on mere suspicion, has claimed the lives of many thousands, with some sources now claiming the number could be as high as 20,000 people in the last two years. President Duterte has effectively set aside the rule of law and granted impunity to police—a licence to kill without judicial oversight or accountability. Apart from the grave issues surrounding the policy of extrajudicial killings, President Duterte has also launched a crackdown on civil society, threatening to abolish the Commission on Human Rights, banning various news organisations that are critical of him, castigating the United Nations and their officials and, most recently, withdrawing from the International Criminal Court. One notable critic who has publicly spoken out against the President’s murderous war on drugs is Senator Leila de Lima, the former justice secretary. The Senator has now been imprisoned without trial since
February 2017 on the strength of untested statements from a convicted drug lord and police. Out of Myanmar, there have been horrific reports of ethnic cleansing carried out by the Myanmar security forces in Rakhine State. The ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya people is a reprehensible crime against humanity. Evidence from a number of investigations, particularly those conducted by Human Rights Watch, have documented extrajudicial killings; torture; suffering of Rohingya women, men and children; the destruction, arson and takeover of more than 300 villages by the Myanmar security forces; and endemic rape and sexual violence. These are horrendous acts committed by the Myanmar military and have resulted in a humanitarian crisis of a catastrophic proportion. This has resulted in the displacement of more than 700,000 Rohingya people as refugees into neighbouring Bangladesh. I have also been moved by the very touching stories of one of my constituents, Zulfia Erk—a very passionate advocate for the Uygur community, having been personally affected by the current human rights situation in China. Five of her brothers are being held in detention camps in Xinjiang, China. A recent report released by Human Rights Watch highlights the gravity of the situation, providing evidence of China’s arbitrary detention and mistreatment of the Rohingya population. Throughout the region, the Turkic Muslim population of 13 million people are subjected to restrictions on movement, mass surveillance and limitations on their religious freedoms. What is interesting about all of these nations is that they share a common view, a very flexible view, about the rule of law. They have courts that fail to administer justice without fear or favour and police that carry out the will of the government, as opposed to independently enforcing the law. As members of the international communi-
“We cannot
remain silent when people’s human rights are being blatantly trampled.
“
Chris Hayes
ty, we have a moral, if not legal, responsibility to do all we can to encourage countries in our region to adhere to their international obligations. The rule of law is the fundamental cornerstone for the advancement of human rights. These principles are not mutually exclusive and must operate in conjunction with one another. Without one, the other fails to operate with any degree of legitimacy. Human rights are not merely notions that we should aspire to uphold, ideas or principles that we can pick and choose from when we feel the time is right. Human rights are the foundations that underpin our democratic values, allowing the creation of strong and inclusive communities. Our international relations shouldn’t just be about economics, trade developments or regional stability; they should also be about the promotion and encouragement of human rights and challenging our partners, whoever they might be, as to whether they are honouring their international human rights obligations. We must work towards a region in which our courts administer justice without fear or favour, where freedom of expression and freedom of religion are realities, where police and law enforcement agencies act in accordance with the law and are held accountable for their actions. We cannot remain silent when people’s human rights are being blatantly trampled. We must work together with our neighbouring nations to ensure there is respect for the rule of law. We must appreciate that, when the rule of law is sidelined, bad things will happen. Invariably, the first casualty is always human rights itself. Therefore, silence is not, in my opinion, an option when the rule of law is being undermined. On this note, I would like to conclude with the words of a very famous social justice campaigner, former South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He said: If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. Mr Chris Hayes MP is the Federal Member for the NSW seat of Fowler and Chief Opposition Whip.
Muslims stand united for Australian farmers HelpingACT delivers
over 80 Food Packs
AMUST Media Charity Australia International in association with mosques around NSW and ACT distributed hay bales to farmers on Saturday 17 November 2018. A scientific analysis of Australia’s drought extremes shows that 2018 has been the worst drought in 400 years in NSW. This year 99% of NSW has been drought-stricken, while other parts of the country are experiencing more rainfall than usual. Farmers are struggling to feed their animals in these dry conditions and worse still for the farmers is watching their stock die. JANUARY 2019 / ISSUE 158
The drought’s intensity is merciless, it is heartbreaking to watch our farmers and their animals suffer in this way. In light of the current devastating drought, Charity Australia International launched its Drought Campaign to raise funds for the farmers and buy hay bales, which were to be delivered to Tamworth, NSW. The fundraising effort for the farmers was a collective one, with many mosques and individuals donating to the cause. Charity Australia International’s Team delivered the hay bales to Tamworth on Saturday 17 November 2018. The delivery of the hay bales was received warmly, with a positive response and the team had a chance to talk to the locals.
Manarul Islam A whole lot of volunteers with diverse backgrounds, including the Muslim community, banded together on Saturday 15 December to put together over 80 food packs. This was followed by sumptuous lunch where representatives of Fred Hollows Foundation, Companion House, Canberra Muslim Community and others updated everyone on current and future projects.
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On Monday 17 December HelpingACT volunteers, Mohammed Ali, Muhammed Aksu and Manar Ahmad, delivered the packs to the Uniting Church’s Early Morning Centre in Civic, Canberra just in time for the Christmas gathering for the homeless. HelpingACT’s founder, Mohammed Ali thanked everyone involved. “It was great teamwork and fantastic way to end the year and prepare for the many activities planned by HelpingACT next year,” he said.
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CMC President and Members.
Canberra Muslim community wins multicultural award Manarul Islam The 2018 Organisational Excellence Award for Services to the Community through Social Enterprise, Business, the Public Sector or Education was awarded to the Canberra
Muslim Community on Thursday 13 December as part of the ACT Government’s Multicultural Awards. The Award was collected by CMC’s long time and dedicated member, Muhammad Yunus. CMC President, Mainul Haque,
praised the community for the Award. “Heartiest congratulations to our brothers, sisters and volunteers for wining this wonderful award. This award belongs to you all. Thanks for all of your wonderful support and help for our Gungahlin Mosque and
the CMC. May Allah accept our efforts,” he said. “This recognition from the Government is a testament of the hard work of past and present committees and more so our volunteers and their families,” he concluded.
A day In Merriwa: Delivering bales of hay to farmers Jasmin Ghandour On Tuesday 18 December, the Penny Appeal team, Aamon, Amr, Rania, Abdullah and I met at the office at 8 am sharp. We took a few minutes to mentally prepare ourselves for the four-hour drive ahead, that’s right, it takes four hours to drive into another town that’s in the same state, Merriwa New South Wales. Merriwa is a town of at least 2000 people not too far from the beautiful green fields in the Hunter Valley. Most families own cattle breeding farms, a business that their families have been in for generations. As Australians, we know that beef cattle production is a well-established and major industry in our country and so, from the perspective of someone living only four hours away, let alone the other side of the world, it’s easy to hear about drought in regional New South Wales and glaze over. It’s one of those ‘common occurrence’ periods we hear about every year. But this isn’t just another drought. To families living in towns in regional New South Wales, this is their crisis. About three hours into our drive, we noticed some slight changes as we got closer to our destination. Changes in the air as it became drier, changes in the colour of the land as it turned from green to yellow to brown. We then turned onto the drive that would take us to Colin’s farm, the farmer that was to receive and distribute the bales of hay we were delivering on behalf of Penny Appeal and Yusuf/Cat Stevens, and everyone in the car grew silent as we drive past the remains of a cow along the side of the drive. Looking beyond that, all we could see was a dry, brown landscape, a dramatic change from the green fields in the Hunter Valley. As soon as we arrived at our destination
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and saw the look of relief on the friendly faces of the farmers gathered to greet us, we knew that this delivery meant more to them than we knew. Nothing formal about this visit. After introductions and a short tour of the farm, conversations about family, work, and life were the topics of discussion. This group of amazing people isn’t different from us at all. They work hard to provide for their families and they’re super passionate about what they do which makes the situation they’re in much more difficult. A drought for those of us that reside in Sydney doesn’t usually result in sleeping hungry at night but for these farmers, it could. If their land doesn’t produce enough to feed their livestock, the quality of their livestock depreciates which results in all kinds of losses. “I had to put them down. One hundred cows, my livelihood”
Des Hunt runs a Cattle Farm that has been in his family since the 1850s. He comes from a long line of farmers that have seen and experienced drought, cyclones, torrential rain and so much more, but says that this drought is one of, if not the worst droughts he’s seen. “The suffering has increased which is why there’s a lot of attention surrounding this now but we’ve been living it for years”. Des went on to explain that last year, whilst Australia was experiencing one of the hottest summers on record, the land became dry and after spending all his savings on feed for his cattle because his land wasn’t producing enough he could no longer look after them. “The cows hadn’t eaten proper feed in months. I couldn’t sell them because they weren’t too healthy and I didn’t want to starve them. I couldn’t give them the food from my table because we were short on
Des Hunt, Farmer in Merriwa, NSW.
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that too and that wouldn’t work. I had to put them down. One hundred cows, my livelihood.” Des went on to tell me that he’s one of the lucky ones. “Why?” I asked him. He explained that the drought not only affects the farmer’s livelihoods, but it also affects their mental health. A farmer “Being in debt, selling off land that’s been in their family for generations, losing their livestock because there’s not enough feed being produced or enough money to purchase it and not being able to make enough to pay their bills and put food on the table is a lot of pressure for the main bread-winner.” Des then begins to tell us about how a farmer tragically took his own life after losing his farm and all of his family’s livestock. Bob’s story is similar. “The only access we have to water is the river running through the property. When there’s no rain, that river is dry. Once that river stops, the pumps stop working and we’re not able to grow the grass and grain to feed our livestock and if we can’t sell them because they’re in poor quality then we lose them”. Des and Bob’s stories are all too common. When we told a colleague from Rural Aid that we wanted to talk to a farmer affected by the drought about the challenges they’re facing, he said “Just drive up to regional New South Wales. You’ll find that most of them have been affected”. Thanks to the 1 million dollar donation to Penny Appeal from Yusuf/Cat Stevens 2017 ‘A Cat’s Attic: Peace Train 50th anniversary Tour’, we were able to provide some relief to the farmers affected by the drought that could continue in what’s expected to be yet another record-breaking summer with forecasts saying that it may be one of the dryest one’s yet. ISSUE 158 / JANUARY 2019
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Seeking knowledge in an outback Australian pub Irfan Yusuf It’s 10pm on a Thursday night 20 December and I find myself sitting in a pub in Broken Hill. The beer (and in my case, the Coca-Cola) is flowing freely as is the conversation. The couple next to me are accompanied by their adult son who is the same age as the bloke behind the bar. “I grew up here,” said the wife who works at the local hospital. “I love this town, but all the young people are leaving. One of my kids is studying in Melbourne. It’s just us oldies left. The town has nothing for them.” I hesitate to ask the barman for a glass of water. You wouldn’t risk drinking the tap water here. My skin is super dry, thanks to having too many quick showers before work and not applying moisturiser. “It’s OK,” the husband says. “They double filter the water here. This pub has the best water in Broken Hill.” He was right. I could taste a piece of Sydney. “Our water is absolutely horrid,” the wife tells me. Like many locals, her family has links to other surrounding towns such as Menindee and Wilcannia. “It’s all because of mismanagement. Our water used to come from a lake in Menindee. We used to swim and fish there. Now the water has dried up. We’re paying for the government to build a
pipeline from the Murray.” The Murray River twin towns of Mildura (in Victoria) and Wentworth (in NSW) are around 4 hours drive from Broken Hill on a highway often strewn with roadkill. You must drive carefully lest you hit a kangaroo or run over its fresh carcass. Most people drive utes or 4WD’s with massive bull bars. The road isn’t the best – one lane in each direction – and if you don’t keep your eyes both on and either side of the road, you’re likely to roll off the side and not be able to call for help as there is no mobile coverage. Returning to the pub. “Our hospital used to be managed by people with no health management or medical or nursing experience. It’s like that here. Useless people managing useful things.” Gosh, have Muslim organisational hacks taken over this town as well? This is National Party territory. Both State and Federal MP’s are National. But there wasn’t much evidence of National sentiment in this pub, even if most of the drinkers were in small business or farmers. It isn’t sex scandals and moral hypocrisy that upset these people. It’s the lack of basic services, the disgusting water and the refusal to acknowledge the reality of a changing climate. Oh, and guess what. These people love migrants. “We have a lot of Indians moving in here and we love them. They’re all professionals. Some have set up businesses. They’ve even got a cricket team here.”
Perhaps Broken Hill will produce another Usman Khawaja. I never imagined I would learn so much about Australia in an outback pub. Irfan Yusuf is a lawyer and an award-winning writer and reviewer. He is a PhD Candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship & Globalisation, Deakin University.
Broken Hill.
Muhammad Hadi Shoukat & Nurnabila Jalaluddin were married on Sunday 9 December 2018 at the Grand Paradiso, Fairfield in Sydney in a nikhah ceremony conducted by Sheikh Bilal Dannoun. Hadi, 24, a Fleet Manager is the son of Dr Shoukat Ali Cheema and Mrs Bushra Shoukat while Nurnabila, 23, an Assistant Administrative Accountant is the daughter of Dr AbulKhair Jalaluddin and Mrs Tengku Rahazimah Tengku Mahmud. JANUARY 2019 / ISSUE 158
Think a while Kazi Zahan Miah Longer shall ye live beneath the earth! Than ye live this life above it! Death effaces all that breath; Wander and uncover- life, of little worth! Originated in truth ye from the dust And in the dust ye return again And from the dust ye resurrect again Must ye meet thy Lord at last! Alexander, Caesar, Cyrus held heavens at homes Sun used to rise and set in their lands; Thrones they had in gold-silver trends Today thorns and insect cover their tombs! Soon ye shall quit this life find final home in grave; Soon ye ‘ill be unseen and unknown, Unlamented world, and none to mourn; Lost in the eternity wasted and naïve! Nay! Ephemeral is this life that turns into straw; Vanity and pride – all indeed dries up fast Despite this truth, ye run behind the lust Until coffin covers ye up and in earth the coffin is low! Whence arrived ye this Dunya, cried ye - all in smile’ Strive, as ye leave, ye smile and all weep Past this sojourn, ye plunge into eternal Deep Awaiting thee the Merciful in peace unvile!! [In commemoration of my elder Kazi Jashim Uddin left this Dunya on 01 Dec 2018]
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Guards at the Taj’ Popular biscuits and A black comedy- margarine not halal? drama in Sydney From left: Shaun Premnath Kamal Raja Avantika Tomar, Rushi Dave, Jyotsna Sharma, Akshat Gupta, Taufeeq Ahmed, Hemal Joshi Tushar Bose.
Professor Shahjahan Khan
Taufeeq Ahmed Sheikh Guards at the Taj’ – a black comedy-drama in English written by Pulitzer Prize nominee Rajiv Joseph was staged in Sydney at the Monkey Baa Theatre Company in Darling Quarter on Sunday 9 December. The play was the directorial debut of newly arrived Jyotsna Sharma, who has been involved with theatre back home in India for the past 15 years brings along with her 15 years of theatre experience including teaching theatre Taj Mahal is the symbol of Mughal emperor Shahjahan’s love for his wife and took 22 years to build. The play is based on one of the most persistent myths surrounding this ivory-white marble Mausoleum, that after the construction was complete (in the 17th century), the emperor ordered the chopping of 20,000 artisans’ hands (there has never been any concrete evidence of the same), so that such a beautiful structure could never be built again. In this two-character play, Rushi Dave as Humayun and Akshat Gupta as Babur play brothers like friends. Humayun lives life by the books, is mindful of his allegiance to the king and his father, while Babur is creative, imaginative, spontaneous and completely irreverent! Joseph’s perky and witty dialogues were delivered powerfully by both the actors, which made the audience laugh as well as cry during the play. Live music by Shaun Premnath accompanied the actions and separated the scenes well. He got an opportunity to showcase his musical skills in between the scenes of the play. Use of props was minimal, while creative background projections by director Jyotsna Sharma added special effects to the play. Tushar Bose’s lights were on point and the 17th century costumes of the guards designed by Mumbai based designer Sariika
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Singh brought out the characters well, their costumes in black and red-suited the gory scene. The credit of this superb production goes to the whole team including Taufeeq Ahmed (assistant director), Tushar Bose (lights), Kamal Krishna (sound), Abdul Sajwani (projection set-up), Avantika Tomar and Hemal Joshi (production). The Indian community here appreciated the freshness and change this production brought to the stage as compared to the other usual theatre productions. The audience was mixed, however, and the play was enjoyed equally by the Aussies present in the audience as well. It helped that the play was in English and that it was based on the Taj Mahal which has universal appeal. In the end, many a sniffle could be heard as Joseph’s writing and the performances moved the audience. The strong script was written in an anachronistic style – which means that despite being set in medieval times, the language was contemporary and story relevant to today (not much has changed, the powerless still pay the price for the caprices of the mighty). However, it was peppered with expletives and there were quite a few suggestive actions as well. The bold play is clearly not for the faint-hearted. But aside from that, it’s good that finally the community is getting out of its shell and embracing today’s contemporary and changing times. With his remarkable performance as Humayun, Rushi Dave was clearly overwhelmed. As we say Rome was not built in a day, Akshat Gupta who was wonderful as Babur commented, ‘We rehearsed non-stop for two and a half months.’ Credit goes to the young, talented actor and director Jyotsna Sharma for setting a new theatre trend in Sydney’s Indo-Australian community and to Heart & Soul Productions for providing a platform to the talented artists. Look forward to many more such productions and of course to ‘Ouch’ in May 2019, announced as their next event.
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Many Muslims in Australia will be surprised to know that most popular band of biscuit and margarine in Australia are not halal. Research shows that many products of Arnott’s biscuits (including Tim Tam) and Flora margarine are not halal. Being interested from some queries I contacted Arnott Australia and Unilever Australia & New Zealand and both of them confirmed by email that their products are not halal certified. In response to my email query, Pam McKenzie, Consumer Contact Centre, Arnott’s Australia Consumers@arnotts.comwrote, “Arnott’s Biscuit are not Halal certified. Arnott’s do not classify or certify any of our products we sell in Australia and New Zealand based on any religious preferences.” Interestingly, The Australian Jewish Times reported the following: “Indeed it is milestone that as of today, kosher consumers across Australia can walk into any store and purchase these iconic biscuits.” See the link (www.jewishnews.net.au/its-timtamtasticnews/26250). So, Arnott’s supports Kosher but refuses to support Halal. The Tim Tam original contain cochineal which is derived from insects and is not suitable for a halal diet. The cochineal is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is derived. The carminic acid is extracted from the body and eggs of the insect, then mixed with aluminium or calcium salts to make carmine dye, also known as cochineal. Today, carmine is primarily used as a colorant in food and in lipstick (E120 or Natural Red 4). Mr Mohamed Elmouelhy of Halal Authority Australia confirmed that Arnott is not interested in halal certification and the company is happy to proclaim that their products are not halal certified. Halal Food Sydney FB states, “Arnott’s does not support Halal. Small amounts of alcohol based flavours are added to some biscuits. We know that alcohol is sensitive to heat, but there is a slight possibility that trace amounts could still be present in the finished product.” I also contacted Unilever Australia & New Zealand about popular Flora margarine which naively look like a vegetable product. Ralph, a Consumer Engagement Centre Consultant responded, “Flora Light and ProActiv Light, Flora Ultra Light and Flora ProActiv Ultra Light, Flora Olive and ProActiv Olive - All these variants contain a pork-based gelatine.” He explained, “The gelatine is pork based. When gelatine is listed in the ingredients, the spread will not be halal.” It is an obligation on the individual Mus-
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lims and their families to check carefully before purchasing any product for consumption. Reading ingredients and knowing what is not halal is absolutely essential to avoid non-halal or any doubtful products. There are many halal certification authorities in Australia providing useful guide to the Muslims and everyone should take advantage of these resources. Their contacts are Australia - 1800 888 997, NZ - 0800 900 028 or email consumerrelations.uanz@unilever.com Professor Shahjahan Khan is professor of Statistics at University of Southern Queensland, Australia. He is the former President of Islamic Countries Society of Statistical Sciences and Expatriate Fellow of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences.
Wise Women from the East Dr Reginald Naulty Portents in the sky imply that wise women are coming by from The Middle East. They bring wisdom, wrung from guns and suffering; they know that suffering has been the lot of many. But they have learned from it; they have got down to a deeper level where wisdom dwells, deeper than anger or revenge or the spoils of war. They know that sympathy matters; they wait to see how it can be managed, where it will grow and bind community, strong, intelligent and kind. The salt of the earth, with roots from the temporal into the eternal. Dr Reginald Naulty, originally from Adelaide, has taught at Charles Sturt University and has been a prolific writer since 1972.
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Awards for high achievers at WGS Zia Ahmad The Western Grammar School based in Plumton, Sydney held its End of the Year Assembly for 2018 on Thursday 13 December at St Mary’s Memorial Hall with performances, presentations and awards. The assembly was divided into two sessions, the morning session devoted to classes from Kindergarten to Year 2 while the afternoon session was catered for Year 3 to Year 11. The assembly was attended by students, parents, teachers and other school staff as well as invited community leaders where awards were given to students who excelled during the academic year 2018. During his welcome speech, the Principal of Western Grammar School (WGS), Mr Irfan Afzal recalled the humble beginnings of the school starting its operations in March 2012 with only 8 students across Kindergarten to Year 4 and in a very short space of time now boasts a population of more than 300 students with its first batch of Year 12 graduating at the end of 2018. “Our vision is to provide a well-rounded education suited to the cultural and historical framework of the current living environment in Australia. We hope to empower and equip the future generations to meet the challenges of today’s evolving and highly competitive world,” Mr Irfan said. While further elaborating on the school philosophy, he said,” We aim to provide students with a formal education that meets
and adheres to the curriculum guidelines provided by NESA (BOSTES) to provide children with an education that equips them with moral and social values that best prepares them to be active, positive participants in the wider Australian community.” The School now has a reasonably sound infrastructure with an increasing number of devoted teachers and with a long waiting list
of students wishing to enroll but limited by the number of classrooms. A new building complex is under construction which will give a new boost the school facilities during 2019. The assembly also included a number of performances and plays by the students concluding with a vote of thanks by Assistant Principal Mr Z Malik.
Irfan Afzal, WGS Principal. Year 6 graduates.
ʾiḥsān Mirela Cufurovic
ʾiḥsān (Excellence in Faith). ORIGINAL watercolour painting, using paint and pencils. Painted on 300g/ m2 hot press Saunder’s Waterford artists’ watercolour paper (29.7 cm x 42.0 cm). 100% cotton acid free paper. If you are interested, please send an email to artbylela@outlook. com or visit www.facebook. com/artbylela for more details. Mirela Cufurovic is a Research Associate at Charles Sturt University. She is also a Sydney based watercolour artist and illustrator. She is the creator of the facebook page @artbylela JANUARY 2019 / ISSUE 158
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Indians reject politics of division and hate Zahid Jamil The opposition Congress Party has beaten PM Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party in three key northern states indicating that the Indian electorate is shunning divisive politics ahead of the general elections next year. The results declared in early December of recently held states elections brought relief to most Indians in general and Muslims and other minorities in particular as the ruling Hindu nationalist party suffered heavy defeat ahead of the national elections to be held during the first half of 2019. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP party lost power in three key northern States of Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh in a major blow to his authority. The opposition Congress party won state elections in style. While BJP totally deprived Muslim candidates ticket nominations in various state elections over the past couple of years, Congress did not hesitate to field Muslim candidates. A total of 19 Muslim candidates won in three States. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen of firebrand Muslim politician Asaduddin Owaisi fielded seven Muslim candidates from old city in Hyderabad, all of them winning their Muslim majority constituencies. In Rajasthan, Congress emerged as the single largest party with 100 MLAs in the 200-member Assembly while BJP which had won 163 seats in 2013 was reduced to 73 this time. In Madhya Pradesh, the fight was much closer, yet Congress edged past BJP to win sufficient seats to form the government with the support of a few members from minor parties. In the state of Chattisgarh, the governing BJP was routed with a huge win for Congress. In the States of Telangana and Mizoram, local parties were popular and won elections. However in these states too, Congress won significantly more seats than BJP. Ever since Narendra Modi led BJP (The Bharatiya Janata Party)came to power in 2014 in Delhi, the elected government ran a divisive campaign and allowed Hindu farright groups to constantly drum up issues against Muslims and other minorities. Dozens of poor Muslim villagers have been killed by so-called cow vigilantes in the past four years, often falsely blaming them for cow slaughter, the animal Hindus
hold sacred in their religious beliefs. As states elections drew closer, Hindu extremists raised the Ram temple issue in the northern Indian city of Ayodhya where centuries-old Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992. This had led to violent riots across the country, resulting in thousands of deaths, most of them Muslims. Over the past few months, Hindu fanatics held major rallies in Ayodhya and in other cities across the country. Although the court case over the disputed land is being heard in India’s supreme court, the ruling BJP party and its allies of extremist Hindu groups such as VHP (The Vishva Hindu Parishad) and RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) are pressuring the government to issue executive order to pave the way for building the temple where Babri Masjid stood. Exhorting the crowd to take a vow to build a temple of their God Ram in Ayodhya, Hindu monk Avdheshanand Giriji Maharaj, said: “The government and the Supreme Court must realize that it is a matter of religious sentiment for Hindus who have been waiting to see a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya.” As large crowds of radical Hindus gathered in Ayodhya in November, many Muslims in the town left their homes fearing harassment and violence against them. To keep up the Hindutva agenda alive, BJP deployed Up Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, known for his vitriolic anti-Muslims rhetoric, as the chief campaigner in the state elections. Yogi, a monk-turned politician, was made the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in 2017, in a controversial appoint-
ment by PM Modi. Not only BJP has been rewriting the history books to demonize 800-year-old Muslim rule, Yogi, with his bigoted ideology, has been busy in renaming cities, railway stations and buildings to remove historic Islamic names and change them to symbolise Hinduism and Hindu ideologues. He went on to say that if required he will not hesitate to change the world famous “Taj Mahal” into “Ram Mahal”. The chief election strategist of BJP, Amit Shah has a terrible record for his role in the worst communal riots of Independent India in Gujrat in 2002 under then Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The trio of Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath have successfully incited Hindus over the years on communal grounds to win votes. However, now the Indian electorate has realised that without economic growth and effective work, they cannot be fooled repeatedly with hate politics. Indians have been fed up with failed policies of Modi government over the past 4 years. The farmers were deeply distressed leading to the big number of suicides in the states where elections were held. BJP’s economic policies failed as joblessness among the youth and rising inequalities in the society also became the main agenda during the elections. Demonetisation and GST became extremely unpopular as small business suffered at the cost of big business. With national parliamentary elections only six months away, these State elections were described as semi-finals by many political pundits.
The election results brought back in contention the oldest political party of pre-partition times which was in the wilderness over the past few years since Hindu nationalists had captured power in Centre and in many important states. The grand old Congress Party has put great faith in its young party leader Rahul Gandhi, the great-grandson of India’s first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, grandson of Prime Minister of 1970’s Indira Gandhi and son of Rajeev Gandhi, the PM assassinated in 1991. It is becoming increasingly likely that Nehru dynasty in India may rule the nation for many more years to come and hopefully succeed in uniting all Indians away from BJP’s hate and division agenda towards economic prosperity and harmony in the country. It is also hoped that the young Congress leadership led by Rahul Gandhi will reciprocate the peace agenda by the new leadership in Pakistan led by PM Imran Khan thus minimising tensions in the region and opening borders for trade and travel between the two neighbours united by common history, language and culture. Zahid Jamil is an engineering post graduate from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and runs a financial planning practice based in Sydney. He heads South Asian Muslim Association of Australia, SAMAA: http://samaa.org.au ), a benevolent institution offering wide range of services to the community elders. He also moderates an Islamic website “Islamic Forum for Education and Research” http://isfer.info/
Aussie educationist wins election in India
of education and better health system by injecting skills in his constituency. On being asked as to what prompted him to leave his comfortable life in Australia to contest elections in India, Wajib said, “You should have the ability to make a difference in peoples lives. That is one of the reasons why I went to the elections. Now, I have got a good voice, I can go to any house and raise the issues which people in my area are facing.” He further added, “My area is the most backward area of Rajasthan and in fact, even in the whole of India if you would see, the most backward area was Mewat in Haryana. Nagar constituency is home to many Meos. Therefore, I started thinking about how can I give back to my community.”
Zahid Alam
Meet Wajib Ali, a 36-Year-old successful young businessman, a visionary educationist in Australia and the newly elected MLA in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is a rare sight in India that youngsters are equally dedicated to business and politics at the same time. India has seen several young politicians who run their businesses as well, but most of them are from well established political families. Wajib Ali is different. He completed his studies in India, went abroad for higher studies, set up his business currently running eight colleges and a school in Australia and returned home to succeed in politics as well. Yet, the newly elected BSP MLA from Nagar constituency in Rajasthan has a simple story to tell. Wajib Ali returned to India in 2013 in order to contest in elections. He lost the election back then, but, just five years lat-
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Wajib Ali. er he defeated his BJP rival Anita Singh by 26,786 votes during the state election held last week. During an interview given to Okhla times. com, Wajib Ali shared his journey into politics. When asked the reason to contest elections, Wajib replied that he wanted to do something for his area by representing Nagar in the house of representatives.
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Wajib was educated at Jamia school in 1996 and moved to Australia in 2005 in order to peruse higher education and start his business in education and real estate in this country. Wajib represents the area of Mewat, Nagar where health and education and issues of concern to the electorate. Wajib’s future plan and priorities are to improve the level
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Zahid Alam is a Project Manager in Telstra and AMUST correspondent based in Sydney. He immigrated to Australia in 2005. He holds a Masters of Engineering Management degree from the University of Technology Sydney and a diploma in Electronics Engineering from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India. ISSUE 158 / JANUARY 2019
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Free speech about Israel/Palestine Professor Stuart Rees Anti-Semitism is on the rise across Europe and the United States. So too are accusations of anti-Semitism as a means of stifling any criticism of Israeli policies towards Palestinians. As with any racially motivated prejudice, anti-Semitism is completely unjustifiable. So too are the attempts by governments and by the managers of major institutions to not tolerate strong criticism of Israeli government policies towards Palestinians. In a recent edition of the New York Review of Books, Katherine Franke describes a purge of critics of Israel on American campuses. She maintains that ‘not since the McCarthy anti-Communist purges have we seen such an aggressive effort to censor teaching and learning on topics that the government disfavors’. No Australian government has stooped this low, but championing Palestinian rights on university campuses, or calling Israel a racist, apartheid state, raises questions about healthy debate and freedom of speech. Cases in point concern Marc Lamont Hill, a Professor of Media Studies at Temple University in Philadelphia, and Dr Tim Anderson, a political economist from Sydney University. Both academics risk being dismissed for speaking of the rights of Palestinians and for criticizing Israel’s policies of military domination of Palestinian people, the dispossession of their homes and lands. The nature of Lamont Hill and Anderson’s criticism is important but more so is the anxiety of authorities to appear to support Israel, and to avoid appearing to support Palestine. On university campuses, if debate about justice for Palestinians and for Israelis is to be handled wisely, responses to what may be seen as controversial teaching will need to avoid the good/bad, either/or rush to judgement: either desist or be dismissed, either abide by our university rules for civil conduct, or pay the penalties for disobedience. On 29 November, International Day of Solidarity for the Palestinian People, Lamont Hill, a commentator for the Television company CNN, spoke at the United Nations about the need for a free Palestine from the river to the sea.
That is a common expression used by champions of national identity in Israel and in Palestine. He spoke as a supporter of Palestinians’ rights to self-determination but his words were seized on as evidence that he wanted Israel to disappear. The Anti-Defamation League and the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) are reported to have inundated CNN with calls to terminate Hill’s employment. The ZOA President denounced Hill’s speech as ‘Jew hating, violence initiating and genocidal’. Professor Hill was sacked by CNN. The President of Temple University judged his speech to be hateful and anti-Semitic. The polarization shown in this Israel right or wrong attitude allows neither time nor space for contemplation unaffected by assumptions that Israeli must be treated as exceptional, its policies protected and defended whatever the costs. Lamont Hill is a victim of those assumptions. Temple University management wants to punish their employee. Across the United States there is a Maginot-line mentality about this issue. A line must not be crossed. No weakness must be shown. Israel’s future is at stake. Palestinian interests do not exist or can be easily discarded. At Sydney University, Dr Anderson has often challenged what he regarded as ‘war propaganda against
Abiy Ahmed: The Ethiopian Prime Minister who captured Africa’s imagination Abiy Ahmed took over as Ethiopia’s Prime Minister in April 2018. At 42, he carved a path through Ethiopia’s tense, ethnically divided landscape by becoming the first Oromo to lead his country. Abiy joined the Oromo People’s Democratic Organisation as a teenager. He stayed close to his people, even as he claimed victory in an internal Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front vote on 27 March to become chairman of the ruling party. That victory secured his place as Prime Minister of an East African powerhouse. Under Abiy, Ethiopia has gone from being one of the world’s worst jailers of journalists to for the first time in more than a decade of having no journalists in prison. By July, Abiy’s populist streak had turned to action on the international front when out of nowhere the long cold war with neighbor Eritrea was dismantled in a series of remarkable détente meetings and diplomacy. Isaias Afwerki, the only leader Eritrea has ever known, rolled into the Ethiopian capital, and the two leaders declared 20 years of tension over. It catapulted Abiy and Ethiopia into a different status -- and redefined the Horn of Africa nation as a regional powerhouse. Abiy has been in tune to the possibility of miraculous growth, and Ethiopia’s once JANUARY 2019 / ISSUE 158
Syria, Iraq and Palestine’. At first sight it appears as though his employers have acted with more patience than their counterparts in that American university. Nevertheless, the strain of thought which says that sharing extreme criticism of Israel with students, as in Anderson’s apparent analogies of Nazi and Israeli practices, represents academic misconduct. Anderson is reported as having shown students material featuring the Nazi swastika imposed on the Israeli flag, and on social media, he had been explicit about the crimes of the ‘apartheid’ Israeli state. In any appraisal of this controversy, the use of the word apartheid and labelling Israeli policies as Judeo-Nazi need to be carefully evaluated. In this evaluation, emotions will need to disentangled. In the Sydney case, it is incumbent on the university representative, the Provost Professor Stephen Garton, and the accused, Dr Tim Anderson, to both engage in this disentanglement. If this does not happen, Sydney will drift into the process of charge and counter-charge, of judgement without evidence, as in immediate anti-Semitism accusations which prevail in the United States. That drift only produces extreme views and judgements – my Maginot line scenariowhich allows no flexibility, no room for interpretation
Media Scan Ainullah
state-controlled telecoms, electricity and even the national airline are all going to be opened up to foreign investors. The tremors of these vast changes have been felt beyond Ethiopia. Eritrea and now Djibouti and Somalia are all feeling the Abiy effect. Ethiopian airlines landed in Mogadishu, Somalia, for the first time in 41 years. Djibouti is in talks to share access to its port to service Ethiopian needs. The idea of peace coming to this region at last is an exciting prospect. In 2019, Abiy has one real job: to cement his position as the front-runner in Ethiopia’s 2020 elections. (Adapted Courtesy CNN)
Stuart Rees is Professor Emeritus, University of Sydney.
Awards Conferred on Hamid Ansari and Frank Islam
India’s former Vice President Hamid Ansari and renowned Indian-American businessman and philanthropist Frank Islam were conferred with the first Sir Syed Global Excellence & Leadership Awards in Dubai on Saturday 22 December. Both are alumni of India’s prestigious Aligarh Muslim University. While Hamid Ansari, who was Vice President of India for 10 years after serving as Vice Chancellor of AMU and chairperson of National Minorities Commission, received the award in the category of administration excellence, Frank Islam got the Sir Syed Global Philanthropist Excellence Award. Frank had recently donated $2 million to his alma mater AMU for a new complex for business and management studies. Besides the two, 15 other eminent alumni of AMU were also honoured with the award in different categories. They include Tariq Chauhan, Group CEO of EFS Facilities Services Group, filmmaker Anubhav Sinha and journalist Rifat Jawaid. Ten of the 17 winners reside in UAE. All the winners are AMU alumni. The award was named after the university’s founder Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. The lifetime achievement award went to AMU chancellor Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin. Speaking on the occasion, Frank Islam recognized the role of AMU in making him what he is.
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and reinterpretation. In the Sydney University student newspaper Honi Soit, Dr Tim Anderson is reported as having accused the Provost of acting as a political censor, of being dishonest, evasive and lacking in respect for intellectual freedom. In a protest against Dr Anderson’s threatened dismissal, a letter to the Provost signed by over twenty academics argued that his suspension would be ‘an unacceptable act of censorship and a body blow to academic freedom at the university’. The authors of the letter were careful not to refer, let alone to justify the historical analogies used by Anderson, yet the merits of those analogies should be considered. An almost infinite list of Israeli atrocities, plus earlier suicide bombings by Palestinians, have no doubt affected Dr Anderson’s teaching. Even if the 1948 Naqba removal of 700,000 people from their lands and homes is not referred to, the atrocities include the slaughter of over 1,100 Gazans including 350 children in Operation Cast Lead in 2009 and the slaughter of over 2,200 Gazans including almost 500 children in Operation Protective Edge in 2014. Over the last nine months, at the Gaza border fence, over 230 young Palestinian protesters have been killed and as many as 20,000 maimed, many for life. Dr Anderson could have listed some of these killings and asked students to make up their own minds as to what historical comparisons they might make. As a test of a university’s respect for vigorous and reasonable pursuit of ideas, it looks as though Anderson had stretched what his employers would have considered reasonable and vigorous. But the university’s values are only really tested when an academic appears to challenge the rules. At Sydney University, the official reaction to Dr Anderson’s much more trenchant criticism of the brutality of Israeli policies appears to have included due process measures even though Anderson is currently not allowed to appear on campus. In late January 2019 a three-person internal Review Committee will make recommendations to university management as to the final decision in the Tim Anderson case.
Early in his speech, Frank praised Hamid Ansari for his strong belief in “building the most diverse, inclusive, and fair vision of India.” About the idea behind the awards, Pushkin Agha, managing director of Vertex Events, which organized the awards, was quoted as saying by Gulf News: “This is the first event held to recognise AMU alumni who have excelled in their field. Leading establishments such as Forbes and Harvard University have awards for their alumni. AMU is a prestigious institution that is almost 100 years old, our alumni are spread around the world. So this event will bring them together and recognise their achievements on an international platform.” (Adapted Courtesy India Tomorrow)
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Widows of war: Afghanistan’s most vulnerable Emily Mays
Widows are the most vulnerable people in Afghanistan, facing unimaginable hardship in a country torn apart by decades of war. Amina* is a 25-year-old widow living in Afghanistan, raising her disabled daughter. She was forcibly married at the age of 16, and her husband took his own life while Amina was pregnant. Her husband’s family blamed her for his death and as a result, Amina was left victim to violence and abuse by her in-laws. Amina’s story is similar to millions other women in Afghanistan. Almost forty-years of instability has led to around two-million widows who have lost their husbands as a direct or indirect result of war. In a male-centric society such as Afghanistan, widows are rejected by traditional social constructs and are regarded as burdens to society. According to the United Nations Report 2014, more than a quarter of the widows interviewed had experienced violence after their husband’s death, mostly by their husband’s affiliates. Amina was kept as a prisoner in her inlaw’s house for years, receiving no support for her disabled daughter. She finally escaped and returned home to her parents. While the physical abuse has ended, Amina continues to face the stigma of widowhood. Widows are considered the most vulnerable people in Afghanistan, often being ostracized. Amina is considered one of the lucky ones, having a family with a male-head to return home to. According to the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled, at least 70,000 of Afghanistan’s widows are breadwinners for their families.
After losing their husbands, widows are left to feed and raise their children through exploitative work. Sometimes, these women find work as cleaners and street vendors, other times they are left to beg. Just as poverty begets poverty, many widows are illiterate and uneducated, increasing the hardships they face as breadwinners. Likewise, widowhood has detrimental impacts on a widow’s children, especially girls. Extreme poverty often forces widows to withdraw their children from school in order to help put food in their mouths. Girls are usually first to be taken out of school, upholding gender-based disparities in Afghanistan. Amina’s case is even more complex, raising a disabled daughter in a country that has no real welfare system for people living with a disability. This case exemplifies the extent of struggle widows face living in a war-torn country. Amina can’t afford her daughter’s medication, let alone a carer or educational therapy. Such are considered a human right in Australia, while in Afghanistan they are considered luxuries. Mahboba’s Promise has stepped in and with the help of a handful of Sponsors, Amina is now able to buy her daughter’s medication. She is also attending an accounting course three days a week to ensure she will be able to support her daughter independently in the future. The bitter truth is that the Afghan Government lacks any real strategy to create vocational training and jobs for widows. It has been left up to aid organisations to show the Government that training and job opportunities for widows are not only possible, but work. *Name changed for privacy reasons. Visit www.mahbobaspromise.org to learn more about their sustainable work and vocational training programs for widows.
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A widow receives monthly groceries through the Mahboba’s Promise Outreach Program.
Yemen: The four year man made crisis Jasmin Ghandour The harrowing stories and statistics that continue to pour out of Yemen after four years of conflict are heart-breaking. UNICEF director for the Middle East reports that more than 2,700 children have been recruited to fight in the war and nearly 1.5 million children have been displaced as a result of the conflict, many of them only ever knowing a life of war. As unemployment rates climb higher, so do the numbers for people sleeping hungry every night. The IPC reports that 15.9 million people sleep and wake up hungry every day in Yemen with 400,000 children facing severe acute malnutrition which could claim their lives at any moment. If they don’t lose their lives in the conflict, then the sad reality is that hunger could be what takes them. Yes, hunger is claiming the lives of many in Yemen but what about diseases? Thousands of lives have been claimed due to the rising number of people with cholera and diphtheria. At the end of October, more than 14,000 cases of cholera alone, were reported to the WHO (World Health Organisation). So what can YOU do? The answer is A LOT. The Yemen emergency being called the
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worst humanitarian crisis in the world, with 22 million people in urgent need of some form of humanitarian aid (almost the entire population of Australia!), we can do so much even if the act is small. Be vocal. Help us raise awareness by sharing our updates on social media. Let all your friends know what you know. Be active. We understand that the end of year rush means that there is so much to do
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with so little time, so some of you may not be able to help us physically fundraise at any stalls, BUT that doesn’t mean you can’t do it via facebook. You can create your very own campaign and help us raise much-needed funds (and awareness) for those suffering from the effects of this man-made crisis in Yemen. Penny Appeal has been responding to the emergency in Yemen for the last two years,
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trying to reach millions of families, women, and children who are in urgent need of food, clean water, and health care. Donate Now at https://goo.gl/qqjbxE Jasmin Ghandour is the Communications & Marketing Coordinator at Penny Appeal Australia, an International Humanitarian Aid Organisation, based in Sydney Australia. ISSUE 158 / JANUARY 2019
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The message of Mary: End unjust and exploitative economic system Fadlullah Wilmot Since converting to Islam, I have always seen the Christmas season as a reminder of the things that Muslims and Christians hold in common. This year I was reflecting on the important role of the mother of Jesus, Mary has in both Christianity and Islam and in particular her call to establish a just society. There are striking similarities between the Quran and Luke’s scriptural accounts of Jesus birth. But one aspect of Mary that may be missed is her call to end unjust and exploitative economic systems. The prayer called the Magnificat, the longest set of words spoken by a woman in the New Testament. This prayer by a poor, young, unmarried and pregnant refugee is not only one of obedience and praise of God but a prayer to right unjust systems. At the time of Jesus, 2 to 3 per cent of the population was rich, while the majority lived a subsistence-level existence. Doesn’t that reflect the world today where 82 per cent of the wealth generated last year went to the richest one per cent of the global population, while the 3.7 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world saw no increase in their wealth. The global economy enables a wealthy elite to accumulate vast fortunes while hundreds of millions of people are struggling to survive on poverty pay.
• Billionaire wealth has risen by an annual average of 13 per cent since 2010 – six times faster than the wages of ordinary workers, which have risen by a yearly average of just 2 per cent. The number of billionaires rose at an unprecedented rate of one every two days between March 2016 and March 2017. • It takes just four days for a CEO from one of the top five global fashion brands to earn what a Bangladeshi garment worker will earn in her lifetime. In the US, it takes slightly over one working day for a CEO to earn what an ordinary worker makes in a year. • It would cost $2.2 billion a year to increase the wages of all 2.5 million Vietnamese garment workers to a living wage. This is about a third of the amount paid out to wealthy shareholders by the top 5 companies in the garment sector in 2016. Mary articulates an end to economic structures that are exploitative and unjust. She speaks of a time when all will enjoy the good things given by God. “putting forth his arm in strength and scattering the proud of heart; bringing down the powerful from their thrones and raising up the lowly; filling the starving with good things, while sending the rich away empty.” The God, Mary praises with all her heart is, certainly, the Loving and compassionate God, “ever mindful of his mercy” — and of course the rich and powerful can receive that mercy if they are open to God’s Word and willing to change their ways. But the God
of the Magnificat is clearly a God who is on the side of the poor and downtrodden, those pushed aside and oppressed by the rich and the powerful. Oscar Romero, priest and martyr, drew a comparison between Mary and the poor and powerless people in his own community. Dietrich Bonheoffer, a German pastor and theologian who was executed by the Nazis, called the Magnificat “the most passionate, the wildest, one might even say the most revolutionary hymn ever sung.” Many revolutionaries, the poor and the oppressed, have loved Mary and emphasised her glorious song. But the Magnificat has been viewed as dangerous by people in power. Some countries banned the Magnificat from being recited in liturgy or in public. And evangelicals — in particular, white evangelicals — have devalued the role of Mary, and her song, to the point that she has almost been forgotten as anything other than a silent figure in a nativity scene. My soul magnifies the Lord And my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; Because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid; For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed; Because He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name; And His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear Him. He has shown might with His arm, He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He has put down the mighty from their
thrones, and has exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. Even though Christmas is not an Islamic celebration, it might be an occasion for Muslims to reflect on the Qur’anic chapter dedicated to Mary and honour the message of Jesus (a) to create peace and build cohesive and inclusive societies without fear of the ‘other.’ Let us all like Jesus (a) and Muhammad (s), free ourselves from prejudice, ill will and malice. Let us forgive and embrace those whom we don’t like and free ourselves from all biases. Let us practice the humility taught by both Christianity and Islam that builds bridges among people. Let Muslims and Christians be inspired by Mary’s articulation of the need to end economic structures that are exploitative and unjust and work together to establish a better world. Let us work towards the time that Mary speaks of when all will enjoy the good things given by God by “putting forth His arm in strength and scattering the proud of heart; bringing down the powerful from their thrones and raising up the lowly; filling the starving with good things, while sending the rich away empty.” Fadlullah Wilmot formerly served at universities in Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia but after the tsunami in Aceh became involved in the humanitarian and development sector. He has worked in Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Solomon Islands, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon, Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Towards building a pluralistic society in Iraq Dr John Andrew Morrow I spent the last week of November in Iraq traveling between Najaf, Karbala, and Baghdad and presented my paper titled “The Sacred Duty of Protecting Sacred Sites” at a conference in Karbala on Iraq’s heritage and antiquities that featured scholars from 22 different countries. I demonstrated that the Qur’an, the Sunnah, the Sirah, and the letters, treaties, and covenants of the Prophet Muhammad (s) are testimonies to the tolerance of Islam and its commitment to protect the lives and property of both Muslims and non-Muslims. I proved that, in Islam, the protection of people and their property is inseparable and that they always go hand in hand. I also established that the rights to life, liberty, and property, predate John Locke, the Founding Fathers, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as they were proclaimed by the Prophet Muhammad (s) in the seventh century, in accord with divine decree. Based on the foundational, primary sources of the Muslim faith, I concluded that respecting, maintaining, preserving, and protecting sacred and world heritage sites was a sacred duty. In Najaf, I was granted an audience with the Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Saeed al-Hakeem, one of the four Sources of Emulation in Iraq, and the second most senior Shiite scholar after Grand Ayatullah ‘Ali al-Sistani. I presented him a copy of “Uhud al-Nabi li-Masihiyyi al-‘alam,” the Arabic translation of “The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad (s) with the Christians of the World,” describing it as a weapon against JANUARY 2019 / ISSUE 158
Dr John Andrew Morrow from the Covenants Initiative and ‘Allamah Sayyid Salih al-Hakeem from the Kalima Center for Dialogue and Cooperation. the Takfiris. The Grand Ayatullah and his senior staff were pleased to learn that my scholarship followed in the path of Dr Muhammad Hamidullah, the editor of “al-Watha’iq” or “The Treaties” and Ayatullah Ahmadi Minyanji, the editor of “Makatib al-Rasul” or “The Writings of the Messenger.” Allamah Sayyid Salih al-Hakim, the nephew of the Grand Ayatullah, assured me that he would provide copies of “Uhud al-Nabi” or “The Covenants of the Prophet” to the three other Sources of Emulation, Grand Ayatullah ‘Ali al-Sistani, Grand Ayatullah Bashir al-Najafi, and Grand Ayatullah Ishaq al-Fayyaz, along with all the other senior scholars in the Seminary. In Baghdad, I attended a marvellous in-
ter-religious conference on the status of women in Iraq which brought together leaders from every faith community in the country, including Sabians, Mandeans, Zoroastrians, Yezidis, Christians, Sunnis, and Shiites. It was remarkable: none of this loveydovey, wishy-washy, watered-down, New Age nonsense that we witness in the Western world were world religions are relativized to the point that they become meaningless. The leaders who gathered in Baghdad were staunch believers, some with harsh words of criticism for one another, but who were determined and committed to build community ties for the betterment of the country and who were adamant about the need to co-exist as fellow citizens.
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This was real interfaith work that mattered. What was taking place at that conference was worth more than one hundred Parliaments of the World’s Religions. It was meaningful. It was actionable. It was life and death. Iraq is not a place where people who disagree with you write a bad review or unfriend you on Facebook. This is a place where your critics or opponents will kill you point blank; hence, the car inspections, the patdowns, the bomb-sniffing dogs, and the soldiers armed with machine guns. Interfaith work entails no risk in the Western world. In Iraq, it means placing your life on the line. The interest in the Covenants of the Prophet was palpable. The thirst and hunger were real. The need was of the hour. This was one of the most religiously, ethnically, and linguistically diverse nations in the world: destroyed by the West by design, by the very proponents of pluralism. Without meaningful action, we would be looking at the end of diversity in Iraq and the creation of homogenous statelets for Arab Shiites, Arab Sunnis, and Sufi Kurds, while the Yezidis, Sabians, Mandeans, and Zoroastrians are condemned to extinction. I came to Iraq bearing the Covenants of the Prophet but I found that they were already there in the hearts of the Iraqi people who are committed to pluralism and co-existence in the most difficult and dangerous of circumstances. Dr John Andrew Morrow received his PhD from the University of Toronto, where he studied Hispanic, Native, and Islamic Studies. He worked as a university professor for two decades. After reaching the rank of Full Professor, he retired from academia to devote himself entirely to scholarship and service. Along with Charles Upton, he directs the Covenants Initiative, lectures around the world, and acts as a religious and political advisor to world leaders.
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AMUA’s unique Quranic studies course for 2019 Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad The Australian Mushaf Uswah Academy (AMUA) has been established since 2014 to study Islam by understanding the link between Mushaf and Uswah conducting formal courses for the duration of one year. AMUA teaches Mushaf and Uswah by delving into both the Qur’an and the Sunnah. The Qur’an is the Word of Allah and the Sunnah is the saying and practices of the Prophet Muhammad (s). The difference is that the Qur’an is the Wahi Matlu (recited revelation) while the Sunnah is Wahi Ghair Matlu (non-revealed inspiration). The following verse of the Qur’an supports this claim: ‘Nor does he speak (of his own) desire. It is only an inspiration that is inspired. He has been taught (the Quran) by one mighty power Jibra’eel.’(Al-Qur’an, al-Najm, 53:3-5). The significant tasks AMUA has carried out since its inception in 2014 have been: 1. Understanding the life of the last Prophet Muhammad (s), who pioneered the full Islamic Order, changing the old Jahiliyah system. 2. Studying and analysing the content of each chapter from 1 to 114 of the Qur’an from the analysis of the Word of Allah, the Qur’an in relation to the working of the Prophet.
3. To acquaint ourselves with the combination of Qur’an (Mushaf) and Sunnah (Uswah-e-Muhammad) through the detailed study of the last Juz (Part 30) comprised of chapters 78 114. 4. We have become closer to the Qur’an and Sunnah through the direct study of the Mushaf verses in their respective chapters as well as the events occurring in the presence of the Prophet under his guidance. In 2018, AMUA covered topics such as: • Spending for the Sake of Allah • Worldly life: A Deceptive, Unreliable Show • Comfort and Trouble: Allah’s decisions; Believers’ role • Teaching, Training and Power Framework • Muhammad: The Last Prophet • Pledge to Allah is a very serious decision • Obedience to the Prophet: Surrender to Allah • Ultimately the Prophet and Believers will become successful • The focus of the 2019 curriculum will inculcate how to study the Qur’an, with topics such as: • Guidance from the Qur’an • The Qur’an and the Sunnah • Peculiar characteristics of the Qur’an that help in Understanding • Understanding the Qur’an • Ongoing Qur’anic Interpretations • Importance of the Arabic Language Lessons will be held on alternate Sundays from 8:30am to 10:30am starting 3 February 2019 to 8 December 2019 excluding school
The syllabus for the year 2019. holidays. The 2019 syllabus is based on the publication, “How Best to Study the Qur’an,” by Dr Q Ashfaq Ahmad. Any person who is interested in pondering, comprehending, and understanding the Quran (the word of Allah) from one’s own personal efforts and then getting help from reputed Tafaseer (interpretations) of the Quran by the Mufassireen should contact Mrs Fauzia Siddiqui (President of AMUA) at students@amua.org.au.
Dr Q Ashfaq Ahmad is by profession a retired engineer and academic having earned his major qualifications at Aligarh Muslim University, University of Wisconsin, USA and University of Sydney, Australia. He is a tireless community worker having founded the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, the Islamic Foundation for Education and Welfare, the Multicultural Eid Festival and Fair and other large and established community organisations.
‘Who Created God?’ Responding to Russel and Dawkins
Kazi Miah
You can very well ask – Who Created God? This question has been asked in all ages! Bertrand Russel, the leading philosopher of all times is known to the world for this agnostic question! Today Bertrand Russel resurrected in the voice of Richard Dawkins, the atheist icon of current time! Anyone can ask any question, however there exists rule of legitimacy in asking questions! ‘Did the crow breed a jet plane’ – this is of course a question, but its beyond the acceptable limit. Any question is a question – but some questions are insane! We experience a cause behind every effect; there is an initiator for every known entity! Everything indicates to an origin. Bartend Russel’s historic question – ‘Who is the father of God’ thus brings insurmountable problem for God’s supporters! They mostly answer in Donald Henry Porter’s way – when almost all scientific theories meet the dead end of no possible answer, such quest does not hold any justification! We or Henry – none has an appropriate instrument to respond to this query any better! Such infirm answer doesn’t move anything! The questioner remains a winner! What is Nature? Nature is the Creation in the first place! As such – we are asking a question about Creator using the matrix of his Creation. Creator and Creation are two different entities; one MUST use same yardstick to measure these two different entities! Nonetheless, defiant Richard Dawkins still stands for his claim as usual! God must have one creator, elsewise, He could not exist by himself! Then I would ask Mr Dawkins – what
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does he understand by ‘Creator’? Wright brothers would have been creators if they made the aeroplane, not by using already existed materials; instead, by creating those parts from non-existence! Wright brothers are not Creators; they are inventors or assembling hands! No inventor is a Creator and Richard Dawkins never saw a Creator! An inventor has parents; Creator is unlike an inventor and thus could not have been subject to the inventor’s rule of parents! Russel & Richard at this stage merely fail to understand the difference between Creator and inventor! Yet they claim to be the knowledgeable exotica in human history! They are like children who simplicity cannot stop asking! Have the exalted knowledge-icons had tumbled into the childhood naivety of not knowing of what they are asking for? Let’s turn our face to a different direction. Let’s not talk about Creator, not Creation, not Universe, not Walls, not Superclusters, not Clusters not Quasars, not Galaxies, not Stars, not Planets, not Earth – but only a micro grain salt, the next division of which will take it out of eye sight! In such micro-grain salt, there are as many as 1016 atoms [10,000, 000, 000, 000, 000 atoms] of Sodium [Na] and Chloride [Cl]. If you want to know this micro grain salt in full details, then you must know the three-dimensional status of each of the atoms [there are more]! When salt crystalizes, every single atom of Na and Cl binds to the array in its specific position through an abstruse force; such positioning requires minimum 10 bits of information for every atom. As such, the tiniest micro grain salt turns to be a collection of 1016 x 10 = 1017 [100,000, 000, 000, 000, 000] bits of information! To know it fully, you must have the capacity to accommodate 100, 000, 000,000,000,000 bits of information in your brain!
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Bertrand Russel. Let us now understand the information capacity of Mr Dawkins’ brain, one who questions – ‘who made God?’ Knowledge at the basic is information; the faculty of human intellect is directly proportional to the total number of information one possesses! Ultimately, processing of information outlines knowledge! Information is thus the fundamental basis for knowledge! How many bits of information Dawkins or anyone could accommodate in his brains? Ability to accommodate information depends on the number of neuron cells available in the brain– the three pounds of flesh! A standard brain has 1011 neuron cells; each of them is corresponding to one bit of information! However, the way dendrites create interconnecting circuits, on average, the capacity of each cell rises to 1000 times! That would mean, in cent percent utilization prospect, Mr Dawkins would accommodate 1011 x 1000 = 1014 bit of information! This is a cosmic limit! Remember, we were discussing the tiny last visible micro-grain salt contained 1017 bits of information! Now if you compare the faculty of knowledge Mr Dawkins could hold with the information sum of the tiniest salt grain, we see, it needs at least 1000 Dawkins’ heads combined [1017 / 1014 =1000] to accommodate all information the tiny bit of salt holds! To be able to understand the Creator of the universe, one will need in the least an ability to understand this entire Cosmos! How big this Creation is? The visible universe
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Richard Dawkins. and invisible universe combined make the Creation! Theory defines the expanse of the visible universe as, If you can attain the speed of light and voyage at the rate of 10,000,000,000,000 [10 trillion km] a year, then you will need roughly 14 billion years to reach from one limit to the other only for the visible universe! Unfortunately, the invisible universe is many billions times bigger! To understand such a Creation, one would need a brain as massive as the Creation is! Unless Dawkins attains that big head– fundamentally, he has no right to ask – ‘Who Created God’? And indeed this question lies past beyond legitimate boundary! Death is undesirable, yet one must accept it as there is no escape from it! Death is a natural limit. Similarly, God is a Natural Limit! God does not need a father. Nature by its own nature protect this limit! We are required to accept that there is no maker for God; there is no probability, no necessity, no explanation and no argument and no dispute! Kazi Miah is a retired Major from the Bangladesh Army; He served in two UN engagements as Planner and in Key Coordinating Position in the Mission HQ; He obtained a Diploma from US Army. He did his Masters from the University of Sydney; Kazi Miah is a published author of 3 Major works; He is currently working as an Operations Manager in a Production Company based in Sydney. ISSUE 158 / JANUARY 2019
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Sojourn Tours – Welcome to the world of Muslim friendly travel Sumaiya Suleman
Roaming the streets of Stone Town, Zanzibar.
Sojourn Tours is an Australian-based company offering Muslim-friendly group tours as well as private, customised tours to travellers from across the globe. Their aim is to create authentic, unforgettable travel experiences for the modern Muslim. Its founder, Sumaiya Suleman says although professionally she is a Chartered Accountant, she has always had a passion for travel and, in particular, visiting places rich in Islamic History. After taking some time away from the corporate world to travel, she decided to venture into the entrepreneurship field but was unsure of exactly what she wanted to do. When an opportunity presented itself for Sumaiya to put together an Islamic Heritage tour of Cape Town, her favourite destination due to its rich Islamic History, incredible natural beauty and unique inviting culture, she decided this was her calling and her company, Sojourn Tours was born. Although initially, Sumaiya’s focus was on Cape Town, she soon realised that her international clients were interested in visiting other cities in South Africa as well as its neighbouring countries. She has now teamed up with local tour guides in each city who ensure the unique needs of the Muslim traveller are catered for, including access to prayer facilities and a variety of halal food options while at the same time providing history, context and insight into each place they visit. To date, Sojourn Tours has successfully run tours of South Africa, Victoria Falls and Zanzibar and looking forward, Sumaiya’s vision is to offer her clients a diverse selection of destinations to choose from.
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A testimonial from her first client: “My experience with Sojourn Tours was overall excellent. We started with finding the Islamic tour of Cape Town and requested to add on additional South Africa experiences to “see the country”. Sumaiya was very helpful in planning our whole trip and was receptive to our specific needs and wishes. Our tour guides were friendly, knowledgeable, and flexible. They were experienced and able to give us the best opportunities taking into consideration our interests. Our final itinerary had a nice balance of activities that we enjoyed but also flexibility to relax, not to mention opportunity to change or add more as we desired. It really felt very personalized. It was exactly the type of tour I enjoy – a mix of beauty and fun, but also educational. We learned so much about the history of South Africa, and the current social atmosphere after apartheid. We were blessed to visit and experience so many natural wonders – climates, scenic vistas, animals and fauna! My only critique is that despite our well-planned trip, there is so much more to see in South Africa! I look forward, God willing, to an opportunity to return to South Africa and would happily use Sojourn Tours again.” – Rima M (USA) If you would like to join Sojourn Tour’s upcoming group tour titled “Best of the Beautiful Cape & Safari” from 21 February – 2 March 2019, where you’ll get to experience the wonderful highlights of Cape Town, travel along the scenic and adventure filled Garden Route and view the Big 5 animals at a 5 Star, Muslim owned Game Reserve, visit https://goo.gl/G6WGgW Sumaiya Suleman is the founder of Sojourn Tours, an Australian-based company offering Muslim-friendly group tours as well as private, customised tours to travellers from across the globe. Her aim is to create authentic, unforgettable travel experiences for the modern Muslim.
The Morocco murders: Gender vulnerability during travel Christine Osborne Two Scandinavian backpackers, Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark, and Maren Ueland, 28, of Norway were killed in an attack in Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains on Monday 17 December while on a hiking and trekking trip. Speaking to Norwegian broadcaster NRK, Maren’s mother said, “Her first priority was safety. The girls had taken all the precautionary measures before embarking on this trip.” While the murder of the two women is beyond tragic, what were two young blondes thinking to camp out in Morocco? There is no denying that Australia has not experienced attacks on young woman backpackers, but a western woman sleeping outdoors in a country where local women veil is tempting fate. I have visited Morocco many times since the 1960s when travel was indeed safer than it is today. And while I travelled the length and breadth of this beautiful country to research a book, my golden rule was to ensure I reached a safe destination by dusk. JANUARY 2019 / ISSUE 158
My sincerest condolences to the families who have lost their lovely daughters in the most horrid circumstances in the High Atlas mountains. But why didn’t a responsible person in Imlil, the base for trekking in the Jebel Toubkal National Park, caution about pitching their tent on the mountainside? We further learn their bodies were discovered by two French women. Also hiking alone. Morocco was late in embracing tourism. When my guide, ‘Morocco for the Independent Traveller’ was published in 1990, it counted little more than a million tourists (about 100,000 each from Britain, Germany and the Netherlands). Today it welcomes in excess of 10 million and while it has not experienced an “Arab Spring,” discontent is widespread among the poor and at heart, Morocco remains a traditional Muslim society. The murders have not only damaged the reputation of an unspoilt wilderness area, but they have also shaken government authorities with tourism, now Morocco’s second highest foreign exchange earner after phosphate. The salutary lesson as more and more women are emboldened to visit developing countries is to never forget their gender leaves them vulnerable.
Maren Ueland. But while it is evident the Scandinavian girls did not take their safety seriously, no one could have imagined them being decapitated by rootless, radical followers of Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi, the faux-Muslim leader of the so-called Islamic State.
Louisa Vesterager Jespersen. books on Islamic countries including The Gulf States and Oman. She is also the CEO of www.worldreligions.co.uk a multi faith library specialising in the mainstream faiths. She has visited more than 30 Muslim majority countries.
Christine Osborne is the author of many
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Player Cloud: Empowering the player! AMUST
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For scouts/clubs/ sports associations: Identify talent across various parameters – sport, geography, age-group, skill set, key Millions of dollars are spent by profes- expertise etc. sional clubs and state/national bodies to Social Network Platform: A portal with scout talent. social networking features for players to inScouting remains largely unorganized teract, post videos, match info, do peer enwhere scouts rely on dorsements and self-aslocal leads and contacts sessment. with without systematic Player cloud is a unique Player Cloud networking or database. platform specially catered There is a need for a connects the entire for players with a vision global player database to provide some direction sports ecosystem to otherwise unstructured and talent scouting portal connecting the sports sports ecosystem. of players, clubs, Eco System, players, Key features: clubs, coaches, fans and • Players and scouts, coaches sports association bodcoaches profiles catered ies. to showcasing their skill and sports Well, there is now a set. solution. • Intro video for association Player cloud is an exeach player to showcase bodies. citing new idea to contheir skills. nect players with coach• Ability to rees. They can showcase performance and ceive endorsements for your skills. move ahead with their passion. • Real-time chat with contacts. Player Cloud connects the entire sports • Newsfeed with text, image and video ecosystem of players, clubs, scouts, coaches sharing. and sports association bodies. Need to know more about the app and For players: Provides young and budding how you can be part of this new idea? players with a platform to exhibit their talent Contact the young entrepreneur Sheikh and reach out to mentors and professional Arsalan: sheikhmarsalan7@gmail.com scouts.
Zahid Alam
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App creator Sheikh Arsalan.
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Minor in
ISLAMIC STUDIES at the University of South Australia All courses are available fully online
The University of South Australia now offers a minor in Islamic Studies. This minor can be studied within any UniSA degree where the degree structure permits. Students enrolled at other universities may be able to take the minor or any of its courses as cross-institutional study.
COURSES YOU WILL STUDY
Introduction to Islam
Empires of Islamic Civilisation
Sharia, Sacred Law and Islam Today
Islam and International Affairs
For more information, please visit study.unisa.edu.au/cite Contact CITE Email: cite@unisa.edu.au Phone: +61 8 8302 4910 Facebook: @CITEuniSA
For more information contact Future Student Enquiries: (08) 8302 2376 Unisa.edu.au/enquiry JANUARY 2019 / ISSUE 158
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ISSUE 158 / JANUARY 2019