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Tragedy, empathy and action in New Zealand Zia Ahmad New Zealand is holding a national memorial service to be broadcast live on Friday 29 March to remember the victims of the terror attack at two mosques in Christchurch.

“The service will be a chance to once again show that New Zealanders are compassionate, inclusive and diverse, and that we will protect those values,” PM Jacinda Ardern has announced.

The New Zealand Prime Minister has been praised globally for her extraordinary use of empathetic language, decisive leadership and swift action following the terrorist attack in Christchurch on Friday 15 March in which more than 50 people have died and another 50 injured, many still in hospital in critical condition.

Last Friday 22 March, an openair Friday Juma sermon followed by congregational prayers together with a vigil was held at Hagley Park opposite the Al Noor Masjid joined by the Muslim community and thousands of New Zealanders including the PM, government officials, police and representatives from overseas.

PM Jacinda Ardern greeted those present with the Islamic greeting of Assalamu Alaikum, quoted from Hadith, saying of Prophet Mohammad (s) and vowed, “we will not be divided by hatred, we will be united by love.”

To the surprise of many, with swift restoration work, Al Noor Masjid was handed back to the Muslim community on Saturday 23 March, eight days after the tragedy with throngs of people lining up to enter the premises with tears and hugs.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s

government has set up a royal commission, the most serious form of investigation possible into failures of government to find why the man charged, 28-year-old Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant,

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was not flagged by security agencies in Australia or New Zealand.

Intelligence agencies, police, customs and the immigration department will be subject to investigation.

“While New Zealanders and Muslim

communities around the world are both grieving and showing compassion, they are also quite rightly asking about how this terror attack was able to happen here.” PM Jacinda Ardern said.

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Community vigil at Lakemba Mosque joined by politicians Dr Faroque Amin It was a peaceful and cloudy Friday afternoon in Sydney. Unlike other working days of a regular week, Muslim Sydneysiders tend to rush on this particular day during their lunch break in order to manage time for the Juma prayer. This is usually a 20 or 30 minutes time each Friday, during which they become quietly secluded from the busy life to observe Allah’s blessings and mercy on humankind in the congregation.

On Friday 15 March 2019, precisely at this time, one of the most merciless and cruel acts of indiscriminate killing of innocent people took place in two Masjids in neighbouring New Zealand.

It was when the worshippers were coming out from the Masjids, some of them were checking their phones while wearing their shoes outside, they read the news first. Then the news spread like a wildfire. It shook everyone to their core.

Very soon, Australian people, regardless of their religions and ethnic backgrounds, became anxious and worried. A terror attack of that extent directly hurts the heart of any multicultural society.

While detailed descriptions of that horrific massacre were unfolding last Friday, Lakemba mosque administered a prayer vigil in remembrance of the victims the same evening right after the regular Maghrib prayer joined by political leaders of all persuasions.

There was not much time for publicity, but more than one thousand saddened and grieving people joined this event. Most of them received text or notification through friends and social media, many of them simply came to the major place of worship in Sydney to find solace during such a tremendous trauma.

This event was perceivably different from any other gathering of such a large crowd.

In any gathering of that size, usually people talk to their friends and acquaintances, there is always an underlying noise and murmuring sound of people speaking, moving around, greeting each other.

However, on this Friday evening in

NSW Premier the Hon Gladys Berejiklian expressed her deepest condolences and sympathy.

Lakemba, a deep and unprecedented silence overwhelmed each and everyone present there. Usual greetings and conversation were absent, everyone looked absorbed in contemplation and melancholy. The Masjid became full very quickly, and people gathered and prayed on the street outside.

Shaikh Yahya Safi, Imam of the Lakemba Masjid stood in front of the audience and

talked about patience, citizen responsibility and politician’s accountability. He also said, ‘we ask Allah to accept the deceased as the martyrs. Many examples from the Prophetic life teach us to remain steadfast, not to react haphazardly’.

Hon Gladys Berejiklian, the Premier of NSW, said, ‘An attack of one part of the community is an attack on all of us. We

Tony Burke MP is a beloved leader in this audience.

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stand in solidarity with you this evening to condemn all act of terrorism’.

Hon David Coleman MP, Federal Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, said, ‘I stand with all of you tonight in condemning this utterly evil act of terrorism’.

Michael Daley, the leader of the opposition in NSW, said ‘We are all at one with you in condemning this horrible act’.

Hon Tony Burke MP stood in front of the audience and said ‘there is no religion called terrorism, but there is bigotry called terrorism’. His speech was widely praised by them when he was heard saying ‘there is a frustration about what another member of parliament (Australian) put out publicly.

I am not going to give him the dignity of even using his name, but I will say this, the solidarity that we have here tonight is what represents modern Australia. The bigotry, that has been there in that public statement and that (is) reflective itself in the horrific event for which we grieve in New Zealand, is not modern New Zealand and is not modern Australia. And don’t let anyone tell you that you are less than the full, important, essential members of Australian Society’.

Samier Dandan, the president of the Lebanese Muslim Association, said ‘we call upon our political leaders to call this attack on innocent civilians an act of terrorism. There is no doubt that this act is an act of terrorism’.

A Christian religious leader Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay expressed his sorrow and solidarity for communities in Australia and New Zealand. Other well-known politicians such as Jihad Dib MP and Senator Mehreen Faruqi attended the gathering as well.

A mother with her young daughter left flowers on the steps of the Masjid earlier in silence. There were Christians, Sikhs and many non-Muslim members of community present in the crowd to express their solidarity.

This was an extraordinary event where participants showed patience with the grievance, remembering and praying for the victims of senseless terror, and vowing for love, solidarity and unity in order to stand against hatred, fear and division.

Dr Faroque Amin works with Suprovat Sydney, a Bengali community newspaper published from Sydney, Australia.

Open day for prayers and sympathy for Christchurch victims at Green Valley Rizvi Khan The Muslim League of NSW that operates the Green Valley Mosque and the Green Valley Islamic College organised an open day for prayer on Sunday 24 March for all communities to pay respect to the 50 people who were brutally killed in the two Mosques’ shooting in Christchurch on Friday 15 March 2019.

Over 500 people from all walks of life attended the prayer gathering including the Fiji High Commissioner, Federal MP for Werriwa, Mayor of Liverpool and the Police Commander’s delegate from Liverpool Police Command.

APRIL 2019 / ISSUE 161

In addition, to sympathise with the grieving families in Christchurch, the open day also included a tour of the Green Valley Mosque learning the etiquettes of the Mosque and basics of teachings of Islam.

Towards the end of the formal program, the community got together to have lunch and network with each other.

The open day was a great success and the Muslim League plans to have more such events later in the year including Eid celebrations and Mosque open days, to bring our communities together in order to maintain community cohesion and harmony and develop the understanding amongst all sections of our multicultural society.

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Jihad against hate and extremism The Christchurch tragedy with its toll of a large number of people killed and an equivalent number seriously injured has shocked everyone in our global village.

These were innocent people engaged in worship in the mosques, considered places of refuge in a peaceful country, who would have never imagined to be attacked in such a cowardly manner.

The vast majority of Muslims attend the congregational Friday Juma prayers in all places throughout the world including Muslim majority countries as well as places where they are a minority like Australia and New Zealand.

The Christchurch attack would have disturbed them now creating doubt of their absolute safety and fear lest someone by hate, radicalised by the writings or spowould attack them during their engage- ken words of either irresponsible religious ment in concentrated worship of their Cre- or political leaders or pursuing the cause of ator. vested interests.

Although now known to be the act of The main driver of acts of killing of innoone radicalised individual, the incident is cent people is hate developed as a result of an eye-opener for all global citizens that demonisation of a particular group starting Islamophobia kills, that words can lead to first by the vilification of their religion, murder and hate speech has its conethnicity or culture leading to exsequences in a most disastrous tremism and violence. manner.

During the last couple of The Christchurch decades, perhaps as a result mosque killings, although of terrorism and war on is having a deep and wide terror, vilification of Islam impact on all, it’s mot the Zia Ahmad and demonisation of Musfirst time that innocent lims has been normalised.

Assalamu people have been killed Opportunistic political in places of worship. leaders have inflamed and Alaikum In his article in this isused sentiments against IsGreetings sue, Dr Saleh Yucel has listlam and Muslims to strengthed other examples of attacks of Peace en their vote banks. on mosques with the killing of Tabloid newspapers have used Muslims in a number of places. inflammatory headlines against Islam These attacks have been perpetrated by and Muslims to increase the sale of their terrorists irrespective of what faith they newspapers. professed, on many occasions by Muslims Radio Shockjocks have created hysteria themselves in the form of sectarian vio- of hate against Muslims creating hatred lence. amongst mainstream communities.

The common motivation for these atPeople affected by this hate-mongering tacks was that the perpetrators were driven by opportunistic politicians and media with

EDITORIAL

Readers comments

I am Anglo and Christian.

Condolences and Support for The barbarians who have slaughtered so our Muslim Brothers and Sismany in NZ do not represent me, my generters As the members of UPF Australia, we want to express our deep sorrow and our condolences to the families and friends of the victims of the horrific massacre carried out at two New Zealand mosques. The prayers of the UPF family in Australia and New Zealand are with our Muslim brothers and sisters at this time. As the New Zealand Prime Minister said, “They are us”. We are proud to have many Muslim friends who are actively involved in the UPF, contributing to peace in Australia and around the world.

They have often shared their love for New Zealand and Australia, their respect for the rule of law and their pride in their faith as a religion of peace. They are our brothers and sisters.

From this tragedy and other events in the world we see the need to address selfish nationalism, religious discrimination and racism. Terrorism, such as the recent acts in Christchurch, is evil. It is not endorsed or affirmed by any faith. Let us all continue to do our best to build a world of lasting peace, promoting dialogue, mutual respect and cooperation among all peoples. We must stand together against bigotry and terrorism and against this tragic and senseless act of violence. Let us work together for peace.

Once again, we offer our thoughts and prayers for the victims and their families and friends.

From Greg Stone and the Secretariat of UPF in Australia and Oceania.

Gregory Stone, Secretary-General Oceania Region, UPF Australia

ation - through to my grandchildren - nor are the true Christians.

Born in the late ‘40 I was schooled with Italians (recent enemies at war), Poles, Jews, Greeks and others - Slavic and Scandinavian refugees. We welcomed them, we adopted many of their habits - and we thankfully changed our food. Changing our diet was not in itself world-shattering. It was though Anglo- Celtic Australia welcoming and accepting that there were others with different beliefs, different understandings of humanity, different experiences and yes, different faiths.

That continued after the Viet Nam war, through the early Afganistan wars but somehow craven politics demonised Arabic immigration. It twisted the minds, even of some who had been taken in after WW II. In a break from this email I watched Waleed Ali. Love him or loathe him, he gave, what I think was an impassioned, realistic appraisal.

I have wandered a lot in this short note.

At the heart of it is my expression in what I think is shared grief.

I know that there are contradictions and gaps in my thread. Sorry about that. In a saner world and at a saner time I might have done a better job. Please do not doubt the depth of our pain.

On your day of prayer, pray for those lost today and, if you can, pray for those of good mind that not of your faith.

Mike Kirby

Horror in NZ

I am writing to say how shocked and ashamed I am at what has happened in

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Shocked and Ashamed

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AMUST ISSUE # 161 FRIDAY 29 MARCH 2019 21 RAJAB 1440 News

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- Community vigil at Lakemba Mosque - Green Valley Mosque Open Day

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- Action to prevent massacres - Statement from Muslim community

Community

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- Recognition of Yr 12 high achievers - Ibrahim Taha awarded Youth Medal

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- Aussie Muslims support Kiwi cousins - Back from Christchurch with sadness

Australia a vested interest have taken up to the social media to network with like-minded groups and spew hate and form radicalised associations leading to extremist violent actions.

In order to prevent such disasters, we all need to take responsibility at various levels.

Our political and religious leaders have to be responsible for their utterances to check if it borders to hate speech.

The media needs to show responsibility and incorporate check and balances to play a positive role in uniting communities rather than dividing them.

Hate speech can lead to extremist violence against innocent people in a random manner. This means that as individuals we need to be responsible for what we utter.

Muslims also need to look back into our own backyard. Attacks on innocent people of any faith or any sect or ethnicity can never be justified and must be strongly condemned.

Attacks on mosques, churches, synagogues, temples and other places of peaceful worship must be highly respected as places of refuge and their sanctity must not be violated.

Christchurch: shocked because there is so much hatred in our world and ashamed because our society has allowed racism and supremacism to put down roots in countries like Australia and New Zealand previously known for the warmth of their welcome to people of every race and religion. My heart goes out to all the families caught up in this dreadful attack and to all Muslims who have made a new life in these countries and who have contributed so much to their new communities.

Imogen Kelly

Christchurch

Your story with the lady and her one year old baby at the airport to see anyone who would have come for the funeral and her note touched my heart too much. I want you to let her know that here in the USA we too shed too much tears and we do appreciate all they are doing to bring some solace and comfort in our trialing times. They would always be in our hearts and prayers as well.

Every story that emanates from this terrorist attack is a story of human kindness. And this is what will heal us by the Grace of The Almighty.

Thanks for shairng.

Shaykh Abdur Rahman Khan

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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.

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Action to prevent massacres in mosques Dr Salih Yucel It is said that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” If the tragedies are forgotten, then they will recure.

Let’s look at some recent examples of massacres of worshippers in the mosques.

• On 20 January 2017, six people were killed by a gunman at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City in Canada.

• On 11 October 2017, 25 worshippers killed at a mosque in Kembe, Central African Republic.

• In May 2001, 20 people were slaughtered at the Han Tha mosque in Taungoo, Myanmar.

• Baruch Goldstein, a member of the Israeli army reserves, entered the site sacred to both Judaism and Islam and killed 29 Muslims on 25 February 1994. His grave has become a pilgrimage for his supporters over the years and a shrine to his memory was set up next to his tomb.

• On 3 August 3 1990, there were 147 victims of the Kattankudy mosque massacre in Sri Lanka.

• On 24 September 1974, the biggest mosque-related mass murder occurred in the Philippines when some 1,500 members of the Moro people were killed by the Philippine army in the village of Malisbong.

People place candles during a vigil in Quebec City for victims of the deadly shooting at a Quebec City mosque on 20 January 2017.

• ISIS frequently attacked both Shia and Sunni mosques during the last couple of years and killed hundreds.

Contrary to Senator William Fraser Anning claims, none of those who were killed in the mosques were combatants with weapons but went to mosques for prayer to gain inner peace. However, they were attacked with bullets and bombs.

Muslims forget or do not want to remember it again such massacres, but then the cost be-

comes higher. During the last 30 years, over five million Muslims have been killed and almost 20 million have been displaced.

Do Muslims hold any program or ceremony to remember such tragedy? There is even no sign at the doors of attacked mosques where massacres took place.

It is time the Boards of Mosques’ management and Muslim Schools in Australia apply for security grants from federal and state governments.

It is known that the Federal Government allocates millions of dollars to protect Jewish synagogues and schools annually which is important for the safety of the Jewish community.

In my view, the Federal Government has a moral responsibility to provide security grants for the safety of Muslim citizens in this country as well.

Also, Muslims have moral obligations to reach out to those who have hatred towards Islam and Muslims through dialogue. They must have short and long term plan to overcome hatred.

However, this can not be done through interfaith dialogue only. It needs to be carried out through the mainstream media, faith organisations, other NGOs and with the help of the policymakers and law enforcement authorities.

The statement of Senator Anning after the Christchurch tragedy shows the degree of ignorance about Islam and Muslims in Australia.

The terrorist attack in Christchurch shook us to the core. Clearly, there is still much needed to be done to diminish hatred.

I pray that God gives Muslims and non-Muslims the strength to continue their works in this area for peace and security of all Australians.

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.

Can Islamophobia lead to Muslim holocaust?

Dr Farjana Mahbuba The day after the Christchurch mosque attack, I asked my brother if he’d agree with me if I say, the global Muslim community has a possibility of facing a Muslim holocaust in the near future.

While I was asking him this, a part of me wanted him to laugh at this farfetched imagination, wanted him to just shrug it off as an unfounded fear. To my dismay, he rather surprised me by nodding in silence. After a little pause, he said anything might happen.

But this is not 1945 anymore, people are very much aware of issues such as xenophobia, Islamophobia, racism, white supremacy and so on. So, never, it will not happen insha’Allah.

I tried hard to put my mind at ease and go to sleep. But then when I woke up the next morning my fears seem to be gathering some evidence.

A Facebook friend shared a piece of news from 2017, published in the Independent in the UK. On their national Independence Day, 60,000 Polish nationalists marched chanting for an ‘Islamic holocaust’.

Now I realized why we Muslims, in general, weren’t really shocked to hear about Christchurch massacre, as Waleed Aly precisely put in his TV commentary. Because we already knew it’s coming, and it’s coming big.

Now in the hindsight, I tried to understand why did I on the first place even asked that question!

It was probably out of a desperate wish for self-consolation. The terrorist attack in Christchurch mosques straightaway reminded me of a night from 11 years ago. I wouldn’t want any Muslim or any other human being to go through such experience.

That time I was new to this country. Coming back home after a long hours shift, I was in the Museum station to change trains. Standing there just like many other commuters, I was waiting on the platform.

This man came out of nowhere, started his fierce rant, pointing his finger straight towards me. With my very little comprehension ability of Aussie accent at that time, I could only understand part of it ‘terrorist’, ‘****** Mus-

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lims’, ‘***** immigrants’!

He screamed and screamed and screamed.

This violently verbal abuse kept going at least for a minute, it felt like forever. No one, NOT A SINGLE commuter tried to stop him.

I have never been a bystander myself in my life, especially not when any abuse is targeted towards me. However, that night and on those extraordinary moments, I realised that language is a weapon too.

With my broken English, I couldn’t even think of a word to tell him to stop, or to face him, or to call the police, or to do something, anything! He was shouting, and the train arrived with an opportunity for me to escape that situation. I remember I hurried inside the train just to hide my tears from everyone else there.

I still vividly remember how I was looking for an empty carriage. I wanted to distance myself from all those commuters who had just witnessed me being so disgustingly abused, and yet did nothing or said nothing.

Some months later, this time, my language was a bit better. In my mind, I thought I wouldn’t let anyone just go without saying anything if I’m attacked again.

Yet, I again couldn’t say a single word when these two heavy-built ‘white’ men boarded into the carriage I was in. It was around 10 pm. I was again coming back home from a long day of study and work.

One of them suddenly asked me ‘hey, you a Muslim?’

I didn’t need to reply, because my headscarf was there to let everyone know the answer. He also didn’t wait for my reply. Laughing with his mate, he said, ‘why don’t you wipe my *** with your scarf?’

No matter how confident I was in my language skill this time, I realized suddenly that I am unable to say a word in reply. They were two heavy-built men and I was alone in that carriage. I just had to pretend not to listen to them as I hurriedly ran back to another carriage.

This time I was looking for a carriage full of people, or at least some of them. I was constantly looking back to check if they were following me.

Later when I was walking alone from the station to my house, I was sobbing in silence again.

This time I came to realize, no matter how skilled my English is to reply back, and no matter if I wear a hijab or not, no matter what,

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it will be one after another. We will be picked up and harassed and abused for nothing and everything.

I remember a few months later on another day, a lady in the Woolies checkout where I was working screamed at me saying ‘don’t touch my stuff with your ***** brown fingers!’ She wanted me to wear gloves while scanning the items she was buying!

People say you have to focus on the bright sides, positive sides of society. Yes, why not?

We should take the wisdom out of the wounds. Yes, I get it. But how? How exactly I’ll focus on the positive sides when we, the immigrants, and especially the Muslims are constantly in our everyday life facing xenophobia and Islamophobia one after another?

And why is it that we are supposed to look at the bright sides of the society when the society itself is continuously placing us in the victim’s shoes?

Last week I was with my sister-in-law. She was silent and looked a bit shaken and silent.

I thought she was still trying to manage the psychological pain and sorrow resulting from the Christchurch massacre. But when asked, she said she was about to board a train on that very morning when an old white man suddenly started screaming to her. Saying all the f and t words.

I knew the answer already, still, I asked her ‘what did you do’?

She said, ‘nothing. I felt so scared. I just ran inside the carriage’.

Muslims have been dehumanized by the media and politicians for more than a decade, the way world politics have made us, the Muslims, their scapegoat, the slaughter of this scapegoat is nothing short of a possibility in future.

In fact, it already started happening in many countries. Rohingyas are an example. The Muslim concentration camps in Uighur, China is nothing less than another Auschwitz concentration camp. But does the world care?

We may not be in 1945 now, yet the mass ignorance of xenophobia and Islamophobia will make it possible to be staged. The number changes but human psychology doesn’t.

The day before yesterday, we went to our local mosque to pray. While my two kids were busy playing and running around, I suddenly found myself thinking about the number of exits in that prayer hall! I was trying to figure out if there is a less familiar exit just in case I have

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to run for the safety of my kids!

Just realising that how deeply shaken I’m by the Christchurch mosque attack, I started crying. My elder daughter stopped playing with her younger sister and ran towards me asking, mum what happened? Why are you crying?!

A minute later I found myself having this conversation with my 7 years old and 3 years old.

• Girls, if we are in a situation where a bad man is killing everyone, do you remember what to do?

My 3 years old yet doesn’t understand the question. My 7 years old started laughing, she thought I was crying because I thought she forgot the answer!

• ‘Mum, I do remember what to do! I will cover my sis and both of us will pretend to be dead!’

Her innocent laughter broke my heart, I literally felt an ace in my heart. I hugged both of them tight and said: • Remember, even if something happens to mum and dad, still you can’t move, can’t make any noise. Okay? Just lay still. And you (pointing to my older one) must take care of your little sister in any situation, okay baba? Promise?’

Laughter went off my daughter’s eyes and her face became saddened, and her eyes were teary now. She said, ‘I promise ma, but nothing is gonna happen to you or dad, right? Say right?’

I didn’t know what to say.

How could I say nothing will happen when so many things are happening! Instead of replying to her, I hold them closer.

I know, it’s not only me, there are so many other mothers like me struggling to have similar kind of conversations with their kids, scared and afraid.

What kind of world is this where we have brought in our children? God, what kind of world we are living in where a mother has to have this kind of conversation with her little children?

Dr Farjana Mahbuba is a former teacher at Western Sydney University College, currently a mumtrepreneur, looking after her two kids and running a clothing business.

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The dangerous blindspot in counter terrorism We in the Muslim community have become used to constant denunciations of ‘muharibs’ as “Islamic terrorists” and the association of our way of life with murder, suicide bombings and outrageous atrocities in various parts of the world.

Our Islamic organisations continually denounce criminal acts and defend the Quran from the slanders of the hate brigade, to little avail.

The danger from white supremacists is largely ignored.

The atrocities in New Zealand on Friday 15 March at the hands of such criminals highlighted the danger to the Muslim community, they present.

In November 2018 Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that the Muslim community in Australia must be more “proactive” in tackling the threat of terror. [Guardian Nov 11, 2018] After the attack in Christchurch, the Prime Minister first described it in Twitter as “ a serious shooting” but four hours later he called for flags to be flown at half mast “for all those killed in the terrorist attack.”

This apparent reluctance to view white supremacist atrocities as “terrorism” has long been scandalous from the viewpoint of the Muslim community.

The different interpretation given by Aus-

tralian authorities to two atrocities in Bourke Street Melbourne illustrated this blindspot.

In January 2017, Mr Gargasoulas drove up the footpath of the Bourke St Mall, killing six people and injuring another 27.

During his trial in November 2018, he made a statement about the Illuminati and oppression, as he gave evidence, and told the jury he had a premonition from God before driving to Bourke Street.

“God’s royal laws of liberty have to be throughout the whole world in order to pass judgment day.” [ABC 13 Nov 2018] In Australian law a ‘terrorist act’ is an act, or a threat to commit an act, that is done with the intention to coerce or influence the public or any government by intimidation to advance a political, religious or ideological cause, and the act causes serious harm.

A relevant intention seems to be covered in this case, yet the police were quick to assure the public that the act was not a terrorist act.

The Greek community newspaper Neos Kosmos commented that although the killer was of Greek heritage: “Luckily, we were spared the kind of generalisations that the public sphere inflicts on other communities, the rhetoric that Muslims around the world are used to being the target of every time a deranged extremist goes through with an

act of terrorism.” [Neos Kosmos 27 January 2017] This murder trial was going on at about the same time as another atrocity occurred in Bourke Street, on Friday 9 November 2018.

“One man was killed and two others injured after being stabbed by a 30 year old Somali man.” [The Age 9 Nov 2018 ] Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said “…we are treating it as a terrorism incident.” [Al Jazeera 9 Nov 2018] This criminal, from a Muslim background, was very quickly identified as a terrorist.

The Somali was a terrorist, the Greek Orthodox killer was not!

These two incidents reveal the blindspot in counter terrorism policy in this country.

This is not found only in Australia, but a recent case in Germany has shown how dangerous it can be.

The Ceska Murders between 2000 and 2007 involved the murders of eight ethnic Turks, an ethnic Greek and a German policewoman.

The case ran for 18 years and the 5 year long trial ended only in 2018 with Beate Zschape of the National Socialist Underground found guilty of 10 counts of racially motivated murder and given a life sentence.

The German police had a blindspot.

“The danger

from white supremacists is largely ignored.

“

Bilal Cleland

AMUST

As it dealt with Turks, they focused on mafia and drug related crimes. “…the media stereotyped the serial killings as the “Kebab” or “Doner Murders”, even though only one of the victims worked in a food outlet.”

Racism accounted for that blindspot.

As the former president of the Munich Higher Regional Court stated; “…these criminals were undiscovered for so long because their motives were based on anti-foreigner sentiment and neo-Nazi ideology.”

[Al Jazeera 20 Feb 2019] Germany, Australia and New Zealand would do well to take notice of the findings of a new report from the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism that every extremist killing in the US in 2018 had a link to some variety of right-wing extremism. [Business Insider January 25 2019] The danger these terrorists present to the Muslim community, and indeed the wider community, given the collateral damage in Christchurch, has been very starkly demonstrated before the world.

That Australian white supremacist terrorists appear to have made a major contribution to those 49 innocent deaths is a matter of national shame.

Bilal Cleland is a keen reader, a prolific writer and a regular columnist of AMUST based in Melbourne.

Sacrificing national interest in Embassy move Dr Daud Batchelor In today’s geopolitics, Australia must balance relations with its largest trading partner China and key defence ally, the United States, at a time of spirited jousting.

Maintaining good relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations also becomes essential with expanding Chinese power.

Significantly, ASEAN has a dominant 67% majority Muslim population.

Indonesia is expected to become the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2050.

Former PM Paul Keating remarked, “No country is more important to Australia than Indonesia. If we fail to get this relationship right … the whole web of our foreign relations is incomplete.”

Indonesia and Malaysia, Muslim-majority countries, have long-standing ties with Australia who supported Indonesia’s independence and helped Malaysia win against a communist insurgency.

It stunned them when PM Scott Morrison announced Australia’s interest to move its embassy to Jerusalem.

It threatened a much-desired trade agreement with Indonesia.

In criticising Australia’s proposal, former Ambassador, Nadjib Kesoema, urged Australia to differentiate itself from US policies if it wished to ‘play a more important role among Asian countries.’

Barrister-at-Law, James O’Neill, remarked that the declared decision to move the Australian embassy to Jerusalem reflects Australia’s long-standing tolerance of IsraAPRIL 2019 / ISSUE 161

el’s persistent violation of international law.

Josh Frydenberg, in criticising Malaysian PM Mahathir’s critique of the embassy proposal, implied the policy is in ‘the national interest’. Frydenberg is ill-informed.

Newspoll found only 34% of Australians surveyed supported the move while 40% opposed it.

Veteran diplomat, John McCarthy, slammed the announcement warning such a move would damage relations with Indonesia and Malaysia.

McCarthy questioned ‘Why is Australia buying into the issue now given it’s not our area of principle foreign policy focus?’

The reason in this writer’s view is rapid ‘Zionisation’ of Australia’s foreign and defence relations.

In October it was announced, “Given Australia’s increased engagement with Israel on defence and security matters, the Government will appoint an Australian Defence Attaché in Tel Aviv and invited Israel to appoint its own Defence Attaché in Canberra.”

Close military relations with Israel have not been justified to the Public. A BBC World Service poll found 67% of Australians viewed Israel’s influence negatively.

Of concern to pro-Palestinian Malaysia and Indonesia, Australian-Israeli ties align with strengthening military ties with Singapore, close ally of Israel who helped build Singapore’s military.

The Australia-Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, signed in 2016, permits Singapore to develop a huge military training complex in Queensland. 14,000 Singapore personnel can train there for over 25 years.

Singapore has a disproportionately large military. Since 2007 Israel and Singapore placed first and second on the Global Mil-

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s first meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Singapore, November 2018. itarisation Index. Singapore has Southeast Asia’s strongest air-force and navy.

These developments indicate a budding Israel-Australia-Singapore military alliance, which will concern our peaceful neighbours.

In 2017 Australia’s forces were shown to be using anti-Indonesian training materials, which resulted in Indonesia ‘suspending’ military ties.

Indonesia, is not, however, a credible threat.

Michael Wesley suggested in “Australian Foreign Affairs” that it was only Britain who recognised Australia’s strategic value and invaded, implying that Java’s Majapahit kingdom overlooked this value.

Indonesian customary law recognises prior ownership rights of occupants. Indonesians finding Aborigines utilising Australia’s northern coasts before Europeans arrived, recognised their occupancy rights

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and so didn’t invade.

This scuttles the misguided view of some ‘analysts’, of Indonesia as a potential invader.

Important issues related to Australia’s relationship with Israel, and policies which impact on our ASEAN neighbours, are not discussed in Parliament or reported in mainstream newspapers.

The concern arises, ‘Is Australia moving towards undemocratic elite decision-making, which can impact negatively on our national interest and security?’

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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Muslim community to government politicians: Mind your language AMUST Media In the wake of the Christchurch attack, over 300 Australian Muslims including senior community advocates, journalists, academics, business leaders, health and education professionals have signed a statement calling on the Government to remove racially hostile and discriminatory language from politics.

The spokesperson for the statement,

Zaahir Edries, said “The Government has expressed sympathy for the victims of the Christchurch attack. However, it does not seem to be reflecting on its own role in contributing to the hostile environment that makes such attacks more likely.”

“There is a broad consensus in our community that such an attack was inevitable given the ugly nature of public debate around Muslims and Islam in this country.”

“It’s quite clear that the Coalition has repeatedly used the Muslim community as an

easy target, painting us as a threat to the rest of the country.”

“We have Coalition MPs like George Christensen who have spoken at Reclaim Australia rallies which are attended by white supremacists. When the Coalition openly congratulates divisive figures like Pauline Hanson and Fraser Anning on the floor or our Senate, they are simply normalising extremist ideas.”

“When extreme racism and discriminatory rhetoric is normalised, hate crimes in-

crease. We have witnessed this worldwide.”

“The signatories come from a wide cross-section of the Muslim community.

Many of them, particularly in health, education and community development, work on the frontlines dealing with the results of racism and Islamophobia on a daily basis.”

“Scott Morrison once accused Muslims of having our head in the sand about terrorism.

It would seem that the Prime Minister has his head in the sand about Islamophobia.”

Christchurch and Islamophobia: A statement from The Australian Muslim Community As a community, we are shattered by the recent act of terror in Christchurch.

For years, we have warned against the use of racist and discriminatory language in media and politics. We warned that this creates a culture of fear and hysteria that would inevitably result in exactly this type of attack.

We also acknowledge our brothers and sisters in the Indigenous community who have resisted white supremacist violence on this continent for over two centuries.

We owe it to the victims of this massacre to bear witness to the truth of why they died. Their deaths

cannot be used to whitewash the reality of how this occurred.

While our political leaders have expressed sympathy over the deaths of our brothers and sisters, there has been little responsibility taken for their own role in creating a political climate that has demonised the Muslim community for decades.

Sadly, we remember the numerous times the Coalition have used the Muslim community as targets in vicious debates around immigration, multiculturalism and national security.

We remember when Liberal Party Senators lined up to kiss, hug and shake hands with Pauline Hanson – a

woman who has referred to Islam as a ‘disease’ – following her openly Islamophobic return speech to Parliament.

We remember when Liberal Party Senators openly congratulated Fraser Anning after his explicit reference to a ‘final solution’ when discussing Muslim immigration.

We remember when Peter Dutton suggested that sections of our community should never have been allowed into this country in the first place.

We remember when elected Liberal Party representatives campaigned to remove Section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act under the guise of protecting ‘free speech.’

We remember when Liberal Party Senators joined One Nation to vote in favour of the white nationalist slogan ‘It’s OK to be white.’

This climate of hostility breeds discrimination, harassment and ultimately violence.

A truly safe society is one where no community should fear that they will be made scapegoats or demonised for the sake of cheap political point-scoring.

If our leaders are truly committed to building a society where our community can live in safety, they must make real assurances that they will not resort to this language of racism and division.

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Nationwide recognition of Year 12 high achievers

Year 12 Award Recipients 2019, Sydney.

From left: The Hon. Tony Burke, Federal Member for Watson; Jahid Aglodiya award recipient; Bashar Al-Jamal, Director, HAA.

Issam Chaouk, Director of Projects HAA; Saleha Chattha, awards recipient; Jihad Dib, MP.

Alsu Kurlow Human Appeal Australia hosted its 12th Annual Year 12 Muslim Achievement Awards Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne from Friday 8 March to Sunday 17 March 2019.

A total of 257 Muslim Australians were recognised nationwide for their outstanding results at the 2018 year 12 examinations with certificates, awards and gifts.

Students were invited with their parents to join community leaders, school principals, politicians and business leaders to attend the events in various cities of Australia.

Year 12 students who achieved an ATAR score or equivalent of 90 or above in 2018 were invited to register for the awards from all over Australia.

Starting off in Perth on Friday 8 March with the city hosting the awards for the second time 28 students were awarded on the night with Shady Fouda and Fatima Payman co-MCing the proceedings.

Human Appeal Australia’s Director of Projects Issam Chaouk welcomed guests Lisa O’Malley MLA Member for Bicton, WA and representative of the Minister for Education and Training spoke on the night congratulating students on their magnificent achievements.

Other speakers included Abdullah Khan, Executive Principal of the Australian Islamic College (AIC); Martin Pritchard MLC; Pierre Yang MLC, Sheikh Wael Ibrahim; Dr Tony Buti MLA; Dr Rateb Jneid; David Honey MLA; Dr Naser Elziadat; Syed Mustafa Nabi, Leadership Umrah Tour 2019 participant and Azmain Talukder, award recipient.

The girls from AIC Primary school performed a nasheed song and stole the hearts of the audience. Sameh Elgawady, the Perth Branch Manager, spoke about Human Appeal’s office in Perth and many projects to APRIL 2019 / ISSUE 161

follow and thanked the guests for attending the ceremony.

The next event was held on Saturday 9 March in Brisbane honouring nine students.

Human Appeal’s Orphan Sponsorship and Community Development Manager, Abdnaser Ali welcomed guests and spoke of the importance of recognising both outstanding effort as well as achievement.

The keynote speakers were Farouk Adam, President of Muslim Business Council, Mohammed Ally, CEO of Australian International Islamic College, Dr Ray Barrett, the principal of Islamic College of Brisbane and Habib Jamal, newly elected president of Islamic Council of Queensland.

Mr Habib Jamal addressed the Award Winners as the Future Muslim leaders and delivered his advice for them. Dr Ray Barrett amused the crowd with the TEN leadership qualities displayed by Prophet Muhammad (s).

The MC of the night was Dr Mustafa Ally from Crescent Community News, who ensured that the program ran smoothly. He kept the crowd engaged and laughing with his vibrant and jolly comments.

Lastly, Imam Akram Buksh, Manager of Human Appeal Queensland office, thanked

all for joining and making it the event a great success. The awards recognised their hard work and dedication and acknowledged the great support of their parents.

On Sunday 10 March, the award ceremony in Sydney was held at the Highline Venue in Bankstown recognising more than 122 high achievers.

The ceremony was opened with the heart-warming recitation of Quran by Sheikh Khaled Zraykah and co-MC’d by Omar Al-Jamal and Raghda Assoum.

Human Appeal Australia’s Director, Mr Bashar Al-Jamal welcomed the guests followed by addresses by Mr Tony Burke MP, Federal Member for Watson, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, the Grand Mufti of Australia, City of Canterbury Bankstown Mayor Mr Khal Asfour, Mr Jihad Dib, MP; Ms Hala Ramadan, Principal of Belmore Boys High School and Hajj Mohamed El-Mouelhy, Director of Halal Certification Authority.

In Adelaide, 13 students were awarded on Saturday 16 March. Branch Manager of Human Appeal’s Adelaide office, Ali Kadir welcomed guests and highlighted the organisation’s goal of encouraging and motivating outstanding achievement that would benefit the country.

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David Pisoni, MP congratulated the students for their great efforts. Other speakers included Senator Rex Patrick; Houssam Abiad, Deputy Mayor of Adelaide City Council; Zoe Bettison MP; Elvir Mustafic, Leadership Umrah Tour 2018 participant and Mohammed El-Sayid, a religious leader. Other attendees included Carolyn Power MP; Dr Susan Close MP and Tony Piccolo MP. In Melbourne, on Sunday 17 March, 85 students were awarded. Sheikh Rabih Baytie, Human Appeal’s Melbourne Branch Manager welcomed guests and acknowledged the important role that parents and guardians played in the high achievement of their children.

Other speakers included Cindy McLeish MP; Bachar Houli, AFL football player; Bronwyn Halfpenny MP; Dr Samantha Ratnam MLC; Cr Natalie Abboud, Mayor of Moreland; Cr Mark Riley, Deputy Mayor of Moreland; Prof Salman Qureshi and Dr Abdel Kareem Halabi. The MC Nour Abouzeid thanked the audience for their attendance.

Overall, the five ceremonies held in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne, were a fantastic opportunity for parents and communities to celebrate and be proud of the outstanding achievements of these amazing 257 individuals.

Bashar Al-Jamal, Human Appeal Australia director concluded, “Your future contributions to the wider society as professionals, humanitarians, and thought leaders will benefit the wider public and should encourage a cultural shift away from perceptions of mistrust and hate toward a greater level of respect, understanding and appreciation of Muslim Australian communities. A special vote of thanks goes to the generous businesses and organisations that sponsored the 12th Annual Year 12 Muslim Achievement Awards. Human Appeal Australia congratulates all the Year 12 students of 2018 for their success and wishing them all the best in future.”

Alsu Kurlow is the Community Events and Children & Youth Coordinator of Human Appeal Australia.

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Special assembly on Christchurch tragedy Gulhan Eryegit Yoldas Following the horrific Christchurch mosques’ tragedy, Al Siraat College in Epping (Victoria) held a special assembly on the morning of Monday 18 March for their school community as well as the broader community.

The event was attended by Mayor Lawrie Cox, MP Lily D’Ambrosio, Nik Cagorski representing Federal member for Scullin Andrew Giles, Inspector Craig Spencer, representatives from Whittlesea Interfaith Network and several other members from local community groups.

Inspector Craig Spencer explained that “…it’s important to note that the emergency service workers, the police, the ambulance and the army all felt your pain. I was advised today that there are some family members that were affected from the Al Siraat College community and some relatives that’ve been unfortunately very seriously injured.

My condolences are with those people and I hope they make a speedy recovery.”

Inspector Spencer encouraged young people to talk about how they’re feeling, not to bottle it up inside and highlighted the importance of reaching out to family and community during this time. He reassured the parents of the added security measures in place for AlSiraat College.

Mayor Lawrie Cox and Nik Cagorski each made sincere statements in support of the Muslim community.

MP Lily D’Ambrosio made a very sincere and moving statement in saying “I share in and acknowledge the pain that has been brought upon all of you from the events on Friday. In the coming days and months, I commit to you to making very strong public statements in support of you as valued members of this community. I value you as I know you value being members of this

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Representatives from all levels of government, Vic Police & community groups attended the assembly. community and I think it is incumbent on all of us to say that, to share those feelings and sentiments and know that together we will overcome these tragedies.”

Mufti Aasim addressed the youth urging them to use this opportunity to speak up saying, “the tragedy that happened on Friday is not representative of any race or faith.

This type of behaviour is representative of a very twisted mindset that is cultured and fed over a period of time until the person reaches such an extreme that they end up

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losing themselves as a human being in the process.”

“These acts are committed to divide people. But you will see in the aftermath the whole world is with us, they are supporting us. Their sympathies are with us. Their condolences are with us. Right now the whole world is your audience. If you have something sensible and logical to say they will listen to you. But if you respond with similar talks like the people who perpetrated those acts then it means you’re no better than

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them. So talk to people, go on platforms where your voice is heard, speak up, share your story.”

Following the assembly, one parent commented, “The support and solidarity we’ve received from the local community this weekend has just been overwhelming. So many messages of love and empathy. We’re all brothers and sisters in humanity. We have to stand together against division and hate.”

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Ibrahim Taha recognised with Youth Medal Mehar Ahmad Ibrahim Taha, an AMUST columnist was presented with the ‘Youth Medal’ by the NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian in front of an audience of more than 1500 guests at the annual “Premier’s Harmony Dinner” held on Thursday 28 February 2019 at the Grand Pavilion, Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney.

The gala dinner hosted by the Premier and the Minister for Multiculturalism, The Hon Ray Williams is an annual celebration of diversity to the significant contributions made to the community by multicultural leaders in New South Wales.

A number of medals and awards were given out at the event together with indigenous and multicultural performances marking the community harmony week in Australia for the year 2019.

Minister for Multiculturalism Ray Williams said the Premier’s Harmony Dinner, now in its eighth year, is a celebration of NSW’s cultural diversity.

He said he was delighted the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government recognised community members who have dedicated their lives to harmony in NSW. “Tonight we celebrate people from all walks of life who have made extraordinary contributions to our multicultural society.

NSW would not be the same without the everyday champions amongst us,” Mr Williams said.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian presented Stepan Kerkysharian AO Harmony Medal to Dr Chandrika Subramaniyan, a lawyer and anti-domestic violence advocate, recognised for her pro bono legal work with refugee and migrant women. She has worked in the Australian migrant resource and legal sectors for 20 years.

“Dr Subramaniyan has devoted herself to helping migrants and women, particularly

Ibrahim Taha (right) with Minister for Multiculturalism, The Hon Ray Williams. Photo by Salty Dingo. as a tireless advocate seeking to reduce violence against women,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“As well as giving pro bono advice to women from culturally diverse backgrounds, Dr Subramaniyan regularly holds community forums on domestic abuse, child protection, elder abuse, and legal education community forums,” she further added.

“I also congratulate all recipients of to-

night’s Multicultural Community Medals for their dedicated work towards making our society more peaceful, tolerant and inclusive,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

The guests were also addressed by the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of Multicultural NSW, Mr Joseph La Posta and Dr Hari Harinath, Chair of its Advisory Board.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Photo by Salty Dingo.

Joseph La Posta, CEO, Multicultural NSW with Dr G K (Hari) Harinath OAM, Chair, Multicultural NSW Advisory Board. Photo by Salty Dingo.

Descendance Indigenous Performance. Photo by Salty Dingo.

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Best Cultural Dress Award. Photo by Salty Dingo.

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The kangaroo says:

“I am Australian” Fazlul Huq

The kangaroo says: “I am Australian,” So say the koala and the brown snake, camel and the ostrich, gum tree and the orchid, Wattle and the Uluru, Daintree and the rocks, echidna and the banksia, marshland and the red earth, bush trail and the blue mountains, white man and the custodians of the land, refugees and the settlers from Greece and Italy, Mainland Europe and Ireland, Easter Europe and Turkey, Lebanon and other Arab lands, China and Vietnam, The subcontinent and Africa, South America and islands, And so much more from the near and distant, When the island nation and the continent would say: “I have room for so much more.”

While those held in detention would say: “Are we lesser of humans!”

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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Inauguration of United Subcontinental Languages Schools of NSW N Ali Khan The inaugural ceremony for the United Subcontinental Languages Schools of New South Wales (USL Schools of NSW) was held on Saturday 2 March 2019 in Auburn, Western Sydney.

The event included the launch of the Urdu Learning Program that has been a mission for USL Schools of NSW for the last 6 months which was accomplished in a grand manner. The response from the local Urdu speaking community was overwhelming and very supportive.

Inauguration speeches and ribbon cutting was done by Mr N Ali Khan (Founder – President of USL Schools of NSW), Ms Lynda Voltz (Candidate for Auburn), Mr Glenn Elmore (Deputy Mayor ) Cumberland Council, Mr Steve Christou (Councillor) Cumberland Council, Mr Arif Sadiq (Urdu International Australia), Mr Alex Di Prinzo (Education Officer) Department of Education, Mr Abbas Alvi (President ICSOA) and Mr Ernest Kulauzovic (Education Cordinator) USL Schools of NSW. Addressing the audience, Mr N Ali Khan stressed a quote from Nelson Mandela that if you speak to a man in his own language, it goes to his heart. He asked, if we do not learn our mother tongue, then how are we able to connect to our parents and our Grandparents heart? How are we going to connect with our heritage, our culture and keep our identity alive?

He also asked parents to introduce our language at a early stage to children and encouraged parents to speak mother tongue at home.

Mr Khan thanked all the dignitaries for attending this event and sending an important message to our community. He also thanked his team (Mr Naveed Mohammed, Mr Jamsheed Ahmed, Mrs Hafsa Fatima Khan, Ms Nadia Butt and Mr Ernest Kulauzovic), all teachers and volunteers for making this dream into reality and thanked all participants for attending and showing their immense support.

Ms Lynda Voltz (Candidate for Auburn)

addressed the audience and mentioned the importance of Community Languages in our multicultural Australia. As a Labor Party

Candidate for Auburn, she announced Labor has pledged $8 million dollars for Community Languages Schools in NSW. Ms Lynda Voltz (Candidate for Auburn) mentioned the importance of Community Languages in our multicultural Australia.

The event was hosted by Mr Ernest Kulauzovic (Education Cordinator) USL Schools of NSW, who made the event alive and going and was attended by around 120 people, at Auburn Centre for Community, Macquarie Road, Auburn NSW. This event had overwhelming response from community and the seats were booked out in less than a week.

The Urdu classes are held at 2 locations, i.e Auburn and Lakemba and will take place every Saturday between 11:00am – 1:00pm during NSW Public School calendar term.

USL Schools of NSW is approved and member of NSWFCLS. The syllabus guidelines are provided by Department of Education.

Learn more at: www.uslschools.org.au Facebook: @uslschools Mr N Ali Khan is Founder and President of United Subcontinental Languages Schools of NSW (USL Schools of NSW), we run Urdu Language Program at two locations in Sydney (Auburn and Lakemba).

Sukoon Quteifan

The teachings of Islam act as a mercy and a healing for the human soul, and such qualities as humility, sincerity, patience and charity are strongly encouraged.

Additionally, Islam condemns pride and self-righteousness, since Almighty Allah is the only judge of human righteousness.

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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Globalising Australian law schools AMUST Media

Professor George Williams, Dean of Law, University of New South Wales.

On Tuesday 5 March Affinity Intercultural Foundation held its third Lunchtime Law Panel series at its Sydney offices with two law deans, Professor George Williams of the University of New South Wales and Professor Colin Picker of the University of Wollongong.

Professor Sev Ozdowski, Director of Equity & Diversity at Western Sydney University, Chairman of the Australian Multicultural Council and Affinity advisory board member welcomed the audience and introduced the panel facilitated by the University of Sydney’s, Emeritus Professor Ron McCallum.

Professor Picker started off by saying that Australian law schools are already “tremendously globalised” when compared to other law schools across the globe, but that does not mean cannot improve.

“If you look at the academic staff, you’ll notice that almost all of the law schools have a high percentage of staff from overseas and if you look at the domestic ones, a majority

of them have studied overseas.”

“You will also notice how diverse our student body is, including first generation Australian students from varied backgrounds to international students who come here to get their masters or Juris Doctor.”

“More and more it is the case that our curricula include mandatory international foreign comparative offerings.”

Professor Williams stated that their law school was based upon the idea that they are training lawyers who will often be “powerful people in the community.”

“Sometimes they will be politicians, sometimes they will be judges or sometimes they will be powerful because they are the person you speak to when you have a family law dispute.”

“Lawyer play a role in making a society just and harmonious. Lawyers are the price we pay to live in a civilised and happy society.”

Professor Williams said that they’ve shifted their focus from domestic to international and that there is much more Australia could do around the world.

Professor Colin Picker, Dean of Law, University of Wollongong.

CultureVision launches ‘The Trail’: Stories worth telling!

Sayed Rahmatullah Hussainizada The TrailL was recently launched in Sydney by CultureVision to share stories ‘from adversity to diversity’ and bringing their whole true self and myriad aspect of their identities to the audience by sharing their vision for Australia.

The rhetoric around refugees and people seeking asylum have been toxic in Australian politics and has dominated the tabloid media for years now, where we are constantly given a narrative of dependency and unappreciative opportunists taking our jobs and relying on our taxpayer funded social welfare.

But, this proposition can not be any further from the truth. Refugees and people seeking asylum add value to the social and economic fabric of our society.

Creating jobs, starting businesses and opportunities and constantly attempting to find a way to showcase their skills, make them one cohort who are undeniably invested in Australia.

The problem arises out of the sheer desperation of political parties to use the ‘refugee issue’ for political point scoring, to win votes and string a cord with the right wing masses who are anti-immigration altogether.

It’s a multi layered issue. On one hand, we have the lack of political will and /or commitment to meet our international obligations, abide by our own legal frameworks APRIL 2019 / ISSUE 161

of humane treatment of refugees and people seeking asylum and accord to any moral high ground.

On the other hand, resettled refugees are busy building their lives and dealing with the trauma inflicted on them in the process of resettlement and seeking asylum.

With such dichotomy, we get a disjointed and broken system whereby the odds are once again stacked against the refugees and people seeking asylum to counter any misleading and/or dog-whistling narrative. In such a system, those with power have the only avenue in framing the messaging and narrative around refugees.

Refugees are yet again left in a “fight” or “flight” situation to either attempt to provide a counter narrative, for which they will need to lobby, campaign and struggle to attain any, if at all, traction. The alternative is to remove themselves from the issues and completely surrender the platform to those more powerful.

Unfortunately, the latter is often more preferred as providing a counter narrative is tiring, unfeasible for an already traumatised cohort of people and it regurgitates trauma of their precious life, making it a serious psychological and mental wellbeing issue.

In light of such disparity, it is upon accomplished former refugees to take action and provide a counter narrative. As such, we are fortunate to have launched a TED-inspired, speakers series called “The Trail”, whereby, refugees and asylum seekers share their stories of resilience, tenacity and hard work. They share their journey to Australia, what they’ve done whilst here and how their ideas of change for the future.

Speakers at the Launch of The Trail. .

CultureVision (Australia) Pty Ltd, aims to visit our social media pages: create a more inclusive, authentic, connectFacebook/CultureVisionAustralia, ed and more sustainable Australia where Instagram: @culturevisionau, everyone thrives. It aims to connect AustralEmail: culturevisionau@gmail.com, ia’s cultural and linguistic diversity in one Web: www.culturevision.com.au. platform.

We would love to hear from you!

Our project is needed for the above reasons and more. It’s vital to tell those stories Sayed Rahmatullah Hussainizada is a soless heard. And, to provide the multidimen- licitor, journalist and an entrepreneur. He is sional identities “refugees” have. It is about heavily involved in the grassroots communicreating equal opportunities and sharing ty organisations and is passionate about soit with the wider group of Australians. It’s cial change. Sayed is the public and policy about making room for another valuable officer for Afghan Fajar Association Incormember of our society. porated and the Founder of CultureShare.

To connect with us or learn more please

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Islamic Museum celebrates its fifth anniversary Mei Nee Cheong An afternoon tea to celebrate five years since the opening of the Islamic Museum of Australia was attended by more than 80 guests joined by staff and volunteers at its Melbourne premises on Thursday 28 February 2019.

Images revealing the former water bottling facility on the site where the Islamic Museum of Australia now stands, and its transformation into an architecturally designed centre of learning are now on display at the Museum to celebrate five years since opening.

Keynote speakers at the event included Ms Ged Kearney, Federal Member for Batman and IMA Founder Moustafa Fahour OAM. Islamic Museum of Australia CEO, Mr Ali Fahour, said he was excited to share and re-live memories from the Museum’s early days with the community.

“The Museum opened on 28 February 2014, there was a heightened sense of anticipation in the community after years of fundraising to make it happen. Looking through our archived photos brought back great memories, especially for those who have been involved from the beginning,” said Mr Fahour.

The Museum was established as a space that both portrays the beauty of Islam and imperatively, offers educational experiences that deepen the visitor’s understanding of Islam.

“The idea was conceived post 11 September 2001, negative sentiment towards Muslims and Islam was on the rise. A comfortable learning space that, among other things, offered the opportunity to dispel myths about Islam was more than necessary.”

Five years on, the Museum’s Director of Education, Ms Sherene Hassan said the Museum continues to meet these objectives.

“The most rewarding aspect of the museum is to witness firsthand the transformation of students after a visit. Many look tentative

and visibly uncomfortable when they first enter the museum. By the end of their visit, they are relaxed and smiling with a newfound respect for Islam and Muslims,” said Ms Hassan.

Caulfield Grammar teacher, Ms Ellen Langmead agrees with this sentiment, “The Islamic Museum of Australia is one of the most valuable venues our students visit as a part of the Year 9 program. The space combines the beauty of a gallery, the information of a museum and the education of an immersive classroom. Most crucially, the staff offer students a chance to interact, ask questions and break down misconceptions.

Without a doubt, all students leave this venue as more informed young people who are infused with a new confidence about how the world and all of its people fit together.”

Mr Fahour said the education sector is important to the Museum, “Since opening, the Museum has welcomed over 50,000 guests, around two-thirds of whom have been school students. We have been well supported by educators who see the value in including a visit to the Islamic Museum in their teaching plans. Our curriculum linked activities ensures the Museum experience is relevant to learning areas across primary and secondary levels.”

“We are pleased the Museum continues to be high on the list not just for educators but the community at large. It’s a great privilege to share the beauty of Islam with our guests.”

The Islamic Museum of Australia is located in Thornbury, in Melbourne’s north. It is the only Islamic museum in the country and provides educational and cross-cultural experiences for all ages. The Museum is open 10am – 4pm, Monday to Saturday.

Mei Nee Cheong is a marketing professional who has worked across the arts, arts education and travel. She is currently the Media and Marketing Manager at the Islamic Museum of Australia and is based in Melbourne, Australia.

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Ged Kearney, Federal Member for Batman with Islamic Museum Founder, Moustafa Fahour OAM (left) and Islamic Museum of Australia’s Chief Executive Ali Fahour (right).

Ged Kearney, Federal Member for Batman with staff and volunteers at the Islamic Museum during their Five Year Anniversary celebration.

International Women’s Day at House of Sakinah Sunail Iram

Moulana Yusuf Islahi.

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The House of Sakinah (HoS) marked International Women’s Day on Tuesday 12 March 2019 gathering a large number of women from the community as it coincided with the sixth anniversary of the foundation of HoS as well.

HoS is a Women Support Centre, an initiative of Charity Australia International who are engaged in many different aid projects around the world.

HoS is a great medium for bringing women on a community platform that not only provides an opportunity for networking but also the arrangement for accommodation for women in crisis and domestic violence victims from South Asian background.

The program commenced with Asima Anis’s welcome to the chief guest, Moulana Yusuf Islahi and other prominent guests followed by Quranic recitation by Mrs Sumera Tariq.

Mrs Firdousi Obeidullah introduced the audience with ongoing projects run at the centre and answered their queries regarding services provided to the survivors of domestic violence.

Mrs Robina Yasmin emphasized the importance of raising awareness and to educate women of their rights in Australia and teach men to honour and respect women as

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it is these are the keys to developing family harmony.

It was an absolute delight to listen to Moulana Yusuf Islahi, a very eminent scholar, writer and orator who was the chief guest of the event.

He is a member of the topmost decision-making body of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind in India and also the Chief Patron of the daawah project “WhyIslam” of Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA).

During his address, Maulana Islahi shed light on the status of women in Islam and emphasised the need for women to play their role in society particularly as a mother and wife in order to make a cohesive family. He concluded by saying that husband and wife should equally contribute and compromise to achieve stable relationships.

Another interesting discussion point was the relationship of a couple with in-laws and was agreed upon in the light of Quran and Sunnah that they should respect each other’s parents as their own.

This event also coincided with the seniors’ monthly get-togethers that HoS arranges for informative talks for elders with a counsellor, psychologist and doctors to raise awareness about physical and emotional wellbeing.

Sunail Iram is a housewife and is currently studying to become a counsellor. She runs a chapter of Radio BOL from Sydney. Her recent work with BOL provided her with an opportunity to look closely at how various organisations offer support to people at the community level.

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Mrs Firdousi Obeidullah.

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Sydney march for peace between India & Pakistan Hanif Bismi

Members of Sydney’s Indian and Pakistani community came together in unity to march for peace on Sunday 3 March in Harris Park, Western Sydney displaying the Indian and Pakistani flags, and banners calling for “No War Peace Now”.

This was in contrast to the protests held last month with the anti-Pakistan hysteria of hate fuelled by the Indian media channels following the latest round of violence in Kashmir.

Mr Ejaz Khan, one of the organisers stressed that the Australian community wanted peace in the Indian subcontinent.

The theme to maintain peace between the two countries was echoed during the speeches by a number of speakers from both communities including Ms Shafaq Jaffery, Mr Rana Abbas, Mr Varinder Parwan, Mr Mukesh Sapra and Mr Youvi Gaba.

Billu’s Indian eatery served free traditional tea and refreshments a gesture of appreciation for the peace marchers.

The march was covered by Marvi Khawaja, Syed Abbas Naqvi and Jabir Hussain Turi for 5 News Australia, Aurangzeb Baig

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for News Top and Raja Taseer for Humwatan Media Group.

The peace march was organised in order to de-escalate tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations following violence in Kashmir valley with the killing of 42 Indian security forces on Thursday 14 February by a young Kashmiri suicide bomber followed by gun battles between Kashmiri militants and the Indian military resulting in the killing of several militants, police and military officers as well as civilians.

Kashmir is a Himalayan Muslim-majority region, that is split between Pakistani and Indian areas of control, but both countries claim it in its entirety and have fought two of their three wars over it.

Kashmiris, who have been calling for self-determination as promised by UNO and agreed upon by both India and Pakistan, have been caught in a vicious cycle of violence perpetrated by militant separatists and oppression by the Indian military with killings, disappearances and human rights abuses on an ongoing basis for decades.

Towards the end of February, the police made night time raids, arresting more than 300 people, mainly leaders and activists of Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu & Kashmir, a peaceful civil society organisation calling for the self-determination for Kashmiris and earlier this month banned the organisation for five years closing down its schools and

sealing the homes of its top leaders.

Following the suicide bombing, mass hysteria of outrage had gripped the Indian population following hate speeches by the Hindutva brigade comprising of Hindu right-wing leaders including the ruling BJP led by PM Modi publicised by the mainstream media as well as social media against Kashmiris and Pakistan.

India had claimed that it destroyed training camps and killed a large number of militants under raining in Balakot region of Pakistan on 27 February.

However, according to the Reuters news agency, satellite images showed no sign of damage and a religious school in northeastern Pakistan still standing days after India claimed warplanes destroyed it and killed a large number of fighters there.

The government of Pakistan has now passed a regulation authorising the seizure of assets of armed groups that have been sanctioned by the United Nations and also

Maulana Nazirul Hassan Thanvi recited from the Holy Quran and expressed in honour of Prophet Muhammad (s) in the form of a Naat in his melodious voice.

Moulana Islahi highly appreciated the large number of women present amongst the audience and emphasized on the role of woman in Islam.

He said that women enjoyed highly prestigious and honourable status in Islamic society and advised that woman should always take the example of Umhat-ul-Momineen like Hazrat Khadeja (r) and Hazrat Ayesha (r) who had served Islam in an unprecedented way.

Moulana Islahi told that Hazrat Khadija was the first person accepting Islam in history and did not like to wait a moment further when Prophet Muhammad (s) invited her to embrace deen-e-haq.

She supported the Prophet throughout his life, in each and every way, and that was why the Prophet became deeply saddened

on the demise of his loving wife.

Moulana Islahi advised the audience to study the Prophet biography to develop a noble character which is pre-requisite for success in this life and hereafter and especially if someone wanted to serve for Allah’s deen.

Maulana then mentioned Hazrat Ayesha (r) and told the audience that she was not only our spiritual mother but also a great scholar of Islam. Her keen interest in Islam made her distinguished in the knowledge and understanding of deen in a way that many Sahabas (r) used to consult her in key issues.

Maulana Islahi told the audience that he had visited many different countries of the world including Japan, Germany, US, Canada and Australia and had noticed that all other religions were shrinking.

Many churches and temples were being sold as their youth were not turning towards it anymore.

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enlisted under Pakistani domestic anti-terrorism laws.

Meanwhile, in a swift move, Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, information minister in Punjab was forced to resign after facing backlash for making derogatory remarks against the country’s Hindu community in the wake of heightened tensions between Pakistan and India over Kashmir.

The peace gesture shown by Pakistan by releasing an Indian pilot seem to have de-escalated tensions between the two countries and the relationship is returning to normal.

However the fear remains that due to the ongoing violence in Kashmir and upcoming federal elections due in May, political opportunists can inflame the situation again anytime soon on the subcontinent.

Hanif Bismi is a Sydney based historian, political analyst, community activist and an Advisor to ARO.

Maulana Islahi’s public lecture in Sydney Usman Malik The Islamic Forum for Australian Muslims (IFAM) a public lecture

by Maulana Yusuf Islahi on Saturday 16 March at Granville Town Hall attended by a large number of people from all over Sydney.

Maulana Mohammad Yusuf Islahi, 87 is a well known Islamic scholar of the sub-continent still very committed to visiting different places around the world to convey the message of Islam. He has written more than 80 books on many different topics. His book “ Adab-e-Zindagi” is the most notable, renowned and distinguished in Islamic circles.

Mr Usaid Khalil, the Secretary-General of IFAM while acting as the MC at the event thanked the audience and Maulana Islahi for their participation in this gathering.

He spoke on the brutal massacre of Muslims in New Zealand just previous day in which 50 people lost their lives. He expressed his grief and sorrow and told the audience that IFAM, with other internationally recognised charity organisations, was planning to visit the city where the incident unfolded.

An absentee funeral prayer for the martyrs of Christchurch was also held at the event attended by all those present.

Dr Kashif Aziz, vice president of IFAM, gave a brief description about IFAM and its activities. He described IFAM’s different projects of building mosques, collecting charity, helping women in crisis and educating kids and adults for Islam on a nationwide scale.

Dr Aziz invited the people to join IFAM and give support to make it stronger.

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Islam was the only religion which was still spreading. People, especially youth, were getting increasingly interested in Islam.

He said that many mosques and Islamic centres were being built in order to cater to the needs of growing Ummah and halal slaughterhouses being established everywhere in non-Muslim countries.

It was a clear indication that Allah had the plan to keep this deen for people and that was something also mentioned in Quran to keep this Book and this Deeneen intact till last day.

He concluded by saying that we could only make deen established firmly in our lives by sincere effort, complete faith in Allah, by showing patience in face of any troubles and developing a character of nobility, honesty and truthfulness.

Usman Malik is the MGM of IFAM. He is based in Sydney.

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Zia Ahmad While still in shock from the Christchurch tragedy from on Friday 15 March and contemplating my personal response, I received a call early Monday morning from Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid from Chicago, former Chair of the Council for the Parliament of the World’s Religions, and in the forefront of advocacy for Rohingyas and Uighurs.

In learning that I was still in Sydney, he said, “Look the Christchurch killer is an Australian and Australia has significant white supremacist presence. It is your duty as an Aussie to immediately go to Christchurch and AMUST being a credible Muslim media in the Oceania area, publicise the human side of Muslims affected by this tragedy in New Zealand.”

I must admit that he did make me feel a little guilty and the same evening I headed for Christchurch together with a delegation including the Mufti of Australia Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohamed and other community leaders and activists from Sydney.

At the airport, while I was asked by the Mufti to photos of the delegation, a lady with a one-year-old baby in her arms offered to take photos so that I could be in the shots as well. I held her baby while she took a number of photos of the Sydney delegation.

While ready to board the flight at the gates, I introduced myself, gave my card and offered a copy of AMUST to her and when she realised who we were and where we were going for what purpose, she started crying saying how sorry she was regarding the mosques’ tragedy. She was a New Zealander, a resident of Christchurch.

After reaching Christchurch at 1.30 am on Tuesday I received an email from the lady, Abbie, baby Emma’s mum, that brought tears to my eyes: Kia ora Zia I want to take a moment to thank you for the newspaper you gifted me at Sydney airport.

For us this tragedy has broken our hearts and soul. To know this happened to innocent people in our city.

I moved to Christchurch after the quake.

I lived in Hawkes Bay and I have known the city in dark times but this time is much darker.

When news broke on Friday we were at The Entrance on the Central Coast and I cried until my heart could cry no more for the victims, the injured and for those left behind.

I have spent each day since numb, confused and ashamed. Ashamed that this

Al Noor mosque under police cordon on Wednesday 20 March 2019. happened in my city Speaking with you this evening made me feel humbled to return home and know that we will heal thru the kindness of others.

May your fallen brothers and sisters Rest In Paradise.

Please do not hesitate to ask if any of you or anyone need anything.

Abbie (Baby Emma’s mum).

During the two days I was in Christchurch I experienced overwhelming empathy from New Zealanders of all background including police and politicians towards Muslims from the airport to the motel, in the streets and in the hospital as well at the Horticultural Centre in Hagley Park set up to coordinate the efforts dealing with this tragedy.

A large number of Australians from many cities and from Sydney, in particular, were in Christchurch soon after the tragedy.

These included Sheikhs and Imams from various mosques, community leaders, aid organisations and activists ready to render support for the victims of the tragedy in any way possible.

The Horticultural Centre in Hagley Park, close to Al Noor mosque was set up to coordinate the efforts to deal with this tragedy serving as an information centre, meeting place and communication between authorities and family and friends of the victims.

During the first day of my visit on Tuesday 19 March, I saw a huge number of people gathered there provided with refreshments, with section registration, for prayers and for addresses by community leaders and authorities including the police.

The facility was set up to register all visitors together with a continuous supply of refreshments throughout the days, allocated a place for congregational prayers, meeting hall with a stage for announcements, reports and discussion between NZ authorities,

police, Muslim leadership and family and friends of the victims of the tragedy.

There was a great concern by families of victims who had died that the bodies were still not released after 5 days of the incident.

However, the funeral process started on Wednesday 20 March with janaza and burial of 6 victims at the Ruru Cemetery that I had the honour of attending together with a few hundred Muslims.

Wednesday afternoon we visited the injured, many in the intensive care wards still in critical, but stable condition. I had a long conversation with a Singaporean ladysitting next to her still unconscious Turkish husband Zachariah in ICU. While I could not hold my tears when she explained the extent of her husband’s injuries, she remained composed and a pillar of feminine strength throughout the conversation. I also met their two lovely sons Eesa 11 and Ilyas 7 a beautiful combination of Turkish and Singaporean heritage being taken care of by their maternal aunty who had arrived from Melbourne for support.

Together with a Japanese newspaper team, I visited homes of some families of the victims of the tragedy. We stayed till midnight at the home of the brother in law of the Pakistani hero Naeem Rashid who died trying the wrestle the gun from the killer. His son Talha 21 was also killed. Their family displayed extraordinary strength and hospitality for the visitors.

It has indeed been a unique spiritual, emotional and moving experience for me during my short visit to Christchurch.

Zia Ahmad is the Editor-in-Chief of the Australasian Muslim Times AMUST. He visited Christchurch from Monday 18 March to Thursday 21 March 2019.

Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohamed and Professor Abdallah addressing the family and friends of victims at Horticultural Centre in Christchurch on Tuesday 19 March 2019.

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MOHAMMED OMAR FARUK, FARHAJ A

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Back from Christchurch with great sadness AMUST

Dr Zuleyha Keskin Since we have returned from Christchurch, I have not been able to stop thinking about Zaid and his mum, Salwa.

Zaid, a 13-year-old who looks older than his age due to his height but has the innocence of a 13-yearold. His innocence was taken away from him with the murder of his dad and brother.

I just could not help but put myself in Salwa’s position as I gave her a hug and I could not help but imagine Zaid was my son, or even Hamza, his 15-year-old brother who was shot while running from the terrorist.

We spent about an hour with Zaid, we were drawn to him, we just wanted to be there for him.

At the time we visited him, his mum was busy speaking to the police officers so he had no other adults with him. Although we said “if you’re tired, we’ll leave you to rest”, he insisted that we stay. It seemed he didn’t want to be left alone. He explained to us what had happened.

Zaid had gone to the mosque for Friday prayer with his dad, Khaled, and his brother, Hamza. His dad was listening to the khutbah somewhere else while Zaid and Hamza were seated somewhere else, also listening to the khutbah.

When the shooting started, Zaid and Hamza started to run. They got outside (I am not sure if they got shot while in the mosque or outside) but Zaid was able to scramble behind a car for protection from more shots, even though he was shot twice. He was fortunate in that none of his vital organs were affected by the shots. Hamza’s situation was different.

This is where Mustafa’s story comes in.

Mustafa is a 21-year-old who I was also very drawn to, maybe because he was of a similar age to my son. Also, his mum was not fluent in English and preferred to speak Turkish so we connected at that level.

Mustafa and his family are from Konya, Turkey. Mustafa had been in Christchurch for one month to study at university, his parents lived 4 hours away. Mustafa also told

Survivor: Zaid with his Mum, Salwa. us his story.

When the shooting started, they all started running, looking for an exit. They ran towards the window but were unable to break the window and escape so they ran to the left-hand corner of the main room of the mosque.

He said how he played dead hoping the terrorist would not shoot at them, but the terrorist still did. He was shot below his hip and because he was lying horizontally, the bullet travelled to his liver. Despite this, he continued to play dead to avoid further shots.

When the shooting stopped for a while, he put his head up and realised the terrorist was not there.

He assumed that he had gone to reload his gun. Injured, he ran to the window, broke the glass with his bare hands (for which he had to receive stitches) and ran out. As he was running, he saw Hamza lying on the ground, face up with his eyes open. He tried to do CPR on him; mouth to mouth resuscitation and rhythmically pressing down on

his chest.

Mustafa wanted to save Hamza but he eventually realised Hamza was dead from the way his eyes were staring into the sky.

As Hamza lay there, he still had his phone in his hand and someone was on the line. It was Hamza’s mum, Salwa.

Mustafa took the phone and told Hamza’s mum that Hamza had died. He then closed Hamza’s eyes and continued to run. Mustafa explained how he could not get Hamza’s face out of his mind.

What Zaid and Mustafa have to live with for the rest of their lives is beyond words.

This includes other survivors and family of the dead. May Allah make it easy for them, as well as for all the survivors.

Please keep them in your prayers.

Dr Zuleyha Keskin is Course Director and Senior Lecturer at Islamic Sciences and Research Academy of Australia (ISRA) and Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation (CISAC), Charles Sturt University.

ANSI KARIPPAKULAM ALIBAVA, SYED HAMID, HAJI-DAOUD NABI, MAHEBOOB

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Pallavi stands for NSW Upper House Zia Ahmad The campaign launch of Pallavi Sinha, a high achiever of Indian origin standing for the NSW Upper House during the state elections held on Sat 23 March, was organised on Friday 1 March at Grand Marion, Harris Park attended by ministers, politicians, supporters as well as family and friends.

An active community worker, Pallavi, lawyer and academic completed economics (social sciences) and law degrees with honours from the University of Sydney and was selected on the prestigious AFR & Westpac 100 Women of Influence list.

She is the only Indian origin person to successfully get a position on the Liberal ticket for the NSW Upper House/NSW Legislative Council for the NSW State election on 23 March 2019.

The campaign launch was attended by a number of politicians, community leaders and volunteers including: • Matt Kean MP, NSW Minister for Innovation & Better Regulation • Phillip Ruddock, Former Federal Attorney General & former Immigration Minister Mayor Hornsby

• Dr Geoff Lee MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier, Western Sydney and Multiculturalism • Violet Roumeliotis, Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year & In Style Magazine’s Community Champion 2018 • Faten El Dana OAM, Migrant Women Ambassador, Religious Advisor & Presi-

dent Muslim Women’s Welfare of Australia ( MWWA) • Dr Shailja Chaturvedi, Consultant Psychiatrist & former Hindi Samaj President • Dr Yadu Singh, President Federation of Indian Associations • Zia Ahmad, Editor-in-Chief, Australasian Muslim Times AMUST

• Mehar Ahmad, President Seena Inc, Publishers of AMUST • Mobinah Ahmad, Executive Officer, Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Managing Editor, AMUST. Several speeches in support of Pallavi Sinha’s candidacy were delivered at the launch by NSW Government ministers, MPs, mayors & community leaders.

During the course of her campaign Pallavi addressed a gathering at ‘Women’s Life Expo’ on Saturday 9 March at Chester Hill, Western Sydney, an annual event to coincide with International Women’s Day organised

by Muslim Women’s Welfare of Australia led by its President, Faten El Dana OAM. Pallavivisited the Gallipoli Mosque in Auburn on Sunday 17 March to express her condolences to the Muslim community.

She reflected that she felt very peaceful in the mosque. She added that she felt very sad that the peace of innocent worshippers in the mosque in Christchurch was disturbed.

She offered her heartfelt condolences to the Muslim community and spoke to them about how everyone can work together to stop any future terrorist attacks in places of worship.

She visited the mosque with Dr Abdur Rahman Asarolglu and his family as well as Mr Zia Ahmad and his family.

Jewish community support Statement on terrorist for Christchurch Muslims attacks in Christchurch Philip Feinstein The Jewish community of NSW has launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the Muslim community of Christchurch.

The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies kicked off the campaign with a donation of $1800, the significance of the figure being that the number 18 denotes “life” in the Hebrew language.

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president Lesli Berger and CEO Vic Alhadeff said: “The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies stands in solidarity with the Muslim communities of Christchurch, New Zealand and Sydney in condemning this act of wanton slaughter.

The massacre occurred at a time when people were at their most vulnerable - at prayer in a house of worship - and all humanity is profoundly the poorer today.

“We remember the attacks on the mosque in Quebec, on the synagogue in Pittsburgh, on the church in Charleston. An attack on one faith is an attack on us all. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of this terrible massacre, as well as to our Muslim friends and colleagues, and pray for an end to racism, bigotry and terrorism.”

The Jewish leaders added, “We want to express our solidarity with the Muslim community of Christchurch and the best way is through action, words and deeds, and to do something that is practical and meaningful and advances the public good; what better way than to co-ordinate this campaign and to encourage all members of the community to support it?”

The crowdfunding campaign had reached $45,000 at the time this article was submitted, four days after the massacre. The crowdfunding website is: https://bit.ly/2UVWjMX

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies President Lesli Berger.

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Dr Patrick Mclnerney To my Muslim sisters and brothers in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia and around the world, as-salāmu alay-kum wa rahmatu-llāhi wa barakātu-hu - May the peace, mercy and blessings of God be upon you.

I am shocked and appalled at yesterday’s terrorist attacks at two mosques in Christchurch, where 49 worshippers performing Friday prayers were callously murdered, many more injured, and the survivors, respondents, and indeed the entire nation and peoples around the world were traumatised.

I stand in solidarity with you in your horror, grief and distress. I offer my prayers for the victims and extend my condolences to their families. I send my thoughts and my prayers to the injured and to all the individuals and communities who have been affected by this senseless violence.

I condemn Islamophobic, racist and extremist violence in all its forms. It is an offence to God, to believers of all faiths, to all people of good will, and to our common humanity. I condemn also those who spread mis-information, suspicion and fear for their own purposes and create the toxic climate in which extremist violence takes root.

To Muslims I say, you are not “invaders” or “aliens”. You are not “other”. You are my sister and brother. You are family. You are citizens. You belong. You are an integral part of the fabric of our multicultural, multi-ethic, multi-lingual and multi-religious societies.

We are one. The trauma you are now experiencing is not just ‘yours’ alone. It is “ours”,

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as it affects all of us ¬-together.

I join with Pope Francis who was “deeply saddened by such senseless acts of violence and assured all New Zealanders, and in particular the Muslim community, of his heartfelt solidarity.”

I join with the Catholic Bishops of Aotearoa New Zealand who wrote to the nation’s Muslim community, “We hold you in prayer.... we wish you to be aware of our solidarity with you in the face of such violence”.

The Columban interfaith plan of action states, “we commit ourselves to work with people of other faiths and none to build up a fairer, better and peaceful world.”

May Muslims and Christians everywhere respond to the joint invitation by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam, Sheikh Ahmed alTayeb, to “all persons who have faith in God and faith in human fraternity, to unite and work together so that it may serve as a guide for future generations to advance a culture of mutual respect in the awareness of the great divine grace that makes all human beings brothers and sisters.” (Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, Abu Dhabi, 4 February 2019).

In these troubled times, when evil forces seek to divide us on the basis of race, colour, ethnicity or religion, may Muslims, Christians, people of all faiths, and all people of good will remain united in heart and mind and resolve. May faith bind us in human solidarity, hope drive out fear, and love overcome hatred. .as-salāmu alay-kum - Pax vobiscum Peace be with you

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Celebrating International Women’s Day with Anisa Sharif

Gulhan Eryegit Yoldas

Anisa Sharif, Mosaic artist and a member of Australian Federal Police Community Liaison Team, hosted the terracotta plate decorating workshop on Friday 8 March in Melbourne in celebration of International Women’s Day with the collaboration of Bunnings Warehouse in Mernda.

A highly diverse group of women, from across the region and beyond, attended the workshop and spent the morning learning some of Anisa’s creative techniques to produce beautifully decorated terracotta plates.

Attendees included women from local community groups, local businesses and schools including some ladies from Al Siraat College, SES and Al Maidah.

Speaking from her role as a community liaison officer for AFP, Anisa explained that right now the main thing they’ve understood from the countless consultations they’ve had with community leaders, imams and sheikhs in the Muslim community, is that the best strategy to counter violent extremism is to reconnect the youth with their faith communities.

Making places of worship welcoming for youth to engage with their community, learn about their faith and connect in a way that’s sustainable is key in ensuring youth, especially those experiencing hardship, aren’t isolated and vulnerable.

Anisa explained that her crafts keeps her sane and centres her. Having this creative outlet is an important part of her life, demonstrated in the countless impressive pieces she’s produced.

Ladies who attended the workshop also had the opportunity to get some henna tattoos and spent the morning producing incredibly creative terracotta pieces to take home.

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 & build-

ing resilient, compassionate communities.

She is passionate about empowering and developing Muslim youth as spokespeople

for their communities.

Sabrin Farooqui for NSW Upper House Mehar Ahmad Dr Sabrin Farooqui, a well known Muslim community icon is standing as the Labor candidate for the NSW Legislative Council for the state election on 23 March 2019.

The NSW Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers in the New South Wales state parliament in Australia. The Legislative Council members are elected by proportional representation.

Sabrin is a member of the “Australia and the World Policy Committee” of NSW Labor.

As an activist of Labor for Refugees, she advocates to establish a unequivocally decent policy on people seeking asylum and refugees. She believes that the settlement of refugees is a very significant national and global issue.

As an activist of Labor for Aid, she advocates for increasing Australian Aid to meet our humanitarian responsibility and investing in our regional and national security.

Sabrin, as a delegate from Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), is also APRIL 2019 / ISSUE 161

campaigning to rebuild public sector capacity and to reverse the tide of labour hire, casualization and outsourcing.

Sabrin has been awarded with ‘Local Woman of the Year’ for the Bankstown electorate of NSW on the International Women’s Day 2018 for her contribution to Bankstown and the broader community.

As a catalyst for social change, Sabrin voluntarily works for women’s development, empowerment and domestic/family violence intervention, prevention and awareness.

Her vision is to facilitate a harmonious, multicultural Australia where all immigrants can be recognised as valuable

Dr Sabrin Farooqui.

contributors to the community and the economy as integral part of the social fabric in Australia.

Born and brought up in Bangladesh, Sabrin studied at the University of Dhaka before coming to Sydney as an international student in 2004.

She completed her Masters from the University of New South Wales and PhD from the Faculty of Education of University of Sydney.

Sabrin received “Best Research Student Award” from the University of Sydney for her work on assessment and pedagogy in English

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as Foreign Language (EFL) context.

As part of her research works, she highlighted various issues and solutions for the educational system in Bangladesh which have been manifested not only through her theses, but also in a number publications in international journals and presentations in local and international conferences.

Sabrin worked as an academic at University of Sydney, before moving on to Australian Public Service.

She has worked for Australian Bureau of Statistics and Fair Work Commission.

Sabrin is married to Khurshid Rahman who works in the private sector and together they have an eight year old son.

Besides raising a young family and working full time, Sabrin also volunteers to help the vulnerable people in the society through organisations like Shakti Australia, Settlement Services International, SiTara’s Story.

She is closely involved with a community organisation Bangla Hub, where she volunteers for organising community events for migrant aspiring Bangladeshi artists to exhibit their creative potentials, provide encouragement and create opportunities in Australia.

Mehar Ahmad based in Sydney is a Public School Teacher and President of Seena Inc, Publishers of AMUST.

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Charity Australia food stall for the homeless

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Usman Malik Charity Australia, a subsidiary organisation of IFAM, organised the distribution of food containers to the homeless people of Sydney.

It is a known fact that homeless people of Sydney often take the temporary shelter in parks around Sydney CBD. A team of 12 volunteers from IFAMRooty Hill chapter travelled all the way to Martin place and put a food stall in the centre of the city. Food stall carried chicken, rice, tuna fish, fruit and water bottles.

The team of IFAM volunteers were ex-

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Amal Kassir performing in Sydney

AMUST Media

tremely happy and satisfied to serve the homeless people in this hour of need. They were very delighted when all the food got distributed in less than one hour with 80 people being served.

It is important to note that IFAM is playing its role in Australia, in its capacity, to help humanity above any limitation to cultural, racial, colour or language differences.

IFAM President, Mr Rais Khan has vowed and instructed all members of IFAM to extend their maximum support to anyone who needed help and always remember Allah’s commandment “To have mercy on mankind and help your fellow beings by showing best manners and feed the hungry”.

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International speaker and spoken word poet Amal Kassir will perform in the cultural hub of Western Sydney on Saturday 30 March at 6.30 pm at the Highline Venue in Bankstown.

Tackling issues of identity, racism, and social injustices, Syrian-American poet Amal Kassir empowers audiences all around the world. She has travelled nationally and internationally to perform her poetry and now; she is coming to Sydney.

Sydney-siders will have the opportunity to attend the event on Saturday 30 March 2019 at 6.30 PM at the Highline Venue, 462 Chapel Rd, Bankstown.

This event is a part of a tour hosted by Unity Grammar to encourage empowerment within our community. The Bankstown Po-

etry Slam will co-host the night as they offer up some of their best talents. Sara Mansour, Roje Ndayambaje and Sarah Saleh are amongst some of the poets performing on the night.

Western Sydney’s youth are mobilising poetry to peacefully protest the socio-political issues facing our community. It is these voices that need to be projected to the wider community and challenge the negative perceptions of Western Sydney.

Online tickets are available now for this night of empowerment and inspiration.

Tickets are $20.

The event will also cater to the Deaf Community with two Auslan interpreters.

For further information contact: (+61) 0402 811 613.

To find out more about Amal: http://tinyurl.com/y8zkjozk To purchase tickets: tickettailor.com/ events/amalkassirsydney/243638/

Africa: Alive and well in Australia!

Philip Feinstein

Once a year the African residents of Australia get together to celebrate their art, their music, their food and their vibrant cultures.

On Saturday 9 March at Wyatt Park, Lidcombe in Sydney, the 10th annual Africultures Festival drew thousands of guests from all over Australia.

With two stages bursting with live music, fashion parades and a string of unique African performances, the huge contingent of visitors were treated to lively entertainment throughout the day. Even the kids were entertained at “Watotos Corner” with a huge array of activities including face painting, mask making, rock climbing and the ever popular jumping castle.

The organisers of this free event also catered to parents with prams, seniors and people in wheelchairs.

“I have been to many festivals in my life but this was one of the best” said Philip Feinstein of the Music for Refugees organisation. “The atmosphere all round was friendly and vibrant”.

African women have always had a tendency to wear bright colourful clothing – this could be witnessed throughout the day. Apart from the many fashions being displayed at various stalls, the fashion parades really showed the talents of many dress-makers. “It is always a treat to showcase our unique and colourful garments”

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said Blessing from Trendy-B-Designs.

With over 40 African countries being represented, there was even a six-a-side soccer tournament to entertain the guests.

SBS Radio interviewed many people including Philip Feinstein. “I was given the opportunity to talk about the plight of Burundi refugees.”

Entering its 10th-year, Africultures Festival is Australia’s largest African festival showcasing the many vibrant cultures of the African continent. This one-day festival held annually in March draws thousands of people from across Australia to immerse in the culture, food, music and African art.

There were bustling market stalls selling arts and fashion, vibrant dancers and musicians appearing on two huge stages and delicious delicacies from around Africa, the festival was a jam-packed day full of fun for the whole family.

Africultures is a free community event, run by a dedicated team of volunteer African committee members. Africulture 2019 was attended by over 25,000 guests.

For more information and to register for next year, go to https://africultures.com.au/

Four of the models from Trendy-B-Designs.

SPECIAL NOTE: The Jewish and other peoples of Australia would like to offer condolences to the New Zealand Muslim people who have suffered in the recent tragedies befallen on that nation. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Philip Feinstein is a Sydney based writer, musician and activist working for MUSIC FOR REFUGEES www.musicforrefugees.org

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Jean Paul Amedee Nizigama and Philip Feinstein.

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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern: A new calibre of leadership Gulhan Eryegit Yoldas Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s flawless leadership and the collective response of just about every New Zealander in the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque massacres have left the Muslim Ummah and the world in absolute awe.

Her immediate demonstration of sincerity and compassion and solidarity with the Muslim community in her “They are us” speech will forever be remembered as the turning point in the history of humanity, on the path towards peace.

This was quickly followed by her determination to take immediate measures to prevent this atrocity from ever happening again.

Within a week she has banned semiautomatic rifles and established a buyback program across the nation. She sent a clear message of not giving the “terrorist” the notoriety he craves by never mentioning his name. This is the kind of leadership all nations should aspire to have.

Prime minister Ardern had the noble Quran read in parliament, the Islamic call to prayer broadcast nationally during Friday congregation in respect for the deceased and embraced sincerely the families of the victims.

Meanwhile in other parts of the world newspapers were embar-

rassingly humanising the terrorist referring to him as “Angelic boy” and “blonde little boy”.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is truly a reflection of her people as acts of kindness and solidarity alongside Muslims were made by New Zealanders everywhere.

In a gesture of respect solidarity born out of empathy, the women of New Zealand declared March 22nd a national hijab day with women across New Zealand wearing hijab, marking a week since the Friday Christchurch massacre.

The people of New Zealand should be incredibly proud of their leader who’s set a new benchmark for world leaders on how to deal with violent extremism, how to hold their nation together and instil a sense of belonging and community in the face of adversity, and more importantly for highlighting the necessity of having greater gender balance in leadership roles across the globe.

The perils of being a minority writer Irfan Yusuf It’s a terrible conundrum. You enjoy writing and being published. But if you live in Australia or the US or any other Western country and come from a minority background, you only ever seem to get published when you write about your background.

It has happened to me too many times. My first article in a “mainstream” publication was when I hacked into an imam for implying that women who dress a certain way may be “eligible for rape”. The piece was published in the Sydney Morning Herald in April 2005.

Now I‘m serving a literary life sentence of writing about Muslims. Or about Indians and Pakistanis. Which feels strange as I left Karachi at the age of 4 months, and haven’t returned since 1996.

So what should I do? Do I struggle to get published about industrial relations, cricket APRIL 2019 / ISSUE 161

and conservative politics? Or do I just keep being Iranian-American.

She becomes an overnight sensation both playing the Islam/Desi card?

There’s an essay in a recently published in her “own” community and in the commuanthology by Iranian-American writer Po- nity she wishes would just allow her to write rochista Khakpour. See, I just had to call her about anything but her “own” community.

She tires of being the Iranian-American an Iranian-American writer. instead of American Start to wish other or Californian or just Iranian-Americans a writer. would write essays; She’s stuck with even try to introduce it, and her autobiothe few who seem graphical (I think) interested to editors, essay How To Write but the editors alIranian-American, ways ask for more esor the Last Essay says from you. How deals with how she many essays can you came to terms with write, you wonder, life as an American but every time one who aspires to write comes out, you start while having English to see how they see as her second lanit, and you see more. guage.

Step back from yourAfter years of studself and spin absoying creative writlutely everything ing, she produces her from the lens of first novel. Yes, the Porochista Khakpour. Iranian-Americana. themes are all about WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

An Iranian-American sensibility, an Iranian-American outfit, an Iranian-American state of mind, Iranian-American flora and fauna, an Iranian-American bowl of goddamn fruit.

The editors just cannot get enough of it.

Her writing always has an Iranian-American twist. When she can’t find one, she rings her parents and asks them about Iran or their upbringing or her extended family.

Even her “own” readers pigeon hole her.

Too pro-IRI and too Royalist, too anti-Iranian and too nationalistic, too relatable and not relatable enough, maybe neocon and maybe communist—and where is your name from? Are you really Iranian? … Why are you embarrassing us? … Why do you call us brown? Why are we not brown to them?

Indeed minority writers just cannot win!

N Shukla and C Suleyman (ed) The Good Immigrant: 26 Writers Reflect On America (2009) Hatchette Book Group.

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.

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‘Love The Progress’ with Sydney’s hijabi ballerina Suraya Daly

Fitting to this month’s celebration of the International Women’s Day 2019, we’re in the spirit celebrating all-things-women, highlighting the achievements of women around the world.

What better time than now to give the spotlight on Converse’s ‘Love The Progress’ collection where Converse provides women around the world with a black canvas to write their own script and help change the definition of a ‘girl’.

This will be done in wall stores and on black chucks with some empowering females leading the charge.

Well-known for her leading role in the Stranger Things Netflix series, Millie Bobbie Brown kicked off the movement in February with a number of high-calibre females.

They each have their own inspirational story to tell in the fight for equality. Women in this campaign are aiming to take back the narrative and redefine the gender, hoping to inspire the next generation.

The Love the Progress sneaker collection advocates the power of love, unity and community, celebrating women through an edgy but feminine group of sneakers using graphic prints, written messages, and meaningful colourways.

The amazing Stephanie Kurlow embody these inspiring messages of Converse’ ‘Love The Progress’ campaign.

She is a seventeen-year-old Australian Russian who has been working towards her goal of becoming the first professional Hijabi ballerina in the world. She wishes to inspire young girls to pursue their dreams no matter their race, religion or background.

The Sydney-based ballerina has been in the headlines for many years pursuing her goal of being the world’s first Hijabi in her field.

“Ballet is an ART form, which means people want to watch a ballet to escape and to feel something.”- Stephanie Kurlow.

You can follow Stephanie’s journey below via her social media accounts: @stephaniekurlow.

Life Just After Death Dr Reginald Naulty Like a dream that fades into dawn the old world withdraws, and a new one is born less ponderous than this, but surprisingly the same.

The people look like they did, their faces remain, their bodies make the same kind of show, but they cast no shadow.

There`s something missing, solidity or mass, they`re like an image reflected from glass.

They do not speak, there is no need, their inmost thoughts are plain, their feelings are the same.

They depart on a new adventure; may they be good travellers.

Dr Reginald Naulty, originally from Adelaide, has taught at Charles Sturt University and has been a prolific writer since 1972.

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FRNSW prepared for anything Najla Turk “Good morning Ma’am/ Sir” “Thank you for the opportunity Ma’am/Sir” “Hope you have an enjoyable afternoon Ma’am /Sir” Did I hear right? Ma’am and Sir! These two words are uncommon titles and definitely foreign to my ears yet it was how Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) candidates demonstrate respect.

For a couple of years now I have sat as a community panel member for the NSW Permanent Firefighters interviews. What a privilege to be part of their interview process.

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) is one of the world’s largest urban fire and rescue services and is the busiest in Australia. Their overriding purpose is to enhance community safety, quality of life and confidence by minimising the impact of hazards and emergency incidents on the people, property, and environment within NSW. Did you know their capabilities extend far beyond fighting fires?

FRNSW firefighters are among the most highly trained in the world. The firefighting

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teams provide fire prevention, they respond to hazardous materials incidents, natural disasters and medical emergencies.

As well they also undertake counter terrorism and urban search and rescue operations. Fire does not discriminate.

Fire and Rescue NSW proudly stand by their mantra “We are prepared for anything – helping anyone, anywhere, anytime.”

Not only does Fires and Rescue NSW play an important role in educating and protecting the community, but they are also committed to creating a diverse, inclusive and flexible workforce which reflects the community they serve.

Ironically, I suspect many candidates may respond better to a fire-fighting emergency than to high-intensity negative emotions of an interview. While only a few regurgitated rehearsed answers, highly not recommended, others were openly forthcoming in their response and highlighted Fire and Rescue vison, purpose, and guiding values; Respect, Integrity, Service and Courage.

Interestingly, if I were to receive a gold coin for every time a candidate referenced

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‘Muslims’ and ‘Ramadan’ in their interview response to respecting people of difference, I would be a rich woman today.

Did they struggle to push past the hijab?

Putting aside their diverse skills, capabilities and talents we could blame nerves as a culprit. Some missed the mark regarding inclusion and diversity.

Whatever the case, the firefighters had proven themselves able to meet the many challenges of the job – from firefighting and road-crash rescue to fire science and hazardous materials response.

I look forward to witnessing yet another spectacular recruit firefighter Graduation and Ceremonial Day. Last year’s recruits included ex-infantry soldier, a representative gymnast and other professions and non-professionals. The officers wore winter dress uniform with galatea, medals, peak cap and tie and the event closed on a high with hats flying in the air.

I recommend you keep your eyes open at iworkfornsw.gov.au or www.fire.nsw.gov.au for firefighter recruitment opportunities.

Earmark Fire and Rescue NSW as the best place to work..

Najla Turk is a highly skilled author, speaker, coach, and consultant. Najla’s expertise lies in building individual capabilities and skillsets that help improve engagement and participation.

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Dr Mahathir meets PM Imran Khan on a visit to Pakistan

The Malaysian prime minister was given a warm welcome at his three-day official visit to Pakistan meeting Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday 22 March 2019.

Dr Mahathir and Prime Minister Imran Khan discussed the prospects of enhanced trade and economic relations. Imran Khan also briefed his Malaysian counterpart about the gross human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir.

“The two sides exchanged official notes regarding ratification of the Agreement on Partial Abolition of Visa Requirement for Diplomatic and Official Passport Holders recently signed between the two countries,” the Foreign Office said.

The two countries also signed various memorandums of understanding (MoU) and agreements for bilateral cooperation in diverse areas. The MoUs were related to the “telecommunication, technology, automobiles, and halal food” sectors.

Earlier, in an interview with Pakistan Television, Dr Mahathir emphasised the need for promoting people-to-people contacts and encouraging tourism between Pakistan and Malaysia to bolster the friendship and knowledge between the two countries.

“Both the countries have greater trade and investment potential” and there is a need “to identify the factors to improve the trade relations in areas where investment can be made,” a Radio Pakistan report quoted the Malaysian prime minister as saying.

“Pakistan has successfully eliminated the

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134 Muslims massacred in attack in Mali village

menace of terrorism and is now heading towards stability,” he said. “Peace and stability within the country is absolutely essential for the promotion of tourism and attracting investment. Islam is a religion of peace and teaches us not to fight or kill each other and to avoid any kind of violence. We have to convey these teachings of Islam to the entire world.”

Before the departure, the Malaysian prime minister was given a briefing about the light weight, all-weather and multi-role JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft at the Nur Khan Airbase. He evinced keen interest in its various qualities.

Dr Mahathir, who was also presented a flying jacket on the occasion, inspected the cockpit of a JF17 Thunder and received a briefing on its technical details from officers of Pakistan Air Force (PAF). Malaysia along with some other countries has shown interest in procuring the fighter aircraft.

On Friday 22 March, President Dr Arif Alvi conferred the country’s top civil award—Nishan-e-Pakistan—on Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

On Saturday, he attended the Pakistan Day Parade as the guest of honour, where the JF17 Thunder also displayed its maneuvering power, tactics, and flying capabilities.

Armed men reportedly dressed as traditional hunters have killed 134 people, including women and children, during an attack on a Fulani village in central Mali on Saturday 23 March.

There are nearly 3 million Fula people in Mali, who are traditionally nomadic and mostly Muslim. The region’s Fulani ethnic community is frequently targeted on the pretext of being links with Jihadist organisations.

A UN spokesperson said the organization’s secretary general António Guterres was “shocked and outraged” by Saturday’s attack.

UNICEF said it was providing assistance to victims of the attack.

“The Secretary-General condemns

this act and calls on the Malian authorities to swiftly investigate it and bring the perpetrators to justice,” the spokesperson said, adding that he “calls on the Malian authorities to redouble their efforts to bring back peace and stability to central Mali.”

The Malian government said it “reiterates its determination to make every effort to hunt down the perpetrators of this barbarity of another age and to punish them, in accordance with the laws in force.”

Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar and the Council of Ministers announced the dissolution of a so-called self-defense group called Dan Na Ambassagou that is composed of members of the Dogon ethnic group.

Last year, Human Rights Watch accused Dan Na Ambassagou of targeting members of the Fulani ethnic group and attacks that “led to dozens of civilian deaths and injuries.”

Indian Crescent Society of India (ICSOA) organized a condolence meeting on Sunday 17 March 2019 at 11:00 am in front of Parramatta Town Hall to pay tribute, sympathy and to express solidarity with the victims of the worst terror attack in New Zealand Mosques on Friday 15 March.

Despite of bad weather and continuous rain, large number of communities, religious, political leaders, University students and individuals attended the program.

Secretary of ICSOA Mr. Fasihuddin Khan started the program by paying tribute and respect to victims and read a verse which means “We surely belong to God and to HIM we shall return”.

ICSOA President Mr. Abbas Raza Alvi who reiterated that terrorism has no place in a civilized society and should be eradicated from wherever and whatever form it is.

He expressed his deep sadness and anguish in a very emotional way at the loss of fifty innocent lives in a worst terror attack in the history of New Zealand. He conveyed his sympathy and solidarity with the victims and their families.

Julia Finn, Member of Parliament also

spoke about her anguish at the loss of innocent lives and paid sympathy with victims and their families. She condemned this act of terrorism and said she is standing with Muslim Community in this hour of hard time.

Deputy Counsel General of India Mr Verma condemned terrorist attack in which innocent lives were lost, among dead there were seven Indian families.

Meeting concluded with prayer and two minutes of silence for the victims.

Media Scan Ainullah

ICSOA organises Christchurch tragedy condolence gathering in Parramatta

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Turkey votes: locals head to March election

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Ibrahim Taha

Turkish citizens will head to the polls for the local elections on March 31, the first time since the country formally transitioned to presidential rule. These elections come amid warnings of an economic recession, and analysts are describing them as a referendum on Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The successive electoral victories of the AKP and President Erdogan have enabled ongoing economic prosperity, which has been often credited to social, political and economic reforms. With Turkey’s opposition parties calling on voters to hold the government accountable, the current economic slowdown will become a key influencing factor in the March elections.

The opposition parties’ attempts to blame the government for the crumbling economy have not been effective with some defiant Turkish citizens. Many nationalists depict the economic situation as a political assault on Turkey by foreign powers. Turkey’s rela-

tions with the US President Donald Trump were almost on the brink of collapse last year when the US imposed trade tariffs on Turkey in retaliation for the confinement of American pastor Andrew Brunson. As a consequence, Turkey’s economy has suffered, with the lira plunging a quarter in value, embattling the corporate sector and increasing hardships for ordinary Turks.

The sanctions from Washington have damaged the Turkish economy by halting foreign investment, increasing inflation levels to an all-time high and consequently curbing economic growth. This comes at an unfavourable time for President Erdogan.

However, nationalism is an incredibly durable force in Turkish politics. For example, the Turkish government grasped an opportunity to gain domestic and international support during Jamal Khashoggi’s murder case, wherein Turkey was instrumental in leading

the investigations into the murder. As a result, Turkey’s foreign policy has received strong support from all sides of the political spectrum.

With increasing public expenditure on infrastructure, such as the new Istanbul Airport, and rebalancing the current account deficit both priorities, the government has ruled out taking loans from the IMF, a claim used by the opposition to tarnish the government’s economic management. Turkey paid off its debt to the IMF back in 2013, a success that remains a hallmark achievement for the government. While the stark devaluation of the Turkish lira has adversely affected food prices for locals, it has led to a 63% increase to Turkey’s tourism industry in 2018. Turkey is on target to host 40 million foreign tourists this year, raising its rank to the sixth most-visited nation in the world.

Despite signs of an economic recovery, burdens are being felt by locals who have experienced a 31% increase in food. In response, the government has condemned ‘food terrorists’, suggesting that the rise in grocery prices are an attack launched against Turkey. The ruling AKP Party understands that it must maintain a majority of support on polling day. There are many factors that will influence voters on March 31, with the economy being the most pivotal factor, as the significance of these local elections will reflect the broader attitudes of Turks in a referendum on the leadership of President Erdogan.

Ibrahim Taha is involved in many community organisations and has a keen interest in international affairs, faith and politics. He is currently studying a Bachelor of Law and Arts at the University of Sydney.

Pope Francis’ historic visit to UAE Dr Patrick Mclnerney Pope Francis’ visit to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in February 2019 was a historic visit.

• It was the first visit by a pope to the Arabian Peninsula.

• It was the first time a pope and an international Muslim leader co-signed an interreligious document, creating an official Sunni-Catholic platform based on shared values.

• The cooperation involved in drafting the document and the evident friendship between the two leaders refute the populist claim that our religions are so mired in conflict that their followers cannot come together.

• The papal Mass with a congregation of 150,000 was the largest-ever act of Christian worship on the Arabian Peninsula.

• Since the public practice of religions other than Islam is banned in nearby Saudi Arabia, and in the Gulf States is only tolerated and must be done discreetly in buildings with unobtrusive signage, the fact that this Catholic Mass was public, broadcast live on national television, and attended by the Minister for Tolerance, other government officials and 4,000 Muslims made it an unprecedented act of Muslim hospitality to Catholics.

Interreligious Meeting Pope Francis came to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to “write a new page in the relations between religions”. His first words to the 400 religious leaders from around the

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world attending the Interreligious Meeting were, “As-salāmu alaykum!” (“Peace be with you!”).

He categorically repudiated war, conflict and violence: “Human fraternity requires of us, as representatives of the world’s religions, the duty to reject every nuance of approval from the word ‘war’.”

He was blunt about the challenge: “There is no alternative: we will either build the future together or there will not be a future”; and clear about the remedy: “Each belief system is called to overcome the divide between friends and enemies, in order to take up the perspective of heaven, which embraces persons without privilege or discrimination.”

Document on Human Fraternity

After the Interreligious Meeting, Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayed, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University, cosigned the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together”.

They call on leaders, social agents, intellectuals, artists, media and people everywhere “to rediscover the values of peace, justice, goodness, beauty, human fraternity and coexistence.”

The Pope and the Imam affirm that: • authentic religion promotes peace and harmony; • freedom of belief is a God-given right; • religious diversity and pluralism is willed

by God; • interreligious dialogue relieves the social issues weighing on people;

Pope Francis greets Egypt’s Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb.

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• protection of places of worship is a religious duty; • terrorism is not due to religion and can never by justified by any pretext; • full citizenship ensures the equality of rights and duties; and • ensuring the rights of women, children and the elderly is a religious obligation.

The authors conclude by affirming the closeness of all peoples, especially believers whom God has created “to understand one another, cooperate with one another and live as brothers and sisters who love one another”.

Conclusion The achievement and the promise that the papal visit holds for Christian-Muslim relations was cemented by the gift of land for a new church and a new mosque in Abu Dhabi. The Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Pope Francis and Sheikh Tayeb signed the foundation stones.

To symbolize Christian-Muslim relations, the two places of worship will be built sideby-side. They will be named, respectively, the Church of St Francis and the Mosque of Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb.

In union with Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, we pray that Christians and Muslims, other believers in God and all people of good will may indeed “understand one another, cooperate with one another and live as brothers and sisters who love one another.”

This article was originally written for Bridges, No 82, March 2019.

Rev Dr Patrick McInerney is the Director of the Columban Mission Institute and Coordinator of its Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations and is based in Sydney.

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Save Uighurs in order to save China Abdul Malik Mujahid Six Uighur sisters were each robbed of their husbands when Chinese authorities placed the men in concentration camps.

They also forcefully took their children to Communist-run orphanages and placed Chinese men in each of the sisters’ homes. This story was narrated to me by one of their female Uighur relatives.

I was stunned by disbelief when the woman told me this story, but I made sure that she did not read that on my face.

I know the Uighur struggle well.

I’ve visited Eastern Turkestan, which China renamed “Xinjiang” after its occupation, a name which means “a new colony.” China also refers to it as an “autonomous region,” reflecting some degree of guilty feelings because of its occupation.

The plight of this Turkic Muslim minority—who are known as “Uighurs”—has always been a struggle, but this story indicated that it had become tragically bad. In fact, it was unbelievable.

So, I embarked upon a research project. I interviewed Uighur people, met their leaders, and listened to their testimonies in Congressional hearings. I also read the media reports based on the translations of the official documents of the Chinese government downloaded from its websites.

My findings: the nightmare described to me above is, horrifically and sadly, real.

After months of denial, the Chinese government now admits that they are “re-educating” Uighurs to become “normal people.”

At this moment, upwards of two million Uighur Muslims are in Chinese concentration camps according to the US State Department. A Chinese Human Rights organization puts the number closer to three million.

Their children are being taken to orphanages to be raised and re-educated as anti-Muslim communists. One report puts the number of Uighur children in these orphanages at about half a million.

The Chinese government now also admits that it has dispatched close to one million communists as “guests” and “relatives” (read “re-educators” and spies) to Uighur

homes. There may be as many as 1,200 facilities where these concentration camps exist.

In its crackdown on Uighur Muslims, China is taking advantage of an international anti-terrorism regime grounded in Islamophobia, ie the irrational fear of Islam.

Islamophobia provides a pretext in which a whole people can be declared terrorists and deprived of basic human rights without any recourse for challenge instead of individually charging a criminal through a due process of law.

This is not unlike what has happened in Burma, where the government has committed genocide against its Rohingya Muslim citizens, an act the US House of Representatives has recently named and condemned as such in its (almost) unanimous resolution. Like China, Burma also calls Rohingyas “terrorists,” “extremists,” and “foreigners,” despite the fact they are indigenous people living in their ancestral land, just like Uighurs.

It is the world’s failure to intervene and prevent the genocide in Burma that has encouraged other actors toward similar projects in the region. It is not just China, but India also. India has taken away the citizenship of four million people, mostly Muslims, while passing a law that allows any foreigner to apply for citizenship in India, except Muslims.

A New York Times editorial four years ago first pointed out that Buddhist extremists in Burma and Hindu extremists in India were collaborating against Muslim minorities. Now, India is following the Burmese strategy to such an extent that the Washington-based Genocide Watch has issued a genocide alert for the Indian state of Assam.

It has never been this bad for Muslims in China, however. In fact, the state used to make efforts to accommodate Muslims.

They have not always forced people to eat pork and consume alcohol to prove they’re

not “extremists,” as they must today.

In the 1980s, China even allowed the return to the Arabic alphabets of the Uighur language. It also permitted older Muslims to go for Hajj, though notably still under “official supervision.” China became a major exporter of halal food to the world and very likely the largest exporter of prayer rugs, hijabs, and kufis.

But now all of these are considered signs of “extremism.” One cannot name their children Muhammad. Owning a copy of the Quran or a prayer rug can send one to a concentration camp. And almost all the Uighurs I met told me that their relatives have instructed them to never call them.

Those who have been fortunate enough to not (yet) find themselves in concentration camps nonetheless face an unprecedented regime of surveillance.

A leak from a Chinese Database showed that the Chinese government is tracking 2.5 million people in Xinjiang by cameras and other monitoring devices daily.

There might be other databases tracking the rest of Uighurs and other “undesired” minorities. All Uighurs are required to have special tracking apps on their smartphones. Refusing to install it, or installing it and not using it, are causes for being taken to the concentration camps.

A NASA scientist of Uighur heritage, perhaps one of the most educated Uighurs in the United States, showed me several photos of professors and students he met during his last visit to Eastern Turkestan, sharing with me that all of them are in concentration camps where they are now being “re-educated.”

What is driving this extreme policy? Is it the arrogance of power? Is it overconfidence?

A question for America and emerging human rights champions like Canada, France, and Germany is: How do we influence a superpower’s behavior toward human rights and religious freedoms?

It is easy to discern disturbing echoes of the past in the present policies of the People’s Republic of China toward Xinjiang. The official state policy of mandatory “re-education” and indoctrination recalls the ideological campaigns of Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution.

At Mao’s directive, intellectuals, the professional classes, and even Party officials were rounded up and persecuted violently by militant student cadres—the “Red Guards.”

Then, in an effort to rein in the ensuing mayhem, Mao and his allies sent millions of the radicalized students into the countryside for “re-education” through manual labor.

The chaos of this period in Chinese history is legendary. Some estimates place the total number of deaths at two million, some as high as eight million. Now, President Xi is playing a similarly draconian hand in Xinjiang in a bid to re-centralize state power to achieve his ultimate goal: a “New Era” for China. And he seems willing to pursue this goal no matter what, regardless of its human costs.

So what will this “New Era” look like?

What kind of world is China aiming to create?

Since its great period of reforms began in the late 1970s, under Deng Xiaoping, China has gradually moved toward the virtues of private enterprise and a market economy, opening up its culture and society to the broader world. This process of reform has brought the country to its present prosperity and preeminent status as a world power.

Will China undercut its own prosperity by stubbornly pursuing a self-defeating agenda of totalitarian repression? Or, will its leaders learn from the past and adjust its present policies to reflect its membership in the community of international law?

Will the Chinese government recognize the lawful rights of its minority populations, particularly in Xinjiang and Tibet, or will it continue to trample on them? If China is truly aiming to become a “great power” in the emerging multi-polar world order, and to exercise prestige and influence on a global scale, then it will have to start acting like one by recognizing and respecting the human rights of all of its citizens.

savvy and acutely observant of these developments who are disappointed and frustrated by elusive promises and vacuous declarations of freedom and justice by the so called champions of democracy in the West.

This generation is driven to look into its own backyard to model their future with lessons from the past. An Islamic Caliphate is one such model.

Failures are pillars of success. One caliphate may fail here and another there, but lessons will be learnt from each failure to achieve success ultimately.

However, the more equitable, just and democratic the ruling world order becomes the more distant will be the reality of an Islamic caliphate.

Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid is president of Sound Vision and a host of the daily show Radio Islam on WCEV 1450 AM in Chicago, USA and www.RadioIslam.com.

End of IS: What next?

Dr Ameer Ali

By all accounts, the end of IS is neigh and the world has to grapple with the issue of what to do with the captives of whom a sizeable number are misguided youth lured by the promise of living in an Islamic caliphate.

UK’s hard line refusing to take back a female returnee has caused the death of two or three babies. The Australian Prime Minister has expressed similar attitude.

Apart from this issue, one question that faces Muslim world is whether the idea of a caliphate is also dead with the death of IS? No sooner was it abolished in Turkey in 1924, agitation for its restoration began in British India, and even Gandhi joined the Khilafat movement.

Although it evaporated amidst the demand for Pakistan, the desire for a Caliphate on the model of Rahidun Caliphs reverberates through Muslim politics in various parts of the world and finds mention in many a weekly Friday sermon.

At the least, the idea of caliphate has a psychological and nostalgic impact on Muslim mind, which is not going to disappear with IS. An analogy can be drawn from the heroic experience of the Jews who kept their dream of a Jewish state alive over centuries amidst APRIL 2019 / ISSUE 161

systematic persecution and state backed oppression by Christian West.

It was the Jewish synagogues and educational institutions that carried that longing until Israel was created in 1948.

Muslim experience under Western hegemony is nowhere near the horrors underwent by Jews.

However, the way Western powers are manipulating to keep Muslim nations politically unstable, economically underdeveloped if not impoverished, and socially and religiously divided, all in order to maintain Western hegemony provides opportunities for politically ambitious Muslims to rekindle the idea of a caliphate.

IS experiment was its latest chapter.

IS demise certainly is not going to douse the caliphate flame permanently.

It may be lit again in Afghanistan or Pakistan. Even in the Middle East and North Africa (MINA), the havoc created in the aftermath of American invasion of Iraq is raising its probability.

When the Arab Spring sprouted in 2011 with demand for bread, dignity and democracy, Western subterfuge, maneuvers and prevarications, transformed that protest into a sectarian convulsion.

The tragedy in Syria is the direct outcome of this conspiracy for hegemony.

There is a growing generation of young Muslims, well educated, technologically

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Will sanity prevail in the subcontinent?

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Software glitch blamed for Ethiopian airline disaster Zia Ahmad

Dr Ameer Ali The Indo-Pakistani tensions sparked by a Kashmiri suicide bomber claimed by Jaish-e-Muhammad, in Pulwama district of Indian occupied Kashmir, must be viewed not simply as an anti-Indian terror act, but also as part of a broader strategy to destabilise the government of Imran Khan, which that group and others like it do not support.

However, the bombing took place at a very critical time in India where Narendra Modi Government is facing a losable election in a couple of month time.

Modi, his BJP and RSS, are no lovers of Muslims. In fact, it was during his time as Chief Minister that Muslims in Gujarat experienced the worst anti-Muslim riots, masterminded by him, according to impeccable journalist reports and analyses.

Therefore, there is every reason to believe that he would love to escalate the Pulwama incident into an all-out war against Pakistan, while inflaming at the same time a xenophobic Islamophobia.

On the opposite side is Imran Khan, a rationalist, who wants to build his nation after years of misrule by Generals and oligarchs.

He is not prepared to waste precious resources on wars provoked by fanatics.

Nothing can portray Imran’s sanity more than his words on Modi’s provocations: “From here, it is imperative that we use our heads and act with wisdom. All wars are miscalculated and no one knows where they lead to. I ask India, with the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford a miscalculation?” With these words, Imran Khan has already won an undeclared war.

There is also another factor that would help things remain under control. The army commanders and air-force fighters on both sides are trained by the same source and they all have respect to each other’s capabilities and expertise. They also have the same tastes and preferences.

Left alone, they would even be willing to play a friendly cricket match. But they are bound by the wishes of political leaders.

This is what makes the difference. All wars are caused by the follies of politicians. Modi may start a military misadventure just to win an election.

The Indian pilot, Abinadhan Varthaman, captured by the Pakistani army is a South Indian Tamil like many other Tamils in the Indian air-force, and he confessed that he was treated with dignity, and Imran Khan has released him from captivity.

This pilot hails from a high caste in the South, which the Pakistani side must have known already, and that must be an added reason why he was treated with respect and dignity.

All this show that Indo-Pakistani provocations and skirmishes have certain automatic stabilizers that will keep things under control. It is the politician who is a problem.

Thankfully, Pakistan at the moment is in the hands of Imran Khan, a successful cricketer, well versed in the art of winning matches without losing too many wickets.

But Modi is another story. Hope he listens to reason.

The crash of Ethiopian airline plane Boeing 737 MAX 8 on Sunday 10 March in which 157 people died has been blamed on a software taking control of the plane that the pilots could not override.

All planes of this model have now been grounded.

The software is known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), that overrides some specified pilot control inputs unless it is switched off.

This can interfere with pilots’ longtime training that pulling back on the control yoke raises a plane’s nose, putting the plane into a climb.

As a pilot tries to manoeuvre an airplane, the automated system may be counteracting that pilot’s inputs.

Boeing have now issued a bulletin disclosing that this line of planes, known as the 737 Max 8, was equipped with a new type of software as part of the plane’s automated functions.

On Sunday 10 March 2019, when a Boeing 737 MAX 8, barely four months old, crashed shortly after take off en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, all 157 people on board perished.

This came just months after the crash of another brand-new 737 MAX 8 in Indonesia in October 2018, where all 189 people on board lost their lives.

Members of AMUST team visited the Ethiopian Embassy in Canberra on Tuesday 12 March to meet Her Excellency the Ambassador of Ethiopia Tirfu Kidanemariam Gebrehiwet and express their condolences.

“From here, it is imperative that we use our heads and act with wisdom.

All wars are miscalculated and no one knows where they lead to.

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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.

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At the Ethiopian Embassy on Tuesday 12 March, from left Mr Abdella Omar, Australian of Ethiopian origin, Mr Zia Ahmad, Editor-in-Chief, AMUST, Ms Mobinah Ahmad, Managing Editor, AMUST, Her Excellency the Ambassador of Ethiopia Tirfu Kidanemariam Gebrehiwet, Mrs Mehar Ahmad, President, Seena Incorporated, Publishers of AMUST and Mr Temam Ali Godu, Counsellor, Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in Canberra, Australia.

Mr Zia Ahmad, Editor-inChief, AMUST signing condolence book at the Ethiopian Embassy in Canberra on Tuesday 12 March.

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Towards demystifying Shari’ah: Part 1 Dr Jan A Ali This work on shari’ah is a four partseries and this is part one. Parts two, three, and four will follow in the future months.

To begin, shari’ah is an old Arabic word which has been used to designate Islamic law. It literally means a path to a water hole, thus, a route to the source of life.

In terms of Islamic law, the way is understood to be one that keeps the righteous believers on the right path - siraatal mustaqeem– and this right path when followed makes life in this world comfortable and satisfactory and at the same time paves the way to paradise in the Afterlife.

Islamic law was neither known as shari’ah nor was it a legal code per se at this point in time and the words shari’ah and fiqh only came into use later in the Medinan period.

Shari’ah in the Prophetic Era and Under the Khulafa I-Rashidun (632 – 661 CE) In Arabian Peninsula, the birth place of Islam, Islamic law (Coulson, 1984; Singh, 2011; Kamali, 2010) assumed a central role in Muslim life and quickly became an integral part of the discourses and institutions of Muslim societies. As the legislative and ethico-moral provisions of Islamic faith, Islamic law emerged in the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (s) to meet the needs of every facet of life. Islamic law was premised on the idea of public interest - maṣlaḥa - the objective of which was to minimise the privation - rafʽ al-ḥaraj - of nomadic desert living.

In other words, the purpose of the divine law was to offer guidance for human good and this ultimately assumed and continues to have a pivotal function in Islamic legal theory (Kamali, 2010). The era of Prophet Muhammad (s) was marked by revelation, wherein was introduced a new legal framework which continued to remain important and effective for several centuries.

The origin of Islamic law is the Qur’an, the word of God, and traditions gathered from the life of Prophet Muhammad (s).

The early Islamic law is marked by the new set of instructions which came directly from God. Divine instructions were so important that even Prophet’s own personal opinions were informed by the revelations – waḥy (Saeed, 2008; Abdel-Haleem, 2005).

The essence of this divine revelation, however, varied from one place to another and, therefore, producing a difference in legal approach between the urban centres of Makkah and Medina (Abdel-Haleem, 2005). The rationale behind this was that there existed complex geographical differences and the circumstances surrounding the newly born Islam was in constant flux.

The vast majority of Qur’anic revelation, in fact 85 out of 114 chapters, took place in Makkah over thirteen years whose focus was on faith and ethico-moral ideals (Coulson, 1984). There was very little reference in the Qur’an regarding legal matters and the instructions for practical elements of human need. Mohammad Kamali notes that: The legal rulings of the Qur’ān are of a limited scope and are decidedly peripheral to its dogma and moral teachings. The Prophet himself consistently referred to the Qur’ān as a source of authority and only in his latter years in Madinah did he refer to his own teachings and example (Sunnah) as a guide to conduct (2010:4).

When Prophet Muhammad (s) immigrated to Medina in 622 where he established the first Islamic state, the Islamic law entered a new phase. The Medinan reality demanded new legal and practical considerations. In practical matters such as marriage, family, inheritance, trade and commerce, and also matters pertaining to religious rituals and practices a clear legal code needed to be formulated.

The legislation had to emerge and it did in its embryonic form in Medina seeking to APRIL 2019 / ISSUE 161

address the new challenges a young Muslim community faced on a day-to-day basis.

This legislation not only accommodated evolving socio-cultural, economic, and political needs but laid out the legislative principles for the future Muslim community.

The application of practical legislation took place in direct response to new issues facing Muslims which Prophet Muhammad (s) took upon himself to address. Shari’ah duties became generally divided into those that an individual owes to Allah (ʿibadat the ritual practices) and those that he or she owes to fellow humans (mu’amalat).

During Muhammad’s (s) prophesy he often exercised his own judgement in a legislative fashion and even encouraged his fellow adherents to do so and allowed them to exercise ijtihad (personal reasoning) (Kamali, 2010). As I mentioned above the words shari’ah and fiqh were not in use at the time and Prophet Muhammad (s) permitted his followers to practice individual opinion which proved very useful for his close colleagues and the general Muslim population after he had passed away.

We learn this from a famous ḥadith of Mu’adh Ibn Jabal whom the Prophet made the ruler and judge of Yemen. When sending him to his posting in Yemen Prophet Muhammad (s) asked Mu’adh Ibn Jabal how he would judge between his peers and those under his rulership and he replied that he would refer to the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet. Prophet Muhammad (s) then proceeded on to ask Mu’adh Ibn Jabal what he would do if these two sources proved inadequate and Mu’adh Ibn Jabal replied that in that case he would exercise his own judgement (Sookhdeo, 2013).

During the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (s), his companions were able to consult him directly, however, once he had passed away the companions had to rely on the Qur’an and Sunnah beyond that they were very much left to their own devices.

The companions had to assess and address prevailing social, cultural, economic, and political issues, the nature of which was significantly different from the time of Prophet because by now Islam had moved beyond the confines of the cities of Makkah and Medina, by themselves.

Although Prophet Muhammad was never perceived as divine or super-human, he nevertheless was God’s messenger who had a direct contact with Him. Now that the Prophet - the source of God’s legislation - was gone a void was created in the Muslim society to which he gave so much and in which he played the perfect role and inspired a whole generation of men and women. It was not all doom and gloom, however, because despite the fact that the Prophet was gone, the Qur’an and the Sunnah remained and Muslims had the divine source and its supplementation to draw upon to shape their personal and social lives.

After the Qur’an, Sunnah became the second most important source of guidance for all Muslims. Yet, the Sunnah proved inad-

equate in providing answers to numerous new questions and solutions to many new problems as society grew and Islam expanded beyond the Arabian Peninsula.

The Sunnah was not an elaborate case law, rather was an overarching behavioural norms and an interpretive process which Prophet’s followers could adapt to develop law to changing circumstances. The demand for an innovative mechanism emerged and ijtihad found a fitting role (Hallaq, (1984).

This legal mechanism, based on the Qur’an and Sunnah, developed as a practical device methodologically equipped to determine a legal outcome after the Qur’an and Sunnah proved inadequate.

Ijtihad assumed a legal role and became an independent source of legislation. It came into common use as a means to reaching legal solutions for a myriad of cases. Ijtihad as a legal mechanism was being used during the life time of Prophet Muhammad (s) but only marginally, and the Prophet himself ac-

knowledged its usefulness in circumstances where the divine source failed to provide answers (Hallaq, 1984).

Of course it was only inevitable that given that the ijtihad is all about personal reasoning, different opinions over same matter sometimes led to disagreement, something that did not exist in the time of Prophet Muhammad (s) as he was the ultimate arbiter. Whilst there were occasional disagreements, frequently individuals inclined to agree (Hallaq, 1984). Around the time of the development of ijtihad, ijma (consensus) as another legal mechanism also developed.

Dr Jan A. Ali is a Senior Lecturer in Islam and Modernity in the School of Humanities and Communication Arts at Western Sydney University. He is a Sociologist of Religion specializing in Islam with a research focus on existential Islam.

Focus & Prioritise STEPS TO SUCCESS: PART 2

Umar Khan Read part 1: Setting Goals at http://tinyurl.com/yyvxnzua Once we have set our goals, it’s time to divert our attention to achieving these goals. We can do this through focus.

Focus We are living in a fast-paced distraction-filled world where we can get distracted easily. It’s impossible to be successful if you lack focus in your life.

It is your choice; what you chose when distraction knocks on your door – focus or distraction? Focus will help you become productive at your work, with all your attention and energy focused on the task at hand. Everything else is secondary, helping you complete your work efficiently. Focus prevents you from wasting your time and energy on useless things.

When you are focused, no one can stop you to achieve success. If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves. Successful people are focused on their mission.

Successful people never let distractions come in their way. Alexander Graham Bell once said “Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus”, emphasising the importance of focusing on the task at hand. But, how do we know where to focus our energy?

By prioritising our tasks.

Prioritise Prioritising your tasks can help to organise what tasks need to be done first.

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If you look at the Eisenhower Matrix below, in Quadrant 1 are important and urgent tasks; items that need to be completed immediately and bear serious consequences if they are not achieved on time.

Quadrant 2 is for important tasks, but ones that you have little more time to work with.

Meanwhile, Quadrant 3 are tasks that need to be done urgently, but are not that important in the grand scheme of things – they are not important in achieving your goal.

Lastly, Quadrant 4 is stuff that this not urgent nor is it important.

Your first step would be to put all your tasks in each of the four Quadrants, and then do them in order from the first Quadrant to the fourth Quadrant.

Now, that we have prioritised our tasks, we need to organise them.

Next issue: Steps to Success Part 3 Umar Khan is a recent IBDP graduate, now attending Macquarie University and is based in Sydney, Australia.

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Shaykh Saad al-Azhari endorses the Covenants AMUST

Dr John Andrew Morrow

Shaykh Ahmed Saad alAzhari, the respected Egyptian scholar, who heads the Ihsan Institute, has endorsed The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World.

This traditional, Maliki, Sunni, and Ash’ari religious authority, who descends from the Prophet Muhammad (s) through his grandson, Imam Hasan, and who was trained at the prestigious al-Azhar University in Egypt, provided the following commendatory preface to the Arabic version of the work, Uhud al-Nabi li-Masihiyyi al‘Alam, which has been translated into English as follows: In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and may Allah bless our master Muhammad, the beloved one of the Lords of the Worlds.

I have seen with great passion the work of this brother and researcher, Dr. John Andrew Morrow, on the prophetic covenants and charters with the protected people from the People of the Book.

In addition to the importance of the research and what it discovers about the deep-rooted connection between Islam and other religions, which are based on respect and mutual respect of rights, the book’s appearance at this moment … is very important considering the dark views and extremist interpretations that have appeared on the world stage…

Although Islam itself is spotless, minds have become confused when it comes to historical figures and facts. Consequently, many wonder about the nature of the relationship between Islam and other religions.

Is it peace or is it war?

There is no doubt that the scholars of Islam and its religious leaders know that God sent His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as a mercy to the worlds. However, how can there be mercy when there is a sword upon one’s neck and fire ravaging God’s green earth?

Since the origin of the relationship between Islam and other religions provides for safety, dignity, security, covenants of protection, and mutual respect, as stated in the verses of the Qur’an, the research findings regarding the Covenants of the Noble Prophet … are practical in application and leave no room for ignorant interpretation,

impersonation or distortion…

As we read in a tradition transmitted by Ibn ‘Abbas, Imam ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, went to talk to the Kharijites to explain to them that the Qur’an required them to follow the teachings of the Sunnah and Covenants since they reflected the true meanings of the verses and confirmed the nature of their relationship. The fact of the matter is that such long-standing covenants and charters almost fell into oblivion.

The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, did not kill any of the hypocrites. On the contrary, he placed ‘Abd Allah ibn Salul under his protection, even though his hypocrisy was known to him. He said:

“Let nobody claim that Muhammad kills his own Companions.” This was to make a formal point.

People should be judged on their professed beliefs. Nobody has the right to judge people on their appearance or to judge what is in their hearts and use it as a pretext to spread blood and commit murder. This is because Islam has come with truth from the Lord to protect human souls from harm in this world and the hereafter.

In conclusion, the release of these Covenants, which were concluded with the leaders of Christian communities, monks, priests, and bishops, is visible evidence that Islam is a religion that seeks and calls to co-exist in peace and security with members of other faiths, that justice, goodness, and safety are the highest of human goals, that people have the right to live in dignity and peace, that people should be free from religious coercion, and that no one should be deprived of protection.

I ask Allah, the Exalted, to bless this effort and maximize its benefit throughout the world, to thank and reward the researcher, and to open other avenues of exploration for him in this impactful field.

Praise be to Allah, the First and the Last.

Written by al-Sharif Ahmed ibn Muhammad Saad al-Hasani al-Idrisi al-Azhari, a guest of Great Britain, Founder of the Ihsan Institute 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.

Is there life elsewhere in the Universe?

Kazi Miah

Are we alone? It’s a fundamental question for eons.

Early in this decade, astronomers, based on Kepler-Space-Mission-data, reported that there are 40 billion Earth-size planets orbiting Sun-like stars in the Milky Way galaxy alone; 11 billion of these estimated planets may be orbiting in the Green Belt of Life or Goldilocks Zone of the Sun-like stars; many of them are likely to be inhabited by advanced civilizations!

We are talking about the Milky Way only – yet 100 billion galaxies in the universe still are uncounted!

Using Deep Space Network (DSN) Pioneer 11, Voyager 1 and 2 are still sending valuable information to earth. They also carry information for the inhabitants of other worlds inscribed on metal plates in symbols about who do we live on earth, our physics and nature of chemistry generated life here.

Kepler Mission is designed to search for earthlike stars; it adduced proof in 1995 for the first time and by 1998, it added six more.

Now it turns out statistically viable that our universe is a spawning creation that homes tens of millions of life raring abodes similar to earth.

The central argument of the existence of life elsewhere lies in the fact that the same elementary particles, same physics, same amino acids that make life abundant all over

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the galaxy we live in, and possibly everywhere in the universe.

The most essential ingredient, water, is also plentiful in other worlds! Many of the thousands of exoplanet [planet orbiting other stars] discovered to-date have similar sizes, temperatures, rocky surfaces, atmospheres, gas particles needed for life.

Scientists strongly believe that today the question is no more of ‘if’ as of ‘where’.

Astronomers are extremely confident that we live in a well-populated universe.

Using Drake Equation [updated by Sara Seager] they conclude, - alone in our milky way on average every year 20 sun-like new stars are born, of them 10 have planetary systems, at least one of those systems holds a lucky planet in the Green Belt of Life Zone; out of 5 such lucky planets, one is blessed with life and out of all life possessing ‘civilizations’ at least half of them try to communicate with other civilizations!

Findings discussed follow from cutting-edge technology. Looking back at the Dark Age [178AD -1687 CE], we can visualize how naïve human understanding was about our universe.

Geocentric Theory placed earth at the centre of Creation; Copernicus who postulated Heliocentric Model suggested a static sun in 1543; yet that is regarded as the Renascence in science. It was not until Newton’s Principia Mathematica [1687] declared that nothing in creation is static; everything is rotating on its own orbit.

Newton confirmed the Quran –“And the sun: it is travelling to its appointed destina-

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tion. It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor can the night outrun the day. All of them swim along in their orbits”. [36:3840].

Now imagine in 610 CE, in the glooms of Dark Age, an unlettered prophet, Muhammad [s] from an unknown desert of Arabia revealed the most advanced facts of science that have become the frontline information for science; they are inimitable; accurate in all critical respects! Of them ‘Life on other worlds’ turned out to be the darling of the 21stcentury!

Bible or any other authority on earth gives no information on the possibility of life on other planets.

It is only Quran that inscribed the most specific evidence some 1400 years ago from the intense darkness of the Dark Age! Verse 65:12 reads – “God is He Who has created many skies, and earth(s) in similar numbers. Unto them descends His Commands that you may know that God has power over all things. And that God encompasses all things in His knowledge.”

Al-ard is traditionally known as a singular noun. The word ‘mislahunna’ retains critical information within – according to a rule of Arabic grammar, it dictates the use of ‘alard’ to be plural though in many other places it is used as a singular number.

As such in all places, Quran proposed ‘Saba’s samawati wal ard’ will literally mean – ‘many skies and many earths’. And assuredly in 65:12 – the word ‘ Al-ard is unavoidably a plural number! Our earth is not unique, there are many like this!

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Quran is the single proponent of many worlds’ concept where life like ours exists and God’s commands and blessings reach them as we receive. Science in 21stcentury bows down to the Quran that was revealed in the Dark Age! Quran led and guided science to the truth.

How far those prospective worlds are?

In 2015, NASA’s New Horizons completed its 3-billion-miles on way to Pluto at a speed of 84,000km/h. It would take New Horizons about 55,000 years to reach the nearest life-bearing planet of Proxima Centauri. If the nearest planet with a civilization existed in the nearest Andromeda Galaxy, it would take the spacecraft over 2 billion years just to reach the edge of the galaxy.

This endorses the monumental verse of Quran [55:33] – “O the community of jinn and mankind, if you are able to pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, then do. You will not succeed except by authority of the Supreme [or except acquiring supreme power]”!

This literally puts a full stop on human reaching other worlds using current technology.

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.

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Business without Biz Cards Using technology to help save the environment Shafqat Ali When did you last used a business card folder to find someones mobile or email? Do you know, every year, about 6 million trees are sacrificed to produce over 100 billion business cards.

Where do these businesses cards end up?

Most of them go to the bin and some buckled up inside the old business card folder.

Some clever people use them as money in a monopoly game. My daughter made playing cards out of them.

Do we really need business cards any more? I asked this question to many businesses. Mostly said, ya we know but it is a tradition to exchange business cards.

I believe that traditions are made to serve a purpose, but with mobile technologies, if the same purpose can be achieved in an efficient way with less cost and more quality, then it is the time to set a new tradition of digital business cards.

Digital business cards do not cost much to you and the environment.

All you have to do design one and stick it on the back of your mobile. You can also store it in your phone address book as a contact same like you store other people information.

That is it, you are ready to share it. Here is a link to learn about 10 apps that can help you to make one https://bit. ly/2oKyYAu. Now sharing your business card is very easy and efficient.

Whenever someone asks for one. They can take a picture of it with their mobile camera. You can also send it directly

Why computer coding is essential for every student

to their mobile via SMS or email.

On the other end, only effort, the recipient has to do, just tap Save and all of your business card information will be stored in their address book in no time.

No need to type all the details, no more typing mistakes. And if someone gives you one then you can use a mobile app to scan and store directly into your mobile address book. And return the card.

This will convey the message too.

Here is an article to help you to find an app that can help you https://bit.

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ly/2uqaFtD. Quality of digital business cards is much more than printed business cards. It depends on how much you are technically capable of.

The more you learn about them the better outcome you get. You can create one with basic information or you can add a picture, website address, social media links and anything else you think off.

If you want to take the quality of your business card to the next level. You can develop a web page to present your live digital business card along with your digital portfolio where people not only can download your digital business card but also can see other information about your business too.

As you learned digital business cards have many advantages including less cost and more quality and above them all, it is good for the environment.

So, next time, you are planning to print a pile of business cards, think of $$$ and green trees.

Shafqat Ali based in Sydney is the Training Manager at Notebook Solutions, Campbelltown and a mentor with Young Innovators Network.

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Shafqat Ali Computer science is a 21st-century skill that enables kids to be creators, rather than just consumers of technology. Its emphasis on problem-solving is applicable across disciplines, driving growth and innovation across all sectors of the everyday working and schooling life.

Future jobs will require to have coding skills in addition to their primary job skills.

In today’s world, every education department is promoting STEM (STEAM) based learning which stands for the subjects, Science, Technology, Engineering, (Art) and Mathematics.

Our coding classes incorporate STEM learning into our curriculum because every coding project not only requires to use maths and science concepts but English skills as well.

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and so it will excite them to learn and share more.

The curriculum is designed by world-renowned Google educators and will be delivered by passionate mentors here from young innovators team.

Our students will be able to learn at their own pace; at the same time, fast learners will have bonus activities to do.

We provide them with a resource-rich learning environment. We enhance their creative imagination and critical thinking skills through interaction with the mentor and other like-minded peers.

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Among Believers: a pictorial glimpse of the world’s great religions Christine Osborne When Sydney-born Christine Osborne sailed overseas in 1963, the “White Australia” policy under Sir Robert Menzies remained in place.

Australia needed migrant labour, but those who made the long voyage were European – Christian, largely Catholic and Greek Orthodox.

From a base in London, Christine worked as a freelance photojournalist documenting developing world countries such as Pakistan, Iraq and Ethiopia.

Her first book, The Gulf States and Oman, examining the development and social change in Arab oil states, was published in 1977.

Besides documenting lifestyles in eastern nations, she habitually photographed people practicing their chosen faith, their places of worship, sacred foods, customs, religious festivals and places of pilgrimage.

In response to requests from religious publishers in Europe and America, in 1992 she launched the World Religions Photo Library whose collection covers 30 Muslim majority countries visited by Christine as well as contributions on other faiths from invited photographers.

Returning home in 2013, she found Australia had morphed into one of the most diverse multi-cultural societies in the world counting dozens of different nationalities following historic beliefs and traditional customs.

And from being largely indifferent to religion in the fifties and sixties, she found

Sikh pilgrim bathing in `nectar` Golden Temple in Amritsar. many Australians of Anglo-British descent were often hostile to believers. An attitude rooted in ignorance and intolerance of the unfamiliar.

Settling in the Blue Mountains of NSW, she decided to publish a book of religious images aimed at filling the gap in local knowledge of the mainstream faiths practiced Down Under.

Among Believers: A Pictorial Journey

containing 360 colour images on Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Sikhism carries the meaningful dedication: TOALL WHO SUFFER PERSECUTION ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS. The print copy and PDF are available from www.blurb.com/ bookstore/religiousbooks and from www.amongbelievers.com

Christine Osborne is the author of many 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.

Coming soon to Brisbane:

Food and arts openings Suraya Daly

Brisneyland, BrisVegas, BrisBoring, Brissy – whatever you decide to call this city, one thing’s for sure, it is ever-evolving with exciting new openings.

Having spent my formative years in Brisbane, I’m a Brissy girl through and through, having witnessed this beautiful city through all its changes and developments thus far.

Every year Brisbane introduces new international and Australian-owned retail and cultural offerings with a bustling culinary scene to match, reaching closer to becoming Australia’s new world city.

1. Speaking of being Australia’s new world city, US bakery chain Cinnabon is set to be bringing its sticky scrolls to Australia, with its first store in sunny Brisbane debuting the dessert chain in the country.

The famous American bakery chain is bringing to our shores sticky, cinnamon scrolls drenched in glaze. Further expansion in Australia is slated for 2021. There could be as many as 50 stores across the country in the next three years.

2. Next on the list brings much excitement and joy as I fondly reminisce on my student years during undergraduate and postgraduate in QUT’s Kelvin Grove Creative Industries precinct. The outdoor

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US bakery chain Cinnabon is set to be bringing its sticky scrolls to Australia, with its first store in sunny Brisbane. cinema is seemingly here to stay after the festive season’s favourite Openair Cinemas at Southbank and the well-loved Moonlight Cinema in New Farm Park, with the Brisbane City Council plan to build Brisbane’s first permanent outdoor cinema. The development application presents the proposal to hold a permanent shelter with a drop-down screen, a stage and a speaker set-up in the space between Kelvin Grove Road and QUT’s Creative Industries precinct. Get excited about

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fun weeknights and weekends, when the cinema will be operational, as the Council-owned public park is accessible to everyone and it will be free to attend.

3. Continuing my walk down memory lane, the venue which held both my undergraduate and postgraduate graduation ceremonies, the Queensland Performance Arts Centre, will have a huge new performing arts theatre. The project is forecasted to be up and running by 2022, and QPAC Chair Peter Coaldrake has expressed in a

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statement that it hopes to build on the vibrancy of the Queensland Cultural Centre and grow the value of performing arts to Queensland’s creative, cultural and tourism economies.

4. By now, we know Brisbane likes to do things big. And high. Sky-high dining was once simply what I saw adorning Kuala Lumpur skies (they love it over there), but soon, I can enjoy it right here on my doorstep. A new rooftop restaurant is planned in the Brisbane CBD. Patrons will be sitting atop a five-storey podium under the proposed eatery which will be part of The Great Southern Hotel, near the well-known Treasury Casino. The setup will be open to hotel guests only, so it’s best to plan the night’s stay well ahead. We might be almost a quarter of the way through 2019, but it looks like there is still much to look forward to with plenty to see and do in this great city. #BrisbaniteForLife Suraya Daly is a graduate of the Queensland University of Technology in the qualifications of the Graduate Certificate in Creative Industries and a Bachelor of Journalism. She works in start-up business development and has a passion for writing, where she would often hone her creativity by contributing articles which can be found on her blog on www.surayaspeaks.wordpress.com. For enquiries, please reach out to suraya.daly@gmail.com ISSUE 161 / APRIL 2019

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#Christchurch

New Zealand’s ‘The Press’ daily newspaper has dedicated its frontpage to the martyrs of the #Christchurch terrorist attack. It marks a week since the tragic day.

The word ‘peace’ has been written in Arabic along with the names of the martyrs.

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