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AMUST showcase with awards, sacred music and lion dance See your nearest Eid prayer locations at amust.com.au/eidprayer
The Abraham Conference
Healing memories & making history Rev Dr Diego SarrióCucarella.
From left: Mr Jihad Dib, Member for Lakemba, Mr Zia Ahmad, Editor-In-Chief, AMUST, Mrs Mehar Ahmad, President, Seena Inc, Ms Jane Jeffes, MC for the event, Dr Nahla El Ghazawi, Deputy Principal, AIA Strathfield, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohamed, Grand Mufti of Australia, Mr Chin Tan, Race Discrimination Commissioner and Ms Mobinah Ahmad, Managing Editor, AMUST with THQ Cabra Lions. Photo by Dr Benny Baharuddin. Zia Ahmad The AMUST Awards Night and Gala Dinner celebrating 5 years of Muslim Media attracted more than 220 movers and shakers from diverse backgrounds and professions enjoying a jam-packed program that included a documentary on AMUST
success story and video reflections by community leaders topped up by Uyghur music and highly popular lion dance performances. The attendees at the event, held on Saturday 20 July 2019 in Bankstown, Sydney, were addressed by Jihad Dib, MP from Lakemba and Chin Tan, the Race Discrimination Commissioner with awards pre-
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sented to almost 50 AMUST team members with outstanding contributions towards making AMUST a powerful positive media platform within the last 5 years. continued on page 6 See photos of Award recipients on pages 16 - 17.
Kim Chong More than 120 delegates from the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths attended the 2019 Abraham Conference held at Parramatta Mission Fellowship Hall on Sunday 28 July 2019 to “heal memories and make history”. In a time when attacks on innocent worshippers in mosque, church and synagogue try to divide us, the followers of Abrahamic faiths came together to acknowledge our unique bond through our common ancestor, Prophet Abraham (a), while accounting for our differences through dialogue and friendship. continued on page 18
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SHARING THE STORIES OF AUSTRALIAN MUSLIMS – NATIONAL SURVEY
Do you have 15 minutes?
Survey to share your experiences of Islamophobia, racism and related intolerances.
Scan the QR Code with your phone’s camera to start the survey. Or go to https://tinyurl.com/o26ozmus
Survey Closes 26 August 2019 The Race Discrimination Commissioner, Chin Tan is undertaking a project to listen to and share the stories of Australian Muslims. The project is an opportunity to identify community strengths, concerns and priorities and hear from the community about ideas for change. This survey aims to build robust intelligence about the experience of Australian Muslims to inform the Australian Human Rights Commission’s work in promoting social cohesion and providing evidence for change. All responses to the survey will be anonymous and confidential. Share with your friends, family, colleagues and community.
Contact: Australian Human Rights Commission - Race Discrimination Team Telephone: (02) 9284 9600 TTY: 1800 620 241 Email: antiracismsecretariat@humanrights.gov.au 2
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Power-branded hijabs to kick the footy Faseeha Hashmi Port Adelaide has introduced a Power-branded hijab for young girls to get involved in the AFL sport and kick the footy. Hajar Al Shimari, a young Australian Muslim girl said that the Power-branded hijab has given her a new found confidence encouraging her to pick up the footy and have a go. “Every time, I swim or play sport, I wear it and it gives me so much confidence,” said Hajar. The hijab’s creation was all part of Port Adelaide’s intercultural program to encourage the community to go from spectator to participant; encouraging greater social inclusion and cultural awareness within community sport. As part of the program, students like Hajar who was involved in the intercultural program for the second year in a row, attended a carnival at Karen Rolton Oval on Friday 28 June, as well as the Port’s game against the Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval that Saturday night. The program involved 310 students, many of whom were born in Australia, and some who have only been in the country for three months. For many students, the experience was a treasured introduction to the world of Australian football.
Port Adelaide has created Powerbranded Hijabs for Muslim girls, such as Hajar Al Shimari and Sumayyah Momin, to wear at Alberton as part of its intercultural program. Picture: Sarah Reed.
“Every time, I
swim or play sport, I wear it and it gives me so much confidence.
The hijabs have been well-documented in the fashion industry with global brands like Nike encouraging athletes of all backgrounds to aspire for sporting excellence. Though, it’s not every day that young Australian Muslim girls get to wear a headscarf of their favourite Australian football team. When Hajar’s Iraqi parents first arrived in
Australia, they spent nine months in a detention centre in 2000. Since then, she has been making her parents proud by fully engaging in the opportunities around her. When asked about her faith and what the headscarf means to her, Hajar explains, “The hijabs are a must in Islam, we have to wear them and they respect our dignity,” said Hajar. Proudly wearing her headscarf, Hagar said that she has never felt more accepted
in Australia than when she settled at Port Adelaide. “There is no discrimination in Australia, if you focus on good people, and Port Adelaide has shown me and my parents that female Muslims can play any sport we want”. Faseeha Hashmi holds a Master of International Relations from the University of Melbourne, with an interest in politics and human security.
“
Bachar Houli programs ‘The Artistry of Islam’ inspiring young Muslims exhibition opens at IMA
Photo by Sean Garnsworthy. AMUST Media The Bachar Houli Programs are set for a boost with the announcement on Wednesday 3 July that the Melbourne Cricket Club Foundation (MCC) has become a founding partner. The Bachar Houli Foundation will continue the work of the Bachar Houli Programs to engage young Muslims to be positive community leaders through AFL Football. The programs, founded by Richmond premiership player, Bachar Houli in 2012, have engaged over 35,000 participants Australia-wide, including 30 Islamic colleges through the Bachar Houli Cup. The new partnership will allow Bachar Houli programming to reach more participants and provide further opportunities to ensure sport is accessible for all. A beneficiary will be the Bachar Houli Girls Leadership program which is in its second year, inspiring young Muslim women to become role models. Houli said he is extremely proud and humbled to have an iconic organisation such as AUGUST 2019 / ISSUE 165
the MCC support his programs for the next three years. “These programs are about fostering social cohesion and developing a generation of community leaders,” he said. “I am extremely proud of what we have been able to achieve to this point, and am very excited about this partnership with the MCC. Together we can ensure that we make a positive impact on everyone involved in our programs.” Chair of the Melbourne Cricket Club Foundation Sally Macindoe said the MCC Foundation is delighted to support the Bachar Houli Foundation, with the partnership aligning to the MCC’s community pillars. “Bachar has experienced some great moments at the MCG over his AFL career, highlighted by being part of Richmond’s 2017 Premiership side,” Ms Macindoe said. “His Foundation provides opportunities for young Muslim boys and girls to experience similar great moments, whether that be on the sporting field or by being a leader in their everyday lives.”
Mei Nee Cheong A 17th century Qur’an originally from Africa, fine Persian rugs crafted from pure silk and an Algerian horse saddle used for ceremonial purposes in the 19th century are all part of an eclectic collection of objects now on display at the Islamic Museum of Australia (IMA). The Artistry of Islam, an exhibition highlighting Islamic arts and mastercrafts opened 30 June and is a collaborative effort between the IMA and the Turkish Museum of Australia. Islamic Museum of Australia General Manager, Maryum Chaudhry said that the Museum welcomes the opportunity to work with the Turkish Museum of Australia to showcase some of their finest objects to a wider audience. “The Artistry of Islam puts a spotlight on beautiful, historically significant objects from around the world, and in doing so, shines a light on the beauty of Islam. The breadth of objects on display is simply astonishing,” said Ms Chaudhry. Turkish Museum of Australia Director, Kemal Benli said the exhibition offers Mu-
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seum guests a unique glimpse into the cultural heritage of Muslims around the world. “Museum guests will see wonderful examples of craftsmanship synonymous with Islamic cultures, from calligraphy to woven carpets; and detailed metalwork to woodwork,” said Mr Benli. “This exhibition at the Islamic Museum of Australia shows some of the most intriguing items of the thousands from the holdings of the Turkish Museum of Australia. Many of the objects are rare and cannot otherwise be seen elsewhere in Australia,” he said. The Artistry of Islam: Islamic arts and mastercrafts from around the world is on display until 23 August 2019. The Museum is open 10 am – 4 pm, Monday to Saturday. 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. 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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Pledging for real sacrifice at Eid-ul-Adha this year Most of the Australians, intending to go for Hajj this year have either already departed or are packing their bags to leave soon for the cities of Makkah and Madinah in order to join Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Makkah. The rituals of Hajj this year will be performed during the first few days of August, culminating in standing at the plains of Arafah most probably on Saturday 9 Dhul Hijjah/10 August 2019. Those of us not performing Hajj this year, Muslims throughout the world will be celebrating Eid-ul-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, timed towards the end of Hajj. Eid-ul-Adha is the second major celebration during the year marked on the 10th day of the month of Dhul Hijjah, the 12th month of the Islamic calendar, falling most probably on Sunday 11 August 2019. acts of obedience to the commandments of It is a celebration of the spirit of sacri- Allah. fice originally attributed to Prophet IbraDuring the celebration of Eid-ul-Adha, him (a). Muslims remember Ibrahim’s (a) triGenerally, the event is celals by themselves sacrificing an ebrated starting with mass animal where most of the meat congregational prayers and is given away to others inas a festival of joy with cluding the poor, family and dressing up, feasting and friends. having a good time with The act of sacrifice symZia Ahmad family and friends. bolises the willingness to However, there are give up things that are dear Assalamu deep and most signifito us or close to our hearts, Alaikum cant lessons embedded in in order to follow God’s marking this most imporcommands. Greetings tant occasion in the Islamic It also represents our willingof Peace calendar. ness to give up some of our own Both Hajj and its integration with bounties, in order to strengthen ties of Eid-ul-Adha commemorate the trials and friendship and help those who are in need. triumphs of Prophet Ibrahim (a) together However, sacrificing an animal is just with his wife Hajrah and son Ismail (a). symbolic. The real lesson from this sacrifice Ibrahim’s (a) willingness to sacrifice his is indeed self-sacrifice, that of sacrificing most beloved possession, his son Ismail our ego, self-interest, whims and fancies, (a) and in turn Ismail’s (a) willingness to our wrong desires, our corrupt behaviour, be sacrificed are considered as ultimate injustice and unfair treatment of others,
EDITORIAL
Readers comments Congratulations!
Assalamu Alaikum Br. Zia, I just read about your five years celebration of AMUST. Congratulations and may Allah accept from you all your hard work. Indeed you have timely raised concerns on several issues and you brought about awareness to the Muslim Community through AMUST. We need more voices like yours to flood the media and to wash away the filth thrown at Muslims and Islam. Keep up the good work and may Allah SWT bless you to see many more years of hard work. Shaykh Abdur Rahman Khan USA
Re: Nationwide recognition of Year 12 high achievers
The awards recognised their hard work and dedication and acknowledged the great support of their parents. Tira Rahmatia
Re: Heal your heel pain
Masha Allah! Kudos for publishing an excellent article by Dr. Wissam. I am suffering from this pain and, while reading the content of the article I feel like proofreading my own case history. Abd Al-muqtadir
Re: Journey of a lifetime: Part 1 Istanbul
My eyes captured the panorama of the
Re: AMUST showcase with multi storey Mosque and the courtyard and awards, sacred music and lion took me back in time in a split of a second and I could imagine walking through the dance Mabrook(congrats) to AMUST for their hard work over the past few years. May Allah reward all those who have contributed to its success. Keep up the good work. Mohamed Soliman
scholars and students chatting while I went to enter the Mosque. Maema Saraswati
Great article! very informative and good to see Australian cricket evolving and embracing Multiculturalism. Syed Razi
and grant him entry without reckoning..as someone who is part Egyptian I am ashamed and sorry to his family. Thousands gathered globally for his funeral prayer but unfortunately we were not gathered or united during his life. The Ummah must all wake and unite and stand against oppressors InshaAllah. May Allah SWT strengthen us Ameen and May Egypt be free. Z
Re: President Morsi remembered during global funeral Re: Khawaja into World Twen- prayers May Allah SWT have mercy on his soul ty20 squad
Re: Negative gearing being targeted for tax reform
This will increase supply of rental properties, lessen upward pressure on house prices and provide a powerful affordability stabiliser for first home buyers. Maema Saraswati AUGUST 2019 / ISSUE 165
AMUST
AMUST ISSUE # 165 FRIDAY 2 AUGUST 2019 29 DHUL QA’DAH 1440 News
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- AMUST showcase with awards - Healing memories & making history
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Boomerang - Pledging for real sacrifice - The white genocide - Australia can learn from NZ
Community
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- Suprovat celebrates 10 years - Australian indigenous and Muslim - Sounds of Andalusia
Centrefold
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- Celebrating 5 Years of Muslim Media
Australia
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- Tackling modern slavery - Jewish support for Christchurch
Lifestyle friends or foes. Muslims generally are suffering from disunity, violent conflicts, injustice, inequity leading to suffering on a grand scale throughout the Muslim world. Character building, understanding, empathy, love and peace needs to be built from the grass root level and therefore pondering on the lessons of self-sacrifice from Eid-ul-Adha and reflections on our behaviour will certainly lead us to live Islam in our daily life. Solution to inter-Muslim conflicts, injustice, sectarian hatreds, corruption and violence needs to be addressed both on individual level as well as collective levels. Let’s pledge on the day of Eid-ul-Adha 2019 to inculcate good values and develop strength of character within ourselves, our young people and in our community in order to bring about peace and harmony in our society, our nation and our global village. EID MUBARAK!
Re: Trump’s provocations are a threat to world peace
Excellent article which should warn us all about taking the claims of the Hillbilly Reich with a grain of salt. Hopefully the Morrison-Dutton government does not take us into another war, in which Australian lives would be lost. Bilal Cleland
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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.
AMUST Team
Editor-in-Chief: Zia Ahmad Graphic Designer: Rubinah Ahmad Chief Adviser: Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad Multimedia Journalist: Mehar Ahmad Multimedia Journalist: Mobinah Ahmad Multimedia Journalist: Theresa Dyckman Sub-Editor: Aisha Mohsin Columnist: Dr Abul Jalaluddin (Finance) Columnist: Dr Ameer Ali (WA) Columnist: Bilal Cleland (Victoria) Columnist: Manarul Islam (ACT) Columnist: Dr Daud Batchelor (QLD) Columnist: Simon Harrison (QLD) Columnist: Zahid Jamil (NSW) Columnist: Shahjahan Khan (QLD) Columnist: Imam Malik Mujahid (USA) Promotion: Dr Wali Bokhari Web Developer: Shadow Approved Multimedia: iMoby Productions Printers: Spotpress Pty Ltd Distributers: Abul Fateh Siddiqui, Shujaat Siddiqui, Usaid Khalil, Aamir Ahmad, Ibrahim Khalil, Usman Siddiqui, Zahid Alam, Shahab Siddiqui, Mahmoud Jaame, Mateen Abbas, Rashid Idris, Sakinah Ahmad, Anjum Rafiqi, Hasan Fazeel, Dr Quasim, Ismail Hossain, Hanif Bismi, Zohair Ahmad, Luqman Landy.
AMUST Contacts PO Box 111, Bonnyrigg (Sydney), NSW 2177 Australia. Email: info@amust.com.au Ph:(02) 9158 3020
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AMUST showcase with awards, sacred music and lion dance
Ms Jane Jeffes.
Mrs Mehar Ahmad.
Continued from page 1 The program was kicked off by Mobinah Ahmad, the Managing Editor of AMUST introducing the MC for the event Jane Jeffes, the former Executive Producer for ABC Religion and Ethics and currently the Communications and Impact Director for the G20 Interfaith Forum who has just co-founded ‘War on Slavery’. After acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land and welcoming the guests present, Jane mentioned her passion for telling the Muslim stories in Australia that have included the film ‘Silma’s School’ among others. Recognising the achievements of AMUST, Jane remarked, “When Zia told
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me about this awards night, I was so pleased that The Australasian Muslim Times – now AMUST – was celebrating its fifth year, and that there was an opportunity to reflect on the powerful role of community-based storytelling, and how through the development and growth of journalism, AMUST has established a central point for community news and opinion.” The program formally started with the recitation from Quran by Ibrahim Karaisli in his melodious voice with some relevant passages selected for the occasion that included, “If an unreliable person comes to you with important news – verify it, lest you harm others,” thus rejecting fake news followed by Jane’s comment, “That could be
AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES
Mr Chin Tan.
Mr Jihad Dib.
or should be a motto and modus operandi for all journalists.” Jane then introduced Mehar Ahmad, giving her welcome address, “A full-time school teacher, Mehar’s passion, leadership and commitment to the advancement of interfaith relations in Australian society also characterises her role as the president of Seena Incorporated, the non-profit community organisation that publishes AMUST. Mehar talked about the formation of Seena more than 5 years ago primarily for the production of AMUST and its other activities including advocacy for refugees, the disabled and women in leadership positions. “With Allah’s blessings and with the support of the community, the Australasian Muslim Times has grown tremendously within five years. Within such a short span of time AMUST has been recognised as one of the best and most credible community news platforms, locally and internationally amongst all people, Muslims as well as people of other faiths and no faith,” Mehar remarked. She further added, “AMUST provides the opportunity to share stories of protesting for justice, celebrating success, helping the needy, giving a voice to the persecuted or those who have had their human rights violated. It’s the gift of promoting peace, learning about our history, and demanding change. “This is the purpose and intention behind AMUST and how it is playing a significant role in building a better multicultural Australia,” Mehar concluded. The program proceeded with addresses by guest speakers, audio-visual presentations and entertainment with award sessions to AMUST writers, advertisers, distributors, supporters and Muslim media partners. The well known Uyghur singer Shohrat Tursun sang a Naat in praise of Prophet Mohammad (s) and Hamd, “Allahoo” glorifying God that had the audience mesmerised. Mr Jihad Dib, state member for Lakemba during his address congratulated AMUST for its achievements during the last 5 years and talked about the Australian Muslim narrative. “In AMUST, Muslims have a platform where their opinions can be voiced freely and their ideas shared broadly with the Australasian community. It has given a platform to some who may otherwise not have the opportunity.” “Muslims have played a role in Australia’s history for a long time. From the Afghan Cameleers to the wave of immigrants who helped build our country, they were all proud to be both, Muslim and Australian.” The keynote speaker Mr Chin Tan after acknowledging the presence of honorable guests talked about the role of the Australian Human Rights Commission and its relevance to the Australian Muslim community. “Australia’s Muslims and the Muslim
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Mr Zia Ahmad. community are a vital, integral and valued part of our multicultural society. There are no exceptions or exclusion. But as we know, Muslims, in general, continue to face particularly intense forms of scrutiny which often result in discrimination and prejudice. While polling shows us that public support for our multiculturalism remains strong, the community has, generally, been found to hold more negative or prejudicial attitudes towards Muslims, when asked about them directly. Independent media entities such as the Australasian Muslim Times are an important response mechanism to this imbalance. The Australasian Muslim Times plays the role of educator, community voice, community response and connector. But more importantly AMUST is also recognised for its role as a balanced and constructive instrument of understanding, respect, peace, unity and inclusion. The Australasian Muslim Times has a strong track record of delivering that unique inclusive view. It is a highly awarded and respected multicultural multimedia news platform that demonstrates its strengths in sharing the expert opinions of Australian Muslims communities on the matters that impact on them. I want to pay particular tribute to Zia and Mehar Ahmad for their immense contribution in making AMUST the success story it is today but more so for their years of demonstrated sacrifices and contributions to the welfare and advancement of the Muslim community and to the wider community. This is Australia at its multicultural and harmonious best..” The program concluded with a vote of thanks by Zia Ahmad, Editor-in-Chief of AMUST for all the guests attending the event and award winners and other volunteers who have contributed towards the AMUST success story. He also acknowledged Mehar Ahmad, not only as his better half as the rock for the family but also as his boss who has been the glue for the AMUST team for all these years in leading Seena for building AMUST as a highly successful positive news media platform. Jane closed the proceedings for the night with her final comments, “On behalf of everyone here, thank you, Zia, for such moving words – and to you and your team for a wonderful evening. I look forward to seeing AMUST going from strength to strength, and to celebrating its 10 year anniversary five years from now. Thank you to our guest speakers Jihad Dib and Chin Tan. And to all our presenters, award winners, sponsors and supporters. Thank you to you all for attending – you’ve been a wonderful audience and I’ve really enjoyed being your MC.” AMUST Awards Night was graciously sponsored by Halal Certification Authority, Shelly Legal and Unity Grammar. ISSUE 165 / AUGUST 2019
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The White Genocide AMUST
Srebrenica 11 July 1995 Bilal Cleland
“Jews will not replace us” Haroon Moghul introduced his opinion piece “The White Genocide That the Far Right Won’t Talk About” in Haaretz. [30 June 2019] with descriptions of the replacement theory now dominating neo-nazi thought. The Charlottesville neo-nazis chanting “Jews will not replace us,” meant, that “the Jews” were promoting mass immigration as a means of diluting the white population. They were not claiming the Jews would physically displace them. The most extreme manifestation of this claim is that there is: “The intentional elimination of white people, beginning with the subversive importation of (grossly exaggerated) numbers of brown and black immigrants.” The Australian terrorist who killed 51 Muslims in Christchurch New Zealand was acting to avert a white genocide by immigrant “invaders.” The Norwegian Christian crusader Anders Breivik murdered young Norwegian Labour Party members, blaming them for the surrender of his country’s sovereignty to foreigners.
The Bosnian genocide in the 1990s, a genocide of white Europeans, showed that; “It was not the color of their skin which saw them targeted, however. It was their religious affiliation and ancestry.” [Haaretz, 30 June 2019]. This “great replacement” theory thus extends to religious and cultural differences not just skin colour. Muslims are part of the subversion of “white” civilisation. The anti-Muslim Genocide in Bosnia On 11 July 1995 at Srebrenica, UN peacekeepers opened the way for Serbian Chetnik killers to carry out the murders of some 8000 boys and men whose only crime was their religious affiliation. The International Criminal Tribunal judge Fouad Riad described the barbarity in these words; “Thousands of men executed and buried in mass graves, hundreds of men bur-
ied alive, men and women mutilated and slaughtered, children killed before their mothers eyes, a grandfather forced to eat the liver of his own grandson. These are truly scenes from hell, written on the darkest pages of human history.” The Research and Documentation Center in Sarajevo reported that “over 100,000 Bosnians were killed between 1991 and 1995” and of these “80 percent were Muslims” …. It was indeed planned and systematic genocide. [Pinar Tankir 11 July 2019. Daily Sabah] Preparing the way for genocide Refugees, Muslims, indigenous peoples, all minority groups in otherwise liberal societies subject to the rise of fundamentalist populism and venomous tabloid media need to be able to recognise lethal trends. Norman Cigar in his “Genocide in Bos-
Australia can learn much from New Zealand
Dr Daud Batchelor
Australians often experience defeat in rugby and cricket, at the hands of New Zealanders. However, we also face evidence of New Zealand’s higher moral-ethical standing. ABC journalist Alana Schetzer remarked, “Ever since our neighbours across the Tasman became the world’s first country to allow women the right to vote, we’ve been struggling to keep up. … New Zealand has also shown superb leadership in issues concerning native rights, campaigning against nuclear testing in the South Pacific, and have some of the strongest environmental laws in the world.” The empathy and compassion demonstrated by NZ PM, Jacinda Ardern, following the Christchurch Massacres, was beyond anything shown by Australian senior political leaders. Although compassion and mercy are universal values, they are integral to Islamic teachings. It’s unsurprising that one 2010 assessment found NZ first in demonstrating qualities of an ‘Islamic’ country. Scheherazade and Askari in “How Islamic are Islamic Countries?” found from analysing countries based on Islamic teachings in economy, law and governance, human and political rights, that NZ ranks first. NZ’s paramount position is confirmed in 2019 Differences between the two countries are likely consequences of differing emphases on materialism and spirituality. NZ leaders have not blindly toed the line in tailing the US in morally questionable enterprises such as the Iraqi invasion. NZ did AUGUST 2019 / ISSUE 165
not participate but later helped rebuild Iraq. NZ exemplifies good treatment of its indigenes. It differs from Australia – Aborigines display heterogeneity in languages and cultures whilst Maori society is more homogenous. The population of Aboriginals in Australia is like that of Muslims (3%), while Maoris comprise a greater proportion in NZ. The lower Aboriginal population is partly caused by colonial genocidal policies. The positive experience of NZ in righting historical wrongs suggests Australia would benefit highly by having treaties with indigenous Australians and providing them with special Parliamentary seats. While the ‘Happiness Index’ of New Zealanders (ranked 8th) improved, that of Australians slipped. NZ is not without hotspots of racism and violence but on lesser levels. Australia slipped six places in 12 months on the Social Progress Index at 15thplaced behind NZ (10th). New Zealand citizens benefit from balanced news media and so are better informed than Australians lambasted with news that is anti-Labour and anti-Muslim and promotes Anglo-European supremacy. The Monthly’s correspondent, Richard Cooke, highlighted the threat to democracy from the Murdoch media: “Any thinking Australian has spent the better part of two decades looking across the Tasman with envy. I spent several months living there in 2017 … the difference seemed so pronounced it was almost shaming. Since roughly the turn of the millennium, just as Australia stalled and regressed, New Zealand has matured and progressed... They came to terms with their colonial history, while we denied ours. … Friendlier, less belligerent, more cultured, more innovative and somehow more at ease, New Zealand really was … ‘punching above its weight’,
nia; The Policy of “Ethnic Cleansing” [Texas A&M University Press 1995] reveals how the first phase involves shaping the intellectual atmosphere. “Well before the break-up of Yugoslavia, influential figures in Serbia had begun to shape a stereotypical image of Muslims as alien, inferior, and a threat to all that Serbs held dear.” ‘Such messages about the Muslims eventually were to become commonplace in Serbia’s popular and scholarly literature, while the Serbian media denigrated Islam openly and gratuitously, often in terms approaching racism.” Islam was portrayed as a threat to Serbian political ambitions and Serbian culture. One prominent author, Draskovic, lashed out at the “fury of offensive and intolerant Islam in Bosnia, Kosovo, the Sandzak, and Herzegovina….[at] the vampire-like resurgence of the tradition of the Shariah [religious law], and…the strategy of jihad [holy war] with the goal of creating an Islamic state in the Balkans. Srebrenica was one of the fruits of such vilification. The notion that “white” European culture is under threat from alien influences has filtered into the mainstream. “Now the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), a UK-based counter-extremist organisation, has found that the once-obscure ideology has moved into mainstream politics and is now referenced by figures including US president Donald Trump, Italian interior minister Matteo Salvini and Björn Höcke of the German Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).” [7 July 2019 Guardian]. As Haroon Moghul commented; “If there is no future for Muslims in the West, then the future of the West itself looks bleak indeed.” [Haaretz, 30 June 2019]. Bilal Cleland is a keen reader, a prolific writer and a regular columnist of AMUST based in Melbourne.
The brown cow standing on the grassland Fazlul Huq New Zealand PM, Jacinda Adern, meets Australian PM, Scott Morrison, in Melbourne. 19 July, 2019 while Australia [assumed] the international role of a small man with a big mouth. Absence of NewsCorp media in New Zealand, surely a factor in all this, felt like fresh air.” Schetzer exclaimed, “What is it about New Zealand that places them so far in front of us when it comes to equality and compassion?” We are so like New Zealanders in sharing a common history, yet “we continually lack the initiative and imagination to embrace the reforms necessary to progress human rights, gender equality, environmental protections and embrace Indigenous culture and rights.” Australians surely need to work at improving our moral-ethical outlook and also support initiatives towards having an Aboriginal Voice in Federal Parliament. 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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The cow dressed in brown and grey is witnessed to stand on the grassland as it turns its head sideways, While the dwelling hued in yellowish green is seen to stand close to the valley, As the body of the mountains beyond the gorge would remain dressed in azure, While the footplate has the cover of green from the flock of pine trees. 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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An awards night to remember AMUST
Suraya Daly Last month I had the honour and privilege to be invited to AMUST’s Awards Night and Gala Dinner to celebrate and receive an award on Sat 20 July in Sydney. As a proud writer in the AMUST team for almost a year, I already know that AMUST prides itself on quality journalism and content, giving the people a voice without needing to fit a certain mold. So seeing these values represented and celebrated in an insightful yet joyous occasion was truly a one-of-a-kind experience for me. It was inspiring to be in attendance for an event for a non-for-profit organisation celebrating and appreciating every person involved in producing the content on the
monthly publication. The program for the night included wonderful inclusive speeches from the high calibre of influential professionals and political figures, high-energy musical and cultural performances, delightful three-course meals offered for guests and award presentations in various categories. I received an outstanding volunteer support for my writing, which I am proud and humbled to be presented with. The gifts for guests were also very thoughtful - apart from the other wonderful bits and bobs in the gift bag, it’s like they know I have an obsession with keep-cups! As an interstate guest, I was made to feel very welcomed in the provided accommodation at a spacious, relaxing upmarket apartment in Lakemba near Bankstown, the event’s location, for the night. I was able to squeeze in some sightseeing and exploring around Sydney during the day and enjoyed lunch at what seems to be a Malaysian favourite (a perk of being bilingual
is that you know whenever and wherever there are Malaysians, at all times!), at It’s Time for Thai on George Street. While the stay was short, it was a jampacked, enjoyable 24 hours interstate. The very next day I was up early to catch my morning flight back to Brisbane. I wish I had some more exciting stories to tell you about how my weekend finished, but on Sunday I started doing some readings for work to prepare for the big week ahead. Thank you so much AMUST for the experience!
and prosperity. 5 years of dedication to our community is an accomplishment to be proud of! Through its professional journalism, AMUST makes sure that our community voices continue to resound in the public sphere. Keep up the good work! Khodr Saleh OAM
I would like to extend my warm congratulations to the team and management at AMUST on celebrating 5 years of Muslim Media. This celebration highlights the fantastic achievements AMUST have made in providing a platform for Muslims to express their ideas and share them with the broader community. The voice of the community is loudest when stories of success, messages of hope and local achievements are shared worldwide - this is the greatest form of ser-
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 is a Client Relations Executive 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
Congratulations and best wishes to AMUST
I would like to extend my congratulations and best wishes to AMUST, the leading Australian Muslim community newspaper, of its 5th Anniversary. I wish to thank AMUST and its team for its continuous contribution to Multicultural community life in Australia. May you have many more years of success
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vice to community. I am privileged to be a part of this celebration and acknowledge the participation of the staff and volunteers who have dedicated their time and efforts to ensure the production of AMUST continues to thrive. I am grateful for the contributions AMUST has made to the local and broad media landscape and wish you great success for years to come. Jihad Dib
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Suprovat celebrates 10th anniversary Dr Faroque Amin Suprovat Sydney, the leading Australian-Bangladeshi community newspaper published monthly celebrated its 10th anniversary held on Saturday 27 July at the Embassy Conference Centre in Sydney. The delightful event was joined by various distinguished guests from political, social, civil, educational and media sectors. Several dignitaries have expressed their good wishes for Suprovat Sydney and exchanged their opinion regarding the importance of community media. The MC for the night was Shibly Abdullah, an emerging Bangladeshi young professional and a lecturer of Charles Sturt University. The program Commenced with the recitation from Holy Qur’an by Imam Almedin Skopljakovic. Abdullah Yousuf Shamim, the Editor-in-Chief of Suprovat Sydney, thanked everyone for being with Suprovat Sydney during its journey in serving the community without fear or favour. He also thanked the sponsors and volunteers for making this anniversary event successful. Participating guests were enlightened to listen from dignitaries, among them were Honourable Tony Burke MP, Manager of Opposition Business and the Member
of Watson, Honourable Matt Thistlethwaite MP for Kingsford Smith, Senator Dr Mehreen Faruqi, Honourable Jihad Dib MP for Lakemba, Clr Khal Asfour, Mayor of Canterbury-Bankstown City Council, Former Senator Lee Rhiannon, Superintendent Paul Carrett, representing NSW Police Commissioner and Dr Enam Hoque, President of Sydney Press and Media Council The speakers shed light on the importance of community media in a multicultural society such as Australia where people from various cultural heritages and languages come together to create a progressive and prosperous society. Many a times when mainstream media fail to represent everyone in this society, community media fill in that vacuum by introducing those untold stories and thus it makes a very significant contribution in building the stories of all 25 million Australians. The speakers have also mentioned prevailing stereotyping and discrimination in media where community media come forward and stand as the voice for unheard migrant communities. There was a short video presentation, consisted of the significant contributions of Suprovat Sydney as a community newspaper for Bengali-speaking Australians and migrants as well as snippets of reflection on major events during its journey over the last ten years. Engineer Habibur Rahman, a young Bangladeshi-origin cultural activist, recited a poem on the sufferings of people victim-
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Photo by Fuad Kabir Photography.
Mr Tony Burke MP. Photo by Fuad Kabir Photography. ised by tyrants and unjust oppressors. Suprovat Sydney awarded various significant community organisations and personalities for their community services. Among the awardees were Rubinah Ahmad, Multimedia Technology Manager, Australasian Muslim Times AMUST, Abdul Matin, Sydney Press and Media Council, Bangladeshi Senior Citizens of Australia, Bangladesh Association of NSW, Ziad al Daoud, Issam Obeid, Faisal Halim, Al Walid Miziab, Shapla Shaluk Lions Club, Dr Rafic Hussein on behalf of Muslim Community Radio, Dr Frank Alafaci, Dr Jan Ali, Hasan Kureshi, Ashok Kumar and Vratislav Ricardo. The Australasian Muslim Times AMUST
Senator Mehreen Faruqi. Photo by Fuad Kabir Photography. and Shapla Shaluk Lions Club also gave awards to Suprovat Sydney for their contribution to the multicultural community. Suprovat Sydney team led by its Editor-in-Chief Abdullah Yousuf Shamim, Editor Dr Faroque Amin, Reporters Gholam Mostafa, Fuad Kabir and Abul Bashar received the awards from Zia & Mehar Ahmad, and Lion Dr Moinul Islam. This enchanting event of Suprovat Sydney’s 10th anniversary was concluded with dinner with traditional Bangladeshi cuisine served for the guests. Dr Faroque Amin works with Suprovat Sydney, a Bengali community newspaper published from Sydney, Australia.
Photo by Fuad Kabir Photography. Photo by Fuad Kabir Photography.
Wishing you a joyous Eid ul-Adha and a wonderful celebration with your loved ones! Photo by Fuad Kabir Photography.
DR MEHREEN FARUQI SENATOR FOR NSW
MehreenFaruqi.org.au fb.me/MehreenFaruqi Senator.Faruqi@aph.gov.au 02 9211 1500
AUGUST 2019 / ISSUE 165
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Why NAIDOC Week matters? AMUST
Faseeha Hashmi This year NAIDOC Week was marked from Sunday 7 to Sunday 14 July with the theme ‘ Voice Treaty Truth’, stemming from the ‘Uluru Statement of the Heart’ to inspire and strengthen the voice of Indigenous people to be heard by all. The NAIDOC Week occurs every July and aims to create a moment of stillness to honour the history, culture and accomplishments of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. The origin of NAIDOC began in the 1920s when Indigenous leaders raised the awareness of the plight and status of Indigenous people. According to archaeological research, Australia’s First Nation’s People are the oldest continuing culture, dating back over 65,000 years. Therefore, Indigenous voices were the very first words uttered on this continent. Last week’s National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) commemoration makes me wonder, how often do we as a nation, pause to reflect on these remarkable people. CEO of Dandenong and District Aboriginal Co-operative Limited, Hassan Gardiner (also known as Andrew) a descendant from the Wurundjeri balluk clan of the Woiwurrung people, explained that the week was a reminder to the wider community “that we (Indigenous Australians), are still here and we need to be recognised.” An impassioned Hassan spoke about the gravity of the week, that NAIDOC represents the ability for Indigenous people to rise above, having not succumbed to genocide and instead applaud the achievements made. “It means inclusiveness, respect, that our elders still hold a lot of our history and sto-
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ries and that our community is growing,” enthused Hassan. The week was especially heartfelt, as he helped organise a Children’s Day for Indigenous children, many of whom came from foster care. Shahnaz Rind, a young woman from the Yamatji tribe from Western Australia, also expressed why honouring NAIDOC was so significant, particularly for national healing. “The pains we have suffered has made our community strong and resilient…Resilience has been there for years. But it is also a bad thing, resilience…plays with trauma (and) mental health. There is intergenerational trauma (which stems) from the stolen generation, massacres, our families being raped, and abused (and it still causes) young people to commit suicide,” explained Shahnaz. Indeed, intergeneration trauma has been widely reported for perpetuating social-economic disadvantage. This is compounded by the lack of equal opportunity and unremitting discrimination. More recently, in 2017 as part of an initi-
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ative fashioned by the then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the ‘Uluru Statement from the Heart’ was crafted directly addressed to the Australian public. The document outlines a path forward for healing divisions of the past and acknowledging Indigenous Australians in the nation’s constitution. Fundamental to this struggle has been the longstanding desire for substantive constitutional recognition, over symbolism. Australia is the only Commonwealth country not to have a treaty with its Indigenous people. It was reported that as far back as 1832, Governor Arthur called that lack of treaty a “fatal error”. Constitutional recognition provides the lens which informs the High Court’s decision-making capabilities. Currently, there is no acknowledgement to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the nation’s founding document. “Truth-telling (is important as it reveals) that…our people have been dispossessed, displaced, disrespected and discriminated
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against…the stolen generation, assimilation and…(the fact that many) kids (continue to) experience out-of-home care, (these issues) need to be healed,” said Hassan. “If we can’t resolve things from the past, we can’t look to a brighter future. These issues act as an anchor,” expressed Hassan. Legal protection will empower Indigenous Australians to have their say on matters which affect themselves and all Australians and ensure they have a rightful seat on the table. At the National Press Club on the 11th of July, Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt, the first Indigenous person to hold the portfolio, pledged to build consensus and hold a referendum for constitutional recognition. In this day and age, constitutional change is required to end discrimination that divides multicultural Australia and continues to suppress our Indigenous Australians. This will ensure that modern Australia is properly reflected on the world stage. “We want the rest of the community to support and respect us. To attend (our events) and participate, and to vote for a resounding YES when a referendum happens,” encouraged Hassan. Voices are vital and so are our ears because meaningful dialogue involves speaking and active listening. It certainly is time for Australians to listen to our First Nation’s People. They have so much to teach all of us. The Uluru statement finishes with a touching plea for action from the Australian public. “In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard,” concluded the Uluru statement. For more information about the Uluru Statement of the Heart, please see: www.1voiceuluru.org/the-statement
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Proud to be Australian Indigenous and Muslim Faseeha Hashmi In honour of the annual celebration of National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week on the 7-14 of July, it seems high time to acknowledge the Australian Indigenous experience and especially, what it means to be Indigenous and Muslim. Two prominent Indigenous Australians sat down for a yarn and expressed their views on the shared bonds between Indigenous culture and the religion of Islam. CEO of Dandenong and District Aboriginal Co-operative Limited Hassan Gardiner (also known as Andrew), descendant from the Wurundjeri balluk clan of the Woiwurrung people, expressed that he hopes Muslim communities can unite and collaborate with Indigenous communities. Last year’s theme for NAIDOC was “Because of her, we can” paying respect to matriarchal kinship. Also a Muslim revert, Hassan explained
Hassan Gardiner (also known as Andrew), CEO of Dandenong and District Aboriginal Co-operative Limited.
that he sees a common thread between Muslims and Indigenous appreciation for women. He related this back to a well-known story of the Prophet Muhammed (s), who was once asked, to whom amongst people is most worthy of respect? The Prophet answered: “Your mother” thrice when the
Model elections at Gungahlin Mosque Manarul Islam A new Executive Committee has been elected by more than 700 voters at the Canberra Muslim Community, the organisation that runs the Gungahlin Mosque in the northern Canberra.
NEW EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Abdul Bari President.
Sohail Akbar
Vice President.
S M Shahidul Islam Secretary.
Faisal Ahmed Treasurer.
Zain Scott
Assistant Secretary.
Adrita Inam Akramul Hoque Ibrahim Bangura M D Masud Hassan AUGUST 2019 / ISSUE 165
The positions were passionately contested in the lead up to the AGM and election held on Saturday 13 July. In any case the election was well managed by the Chair of the Election Panel, Brice Hamack, his selected panelists and the army of volunteers he put together to ensure that CMC members who came to vote (over 700 as it turned out) were processed efficiently and the election was carried out with effective governance and transparency. Additionally, in the lead up to the election a streamlined membership process was automated and secured to ensure the integrity of the election. The incoming President, Abdul Bari, thanked all the nominees as well as the past executive committees and Presidents and said that the new committee would be meeting to draw up short and long term plans for communication to the members. “We’d like to thank all the nominees who participated in the election and congratulate those who were elected to the new committee. The respective positions on the executive committee are each a huge responsibility and an amaanah from the Muslim community,” he said. Mainul Haque, the outgoing President, also thanked the past Presidents and committees that has led to the construction of the mosque and the vibrant community. “I leave CMC positive about the future, proud of the service that I have been able to give to my beloved Gungahlin mosque, my community, the ACT Muslim community, the ACT multicultural society, and my adopted country, Australia,” he said.
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Shahnaz Rind, descendant from the Yamatji people says she’s confident to be both Indigenous and Muslim.
question was asked until finally, the prophet answered that “Your father”. Muslim cultures have had a long association with Indigenous people, this relationship predates European settlement. When Australia was known as ‘Gondwana’, some of Australia’s earliest Muslim visitors came from the east Indonesian archipelago. “We have common links that extend far back. Muslim Makassan from the Island of Sulawesi, (provided) fair treatment and traded fairly with Aboriginal people in the north – helping to source Trepang (or Sea Slug). (Consequently, we have) long and shared respectful history,” explained Hassan. The first Muslims to settle permanently in Australia were the cameleers, mainly from Afghanistan. Between the 1860s and 1920s, the Muslim cameleers worked the inland tracks and developed relationships with local Aboriginal people. Intermarriage was common and there are Aboriginal families with surnames including Khan, Sultan, Mahomed and Akbar. Shahnaz Rind, a young woman of mixed heritage is both a descendant from the Yamatji people from Western Australia and of Balouchi origin, described that the significance of Indigenous women during the colonial era. “It was hard for us mob, to have seen our families killed. In these difficult circumstances, our women have had to take a leading role.” Having personally observed Australian Indigenous people standing up for Palestine in public gatherings, Shahnaz expressed that our Indigenous people recognise and share the same compassion and common bond of humanity. She expressed her desire for the same hand from the Muslim community to be extended to our First Nations People. Also a practising nurse, and bridal fashion model Shahnaz admits that being both Mus-
lim and Indigenous creates a lot of curiosity, especially from her Indigenous community that respects her when she observes fasting during Ramadan. Nevertheless, she maintains that she is proud of her dual identity. “There is culture and religion, and they are two different things. I never forget who I am. I am a strong Aboriginal person…and I am Muslim,” said an emboldened Shahnaz. Certainly, within the Islamic faith, cultural awareness is an indispensable characteristic of the religion. She acknowledges that just as the Islamic rites to perform the hajj in Mecca are considered sacred similarly, our Indigenous counterparts deemed certain spaces like Uluru to be sacred too. “We want to protect our sacred spaces. That’s how we feel (connected) to our land and understand it”. Similar to Islamic practices and customs, she explains how Indigenous culture also share significant characteristics with Islamic practices. For instance, “Sorry Business” means to come together as a community and collectively mourn during funerals, instead of being alone. Other Indigenous practices also include “Men’s Business” and “Women’s Business”. “We have endured so much hardship, which speaks to the character of Indigenous people that are resilient and immensely strong,” expressed Shahnaz. Our First Nations People are as precious as the soil in which we stand on. Their footprints have left an indelible mark on these lands, reminding all Australians of the privilege we have to share these lands with the original custodians. Indeed, Muslim communities have a part to play, to add value and collaborate with our First Nations People. “We need Muslims to standby us, if we come together (as a nation), we can be stronger,” heartened Shahnaz.
Manarul Islam is an IT professional, community worker and AMUST correspondent based in Canberra. WWW.AMUST.COM.AU
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‘Dunya Rang Rangili’ launched in Sydney AMUST Media Prominent Urdu-Australian writer, Mr Tariq Mahmood Mirza, launched his latest book ‘Dunya Rang Rangeeli’ at a local restaurant in Sydney, Australia on Sunday 14 July 2019. The event, attended by many literary personalities from all over Sydney, Canberra, and Wollongong, was hosted by the prolific poetess, Ms Huma Mirza and presided over by Dr Raees Alvi, while special guests included the Consular General of Pakistan, Mr Abdul-Majid Yousafani and Councillor of Blacktown Council, Mr Maninder Singh. Prof Akhlaq Gilani, Prof Abbas Zaidi, Dr Shabbir Haidar and Dr Muhammad Ali presented riveting and thought-provoking essays on ‘Dunya Rang Rangeeli’. Subsequently, Mr Arif Sadiq commented not only on the genre of travel-writing, but reviewed all four travel books by Tariq Mirza in a comedic manner which left the audience amused. Dr Khurram Kayani provided an introspective insight on the importance of Urdu literature and the culture of book reading, and how necessary books are for the survival of a thriving civilisation. Ms Huma Mirza recited an eloquent extract from the literary review of ‘Dunya Rang Rangeeli’ by Prof Dr Ali Muhammad Khan, resident at FC College University, Lahore, Pakistan.
A poem was recited by a close friend of the writer, Mr Akhtar Ali Mughal, who wrote a powerful Urdu Nazam in honour of ‘Dunya Rang Rangeeli’. Not only were the audience provided with literary commentary on ‘Dunya Rang Rangeeli’, they were also enlightened with expert reviews on, and key extracts from, Tariq Mirza’s previous travel book, ‘Safar-E-Ishq’, an entrancing text about his spiritual and physical journey for the Hajj pilgrimage. Ms Huma Mirza started by reciting literary comments on ‘Safar-E-Ishq’ by the re-
Multi-faith cemetery approval welcomed
AMUST Media The NSW Independent Planning Commission has recommended for approval a Crown cemetery at Varroville, South West Sydney proposed by the Catholic Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust following extensive community consultation. Community leaders have welcomed the approved development of the new multi-faith cemetery on the outskirt of Sydney to meet the needs of a rapidly growing and diverse multi-cultural population. Once completed, the new cemetery is forecast to add 88,000 burial plots over the next 100 years to meet the needs of the 30 per cent of Sydneysiders whose preference is burial, rather than cremation. CEO of the not-for-profit Catholic Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust, Mr Peter O’Meara said the approval means the trust can now help future generations meet the challenges of declining burial space in Sydney. AUGUST 2019 / ISSUE 165
nowned Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, whilst Dr Raza Baqar offered the audience a personal analysis of the book. The ribbon-cutting ceremony of ‘Dunya Rang Rangeeli’ was thereby conducted by Tariq Mirza and the honourable Consular General of Pakistan, Mr Abdul-Majid Yousafani, who urged the elders of the Pakistani community to encourage their children and youth to participate in literary events so as to keep Urdu language alive in Australia. Also in attendance was Mr Maninder Singh, Councillor of Blacktown Council, Sydney, who upon the author’s request, encouraged local writers to donate their Urdu literary books to Blacktown Library. Mr Tariq Mirza began his speech by thanking all attendees, speakers, media personal-
ities, and supporting organizations, namely, HumWatan Sydney and Urdu International Australia, and concluded by reciting key extracts from his book, ‘Dunya Rang Rangeeli’, which was greatly appreciated by all members of the audience. The final speech of the night was by the presiding member, Dr Raees Alvi, who passionately shed light on Tariq Mirza’s biography, personality, and literary works, and proudly stated, ‘It is our great luck that we reside in the same city as Tariq Mirza’. This exceptional sitting of a hundred-plus shining personalities was thoroughly enjoyed by all, and along with the delectable food at Cheema Da Dhaba, became a memorable literary event for 2019.
“This approval ensures the interment practices and beliefs of all religious and cultural groups are respected and provided for. We welcome everyone to these world-class facilities and public recreational spaces”, he said. Chairman of the Riverstone Muslim Cemetery Board, Mr Kazi Ali said the lack of burial space has created a real crisis for his community and the new multi-faith cemeteries are long overdue. “Our cemetery space is close to capacity and with the Muslim community forecast to continue growing over the coming decades, new cemeteries are critical.” Mr Ali said. The Chief Executive Officer of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, Mr Vic Alhadeff also welcomed the plans. The site at Varroville will include passive recreation areas, gardens and landscaped walkways accessible to everyone in the community that will protect these sites in perpetuity. WWW.AMUST.COM.AU
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Linking Hearts Ambassador Program launch AMUST Media On Tuesday 19 March 2019, Linking Hearts officially launched the first group of Linking Hearts Ambassadors Program, a program that was announced at the Muslim Women Association’s 35th Anniversary Dinner in November 2018 with the appointment of Mr. Graham Richardson, media commentator, as the first Linking Hearts Ambassador. The Linking Hearts Ambassador Program is an alliance of male ambassadors who use individual and/or combined resources, knowledge and expertise to positively impact the sphere of Domestic and Family Violence in Australia; the goal is to end Domestic and Family Violence in Australia. On the day, Ambassadors, wearing the Linking Hearts pin, pledged to be catalysts of change, to influence social practices and community responsibility in putting an end to domestic and family violence in Australia. We are excited with the array of distinguished and committed gentlemen, who recognise that together, we can make a difference towards a Domestic and Family Violence FREE (DFVREE) Australia. The Ambassador Reference Executive is the core of the Linking Hearts Ambassador Program that drives the strategic direction
and key initiatives. Plans are underway to embrace this powerful Linking Hearts platform to create a circle of influence in an inclusive and respectful way. Established on Thursday 4 July 2019, the Ambassador Reference Executive engaged in a rich dialogue including “Catalyst for Change” inter-sectional ideas, authentic intentions on Men standing beside Women and Children against violence. Linking Hearts, a service of the Muslim Women Association, provides domestic violence and homelessness support to women and families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds with safe and supported crisis and transitional accommodation. Linking Hearts is the only CALD Domestic Violence specific service for women and families in the region it operates, Sydney and South West Sydney, areas which have a high proportion of people from CALD backgrounds. It provides families including women and children escaping domestic and family violence, single parents with children, couples with children and refugees with safe and supported crisis and transitional accommodation. As well as Domestic Violence and Homelessness Support for clients, Linking Hearts also provides community awareness, advocacy, and early intervention and support.
Bayt Al-Zakat Australia initiatives
Bayt Al-Zakat Adahi was distributed to the poor orphans and Syrian Refugees. AMUST Media Bayt Al-Zakat Australia is a non-profit organisation that works towards the relief of poverty throughout the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The board members of Bayt Al-Zakat are all Australian Muslims who dedicate their free time as volunteers in investing and developing infrastructure for social progress of Muslims in Australia as well as overseas through a number of projects: 1. Orphan Sponsorship Program: It is a joined program where Bayt Al-Zakat Australia collects defined sponsorship donations from sponsors and forwards them to Bayt Al-Zakat in Lebanon who provide sponsored orphans, and their guardians, financial, educational and medical support. Bayt Al-Zakat in 2018 a program to financially help the disadvantaged families of elderly and widows. 2. “Adahi” Program: Bayt Al-Zakat launched the Adahi project in 1998 where during the festival of Eid al Adha defined donations from participants are used for
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the slaughtering of sheep at licensed abattoirs and arrangements for the freezing, packaging and transport of frozen meats to Asian and African countries and to Lebanon. Bayt Al-Zakat in Lebanon distributes frozen meats to poor and needy persons. 3. Food Parcels Program: This program is run during the fasting month of Ramadan collecting donations to send food parcels to the poor, orphans and needy in Middle East, Asia and Africa. For the above 3 projects, Bayt Al-Zakat deducts a small percentage of the collected donations to cover its operational costs. HSC Awards Night: In January, each year and for the last 22 years Bayt Al-Zakat Australia organises a major community event to present awards to High Achievers in the NSW HSC gaining greater than 90 ATAR. Bayt Al-Zakat Australia acknowledges the integral role education plays in strengthening our community and empowering our youth. Bayt Al-Zakat Australia funds this activity with sponsorships from local sponsors. ISSUE 165 / AUGUST 2019
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EDUCATION 25 - 26
BUSINESS 27
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AMUST
The Sacred Sounds of Andalusia echoes in Sydney
Mehar Ahmad An exceptional sacred musical performance was organised on Friday 12 July at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music titled “The Sacred Sounds of Andalusia with Al-Firdaus Ensemble”. The sold out event was attended by a large number of people of diverse cultural background and faiths who were mesmerised by the spiritual atmosphere of devotion and joy created by the Al Firdaus Ensemble artists. The Al Firdaus Ensemble is a multicultural sufi music group based in Granada, Spain. It was founded in 2012 by the English violinist and singer Ali Keeler and includes musicians from England, Spain, Morocco and South America. The members of the group with their different cultural and musical backgrounds contribute to producing the unique sound of Al Firdaus, a synthesis of musical traditions, Western classical, Celtic, Arabic, Turkish, Andalusi, and Flamenco. They aspire through their music to inspire the highest sentiments and hope that their music can play a role in building bridges between cultures and spreading peace in these turbulent times.
“The Sacred Sounds of Andalusia with Al-Firdaus Ensemble” Sydney tour was organised by Matthew Richards with his team of volunteers and sponsored by Crescent Wealth and The Crescent Foundation as well as Attia Lawyers and Consultants. A smaller event was also held on Saturday in Yagoona with an informative Q and A with the group, followed by a Mawlid. Their Melbourne event was held on Wednesday 10 July at the Drum Theatre. The words of the songs by Al-Firdaus Ensemble are mainly in Arabic drawn from the poetry of the great sufis from Al Andalus and the Arab world such as Ibn Arabi and Al Shushtari. Also within their repertoire are musical adaptations of poems in Aljamiado, old Spanish written by the Moriscos using the Arabic script. In this way Al Firdaus hopes to revive the heritage of the Moriscos whose culture was forbidden in its day and has only reached us through manuscripts which they left behind on their expulsion in 1609 and that have been discovered over the years hidden in old houses. The group has released two albums so far. Mehar Ahmad based in Sydney is a Public School Teacher and President of Seena Inc, Publishers of AMUST.
ICAN hosts Eid brunch for academics
Hannan Mansuri
The Islamic Community Academic Network (ICAN), organised a late Eid Brunch for Muslim Academics and research students across Sydney on Saturday 6 July 2019 hosted in collaboration with Western Sydney University and Charles Sturt University at the CBD Parramatta campus. The program at the event highlighted the three pillars of ICAN- interdisciplinary collaboration, mentoring/support in every stage of academic career and celebration of ICAN members’ achievements. In her keynote address, Dr Aila Khan of Western Sydney University, senior lecturer at Western Sydney University School of Business underlined the importance of collaboration, mentioning the fact that even the prolific scientist and genius, Albert Einstein, succeeded through collaboration. The second highlight of the keynote was the need for lifelong mentors in every stage of one’s academic career. Dr Khan suggested that academics should strongly consider creating a ‘Personal Advisory Board’. Dr Omar Mubin of Western Sydney UniAUGUST 2019 / ISSUE 165
versity introduced Pepper, the humanoid robot and its interactive capabilities to the audience. Pepper conversed with some attendees while Nao, another robot used in language teaching at schools, performed a dance to demonstrate its flexibility and range of motion. As the founder of ICAN, Dr Iner introduced the scope and goals of ICAN and invited the attendees to nominate themselves to take part in the steering committee of ICAN. Dr Iner suggested even representation of each Sydney-based university in the steering committee. While nibbling the delicious dishes, academics from diverse fields met and exchanged business cards. The attendees enjoyed the opportunity to connect with their fellow academics from different fields and universities in the well-organised and cosy environment. The organisers announced that next ICAN Eid brunch will be held in late August. ICAN is an independent platform bringing together Muslim academics from diverse disciplines and universities across Australia, inclusive of all ethnicities, cultures, as well as political, philosophical and religious world views. Hannan Mansuri is a research student at the University of Sydney. WWW.AMUST.COM.AU
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CENTREFOLD
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COMMUNITY 9 - 15
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Celebrating 5 Year
AMUST
AMUST Awards Ni
Photography by D
Shohrat Tursun, Uygur singer.
Dr AbulKhair Jalaluddin.
Dr Daud Abdul-Fattah Batchelor.
Faseeha Hashmi.
Ibrahim Taha.
Zahid Jamil.
Deniz Erdogan, Amity College.
Gurkan Gurbuz, ARO.
Amin El-Bureeny, Human Appeal.
Adam & Michael Body, sons of late Dr Anne Fairbairn AM.
Dr Wali Bokhari.
Eesa Bokhari.
Malaz Majanni, OnePath Network.
Peter Gould.
Theresa Dyckman.
Cav Felice Montrone OAM.
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Mahmoud Jaame.
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ISSUE 165 / AUGUST 2019
LIFESTYLE 20 - 21
UMMAH 22 - 24
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BUSINESS 27
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rs of Muslim Media AMUST
ight & Gala Dinner
Dr Benny Baharuddin
From left: Jihad Dib, Erin Dib, Mehar Ahmad, Jane Jeffes and Rory Jeffes.
Irfan Yusuf.
Manar Ahmad.
Peter O’Meara, Kemps Creek Cemetary.
Maha Abdo OAM, MWA.
Faten El Dana OAM, 2MFM.
Abdullah Aksu, Amity College.
THQCabra. AUGUST 2019 / ISSUE 165
Philip M Feinstein.
Luqman Hakim Landy.
Mohamed El-Mouelhy, Halal Certification Authority.
Osman Karolia, Unity Grammar.
Waseem Zoabi, Unity Grammar.
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Suraya Daly.
Mateen Abbas.
Usaid Khalil, MEFF.
Rubinah Ahmad. AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES
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Healing memories & making history
The Abraham Conference 2019
Continued from page 1 The event was co-hosted by Affinity Intercultural Foundation, The Australian Egyptian Forum Council, The Columban Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations, The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, and the Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of NSW & ACT. Delegates explored the importance of interfaith relations around the central theme, “Healing Memories, Making History: Genuine Encounters in the Present will Redeem our Past for a Different Future”. The theme was opened by a presentation from an international keynote speaker, Rev Dr Diego Sarrió-Cucarella, MAfr, Rector of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies in Rome. His talk, “The Abrahamic Religions: Shedding Past Polemics, Forging New Paradigms”, provided a commentary and analysis of medieval Christian and Muslim polemical writings and how they negatively influence relations between members of the faiths today. Revisiting this history challenged the members of the three faiths to consider the painful legacy of their memories. If they shed seeing each other through the polemics of the past and encounter each other as they truly are in all their humanity today, they will open a path to healing.
Mr John Cleary with Rev Dr Diego Sarrió-Cucarella. Moreover, in healing their memories, they will be empowered to forge new relations founded in respect and mutuality and thereby make history. Master of Ceremonies, John Cleary, former ABC broadcaster of Compass and The Religion Report, and a panel of Jewish, Christian and Muslim experts in the field of interfaith relations, expanded the presentation with comments and questions that addressed contemporary issues of concern among the panel and delegates.
Rabbi David Freedman and Judith Levitan highlighted from a Jewish perspective the godliness of all persons, made “in the image and likeness of God” (Gen 1:26-7) as the basis for respect, and challenged the Christian and Muslim universalist ambition to allow a welcoming and hospitable space for others. Professor Diane Speed and Dr Emmanuel Nathan from the Christian perspective affirmed the need for genuine respect of differences between religions without the extremes of either smothering the other by
incorporating them within one’s own frame of reference, or othering them so radically as to make them alien. They noted also the gap within religions between populist rhetoric and scholarly leadership which must also be overcome. Professor Ismail Albaytrak and Makiz Ansari, while acknowledging the polemic which marked our conflicted histories, also highlighted the long periods of living in harmony and peaceful co-existence, of convivencia, and the friendship and familiarity which also exists in our present times. Group work among attendees, followed by a plenary, raised many questions, such as how the youth of today may lead in better interfaith relations, how the three faiths could provide a more public example of dialogue and friendship, and how might they better recognise difference and encourage diversity in society as a whole. The Abraham Conference 2019 concluded that while such events are a move towards shedding polemics of the past to forge new paradigms in interfaith dialogue and friendship, there is still much work to be done in encouraging interfaith relations. Kim Chong is Media & Community Liaison at the Columban Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations.
Jewish support for Christchurch victims Philip Feinstein When terror struck the two mosques in Christchurch in New Zealand, the whole world froze. The Jews of the world were also mortified by this attack on their biblical brothers and sisters. Abraham would have been shocked to see the ongoing violence against Muslims and Jews throughout the world. Christchurch already had a share of major calamities, but this was something to the extreme. The people of New Zealand came out in force to stand by their fellow Muslim citizens. And their Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, was magnanimous in the way she addressed the nation. Earlier this month, Jewish leaders from both Australia and New Zealand rallied in Christchurch to support the grieving Muslim community and knelt alongside the Muslim mourners listening to the Imams at the Al Noor mosque and the Linwood mosque as they recalled the chilling details of the March 15 massacre. As a further sign of mutual respect, the Muslim representatives donned the traditional Jewish kippah and visited the Canterbury synagogue. Addressing Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel in front of a bank of television and radio networks, the CEO of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, Vic Alhadeff - who flew to Christchurch to present a Jewish crowd-
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funded cheque of $69,980 for the shattered Muslim community - emphasised that “we all want our loved ones to return home safely each day, without being abused or worse because of their race, religion, gender or sexual preference”. “The most practical way of advancing this most fundamental of ideals is to cast aside our differences where we can meaningfully support each other as members of a shared humanity,” he said. And in a show of trans-Tasman solidarity, Juliet Moses from the New Zealand Jewish Council added: “The Jewish community has experienced its own share of attacks against it, so we understand the pain that the Muslim community of Christchurch would be going through. Our hearts beat as one - we feel your pain”. In meeting the Jewish delegation, the Imam of the Al Noor mosque, Gamal Fouda, described their meeting as a golden opportunity for the two religions to work together. “The Jewish people are the siblings of Muslims and Judaism is a close religion to Islam as well,” he said. When the tragedy initially unfolded, the Sydney Opera House poignantly displayed a silver fern to show solidarity between Australia and New Zealand. At the same time the NSW Jewish Board launched its crowdfunding campaign to assist the Muslim community, and together with other Jewish groups in the US and New Zealand, a total amount of $NZ1.1 million was raised to support the Christchurch Muslim community with medical, heath and counselling services. Addressing the mayoral ceremony in
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Christchurch meeting with (L to R) Front: Vic Alhadeff, Liane Daziel, Stephen Goodman. Back: Ibrar Sheikh, Anwar Ghani, Shagaf Khan, and Mohammed Jama. Christchurch, Alhadeff said: “These funds are intended for the families of those impacted by the tragedy, encompassing education, vocational training, medical care and interfaith programming. Today we walk in the skin of the Muslim community of Christchurch.” Ibrar Sheikh from the Federation of Islamic Associations of NZ summarised the moment: “The Jewish and Muslim community in New Zealand already have a long
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history of collaboration, but this support from the global community is very gratefully received.” Those people who missed the National Remembrance Service in Christchurch can tune in here: https://tinyurl.com/y5fctevf Philip Feinstein is a Sydney based writer, musician and activist working for MUSIC FOR REFUGEES www.musicforrefugees.org ISSUE 165 / AUGUST 2019
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AUSTRALIA
Tackling modern slavery issues AMUST
The Global Slavery Index estimates:
40 million in slavery
10 million children
72%
women and children
70-80%
in Indo-China region
25 million
people in Asia Pacific (our backyard, our trading partners)
16 million
people in supply chains
AUD $18 billion
in supply chains in Australia – in products we buy and use every day an estimated
15,000
enslaved in Australia
152 million
in child labour – half in dangerous conditions, denied childhood, education, health, development
Mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, sisters, brothers. Refugees and migrants particularly vulnerable.
Exploitation, Coercion,
Physical ABUSE, EMOTIONAL Abuse, No Freedom, No Dignity,
No Basic Human Rights A global economy benefiting the privileged at the cost of the most vulnerable. Human misery and deprivation on a colossal scale AUGUST 2019 / ISSUE 165
Jane Jeffes, Co-Founder of WAR ON SLAVERY.
Andrew West with Kevin Highland. AMUST Media The issue of modern slavery was highlighted at an event at the NSW Parliament on Thursday 4 July 2019 titled “The War on Slavery: Kevin Highland OBE” In Conversation with ABC’s Andrew West. Modern slavery is one of the 21st century’s greatest ills and a crime against humanity on a huge scale. In 2019, despite being illegal everywhere, 40-45 million people live in slavery. Two thirds in our region. A quarter, children. The largest number of slaves the world has ever seen. Except they’re not seen. Most of us are deeply shocked to discover the products and services we use every day are made by people forced, defrauded or coerced into work, trapped in debt bondage or serfdom, often trafficked, under threat of violence, unable to walk away, their most basic human rights denied for others’ profit and our consumer benefit. Even in Australia, the ‘lucky country’, research says 15,000 slaves are unseen. Global cost-cutting means it’s everywhere. Clothing, footwear, jewellery, make-up, phones, computers, tea, coffee, fruit, agriculture, fishing, construction… AUS$150 billion dollar industry. Add 152 million child labourers denied childhood, education, health and it’s one of the greatest challenges and shames of our time. The event on 4 July focussed on the extent of the problem of modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking in 2019, measures that need to be undertaken to end it, the status of the NSW Modern Slavery Act and a call to action. The audience at the event was made up of politicians, business leaders, human rights advocates, auditors, lawyers, NGO’s, media, educators and concerned citizens. It was hosted by The Hon Adam Searle MLC with the support of NGO’s including War on Slavery, Oxfam and Stop the Traffic. Other speakers included Jennifer Burn (NSW Interim Anti-Slavery Commissioner); Parliamentary Host The Hon Adam Searle (Leader of the Opposition in the NSW Legislative Council, Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations); Fuzz Kitto (National Co-director, STOP THE TRAFFIK Australian Coalition); James Dunlop (Oxfam Australia Advocacy Lead) and Jane Jeffes (Co-Founder War On Slavery). Special guest Paul Green (former Christian Democrat MLC, sponsor of private member’s Modern Slavery Bill 2018). Around this time last year, the NSW Parliament passed its Modern Slavery Act, nearly 3 years after the UN set deadlines of 2025 to end child labour and 2030 to eradicate all modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking. The Federal Government’s Modern Slavery Act came into effect on 1 January 2019. A 90 second video was shown at the event War On Slavery summing up the scale of the
problem and the complicity of each one of us. WAR ON SLAVERY was founded by Jane Jeffes and Becky Honey. It aims to build public awareness and harness people power to shift the issue to the forefront of public consciousness and change the moral compass. A documentary factual TV series has been approved for philanthropic funding. Further information, details of the social impact campaign and how to donate can be found here: https://documentaryaustralia.com.au/ project/war-on-slavery/
For further information, please contact Becky Honey becky.honey@waronslavery.org or Jane Jeffes jane.jeffes@waronslavery.org FACTS TO TAKE AWAY & NOT FORGET In any age, slavery benefits the rich and privileged and exploits the vulnerable, poor and defenceless. In the 21st century, Pope Francis and other world leaders call it a crime against humanity, a terrible reflection on the moral, economic and social health of the world.
Have we learnt from the past? Ernie Friedlander Moving Forward Together has been established with the vision of not dwelling on the past, leaving the baggage behind, as much as possible and looking forward towards a positive future. When we look at the situation globally, we may even have gone backward. The United Nations concept as good as the intentions were, have failed to stem the flow of self-interest, power grab, and voted on party line or alliances. Syria and Libya being prime examples. Only the Humanitarian aid that they organise and give countries a window to meet and talk, justifies their existence. Having 65 Million refugees in the world is a very poor advertisement for their efforts. There are conflicts and little wars all over the continents. The media sensationalise these, focuses very little on the positives. Some self-interests benefit from the negatives instead of looking at the benefits of peace and harmony. Let us consider the costs of security and rebuilding – all this could be channelled to remedies, the disenfranchised, sick and needy. Our optimistic outlook is that most people are decent law-abiding citizens and deserve to a fair go – and believe that light will gradually overcome darkness has paid off. With a small team of dedicated volunteers, we managed to promote the positives, kindness and consideration we are working on and the belief that we can breach the gap. Our harmony day Poster and Song Writing Competitions reached new heights in 2019. The topic of “Harmony It’s Up to Us” was very well-identified by the school students in their presentations. We have great talent out there. It made our efforts all the more and fulfilling.
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Our Harmony Walks held in Blacktown and Merrylands reached local and broader communities. Hundreds of people from Blacktown and other parts of Sydney turned out for the colourful Moving Forward Together Festival Celebrating International Mother Language Day and the Harmony Walk. This was followed by the Harmony Day Harmony Walk with school students held in Merrylands. Currently, we are planning for August a Walk that will be incorporated into the cultural diversity at the Macarthur Multicultural Children’s Festival Our Vice-Regal Patronage was confirmed by the new Governor, Her Excellency, Margaret Beazley. We know we have a long way to go in our task to make people realise the benefit and need “that kindness, consideration for others, love compassion and harmony will bring to our planet, nationally and well as globally” Ernie Friedlander OAM is the President of the Moving Forward Together Association based in Sydney.
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LIFESTYLE
YIN in YMCA Space Squad AMUST
NEWS 1-4
BOOMERANG 5-8
COMMUNITY 9 - 15
Two members of Young Innovators Network (YIN) participated in the YMCA Space Squad in Canberra from 8 to 12 July staying at the Bush Capital Lodge (BCL). The program lasted for 5 days where the participants were provided with beds, bathrooms, showers and food catering for special dietary requirements. A number of activities were organised starting with a trip to Mount Stromlo for a stargazing night as well as a presentation and tour of the observatory located on the mountain by Brad Tucker. There was also a presentation on spectrums by Astro 3D and galaxy collisions by the observatory director along with corresponding activities. The next day, they travelled to Questacon’s Maker Space for a workshop where they learnt the innovation process followed by a presentation on life on Mars. On their third day, they programmed moving balls called Sphero, learnt the mathematics behind rocket launching using 11 and
ALMA hosts Eid gala dinner
Jafran Anzar
Austra-Lanka Muslim Association (ALMA) hosted their annual Eid-ul-Fitr dinner on Sunday 23 June at Auburn Grand Palace in Sydney. The event was an opportunity for the Australian Sri Lankan community once more to come together and recognise the achievements of several members of the community. Dr Ajward Seyed, one of the ALMA Vice Presidents, was the MC for this formal program which started with Quran recitation performed by Yoosuf Fazeel.
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Sharmeen Ali is a High School Student and is a part of the organisation called Young Innovators Network.
A few years back, I was attending a workshop on human intelligence. In one of the sessions, we were all together in a classroom and had a mentally disabled person in front of us. He was deprived of every need of the world, his nails were long and looked like he had not taken a shower for ages. It was very difficult to sit in that room due to his dirty, smelly clothes. We were clean, educated, and professional doctors and were all disturbed by this situation. Amongst us, there was a psychiatrist with a PhD. He told us that the weight of the soul is 21 to 67 grams. When it comes out of the body, pressure decreases its weight between 0.1 to 0.5 grams. After the researcher had finished his presentation on soul and imagination, the chairman of the session, an old professor stood up and asked one of his students to bring a bucket of warm water and a blanket. He placed the bucket near that smelly man, and while we doctors watched, the professor washed the man with love and care like a mother. Imagine yourself, a very prestigious and educated professor in the presence of young doctors and his students was washing the feet of a dirty man. We were looking at him with great surprise. He smiled and looked at us and said, “This is not crazy, I not mad, it’s my contact with God directly. This is my spirituality, my imagination.” He further added, “There is a way be-
The welcome address was given by Nilam Mohamed, the President of ALMA, stressing the importance of unity within the community. The next segment was dedicated to the kids who participated in the Ramadan competition held during the recently competed holy month of Ramadan. All 78 children who participated in the competition were recognised with certificates and gifts. The winners from the categories of Quran Recitation, Calligraphy and Quran Quiz were recognised with certificates and special gifts. This was followed by the next item on the program, presentation of sporting awards.
The Champion from the ALMA Carnival Cricket Tournament received Tournament Trophy and the individual players received trophies of their own. Likewise, the Soccer Champion of the Soccer Tournament and its teammates received their champion and individual trophies. Children who won the Carnival Games such as Bucket and Ball, Ring Throwing, Lemon n Spoon Race and Tin Breaking received medals for their excellent performance. One of the highlights of the night was the Trivia competition which was hosted by two young members of the community, Ihsan Mohamed and Zahi Hussain. Trivia questions covered both Islamic and general
12 graded math and travelled to UNSW to learn about astrophysics by university students and workers. The following day included an activity to make a marble land into a bowl on a zip line, which was supposed to resemble dropping down a rover on the moon, then having a moon landing tour of Canberra including a visit to John Saxon, a tracker on the first moon landing mission, as the moon landing mission is having its 50th anniversary, as well as a visit to Honeysuckle Creek where the 26 m dish caught the first 8 min of the moon landing. The final day had an introduction to Moon shot and presentations from the space squad participants to show what in space excites them followed by a short award hand-out. The two YIN members received awards for their completion of the rocket launching and one received a 1/200 scaled rocket model which is to be NASA’s new SLS Rocket. It was eye-opening experience and provided me a clear idea of what kind of future career I would want to pursue while working with people who have similar goals as me.
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How to tackle anxiety? Dr Kamran Ayub
Sharmeen Ali
CENTREFOLD 16 - 17
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tween our hearts and our souls; this is the way of guidance, behavior, and happiness. When you love God’s deprived people, you feel God’s light and spiritual fragrance that gives you true happiness that you can’t get from anywhere else. He continued, “Being kind to others boosts your serotonin, (the neurotransmitter responsible for feelings of satisfaction and well-being). Kindness leads to many good things like better relationships, improved self-esteem, compassion, happiness, future success, and good mental and physical health. And don’t we all want that for our children, our families, our community, and the world?. We are looking for the solutions to treat anxiety….the solution is in front of us and it is very readily available. Being kind to others can be one of the easiest and quickest, most inexpensive ways to keep anxiety at bay. It calms the mood and takes the focus off yourself.” As long as this young man sat in front of me, I kept listening to my heartbeats, and I realised that there was nothing wrong in my heart about this dirty man, I thanked God. The Professor’s final remarks were, “The key to the soul’s door is usually with the people who we feel are dirty, smelly or disgusting and who have become disturbed in the world. If you want to sink into the sea of soul, open your heart and wash those who can not wash themselves. You will find Allah is with you. You will then get the feeling of real joy. Dr Kamran Ayub is a researcher and public speaker. Academically he belongs to the Radio Electronics field. He is an emotional intelligence expert and loves to help young people in managing their stress, tackle with difficult situations and to become a team player. He has written dozens of papers.
knowledge contents. Each table participated as a group and the best three tables with top scores received gifts. Dinner was served straight after the trivia with some delicious Sri Lankan and Indian cuisines. During the dinner, participants had the opportunity to interact with fellow community members fulfilling one of the main objectives of this event. Finally, the night was capped off with a vote of thanks given by Dr Fazeel Jaleel, the ALMA secretary. Jafran Anzar is one of the VPs of Austra-Lanka Muslim Association. ISSUE 165 / AUGUST 2019
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Did Allah side with the English cricket team? Hasan Fazeel To be honest, I was not happy that England was declared the winners of the Cricket World Cup 2019, but the truth is that England deserved to be the champs as much as New Zealand while both teams put in hard work for four years with mental and physical training. Although England won the cup, New Zealand was not beaten in that cricket final. At the end of the day, teams that worked hard made the finals and the teams relied upon prayers and luck alone missed out. The English captain (ironically an Irishman), Eoin Morgan confessed that Allah was with the English cricket team on Sunday 14 July 2019 during the final. Yes, indeed Allah was with them because they had prepared hard both mentally and physically before embarking on to the journey to lifting the world cup. Being of Pakistani origins, as much as I wanted Pakistan to lift the trophy, somewhere in my heart I knew from day one that only prayers and luck will not work as this is against Allah’s Sunnah. The odds were never in Pakistan’s favour from day one, their preparation compared to
other teams, experience and approach were less if not least compared to the final four teams at the top. Allah revealed this in the Quran, “Man will not get anything unless he works hard” (Surah al-Najm, 53:39) A number of Hadith can be quoted regarding this matter: • The best (most pure) food that a man eats is that which he has earned himself. (Sunan ibn Majah Vol #3, Hadith #2137). • No doubt, it is better for a person to take a rope and proceed in the morning to the mountains and cut the wood and then sell it and eat from this income and give alms from it than to ask others for something. (Bukhari Vol #2, Hadith#491)/ Islam discourages sloth behavior and there is no doubt about the fact that a man or a nation cannot make any progress without
efforts and hard work. Islam relays examples from Prophet Dawood (a), Prophet Zakaria (a) as well as Prophet Mohammad (s) for hard work and ownership of themselves and wellbeing of the wider community thus not relying on charity. As we say in the corporate world that prepare for the best but plan for the worst and Prophet Mohammad (s) taught this 1400 years ago to work hard, then pray hard and then leave the results up to Allah and accept the results as a decree. Hasan Fazeel is a Sydney based IT professional of Pakistani origin. He is an experienced Project Manager who loves to meet new people, play cricket, read and travel. He is passionate about helping and mentoring people.
WEDDING ANNOUNCEMENT
Umar & Misha
AMUST
Adelaide Summer Dr Reginald Naulty Supine cats under deep shade open an eye at tables laid for afternoon tea: no blackbird song or jasmine scent can keep that off for long. The shade of apricot and peach defies the pleasures of the beach, tea and cake and scones and jam persuade the palate to the same, and satisfied spirits regard the patchwork shade about the yard. The rumble of a distant jet scarcely disturbs the china, set for another cup of tea and scones, and memories come out in throngs of trolley - buses, trains and streets, of doctors, teachers, magistrates, and all enclosed in peace and cake. No cat or blackbird ever knew the harmony that tea could brew, or what marriages of the mind a chocolate éclair could find. Dr Reginald Naulty, originally from Adelaide, has taught at Charles Sturt University and has been a prolific writer since 1972.
Umar Rizwan, son of Mr Abdul Haq and Mrs Surriya Chaudhry and Misha Wazirzada, daughter of Mr Qudus Wazirzada and Laila Wazirzada celebrated their nikah and wedding reception at Mingara Recreational Club, Tumbi Tumbi, NSW on Saturday 22 June 2019. The Nikah was performed by Imam Nizamul Haque Thanvi and attended by a large number of family, friends and colleagues, some from overseas. Umar is an IT professional specialising in computer networks and cloud technology while Misha is studying business IT together with running her own business, Misha Henna Designs.
Introducing
Yusuf NEW ARRIVALS
An Aqeeqa reception was held on Sunday 21 July at Auburn’s Gallipoli Mosque for six weeks old Yusuf Granzooy, son of Rahaf Ahmad and Sam Granzooy. Rahaf of Saudi origin is a highly sought after event organiser while Sam of Afghani origin is a highly successful real estate agent. The Aqeeqa event was attended by a large number of friends and families from both sides enjoying a Saudi/Afghani spread of buffet lunch celebrating the birth of Yusuf. AUGUST 2019 / ISSUE 165
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Reflections on Christchurch tragedy and resolve to combat racism Nur Naziihah Hafidi
It was Friday 15 March 2019, so school ended earlier. Friday is a holy day for Muslims marked by the congregational Friday prayers. We were at the shops when we received the news. I remember my mum being in the dressing room for too long. I still remember the image of her slumped on the dressing room floor, shaking. My uncle was amongst those critically shot as he prayed on that holy Friday at Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch. The day after, my parents flew to New Zealand. There was something that hung in the air that I cannot seem to describe into words for you. My mum told me of the endless, anxious wait at the ICU, waiting for any bit of news that my uncle’s condition had stabilised, or that he had come out of coma. I remember her telling me what my 4-year old cousin had said, ‘I want to go back to Singapore (which was where he was living at the time) and skype Baba, then he’ll wake up and talk to me.” He did not understand, and how could he? I was not in New Zealand, but even then, the normalcy of life seized to exist as all was disrupted. We had an assembly at school that Monday, and I could not help but find myself trying to hold back the tears in my eyes. At that moment, I knew exactly what the feeling was that hung in the air. It was fear, it was distraught, it was this undeniable sense of vulnerability. All I could think was: can there ever be any safe space from Islamophobia? Fast forward 2 April. A text came from my dad who had continued to stay in New Zealand to support my aunt and her two young boys, aged 9 and 4. My uncle had opened his eyes. It was a flicker of hope that my family gripped onto, and fire always burns the brightest in the darkest of times. I prayed for my aunt and my cousins for that fire to stay bright. On 2 May, while I was studying at the dining table when I heard my mum erupting into sobs on the phone. I remember that hollow feeling in my chest. My uncle had succumbed to medical procedures in order to save his life. The death toll of the hate crime rose from 50 to 51. It was hectic after that. We all went to New Zealand, and after, crossed three continents from Christchurch all the way to Ankara, Turkey. My uncle was laid to rest there, in his family gravesite. Before we left for Ankara, my 9-year old cousin, comforted my aunt, saying, “Its ok, this is where Baba was born, so it makes sense this is where he is buried now.” And after we left Ankara, coming back to
Note by Zia Ahmad, Editor in Chief, AMUST While in Christchurch after the mosques’ attacks in March, while visiting the injured in ICU, I spend some time next to the bed of Zekeriya Tuyan, a New Zealander of Turkish origin who has passed away early May succumbing to his extensive injuries as the 51st victim of the attacks. I had a long conversation with his wife, Hamimah Ahmat, of Singaporean origin and 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 Isa 9 and Ilyas 4 a beautiful combination of Turkish and Singaporean
heritage being taken care of by their maternal aunty, Suraya Suppien, who had arrived from Melbourne for support. Nur Naziihah Hafidi, 14 is the niece of Zekeriya Tugen and a Year 9 student at Al Siraat College in Melbourne. Recently Naziihah was asked to share her reflections as a part of a high end roundtable discussion with Victorian Equal Opportunity Human Rights Commission. The topic of the meeting was freedom of religion, racial and religious discrimination and advocating for policy changes in Victoria. Naziihah and her family have first hand lived experience as a family directly affected by a hate crime.
Funeral prayer and service for Zekeriya Tuyan at Mosque of Tahtayazı in Ankara, Turkey. Christchurch, after everything that had happened, my 4-year-old cousin looked at me, and asked, “Is my Baba in New Zealand?”. I said, “No, he is in Turkey, remember? We buried him into the Earth, where he’s resting now.” He said, “Oh, okay.” Not only had they lost their Baba, but my young cousins’ care free spirits were subdued under the emotional hardship of their circumstances. As for my aunt, she has to pick up the pieces of dreams shattered. Amidst the haze of pain and agony that befell my family, there is one thing that I took away from it all. That humanity cannot afford to go back to the way it was before. We cannot afford to repeat this cycle of vilification and hate. Honour 3-year old Muc’ad. Honour my cousin’s friend, 14-year old Sayyad. Honour my uncle, Zekeriya Tuyan. Honour the other
48 victims of the tragedy, we must not stay silent. We need to stand up to prevent those who harbour this hate, the false conviction in white supremacy, and mistaken belief that they have the right to take away the lives of those they deem lesser than them. We need to stand up in solidarity. I am only 14, and I want to believe that there is good in everyone, I want to believe that everyone hopes to create change, stand up, and respond in the face of abuse and racism, for the betterment of all our futures. But I also believe that not many of us know how to respond in the face of discrimination, racism and hate crimes. This is where Bystander Intervention Training needs to come in schools, businesses, community groups and other places state wide. It provides community-led responses to Islamophobia and Anti-semitism,
and provides participants the skills to address behaviours of sexism and harm if they become witnesses. It encourages individuals from different backgrounds, faiths and all walks of life to call out this culture of violence and discrimination. For individuals, and organisations to become active bystanders, speaking out and acting against these issues, whilst promoting an active role for others in advocating for equality and inclusion. In her recent speech to a group of leaders in Christchurch, United Nation’s Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kate Gilmore, talked about how we are all responders. The first responders, the ambulance, police and emergency departments, were beacons to us all, but how we were the hundredth, thousandth or millionth responder. The millions who heard, saw, felt. With equipped understanding and skills, we will find greater courage to call out against something that we see not right nor acceptable. I think we all agree, that it is when ignorance is fed with misconceptions, false beliefs and biased media, that fear is then pressured to fuel hate. It is when the truth is vandalised by destructive stereotypes and bigotry, that fear is then pressured to fuel hate. And this hate is what causes an uprising of aggression. Hate speech, leads to hate crimes. We must end this train of animosity, and where else is the best place to sow the seeds of acceptance, inclusion and empathy but in schools. Cultural and Religious Training Programs need to be implemented as well, especially in schools as a grassroots approach to combating Islamophobia. To begin respectful conversations, build empathy, and a new found understanding of one another is pivotal in order to shift the culture and trigger a ripple of pro-social actions in our society. In the words of Matthew Kincaid, who was awarded the Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2018, United States, conducting anti-racism workshops in schools, empowering teachers & teaching students how to make a difference: “If we don’t equip ourselves to combat racism, then we are destined to replicate it.” I end with a quote from the last sermon of Prophet Mohammad (s) more than 1400 years ago against racism: “All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; a white has no superiority over a black, nor does a black have any superiority over a white; (none have superiority over another) except by piety and good action.” Nur Naziihah Hafidi, 14 is the niece of Zekeriya Tuyan and a Year 9 student at Al Siraat College in Melbourne.
Hena speaks at WFWP 2019 AMUST Media Hena Jawaid, a psychiatrist with an Islamic background and a follower of sufism spoke at the faith story at the Women Federation of World Peace event this year. She talked about the essence of her faith and it’s influence on her life adversities. She described her psych-emotional journey and the way mystical side of religious teachings have supported her. During the hours of suffering and deprivation, she upheld her faith as the cornerstone of courage and perseverance. She mentioned faith as a unit of love which became
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the source of energy, passion and motivation for her. Hena is an ardent reader of theology and history. She has learned a lot from the mystical side of faith via the school of Sufism. This has enabled her to identify people from all faith as unified body of global citizens with different perspectives. She highlighted that Sufism nurtures tolerance, patience and amicability in a human soul and thus she feels so. She further added that God’s nature is absolute and all faiths tend to lead to self-actualization. She quoted prominent sufis such as Ibn-eArabi, Rumi, Attar and Bulleh Shah in her narration. She finds peace and solace in her faith and according to her it kept her going
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during odds of life. The emblem of love and compassion for Hena is a life of Prophet Mohammad (s).
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She feels prayers are self-disciplinary actions. The true nature of worship is to show love, care and humility towards each other. ISSUE 165 / AUGUST 2019
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First mosque in modern Greek history to open in Athens
Faseeha Hashmi
In Athens, Greece, the first mosque is anticipated to open for Muslim worshippers in more than 180 years; since the establishment of the modern Greek state. For Muslims in Athens, the establishment of the new mosque has been a tumultuous battle. The city has experienced prolonged delays in the contentious creation of the first state-sponsored mosque which is presumed to begin formally functioning in September this year. Supervised by the Greek state, the $967,000 construction project is situated in the industrial area of Eleonas, near a refugee camp and has none of the ornate graces typical of an Islamic place of worship. Nevertheless, the community has worked respectfully in unison with the government for the creation of the mosque. The new Athenian mosque is relatively small, with a 350-capacity and does not have a traditional minaret nor dome. Loudspeakers have also not been permitted to call worshippers for prayers. The prayer space is not expected to meet the needs of the city’s vibrant Muslim communities comprised mainly of migrants
from Asia and Africa. Nevertheless, the faithful have greeted the mosque’s creation with immense humble relief. The mosque’s Imam, Sidi Mohammed Zaki expressed his appreciation for the government and supporters of Greece’s multicultural diversity. “We thank the Greek people for accepting us as Greek citizens and Muslims, and I thank the Greek state for helping us set up this (prayer) space.” During a visit to the almost completed mosque last month, government Ministers recognised the importance of freedom of religious expression. “The right to religious freedom does not depend on how one ended up in our country. It’s like the right to education and health care…It is (a) non-negotiable human right,” affirmed Greece’s Minister of Education and Religious Affairs Costas Gavroglou. The project first began in 2007 amid strong opposition from the influential Orthodox Church of Greece and the persistence of animosity towards its Muslim neighbour, Turkey. For centuries, Greece was once under occupation by the Ottoman Empire. Following the 1821 war of independence from the Ottoman Empire, mosques in Greece were repurposed or demolished.
However, more recently hostility has emerged from far-right and religious groups. This has been a major hurdle for the Muslim community with numerous incidents of vandalism and graffiti that stalled the creation of the mosque. As a result, an estimated 250,000 Muslims, who observe their religion have had to create informal and unauthorised prayer spaces stretching across the city in basements and disused stores. These sites of worship may, therefore, be considered illegal throughout Athens and the surrounding area. Athens is the only European capital without an official mosque. Instead, the only
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sanctioned mosques in the country could be found towards the northern border region near Turkey where many Muslims live. Nonetheless, Muslims in Athens have persevered in spite of these challenges through formally lobbying to the Greek government and greater community. Ashir Haidar, a representative of the Shia denomination of the Muslim community of Greece, expressed the upcoming mosque as “a dream come true”. “It is a great gift from the Greek state to the Muslim community of Athens and it is a symbolic work that shows respect of the Greek state to the religion of Islam,” praised Ashir.
Remembering Srebrenica Mohd Zarith Md Hanipah On Monday 8 July 2019 more than 5,000 people marched peacefully through the forests in Bosnia to commemorate the difficult journey of the Bosnian Muslims who were ambushed and killed by the Bosnian Serbian army 24 years ago. Very soon, what came to be known as the Srebrenica Massacre, as the world was stunned by the killing and genocide that wiped out thousands of human lives. AUGUST 2019 / ISSUE 165
The 100-kilometer (60-mile) march traces a route taken by Bosnian Muslims while they fled the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica when it was captured by Bosnian Serbs during the war. Among the thousands who marched this year was a Bosnian refugee from Australia, Mevludin Ibrisevic. He wanted to relive the memories of those while escaping for their lives. He said it was important to raise awareness about this horrific crime. Perhaps it was even more shocking that we, as a human, allowed this to happen under our noses after the devastating two world wars. Even though Malaysia under the
then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir, time and time again, proposed, initiated and asked the West to intervene in the situation in Bosnia, it was ignored. Some OIC Countries finally contributed towards the UN peacekeeping force. Unfortunately, thousands of men and boys were killed even in and around UN-protected enclave in July 1995. There is a need to criminalise war in order to make this world a better place. The incessant warmongering by the US and other countries must be stopped in order to reduce the suffering of human beings. It seems a bizarre that Western de-
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mocracies led by the US as the socalled leader of the free world has been dropping drops bombs onto innocent civilians in Japan, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afganistan and now threatening Iran. We must never let another Srebenica to ever happen again. May their souls rest in peace. Mohd Zarith Md Hanipah is a freelance, cross-continental journalist. He was former Europe Correspondent with National News Agency, worked in Europe & Southeast Asia. Currently, Sydney based.
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Terrorist Targets Mosque and Synagogue: Some reflections AMUST
Rabbi Allen Maller The suspect in the shooting on 27 April 2019 at a synagogue near San Diego, California in which one person was killed and three were injured, is a 19-year-old white man named John Earnest, according to Sheriff William Gore. One of the wounded was the Synagogue’s Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein who was shot in the hand during Shabbat services but insisted on finishing his sermon before being taken to the hospital. Gore confirmed that a manifesto in his name was published on an online message board popular with the far-right nationalists. The writer of the manifesto took credit for an unsolved arson at a mosque a month before in Escondido, nine miles away from the Poway synagogue. Earnest is now being investigated in relation to that incident, Gore said. The Escondido arsonist reportedly left a note at the scene praising Brenton Tarrant, who killed 50 worshippers at New Zealand mosques in March 2019. The Poway manifesto also praises Tarrant. The Poway document also praised Robert Bowers, the accused gunman in last year’s Pittsburgh
synagogue massacre. Eleven people were killed in that attack, which took place six months to the day before the Poway shooting. The manifesto, which also claims Earnest was a nursing student, is filled with anti-Semitic invective and cites Christian Bible verses to justify his actions. All this teaches us that everyone should be constantly reminded that religious extremism is ultimately self-destructive to both itself, and its supporters. In the words of the poet W B Yeats: “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold…The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.” The time has come for all the best of religious conviction, to denounce and denigrate the activities and beliefs of those who are filled with the worst of religious convictions, before they desecrate and diminish all believers in the one God of Abraham. Our religious and political leaders could help improve interfaith relations by constantly repeating the important lesson taught by the German Protestant theologian Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the cowardice of German intellectuals following the Nazis’ rise to power; and the subsequent purging of their chosen targets, one group after another group: First, they arrested Socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Socialist. Then they arrested Trade Unionists, and
I did not speak out—because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they arrested Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me. And our religious and political leaders could also help improve interfaith relations by constantly repeating the important lesson taught by an eleventh-century celebrated Muslim theologian, Al-Ghazali, “Declare your jihad on thirteen enemies you cannot see - Egoism, Arrogance, Conceit, Selfishness, Greed, Lust, Intolerance, Anger, Lying, Cheating, Gossiping and Slandering. If
you can master and destroy them, then will you be ready to fight the enemy you can see.” Allen S Maller is an ordained Reform Rabbi who retired in 2006 after 39 years as the Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City, California. His web site is: www.rabbimaller. com. Rabbi Maller blogs in the Times of Israel. His book ‘Judaism and Islam as Synergistic Monotheisms: A Reform Rabbi’s Reflections on the Profound Connectedness of Islam and Judaism’ (31 articles previously published by Islamic web sites) is for sale on Amazon.
Babylon recognised as Muslim engagement a world heritage site in India Faseeha Hashmi The ancient city of Babylon has finally received UNESCO World Heritage Site recognition, following decades of lobbying by the Iraqi government. The archaeological city ruins of Babylon was famous for its Hanging Gardens, celebrated to be amongst the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and was first referenced in a clay tablet from the 23rd century BC. Iraqi President Barham Salih welcomed the news stating that the remarkable site can now return to its “rightful place”. This was followed by Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, who also expressed his rapture towards the honourable decision. “Mesopotamia is truly the pillar of humanity’s memory and the cradle of civilisation in recorded history,” he proudly praised. The precious site has suffered a great deal in recent years. First, after the Gulf War when Saddam Hussein constructed an extravagant modern palace for himself overlooking the main site and later during the USled invasion of Iraq in 2003, used as a station base by US and Polish troops. It was during this time that widespread dam-
age occurred. The decision was made on Friday 5 July, by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, for the site’s significance within Babylon and Mesopotamian civilisation. Since 1983, the Iraqi government had been lobbying for the 4,000-year-old site to be added to the United Nations’ prestigious list. Now recognised as a protected site, the legendary city is likely to generate greater tourism and provide a much-needed boost to the local economy. Babylon, about 55 miles south of Baghdad, was once the centre of a sprawling empire, renowned for its towers and mud brick temples. In a statement released by UNESCO, explaining their decision, they acknowledged the significance of the priced site. “The (ancient) city…inspired artistic, popular and religious culture on a global scale,” announced UNESCO. However, UNESCO also warned that the site is in an “extremely vulnerable condition” and requires urgent conservation. The Iraqi government has since stated it would allocate funds to maintain and protect the historic site.
A replica of the Ishtar Gate, which was one of the original Seven Wonders of the World. Source: Reuters.
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AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES
Zahid Jamil
Indian Muslims face a huge dilemma in the current political environment in the country. They are the second largest community within the country, the second largest Muslim population in the world. Yet, they seem to have lost on every front, including the right to have any voice or say in the functioning of the great democratic nation, they belong to. They have been sidelined by manipulative political groups who found an opportunity to exploit sentiments of the majority community. The Hindu nationalists propagated the idea of taking revenge of one thousand years of Muslim rule in India and partition of the nation on religious grounds in 1947. The strategists of far-right Hindu nationalist first got hold of Hindu political party BJP, sidelining moderate elements within the BJP. Then they worked on election strategies where they can win elections without any support from Muslims. Huge electoral victory has given them increased confidence and they have no hesitation in implementing their communal agenda. Muslim leadership and intelligentsia are only busy in their criticism of the Hindutava forces. At times, they are forced to engage in defending their patriotic credentials. At other times, they seek refuge under opposition parties who have become too weak to do good even if they desire to do so. Protesting against atrocities is important. Thanks to India’s democratic credentials, there are ideological groups and media personalities who stand for secular and democratic principles and openly criticise the wrongs being perpetrated by the extremist forces.
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Muslims feel demoralised. Ordinary Muslims have been pushed to limits. A new way of incidents, which included lynching of Muslim men by cow vigilantes, forcing Muslims to chant Hindu slogans and killing of Muslim boys if they fell in love with a Hindu girl, shocked the right-minded people in the country. So far, Muslims have not engaged with the BJP government. It is almost certain that BJP is going to stay in government for the coming years. Disassociating from the party in power is not an option. How should Muslim engage with the right-wing Hindu nationalist party in power, needs to be discussed. A collective Muslim leadership, made of leading intellectuals and socially active individuals who understand the dynamics of the community, the country and current political challenges should come together and seek regular meetings with BJP leadership. Zahid Jamil is an engineering post graduate from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and runs a financial planning practice based in Sydney. He heads South Asian Muslim Association of Australia, SAMAA: http://samaa.org.au ), a benevolent institution offering wide range of services to the community elders. He also moderates an Islamic website “Islamic Forum for Education and Research” http://isfer.info/ ISSUE 165 / AUGUST 2019
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Multiculturalism: A common narrative to include all Australians Professor Shahjahan Khan
Contemporary Australia is a successful multicultural nation. Except for the First Nation comprising of around 3% of the population, the indigenous Australians, everyone else is either a migrant or a descendent of migrants. Although vast majority of Australians are non-indigenous the dominant culture is of European descendants’ due to massive early settlement in the eighteenth century and onward. But in recent years migrants from Asia and other parts of the world have made Australia their home. In spite of the diversity in the composition of the Australian society, Australians consider their ethnic, racial, and religious differences as strengths. What is Australian Multiculturalism? Multiculturalism is a modern term to represent the unique and shared identity of people of different culture and faith living peacefully in a society as a harmonious community with mutual respect and dignity. It has provided an umbrella for every citizen of a multiracial and multifaith county that ensures a sense of acknowledgement and individual belongingness. It binds people of diverse background and different origin to live and work in a community with equal rights and responsibilities to contribute to the common good, development and wellbeing of the fellow citizens. As a multicultural country Australia thrives because it welcomes and appreciates diversity and values inclusiveness. Everyone, regardless of ethnic origin or individual faith, is a valued member of the community with different skills to contribute to the common aspiration and realise their dreams. Late Professor Jerzy Zubrzycki, widely regarded as the “Father of Australian Multiculturalism” and advisor to Whitlam, Fraser and Howard governments says, “The fact that there is no single racial or religious group that can call itself Australian to the exclusion of all others - in other words, inclusiveness is the word - inclusiveness of all Australians within one community.” Statement of Multicultural Australia The Federal Government of Australia
passed Multicultural Australia Statement in 1996 which was amended in 2011 and 2017. This document says, “Multicultural Australia – United, Strong and Successful”. In the most recent version of the Multicultural Australia document, the previous Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull writes in the Forwarding: “Australia is the most successful multicultural society in the world. We are as old as our First Australians, the oldest continuing human culture on earth, who have cared for this country for more than 50,000 years. And we are as young as the baby in the arms of her migrant mother who could have come from any nation, any faith, any race in the world. Australia is an immigration nation. Almost half of our current population was either born overseas or has at least one parent born overseas. And we come from every culture, every race, every faith, every nation. We are defined not by race, religion or culture, but by shared values of freedom, democracy, the rule of law and equality of opportunity-a “fair go”. The glue that holds us together is mutual respect - a deep recognition that each of us is entitled to the same respect, the same dignity, the same opportunities.” Pre and Post European settlement Although people from neighbouring nations came to Australia for trade and work many century before the British and European settlement, they never had any intention to stay here permanently or dominated the local culture. Many Muslims
from Makassar region came to Australia on a regular basis for various reasons and established close relationship with the native Australians. Over 50,000 years Australia has been a land of only aboriginal and indigenous people. There were over 500 different indigenous groups each with their separate language, culture, and belief system. The arrival of British in 1788 and subsequent colonization Australia changed the face and identity of Australia forever. Currently, the highest percentage of Australian population (67.4%) are of British origin. Descendants of other European nations are Irish (8.7%), Italian (3.8%), and German (3.7%). Chinese ethnicity represent 3.6% of the population. In 2016 census, 52.1% of Australians classify themselves as Christian, 30% no-religion, 2.6% Muslims, 2.4% Buddhists, 1.9 Hindus and 0.5% Jews. Moving away from the dark past Australia has moved away from the ‘White Australia policy’ introduced by the newly formed federal parliament on 23 December 1901. The Immigration Restriction Act was specifically designed to limit nonwhite migration to Australia. In the 1800s, the majority of the white population of the Australian colonies shared attitudes towards people of different races that by today’s standards were openly racist. Criticisms of non-white groups were based on the idea that they were less advanced than white peop l e
in all ways, especially morally and intellectually. In Australia, this idea focused particularly on people of Asian descent but applied to all non-whites, including Indigenous Australians, who were considered a ‘dying race’. (See https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/white-australia-policy ) Even though a very small number of self-seeking so called populist, far-right extremist politicians can’t hide their hate against those who are different from them the mainstream political leaders are united to expel all racial and religious discrimination that divides Australians. Patriotic leaders should lead for the unity and common good of all Australians, not divide and use one group against another for opportunist political self-serving. Australian values According to the Department Home Affairs website (https://immi.homeaffairs.gov. au/help-support/meeting-our-requirements/ australian-values ) the shared values of all Australians are: (1) respect for the freedom and dignity of the individual, freedom of religion, commitment to the rule of law, Parliamentary democracy, equality of men and women and a spirit of egalitarianism that embraces mutual respect, tolerance, fair play and compassion for those in need and pursuit of the public good; (2) equality of opportunity for individuals, regardless of their race, religion or ethnic background; and (3) the English language, as the national language, is an important unifying element of Australian society. Conclusion There is no other sociological or political term to represent or include all Australians other than multiculturalism. Australia is a collection of stories and aspirations of 25 million Australians, from the first indigenous eldest to the new born baby or newly arrived immigrant - no exclusion. In the 21st century Australia, diversity is a reality and multiculturalism is a fact of life. Professor Shahjahan Khan is professor of Statistics at University of Southern Queensland, Australia. He is the former President of Islamic Countries Society of Statistical Sciences and Expatriate Fellow of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences.
Turning between co-religionists and others Rabbi Zalman Kastel A bearded Muslim man, Dylan Chown one of the leaders of the conference, was talking to a woman with a face-veil. He paused his conversation with her and turned to greet me warmly. Dylan then turned back to her and apologised, with real feeling in his voice: “I am sorry that I was rude to you”. These brief interactions occurred as participants were arriving for the Annual Australian Islamic Schooling Conference held on 13-14 July 2019 at the University of Melbourne, I observed the exchange and thought: this is what Muslims call “Adab”. I had learned at the conference, that Adab was something more than mere manners. The two ‘turnings’ (towards me and back towards her) can also be used as a metaphor for the challenge of balancing attending to the priorities of our faith communities, while also relating to people outside those communities. AUGUST 2019 / ISSUE 165
At the conference Imam Farhan Khalil, Muslim school principal and Together For Humanity (TFH) board member, Samir Halbouni , Catholic and TFH Senior Educator Education Kate Xavier and l conducted a breakout session together. One activity involved exploring quotes from Islamic and Jewish sources with similar messages. One set of these quotes was the following pair: … and to parents do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, the companion at your side, the traveler, and those whom your right hands possess. (The Quran 4:36) … if a poor person and a rich person come to borrow money, the poor person takes precedence. …If it is between one of the poor of your city and one of the poor of another city, the poor of your city takes precedence. (Talmud, Bava Metzia 71a ) Our workshop also involved a roleplay called the Crocodile Game that explored questions about care for communities of faith vs solidarity with one’s neighbour from other faiths. I told the conference that navigating my ties to my Jewish community and others has challenged me. I cited the Torah verse: “You
shall not mistreat, nor oppress the stranger, as you were strangers in [Pharaoh’s] Egypt” (Exodus 22:20). As a younger man, I was good at embracing the second half of the verse, with my acute awareness of millenia of persecution of the Jews, including my own grandparents. It was only later in life that I engaged more strongly with the first and main point relating to the treatment of “strangers”. For example to behave with justice toward members of minority groups, not just in deed but even in word and thought. Afeefa Syeed, the founder of Al Fatih, a Muslim school in the American state of Viriginia, spoke about an example of how her students engaged with people who appeared hostile to them. During the US presidential election many of her students felt concerned about how Muslims were being talked about by candidate Donald Trump. The students were encouraged to seek to understand, rather than demonise Trump supporters. They approached voters on election day, and asked them who they voted for and why. They heard from people who had lost their jobs and experienced other hardships, voting out of pain, not hate. Participants heard from Kathryn Jones
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about resilience. Kathryn typically begins her talk by using a bubble machine that creates a continuous stream of soap bubbles that rapidly and continuously appear and disappear. The pressures that accumulate usually harm the person holding on to those thoughts, and, often enough, also cause harm to others. Dealing with difficult feelings is crucial for well-being and also supports good relations between communities. The goodwill between conference participants does not cancel out the differences between faiths and nations, or the many challenges including choosing when to focus on our own communities or on people outside them. At the conference it was clear that we must persevere with doing the right thing by both. Indeed, we must. Rabbi Zalman Kastel was raised in the Chabad Chasidic Jewish tradition in a racially divided part of Brooklyn, New York. Encounters with Christians and Muslims transformed him. He is Director of Together for Humanity Foundation. He is based in Sydney.
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Shari’ah is not fiqh: Some clarifications In everyday parlance, the boundaries between shari’ah and fiqh are often blurred and confused. This blurring even occurs among scholars of Islam who often use the terms interchangeably or synonymously. This confusion contributes to the generation of wide-ranging problems such as the improper distribution of inheritance and flawed financial services in modern society in ways that are detrimental to social relations and processes and institutional operations. In addition, this blurred line between shari’ah and fiqh has caused some Muslims to abandon Islam and declare it a religion with barbaric rules and practices. It has led many to believe that fiqh is the command of Allah and caused conflicts between Muslims resulting in bloody feuds and even deaths. Muslims practice their faith in a variety of ways, for example, they pray differently from one another not based on shari’ah but based on specific schools of thought. By blurring the line between shari’ah and fiqh many Muslim thinkers have been accused of heresy and being declared disbelievers because they adhere to a specific school of thought. Thus, it is critical to distinguish between these two terms in order to clearly demarcate the divine and eternal from the human and temporal. The conflation of ‘shari’ah’ and ‘fiqh’, it seems, is a recent phenomenon to move towards true implementation of justice that is inspired by Qur’anic teachings, it is an in-
herent component of the law, it is necessary to distinguish between the two concepts. This includes recognising that shari’ah is both divine and eternal, while fiqh is a human-made endeavour or legal tool and open to change. To start, shari’ah is the religious law of Islam understood to be the expression of Allah’s command for people but particularly for Muslims – the faithful. In application, shari’ah constitutes a system of duties that are mandatory on all Muslims by virtue of their proclamation in the unity of God and
prophethood of Muhammad. Shari’ah, literally meaning “the path leading to the waterhole”, represents a divinely ordained path of conduct that guides the faithful toward a practical expression of Islam in this world and the goal of divine favour in the hereafter. Shari’ah, as a composite of rules and duties and Allah’s commandments related to all endeavours of human beings, is better understood with the help of an Islamic jurisprudential (jurisprudence is the science of law; the study of the theory of law which
BY DR JAN ALI
Dr Jan A Ali
IN CONCLUSION Shari’ah is broad and wide ranging.
Shari’ah is fixed and can’t be changed.
For Shari’ah the source is the Qur’an and Sunnah.
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Fiqh is narrow specifically addressing particular issues.
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Fiqh is flexible and open to change in the light of new conditions or information.
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For Fiqh the sources are: Qur’an, Hadith, Qiyas, Ijma, Ijtihad
looks at the principles behind the law) tool known as fiqh. Fiqh, which literally means “understanding” or “knowledge” is Islamic jurisprudence used to define rules and methodologies of law. It is the methodology employed to work out and apply the law. Fiqh is a jurisprudential corpus mainly produced in the second and third centuries of Islam by the ulama (Muslim scholars), with unique methods of reasoning and argument (Hussain, 2011). It effectively became the corpus of the shari’ah as developed from the canonical sources and implemented to address issues facing Muslims relating to their practices of worship and social relationships (Philip, 1996). In essence, then, fiqh is a science of ascertaining a wholesome understanding of shari’ah and is a discipline that permits academic discussion and exegetical analysis of Islamic practice (Hussain, 2011). Fiqh has a flexible framework which is both changeable and fixed rulings at the same time. Its aim is to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems, and of legal institutions. Fiqh is essentially developed by jurists and comprise rules which are produced from human reasoning (ijtihad). It addresses what is referred to as practical legal rules (al-ahkam al-‘amaliyyah) and the edifice of Fiqh is erected through human endeavours. 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.
The Qur’an appeals to human intelligence Dr Rashid Raashed Inviting humanity to live a conscious and accountable lifestyle is the main purpose of the Qur’an being custom-made for their own benefit. In conducting the art of living, the Qur’an calls for human intelligence to become alive and active. Without breaking with the tradition of the revealed texts, throughout human history, the Qur’an argues that: “We have also sent down the reminder ie the Qur’an to you (O’ Muhammad (s) that you may clearly explain to the people (the true value of) what has been revealed unto them. (Do so,) in such a way that this may provoke their thought and contemplation” (Yatafakkaroon). The key terms in this verse, are (Azzikr) i.e. the reminder and (Yatafakkaroon) ie that they may contemplate. The Qur’an invites the human intelligence and logic to argue, explore and reason with the objective of reaching a conviction. By implication, however, it has to be achieved within the limits of human ability and experience. Constructed to its true value, this would probably be judged as the most compelling aspect of the Qur’an’s call to reform. The most outstanding feature of human beings is the ability to employ logic and act accordingly. Inviting the humans to use this logic for their own good, was thus, the best that could have been done. For humans, however, not to live up to their own standard, is a choice open to all individuals. But given the misuse of the free-will, this will not be without the consequences [4]. Negligence with one’s duty of care, in a social setting, is a criminal offence, in our own judgement. Why shouldn’t the same logic be called upon, when we fail to care for our own conscience and logic? So
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the prime test is, ‘be the human first’! The usage of the Qur’an while calling for the employment of human intelligence (Alaql), has always been in the form of an active verb. In many ways, it is fascinating. It implies the duty of engaging intelligence constantly, during life and living it, as an art. Acting according to the dictates of human intelligence will only consolidate the human instinct of upholding the universal “moral law” to which all humans respond, regardless of one’s belief in a faith or otherwise. Inviting the humans to decipher God’s art and skill in creating the heavens and the earth (Inna fi khalqis samate wal ard), the Qur’an engages human intelligence as follows: The benefits of night sequencing the day, utilising the means of maritime transport (Wal fulkallati fil bahr), for human good (Bima yanfannas), the effects of rainfalls on making life on earth vibrant, and after all, manipulating the directions of wind and cloud to enhance life, provide abundant signs of God, to those who use their intelligence effectively (Laayatil leqaumiy yaqiloon). The Champion of Self-Censoring! The statistics will show that against the forty-nine (49) instances, where the human intelligence has been invoked into action
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and made alive, not in a single instance, it was referred to in a neutral sense, using a noun. Instead of nominal usage of terms, such as ‘Aql’ ie ‘logic’ and ‘Fkr’ ie ‘thought’, the pattern has always been in the verbal usage, such as ‘Yaqiloon’, ie those who employ logic, ‘Yataffakaroon’ i.e. those who put their thought into practice. It is a prime example that the Qur’an never commends the knowledge for its own sake. Rather, knowledge is to be procured, with an aim to engage it for carrying out the reform of individual selves and the society, beyond. The Qur’an, therefore will be found determined to place the human being in the position of honour, responsibility and decision making. For humans thus, losing the accountability to their own conscience would represent the loss of purpose and identity. Before anything else, the invitation of the Qur’an to ponder upon the signs of God represents respect for human intelligence. The recognition of human faculty towards rational thinking sets the policy of the Qur’an in dealing with humanity in general. One’s ability to judge the ‘right’ from the ‘wrong’, (Wahadainahunnajdain), is more poignant a benefit from the Creator, than the benefit of physical organs (Alam najalallahun ainain wa lisanau washaftain).
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First of all, it fits with the universal call of the Qur’an aimed at humanity at large. It also sets the Qur’an’s relationship with those opting to employ this faculty, within the margin of freedom to choose and making a responsible choice. The conclusion as above, cannot be narrated any better than: “Despite the excuses, he may choose to throw around at times, human being is the best witness unto himself” (Balil insano ala nafsihi baseerah walau ulqi maazeera). In censoring one’s conscience thus, nothing could be more compelling, touchy and poignant! In guaranteeing all this, there can be no better statement than the categorical denial of applying force or coercion on issues of faith and religion. To others it may be a civil right or agreed public duty to other fellow humans who are bound by urge and the convention of co-habitation. But to a believer in the Qur’an however, affording the religious neutrality represents an article of religious faith inscribed in the Qur’an itself. Without the commitment to grant freedom to choose one’s own belief, dogma or action path will make a Muslim breach his own religion. As to the Qur’an however, inculcating this freedom as a religious belief, however, stands for a much superior value and commitment, compared with true democratic governments today! Indeed, the mission of the Qur’an is to help humans distinguish between what constitutes guidance and aberration from its path. As a concept, this institution compares with ‘freedom of information and choice’ in modern context. After this, the individuals are set free to make a choice that is both just and responsible in their own judgment. Dr Rashid Raashed based in Sydney is currently the Director of Islamic Financial Services Australia (IFSA). ISSUE 165 / AUGUST 2019
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Australian Trust Law: A basic understanding FINANCE Dr Abul Jalaluddin A trust is a relationship and not an entity. It is a relationship amongst trust properties, trustees and beneficiaries. A trust is not an entity for income tax purposes under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 as trustees are liable to lodge tax returns. However, trusts are entities under the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 and obligated for GST payment as well as made eligible to claim input tax credits from the Australian Taxation Office. The origin of common law trust is found in the Statute of Uses 1535 in England around 1535 CE where the landholders used to convey the land to another person to hold for the “use” (benefit) of a third person or persons. Land held subject to use by others escaped feudal dues on the death of the landholder which was an olden structure of tax planning. In the contemporary World, a trust is used as a vehicle for investment, asset protection, securing borrowings, business operation and philanthropy. The application of trust structures has become a prominent feature of business and finance in modern industries and family wealth management. There are three main elements of a trust:
the trustee on whom the fiduciary obligations are imposed, the trust property/asset entrusted to the trustee and the beneficiary or beneficiaries for the use of whom the trust is established in order to serve a purpose recognised by law. There is a statutory limitation that a minor cannot be a trustee while a statutory extension allows liquidators and executors to be trustees. Trustees must be of ordinary prudent person of business, performing moral obligations, having a duty to account, duty to act impartially and duty to provide information. They must have a duty not to fetter discretions, duty to pay correct beneficiaries, duty not to delegate (unless expressly allowed in the trust deed), duty to act gratuitously (unless expressly permitted) and duty to invest trust assets. The terms of a trust deed should include trustee powers, beneficiary entitlements, trust income, satisfaction of entitlements, vesting date and the deed amendment powers. Beneficiaries could include a person, a company or a trustee of another trust. A trustee cannot be a beneficiary of the same trust except in a self-managed superannuation fund which is treated as a trust. The corpus or the trust property may include any type of assets such as cash, securities, income streams, real estate or life insurance policies. A trust may be terminated at the end of the perpetuity period or at the vesting date or it could be terminated by beneficiaries at
any time. There are various types of trusts operating in Australia including: 1. Discretionary Trust (trustees have the discretion to distribute income to beneficiaries who do not have a fixed or specified entitlement to the capital, assets and income of the trust); 2. Fixed Trust (beneficiaries have fixed entitlements to the capital, assets and income of the trust); 3. Bare Trust (Trustees hold the trust property or income until beneficiaries are, say, old enough to return it to them); 4. Unit Trust (corporate trustees hold and administer the assets or units of money
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for the holders of units in the Unit Trust); 5. Hybrid Trust or Managed Investment Scheme (a hybrid between Unit Trust and Discretionary Trust); 6. Charitable Trust (trustees carry out charitable activities as defined in the trust deed) and 7. Superannuation Fund (trustees of public offer superannuation funds and self-managed superannuation funds mange them during 3 phases: contribution, accumulation and distribution to beneficiaries).
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Dr Abul Jalaluddin is an Islamic Finance expert, taxation advisor and a regular columnist for AMUST. He is based in Sydney.
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Email info@amust.com.au We are same Frazia Ali
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This poem is dedicated on this verse of Quran “Hold together the rope of Allah strongly and don’t be divided among yourselves”
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We are same We are united together We share our happiness with each other We share our sadness with each other We are travelers of the same ship We are flowers of the same garden We are stars of the same sky Our destination is same Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Alaihi Raaji’oon To Allah we belong and to Him is our return We follow the rules of the creator We love our homeland We love humanity
Sukoon Quteifan 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. AUGUST 2019 / ISSUE 165
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Frazia Ali is a Pakistani American Muslim single mother. She has two children and lives in San Ramon California, USA. She started writing poetry to spread peace and love through her writing.
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Africa Tour Part 3 – Nairobi, Kenya: MODERN IBNE BATOTA Zia Ahmad & Mehar Ahmad Although I had set my foot on the African continent before by visiting Morocco, this was the first time I was visiting Black Africa and was really looking forward to this opportunity to meet people of different origin and culture. Unlike many other places I had visited in the past on my Australian passport, where I did not need a visa or I could get a visa at the airport, I had to obtain visas for Kenya as well as Ethiopia online by paying hefty fee in US dollars, but thank God, not for South Africa though. My friend Masood Hussaini, a seasoned traveller, who had visited African countries several times in the past was very helpful and guided us for this tour and also gave us contacts in Kenya. Just one week before our departure I came to know that we needed yellow fever vaccination and certificates otherwise we could not easily get into other countries after visiting African countries such as Ethiopia. We had to rush and obtain vaccination and certificates and as it turned out, had we not done so, our African tour would have been disrupted. After flying for almost 24 hours from Sydney with a few hours of short break at Abu Dhabi airport, we landed at Nairobi international airport at 1.30 pm on Saturday 6 April 2019. Throughout the African tour I had ensured that we stayed at good hotels with gym facilities and swimming pool in order to maintain our exercise routine and don’t compromise our health with mosquito bites and other infectious diseases. Since I was staying in Kenya for a couple of days, flying to Ethiopia and then coming back again staying another two days before flying out to South Africa and because multiple entry visa was not available, I had taken double transit visas. Our first entry into Africa was not without an incident. The officer checking our visa put his foot down and said that we should have obtained full tourist visa, four times the price than transit visa and accused me of robbing the state of Kenya. After some explanation, pleading and logical argumentation, he finally stamped the entry permit to our great relief. I had no such issues when I entered next time on transit visa again when returning from Ethiopia. The journey to the hotel was around 45 minutes and I had the pleasure to absorb Black African culture for the first time while driving with continuing conversation with our driver.
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Our hotel was right in the city and we found it very comfortable with a decent size gym and to my delight a heated rooftop pool.
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Looking outside my hotel room window, I noticed a structure that I could not figure out was a church or a mosque. It was only at Asr time that I heard the Azan and went down to find the way to the mosque by walking around the premises of the hotel.
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For the first time I had the great pleasure of praying together with my African brothers on the African continent and indeed I felt so happy. I was later told that there was a direct back door from the hotel to the mosque and the
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Our first encounter with Black Africa
hotel owner’s mum frequents the mosque even at Fajr and Isha safely. They said that I could you the same passageway as well. Kenya is mainly a Christian country, colonised by the British with a substantial Muslim population as well. There is a significant
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presence of people of India origin, both Hindus and Muslims who are recognised as one of the 46 tribes in the country with equal status. The Indian community is well off mainly engaged in business concentrated in affluent
parts of Nairobi with upmarket mosques and temples all around residential areas. The People of Kenya are very polite, peaceful and very friendly, English being spoken widely. As with many third world countries the governance system is plagued
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with corrupt officials depriving the masses with opportunities to live decently. In the evening we were taken by Be Yaqub for a tour of the city, some shopping and dinner in an excellent Indian style Halal BBQ restaurant highly popular with people of all faith and cultures including Sikhs. Br Yusuf also took us to Saima Pan House in order to give us a treat with meetha paan that was delicious and it reminded of my homeland in India. We offered our Maghreb and Isha prayers in the newly built Parkland Masjid, an upmarket multi story huge structure in a congregation of Muslims of all backgrounds. For the first time I noticed a unique locker system at a mosque which could be hired for $60/year to keep your shoes and other belongings safely before entering the mosque. This was a take home idea that I need to propagate for other mosques. Next morning we followed our very early morning gym routine with morning swim, 500 meters in my case before breakfast and going out. We visited the Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage that caters for elephant calves orphaned by poachers or natural occurrences brought for rehabilitation from all over the country. At the feeding time we saw calves of all ages being fed bottle milk and receiving love and care by the workers and had the opportunity to touch then and take lots of photos and videos. Later we went to the Giraffe Centre run by the African Fund For Endangered Wildlife and had the opportunity to hand feed these tall large lovely animals very safely. Our final destination for the day was a visit to the Bomas of Kenya established in 1971 as a living museum celebrating the colourful tribes of Kenya. We learnt about the lifestyle, art, music, craft and culture of Kenyan people attending cultural shows of songs and dances and amazing acrobatic performances in a huge arena constructed with African traditional natural materials. We also visited a large section of traditional village system with homesteads of Bomas build according to various designs of almost 45 tribes in Kenya with their own unique designs reflecting the culture of each major ethnic group. We visited their cultural shows and amazing acrobatic performances and display homes of various tribes appreciating their traditional living. Next day we flew to Ethiopia (See African Tour Part 1 and Part 2) returning to Nairobi again after 12 days (See African Tour Part 4).
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Social Spotlights
Mahboba’s Promise
@mahbobaspromise It is with great delight we recognize three young women, Sadaf, Sahar and Yasamin, who have recently received full scholarships to university in Kabul, funded by our partner LBW Trust. The young women were selected based on their outstanding academic achievement and work ethic, and are now completing their tertiary studies. Congratulations!
Community Care Network
@CommunityCareNetwork Thanks to these wonderful volunteers who have spent their evening on a weekend to help feed those experiencing homelessness near the North Melbourne Community Centre. Your good attitudes, selflessness and energy were surely appreciated! #CCNlife #volunteer #northmelbourne #australia #homelessness #charity #feeding #food
#MahbobasPromise #University #afghanistan #womensempowerment #educationforall #povertyissexist #educationfirst #lawstudents #dogood #charity #nonprofitorganization #ngo #causes #socialawareness #endpoverty #equality #genderequality #futureleaders #socialresponsibility
Islamic Museum of Australia @IslamicMuseum
Following the Christchurch mosque tragedy, Essendon Bombers player and all-round good brother Adam Saad wore special boots with #westandtogether emblazoned on each. The signed, match-worn boots were auctioned off with proceeds going to those affected by the tragedy. The auction winner has kindly donated the boots to the IMA and Saady stopped by to personally deliver the boots to us this week. We thank them both for their generosity.
Hanan Dover
@RealHananDover
Amity College
@AmityCollegeAU
Families had a great time contributing to “National Tree Day” #nationaltreeday2019 #amitycollege
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Be like this guy! Whilst getting our work mail this lovely gentleman simply came to say ‘Assalam Alaykum’. I returned the greeting and told him to have a nice day. He asked if he made my day with the greeting (he must have been practicing to pronounce it and to get right) and I replied in the affirmative. He wondered why Muslim women were being given a hard time in the mainstream media & by bigots and recommended that society would thrive if we all just respect one another. Great advice!
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Mahsheed Ansari
@mahsheedansari
Visiting scholar at ISRA today - Imam Fode Drame. It has been an absolute pleasure and delight to host and have him here with us. It is great to dive into depths of Quranic verses and deconstruct beautiful insights and #spiritual meanings based on a linguistic analysis. He will be delivering a talk tonight at 7pm on the Jewels of Surah Rahman, hope that you don’t miss out! #ISL271 #PurifytheHeart
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Australian TOP 7 Tweets Muslim Musings
Missing history and silent stories
Australian Muslim Musings In the winter of 2018 a group of academics and researchers gathered at the picturesque Wagga Wagga Campus of Charles Sturt University. This was no stereotypical meeting nor an exercise in academic self-indulgence. We were there to learn, to share, to listen. Quite simply, we were exploring ways to ensure our work embodied yindyamarra winhanganha, the Wiradjuri phrase referring to the wisdom of respectfully knowing how to live well in a world worth living in. Initially, Australian Muslim Musings was set up to act as a social media platform for two of the projects being conducted by the Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation. Looking through the extensive primary records archived by the Ahmad family in Sydney as well as the Imam and Kazi families in Melbourne, the enormity and complexity of the projects was soon realised. So too, were the implications for the unexplored areas of Australia’s Muslim history. As the title of this article suggests, Australian Muslim Musings is about social expression and exploration, an online museum and archive in progress, a space where forgotten Australian Muslim histories and
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#TheSquad
stories can be documented, shared and discussed. It is a journey of discovery where everyone is welcome and followers from all walks of life can come together to reflect and engage. It is a new history in the making... As a forum for connecting people, communities and cultures, Australian Muslim Musings engages with past and existing projects and events with the aim of inspiring new ones. It is also a useful educational resource for students and teachers as it incorporates a number of learning tools, forgotten and recently discovered archival material as well as new scholarly works. In the coming months Australian Muslim Musings will share more stories as well as information about an oral history project, “Your Story in Your Words”, being conducted with the support of Cumberland Council Sydney. Feedback is always welcome on the page and anyone wishing to participate in this new project can message the page directly or call 9649 9040. Australian Muslims Musings is the realisation of a dream, an ongoing journey to rediscover our past, and preserve the history being made today, for tomorrow.
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