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www.amust.com.au ISSUE # 166
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Paradise lost: Modi annexes Kashmir
A glimpse of the valley of Kashmir.
Kashmir under occupation. Mohamed Ainullah The valley of Kashmir, akin to paradise on earth has now been in total lockdown for almost a month where Kashmiris remain caged under brutal lockdown by Indian military using strict curfew conditions, razor wire roadblocks and total ban on communication with suspension of internet, landline and mobile phone services since Monday 5 August. Taking its cue from the “only democracy in the Middle East”, Israel, that has a long history of occupation and oppression of its indigenous Palestinian population, the Hindu nationalist government led by PM Modi of the “largest democracy in the world”, India, finally annexed Kashmir embarking on a new wave of brutal oppression, disenfranchisement and human rights abuse of its indigenous population. The life is at a standstill in the valley for a month now with all educational institutions closed, shops shut down with shortage of food, medicine and access to healthcare. More than 6000 people have been arrested, including three former chief ministers and a large number of teenagers and many of them shifted to jails elsewhere in India. In spite of the oppressive military crackdown and lack flow of information, there have been reports of daily clashes are taking place between people protesting against the government’s unilateral move in changing
the status of the state of Jammu & Kashmir. More than 180 people have been admitted to hospitals with injuries sustained from tear gas and pellet gun wounds while many more injured avoid going to the hospital for fear of being arrested. The Modi government’s unilateral move and total lockdown of the Kashmir valley, the complete clampdown on communication and movement of people with the arrest of hundreds of people has been condemned by Melbourne protest against the annexation of Kashmir on Saturday 10 August.
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neighbouring Pakistan as well as China and the United Nation. The major opposition parties in India have now joined forces demanding the immediate release of Kashmiri leaders and political prisoners, restoration of communication and freedom of speech and movement in the Kashmir valley. However, a delegation of India’s main opposition politicians, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who had flown on
Saturday 24 August to Srinagar, the capital of J&K in order to observe the situation on the ground was sent back to the capital, New Delhi. “The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its ideological wing, RSS, are celebrating the abrogation of Article 370, while the majority of people don’t even know what the Article is,” Ghulam Nabi Azad, of the Indian National Congress said. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is a Hindu supremacist organisation advocating India to be a Hindu nation. The Hindu Nationalist Party BJP, currently in power in India is the political arm of RSS led by PM Narendra Modi, a lifelong member of RSS. “They are cheating the people by saying they have restored the communication by restoring a few telephone lines. Only government officials have landlines. So, is this facility only for officials? There is a complete communication blockade.” Mr Azad further added. A group of activists, economists and writers presented their observations of the situation in Kashmir in New Delhi on Wednesday 14 August after returning from a five-day trip to the Kashmir Valley. The delegation compiled several videos of their trip showing deserted streets dotted with road blocks without people even on the day of Eid-ul-Adha, a major Muslim festival on Monday 12 August. contunued on page 3
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Uyghurs harnessing comedy App to save their families AMUST
Faseeha Hashmi The latest social media campaign by Uyghurs, a Muslim Turkic minority, have created heartfelt videos of missing family members in a bid to raise awareness of the situation of their friends and relatives detained in camps in Xinjiang, in China’s north-west. TikTok is not the first medium that comes to mind in the fight for human rights. Especially, when it’s young, mostly teenager demographic use it to create and share viral memes, animal videos, lip-sync and comedy. Known as TikTok internationally (or ‘Douyin’ as the Chinese alternative servers to comply with strict censorship restrictions), these unsuspecting social platforms are being mobilised for a greater good. The App is fast becoming one of the world’s most popular apps. Last year, it was reported to be the most downloaded iOS and Android app, being downloaded more than
Uyghur people silently sharing photos of their missing family members on TikTok. one billion times. Silence is powerful and so are tears, es-
Place a halal bet, she’ll succeed UK’s first jockey to race in hijab secures fairytale win
Faseeha Hashmi Khadijah Mellah, 18 has become the first person to compete in a UK horse racing event while wearing a hijab, taking home the prized Magnolia Cup on Thursday 1 August 2019. The fairytale winner and sporting novice Khadijah Mellah, an 18-year-old student from Peckham, debuted her racing performance at a women’s only charity event in support of ‘Wellbeing Of Women’ to raise money for women’s reproductive and gynecological health. Speaking about her jubilant victory, the Muslim jockey expressed her astonishment being the youngest rider in the line-up racing against more experienced jockeys, including former Olympic cyclist Victoria Pendleton, Irish model Vogue Williams and Australian Georgia Connolly. “I passed the person next to me and I thought: I can’t believe it is happening,” said an overjoyed Mellah. Khadijah said that the serendipitous victory was particularly overwhelming as she
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only began her racing career in April when her mother discovered an advertisement for a horse-riding opportunity at the local mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre. The teenager who is set to study Mechanical Engineering at university in September said she wanted her triumph to serve as a beacon to others, particularly women of colour to achieve their dreams. “I’ve had so much support and I can’t wait to see other stories of other women doing the same and getting into the (racing) industry.” Khadijah now aims to obtain her amateur racing licence to embark on her budding sporting future alongside her academic studies. David Fleming, the Engagement Manager of Brixton’s Ebony Horse Club, where Khadijah was first taught how to race expressed his encouragement for her accomplishments, stating, “she has (indeed) shown the world what she is capable of.” “Ambitious women (of all backgrounds) can make it and that is what I want to represent,” said the triumphant Khadijah.
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pecially when used by their loved ones, as a weapon to break the global silence of the plight of the Uyghur people in China. Each video might only be 15- 60 seconds long. Yet, they speak volumes. An eerie song plays in the background created by Turkish composer Aytekin Ataş, the painful music is named Dönmek’ meaning ‘return’. Yet, the message is plain and painfully simple. The audience watches family members in silence, some crying sinking against the superimposed backdrop of family photos, appealing for information on missing family members to be returned home. David Brophy, a senior lecturer in modern Chinese history at the University of Sydney observes that the videos demonstrate the strength and resolve of peoples’ to call for justice is palpable. “They’re obviously desperate, and taking a big risk in doing this, but this could signal a turning point in the willingness of people inside Xinjiang to defy the party-state and express opposition to what’s going on.” Arslan Hidayat, a Uyghur-Australian living in Turkey said the videos were highly effective in conveying the stark message. “They aren’t saying anything in these videos, but they want to be heard.” The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
has accused China of being responsible for the human rights “stain of the century” with mass detentions of Muslims and other minorities. This is not the first time Chinese citizens have used social media to voice dissent against the party-state. Indeed, it may not be the last as China grapples with maintaining control over its diverse population. Human rights groups estimate more than a million Uyghurs are held in camps scattered throughout Xinjiang. The United Nations has estimated between one and two million members of China’s Uyghur ethnic minority have gone missing over the past five years. Beijing has denied the existence of internment camps, and long insisted that they are simply running training centres for Uyghurs to learn new skills. As the world turns a blind eye, this evocative campaign challenges our ignorance. Aslan explains that “It is difficult to get information out of Xinjiang, so to me, this is like a (precious message) note in a bottle.” Faseeha Hashmi holds a Master of International Relations from the University of Melbourne, with an interest in politics and human security.
Human rights survey of Muslim Australians
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Do you have a spare 15 minutes? Take part in an important national survey Share your experiences of Islamophobia, race hate, and discrimination. Go to this link and take part: https://tinyurl.com/o26ozmus The Australian Human Rights Commission is conducting a national survey. It will gather data and intelligence from Australian Muslims about community strengths, priorities and concerns, and suggestions how communities can be supported. The survey: • takes about 15 minutes to complete • is anonymous and confidential • will remain open until 2 September 2019 • is available in Arabic, Dari, English and Urdu. You and your families, colleagues and communities should complete the survey. Please participate in this important opportunity to tell a national story of Australian Muslim experience.
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Questions cover topics like connection and identity, experiences of discrimination, hate and Islamophobia, and the Christchurch tragedy. The survey will also give you the opportunity to tell the Commission about community initiatives that are working well. More information about the survey and the sharing the stories of Australian Muslims project can be found on the project page on the Commission’s website. ISSUE 166 / SEPTEMBER 2019
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Paradise lost: AMUST
Modi annexes Kashmir
A woman shouts slogans during a protest following restrictions in Srinagar.
What does the annexation of Kashmir mean?
In a deceptive move pretending to counter terrorist attacks, towards the end of July, the BJP government of PM Narendra Modi deployed tens of thousands of troops in the state of Jammu and Kashmir considered the most militarised area in the world with already the presence of a million strong armed personnel. At the same time the major annual Hindu pilgrimage to Amarnath was cancelled and all pilgrims and tourists expelled from the state while a number of Kashmiri leaders were put under house arrest and the whole state was locked down under strict military curfew. On Monday 5 August announcements were made that the Indian government was effectively annexing Kashmir by stripping it of its semi-autonomous status, breaking the state of Jammu and Kashmir and downgrading it from statehood into centrally governed union territories. The three-pronged unilater-
al move of the disputed region without consultation will have far-reaching negative effect on the Kashmiri population: 1. Modi government has revoked Article 370 of India’s constitution, effective immediately, that gave Kashmiris a separate constitution, flag and to set its own laws, except for those related to defence and foreign policy. 2. Article 35A of India’s constitution has also been revoked that allowed Jammu and Kashmir’s local legislature to define who were considered permanent residents denying Indians from outside the state from permanently settling, buying land, holding local government jobs or winning education scholarships in the J&K state. 3. The government has also announced that it would split the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories J&K and Ladakh ruled by the central government in Delhi.
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create awareness of the Kashmir issue Continued from page 1 One of the group, Kavita Krishnan said amongst all sections of the Australian societhe situation is “absolutely not normal”, ty and work for advocacy for the restoration contrary to reports by several Indian news of human rights and self-determination of Kashmiri people in accordance with numerbroadcasters. “There is a sense of imprisonment. There ous UN resolutions. There have been reports that a number of is a sense of being in prison. And people are not being allowed to speak and the situation top bureaucrats from South India serving in Kashmir have resigned in protest of treatis extremely grim over there,” she said. Kavita further added, “We were able to go ment of Kashmiris by the BJP government. Kannan Gopinathan, a 33-year-old Indian to villages as well as small towns also. So the situation there is absolutely not normal. Administrative Service (IAS) officer hailIf some people of the media are saying all ing from the southern state of Kerala, quit is well … the only thing we could think of his government job, saying he has his “own saying was all is hell is a better description.” conscience to answer to” over the crippling Protests against the annexation of Kash- lockdown and denial of fundamental rights mir has taken place in many parts of the in Indian-administered Kashmir. Activist Kavita Krishnan speaks during a news conference to release a report after returning from Kashmir.
world including Australian cities of Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide. Muslim community leaders in Sydney gathered on Thursday evening 22 August in Mt Druitt in a meeting organised by the Australian Forum for Kashmir (AFK) to highlight the plight of Kashmiris currently under brutal lockdown in their homes. Kashmiris present at the gathering expressed their fears for the family members in Kashmir from whom they have not heard for the last three weeks due to the complete suspension of all lines of communication. There is a general feeling that this military lockdown is leading to gross human rights abuses gradually amounting to massive attempted genocide of Kashmiris by the Hindu extremist elements in power and the massive exodus of Kashmiri refugees pouring into neighbouring Pakistan. During the meeting, it was resolved to
“If you ask me what you were doing, when one of the world’s largest democracies announced a ban on the entire state, and even violated the fundamental rights of the people, I should at least be able to reply that I quit my job,” he told an Indian news portal. Syed Ali Shah Geelani, 89, Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC) currently ailing and under house arrest released a statement on Friday 23 August saying the entire region has now been transformed into a prison blocking communication systems and movement of people from their homes amounting to a warlike situation. He has appealed to Kashmiris in the valley and those overseas and their supporters to peacefully resist this brutal move by the Modi government and join together in their just struggle for self-determination.
Muslim community leaders in Sydney meet to highlight the plight of Kashmiris under brutal lockdown.
Go to: tinyurl.com/o26ozmus Survey Closes 2 September 2019 Australian Human Rights Commission - Race Discrimination Team Ph: (02) 9284 9600 | TTY: 1800 620 241 Email: antiracismsecretariat@humanrights.gov.au
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Palestinians, Rohingyas, Uyghurs and now Kashmiris: victims of might is right Emboldened by the successful oppres- and elsewhere still live in horrendous consion of Palestinians by Israel, Uyghurs ditions and continue to face the threat of by Chinese, Rohingyas by the Burmese, forced repatriation, humiliation, rape and now the Modi government in India has affliction with diseases. taken the bold step of annexing KashIndia has become increasingly anti-Musmir thus completely denying any chance lim under the rule of the Bharatiya Janata of self-determination for the indigenous Party and its Home Affairs Minister Amit people of Kashmir. Shah has openly called Muslim migrants’ The “international community”, the “termites” and vowed to forcibly deport any UN, Muslim countries and other so-called Rohingya refugees and asylum seekers back champions of human rights have failed to into in Myanmar. address the oppression of these communiThe BJP has used far-right Hindu nationties by the military might of their oppres- alism, targeting primarily Indian Muslims at sors. home, as a way of capturing Hindu majorOn 25 August this year, Rohingya ref- ity votes and its powers remain completely ugees in refugee camps mark the unchecked, both domestically and second Rohingya Genocide globally. Memorial Day. On this day Many times, these people are in 2017, a new campaign oppressed with the deception of genocidal violence was of fighting terrorists, their launched by the Myanpopulations are brutalised, mar military against the their women are raped, Zia Ahmad Rohingya people in Burand their children are imAssalamu ma. prisoned while large secThe international comtions of their population are Alaikum munity during the last two pushed into refugee camps. Greetings years has failed to punish Wielding the stick of “fightand isolate the Myanmar reing terrorists” and increasingly of Peace gime for its atrocities. It has the propagation of Islamophobia failed to protect the rights of the and anti-Muslim sentiment across the Rohingya and provide them with safe world, these oppressive regimes are getting living conditions. Those who remain in away with murder. Myanmar are confined to camps and face Far-right movements with their specific effectively an apartheid regime which re- anti-Muslim agenda are gaining strength in fuses to grant them their rights as citizens. Europe, US, Australia, Israel and India with Those in refugee camps in Bangladesh Islamophobes gaining power through the
Bravo to AMUST
Again bravo to AMUST on a wonderful, open, paper. Thanks for another great issue (August 2019). I enjoyed Daud Batchelor’s article, comparing Australia and New Zealand-Aotearoa. I am not quite objective. My father came as a refugee from Austria to New Zealand in 1938, reaching NZ in 1940 with his friend John Offenberger. My father was of Jewish background but was a confirmed Lutheran. Before the Anschluss in 1938, when the German army marched into Vienna and annexed Austria, the Nazi party had been banned. So the Lutheran churches, including my father’s, had become Nazi meeting places. It turned out later that my father’s minister was an early Nazi member in Austria. I often wonder what the congregation thought of this, for surely they knew that Nazis were meeting there. And I often wonder if the mainstream churches, or religious institutions in general, are reacting strongly enough to the rise of the far-right here in Australia, and, broadly, speaking out against injustice strongly enough. Like Chris Hedges in the US, I believe that the so-called ‘prosperity gospel’ propounded by, for instance, the church that PM Morrison attends, should be denounced as heresy by the mainstream churches. Being rich has nothing to do with being a Christian. It does not mean one has been ‘blessed by God’ if one is rich, and it is not a sign of virtue or rectitude. So... these things have come to occupy my mind. Another thing is that my father was welcomed by New Zealand, and never, ever, locked up. The whole idea makes me sick, to be honest. And this was before the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. Something happened at the end of the war which shows NZ had some of the same bigots as here. My father had somehow managed to be part of the NZ Air Force, despite being an ‘enemy alien’. In 1945 the RSA (similar to the RSL here) passed a resolution that said that all refugees SEPTEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 166
in NZ should be sent back to where they came from, with what they had when they arrived (probably next to nothing). My father wrote an angry letter to the Dominion, the Wellington newspaper, saying the people who voted for the resolution did not know what or who they were fighting in Europe. Stephen Langford OT (Order of Timor)
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Lifestyle ballot box. Trump in the US, Netanyahu in Israel and Modi in India have developed overt personal friendships with MBS in Saudi Arabia and MBZ of UAE for their anti-Muslim agenda and getting away with the victimisation of Muslims. The silence of the Muslim countries regarding the oppression of Uyghurs is deafening. It’s time Muslims together with other communities expose the injustice, hypocrisy and double standards in international relation and make these leaders and states accountable. I noticed Muslim support for Aborigines and for Jewish people. On p 24, problems for Muslims in India, 2nd largest religious community in the country, but very little say in running the country. Since that was written, now a very serious change in “Indian controlled” Kashmir. In your visit to Kenya, you missed the huge slums in Nairobi. Best wishes, Stewart Truswell AO Emeritus professor of Nutrition The University of Sydney
Return of the Nikahnama AMUST has some better piec- Re: Exactly how a contract should be. But es than SMH most Muslim men also control the contract Dear Zia I have enjoyed reading the July issue of AMUST, I read carefully and will read August in a day or two. Overall, the standard of writing is often better than some pieces in the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH). I suppose those writers have less time to finish. In AMUST there are refreshingly few adverts and these are relevant to the main readership. There are a good number of photos and these are not all of the Celebrities but of good, ordinary people. Plenty of interesting articles that this regular SMH reader had not seen there. Faith leaders combine against Coal; Victoria’s Premier and Ministers at Iftar dinner. Your article on death after the torture of the former Egyptian President Morsi was very sad. Most interesting is your article about visiting Negash in Tigre Province, Ethiopia, and the first mosque [that the Saudis may not agree about]. Zia has always been a great traveller. I agree with the articles about Trump, Iran and Folau and with Dr Jalaluddin that if luxury cars are to be extra taxed so should private jets and giant yachts. I have now read and been informed by the August issue. In general, the reader of AMUST is spared everything having to be expressed as money value or cost. The values in this Newspaper AMUST seem to be about culture and ethics. The article about anxiety is not about how many $100,000s it costs the country, but about a professor washing the feet of a poor man!
AMUST ISSUE # 166 FRIDAY 30 AUGUST 2019 28 DHUL HAJJ 1440
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Readers comments
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and say no to everything except he can divorce and he can take 2nd wife. Many woman are too afraid to demand any rights in fear the marriage won’t take place. Or as in the case with many western reverts marrying another culture, the wedding contract is in another language and it is frowned up to want an English contract. This is changing. But this is a great video to show that women do have rights and it is your right to negoitate your contract. Not just sign in hope of a fair future. Zainab R
Re: New Musallah at Sydney Uni inaugrated on Monday 5 August
Brilliant initiative, we need more of this development. Good job and well done all. Katie
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The fears of the white supremacists Bilal Cleland The Australian Conservative Political Action Conference, an unedifying united front between the old mainstream conservatives, who pose as “Liberals” in Australia, and the alt-right stream, which we witnessed in August in Sydney, put on show, the fears they hold in common. CPAC is an influential organisation in the USA. Trump spoke at it this year on his usual themes for two hours. The head of the NRA spoke in 2017, accusing gun control advocates of hating freedom just days after a Florida high school mass shooting. Steve Bannon of Breitbart infamy made a speech that same year on dismantling the ‘administrative state’ and of course economic nationalism. Raheem Kassam spoke at the Sydney event, someone in the words of Shadow Minister Kristina Keneally, who “has an extensive history of vilifying people on the grounds of their race, religion, sexuality and gender.” Fox News presenter Jeanine Pirro also
spoke. Apparently terrified of Muslims, she questioned whether Ilhan Omar’s wearing of hijab was evidence that she adhered to Sharia law, “which is in itself antithetical to the United States Constitution.” Nigel Farage, former leader of UKIP gained headlines bringing out his twin fears of “snakes” like PM Turnbull who were not right-wing enough, and Islamism, so valiantly opposed by Pauline Hanson. The Australian line-up included former Prime Minister Tony Abbott and current Liberal Party elected representatives Craig Kelly and Senator Amanda Stoker. CPAC host Andrew Cooper has organised several similar events under the name of “Liberty Works.” Kaz Ross remarks: “In particular, many LibertyFest speakers see dangers in the increasing regulation of the economy and creeping power of the state. They have called for slashing funding to the ABC and other cultural institutions that rely on taxpayer funding. The CPAC event webpage provides a clear list of the other dangers: militant unions, the Greens, socialism and GetUp.” [8 August 2019 The Conversation]. Cooper calls for winding back the welfare state, reducing funding to state schools and tax reduction. Ross maintains that these extreme right activists believe they are losing the political
and culture wars to the left, hence the CPAC Sydney organisers adopted the slogan “Protect the Future-fight on.” Will Hutton is quite convinced that they are being defeated. “Don’t despair. We may be living through an attempted rightwing revolution, but its foundations are rotten. There may be a counter-revolution, as there is after every revolution, and it will be built on much firmer ground. The charlatans may be in control in both Britain and the US, but their time is limited.” [11 August Guardian]. In contrast, C J Werleman argues that while the global jihadist threat was exaggerated the real threat to the USA is white nationalist terror. As he says, this “can recruit from hundreds of thousands of right-wing extremists.” “Right-wing extremists have been responsible for 100% of terrorist attacks on US soil since end of 2017 and 73% of all extremist-related murders during the past decade. “
Should Muslims curb population growth?
Dr Daud Batchelor The big question today is “Should Muslims contribute to stabilise Earth’s population - to protect and nurture a healthy Earth and living environment, upon which our own well-being depends?” Currently 7.7 billion people live on Earth, with Muslims representing one-quarter. Muslims though are increasing twice as fast as the world population growth rate due to high fertility of Muslim women (2.9 children) compared to non-Muslims (2.2). Planet Earth is suffering from massive environmental impacts, reducing sustainability for future generations. A few examples stress major impacts from population growth. Lake Chad in Africa contracted 90% since the 1960s affecting its 20-30 million beneficiaries. Secondly, a severe ‘biological annihilation’ of wildlife occurred – over the past 40 years wildlife populations declined 58% while 20% of species face extinction. Thirdly, the global population proportion living under chronic water stress increased from 9% in 1960 to 35% in 2005. Scientists promote reducing family sizes by highlighting their significant impacts. Murtagh and Schlax estimated lifetime CO2 emissions added by having a single child range from 56 tonnes (Bangladesh) to a huge 9441 tonnes in the US. Congresswoman, Ocasio-Cortez, highlighted that climate change is forcing AmerSEPTEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 166
ican young people to reconsider having children. Historically, Islamic scholars debated about the validity of contraception. Family planning is now widely adopted in Muslim countries and endorsed by their ‘ulama, scholars. Traditionally, Muslims believed it is a religious duty to produce a large Ummah. They referred to the weak hadith: “Marry and multiply for I will be proud of you on the Day of Judgement before other nations.” Current conditions are, however, different. In classical times the Ummah was small. Today it is huge and growing fast. Based on the Qur’anic verse, “His bearing and weaning is thirty months” (46:15), and Prophet Muhammad’s (s) discouragement for a suckling mother becoming pregnant, scholarly consensus encourages mothers to space births over 30-33-month intervals. While the mother lactates, scholars permit parents to use contraceptives based on analogy with Azl (male withdrawal), which Prophet Muhammad (s) accepted. Muslim Governments variably promoted family planning to engender societal well-being with better women’s health and educated children. National fertility rates (TFR) should exceed 2.1 children per women to ensure a healthy society with children supporting parents in old age. Australia’s fertility rate at 1.7 is one of the lowest. In Nigeria, Africa’s largest population with high annual 3.2% population growth and TFR of 5.0, FP is starting to reduce population growth. Critically evaluating from perspectives of the higher objectives (maqasid) of Islamic law – preserving life, religion, intel-
lect, progeny and wealth, high population growth acerbates climate change and harm to Life (rising seas impacting low-lying Pacific island and Bangladeshi communities), Progeny (future sustainability reduced) and Wealth – steady unsustainable reduction in Earth’s natural wealth and productive capacity, especially declining marine food resources. The Islamic legal maxim “Averting evil is preferable to securing benefit” suggests any perceived benefits of having a large family are unacceptable with the severe harm from population growth to the environment, and to women’s and children’s wellbeing in developing countries. The challenge to Muslims though in seeking to space births, is to avoid instead becoming wastefully consumerist materialists, even impacting more on Earth’s sustainability. While Australians and Americans generate excessive annual CO2 emissions (tonnes) per head of 15.4 and 16.5, Indonesia and Nigeria are only 1.8 and 0.6, respectively. Australia and the US have low fertility rates but excessively consume resources. Muslims can reduce their family sizes while avoiding unnecessary consumption thus being God-conscious stewards protecting Earth’s precious life-supporting systems while raising well-educated children dutiful to their parents and their Creator. 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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Although such extremists have long advocated race war, a new element is now involved. The conservative mainstream is being increasingly linked to the fringes, as we saw in the Sydney CPAC. “…the difference today is that their views have been readily disseminated by the internet and put into the mainstream by Trump and the right-wing media industrial complex, which together validate “white genocide” and “white replacement” conspiracies. [12 August 2019 Byline Times]. That the fears of the right-wing are largely mythical does not make them less lethal, as the rise of white supremacist terror in the USA is revealing. Bilal Cleland is a keen reader, a prolific writer and a regular columnist of AMUST based in Melbourne.
Some say the universe has no end and the beginning Fazlul Huq Some say that the universe has no end and the beginning,While some others say that the universe began out of the Big Bang, As it continues to expand with every tick of time, So says the Creator in the Final Testament, While many think that the universe will have the fiery end, When will it come would remain shrouded in mystery, As the Creator states, only He knows when it will come. 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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Why religion is in claws of anger today? AMUST
Hena Jawaid Religion used to be the foundation of survival from which people used to derive comfort, serenity and tolerance. They learnt honesty, feared damnation and avoided debauchery and injustice to obtain approval of the Higher Entity. People strived for His love by loving deprived and disadvantaged. However, with time the dimensions of life changed to the point that it adapted the modern symphony of existence. This trend of modernity requires success, competition, politics and materialistic amenities at all cost. All of these (man-made) standards are directed to augment the exhibition of personal ego. In this race, religious values started wearing off because it seems to retard the pace of modern life. The exclusion of religious values and wisdom from daily life have regressed the array of social values. A handful of people rose up, taking advantage of this lack of religious knowledge equally amongst literate and illiterate individuals and started putting up their own religious interpretations. These interpretations were solely based on hatred, differences and hostility. Faith–naïve people have distanced themselves further away from their creeds after receiving such malicious elucidations. They left the faith exclusively in the hands
of abusers and riotous who played on the field of sacred teachings for decades to manipulate the truth, infuriate masses, spread hatred, kill innocent people, and propagate fallacies about each other. Global poverty, unequal resource distribution and injustice have ignited the situation further in their favour. This unruly crowd was therefore encouraged to attract people from different faiths across the borders to enhance their circle of influence by augmenting self-doubts and impairing trust over establishments (police, governments and authorities). Last four decades have seen a general trend of weariness towards belief systems. People mark religion as the cause of hate. On top of this anarchy, media has fueled the fire by propelling misconceptions and myths. Media has persistently highlighted negative events (violence, hate speech, assassinations and terror) and diminished the voices of harmony and interreligious unity. Today, religion which was the source of brotherhood stands as a victim of ignorance. Peacebuilding is the central core of all religions but obliviousness has devoured the minds and souls by camouflaging the reality. Scriptural references: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Luke 2.14 “May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.” Numbers 6.26 “God is peace, his name is peace, and all
is bound together in peace.” Zohar 3.10b (Judaism) “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.” John 14.27 “Allah summons to the abode of Peace and leads whom He wills to a straight path.” Qur’an 10.25 Prophet Muhammad (s) said, “Shall I inform you of the best morals of this world and the hereafter? To forgive him who oppresses you, to make a bond with him who severs from you, to be kind to him who insults you, and to give to him who deprives you.” Hadith (Islam) Scriptures contain the cardinal teachings about modesty and unanimity.
It promotes social coherence and amicably weaves the fabric of differences to generate diversity. It blossoms with justice, family love, spiritual content and patience. This era of confusion and anxiety would complete its tenure and pass away but history would distinguish this age where religion stood as the source of confusion. Hena Jawaid is a mental health professional having trained in Pakistan and US completing 5 years of medicine and then 4 years training in psychiatry. she has contributed to international and national newspapers, magazines and scientific journals on professional and community issues and spends many hours volunteering for various NGOs.
The Kashmir crisis Indian Muslims’ perspectives Zahid Jamil
The Kashmir crisis is being debated in India and Pakistan as India scrapped the controversial articles 370 and 35A and went a step further by removing the status of Jammu and Kashmir as a State and making it a Union Territory to be governed from Delhi. Surely in doing so, India violated the international conventions of past seventy years as well as bilateral agreements between the two countries. Pakistani leadership is engaged in criticising the move of the Indian government for which they have plenty of legal grounds. They are committing to continue to raise the issue at various international platforms including UN. The BJP leadership in government in India is trying to sell the move as a positive step, a bold move to command their authority in the region and promising economic growth in future. India has been telling the world for past many decades that Kashmir was an integral part of India and now the right-wing BJP Hindu nationalist government has enacted the bill in the parliament describing it as an internal matter of the country. Unfortunately, more than 180 million Indian Muslims have never been consulted, though they are an important party who may have played a key role in finding a solution in Kashmir. If Indian Muslim leadership was engaged
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in delivering a political dialogue with Kashmiri leadership over the past 70 years, the issue may have been resolved amicably and current crisis may have been avoided. Most of the Indian Muslims are of the opinion that partition of India in 1947 was a mistake. It resulted in unifying the Hindu population in one country and divided Muslim population of pre-partitioned India in many parts viz Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indian Muslims and Kashmiri Muslims. This division of Muslims made them very weak whereas Hindus united in India thereby gained strength now on a Hindu platform. However, once the partition took place, the Muslim majority region of Kashmir should have gone to Pakistan based on the formula of the division. It did not happen due to the choice of the indecisiveness of the Hindu king and majority Muslim population in Kashmir and thus Kashmir became a contentious issue between the two countries. Soon after the partition, Pakistan sent its
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army into Kashmir and somehow managed to liberate one third of greater Kashmir. Although this division of Kashmir separated a large number of families, people of ‘Azad Kashmir’ have enjoyed peace and although they have their own parliament, they found comfort in being with Muslim Pakistan. On the other hand, people in ‘Indian occupied Kashmir’ rejected Indian rule as they found it unjustified that they had to stay with the Hindu majority despite the creation of a Muslim nation nest door. Seventy years later, the fact is that India is too strong and Pakistan is relatively weak, militarily, financially, geographically and population wise. The Hindu nationalist BJP party who enjoys great majority in the Parliament found a golden opportunity in implementing its agenda of unilateral annexation of Kashmir in India against the wishes of the Kashmiris. International conventions have proven to be ineffective in all international disputes
and the powerful nations have not agreed to any UN resolution against their own interests. India also enjoys strong economic ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries who are therefore reluctant to take a stand against India, despite claiming to be the protectors of Muslim interests internationally. Another very important fact is that as long as Kashmir remains tense, pressure on Muslims in India builds up. Over the past 5 years, since Narendra Modi came to power, Muslims have faced immense problems. In a highly unlikely event of Kashmir parting away from India, more than 180 million Muslims of India will suffer a bloodbath. Although it seems to be very late now, still engagement of Indian Muslim leadership in negotiations with Kashmiri leaders may have a calming effect. The message that if 180 million Muslims are living in democratic India in a relatively peaceful manner over past 70 years, Kashmiri Muslims can do the same. The truth is that there is no alternative to it. It is a huge challenge to undertake such negotiation in a respectful manner when extremist Hindus are in power yet floating such an idea may not be a bad choice. 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/
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Muslim Film Festival showcases strong field of films Kuranda Seyit
The first International Muslim Film Festival in Australia will be held in September screening short fiction films and documentaries. Festival Director, Dr Joanne McKeown says, “We are very excited about this event, it’s just around the corner. We’ve put together a very high calibre of films from around the world, which will be showcased to audiences in Perth and Melbourne.” The festival is organized by Badayel House, director Tarek Chamkhi and his partner Joanne McKeown who are both based in Perth. Tarek says, “This is the first time I have done something like this, and it has been an up hill battle, finding funding and sponsor-
ship, however, we are proud to bring this festival to Australian audiences, and confident that it will be well received.” The festival has had support from the Office of Multicultural Interests in Western Australia. It has also received support from Perth Lighthouse Inc and Islamic Co-operative Finance Australia Limited (ICFAL) and the Forum on Australia’s Islamic Relations (FAIR). The festival aims to raise awareness about various Islamic issues and topics such as Islamophobia, the hijab, attitudes towards women and Muslim culture and various international political issues. There are over 35 films on show, produced after 2017, in the two categories
of Documentary and Fiction. There are a number of highly commended films including a beautiful parable by Indian film maker Ashish Pandey called ‘Nooreh’ which addresses the very topical issue of the Kashmir conflict in a subtle and poetic way. Then there is the confronting film of ‘Raheel’ by Iranian film maker Ayat Asad Rahbar. A disturbing film about an Afghan woman’s journey to find her husband who is working in Iran, only to find that he does not want her there, her hopes are only in the kindness of a stranger. Australian films include ‘Found’ by Kauthar Abdulalim, which directly addresses Islamophobia after the 9/11 attacks and ‘Gift’ which takes a differ-
ent view on Islamophobia, both creative in their twists. There are many more short fiction films and short documentaries to enjoy at the 2019 Muslim Film Festival. The screenings will be held at the Backlot Studio in Perth (Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 September 2019) and Melbourne (Saturday 14 September 2019). For more information see muslimfilmfestival.com.au or call 0414 155 366 for more details about the Perth screenings and 0412 318045 for Melbourne screenings. Kuranda Seyit is a filmmaker and community worker, who wrote and directed By Compass and Quran: History of Australia’s Muslim Cameleers, which was broadcast on ABC TV. He is also founder of the Forum on Australia’s Islamic Relations (FAIR) and was editor of Australia Fair Newspaper from 2003-2010.
One Eid One Humanity
Christchurch Eid Festival Muhammad Tehseldar Ahbab Al Mustafa and Sheykh Mohamed Harby.
Kapa Haka Maori Performing Arts group from Christchurch, NZ.
Muhammad Khodr with Anthony Mundine. Ahbab Al Mustafa Nasheed Group from Sydney, Australia.
Audience at the Christchurch Eid Festival. Alsu Kurlow The Christchurch Eid Festival was held on Saturday 17 August 2019 in order to celebrate Eid Al Adha and bring about healing to the communities and peace to the traumatised city. Due to wet weather conditions, the Christchurch Eid Festival had been relocated from McCormacks Bay Reserve to Templeton Community Centre. Despite the poor weather the crowds were treated to cultural show and nasheed performances, listened to motivational speakers, enjoyed children’s attractions, tasted a variety of food and purchased from stalls selling diverse goods and even a live cooking demonstration from Gold Coast chef HusSEPTEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 166
sain Baba and Hussin Goss. Numerous parliamentarians and Christchurch counsellors addressed the event including the Hon Dr Megan Woods – Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, the Hon Ruth Dyson, Chief Government Whip, former Minister of ACC, Labour, Disability Issues, Social Development and Women’s Affairs and Cr Jimmy Chen, Christchurch City Council. The Hon Ruth Dyson conveyed a message from Prime Minister Jacinda Arden who was overseas at the Pacific Leaders Forum and could not attend. The event was organised by local Muslim group Canterbury Resilience Foundation, Sydney based community group Humans Unite, Mr Osman Karolia from Unity Grammar and proudly sponsored by Rotary International and Humans Unite. The Eid Festival was attended by a notable contingent from Australia including Antho-
ny Mundine, former world boxing champion and rugby league star; Sheikh Mohamed Harby, international Quran reciter from Lakemba Mosque; Nasheed group Ahbab Al Mustafa; Muhammad Khodr, Nasheed artist and Stephanie Kurlow, pre-professional ballet student and ‘Remove Hate from Debate’ ambassador. Sheikh Mohamed Harby mesmerised the crowd with his incredible recitation of the Holy Quran and Ngā Toi o Te Rangi and Te Pā o Rākaihautū, traditional Kapa Haka Maori performing arts groups left the audience exhilarated by the high energy and explosive show. Muslims and non-Muslims from Christchurch and beyond turned out for the event to celebrate. Abbie Montgomery, who was visiting the festival for the first time said it was “beautiful” to see people from different backgrounds come together.
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“The organisers did an amazing job bringing the event together. It was extremely humbling to be amongst a group of people who knows tragedy first hand yet can still smile. My heart broke on 15 March and remains always thinking of our Muslim neighbours. We can never change what happened but we can remain side by side and say no to hate,” Said Abbie Montgomery. Janna Adnan Ezat mother of Hussein AlUmari who died saving others during the Christchurch shootings said, “I lost my son on 15 March as he prayed in Masjid Al Noor. Since the day my son was killed, I have felt no sense of relief until this very moment. All these people are here because they have not forgotten.” The festival was a huge success and is part of the healing process for families of the Christchurch mosques’ attacks, many of whom were in attendance and expressed their gratitude.
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Young Performers shine at ‘Eid Show Got Talent’ AMUST
Alsu Kurlow
Human Appeal Australia hosted their ‘Eid Show Got Talent’ on Saturday 17 August 2019. There were around 30 performers this year showcasing their amazing skills and talents in singing, Quran recitation, poetry, martial arts and other performances. Every act brought something unique and showcased the wide variety of talent we have in our communities. The Eid Show Got Talent Segment, allows children from within the community, to have the opportunity to present their talents on the main stage at the event every year. The talent show is important as it allows contestants to express themselves through a community platform and lets them connect
Eid Show Got Talent contestants with Muhammad Al-Bizry, MC and Mohammad Shokrany, HAA.
with a wider audience. Some contestants never had an opportunity to perform at such a major event. Most
Mohammad Shokrany awarding Mariam Nagi, laptop draw winner.
may perform at places such as their local school, but not at a large public forum such as the Eid Show, at the Bankstown Showground. “The Eid Show and Human Appeal Australia are proud to host this exciting segment every year, “ said Hanna El-Zahab, AIES team leader. Alongside hosting such an exciting segment of the event, the Human Appeal Australia stall, with the help of the astounding volunteers, was one of the main attractions at the Eid show, showcasing outstanding lights and spectacular balloon display all around the stall. With heart-warming hugs and the happiness of the children, the Orphan Hamoudi, the Human Appeal mascot was indeed loved
by all children and community members. Omar Abdulwahed from Georges Hall and Sarah Chowdhury from Lakemba received the Highly Commended awards. They performed a nasheed and recited Quran with much passion and joy and stole the hearts of the audience. Six-years-old Mariam Nagi from Greenacre was declared on stage as the winner of a brand new laptop. The Eid Show Got Talent has been a staple of the festival for many years now and every year we see some bright shining future stars performing on the stage. On behalf of Human Appeal Australia and Sounds of Light Talent Quest Team, we extend our congratulations to all children who performed at the Eid Show Got Talent.
Multicultural Sydney Eid Festival marks Eid Al-Adha Zia Ahmad
The Islamic Charitable projects association (ICPA) hosted the Multicultural Sydney Eid Festival (SEF) on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha, on Saturday and Sunday, 17-18 August 2019 at Paul Keating Park, Bankstown. The festivals was opened by the President of the ICPA, Hajj Mohammad Mehio with a speech congratulating Muslims on this great occasion, asking Allah, the Almighty to bestow this occasion again upon all with goodness and blessings. Dr Sheikh Salim Alwan, Chairman of Darulfatwa the Islamic High Council of Australia, during his speech reminded attendees on their role in raising the younger generation and guiding them to be active and conscientious members of the community adding,” regardless of the tribulations and injustice that continue to occur around the world, this will lead us to further adhering to our glorious religion that calls for justice and moderation.” The Hon David Coleman MP, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs spoke about the important work the ICPA continues to do in the community, including Scouting, kids club, band and many social support services and the Sydney Eid Festival being a terrific event that demonstrated the strength of our multicultural society. His excellency, Mr Milad Raad, Ambassador for Lebanon expressed his Eid greeting to all attendees and his joy in attending the occasion that symbolises belief and sacrifice. His Excellency Dr Ali Kraishan, Ambassador for Jordan also expressed his joy in
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attending the Eid Al-Adha celebration with such diverse community in Australia. The leader of the NSW Opposition, Ms Jodi McKay thanked ICPA for holding this event spreading good will into the community. The 2-day festival included performances by the ICPA chanting band, congregational
prayers, and displays by the 5th Bankstown Scouts and Liverpool Scout groups. Families and children were also enjoyed various rides, food and shopping at stalls. The event concluded with prize giveaways handed out to the winners of the Hajj season programs broadcasted on the Muslim Community Radio 92.1FM, Sydney.
Mrs Faten El Dana OAM.
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Other guests at the festival included Mr John Sidoti, Minister for Multiculturalism, Mrs Tania Milhailuk MP, Mr Jihad Dib MP, Mr Paul Lynch MP, Ms Lynda Voltz, MP, Mrs Wendy Lindsay MP, Councillor Bilal Hayek, Councillor George Zakhia and community leaders representing Sydney’s diverse community.
Mr Jihad Dib MP.
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Mr Zia Ahmad.
Zia Ahmad The newly constructed Musallah complex was inaugurated on Monday 5 August 2019 at the University of Sydney with integrated prayer halls and ablution facilities for males and females together well equipped kitchen facilities and easy direct access. The inauguration event for the Musallah, organised by Sydney University Muslim Students’ Association SUMSA that manages it was held after Zuhr prayers attended by students, staff, alumni and university officials. Those present were welcomed by the President of SUMSA, Mr Murad Rafik and addressed by Professor Zu’bi Al-Zu’bi who has been instrumental in securing funding for the Musallah and Mr Zia Ahmad, one of the founders of SUMSA back in 1972. Mr Zia Ahmad during his address gave brief account of the history of efforts to es-
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New Musallah at Sydney Uni inaugrated tablish Musallah at the University of Sydney over the last 45 years and how SUMSA has grown from an association of 5 people, now with more than 1000 people attending Juma congregational prayers on Fridays at the campus. The new Musallah facility in the Darlington Campus has been made available by the University of Sydney immediately after the closure of the old Musallah in Old Teachers College in the main campus with the help of funding provided by the Shoman family of Jordan. Professor Zu’bi Al-Zu’bi during his address talked about the events leading up to the construction of the Musallah. “The Shoman family, Ramzi Khleif , Hamza and Shereen, have asked me to speak on their behalf today, as they extend their apologies for not being able to join you today. When I first talked to Ramzi Khleif and Hamza about the needs for better facilities for Muslim students and staff at the Univer-
sity of Sydney, they were immediately keen to help, and was very thankful to the University for giving the opportunity to contribute to the Muslim community in memory of Ramzi’s wife and Hamza’s late parents. It is fitting at this moment to mention some information about Samar and Ahmad. Ahmad Shoman was a well-known businessman in Jordan, who came from a very well-established business family. He died from cancer in 2006, leaving his wife Samar, and two children, Hamza and Shereen. He is remembered throughout Jordan and Palestine for all the philanthropic work that he carried out, and that continues to this day. Samar, Ahmad’s wife, took on the burden of running the business and raising the children after his death. Along with Ramzi her 2nd husband, she took the Shoman and Khleif family business into new heights. She passed away in 2018, but her legacy of charity continued with Ramzi, Hamza and Shereen. This prayer room not only represents a
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Professor Zu’bi Al-Zu’bi.
place where Muslims can come together to freely practice their beliefs in a safe environment, but it is an opportunity for the Muslim community to share their faith with others. On behalf of Ramzi, Hamza and Shereen, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the Vice Chancellor and the Alumni and Development Office, particularly Tim Dolan, Rossie Ogilvie and Flora Grant, for their assistance in this project and in setting up today’s wonderful event. Ramzi also asked me to convey a special word of gratitude to SUMSA for their amazing work in advocating for the Muslim community at the University. So just to finish off, I am honoured to represent the Shoman family here today. They are indeed a wonderful example of social responsibility and commitment to their faith and to the community. We hope that this just the beginning of an ongoing relationship between the Shoman family and the University of Sydney.”
Boutique show for education project Zahid Jamil Indian Minority Education Society of Australia Inc (IMESA) held a successful event at Bowman Hall, Blacktown on Sunday 28 July to bring awareness to its projects and objectives. The ladies-only event included clothing stalls showcasing the latest trends in the world of clothes from India and Pakistan. A fashion show parade sponsored by Sydney’s boutique Roshan Fashion drew rapturous applause from the crowd. The Children also did their own show wearing traditional subcontinental costumes. A short film by IMESA drew the attention of the audience to the issues Muslims face in India due to lack of education. Muslims lag far behind other communities in education at all levels. In higher education, Muslims represent only 4.4 % although they constitute more than 15% of the country’s population. Prestigious government jobs have very little representation of Muslims. Muslims have been found to be only 3% in the IAS (Indian Administrative Services), 1.8% in the IFS (Indian Foreign Services) and 4% in the IPS (Indian Police Services). At the same time, Muslims have a very high representation in menial jobs such as SEPTEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 166
rickshaw pullers, handicraft factory workers and other labouring jobs. A large number of the Muslim population is engaged as child labour in homes, in restaurants, in shops and in factories. NSW MP Ms Julia Finn described the situation for in India as alarming as tens of millions of Muslim children face a dire situation. She applauded efforts of IMESA and described such projects of great humanitarian significance. IMESA’s main project is called Taleemi Jamaat, a volunteering body to work towards educational upliftment of poor in India. The project aims to get poor children admitted in school, ensure they do not drop out in early classes, provide for their uniforms and books, help parents for the loss of income as their child has to leave his/her work as a child labourer. A major activity undertaken by project teams is running of evening classes to ensure that these poor children are able to study in the educational environment under the supervision of a teacher as their uneducated parents are unable to guide them. IMESA has already started the projects in North Indian cities of Lucknow and Saharanpur and aims to expand it in other cities and towns across India. You can donate to the project through IMESA’s website https://imesa.org.au/.
IMESA’s free coaching and guidance class in Lucknow, India.
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Youth PoWR 2019 to generate ‘The Sydney Statement’ AMUST
Dr Patrick Mclnerney Youth PoWR, the largest interreligious youth event in Australia, this year will be held at four compass points of Sydney on Sundays, 25 August in Parramatta, 8 September in Pennant Hills, 13 October in Lakemba and 3 November in Bondi. Youth PoWR (Parliament of the World’s Religions) is the annual gathering of hundreds of young adults (18-35) from different faiths—Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jew, Muslim, Sikh, and more, including secular beliefs in order to strengthens intercultural and interfaith relations among Sydney youth for a more cohesive society. Youth PoWR has been an annual, one-off event, but this year it is travelling to the four compass points of Sydney – north (Pennant Hills), south (Lakemba), east (Bondi), and west (Parramatta) – to meet youth in their own neighbourhoods Casting this Sydney-wide net is for a special reason – Youth PoWR is calling on young adults throughout the harbor city to generate The Sydney Statement, a list of interfaith actions that will help build bridges between believers from different religions. Chair of Youth PoWR’s Coordinating Committee, Ryan Epondulan, says,
Photo from 2018 Youth PoWR.
“Inspired by similar statements throughout the world, such as The Vienna Declaration 2014 and The Washington Declaration 2018, this project will be tailored to Sydney’s multicultural, multi-religious society and is the first in the world to be driven by youth. Youth PoWR’s four events this year are an opportunity for young adults of every faith and belief who call Sydney home to help shape our multicultural and multi-religious city to be an inspiring example of respect for difference and social cohesion.” Each event will feature a youth speaker, youth entertainment, food and, significantly, professionally facilitated group discussions in which attendees will voice their ideas for The Sydney Statement. Registration for each event is online through Humanitix here: https://tinyurl. com/YouthPowr2019 1. West – Sunday, 25 August @ Western Sydney University, Parramatta. 2. North – Sunday, 8 September @ Pennant Hills Community Centre. 3. South – Sunday, 13 October @ LMA Function Centre Lakemba. 4. East – Sunday, 3 November @ Bondi Pavilion. Enquiries: Ms Kim Chong, (02) 9672 3616 kimchong@columban.org.au Rev Dr Patrick McInerney is the Director of the Columban Mission Institute and Coordinator of its Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations and is based in Sydney.
Inter-School Visit to Sydney’s Gallipoli Mosque Calisha Bennett On a beautiful, sunny winter’s morning on Monday 12 August, Year 7 students from Emanuel School, a Jewish school from Randwick, and Granville Boys High School arrived at the gates of Auburn Girls High School for an interschool day and a visit to the stunning Gallipoli Mosque. The occasion was part of a series of inter-school days that these students are having together, facilitated by Together For Humanity. This is a Muslim-Jewish-Christian organisation which aims to help foster students’ interfaith and intercultural understanding, and in doing so to bring communities together. The diverse group of students arrived and settled in an open space in the school’s library. The Auburn Girls school was both well kept and well presented with an atmosphere of acceptance and warmth. It carried the feeling of a school which was honoured, enjoyed and appreciated by its students, staff and community. The visiting students were met by the Auburn Girls students and by a smiling row of seven guest presenters and facilitators who were seated at the front of the room. Each presenter appeared to have a curious uniqueness about them and likely an interesting story to tell. They varied in age, appearance and dress with some wearing religious garb and others wearing ‘normal’ modern clothing.
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The introduction to the day consisted of an Acknowledgement of Country, the mention of a sacred Jewish day, Tisha B’Av, as well as a sacred Muslim day, Eid al Adha, which had both fallen on the day prior and a short introduction to Together For Humanity and it’s presenters. In a few simple sentences each presenter shared a bit about themselves. They spoke of their cultures, their faith and beliefs, their family history, interesting facts and more. This was followed by a warm welcome by the Auburn Girls School Principal who shared fascinating details about the results from her recent DNA testing. An icebreaker activity was conducted to get the students moving around, interacting and getting to know each other’s names. The room was bustling with movement, conversation and laughter and you could definitely say that the ice was indeed broken! The group participated in an activity about common world religious and worldviews (including atheism) where they were instructed to sort multiple quotes into categories. Participants were surprised to discover that many of the quotes and verses they had assumed to be their own were in fact that of another faith or belief. Following a short recess where students from all three schools got to socialise and eat, the group set off for a short walk to the Gallipoli Mosque for a tour and to witness the Muslim prayers. For many of the students, teachers (and even a couple of presenters) this was the very first time they had been inside a mosque. Some of the female visitors put on headscarves as a gesture of respect for the Islamic place of worship. The midday prayer ‘Dhuhr’ was per-
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formed and observed followed by a short talk by one of the mosque’s tour guides. He shared the history of the mosque and it’s stunning architecture as well as what some of the mosque’s furnishings and decorations were. He also explained the different prayers which Muslims perform - the obligatory, optional, Eid prayers and Friday ‘Jumah’ prayers. A student named Dylan later said, “It was really interesting to learn about Muslim prayers.” The visitors listened attentively with students and adults asking questions throughout. Some were moved and emotional about the mosque atmosphere and tranquility. Great respect and reverence was shown by all. The tour was followed by lunch, photos, reflections and free time outside the mosque. A Jewish student named Inez said, “I learnt about the religion of Islam and their everyday life.” The Jewish students from Emanuel also did a post-meal prayer demonstration for the group. “Today I got to mix with a melting pot of
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cultures. I learnt that being diverse brings the good out of you. I made new friends and got to be more social. Thank you I enjoyed. The mosque is beautiful,” said Adeena. The smiles, chatter and laughter of the students echoed up and above the sturdy mosque walls and into the afternoon sky. The conversations, activities, learning and experiences of the day truly brought about a feeling of togetherness. Together for Humanity is holding its annual fundraising dinner on Saturday 14 September at the Himalaya Emporium Function Centre, 1/258 South Terrace, Bankstown. The event will include two inspirational keynote speakers, Dr Munjed Al Muderis and Alpha Cheng, as well as a musical performance by the multicultural Masha´s Legacy. If you would like to support our work, please visit togetherforhumanity.org.au to purchase a ticket. Calisha Bennett is the Informal Education Officer from Together for Humanity, as well as an Islamic speaker and identity and success coach for Muslim women. ISSUE 166 / SEPTEMBER 2019
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Call for dialogue against violence and hate
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Mehar Ahmad
The Canterbury Bankstown 13th Annual Interfaith Dinner was held on Tuesday 6 August 2019 with the theme “From Christchurch to Sri Lanka – Interfaith and cultural dialogue against violence and hate”. The event included presentation of awards as well as recognition of Order of Australia for Mr Khodr Saleh OAM. The Interfaith Dinner, held at Punchbowl Community Centre, was organised by Riverwood Community Centre and Canterbury Bankstown Harmony Group at the invitation of Harmony Group President Khodr Saleh, the former deputy mayor of Canterbury-Bankstown Council and supported by Riverwood Community Centre , Canterbury Bankstown Council and United Muslim Association UMA. The event was attended by politicians and community leaders representing Muslim, Christian, Buddhist and Hindu faiths attended as well as representatives of a number of organisations and institutions from the Canterbury Bankstown local area. The audience were welcomed by Mr Khodr Saleh and addressed by a number
of speakers including the Grand Mufti of Australia, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, Member of Watson, Hon Tony Burke, the former Australia’s Special Envoy for Human Rights, Hon Philip Ruddock, Rev Ryan Epondulan from Columban Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations and Rev Heather Joyce Topp from the Buddhist Council of NSW. During his welcome address, Mr Saleh said, “For thirteen consecutive years the Canterbury Bankstown Harmony Group
Women of faith leading the way Dr Zuleyha Keskin Journalist Geraldine Doogue lead a conversation on ‘Women of Faith Leading the Way’ with Dr Zuleyha Keskin from ISRA and Stancea Vichie from MSS on Tuesday 13 August at the 75 year anniversary of Missionary Sisters of Service. Geraldine Doogue is a well know Australian journalist and commentator while Dr Zuleyha Keskin is a senior lecturer at Islamic Sciences and Research Academy and Stancea Vichie is congregational leader of the Missionary Sisters of Service. More than 100 people gathered at Genazzano FCJ College in Kew, Melbourne on 13 August 2019 where leadership was discussed from various angles. While the challenges of having women in leadership roles in all SEPTEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 166
segments of society was acknowledged, the need to chip away at the obstacles slowly and wisely was noted. The conversation then turned to the qualities needed for leaders which included sincerity, decisiveness and the ability to navigate through challenges to meet objectives. Leadership was described as not being a privilege but a responsibility that comes with accountability. Therefore, a leader should be ready to give up their position if someone with better skills and capabilities comes along who can fulfill the role. The conversations were a great way to acknowledge leadership, its opportunities and challenges in various contexts.
continues to build community spirit, harmony and understanding in our community and bringing people together at the Annual Canterbury Bankstown Interfaith Dinner.” “Within our Canterbury Bankstown Harmony group, we always believe that sharing a meal together is important, it creates unity and respect within the community and the community gives you a sense of belonging, building bridges of understanding and harmony,” Mr Saleh further added. A number of individuals including Jane Ms Jeffes and Mr Issam Obeid and orgasnisations including multicultural media outlets such as AMUST and Suprovat were presented with “Interfaith Dialogue Awards” signed by Tony Burke MP and Khodr Saleh OAM in recognition of their great contribution and support towards Interfaith dialogue and harmony within Australia. A number of speakers congratulated with great applause from the guests present Mr Khodr Saleh OAM for receiving the Order of Australia announced on the Queen’s Birthday 2019 in recognition of his services to the Canterbury Bankstown Community and for advocacy of multi-faith relations and for diverse cultural groups. During his keynote address the Grand Mufti of Australia, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed commended such gatherings for building bridges and safeguarding the community from many challenges. “One of those challenges is the outbreak of hatred and violence, often seen as two sides of the same coin. This year we saw a group of senseless murderers carry out attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka. Fear filled the streets and innocent souls were taken while they engaged in worship on their holy day. It was a tragic attack that overwhelmed us with grief and despair. While across the Tasman sea, the dark face of Islamophobia reared its ugly head and snatched the lives of 51 innocent souls.
The world witnessed in real time, a man driven by white supremacist hatred execute a massacre on the peaceful streets of Christchurch, on the holy grounds of Masjid Al Nour. By any measure of humanity and faith, these acts carried out by the perpetrators are undoubtedly a crime against humankind and are universally condemned by all faiths. A reminder once again that a persons actions are not necessarily a true reflection of their faith. A question that we should be asking ourselves is, what happened to turn these human beings into such hateful murderous monsters. A person does not wake up one day and decide to commit these heinous acts. This transition doesn’t happen overnight. Rather, it is cultivated over years of racist, xenophobic, and agenda driven media coverage, coupled with dog whistle politics. This deadly combination is what creates the likes of the Christchurch terrorist, who filmed his bloodshed for the thousands of like-minded hateful mobs to see. If left unchecked, this increasing fear and hatred will spawn a home grown culture of hatred and violence, evolving from a chain of unrelated events to an ideology that penetrates society like a cancer. With that in mind: I believe our role, our responsibility and our mission as leaders of our communities is to face up to this hatred head on. To counter its spread with words, with shows of unity and with calls for legislation that criminalize it. To put an end to it and to defend our society and people against it. This threat also obliges us as leaders to stand besides the victims and their families in love and support, and to extinguish the fires of rage and retribution.” Mehar Ahmad based in Sydney is a Public School Teacher and President of Seena Inc, Publishers of AMUST.
Dr Zuleyha Keskin is Course Director and Senior Lecturer at Islamic Sciences and Research Academy of Australia (ISRA) and Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation (CISAC), Charles Sturt University. WWW.AMUST.COM.AU
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Kavi Darbar 2019 Mushayra in Sydney AMUST Media The Kavi Darbar 2019 Mushayra program was held hosted by film producer Mohammad Shamim Khan’s organisation, MSK Events, in the Strathfield Town Hall on Sunday 18 August. This program has been held annually since 2017 where on one hand, poets based both locally and abroad are given a chance to exhibit their talents while other artists are also recognised for their contribution to a number of fields with awards. Under the chairship of chief guest Mohammad Iqbal Choudhry, this year the stage was hosted by Aparna Vats and Jyotsna Jyoti in their own unique style. The main attraction of the program was renowned poet Nadeem Shaad from India while the rest of the talent included Mohammad Jafar Khan, Mohammad Amzad Khan, Farida Lakhani, Jafar Siddiqi, and Rupinder “Soz” for Punjabi. Renowned novelist Sanjay Agnihotri presented a self-written song and garnered surprise with his poetic talent. Besides the son of Dr Kunwar Bechain, Prageet Kunwar, his daughter-in-law Dr Bhavna Kunwar many others graced the occasion like Manju Mittal, Vijay Kumar Singh, Jyotsna Jyoti and Aparna Vats, Yashmin “Solomon” from Canberra, Somanayar “Som” from Brisbane and Neetu Singh. The Kavi Darbar and Mushayra committee recognise Australians who have offered a valuable contribution to the Indian languages through the medium of poetry by giving them Ratna awards. This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Mrs Aasha Sharma, the Hindi Ratna was presented to Dr Bhavna
Kunwar by Mrs Mala Mehta, the Urdu Ratna was presented to Mrs Farida Lakhani by F Khan, and the Punjabi Ratna was presented to Rupinder “Soz” by Muhammad Iqbal Choudhry. In the men’s category, the Best Theatre Achiever Award was presented to actor Shahnawaz Khan by Mrs Mala Mehta and in the women’s category the award was presented to actress Jyotsna Sharma by ex-councillor of Hornsby, Gurdeep Singh. In his address, the organiser of the program, film producer Mohammad Shamim Khan announced the founding of MSK Theatre Company, aimed at promoting the stage, particularly independent stage productions, both nationally and internationally.
SAF partnership with Sydney Cricket League Mrs Farida Lakhani with Mr Shamim Khan.
Daniya Syed Shahid Afridi Foundation Australia has established a strategic partnership with Sydney Cricket League (SCL) to promote SAF causes among multi-cultural cricket community in Australia and also generate funds from various avenues for SAF Projects. The MOU was signed by Mr Syed Atif Faheem, Country Director, #SAFAustralia on Monday 8 July 2019. Sydney Cricket League (SCL) is the most anticipated, celebrated and exciting “Multicultural T20 Cricket Championship” in Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cricket League caters for 800 players having backgrounds from Australia, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, & Afghanistan and celebrate cultural diversity. SCL is a T20 league complied by all the ICC rules
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and regulations with neutral umpiring and attractive prizes for all the athletes. Under this partnership #SCL will promote #SAF in two tournaments held during upcoming summer season by displaying SAF branding elements on players T Shirts, boundary flags, electronic stumps, media wall, website and social media channels. SCL will also run continuous donation drives for the period of six months by donating part of the team registration fees to SAF, collecting donation from spectators at cricket grounds and encouraging sponsors to donate for SAF causes. We believe that this partnership will help SAF in building a long-term association with the cricket community in Australia. Daniya Syed is a student of Year 9, she is technology enthusiast and have participated in FLL International Robotics Championship competitions. Daniya also has keen interest in community related activities and volunteers herself for various charity organisations.
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From left, Mr Shamim Khan, Dr Bhavna Kunwar, Mrs Mala Mehta.
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‘My Voice, My Vote 2019’ AMUST
Muslim students speak at Victorian Parliament House Students from Al Siraat College senior classes attended the ‘My Voice, My Vote 2019’ event at Victorian Parliament House in Melbourne on Monday 19 August, accompanied by Head of senior years, Mr Vis Naidu.
The group included Salah Elayoubi (Yr 10), Afeera Zafar (Yr 10), Humza Ghouse (Yr 10), Sabrina Ali (Yr 9). Speakers Salah and Afeera discussed the topic of increasing electoral participation of youth from multicultural backgrounds. Salah gave a powerful speech discussing the importance of using inclusive, sustainable, earth-friendly speech in Australian politics free from hate-speech and racism. He delivered the message that “What gets said in politics has the potential to inspire the very best of youth and the very worst.”
From left: Bilal Ghouse, Salah Elayoubi, Mr Vis Naidu, Bronwyn Halfpenny MP, Afeera Zafar and Sabrina Ali.
Afeera shared some practical important measures Victorian parliament can implement to have greater engagement with youth from multicultural communities in a way that’s sustainable. Her solutions included cultural and religious awareness training for politicians and all staff who are engaging with people in high ethnic regions to remove any subconscious biases they may have formed over time. Both speeches were infused with Islamic context with verses from the Quran and a quote from Prophet Mohammad’s (s) last sermon. Salah Elayoubi ended his speech with a quote from the last sermon of Prophet Mohammad (s): “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.” The National Council of Women Victoria through this annual ‘My Voice, My Vote’ event, as well as other events, plays an important role in increasing electoral participation amongst male and female future voters. Al Siraat College SRC Coordinator Ms Noori Ahmad facilitated the student participation in this event and is committed to developing Muslim students as spokespeople for our community.
“What gets said in politics has the potential to inspire the very best of youth and the very worst.
Gulhan Eryegit Yoldas is on the advisory board for ECCV Gambling Harm project. She’s an active member of Whittlesea Interfaith Network and currently works as the Community Engagement Facilitator for Al Siraat College. Gulhan has a robust history of advocacy for Interfaith dialogue & building resilient, compassionate communities. She is passionate about empowering and developing Muslim youth as spokespeople for their communities.
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Gulhan Eryegit Yoldas
Lifetime Achievement Awards for Islamic school pioneers Sakinah Bokhari The Centre of Islamic Thoughts and Education (CITE), University of South Australia honoured Mr Salah Salman AM and Mr Mohamed Hassan OAM with a Life Achievement Award on Saturday 13 July 2019 at the Islamic Museum of Australia in Melbourne during the Gala Dinner of the 4th Annual Australian Islamic Schooling Conference. Professor Mohamad Abdalla, Director of CITE, and Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, Grand Mufti of Australia presented the awards to Mr Salman and Mr Hassan. The lifetime achievement award is a joint award by the Centre of Islamic Thoughts and Education and the Islamic Schools Association of Australia in recognition of a lifetime of distinguished service and contribution to Islamic Schooling in Australia. Mr Salman has been a pioneer in the field of Islamic schooling in Australia. He is the Director General of the Australian International Academy (AIA) and has been the driving force behind the school from its earliest days over thirty years ago. His vision, passion, and willingness to innovate has made the Academy to what it is today, a leading educational institution. Mr Hassan is the Founding Director of well established Minaret College, that was founded as Islamic College of Noble Park in Melbourne back in 1992 and now has two campuses one in Melbourne South East in the suburbs of Springvale and Officer currently with 1842 students and almost 300 staff. Mr Hassan since his arrival in Australia in 1967 worked in many community and youth organisations finally devoting 25 years in SEPTEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 166
Professor Mohamad Abdalla, Director of CITE (left), and Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, Grand Mufti of Australia (right), presented the award to Mr Salah Salman AM.
the establishment of Minaret college to provide Muslim children with an environment for the preservation of their Islamic Identity by fostering in them the Islamic Values and preparing them to be model Australian Muslim citizens that participate positively in building a prosperous, harmonious and safe society. Mr Hassan had long identified the importance and the potential of an affiliation between Islamic education/schooling and an Australian University, a vision shared and realised now. Mr Salman, in his acceptance speech talked about the real challenges in establishing the first Islamic school in Victoria without experience and guidelines in running Islamic schools in competition with other existing curriculums in Australia’s educa-
Dylan Chown with Mr Mohammed Hassan OAM and Ms Susie Hassan.
tion. The school went through difficult, desperate and insecure times. However, the school was very successful not only through his efforts but many who contributed towards making the school’s vision a reality. In 1983, the first Islamic school in Victoria was established, King Khalid Islamic College of Victoria with 63 students, 3 teachers and 1 administrator and in 1988 Salah Salman was appointed Chairman of the Board and by 1989, the school reached 287 students from Prep to Grade 6. Mr Salman and the College played a pivotal role in the establishment of a national education body to incorporate all of Australia’s Islamic schools, the Australian Council for Islamic Education in Schools (ACIES). In 2002 the school became a pioneer in
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interfaith-dialogue between different faithbased schools that is still running strong today. In 2006, the school changed its name to the Australian International Academy and opened its interstate and international campuses. Mr Salman became a Member of the Order of Australia in 2007 for service to the community through education and fostering harmony between Muslims and non-Muslims. Currently the Australian International Academy (AIA) has 6 campuses in two countries with a total of 3300 students. Sakinah Bokhari is a high school teacher based in Sydney.
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NSW Modern Slavery laws at risk AMUST Media World-leading laws to tackle modern slavery could be at risk of being watered down or even dumped under the scope of a review into the legislation announced by the NSW Government, prominent Australian organisations have warned on Wednesday 7 August. Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohamed, The Mufti of Australia with Hajjeh Maha Abdo of Muslim Women Organisation and Mrs Mehar Ahmad from Seena Incorporated have supported the statement regarding this matter released by Oxfam Australia, Stop the Traffik, Baptist World Aid Australia, War on Slavery, Human Rights Law Centre, (HRLC), Australian Lawyers for Human Rights and Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans (ACRTH). A year after the NSW Government passed laws positioning itself as a global leader in the fight to end modern slavery, the legislation is languishing after being sent to an additional review. On the one-year anniversary of the Modern Slavery Act being passed by the NSW Parliament, nine prominent Australian civil society groups have united to call
for the historic laws to be implemented and ensure that any review does not remove critical components of the legislation. The group say that when implemented, t h e legislation will position the NSW Government as a global leader in the fight to eradicate modern slavery and have a tangible impact on the lives of people trapped in slavery in NSW and around the world. B u t the group – which includes Oxfam Australia,
Stop the Traffik, Hagar and the Human Rights Law Centre – is concerned that instead of moving to implement the laws, the NSW Government has this week chosen to send the Modern Slavery Act back to a Parliamentary Committee and potentially open all elements of the legislation to further review. “The NSW and Federal Modern Slavery Acts are complementary steps towards eradicating the most extreme forms of labour exploitation,” said Carolyn Kitto, Director of Stop the Traffik. “The NSW economy, the seventh largest in the Asia Pacific region, has a big footprint when it comes to the estimated 25 million people trapped in slavery on our doorstep. Enacting strong State legislation will help NSW to take responsibility for the part we play. Civil society stands ready to work with the NSW Government to strengthen the Modern Slavery Act and ensure it is not open to faults or challenges.” Oxfam Australia Advocacy Manager Joy Kyriacou said the NSW Modern Slavery Act contained critical elements,
including an Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, penalties for non-compliance, strong reporting requirements for government departments and support for victims of modern slavery. “These must be protected as part of any review of the Act,” Ms Kyriacou said. “No supply chain – from the fashion industry to building, electronics or even banking – is completely immune from extreme forms of worker exploitation. NSW must continue to take this human rights risk seriously.” The groups said the NSW Government still had the opportunity to implement strong legislation for the more than 4000 victims of Modern Slavery in Australia and the tens of millions of people in our region and beyond. “At a time when other parliaments around the world are looking at strengthening their Modern Slavery legislation or introducing strong, full human rights compliance beyond slavery, this is no time for NSW to back away from an Act passed just 12 months ago,” Ms Kyriacou said. Watch video on War On Slavery YouTube channel: tinyurl.com/WarOnSlavery. Listen to ABC Religion and Ethics Report half hour program produced at the NSW Parliament House on 4 July 2019 with Andrew West’s interview with Kevin Hyland: tinyurl.com/y53kwrb3
Screening of ‘The Grand Mufti celebrates milestone Sultan & the Saint’ with Islamic Relief
Mohd Zarith Md Hanipah
Dr Patrick Mclnerney September 2019 marks the 800th anniversary of the historic encounter between St Francis of Assisi and Sultan Malik al-Kamil of Egypt. During the height of the Fifth Crusade, 1219, Francis and his companion, at the risk of their lives, crossed the no man’s land between the two warring armies on a mission of peace. Francis was received in the court of Sultan Malik al-Kamil of Egypt. Two men of faith, a Christian and a Muslim, together defied a century of war and distrust in search of mutual respect and peace. To commemorate this dramatic meeting,
a special screening of The Sultan and the Saint, an Emmy-nominated docudrama by Unity Productions Foundation, which tells this very story has been organised. This once-only event will be screened at Event Cinemas in Westfield Parramatta at 7.00 pm on Thursday 5 September. There are no door sales. Tickets are $12 and must be purchased in advance online at Humanitix: https://events.humanitix.com.au/thesultan-and-the-saint-8ooth-anniversary. The screening is co-hosted by Affinity Intercultural Foundation, the Columban Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations, the Diocese of Parramatta, the Islamic Sciences & Research Academy of Australia (ISRA), and the Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of NSW & ACT.
Need to reach thousands of people
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On Thursday 1 August 2019, Islamic Relief Australia was honoured by a visit from The Grand Mufti of Australia, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed. As a show of his ongoing support to the charity, The Grand Mufti joined Islamic Relief staff in celebrating a milestone for the organisation having reached over 420,000 vulnerable people globally across its humanitarian and development activities in 2018. As a member of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), Islamic Relief Australia has supported projects and activities in 34 countries to combat poverty and injustice while providing vital humanitarian assistance to communities in
need. In the past year, Islamic Relief has benefited over 9,000 community members in Australia through its domestic violence awareness campaign, youth development programs, migrant and refugee support, and family and women’s support interventions. Dr Ibrahim delivered a moving speech highlighting the importance of giving charity and commended the organisation for building stronger, healthier communities both locally and internationally. Relief Australia is made up of a dedicated group of staff, donors, community members, partners and volunteers working together to empower communities in need and create positive change in the world.
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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Australia must do more for Uyghurs Senator Mehreen Faruqi More than one million Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities are detained in Xinjiang by the Chinese Government in what they call ‘re-education camps.’ This mass detention of Uyghurs against their will in internment camps is a total abuse of human rights. This systemic oppression includes the erosion of the ethnic identity of the Uyghur people, imposition of religious restrictions and a region that has been transformed into a surveillance state. The world knows what’s happening, but there has been a deathly lack of meaningful action on this issue from the highest levels of Government in Australia and around the world. Torn from their families, imprisoned for years, and suffering in the shadows of secrecy – these people have nowhere to turn. The United Nations has called these camps a “no rights zone” and the world isn’t batting an eyelid.
“The world
knows what’s happening, but there has been a deathly lack of meaningful action...
Dr Mehreen Faruqi, Greens Senator for NSW, stands with the Australian-Uyghur community.
A recent ground-breaking investigation by the ABC’s Four Corners program led by the excellent Sophie Mcneill, told the heartbreaking stories of the Australian-Uyghur community whose families have been separated and who have partners, brothers, sisters, children and parents being held in forced detention in Xinjiang.
The Four Corners program also unveiled evidence of detainees in these ‘re-education’ camps being forced into labour. The investigation named retailers Target, Cotton On, Jeanswest, Ikea, Dangerfield and H&M as sourcing cotton for their products from the area. For these companies to claim they don’t not know if their supply chain is involved in human slavery simply isn’t good enough. Reports of links between Australian universities and the development of Chinese
government technology used in the oppression and human rights violations of Uyghurs are equally disturbing. Suggestions that Australian research may have contributed to racially profile Uyghurs are very distressing. Universities must urgently review their existing partnerships and their research ethics process to ensure their work does not contribute to global oppression and abuses of human rights. Analysis of satellite imagery has shown that, in the past year alone, these camps have expanded at an exponential rate. Former detainees have told of torture including being shackled to chairs, deprived of food and sleep and placed in solitary confinement. The Uyghurs and other Muslims in China have suffered economic marginalisation, cultural genocide and political oppression for decades. A pervasive, technologically advanced surveillance apparatus is in place in all of Xinjiang. The United Nations Human Rights Chief is still awaiting clearance from the Chinese Government after having repeatedly asked China to grant the UN access to Xinjiang. The Australian Government must become much bolder in defending the rights of China’s minorities. The horrific human rights abuses against China’s Turkic Muslim minorities can no longer be ignored. The first Muslim woman elected to an Australian parliament, Senator Mehreen Faruqi is a Greens MP, career engineer and lifelong activist for social and environmental justice.
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Bridge to Brisbane 2019: Personal reflections Suraya Daly
It was 6am on Sunday 25 August 2019. I was awoken as the day dawned, 8 degrees it was, and after a long, sound sleep, it felt like the nerves of the night before were simply a fear of the unknown. I thought to myself, today is the day. As with anything you’ve practised for and anticipated, everything just had to go to plan, everything had to go swimmingly, and I simply must perform at my best. I instantly made breakfast and a hot drink. Like the night before, I was mindful of what I was consuming, especially in the 24 hours before the race. I made pikelets with bananas and strawberries and Milo with milk instead of my usual coffee. Okay, it wasn’t all healthy, but I felt more disciplined than usual. The journey to the race in South Brisbane, which is near the CBD, was a little riddled with hiccups for my running partner and I. It dampened our spirits a little, but we knew
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that mindset was key, and we still had the race to complete. We needed to put our weeks of training into fruition. An event which had more than 25,000 of Brisbane’s eager runners was sure to bring a mix of emotions before the race of excitement and nerves. Before long, we were at the start line, joining the masses. Running with thousands of Brisbane’s population was a lot different to our training on the weeks prior at the calm, serene Manly and Lota, in the eastern coastal bayside of Brisbane. The crowd, the pressure to beat my personal best time, the documentation of the race, and the anticipation were instant reminders that while there were plenty of leisurely runners, it was a race, and it was timed. My pace was rather fast in the beginning, perhaps from the nerves and momentum of all of us embarking on this mission. When I was halfway through the iconic Story Bridge (a wide bridge through to the city that Brisbane motorists often have to pass through), I started slowing down to a more consistent pace that I could maintain. The hills and steep corners were particu-
larly challenging for my racing partner and I, who was ahead of me and out of sight about 1km after we started. It was encouraging to see participants from all walks of life, father-and-son duos, young children, friendship groups, couples, elderly, company runners, and many more. There was definitely team spirit shining through as spectators and race volunteers cheered us on and offered cups of water, delightfully exclaiming, “2 more kms! You’re doing well!”, photographers taking action shots from the ground in the middle of the road, and performers starting their show as we approached the finish line. By the end, I must admit, I was feeling hazy and reaching my limits, barely noticing the “Congratulations!” banner above me at the end of the race, only realising the race was coming to an end when the crowd cheered us on even louder and more excitably. I completed the 5 km ‘Orange Runner’ race in 31 minutes and 50 seconds, coming 978th out of 6289 participants, 342nd out of 3882 female runners and 47th out of 462 female runners in my age group. My running partner finished the race in an impressive 29 minutes and 51 seconds. While the results weren’t my personal best to date, I was proud that my running partner and I did what we set out in the be-
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ginning when training - to participate in the Bridge to Brisbane this year. Tens of thousands of dollars were raised for charity and the annual event this year was a huge success. The 2019 winner of the 10 km race, Callum Davies completed the race in 28 minutes and 41 seconds. For us, the running won’t stop because Bridge to Brisbane has packed up for the year. We will continue to challenge ourselves with each training and truly incorporate regular running into our lifestyles. The Bridge to Brisbane race has encouraged us for the better to improve our fitness as the years pass. It is truly an all-round fantastic annual event. For more information on the results and news from the 2019 event, visit bridgetobrisbane.com.au 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
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‘We Are All Sydney’ at The Great Synagogue Philip Feinstein Sydney’s The Great Synagogue in conjunction with the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies hosted a very special annual “We Are All Sydney” dinner on Tuesday 13 August attended by around 90 people from over 40 different ethnic and faith communities. In the lead-up to this special evening, the “We Are All Sydney” Community Leadership Program involved 3 months of training. The program included leadership coaching, conflict resolution, skills training as well as perceptions about other communities. Participants in the program were from many backgrounds including Iraqi, Kenyan, Syrian, Chinese, Burmese, Afghan, Pakistani, Rwandan, Aboriginal and many more. The overall training helped participants to realise that we all have similar challenges, concerns and struggles. In coming together for the third annual celebration, the Hon Justice Stephen Rothman AM, President of The Great Synagogue, opened proceedings by congratulating all participants on their achievements. Lesli Berger, President of the Jewish Board of Deputies, made all guests feel welcome. Keynote speaker for the night was the Hon John Sidoti MP, Minister for Multiculturalism and other portfolios. He spoke of the need for harmony amongst all the diverse ethnicities in Australia and how we should all be protected from adversity. “We need to look after each other much more,” he added. After a mouth-watering meal, everyone was invited by Chief Minister of the Synagogue Rabbi Dr Benjamin Elton on a tour of the majestic building, a landmark heritage structure built in 1878. Architect Thomas Rowe had combined Romanesque and Byzantine influences with Gothic detailing for the synagogue, commissioning leading decorative firms of the High Victorian period from Australia, Britain and the United States to embellish his ‘cathedral’ of golden Pyrmont sandstone.
Photo: NSW Jewish Board of Deputies. The richly crafted interior is considered to be one of Sydney’s most elaborate of the time, and one of Rowe’s finest works. Despite being unable to attend the function, Rabbi Bob Kaplin, founder of “We Are All New York” sent an inspiring video message to everyone. And while talking about us avoiding to be violated, he said “We should all renew our dignity together with others, Nelson Mandela achieved that, despite his guards trying to manipulate him whilst in prison.” As the evening drew to a close I moved amongst some of the guests to get their thoughts on the evening: Ali Murtaza (Pakistan): “I really enjoyed this event – it was amazing to meet with
different community heads and the special Jewish community.” Emelda Davis (South Sea Islander): “As I reflect on our beautiful Jewish family, I thank the powers that be for good people in the world.” Noel & Marie Zihabamwe (Rwanda): “A great opportunity to meet different outstanding community leaders from different religious, ethnic and faith groups to show the greatness of multiculturalism.” Amar Singh (India): “Great to be welcomed by a minority community in their religious place and to be treated with such love and respect. We can learn from the Jewish community how to promote diversity and live in harmony.”
Mun Mun Lahtaw (Kachin Myanmar): “It was a great experience for me – this was my first time experiencing such an event.” Isaac Acquah (Ghana): “A very convivial evening that brought multiculturalism to the peak. I enjoyed the meeting other leaders to share and eat together.” The evening ended with huge applause for Community Relations Manager, Lynda BenMenashe, one of the prime movers of “We Are All Sydney” and the main organiser of the evening. Philip Feinstein is a Sydney based writer, musician and activist working for MUSIC FOR REFUGEES www.musicforrefugees.org
Refugee experience during Eid and at Jewish Museum
Stephen Langford OT
On Eid al Adha day on Monday, 12 August around 500 people joined together for JUSTICE FOR REFUGEES in Lee St, Central near Department of Home Affairs. The demonstration was mainly organised by the Refugee Action Coalition led by Ian Rintoul, Mark Goudkamp and James Supple. It was a protest against Temporary Protection Visas (TPV) that are being used to put people in a permanent state of limbo, unable to bring their families here, and unable to live as citizens. Now the TPV holders are being forced, in many cases, into destitution. Many of those taking part were from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. It was Eid, and there Photo: Dr Anthea Vogl.
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was a great deal of wishing of ‘Eid Mubarak!’ Former Green’s Senator Lee Rhiannon, who is always there for people who are under the heel, and resisting was present for support at the event. On Wednesday 14 August at 6 pm, the famous Australian writer, Thomas Keneally, spoke at the Sydney Jewish Museum about his work, and the refugee experience. He is familiar with the refugee experiences of Jewish people who fled Europe during WWII. My father was one of them. I was pleased to see the Jewish ‘establishment’ doing this, putting on this event. I think there has been reticence within Jewish institutions, sticking up for refugee rights, because Jewish people are no longer refugees, and (I believe) because so many Palestinians became refugees, were forced from their land, in 1948. But I am glad that the Sydney Jewish Museum is moving on this, the refugees who are being made to suffer by this government, and with Labor ‘opposition’ complicity. Of course, there have always been Jewish individuals involved with refugee welfare, and protest against what I think of as a kind of modern anti-Semitism, as monstrous as the original. It was a great pleasure to catch up with Mobinah, one of the AMUST team member, at the Tom Keneally evening at the Jewish Museum. Bravo to Behrouz Boochani, still Australia’s political hostage on Manus, with so many
AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES
500 people joined together for Justice for Refugees on Monday 12 August 2019 at Lee St. Photo: Dr Anthea Vogl.
others, on winning the National Biography Award. His is surely one of this country’s most remarkable stories. We must set him free, and all the hostages on Manus and Nauru. Here are his words: “The main thing is time. We have been here for years and years and lots of families are separated... We are human. When you keep a human for years and years in indefinite detention, definitely they lose a lot of things. I think and I hope they [the government] will find a solution. Let us go. We don’t want anything from Australia, just let us go.” That will only happen with real pressure on
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the government and ‘opposition’. Our contribution towards that is our weekly demonstration at the Queen Victoria statue in front of the QVB in Sydney. Every Friday at 5 pm. Please join us. There are also weekly protests in Melbourne, Adelaide and Newcastle, Albany, in WA. We have to put real pressure on the shameless people at the top, some of whom mysteriously call themselves ‘Christians’, oblivious, it would seem, of the Good Samaritan parable. To quote Greta Thunberg, as citizens we must, “Just do something.” ISSUE 166 / SEPTEMBER 2019
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Building community resilience through BYDS Tim Carroll Bankstown Youth Development Service (BYDS) is a youth arts organisation based in Bankstown that has a long and proud history of working closely with people of all backgrounds, faiths and cultures for over 25 years. We have had a particularly strong association with Muslims across literally scores of projects. In recent times we have helped to facilitate and support the Linked Up Program, a Muslim youth-based skills development and leadership program that has made a significant difference to the lives of many young people in the Bankstown and surrounding areas, delivered by Social worker Ola Elhassan. After the Christchurch terrorist attack, Ola and I got together, wondering how we could make any kind of difference to the
thousands of young people from this area who were distressed by this incident and other forms of hardships. Ola and I decided that our association with Dulwich Centre Foundation was the very best place we could direct our energies, with their focus on narrative therapy and a strong history of working closely with Muslim background people across scores of projects – all with a view to helping people develop skills to making them stronger and recognising what qualities of strength they already possess. These past projects have included: ‘We Try Not to Take Hate into our Hearts’, the beautiful Skills Values and Story Cards and the earlier Life Saving Tips. We thought that the The Tree of Life narrative therapy approach - developed by David Denborough and Ncazelo Ncube-Mlilo as a way of working with Southern African children who had lost parents and relatives to the 1990s HIV epidemic that swept across that region – might be the perfect vehicle. To date, the Tree of Life approach has been
Tree of Life training begins under the beautiful fig trees at the Bankstown Arts Centre.
used in over 20 different countries in many languages – assisting people who have experienced ‘hard times’ across the world in a dizzying array of projects. This has included the ways in which Ola Elhassan and Lobna Yassine have used it with young Muslims in Western Sydney. After much discussion with David, Ola and members of Sydney’s Muslim Social Workers network (A professional association of Australian Muslim Social Workers and social work students) we approached the Scanlon foundation to see if they might agree to fund the project. It is hard to portray the sense of relief when after a couple of emails, Scanlon simply said, ‘Yes’, attesting to their place amongst foundations committed to bolstering and supporting social cohesion in Australia. It’s difficult to find the right words to describe how their support made us feel. Using our combined contacts, we began marketing our training, organising for Lobna Yassine, Ola Elhassan and David Denborough to be available on 20-21 June to deliver one day of Tree of Life training specifically for Muslim practitioners, with the next day for general population. Almost 50 people register for these two training days. We organised for David to fly up to Sydney and 20 June dawned sunny and cold. We began our training with me giving a mini lecture under the giant ficcus Hillii that
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form such a stunning, natural backdrop to the Bankstown Arts Centre where our training took place. Ola and Lobna led the training with ample contributions by David as required. Feedback from the participants was universally high with everyone completing their own Tree of Life poster throughout the day. We now have an additional 40+ practitioners from schools, community organisations, individual practice and grief and bereavement service trained by three of Australia’s most highly regarded practitioners. We look forward to hearing follow up tales of how the training is being used with people from all backgrounds who have experienced hard times, across the spectrum of arts, counselling and community development as the years go by. We again wish to thank the Scanlon foundation for considering our project worthy of funding. We also thank David Denborough and the Dulwich centre, Ola Elhassan, Lobna Yassine, Muslim Social Workers Network and of course our many Tree of Life participants. A true team effort! Tim Carroll is Director of BYDS, a youth arts organisation based at the Bankstown Arts Centre. BYDS has been making beautiful art with young, culturally diverse people from the community for 27 years.
R U OK? calls on Australia to Trust the Signs AMUST Media National suicide prevention charity, R U OK?, is urging all Australians to Trust the Signs, Trust your Gut, and Ask, “Are you OK?” to support anyone who may be struggling with life’s ups and downs. Thursday 12 September is “R U OK?Day”, a national day of action and a reminder that every day is the right day to meaningfully connect with those around us and ask a question that could change a life, “Are you OK?” Research commissioned by R U OK? has found: Nearly two-thirds of Australians (63%) are not confident they know the signs that someone might be struggling with life. Of those surveyed, 41% hadn’t asked someone if they were OK because they weren’t sure they knew the signs. However, there is hope, with almost half (49%) believing they’d be more confident starting a conversation if they knew the signs. To increase people’s confidence, R U OK? have embarked on a nineSEPTEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 166
week ‘Trust the Signs Tour’ travelling around 14,000 km to every state and territory. The Tour will culminate in Sydney on R U OK?Day having engaged 24 communities in an educational experience that explores the signs that indicate someone needs you to ask “R U OK?”. R U OK? CEO Katherine Newton says what people are saying, what they are doing and what’s going on in their life can provide signs as to whether they need support.
“We know the majority of Australians believe talking to someone who’s struggling can make a difference. But what we’re hearing, is that people aren’t sure when is the right time to have an R U OK? conversation,” said Ms Newton. “Signs can be subtle changes in verbal or non-verbal behaviour. You might spot a loved one is having unusual mood swings, changes in sleep or a mate might be withdrawing from social situations like not turning up to sports
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training. “We’re encouraging people to look out for those cues,” said Ms Newton. “We should also make a conscious effort to reach out to someone going through a significant life change such as job loss, relationship breakdown, study pressure or perhaps becoming a parent.” “This R U OK?Day, we want to empower people to trust their gut instinct and ask the question as soon as they spot the signs that someone might be struggling with life.” Importantly each event on the ‘Trust the Signs Tour’ involved mental health, volunteer and suicide prevention organisations connecting with local communities to highlight the support services available to them when an R U OK? conversation is too big for friends and family alone. R U OK? is encouraging all Australians to learn the signs, download a practical toolkit and have regular meaningful conversations across their communities. More information on how to get involved can be found at ruok. org.au For support at any time of the day or night, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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Compassion in teaching AMUST
Jessica Swann Some of the greatest learning and insight I find comes from being put on the spot, to respond with heart and integrity in the most appropriate manner, to not only spontaneously answer very difficult questions but to recognise when the question is in fact, a cry for healing. The biggest learning is when it happens when least expected and this happened to me recently giving a talk about Islam at a university in Melbourne, Australia. It was essentially an easy talk, a little Islam 101 and a little of indigenous history. Following my presentation and as the conversations with the audience evolved, it became clear one of the teachers in the audience was struggling with tension. It was like a bubble, slowly rising to the surface. Until… it popped, “What do you have to say about Islam and the oppression of women?” It wasn’t so much a question, but a declaration, a statement driven by unresolved anguish and unhealed pain. It was a cry to release the pressure of pent up wounds. I listened, I empathised with her and I concurred, “If I were exposed to that experience of ‘so-called’ Islam I would also feel anguish and oppression and I can assure you from my heart to your heart, it would be quite the unwelcoming path, absent of the spiritual nourishment that calls us to seek. Anything contrary to this feeling is not the Islamic way and a very real barrier to achieving taqwa, God-consciousness, enlightenment.” She continued, “So explain to me how this has happened in Iran over the last 20 years.” At this point, what was happening for me
A Hope Dr Reginald Naulty “There is a struggle in man between something ugly and something capable of beauty.” [Richard 1971] He committed suicide seven years afterward. Something ugly overwhelmed the impulse to beauty. It was nearly unpardonable, destroying the gift of bodily existence, an infinity better than nothing, into a mess of rubble. What anguish afterwards, what regret, what supplications he made to the compassionate, the merciful! What plan will the provident God have for him? Surely, one of the holy saints who preceded him, some bereft mother, will guide him higher. The angels, who had covered their faces with their wings, will then recover. Dr Reginald Naulty, originally from Adelaide, has taught at Charles Sturt University and has been a prolific writer since 1972.
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was a critical and deeper analysis. Listening for clues to what was being said, and even more so what was not being said. Her ‘question’ was a poignant one as it revealed the true motivation for the exchange. So often, we are challenged on the spot and the urge to defend is a natural one. When we really ‘listen’ however we are elevated out of the defensive mire and upward into an enlightened and emancipated space where reconciliation is real. “I can speak with you of my experience of the Islamic path, of the beauty, the philosophy and the seemingly unorthodox journey that nourished a spiritual consciousness where my inherited Christianity had left vacancies. The vacancies I am referring to, I was unconscious of until I began this path but subconsciously my heart was yearning to awaken seeds of wisdom within, which Islam activated. I often wonder if it was the fitra calling. What you’re describing to me, it’s not Islam. It’s the opposite of my experience. I am not a scholar of political science, nor well acquainted with the specific foreign policy, the patriarchal and cultural dimensions which drive perverse ideologies that rob humanity.” Spirituality and indeed, the Abrahamic tradition espoused by and through all the great Prophets to the Prophet Mohammed (s), provide a handhold in life which lights the way. There is no compulsion in following the way. Anything contrary to this is not of God, but of man, and eventually, justice comes to all. Spirituality speaks many languages, but always the same message. There is only one God and the light in the soul is a gift, an inherent truth, and any human who takes this light is doing an injustice to all of humanity. “I feel with anyone wounded by darkness. We are all one body and we feel pain when any part of the body aches. I ache with you. This has no spiritual home. This conduct is the intoxication of power and politics, and those vulnerable to its lure are asleep at best, there is nothing healthy for the body of humanity in this darkness.” “Is any of my journey resonating?” She nodded. I continued, “We are here together, I offer you my journey, my experience and I am compassionate to your experience.
Sadly the world is filled with the politics of darkness, everywhere. The perverse of heart will always seek discord… But the light is always there, it can never be extinguished.” It was a tough moment, standing at the front of the room, taking this pain and working with it, honouring her journey and her lived experience of how politics, power and patriarchy had eroded her faith and the faith of many others. At the moment when facing aggression, when defensiveness is a natural response, the real call was for listening and compassion. I recall a conversation with Sr Saara Sabbagh, the Founder of Benevolence Australia, the NFP I work with, “No matter what the challenge, we do not pick up arms, we
open our arms.” I share this reflection as a reminder to myself, to be conscious of humanities need to be heard, to heal and how through compassion, healing can be nourished, humanity activated, and real growth for all gained. If the teacher happens to read this, and all who relate, may our hearts be granted aafia and whatever comes our way please treat us with gentleness.
Friends are the only people we can have for our lives to confide in. Apart from the relatives and the family members, you need some people that would inspire you and who would listen to you and are available to you when you need them. True friendship is all about care and trust. A friend is a person you can blindly trust, you know the person more than any other in the whole world and when you are down or when you are shattered, you know you can count on your friend for empathy. True friendship also helps when you need support, care and sharing of your thoughts. Your best friend is more likely to help you out with the things you know you possibly cannot do without the proper guidance. You are not worried about exposing your privacy in front of them. You can talk about anything you are worried about or any concern that is bothering you without any hes-
itation. When you think you are unable to do things, your friend can lift your spirits up and encourage you to continue with your efforts without judging you. A true friend will always stand by your side and he or she will help you out even if it’s against his or her interest. You can expect any sort of suggestions, recommendations and criticism from your true and loyal friends. A true friend is ought to understand you throughout your life. And for all the care he or she is providing you with, he or she won’t ask for payback.
Jessica Swann (MIMW, BA) Intercultural engagement and media specialist in Islam West relations - Journalist I Presenter I Educator I Content-Creator. Director and Principal Consultant Jessica Swann Consulting Pty Ltd
A friend in need is a friend indeed
Md Juman Hussan
Friendship is a relationship, which almost every one of us is aware of. It is a sort of feeling that everybody experiences and everybody goes through within his or her lives. We all have friends or we used to have friends in our lives before. True friendship is like sound health, the value of it is seldom known until it is lost. Everyone wants to have friendships that last long and the memories that stay in our lives for forever. It is a desire for somebody to be honest and frank with. But, what is a true friendship? How do you know the person you have been talking to can turn into the most sincere companion? After a romantic relationship, friendship is a bond that is the most important and the most loveable one.
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Md Juman Hussan is the news editor of Showdesh Barta and Australia correspondence of sylhetview24.com. He is actively contribute by his articles and poems. ISSUE 166 / SEPTEMBER 2019
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Save your teens from drug abuse Dr Kamran Ayub It’s hard to believe that your child could be using alcohol or other drugs. Many teens experiment with drugs and you need to know how to recognize the signs that they may be experiencing problems. You already know more than you think you know. Remember that you know your child better than anyone else. If you have a teenager at home, there is a good chance that you worry about the impact of drugs in their life. Teen drug use continues to be a serious problem affecting families across Australia. If you worry your teen is on drugs, learn the facts about drug use and create a strategy to address the concern effectively. Core Signs: Before deciding what to do when your child is on drugs, you must be reasonably sure that teen substance abuse is occurring. Warning signs include · • Changes in school performance. • Changes in attitudes toward sports and other activities. • Changes in weight or physical appearance. • Changes in eating or sleeping habits. • Changes in friends. • Changes in behaviour. Mental Health Symptoms When looking for signs of drug use in teens, be sure to consider the impact of mental health symptoms. Often, mental health symptoms can appear similar to signs of teen substance abuse. A teen who seems
restless, stressed, isolative and resistant to leaving the house could be using substances or they could have an anxiety disorder. What Should I do? If you suspect that your children are using alcohol or other drugs, you may feel that you need to catch them using. Perhaps you feel that you should search their room, or control their activities and friends. These are normal feelings. After all, you want them to be safe. If the signs of drug use and addiction are present, it is time for you to take action, but what should you do? In the beginning, there are essential actions to avoid, including: • Ignoring or denying the problem. • Waiting for the problem to resolve itself. • Shaming your child for their actions. • Reacting with anger and hostility. Communication, Communication and More Communication Good communication with your teen will
be the centre of your action plan. Having a conversation about drugs and teen addiction is intimidating, so you should: • Pick a good time to talk: If your teen is intoxicated or you are too angry, the conversation will suffer. • Limit distractions: Having a serious conversation in a noisy environment with a bunch of distractions will not produce a good result. Instead, find a calm place to discuss substance use. • Have a plan: Practice and prepare for the communication to provide your evidence for their substance use and what you would like to happen next. If you want them to end use, help them seek outpatient treatment or go to rehab. • Practice patience: If you are unsure how to talk to your teenager about drugs, always come from a place of love, support, patience and understanding. Otherwise,
doing homework, household chores, toys and clothes, and routine work. When children are asked to make a choice then their likes and dislikes help kids (and parents) to know more about their preferences which eventually open a gateway for parents to unfold more about their kids’ (future) personality and temperament. Even one can enquire about friends! What make them feel like choosing one friend over the other? Parents who try to control their kids may find their kids confused, defiant and disturbed in later part of life. The freedom of choice is a very important psychological milestone. It offers them to perceive the world as happy and trustworthy place. When children choose for themselves, they face the consequence of their choice, which help them take a respective decision (kids learn here responsibility taking and autonomy). The sense of autonomy teaches them how to exercise power and use self-control b y solving is-
sues associated with their choices. Parents can also passively help them make a decision by making kids to reflect upon the effects of their choices on others. Thus, allowing children to feel not only for themselves but also for others. This serves as a foundation for empathy. Use everyday experience Empathy is a significant emotional and psychological trait. Empathy comes with training. Parents can use objects like books, toys and experiences like shopping trip, car ride and evening walk or doing a kitchen job at home to make kids realize that we share the space, planet, food, money and other valuables. To feed others is equally important as focusing on self-needs. It drives them to seek happiness through others by sharing. The “me” syndrome In the modern world, most of the parents overtly focus on self by explicitly disregarding other’s needs. Kids model our behavior. Constant reminders on having a thought about others over minor and ma-
your teen could become angry and defensive. Don’t Push but PULL Helping your teen addict is challenging and full of uncertainty. Are you truly helping your teen or are you only helping to enable addiction? Unintentionally Push is a common mistake many family members make. When you hard talk/push your teen, you allow their drug use to continue by: • Making excuses for them • Blaming other people for your teen’s behaviour. • Believing your teen’s outlandish stories. • Bailing them out of trouble. Instead of pushing your teen, it will be key to set and enforce appropriate boundaries and expectations (PULL Technique). Establish consequences for their behaviours as a way to punish substance use. Though it may be heartbreaking, you must allow the natural consequences of substance use, including financial problems, trouble with the law and relationship issues to motivate your teen toward change. Along with the consequences of behaviours linked to substance use, you can reward your teen when they engage in healthy behaviours. If they spend time with positive friends or attend drug-free activities, find ways to praise and reinforce these actions, so they are more likely to continue. 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.
How to build empathy in kids Hena Jawaid Today, we have kids who are securing higher scores out of family pressure but lacking feelings for others. We have better education and research studies on ground but humanity is wearing off. In this digitalized era, kids are more distracted, hyperactive, defiant and anxious. Only handful of Parents are eager to raise kids as compassionate humans rather than as successful individuals of society. By virtue of my profes- s i o n , I gathered some inferences based on parenti n g patterns, h o m e environment, children temperaments and childhood adversities, which can assist parents to raise empathetic kids rather than ruthless toppers. Give them a choice Self-identity is the basic key towards happiness and contentment. Showing kids the range of choices in
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jor matters is necessary. The habit of thinking about others cultivates kindness. Wisdom of Appreciation Thankfulness over what you have has a magical influence on a human behavior. It increases contentment and brings joy. Gratitude shifts the gaze towards positivity in life. It stirs up the desire to share with others what you already have. The world is getting on the path of entropy because of rising corruption, greed and anarchy secondary to injustice. The technological advances are making a world a comfortable place to live but its repertoire to offer spiritual pleasure, civility and tranquility has reduced remarkably. The empathetic hearts can contribute positively to societies and even can help themselves in their spiritual growth, which is a much-needed characteristic today to build lust-free moral world for future.
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300 Afghan families escape from their homes
Emily Mays
Four months ago, families from Kuran and Munjan districts of Afghanistan’s Badakhshan Province escaped their homes and left everything behind to flee months of conflict between the Taliban and Afghan security forces. The peaceful Badakhshi people resisted the invaders for months, trying to protect their families, homes, fields and animals. Taliban forces prevailed causing hundreds of families to flee south, crossing the towering mountains into Panjshir Province. These refugees are now living within a camp in a remote region of Panjshir Province. Mahboba’s Promise recently visited the camp to find 300 families living in severely poor conditions. This huge displacement of people has seen no media coverage; they are suffering in silence. CEO, Siqid Rawi and staff member, Hassan Amini recently visited the camp and were confronted by completely inhumane living conditions: “The families are living in harsh conditions if you can call it living at all. And with
their men either dead or away in a desperate search for work, the overwhelming feeling is loneliness and abandonment. The children wander through the rocky terrain amidst mountains and tents in ragged clothes. You don’t even see them playing. Most of them too little to understand why their parents brought them to such a faraway place where there are no villages, no stores, no doctors, no bathrooms, no schools, no trees. Sometimes they may climb the difficult way down to the river and haul up water in buckets. The women and children under the brutal summer sun hauling heavy bucket loads of water up and up. Every day.” There is nothing to do in the mountain cradled desert in which the camp is based; there is only silence. If a child cries, no one hears them. To them, the silence of the landscape symbolises the silence of a world that has not helped. Many people were critically injured by the ongoing war, including Ashor Mohammad who told of his experience: “There was a heavy war between Taliban and Afghan security forces and when I came out of my house to protect my family, Tali-
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Young children spend their days carrying bottled water up from the river.
ban shot me in the stomach. I locked myself in a house to protect my family. They took my young son Ahmad and shot him in the head. It as at this point we took whatever we had and escaped the area.” They also spoke to Mr Wirwais, the teacher of the refugee children: “The conditions here for these refugees are harsh. The children are sitting on the ground with no chairs, tables, books or pens. This is not a classroom.” Whenever there are humans in pain, we
must heal. Wherever there is hunger, we must bring food. To help the Badakhshi people from afar is not only about giving them some food; it’s about giving hope to the hopeless and saying to families who have lost all: ‘You are not alone.’ You can help Mahboba’s Promise deliver critical supplies to these Refugees by visiting their crowdfunding appeal at tinyurl.com/yxlxtkm9.
State terrorism in Kashmir
The Ummah needs to respond Hasan Fazeel Facts need to be ironed out before an emotional debate on the future of Kashmir, opinion on India’s barbaric state terrorism in this day and age, role of UN etc. The fact is that Kashmir is rich in resources; the fact is that Britishers sold Kashmir to Raja Gulab Singh for 75 Lakh rupees in 1846 to rule a Muslim majority area where the Raja subjected Muslims with slavery, heavy tax and state violence to get the return upon his un-natural investment. History then witnessed the Martyr day of 1931 where non violent protestors were killed in straight fire by the Rajas armed
forces. Fact is that Kashmir is the most militarized zone of the world with over 700,000 troops using human shields, more than 8000 disappearances, no food, no water, no medicine available in this era of technology and social media where selective justice prevails – or in simple words, Indian state terrorism perpetrated by the current Hindu extremist BJP government. Kashmir has many stories to tell across time – From Bafliaz that is named after Alexander’s horse, the Sultans, the Sikhs and many others in between to Burhan Wani and the current lockdown of Kashmiris for a month now. Burhan Wani’s funeral was a referendum that Kashmiris clearly held by themselves on 9 July 2016; the referendum that was supposed to happen after the conflict that ended between India and Pakistan on Jan-
uary 1, 1949. Post Wani’s funeral sparked the biggest rebel in Kashmir in decades where Indian doctrine has driven Kashmiris from 1947 to the edge of AK-47. The UN Security Council finally had a closed room debate last week on the current situation of state terrorism in Kashmir by Indian military where the meeting ended with a lukewarm response; resulting in the continuation of the terrorism to this day. In a moment of introspection, I asked myself why it took a long time for the Security Council to discuss Kashmir situation in a merely consultative session with no formal follow-up session, how India managed to start a fireball and play with it? Something every individual of the Ummah should ask themselves, and you might be able to come up with the answer and possibly a solution to improve the state of
Ummah. Another sad fact of today’s world – economic might is right. Regardless of 45 Islamic countries, Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition of 41 countries; and millions of pilgrims praying for the Ummah, the Ummah is yet to stand tall against this state terrorism perpetrated upon them. Sheikh Muhammad Bin Hasan reminded the Ummah in his Hajj 2019 sermon that Ummah should be like one body where the whole body feels the pain if one part is hurt. He urged the Ummah to gain political strength. Perhaps he provided the piece of string to the youth of Ummah to work hard and strive for the success and better future of Ummah just like Sahaba (r) did, success in this world and the hereafter. This is the Sunnah of Allah that He will reward if you strive. We have seen rich men like Abdul Rehman Ibn Auf (r) (whose entry to Paradise was announced by Prophet Muhammad (s)), Uthman Ibn Affan (s) (another massively rich companion whose entry to Paradise was guaranteed) in Islamic history who were economically stable, politically stable and influenced for the world to become a better place. They did not rely on a Security Council and a coalition but worked hard by themselves and Ummah flourished on the fruits that their hard work produced. Once the youth of Ummah stand tall and revive the efforts of Sahaba (r) to not only resolve Kashmir issue once and for all but make this world a better place for all to live in peace. 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.
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Rampant rapes in Bangladesh with killing of victims Muhammad Islam Rape of Bangladeshi women over the years have been increasing and in a number of cases it has been followed by the killing of victims. In many cases rape is used as a means of political control by the goons of the Bangladesh Awami-League (BAL), currently in power. This is despite the fact that Bangladesh has been ruled by female prime ministers, with women being speaker of the parliament, ministers and 30 additional reserved seats in the parliament for women. It seems that women empowerments and gender ethics have been constitutionally profiteered over the years in Bangladesh. Factually, there is no trial seen for rapes since BAL under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who seized power in 2009. The relevant laws have remained silent, no strong voice against these crimes are heard in parliament, and the government has also been reluctant to take action in order to stop such atrocities. Most of the crimes are being committed directly and indirectly by BAL goons and patrons. The files of rape-cases are piled up every day, and it has increased enormously in the last ten years. According to the human rights activist, Farzana Afroz from Dhaka, Bangladesh, rape statistics includes more than 50,000 during the last five years alone, and BAL activists committed 57 per cent of them. The police also did not take any capital steps against these rape cases. Such atrocities did not spare even blind and disabled people, elderly widows and newborns. A widow of 100 having vision challenges
became a rape victim in one instance. Based on the published data of only 14 Bangladeshi national dailies, the statistics of rape cases is as follows: Year 2008: The total reported cases were of 307 and 114 victims among them were killed just after the rape. Year 2009: 130 of 393 rape victims out were killed after the rape. Year 2010: 66 out of 593 rape victims were killed after the rape. Year 2011: 96 out of 635 rape victims were killed after the rape. Year 2012: 106 out of 508 rape victims were killed after the rape. Year 2013: 64 out of 516 rape victims were brutally killed after the rape. Year 2014: 78 out of 544 rape victims were killed after the rape. Year 2015: 808 out of 855 rape victims were killed after the rape. In 2016, children and widows of 1453 were raped and approximately 300 victims among them were killed. In the first ten months of 2017, there had been 1,737 cases filed for rape. The victims were wid-
ows, older-women, disabled figures. Again around 300 victims were killed just after the rape. In the year 2018, there were 942 victims, where 182 cases were of gang rape. Sixty-three victims were killed just after the rape. In accumulation, around 3,918 women, daughters, widows, older people, disabled figures were abused abruptly. In 2019, the number of rapes in the country has increased threefold and the reported abuse is almost a factor of 6 times higher than in 2018. According to human rights reports, the victims’ number should have been much larger. One report in August 2017 was also showing a bus driver raped and killed a girl on running bus. However, there were not any exemplary punishment. Another incident of the rape was of 4 children’s mother. She was gang-raped by BAL leader, and the criminal had remained sheltered by government. The rape victim voted for the opposition rather than BAL in the last fabricated parliament election of December 2018. There had been a massive protest all over the country,
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and so the human activist protested also in Sydney. Likewise, another maniac sexual attack was made on a student Nusrat by the Principal of Sonagazi Islamia Fazil Madrasa of Feni. She was raped then consequently burnt to death with the help of local BAL goons. Another rape victim Tania, a student of Ibn Sina Medical College, was gang-raped by five men. After raping, these beasts broke her hands and legs, filled her mouth with tissue papers, then stabbed with sharp blades to ensure her death by bleeding. Bangladesh is passing through the dark ages where rape has become a daily activity. The silence of government amounts to patronizing this crime. Professor Mahbuba Nasrin from Dhaka University said at her recent interview that poor female children are being raped while their parents are at work. Self-employed personnel or household workers are regular victims of sexual abuse. The more concerning fact is, residents of Bangladesh are watching the crime as its happening around them where justice remains inactive. This state practice rather encourages this crime. Corruption, looting the bank and share market, and suppression of any voice against government autocracy, makes Bangladesh a failed state. People of Bangladesh have become the slaves of BAL government and are possibly asking wider humanity: How long these brutal rapists will walk in the society without any punishment? Shall a mother get the proper justice for her raped children? Will Bangladesh ever see the light from the so-called BAL’s grip on power and getting away with murder. Muhammad Kamrul Islam is a writer and journalist in the Bangladeshi community.
Against decriminalisation of abortion Shaoquett Moselmane MLC The intention of the Reproductive Health Care Reform Bill 2019 is to decriminalise abortion and bring the State into line with the rest of the country. Let me say at the outset that I respect all parties and all individuals involved in the debate in Parliament and outside. I believe all the participants in the debate are sincere and have good intent, irrespective of where they stand on this issue. Many have made powerful arguments, and I have had to change my speech as I listened to them. I had to delete some sections of it, particularly after I heard the contribution of the Hon Trevor Khan. But as the Hon Trevor Khan noted, members’ views are based on what their consciences tell them, and I will make my remarks based on my conscience. As a member, I have made a conscientious decision but I am not judging others. That is our job and our responsibility in this House. I can do nothing more than make a decision today that is based on my conscience. In this debate, much has been said about the right of women to control their bodies. No-one doubts the right of women to have control over their bodies and their reproductive health. I believe that women should have access to the best available health care, irrespective of what the health issue is. As legislators, we must take all steps to SEPTEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 166
provide the best possible medical care to mothers—especially the poor, the needy and the underprivileged. When it comes to abortion, no woman makes her decision lightly. This is why there should always be more than sufficient support in place to ensure that the best health care is provided when a termination of pregnancy is requested or required. The bill as proposed has a number of significant shortcomings. I do not intend to go through them other than to note three key issues. Firstly, the bill as it currently stands does not prevent sex-selection abortions. No civilised society would or should allow gender selection. That is simply abhorrent, and it must be rejected. Secondly, there is nothing in the bill to protect doctors who, for whatever reason, object to abortion. The bill as it stands would force doctors with a conscientious objection to refer women to other doctors who will perform the procedure. We should not be forcing doctors to terminate life against the Hippocratic oath to do no harm. Doctors’ religious or ethical freedoms should at all times be upheld, respected and enforced. Thirdly, I have concerns about late terminations. I find this unacceptable. By 22 weeks the fetus is really a baby and it can be born and live a full life. I do not accept that abortion on demand for any reason, or for no reason at all, should be allowed. What I also find unconscionable is that babies born alive as a result of a failed abortion would be denied life-sustaining atten-
Speech during Debate on Wednesday 21 August 2019 at the Parliament of NSW.
tion and left to die on a side table. In all conscience, I cannot vote in support of this. I heard the Hon Trevor Khan on this but I need to be reassured that protections will be added to the bill to ensure that it will not be allowed to happen. If the intention of this bill is to allow qualified doctors to legally perform an abortion to preserve a woman’s life or her mental or physical health or to perform abortions in cases of possible fetal abnormality, I can understand it, but I do not support the concept of late-term abortion on demand. Abortion is horrific. One should never accept the scenario where all you need to do is to tap your credit card to abort a child— tap and go. In all conscience, I cannot agree with this concept of privatisation of life and death. Life is not a commodity or a consumer product one can dispose of at will. No-one in our society, secular or religious, lives in isolation. We are all part of communities
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that bind us together as a society of human beings. We live in a rules-based society. In this place, we are elected to make rules to guide our society. We have rules at home, rules in the community and rules in this House. For reproductive health care to work, there have to be some rules around it. I support decriminalisation but there have to be rules that are acceptable to society. I fight for the underprivileged, the underdog, the poor, the needy and the down-trodden. I am always fighting for workers and for the working class. Every day I stand up for them in their struggle to gain better lives. How could I not stand up for the voiceless? How could I not fight for someone’s right to life? In all conscience, I cannot support this bill. I will, therefore, vote against it. The Hon Shaoquett Moselmane MLC is Assistant President in the Parliament of New South Wales.
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Australians should stand with Kashmiris for self-determination
Transcription of address to Kashmiris and their supporters by former Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon on Saturday 17 August in Sydney over annexation of Kashmir by Modi’s Hindu nationalist government. These are crimes against the Kashmiri people, and that’s why I stand with you tonight, because we need to raise the strongest voice in Australia, because at the moment our politicians have not spoken out. As you know so well the Modi government has stripped the autonomy and will start pulling away the state of Jammu & Kashmir. This has never happened before in India to any state. The crimes clearly will be stepped up. And at this moment, and I know this very clearly because exactly a year ago, I had the opportunity to go to Kashmir and inside Azad Kashmir to the line of control. I met people at the refugee camps, met families who had been divided for decades and heard their story and came away with a very clear determination that we need to step up our voice for Kashmir’s right to their own self-determination. Now the Indian government have taken it in another direction. I thought it is very important tonight to actually identify what is going on with the Modi government so far. So, few people in Australia understand the links that the Modi government, Narendra Modi himself and his home affairs minister, Amit Shah, have with fascism. It is the RSS, the organization that the BJP party is linked to that is a really troubling organization. They take their inspiration from the Black Shirts, the Mussolini Black Shirts. And this is a country that our Prime Minister Morrison just forks over because he wants to get
more trade deals. But we have to bring the right of the Kashmiris to the fore here, because there are real crimes being committed right now in Kashmir and particularly, we need to emphasize the gendered aspect of the crimes. When I was at the line of control at the refugee camps, meeting women and hearing about their stories, I heard a term I had never heard before, half-widows. I didn’t know what that meant, but it was explained to me it’s where their husbands had disappeared, and they were left on their own to look after the family. But they weren’t widows. They had no idea what their circumstances were with regard to their loved one, but they were in this shocking situation. Thousands of thousands of women in that situation. Then there are the mass rapes, there is the abuse. Right now, I’ve seen the advertisements for Indian men, now with the change in the
status of Kashmir for Indian men can go and get a Kashmiri girl. Absolute shame. And this is what I mean. The crimes to have been stepped up against the Kashmiri people is so alarming. The other aspect that we need to be aware of and to get it across to Australians is the close links between Modi and Netanyahu. We are seeing this is a very ugly way that the Indian government is taking inspiration for its attacks on Kashmiri by learning how Netanyahu and Zionists the same to the Palestinians. And again shameful. Why buying the weapon, some weapons from the Israeli government, they advertise a field-tested, field-tested, means-tested on Palestinians and they now want to take it to test it on Kashmiris. Then there is the issue of the settlers. Six hundred thousand settlers are taking over Palestinian land. How do we know that this is already happening in Kashmir where retired Indian army personnel and their families are
“We are seeing
this is a very ugly way that the Indian government is taking inspiration for its attacks on Kashmiri by learning how Netanyahu and Zionists the same to the Palestinians.
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AMUST Media
settling in Kashmir. And now with a change to the constitution of Kashmir, changing the constitution of India. Kashmiri land can be sold to non-Kashmiris to change the demographics that this will allow them to speed up the takeover, the control of Kashmir, and just destroy the culture, the lives of so many indigenous Kashmiris. So again, to emphasize, I stand here with you lending my strongest support to stand with Kashmir. I thank you very warmly for the invitation to speak to you tonight. And I am keen to work with you. I’m working with a number of other communities so we can help bring the voice of Kashmir to Australia and put pressure on the decision-makers here to stand with Kashmir and not allow the Indian exploitation and brutality to continue. Thank you very much.
Uluru statement from the heart
AMUST Media
We, gathered at the 2017 National Constitutional Convention, coming from all points of the southern sky, make this statement from the heart: Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes were the first sovereign Nations of the Australian continent and its adjacent islands, and possessed it under our own laws and customs. This our ancestors did, according to the reckoning of our culture, from the Creation, according to the common law from ‘time immemorial’, and according to science more than 60,000 years ago. This sovereignty is a spiritual notion: the ancestral tie between the land, or ‘mother nature’, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who were born therefrom, remain attached thereto, and must one day return thither to be united with our ancestors. This link is the basis of the ownership of the soil, or better, of sovereignty. It has never been ceded or extinguished and co-exists with the sovereignty of the Crown. How could it be otherwise? That people possessed a land for sixty millennia and this sacred link disappears from world history in merely the last two hundred years? With substantive constitutional change and structural reform, we believe this an-
“We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution.
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cient sovereignty can shine through as a fuller expression of Australia’s nationhood. Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately criminal people. Our children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene num-
bers. They should be our hope for the future. These dimensions of our crisis tell plainly the structural nature of our problem. This is the torment of our powerlessness. We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country. We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution. Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle. It
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captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and self-determination. We seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history. In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future. ISSUE 166 / SEPTEMBER 2019
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Book Review: ‘The Young Muslim’s Guide to Modern Science’ by Nidhal Guessoum
Gary Dargan
Modern science poses challenges to most religions, including Islam and students getting their first exposure to science at high school or university level often find it difficult to reconcile the logic and reason of science with the tenets of their faith. The Young Muslims guide to Modern Science by Nidhal Guessoum, who is an astrophysicist at the American University of Sharjah, addresses this problem. The introductory chapter opens, under the heading Science and Islam Mixed Up with an account of a Saudi sheikh lecturing to university students stating that the earth does not move and presenting religious and “scientific proofs” for his claim which included the claim that the moon landings were a Hollywood fake. After a discussion of the poor state of scientific literacy in the world, (strange ideas are not just confined to Muslims), Nidhal goes on to outline the importance of scientific literacy and objectives to achieve it. He points out that the major problems such as climate change renewable energy, healthcare and population dynamics all need scientific understanding and input. He closes with a brief discussion of the interaction of Muslim culture and science, setting the stage for subsequent chapters. A brief discussion of the history of science in chapter two covers the early Greek foundations and contributions by Egyptian, Indian and Chinese science and of course the golden age of Muslim science and the development of the scientific method. A discussion of the development of modern science from the mid-16th century beginning with Newton and Copernicus then follows and covers key developments in most scientific fields up to the current era, concluding with the words; “The grand adventure continues…” The third chapter discusses modern science, its characteristics and foundational principles. After an explanation of scientific terms such as law , hypothesis, theory and model the discussion turns to the criticisms of science most notably its practice of reducing a subject to smaller more easily studied parts then using this to build up a bigger picture. While this criticism has some validity Nidhal reminds us this has resulted in major scientific advancements. The significant criticism from some Muslim scholars is that science o n l y looks for explanations of nature from within nature itself and neglects a
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higher spiritual connection with God. However Nidhal points out that simply deciding God is responsible bypasses the search for explanation of how things work or happen. While some scholars such as Ziauddin Sardar and Mohammad Hashim Kamali have minor issues with some aspects of modern science, Nidhal points out that they acknowledge that hadiths encourage openness to knowledge from other sources. He also mentions the great Indian thinker, Mohammed Iqbal who saw the birth of intellectual thinking in understanding the Qur’an, thus making the mastery of the inductive methods of science a religious obligation. The next two chapters are the main course of the book. Chapter four gives concise essentials of modern physics, astronomy and cosmology and biology and reviews the various forms of evidence supporting these sciences. The biology section is the most interesting, dealing with genetics which is the real cutting edge of biological science and the contentious topic of evolution, including human evolution. These short pieces provide a taste of the topics and assume the reader will encounter more detail in the course of their study. As with the rest of the book these sections are accompanied with simple, informative diagrams to aid understanding. Although sources are footnoted a more comprehensive list of extra reading would be useful for those conducting their own personal enquiries. The chapter closes with an overview of what remains to be known in these branches of science. Chapter five covers what Islam says about these topics. It begins by distinguishing between theories with little or no supporting evidence and well founded theories with a solid evidence base such as Einstein’s theories, Newton’s laws and Darwinian Evolution. Two essential principles are stated: 1. The Qur’an is a book of guidance not a science text and references to nature and the cosmos must be viewed and understood in that light.
2. The Qur’an and science use different methodologies. Science attempts to understand nature by investigating nature. The Qur’an uses a logical discourse to build faith and a relationship between humans, God and the world. Confusion and conflict comes when the two trespass on each other’s turf. To reconcile the problem Nidhal refers the reader to Ibn Rushd’s Fasl al-Maqal, (The Definitive Discourse). This is a short treatise outlining the approach to reconciling apparent conflicts between the revealed Qur’anic text and the conclusions of reason, philosophy and science. This basically requires the consideration of metaphorical or allegorical meanings of verses in the Qura’n by those well versed in understanding its message. This of course rules out an overly literalistic interpretation of the verses seen in the practice of I’jaz ‘Ilmiy,used to find “miraculous” scientific content in the Qur’an. Nidhal devotes nearly four pages to discussing this, pointing out five significant problems with this practice. The other problematic issue is so called “sacred science”. This argues that modern science ignores the sanctity of nature and eliminates its spiritual dimensions by its secular methodology. While a Muslim’s encounter with modern science often leads to a questioning of faith or alternatively the rejection of science, attempts to reintroduce a sacred overlay involve rejection of large swathes of modern science and Nidhal devotes another four pages to discussing this problem. A discussion of the acceptability to Islam of modern cosmology and biology, particularly evolution then follows. After a brief overview of “Big Bang” cosmology and its issues, the discussion turns to the vexed question of evolution including a frank discussion of the views both for and against human evolution. Again Nidhal emphasises that “the Qur’an is a book of spiritual, moral and social guidance”. While it encourages
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exploration of the natural world as a testament to God, it does not contain detailed explanations for the workings of nature and references to it do not always have a literal meaning. The chapter closes with an interesting discussion of whether science leads away from God prefaced by quotes to the contrary from Carl Sagan and the Muslim astronomer Al-Battani. The concluding chapters look at contemporary and emerging scientific issues where Islam needs to have an ethical input or reconcile with theological issues. The closing chapter looks at what science can contribute to Muslim’s lives and cautions against misleading information, providing a useful “baloney detection kit” to recognise false or misleading claims. Most importantly it stresses that science should actually care about religion and its importance in people’s lives. I highly recommend this book particularly for senior high school students and students starting at university studying science or for those who are simply curious about the place of science in Islam. For those seeking a deeper treatment of the topic I recommend Islam’s Quantum Question, a much more detailed book also by Nidhal Guessoum. The Young Muslim’s Guide is published by Beacon Books. PS: In an earlier edition of the Muslim Times I responded critically to an article on Islam and science by Nadeem Alam not realising he was a school student, I was perhaps too critical. I have a spare copy of for Nadeem if he cares to contact me through AMUST. Gary Dargan converted to Islam 1986 and has long been active in the Muslim community. He holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in science and has worked for over 30 years in the field of geology and palaeontology. He has long had an interest in the interface and overlap between religion and science, presenting at and participating in a number of international conferences and workshops in that field. Gary is a student at the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation, (ISTAC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and recently submitted his PhD thesis on evolution and Islam. Originally from Australia he now lives in Malaysia and is married with one son and two stepsons.
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Islam and Judaism: Divine Connections Rabbi Allen Maller
For most of my life, I have been studying the Qur’an, Ahadith and other Islamic books. In the last ten years, I have come to think of myself as both a Reform Rabbi and a Muslim Jew. I am a Muslim Jew because I am faithful to my commitment to submit to the One God who liberated the Jewish People from oppression in the land of Egypt, and made a covenant with the People of Israel through Prophet Musa (a). I am a Reform Jew because I belong to the People of Israel, and I am loyal to the teachings of the Torah, the Jewish community and its traditions as interpreted by liberal non-orthodox rabbis. In this Reform Judaism follows the path of classical Islam which did not become as strict in ritual practice as Orthodox Judaism; or as strict in theology as Trinitarian Christianity. This is because Islam was meant to be an easy religion, as this Hadith testifies: Narrated by Abu Huraira, Prophet Mohammad (s) said, “Religion is very easy, and whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in that way. So you should not be extremists, but try to be near to perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded.” (Bukhari;Volume 1, Book 2, Number 38). Allah granted Moses (a), The Book: [Quran, 2:53] “And remember when We granted Moses (while he was on Mount Sinai for forty nights) the Book and the Criterion to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and the knowledge, and power of judgment to put it into effect, that you might
be guided to truth and abide by it.” The Book is the Torah (Taurat), and the Furqan/Criterion are the Jewish equivalents of the Ahadith and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (s); i.e. Oral Torah teachings such as rabbinic explanations and traditions. “Moses wrote down this Torah (Taurat) and gave it to the sons of Levi priests, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord” [Sakeena 2:248] and to all the elders of Israel. Then Moses commanded them: “At the end of every seven years, in the year for cancelling debts, during the pilgrimage Festival/Haj of Sukkot, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose [Jerusalem], you shall read this Torah (Taurat) before them in their hearing. Assemble the people—men, women and children, and foreigners residing in your towns—so they can listen and learn to fear the Lord your God, and follow carefully all the words of this Torah (Taurat).” [Deuteronomy 31:9-12].
The Qur’an states [5:44] “Truly, We caused the Torah to descend wherein is guidance and light. The Prophets give judgment with it, those who submitted to God, for those who became Jews and the rabbis and learned Jewish scholars who committed to memory the Book of God and they had been witnesses to it. So dread not humanity, but dread Me. And exchange not My signs for a little price. And whoever gives not judgment by what God caused to descend, those, they are the ones who are ungrateful.” A good example of a prophet using the Torah to warn that part/party of the children of Israel who were not following the Torah’s commandments is Prophet Zechariah (a): “The word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless; the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other. But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs
and stopped up their ears. They made their hearts as hard as flint, and would not listen to this Torah, or to the words the Lord Almighty sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So great wrath came from the Lord Almighty.” [7:8-12] And Prophet David (a) chants in his Book [the Zabur, Psalms 119:72] “Better is Torah from Your mouth, than thousands of gold and silver,” and also [Zabur Psalms 37:3031] “The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom: the Torah of his God is in his heart.” 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.
Building harmony through ‘Hand-in-Hand’ Philip Feinstein Can we learn from our children? It is always wonderful to see children playing with each other, irrespective of their background, religion or ethnicity. This is exactly what you will see if you visit one of the Hand-in-Hand schools in Israel-Palestine. Two amazing women, one Jewish-Israeli and one Arab-Palestinian, are promoting the schools which commenced in 1998. “Our school is a model for learning about each other, each other’s cultures and to be a model for what a shared life and community can look like” said Noa Yammer, an American born Israeli who is their engagement director and who has been living in Jerusalem since 2003. “The schools are bilingual so the kids learn Hebrew and Arabic. We also teach history from both the Israeli and Palestinian narrative,” she added. “I believe this is the best way to live and learn in Israel/Palestine, together in shared communities and shared spaces,” comment-
ed Shada Mansour, the community organiser in their new Kfar Saba school. “When children relax with each other and prejudices do not exist, this can become the foundation of being a caring society where violence and intolerance currently prevails,” she said. Shada has her 5 year old daughter enrolled at one of the schools. Hand-in-Hand was founded with a new approach to education where Muslim, Jewish and Christian children are brought together in a bilingual, multicultural and interfaith system of schooling. After starting schools in the Galilee region and Jerusalem, Hand-in-Hand began to grow, despite a difficult battle to win recognition from the Minister of Education. A third school started in the Wadi Ara region followed by others in Haifa, Jaffa and the Arab village of Beit Safafa. The trend for opening more new schools is continuing. Currently there are 2,000 students attending Hand-in-Hand schools with another thousand children on the waiting list. “We teach children how to live in harmony and not to wait for politicians to create
peace” Noa and Shada both stated. They also expressed their appreciation to the New Israel Fund for bringing them to Australia. Liam Getreu, Executive Director of NIF, New Israel Fund, said, “NIF’s primary focus is protecting Israel’s liberal democracy and making sure it remains an inclusive, shared and tolerant society for all its citizens. For this reason we support Hand-in-Hand - NIF has been doing this work for 40 years and today it is more important than ever.” More information on https://www.nif.org.
au/ Radio National Breakfast Radio Show interviewed both Noa Yammer & Shada Mansour - the interview can be accessed via https://www.facebook.com/NIFAustralia/ videos/732888233815699/ FOOTNOTE: When I was teaching children at the Villawood Detention Centre prior to the end of that era, I learned a lot by watching these children from many parts of the world interact - this was an amazing sight that I will never forget.
Noa Yammer and Shada Mansour promoting Hand-inHand.
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Prohibition of the consumption of alcohol in Islam Dr Jan A Ali
The consumption of alcohol is a global phenomenon and is typically practiced by many including countless Muslims as a recreational substance in the form of alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, and spirits. Alcohol is commonly consumed as a recreational substance, especially during socialisation, due to its psychoactive effects. Given its perception as a recreational substance, alcohol has developed somewhat of a positive identity and is, therefore, widely available and easily accessible even by minors. Economic pressures combined with the moral and social changes inspired by the abstinence, women’s rights groups, and labour movements have all played a role in the changes to the drinking culture in modern societies whether that is in Egypt, a majority Muslim country or in Australia, a secular modern nation-state. In recent decades there has been a move towards social integration of drinking in many countries both Western and non-Western, with women having the same access as men to drinking establishments. Mass media advertisements and events have heightened the positive framing of alcohol, with alcohol associated with high profile sporting and cultural events. There may be some benefits of alcohol consumption (and the benefits are open to arbitrary definition) but overall there are numerous negative consequences of alcohol consumption in all societies of the world. Yet, the producers of alcohol and those commercially linked with it who often happen to be powerful wealthy individuals and conglomerates either hide or downplay the harmful health effects of alcohol consumption. People are not the same, that is, they differ from one another physically and mentally and so, the effects of alcohol vary from person to person. While some individuals may be able to limit their drinking, others might find it difficult to control their alcohol consumption. The effects of alcohol can be influenced by numerous risk factors, for example, the amount of alcohol consumed, the individual’s medical history, his or her tolerance to alcohol, and whether alcohol is consumed in conjunction with other legal or illegal drugs. Modern medicine has proven that alcohol consumption directly affects a person’s central nervous system. Thus, a person’s blood alcohol content (BAC) determines the effect of alcohol on the central nervous system. Depending on a person’s BAC, he or she can experience a range of side effects that extend from minor complications to more severe problems. The following are a brief list of symptoms or the side effects of alcohol consumption impacting on the central nervous system: • Shorter attention span, • Lack of fine motor coordination, • Impairment of judgment, • Sedation, • Loss of memory and lack of comprehen-
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Source: addictionblog.org
sion, • Delayed motor reactions, • Blurred vision and sensation impairment, • In and out of consciousness or complete unconsciousness, • Amnesia during the events while intoxicated, • Vomiting with aspiration, • Respiratory depression, • Incontinence of urine, • Slowed heart rate, • Comatose, • Lack of pupillary response to light, • Severe decrease in heart rate, and • Death. Alcohol can affect the outer as well as inner body and its abuse can result in the damage of an organ or organs. It can affect the brain and cause temporary complications, for instance, memory loss and coordination and in more serious case can lead to longterm side effects that may not be reversible. The heart can suffer and with extensive alcohol consumption can lead to the weakening of the heart, impacting on the oxygen flow and the delivery of nutrients to other vital organs in the body. Excessive alcohol consumption can increase triglyceride levels which is a type of fat in the blood. High levels of triglycerides can lead to heart disease and diabetes. The liver can be exposed to harmful risk through alcohol consumption. When one drinks alcohol, the liver breaks down alcohol and removes it from the blood but too much alcohol in a short period of time can crush the metabolism process and lead to fatty liver. Pancreas which is a part of the digestive process can be negatively impacted by regular alcohol consumption. Long-Term alcohol abuse can ultimately cause the blood vessels around the pancreas to swell, leading to pancreatitis. For these and other reasons, Islam has made alcohol consumption prohibited. The prohibition of alcohol in Islam is derived from the Qur’an directly and various hadiths. They ask you (O Muhammad (s)) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: “In them is a great sin, and (some) benefit for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit” (Al-Qur’an 2:219). The Qur’an says, “Do not approach prayers while you are drunk” (Al-Quran 4:43). Further, the Qur’an says, “O ye who believe! Intoxicants and Gambling, (Dedication of) stones, And (divination by) arrows, Are an Abomination – Of Satan’s handiwork; Eschew such (abomination), That ye may prosper” (Al-Qur’an 5:90). In a hadith (coming from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar) it is reported that Muhammad (PBU) said: “Whoever drinks wine in this world and does not repent from that, he will be deprived of it in the Hereafter” (Saheeh alBukhaari [2295] and Saheeh Muslim [86]).
“Alcohol has
developed somewhat of a positive identity and is, therefore, widely available and easily accessible even by minors.
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SEPTEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 166
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. WWW.AMUST.COM.AU
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TRAVEL
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BOOMERANG 5-8
COMMUNITY 9 - 15
AUSTRALIA 16 - 18
Africa Tour Part 4 – Safari tour and MODERN IBNE BATOTA Zia Ahmad & Mehar Ahmad This was our return visit to Adis Ababa on Sunday 14 April back from Mekele after visiting the Negash mosque. Zahra who we met previously after Juma prior to flying to Mekele took us to her home welcomed by her two sisters and we enjoyed the home cook Ethopean mealfollowed by Ethopian cultural ritual of drinking coffee three times. Abdur Rahman, our friend was fasting and he invited us the next day to have Iftar with his family. We were well looked after by his family. One of their youngest daughter, three years old loved being photograph and often was ready to give a pose to take her photo. Abdur Rahman’s wife gave us Berber, a spice that is hot and usually is eaten with injera. On Tuesday 16 April, We were picked up by Mr Taha Abdi to have a quick lunch with his family made a lavish Ethopian lunch before catching our flight to Nairobi. At the airport, we placed AMUST in men’s prayer room and handed a paper to a Somalian Sheikh who could read English. While arriving in Nairobi, due to Easter lots of people were going out for holiday by road to another city, so other side of the road was chock a block, a big traffic jam. Next morning our driver Duncan was booked for the whole day to go to African Safar, Light academy, Harmony Institute Islamic foundation, Ebru TV station and to have dinner with Hawama’s family . We used the map to plan our day trip in a way that we do a circle and visit efficiently all the places we had planned. The appointments were made with various organisations. Our first visit was to the African Safari and spent four hours were there. Many animals such as zebra, giraffe, wild beast, ostrich, antelope, warthog and Heina were roaming around freely, we were caged in the car. As our safari was ending we saw the lioness with her three cubs. We were told that animals are not fed by the Safari people. Apparently, all animals find their food on their own. Our next destination was Light international school, a beautiful complex with 300 students. The school is in a very posh suburb. Another campus has 400 students. After lunch we went for a tour of the school. We saw the biology and physics labs
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with glass wallswhere you can observe from outside what students are doing. We visited the computer section where two alumnis were working on making vid-
AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES
eos movies. At the school we met a third generation businessman, Haneef, whose forefathers migrated from Gujrat to Kenya. When he found out that we have spent much of our time in Kashmir, he invited for dinner to
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meet his Kashmiri wife. Our next destination was to Harmony institute. It is like Affinity in Sydney. It is a big complex with a swimming pool. We met the staff and had a good dialogue sipping Kenyan tea. We prayed Zuhr and Asr there and
ISSUE 166 / SEPTEMBER 2019
LIFESTYLE 19 - 21
UMMAH 22 - 24
EDUCATION 25 - 27
TRAVEL 28 - 29
TRAVEL
SOCIAL 30 - 31
community networking in Nairobi
saw the promotion video of their activities. Our next destination was the Ebru TV station and we met the director. This is a Turkish station in partnership with Kenyan TV. We drank Turkish tea and discussed about the TV programs etc. The director showed
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us around and took us to the kitchen where the cooking show was done and also took us to the news room. Later we went to Islamic foundation. Isamic Foundation’s main head office is in UK but the ground work is being done
Nairobi. They are doing a lots dawaah and community work. Mr Akhtar Rao is incharge and at that moment he was in Pakistan due to his ill health. We talked with him for a long time on the phone. He know our Matiur Rahman uncle
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in Saudi Arabia and other colleagues. He related a number of stories with his encounters with Maulana Maududi that were part of the history and very interesting indeed. Through Islamic Foundation, Muslim Aid Australia sponsors 300 orphan girls education in Nairobi. Another person who has been in Nairobi for a long time is Mr Asad originally from Bhopal. We had a long conversation with him. Later we went to Hawama’s place and met her mum and daughter, Anisa. Hawama took us to the Indian shop and bought savoury items for us and our mutual Australian friend Masood Hussainy. She took us to other shop and there we bought Kenyan tea and coffee. We celebrated Zia’s 66th surprise birthday and had dinner with Hawama’s large extended family. It was getting late so we quickly we visited Haneef’s house and met his Kashmiri wife who was very happy to see us. Haneef’s son is 10 years old and goes to Agha Khan School and doing IB. We drank Kashmiri Qahwa that was especially made for us. Mustafa, who welcomed us at the Light International School came to Haneef’s house and gave us 2 pkts of Turkish tea for us and two pkts for his friend at Amity college. We came back late at the hotel and said goodbye to Duncan who has been such a great driver. Very humble and courteous. We were very much impressed with his caring attitude. Next day we got up early to work on weekly AMUST newsletter and then we packed and went to swim had breakfast and repacked our luggage as Kenya airline only allows one luggage with 23 kg. Francis from the hotel took us to the airport. On the way to airport we had to get down had the security check. Apparently, in Nairobi there has beenbomb blast and from there on the security has been strict. The car was checked as well. Francis picked us up from the other side. On the way to airport there were many figurines of animals and wentook lots of photos. Nairobi is a very clean place. Lots of modern buildings and people speaks English fluently. There are lots of Acacia tree here. The roads are clean and smooth. We then flew to Johannesburg, South Africa on 18 April.
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#SOCIAL
NEWS 1-4
BOOMERANG 5-8
COMMUNITY 9 - 15
AUSTRALIA 16 - 18
Social Spotlights Gift a Smile
@GiftASmileProject Our volunteers were fortunate enough to have visited the large group of elderly at Meredith House Aged Care Facility in Strathfield. The staff and tenants were extremely welcoming and appreciated our presence in their home. The tenants had many smiles to share with us, and upon receiving their small gifts, it opened up the doors to many priceless and interesting stories and conversations. Sometimes these small gestures, and a listening ear, can mean so much to them. It makes them feel like they are important and loved and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what we strive to always achieve from these visits. Gifting smiles and receiving them back on a rebound , is a priceless experience that keeps us striving to do more. Thank you Meredith house for allowing us this opportunity, we look fwrd to another visit in future <3 <3
Together For Humanity
@together4humanity Love this photo! Students engaged in learning about the other. #interfaith #interculturalunderstanding #abrahamic #torah #judaism #interschool #together4humanity #australia #coexist #shul #synagogue #muslim #islam
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Maryam Popal Zahid Last night at the NSW Parliament House, I was humbled and honoured given the title of Mother Teresa for my humanitarian and volunteer works by two wonderful and inspiring women Jodi McKay MP and Maxine SalSimm at IFEFA Awards night. The strength of having strong faith to help humanity never fail to humble me. To me that is the way and definition of selfless, endless and limitless devotion to serve humanity. Congrats to all winners for their wonderful work and contributions, will post more details and photos once I receive them. :) Much love and peace <3
Muslim Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Association
@muslimwomenassociation Have you ever thought about doing something different for your birthday? On this Friday, the 1st of Dhul Hijjah this special little girl celebrated her birthday in the most amazing way. Beautiful little Iman came into MWA today with her parents and a car load of gifts for a family that has had to leave their home because of domestic violence. The beautiful parents want to instil in Iman the importance of giving and supporting others, and a generous way to celebrate and show gratitude to Allah SWT. It truly was such an amazing gesture from this wonderful little family, and something that will always stand out for us at MWA. The work we do can be exhausting, but to see that there are such sincere, kind and generous souls raising the next generation fills our hearts with joy. Thank you Iman and your parents for being you <3 <3 <3
Talk Islam @talkislam
Superintendent Naila Hassan of the New Zealand Police has arrived to perform Hajj. She is most notably known for her powerful and emotionally charged speech after the Christchurch terror attacks. We ask Allah to have mercy on the victims of the Christchurch terror attack and to make this heavy on her scales. WWW.AMUST.COM.AU
Brothers In Need @brothersinneed.org
Big thank you to Anthony from LA Cutz for coming down to our Saturday Homeless program and offering his expert haircut services for our homeless. ISSUE 166 / SEPTEMBER 2019
LIFESTYLE 19 - 21
UMMAH 22 - 24
EDUCATION 25 - 27
TOP 6 Muslim Memes
TRAVEL 28 - 29
#SOCIAL
SOCIAL 30 - 31
Social networking TOP 6 for young people Tweets
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#MyPalestinianSitty After Israel bars Rashida Tlaib, twitter users rise up against hate by tweeting their love for their Palestinian grandmothers.
Md Juman Hussan Social media constitutes websites and applications designed to allow people to share content quickly, efficiently and in real-time. Most people today define social media as apps on their smartphone or tablet, but the truth is, this communication tool started with computers. This misconception stems from the fact that most social media users access their tools via apps. Using social media is the most common practice of today’s younger generation. Social Media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube offer youth a portal for entertainment and communication and have grown exponentially in recent years. However, though social media yield positive impacts upon the younger generation, it also causes negative impacts upon them. People specially youth use social media as a way of passing time and gradually get addicted to it resulting in waste of time. Problems associated with social media: • The vastness of social media means that there is no control over the scope of information. Such situations can lead to young generation bumping into fake information, obscene images, harmful
content on websites that may affect their thinking process and behaviour. • Cyberbullying is another growing trend through social media websites. Cyberbullying can have dangerous and potentially fatal effects on users. • Waste of time. While social media is useful, but ‘too much of a …’ you know how it goes. Spending too much time can also affect people negatively and often lead to social media addiction. Addiction can negatively manifest itself as issues with wellbeing including physical and mental health problems. • Too much social media can affect developmental ability among growing children leading to poor interpersonal relationships. Children are moldable, and the avalanche of information can overwhelm them at a young age. Solutions by using alternatives: • Inspired young generation with book-reading habits. • Teach them social, cultural and religious values. • Involved them in outdoor games. • Encourage attendance and involvement in cultural programs. • Establish a friendly empathetic environment for young people in society.
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Policeman helps old man during Hajj. SEPTEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 166
Jamia Masjid, Pampore, Kashmir
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NEWS 1-4
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COMMUNITY 9 - 15
AUSTRALIA 16 - 18
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ISSUE 166 / SEPTEMBER 2019