Issue 169 December 2019 by AMUST

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Multicultural News & Views

DECEMBER 2019; RABI’UL THANVI 1441

Rana is every Australian Muslim woman BOOMERANG PAGE 7

Hijabi Muslimah attacked in the wake of report and conference on Islamophobia

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Bachar Houli bags two awards at AMAA Professor Munjed Al Muderis. Photo by Salty Dingo.

Former Iraqi refugee is NSW Australian of the Year Zia Ahmad Zia Ahmad A 38-weeks pregnant Muslim hijabi woman, 31 was brutally punched and stomped in an unprovoked Islamophobic attack by Stipe Lozina, 43 on Wednesday night 20 November in a cafe in Parramatta, Western Sydney. This comes in the wake of an alarming second report on Islamophobia in Australia released last Sunday followed by its launch yesterday on Thursday 21 November 2019 during a timely day-long conference in the same suburb, Parramatta titled “Collaborative Approaches to Counter Extremist Right-Wing and Islamophobia Threats”. The attack was clearly recorded by two cameras at the location showing in detail how the incident took place at a cafe in Church Street in Parramatta on Wednesday 20 November at 10.30 pm. The attack seem to be a random Islamophobic attack on the woman who was sitting on a table with two other woman identifiable as Muslims due to their hijabs and none of them was known to the attacker. continued on page 2

Bachar Houli (left) with Hazem El Masri. Photo by Zia Ahmad. Mehar Ahmad AFL Footballer Bachar Houli won two awards in “Man of the Year” as well as “Sportsperson of the Year” categories at the 13th Australian Muslim Achievement Awards held on Saturday 30 November 2019 in Sydney at Westella Renaissance in Lidcombe. The annual event founded and hosted by Mission of Hope led by Ms Hanan Dover and its current President Ms Nasreen Hanifi recognises the outstanding contributions made by Australian Muslim men, women, organisations and businesses and celebrating their performance, achievements and success. The 2019 gala dinner event attracted some

of Australia’s most creative members of the community, their families, community leaders and supporters from all over Australia. The diverse range of nominees, finalists and winners were selected through a strict criterion in each category by panels of judges from across Australia making the 2019 nominations most competitive in the 13year history of the awards. Amongst the most notable winners were Dr Zuleyha Keskin, lecturer at ISRA, Charles Sturt University in the category “People’s Choice of the Year” while veteran Muslim leader from Queensland Mr Sultan Deen, a fifth generation Australian won the Lifetime Achiever Award. continued on page 11

Arriving on a leaking boat and having been detained at Christmas Island, and now a pioneering orthopedic surgeon and human rights advocate, Professor Munjed Al Muderis has been announced as The 2020 NSW Australian of the Year by Premier Gladys Berejiklian. The 2020 NSW Australians of the Year were announced at a ceremony at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney on Tuesday 5 November 2019. Premier Gladys Berejiklian congratulated Professor Al Muderis, the 2020 NSW Australian of the Year, and NSW’s three other recipients. “Each year our nation comes together to celebrate the achievements and contributions of Australia’s amazing citizens through the Australian of the Year Awards,” Ms Berejiklian said. “This year is the sixtieth anniversary of the awards, providing us with a special opportunity to recognise those who make a real and lasting difference in NSW. Every year I’m inspired by the stories of the recipients, and this year is no exception,” she said. continued on page 3

Landmark conference on countering Islamophobia Zia Ahmad A high powered day-long conference was held on Thursday 21 November at the Novotel Hotel in Parramatta, Western Sydney highlighting the urgency to take proactive action against Far-Right Extremism and Islamophobia in Australia. The conference titled “Collaborative Approaches to Counter the Extremist Right-Wing and Islamophobia Threats” brought together academics, researchers, community leaders and victims including a survivor of Christchurch attack with presentations and panel discussions to find solution and commitment for action. The conference on the sidelines also included the Sydney launch of the Islamophobia in Australia Report II by the Race

Photo: ISRA Australia.

Discrimination Commissioner, Mr Chin Tan and a talk on “Social Impact and Responsibility” by Fr Chris Riley, Founding Director

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of Youth Off The Streets. There were a number of panels and presentations dealing with the impact of violent

extremism, the extremist right-wing and Islamophobia on society and communities; short rapid-fire presentations on latest research related to right-wing extremism; outcomes and potential solutions to the problems and commitment for action. The conference was organised by Charles Sturt University, NSW Government, All Together Now and ISRA. Extremist right-wing is a collective term that encompasses ‘both (democratic) radicals and (anti-democratic) extremists’, who advocate for and will enact violence to enforce notions of ‘social inequality, authoritarianism, and nativism’. Islamophobia is generally considered to be “anti-Muslim racism targeting expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” continued on page 9

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Hijabi Muslimah attacked in the wake of report and conference on Islamophobia Continued from page 1 Both footage show the man walking into the cafe, possibly uttering Islamophobic rants and then suddenly leaning over and punching the victim several times in the head and upper body, causing her to fall to the ground, stomping on her head as her friends tried to hold him back. The friends of the women heroically fought off the attacker, one of them using a chair to push him down while other bystanders came to their aid restraining him and helping his arrest by the police. The woman suffered a number of bruises and had swelling and was emotionally and physically traumatised. She was taken to Westmead Hospital but was discharged on Thursday. The condition of the unborn child is not known. Inspector Luke Sywenkyj on Thursday morning said, “As a result of the assault she does seem somewhat emotionally and physically traumatised. Our police investigation at this stage is still in its infancy but the assault would appear to be completely random and unprovoked.” Insp Sywenkyj said that he wanted to personally commend members of the community for their “brave action” in coming to the woman’s defence. “If it was not for the brave actions of all these members of the community in stopping the assault the victim may very well have sustained much more serious injuries,” Mr Sywenkyj said. Stipe Lozina appeared before Parramatta Local Court later on Thursday charged with affray and assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was refused bail to next appear on 5 December. Magistrate Tim Keady told Lozina in

Public Statement by the victim “First and foremost I would like to start by thanking all the people who came to see me, those who have offered kind words and comfort through messages and calls, as well as those who have messaged their support through various Facebook posts. I want to sincerely thank each and every one of you, it truly means a lot. I have always been a very private person and don’t normally take to social media to post or comment on anything, however, I felt like this time, it was important to address a few issues and raise awareness. I was born and raised in Sydney, Australia. I am a Muslim. I have experienced occurrences of verbal abuse and hate from other Australians in the past but I have never thought that physical abuse of this nature could happen to me. For me, the verbal abuse was already too much and I know the Islamic community feels the same. It is NOT ok. How some-

body feels like they have the right to abuse another human being baffles me. It shows a lack of humanity. It shows weakness. It shows that you do not possess basic human empathy and kindness and those are the kinds of people who do not deserve to be part of our Australian community. This man verbalised his hatred of Muslims prior to hitting me. He decided that he was going to take it in his power to act upon his hatred and he neither knows me, nor my religion. I do not want this attack to happen to anyone ever again. I want to see a world where people defend one another against cowardly acts like this and band together to protect the victims. We cannot allow behaviour like this to become the norm and sit silent. I thank the people who stepped in that night in my defence. And to my friends who did not hesitate to step in for me, you are more like sisters to me and I am so grateful for what you both did. You have

court: “After making a comment about Muslims, you approached her and punched her to the head 14 times. For bail purposes I will treat that as a very strong case against you.” Lozina has now been charged by Police for also stalking and intimidating two other women aged 29 and 63 on 1 October in

Liverpool. The same day Stipe Lozina appeared in the Parramatta Court, A high powered daylong conference was held at nearby Novotel Hotel on countering threat of Islamophobia in Australia. The keynote speaker, Prof Tahir Abbas from Leiden University, Netherlands spoke

allowed me to step away from this and go home to my family. The overwhelming support I have received is a reflection that this was a story that many can relate to. We are mothers, wives, daughters... and we deserve to feel safe wherever we go. We deserve a night out to unwind without being fearful of an attack like this happening again. I fear for the world our children will grow up in, if this issue is not addressed. I call all Australians, Muslim or non-muslims, of all faiths and cultures to come together, as you have already done for me, and voice your solidarity in protecting innocent people from any future racial/religious attacks. I hope the justice system lives up to it’s name. and I also hope a proactive approach is taken against any potential future offenders. I thank Allah (swt) - As salaam, Al aleem, Al hakim.”

on “Countering violent extremism, the extremist right-wing and Islamophobia threats – a whole society approach” while the lead author of the Islamophobia report. Dr Derya Iner talked on “Manifestations of Islamophobia in the Australian context – the latest findings from the Islamophobia in Australia Report II”.

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Government ‘appalled” by the alarming rate of discrimination in new Islamophobia report

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Former Iraqi refugee is NSW Australian of the Year Continued from page 1 The other three recipients included:

Faseeha Hashmi Immigration Minister David Coleman has denounced the occurrence of Islamophobia in Australia, detailed in the “Islamophobia in Australia – II” report, announcing that he was “appalled” by the findings. The report released on Sunday 17 November 2019, outlines an alarming rise of Islamophobic incidents, which have been found to disproportionally target females (more than 70% of the victims) in public spaces. In a statement, Minister Coleman stated that the government has no tolerance for racial or cultural prejudice which denigrates Australian Muslims and is “completely unacceptable” in our society. The document 2019 Islamophobia in Australia report evaluated nearly 350 alleged incidents conducted by the Islamophobia Register Australia between 2016 and 2017. This is the second review, conducted by the Islamophobia Register Australia which reveals that the proportion of recorded incidents have doubled in the previous 15 months. Frequently, insults focused on appearance with 96 per cent of female respondents wearing a hijab at the time. The research exemplified a concerning trend with harassment in public areas guarded by security officers and CCTV surged by 30 per cent. It found that the perpetrators were in most cases men of Anglo-Celtic background. Most disturbingly, there has been an increase in severe attacks requiring hospitalisation, which jumped from 2 per cent to 5 per cent. In numerous examples, victims noted that people who were passing by did not offer to help. These incidents recognised individuals that were subject to verbal abuse, profanities, physical intimidation and death threats in places such as shopping centres. Providing further clarity to the findings, lead author Dr Derya Iner from Charles Sturt University admitted that the true number of incidents is likely to be much greater than that of the 349 recorded cases, due to the persistent problem of under-reporting. Certainly, the report has succeeded in

NSW Senior Australian of the Year, Sue Lennox, an environmental educator and social enterprise founder.

raising awareness of the necessary actions for ensuring justice moving forward. “Online and offline, people have detailed how they would like to murder all Muslims and yet there appeared to be no investigation or prosecution, raising serious questions about the fitness of existing laws,” the findings concurred. “This is especially the case where continuous anti-Muslim sentiment in political and media discourse becomes normalised, desensitising the public,” elaborated Dr Iner. The report highlights that an endemic social problem exists within the wider community that cannot be ignored or downplayed any longer. Furthering this, Race Discrimination Commissioner Chin Tan acknowledged the detrimental effects on the society at large. “Australian society has a responsibility to ensure the safety of its Muslim communities, and we must be united in condemning Islamophobia and all forms of racial hatred,” declared Commissioner Tan. Amongst dozens of examples were cases which involved a fake gun, as well as a number of circumstances where bystanders failed to assist the victim. In painful memory following the Christchurch mosques attack in March, discrimination is increasingly pronounced for the faithful especially as the government continues to draft protections under religious freedom law. “With Christchurch in our minds, we cannot afford to be complacent. Social cohesion is something that must be nurtured and repaired by all of us for the well-being and

security of Australia,” asserted Dr Iner. Across the political divide, politicians including Labor’s immigration spokesperson Andrew Giles has condemned the behaviour stating his rejection to racism and religious discrimination of any kind. “It’s time for all Australians to stand together in hope and reject hate,” declared Mr Giles. Whilst, in the NSW parliament, Muslim Senator Shaoquett Moselmane formally presented a motion acknowledging the report and the corresponding community endorsement from Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) & Australian National Imams Council (ANIC). “Everyone has the right to live their life free of such hatred and vitriol. AFIC calls on Australia’s political leadership to stand firm against such actions and to work with the community to introduce policies that will foster social harmony and bring the perpetrators of such incidents to justice,” proclaimed AFIC. Indeed, freedom of religion is fundamental to Australian society. Australians of all religions should be able to practice their faith free of prejudice. Ultimately, where should the line be drawn between freedom of speech and ethical expression? If the monster of self-expression becomes out of control, then where will it stop? There will be no winners. Faseeha Hashmi holds a Master of International Relations from the University of Melbourne, with an interest in politics and human security.

Minaret College to acquire third campus Zia Ahmad The Melbourne based Minaret College has acquired an existing school property to establish its third school campus initially starting as a junior primary school from academic year 2021. The property including land and existing school buildings at 146 Kidds Rd, Doveton is the current campus for Maranatha Christian School who will vacate the premises at the end of next year, 2020. The announcement was made by the Executive Principal of Minaret College Mr Mohammed Taksim on Thursday 7 November. “Our selection criteria included a location which makes Minaret College more accessible (and reduces travel times for students) and quality facilities which are conducive to student learning and wellbeing,” Mr Taksim said. While explaining the reasons for acquiring a third campus, Mr Taksim said, “Alongside growing demand from new families, Alhamdulillah the college is now at a phase where an increasing number of alumni stuDECEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 169

dents want to have their child attend Minaret College.” He further added, “The demand on enrolments is testament to both the positive experiences families have had for over 25 years, as well as trust in our ability to deliver for our students and families in the future. It’s never easy to inform people we don’t have enough places, so we’ve been searching for the right property to best service our growing community.” Minaret College has its humble beginnings, being established by its Founding Director, Mr Mohamed Hassan OAM, as Islamic College of Noble Park back in 1992. The College now spans two campuses (Springvale and Officer), both of which cater for students from ELC to year 12 catering currently for 2000 students and their families and continues to grow as local families seek a school which has a proven record of academic success while nurturing students in a way which develops their Muslim identity and Islamic values. “The expansion of the College continues to fulfil the vision of the College founder Mr Mohamed Hassan, a vision of service to the community and a place for young Muslims

The existing school property in Doveton acquired by Minaret College. to flourish while the success of the College brings benefit not just to students but to the broader community, Mr Taksim concluded. The Minaret College will be recruiting additional staff and therefore anyone interested should contact: hr@minaret.vic.edu.au. Those interested in enrolling a junior primary student at the Doveton Campus from 2021 should contact: admin@minaret.vic.edu.au.

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NSW Young Australian of the Year, Corey Tutt, an Indigenous mentor and fundraiser.

NSW Local Hero, Bernie Shakeshaft, founder of BackTrack Youth Works Program. NSW’s four recipients will join those from other states and territories for the national awards ceremony at the National Arboretum in Canberra on Saturday 25 January 2020. Professor Munjed Al Muderis, is a leading innovative orthopaedic surgeon and author, who fled Iraq as he refused Saddam’s regime orders to surgically remove the ears of soldiers who deserted. His long journey to success includes being a fugitive from Iraq, as a refugee and while spending a long time in Christmas Island’s Curtin Detention Centre and several Western Australian jails, then entering Australia and struggling through the elite medical profession eventually to become an orthopaedic surgeon with great contribution in advance research and clinical practice in Australia. Professor Al Muderis has described his encounters with discrimination and racist attitudes as well as compassion and example of humanity during his journey and warned against hate on the basis of religious and cultural differences that could slide Australia away from the successful multicultural society it is today. Professor Al Muderis is known for his world-renowned surgical innovations and humanitarian work, funding his team to travel to Iraq to treat victims of conflict and educating other surgeons in complex limb reconstruction techniques. A compassionate ambassador for multiple organisations, including the Red Cross, Professor Al Muderis is a powerful advocate for humanitarian work supporting people seeking asylum and refugees. Funded out of his own pocket, Professor Al Muderis has taken a team to his former homeland of Iraq seven times, to help the victims of the conflict he fled and has educated other orthopaedic surgeons in the osseointegration technique and in complex limb reconstruction. His surgical innovations and breakthroughs are helping Australians and people throughout the world.

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#GoodtoGreat! Minaret College Open Day! Rain, hail or shine we were determined to have an awesome day! On the 26th October, Minaret College Ofﬁcer Campus opened its doors to the community. Students, young and old all braved the weather in supporting this great event. Our team worked tirelessly for many months to ensure the success of the event. Despite the change in weather, our excitement for the event wasn’t dampened. Plenty of activities were arranged to cater for all ages, including indoor activities such as student presentations and displays. It was an extraordinary event where members of the community were invited to share Ofﬁcer Campus growth and showcase our students and the College. Thank you to our community for supporting the Minaret College Open Day 2019!

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We need to get to know each other During the panel discussion at the to the Mosque for countering Islamophobia conference 25 long years did on Thursday 21 November, one of the not know anything panelists Ali Kadri, Spokesperson of Is- about the Mosque. During the lamic Council of Queensland shared a g r o u p familiar story. discusAfter the recent Islamophosion that followed, I asked bic attacks at the Brisbane Br Ali Kadri, if any of the Holland Park Mosque, the Muslim frequenting the oldest in the city, members mosque during the last of Muslim community deZia Ahmad 25 years made any procided to proactively get to active efforts to educate know their neighbours. Assalamu their neighbours, what the Ali Kadri encountered Alaikum Mosque was all about? one of the neighbours who He did not really know has been living there for the Greetings because he has not been last 25 years and asked him of Peace there that long. if he knew of the mosque and The moral of the story is that what they did there. The neighbour reduction of Islamophobia, racism and simply replied saying “yes you burn hate is a two-way street. We all have to dead bodies there.” Apparently, there is a crematorium close make efforts in our own capacity, Muslims, to the mosque and therefore the neighbour non-Muslims, government, police, educaassumed that the mosque was part of the tors and community leaders. In this globalised world we can no longer same complex. Br Ali lamented the fact how ignorant afford to live as tribal societies, in our own non-Muslims were of Islam and Muslim ghettos divided by race, ethnicity, language, practices that the neighbour, living next culture and religion. We need to get to know

EDITORIAL

Readers comments

Alhamdulillah. Love Imaam Konda, such Re: Awakening conference addresses plight of the Muslim a beautiful humble man. Well deserved award. Ummah Assalamu Alaikum I am very much interested in reading or hearing the presentations of this conference Awakening the Islamic Spirit. I am in Canada, serving as Imam and community activist for the last 50 years. Please let me know if there is a link or publications of proceedings. Thanks. Abdul Hai Patel

JazakAllah for continuing to deliver solid content. In Sha Allah. Adrian

our neighbours of our own faiths, other faiths and no faith in order to live with peace and harmony. I know, we all have preference to stick with our own, but in the contemporary world we cannot longer afford to live the way we have been living in the past. People of different background and faiths need to recognise each other as humans and our commonality as humans to appreciate each other and to know each other. After all the Quran says, “O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Lo! Allah is Knower, Aware.” (49:13). People of differences need, indeed, to get to know each other. guidance of Allah Subhan Wa Ta’ala. He is reported to have said: “The best of you is the best to his wife and I am the best to my wife” (At-Tirmidhi 1162). Let’s try and follow this example to please Allah and seek reward in-sha-Allah. Anas M

main culprits! Especially Dutton!

John M

Perhaps members of the government

ing out on violence against women. We need to raise awareness within our Muslim community, especially Muslim men who are abusive to their wives. The Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam exemplified the perfect character of a spouse who follows the

The PM and the Home Affairs Minister are the main culprits in the Government. And the PM calls himself a Pentecostal Christian Abdul R R

Muslims love Jesus Sukoon Quteifan One day I was out with my kids - at Centenary Square, Parramatta - when suddenly a missionary man with his young disciples approached me asking: “do you love Jesus?” I replied happily: “Yes I do!”. Then he insisted: “In order to love him you have to believe in him?!”. I replied with confidence: “I do believe in him; in fact Jesus (a) is mentioned many times in our Holy Quran as well as the details of his miraculous birth from his mother Mary “The Virgin”. As Muslims we must believe in Jesus (a) as one of God’s prophets exactly the same as we believe in our Prophet Muhammad (s) other wise we are not considered to be Muslims”. Looking into his eyes, I realised DECEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 169

that my answer was not expected from a woman like me, knowing that I am a Muslim lady who wears the hijab. Maybe my answer was not perfect or enough in others opinion, but I am certain that I left something that made him and his disciples change their perception or perhaps made them wanting to know more about Islam.

News

1-4

- Bachar Houli bags two awards - Hijabi Muslimah attacked - Countering Islamophobia event

5-7

- Economic slavery in The Gulf - Imperial betrayal - Rana Elasmar is every woman

Re: No excuse for violence might temper their displays of IslamophoRe: Imam Konda wins African against women solidarity walk bic hate? Alhamdulillah! We need to continue speakcommunity award Bilal C Wallaahi, Imam Adama Konda and Amadu Barrie are two of the kindest men I have ever known. How blessed we are to have these two men in Australia. Thanks for posting this brother Manar. Duncan Roseby

AMUST ISSUE # 169 FRIDAY 6 DECEMBER 2019 8 RABI’UL THANVI 1441

Boomerang

Re: Government ‘appalled” by the alarming rate of discrimination in new Islamophobia Re: Australian Islamic wills report Part 1 Howard, Morrison, Molan, Dutton are the How is the distribution between sons and daughters fair?? Jilan

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And for that, I felt blessed! :) Sukoon Quteifan is a graphic designer and illustrator. She is the creator and the illustrator of “Sukoon Al Quloob Peace of Hearts”, an Islamic Cartoons facebook page. Sukoon is based in Sydney, Australia.

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Community

8 - 18

- Melbourne’s first mosque - IFEW hosts mental health forum - MOU ISRA & Muslim psychologists

Australia

19 - 22

- Forum on human rights violations - Weaving hope in New Zealand - Salaam, Peace and Shalom

Lifestyle

23 - 28

- Spices of India come alive - Initiative for Deaf community - Who is Imam Konda?

Ummah

29 - 31

- Play: ‘I am also Kashmiri’ - Israelization of water in NSW - Babri mosque to temple

Education

32 - 35

- Study and homework - Quran dignifies human beings - Think innovatively and creatively

Travel

36 - 37

- Modern Ibne Batota: Africa Tour 7 Johannesburg to Sydney

Social

38 - 39

- Social Spotlights - Sheikh Shady in Muslim 500

Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in articles, and Letters to the Editor, Website Comments are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Australasian Muslim Times.

AMUST Team Editor-in-Chief: Zia Ahmad Graphic Designer: Rubinah Ahmad Chief Adviser: Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad Multimedia Journalist: Mehar Ahmad Multimedia Journalist: Mobinah Ahmad Multimedia Journalist: Theresa Dyckman Sub-Editor: Aisha Mohsin Columnist: Dr Abul Jalaluddin (Finance) Columnist: Dr Ameer Ali (WA) Columnist: Bilal Cleland (Victoria) Columnist: Manarul Islam (ACT) Columnist: Dr Daud Batchelor (QLD) Columnist: Simon Harrison (QLD) Columnist: Zahid Jamil (NSW) Columnist: Shahjahan Khan (QLD) Columnist: Imam Malik Mujahid (USA) Promotion: Dr Wali Bokhari Web Developer: Shadow Approved Multimedia: iMoby Productions Printers: Spotpress Pty Ltd Distributers: Abul Fateh Siddiqui, Shujaat Siddiqui, Usaid Khalil, Aamir Ahmad, Ibrahim Khalil, Usman Siddiqui, Zahid Alam, Shahab Siddiqui, Mahmoud Jaame, Mateen Abbas, Rashid Idris, Sakinah Ahmad, Anjum Rafiqi, Hasan Fazeel, Dr Quasim, Ismail Hossain, Hanif Bismi, Zohair Ahmad, Luqman Landy.

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Economic slavery Celebrating in the Gulf States Christmas and the Islamic and Jewish values in Hanukah Baluch labourers laying cables Abu Dhabi, 1975.

Christine Osborne A report in The Times Of India on 22 November claims 33,988 Indians have died in the Arab States of the Gulf in the past five years. The article further says an average of 15 Indian nationals die every day in the six GCC countries. A majority in Saudi Arabia. This being so, what of the thousands of Pakistanis and Bangladeshis who have perished on construction sites in these countries? Or of the Nepalese, 1,400 of whom are estimated to have died building football stadiums in Qatar, host of the 2022 FIFA world cup. But the scandal of migrant labor in the Arab States is nothing new. It has been an occurrence since oil exports began in earnest in the 1970s. Following Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, newly amalgamated sheikhdoms in the UAE such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai, as well as Qatar, needed unskilled labour to construct their new empires. So began the trafficking of migrants, their passage organized by unscrupulous agents who cared nought for their welfare. Industrialising countries have always depended on migrant labour to perform menial work — the Irish in England, the Turks in Germany, the Italians in Australia, but the harsh conditions and callous treatment by Arab employers equates with nothing less than economic slavery. According to the Times, the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi has so far this year received 15,000 complaints from Indian nationals mainly involving cheating agents

and harsh conditions. The most common grievances relate to withholding salaries and the denial of legitimate labour rights. Kuwait for instance will never announce the temperature exceeds 50c because this is when outdoor work can legally stop. Passports are taken by employers so that even when a contract is finished, but the job is not complete means that many migrants cannot return home. And no overtime or sick leave is ever afforded them. Tourists visiting popular states such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi may notice that the thousands of South Asians on the streets easily outnumber locals. It is a joke that you can visit one of these Gulf States and never see an Arab. Every migrant who sets off with the dream of earning enough to buy a bride, a shop, or a little farm, has no concept of the terrible conditions awaiting them. The Times cites the deaths of 4,823 Indians this year. But what of the potential workers who never reached the land of opportunity? In the early days of trafficking, many a dhow carrying migrants from Karachi or Bombay grounded on off-shore sandbanks when they were told to get off and walk. Only to drown before reaching land. Who knows how many never made it and until now, the accidental deaths and suicides of other than Indian nationals remains unknown. Christine Osborne is the author of many books on Islamic countries including The Gulf States and Oman. She is also the CEO of www.worldreligions.co.uk a multi faith library specialising in the mainstream faiths. She has visited more than 30 Muslim majority countries.

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Rabbi Allen Maller Many Muslims and Jews are ambivalent about celebrating Christmas. On one hand, Muslims respect Jesus (a) as a Prophet; and Jesus (a) can be a bridge connecting Muslims to Christians during the festive time of December. On the other hand, church going Christians are celebrating the birth of Jesus, the Son of God; and this is definitely not an Islamic or Jewish belief. In fact, most Imams would say that since there was no tradition of making a big celebration on the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (s), why should Muslims celebrate the birthday of Prophet Jesus (a). Those Muslims and Jews who do celebrate Christmas, deny that they believe Jesus was the Son of God. They just desire to join in the merry mood of Christmas together with their Christian neighbors and friends, most of whom are not church going Christians anyway. But, like Jews who also do the same thing, Muslims are usually ambivalent and defensive about what they are doing. Jews who celebrate Christmas often show their ambivalence by calling their own Christmas tree; a Hanukah bush. Most Jews, who resist the normal desire of both children and adults to fit in and conform to the majority, claim that a Hanukah bush in a Jewish home, is the direct opposite of the Jewish holiday of Hanukah, (22 December at sunset to 30 December in 2019) which celebrates the values of religious freedom and religious diversity. Hanukah, the Hebrew word for Dedication refers to two things: The rededication of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem after it was profaned in 168 BCE by an idol installed in it by the Syrian Greek king Antiochus IV; and the dedication and valor of the Maccabees, and all those who joined them in their resistance to the attempt by the ruling powers to force the Jews to abandon their God given religion, and conform to Greek forms of worship and culture. Abandoning circumcision is one example. Those Jews who militantly resisted the pressure to conform to the majority culture were Muslims (Arabic for faithful followers of God’s will) and their dedication eventually led to religious freedom and national independence for the oppressed Jews living in the Land of Israel. The oppression of Judaism by Antiochus IV, the Syrian Greek king, was the first known historical attempt at suppressing a minority religion, but unfortunately not

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the last. Other well known attempts were the three century long Roman persecution of Christianity, and the decade plus persecution of Prophet Muhammad (s) and his followers by the majority of pagan Arabs in Makkah. All three religions emerged from their varying periods of persecution stronger than ever, and this is the ongoing spiritual lesson of the Hanukah lamp which once lit by faithful believers, filled with hope and trust in God; lasts longer than anyone else thinks possible. Today, Jewish families use the annual proximity of Hanukah to Christmas (this year the eight day long holiday starts on the evening of 22 December, but usually it starts before mid December) to teach their children the Hanukah values of religious pluralism, religious non-conformity and religious hope, faith and trust in God. These values are the same as the Muslim values expressed in the Qur’an: “And We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it. So judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and do not follow their inclinations away from what has come to you of the truth.” “To each of you We prescribed a law and a method. Had Allah willed, He would have made you one nation [united in religion], but [He intended] to test you in what He has given you; so race to [do all that is] good. To Allah is your return all together, and He will [then] inform you concerning that over which you used to differ.” (Qur’an 5:48) Thus, our respect for those who differ from us, and our pursuit of righteousness, are the best way to be honorable in the sight of God. As both the Qur’an and the Hebrew Bible state: “Mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other (and not despise each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).” (Qur’an 49:13) And “Mankind, God has told you what is good and what it is the LORD requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8). 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’ is for sale on Amazon. ISSUE 169 / DECEMBER 2019

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A century since the Treaty of Versailles and imperial betrayal Bilal Cleland It is now 100 years since the First World War was concluded with the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919 and the establishment of the ill-fated League of Nations on 10 January 1920. Some 38 million in total, including nearly nine million military personnel, were killed. The duplicity and treachery of the Allies during and after the war was breathtaking. On 24 October 1915, the British High Commissioner to Egypt, sent Sharif Hussein, Governor of Mecca, a note declaring Britain’s willingness to recognise the independence of the Arabs, both in the Levant and the Hejaz, subject to certain exemptions. What the naïve Arab leadership did not know was that negotiations commenced in November 1915, a month after the Arabs had been promised independence, between France and Britain for a carve-up of the Ottoman territories. The Sykes–Picot Agreement, officially known as the Asia Minor Agreement, was a secret agreement between the governments of the United Kingdom and France, concluded on 16 May 1916. It effectively divided the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire outside the Arabian Peninsula into areas of future British and

French control. The war had a profound effect upon Australia. A whole generation was wiped out. At that time only 5 million lived in this country. 416,809 men enlisted, of whom more than 60,000 were killed and 156,000 wounded, gassed, or taken prisoner. Despite the subject status of India, over one million Indian volunteers served overseas, of whom 62,000 died and another 67,000 were wounded. In total at least 74,187 Indian soldiers died during the war. There were signs of resistance to attacking the Ottoman Sultan, such as the infamous 1915 mass execution of Indian soldiers in Singapore, but the Empire was adept at propaganda. Between 1914 and 1918, the Indian army grew from 240,000 to 548,311 men. Writing for the BBC News Magazine 2 July 2015 Shashi Tharoor, a former minister in India’s Congress party and a former UN diplomat, recalled that in total there were 1.3 million Indian volunteer soldiers in the army during World War One. He points out that the heavy taxation imposed upon the Indian people was sweetened with the promise of movement towards self-rule at the end of the war. To date, Dominion status had been reserved for the “White Commonwealth” of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa but Indian nationalists understood it would be awarded to India. The British promises were as hollow as

the promise to Sharif Hussein. Failure to deliver meant that those who volunteered to fight for the Empire were forgotten. “When the world commemorated the 50th anniversary of the First World War in 1964, there was scarcely a mention of India’s soldiers anywhere, least of all in India. India’s absence from the commemorations, and its failure to honour the dead, were not a major surprise. Nor was the lack

Rana Elasmar is every Australian Muslim woman

of First World War memorials in the country: the general feeling was that India, then freshly freed from the imperial yoke, was ashamed of its soldiers’ participation in a colonial war and saw nothing to celebrate.” Support for the British Empire from an oppressed colony might seem strange today, but the hundreds of years experience in deception exercised by the British Empire, which ruled a quarter of the earth’s surface with a small number of individuals, should not be underestimated. It fooled the Arab nationalists, the Indian nationalists and its own population. The Brexiteers seem to be repeating the lesson today. Bilal Cleland is a keen reader, a prolific writer and a regular columnist of AMUST based in Melbourne.

Gulhan Eryegit Yoldas On Wednesday 20 November Rana Elasmar experienced every Muslim woman’s worst nightmare when a man began hurling Islamophobic verbal abuse as she sat with her friends at a cafe. He then physically assaulted Rana Elasmar in a vile and cowardly attack. By the grace of Allah, she survived the attack which involved the attacker punching her and stomping on her head as she tried to protect her unborn child. The people who intervened each deserve to be honoured with a bravery Medal for their courage and for demonstrating first hand the difference bystander intervention can make. It’s quite literally life saving. There are no shortage of bearded Muslim men in Parramatta. It’s one of the most densely Muslim populated suburbs in all of NSW. This man deliberately sought a vulnerable, heavily pregnant Muslim woman to unleash his Islamophobic tirade before overpowering, attacking and assaulting her. Rana Elasmar could’ve been any Muslim woman. Her attacker knew nothing about her and he clearly knew very little about her religion. A great resource available to councils for implementing grassroots strategies, particularly in regions where Islamophobic attacks against women are more prevalent, is the Counter Islamophobia Kit. This is highly effective tool which addressed the underlying causes of Islamophobia. (1) This week Senator Sarah Hanson Young won a defamation case against former Liberal democrat David Leyonhjelm. The comDECEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 169

The Jungle King Is Not A Horse Fazlul Huq

ments made against Senator Hanson Young are too vile to repeat here however Senator Hanson Young’s comments after winning the defamation case struck a nerve; “I want to make sure every woman knows, every girl knows that you have a right to be treated with respect. And that’s why I’ve taken this action... You talk about the personal aspect of this. This was really for my daughter” (2) This is a comment that every woman, every mother, indeed every parent can relate to. The needs to build a safer world for our children and to want to protect them is a primal human instinct. Similarly, Rana Elasmar deserves to be compensated heavily for the unprecedented, unprovoked racist attack she endured to prove to Muslim girls everywhere that Islamophobia is not OK and that you have a right to practice your belief openly with-

out fear of being assaulted in a public space while having coffee! When humanity stands together alongside those who are oppressed, whoever they may be, and stands against the oppressor, whomever they may be, can we then truly be an inclusive society. We pray for the safe arrival of sister Rana Elasmar’s baby and for Al-Muhaymin to keep them both safe from harm. Gulhan Eryegit Yoldas is on the advisory board for ECCV Gambling Harm project, in the advisory group for Whittlesea Interfaith Network and currently works as the Community Engagement Facilitator for Al Siraat College. Gulhan has a robust history of advocacy for gambling industry reform and Interfaith dialogue. She is passionate about developing Muslim youth as spokespeople for their communities.

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The man with the ektara continues to sing, As he moves through the village pathway and the country road, through endless meadow and the marshland. “The Jungle King is not a horse nor is it a donkey or a mule, Not the lion or the fox, Not the shark or the crocodile, Not the python or the anaconda, Not the polar bear or the penguin, Not the snow leopard or the eagle, Not the gum tree or the ostrich, Not the whale or the dolphin, Not the buffalo or the reindeer, Not the Bengal tiger or the brumby. As the Jungle King is the angered man on the public stage.” 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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AMUST

COMMUNITY

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BOOMERANG 5-7

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COMMUNITY Landmark conference on countering Islamophobia UMMAH 29 - 31

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Continued from page 1 The formal program of the conference started with the Welcome to Country by Graham Davis King followed by address by A/Prof Mehmet Ozalp, Director Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation, Charles Sturt University introducing the theme of the conference and expected outcomes through solution-oriented discussions. The keynote speaker, an international expert on the global phenomenon of Far-Right Extremism (FRE) Professor Tahir Abbas from Leiden University, Netherlands spoke on “Countering violent extremism, the extremist right-wing and Islamophobia threats – a whole society approach.” Prof Abbas presented an overview of the numerous challenges faced by the growing threat of Islamophobia and far right extremism, two matters that have become discernible problems in the post-9/11 period. “First, that Islamophobia is both a driver of radicalisation and a product of it, an issue that affects both radical Islamists and extremist right-wing groups and found in social structure and the specifics of marginalisation, alienation, exclusion and disenfranchisement,” He said. Prof Abbas further added, “Undeniably, racism and racialisation characterise the nature of right-wing extremism and a whole

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Infographic by Matthew Magain, Chief Doodler, Sketch Group. society approach is vital to the success of Their presentation provided insights into any initiative in countering this where the the characteristics of right wing extremist problems of extremism cannot be viewed groups and organisations and their use of in isolation – they are part of a wider social ideologies, agendas and activism in NSW problem of political, social and economic and Australia while looking into the online polarisation and division.” landscape of right wing extremism across Dr Lise Waldek and Dr Debra Smith from several social media platforms. Macquarie University and Victoria UniverThe lead author of the Islamophobia resity respectively talked about the “The land- port, Dr Derya Iner, from ISRA, CSU talked scape of right-wing extremism in Australia”. on “Manifestations of Islamophobia in the Australian context – the latest findings from the Islamophobia in Australia Report II”. Her presentation focussed on the latest findings from the Islamophobia in Australia-II report, which analyses verified Islamophobic incidents directed at Muslims in physical and cyber world. In addition to underscoring the pressuring issues for the Australian society, Dr Derya talked about the intersections between extremist right-wing and Islamophobia sentiments and how they feed one another and dominate the current hate-rhetoric in Australia. The conference included a panel discussion on “The impact of violent extremism, the extremist right-wing and Islamophobia on society and communities” moderated by Tamana Daqiq, lawyer and community

leader and researcher with the University of Sydney with the panelists including • Serdar Durdyev, Christchurch survivor, New Zealand • Mariam Veiszadeh, Founder and President of Islamophobia Register Australia) • Vic Alhadeff, CEO of NSW Jewish Board of Deputies • James Fry, Community Professional • Ali Kadri, Spokesperson of Islamic Council of Queensland Mr Serdar Durdyev talked about his dream before the Christchurch attack and in graphic details together with photos gave a personal moving account of the horrible incident on Friday 15 March. The afternoon sessions were devoted to short rapid-fire presentations on latest research related to right-wing extremism led by Pacha Kucha and workshops on outcomes and potential solutions to the problems and commitment for action facilitated by Anthony Bubola, COO Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas. A/Prof Mehmet Ozalp finally did a conclusion thanking the participants as well as the team members for organising a timely and highly successful conference.

Melbourne’s First Mosque Marking & Making History Australian Muslim Musings In a street lined with old Victorian terraces in the now gentrified and much-loved suburb, Carlton North, stands Melbourne’s first Mosque. The 50th anniversary celebrations, marked by a street festival along Drummond Street on Sunday 17 November, offered an insight into the workings of the Albanian Australian Islamic Society (AAIS) that was behind the purchase of the land and the building of the Mosque which opened in November 1969. The Albanians who arrived in Australia, many as early as the 1920s, have come a long way with years of active community engagement that has only grown and strengthened their standing in this country.

Ali Ymer and his daughter Yasmine, who shares her father’s passion and commitment to preserving this critical history.

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As well as servicing their own people, they have supported other Australia Muslim initiatives and the wider community through various ventures over the years including the Red Cross blood drives, The Royal Children’s Hospital ‘Good Friday Appeal’, National Tree day and feeding the homeless. Watching diverse members of the local community and visitors mingle with plates full and smiles wide was a sight I was glad to see make the news in the days following the celebration. The permanent historical exhibition was, without a doubt, the highlight of my trip. The images, the artefacts, the detailed lists, the contextual history and the oral interviews projected throughout the day – a perfectly executed display that juxtaposed a past marked by determination and resilience, with a blossoming present. At the heart of this exhibition was, Ali Ymer, a man who had been collecting and preserving critical pieces of local Albanian history for almost half a century. Born in Melbourne to Albanian Ramadan Ymer who migrated to Australia in 1937, and Mariam Ymer who was born in East Prussia and migrated almost two decades later, Ali and his siblings grew up in St Kilda. A founding member of Preston Mosque and a member of the Islamic Society of Victoria from 1958, Ali’s father was active in the numerous Melbourne Muslim initiatives that involved other notable figures including the late Sheikh Fehmi Imam & Ibrahim Delal as well as Dr Abdul Khaliq Kazi. Ali Ymer grew up surrounded by these pioneers and their families.

Whilst I was interested in his involvement in community work including his years spent as an active member of the AAIS, I was intrigued by his commitment to preserving every possible remnant of community history. Despite the busy festival schedule Ali and his daughter Yasmine were generous with their time and indulged our curiosity, sharing memories and stories that were subsumed in the material on display – the old suitcase, newspaper clippings, family documents and other historical pieces displayed on the walls of the mosque (and others tucked away in boxes, waiting to be shared). There are those who collect historical material and there are those who know and immerse themselves in every layer of these treasures. Ali knew every piece and gave every historical detail the degree of thought necessary for ensuring that the rhythms and connections – personal, community and mainstream, are not lost on the observer. At the very core of this exhibition was a community with a deep rooted history of commitment, care and resilience. It was inspirational. I walked away from this experience with a deep respect for the humble, generous man who has been a collector and a keeper of this treasure trove of history. This partially permanent collection displayed on the mosque walls will give generations of Australian Muslim children feelings of pride, a sense of peace and ‘place’ – this history is our history. I am grateful for the wonderful learning

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Mr Ali Ymer’s dedication and interest in Australia’s Albanian history for nearly half a century is a legacy we all get to share.

experience and the warm welcome offered by the Albanian Muslim community. To Ali Ymer and Yasmine Ymer, thank you on behalf of our community – your months and years of research have enriched our understanding of Australia’s Albanian Muslim history. There is so much more to your story and we are all looking forward to reading more about it in your forthcoming book. Congratulations to AAIS and to all those who continue to mark our legacy in this country, and make history. Australian Muslim Musings is a social media platform for exploring the history of Australian Muslims, sharing stories and inspiring broader commUNITY engagement.

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

AMUST

COMMUNITY

NEWS 1-4

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SYDNEY 2019

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From the average person to the greatest scholar of religion, people have struggled to ensure that what they do outwardly is the result of sound intentions. Introducing a conference with a difference: An overdue discussion about our outer appearances and inner realities.

CONFERENCE FEATURES

SPEAKERS

DR SARA HASSAN

AKHI ABUBAKR

SIEDD

SH. HASSAN ELSETOHY

FAISAL LATIF

ESSAM MUHAMMAD

Tickets

$25

bit.ly/tofticket

SH. BILAL DANNOUN

SH. YAHYA IBRAHIM

CALISHA BENNETT

Bazaar stalls

Creative performances

Talks, panels & workshops

Mothers room

OMAR MARZOUK

UST. UMM JAMAAL UD-DIN

9am to 7pm Sunday 8 December The Highline Venue, Bankstown, Sydney

COME MEET ZAKY!

Visit our website

twinsoffaith.com.au 10

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

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ISSUE 169 / DECEMBER 2019

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Bachar Houli bags two awards Continued from page 1 The event commenced with dual MC’s Ahmed Aboushabana and Mobinah Ahmad taking the stage welcoming the guests followed by the recitation of Quran. The President of Mission of Hope, Ms Nasreen Hanifi gave a brief history of the awards and a long consistent track record in holding this event year after year in order to encourage and recognise community’s high achievers. Hanan Dover during her address pointed out the high level of nominations numbering more than 200 for this year saying that all these nominees, finalists and winner are Australian heroes serving both the mainstream including the Muslim community excelling in many areas of influence and serving as role models for our youth. Hajjah Maha Abdo was called on to present the Abyssinian Award, marked for people of other faiths to Maria Dimopoulas, an expert in cultural diversity, gender equality, justice, and human rights. Since she was overseas, the audience listened to her video message. Nazeem Hussain, the most successful Muslim comedian in Australia was recognised as the Creative Artist of the Year and also received a second award, Event of the Year, for his initiative Stand Up for Christchurch in order to help families of victims of the terrorist attack. Hala Ramadan, Principal of Belmore High School won the Woman of the Year award for her vision and efforts to involve her students outside of the traditional classroom setting. The Lifetime Achiever Award winner, Sultan Deen’s family arrived from India to

Nazeem Hussain. Photo by Zia Ahmad.

Hanan Dover. Photo by Zia Ahmad.

Zuleyha Keskin. Photo by Zia Ahmad. Australia in the late 1860’s, working in the outback as merchants. He is fifth generation Australian. He has been involved in the family business ‘Deen Bros’ since leaving primary school in 1962. Sultan has been a committee member of the Islamic Society of Holland Park for over 40 years. Mr Deen has been a member of the Islamic Council of Queensland, since its beginning in 1984. He has also a delegate to the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils for over a 28 year period, representing the State Islamic Council and the individual Societies Original Sponsor of the Islamic Women’s Association of Queensland from its inception, and a board member for the first Islamic School in Brisbane, The Islamic College of Brisbane in 1994-2000, 2007-2009 and from 2010-2014.

Winners of Australian Muslim Achievement Award 2019 Bachar Houli

Man of the Year; Sportsperson of the Year

Hala Ramadan

Woman of the Year

Ramia Abdo Sultan Role Model of the Year

Zaahir Idries

Professional of the Year Hala Ramadan with Arwa Abousamra. Photo by Zia Ahmad.

Before 1770

Media of the Year

Dr Zuleyha Keskin:

People’s Choice of the Year

Stand-Up for Christchurch Event of the Year

Nazeem Hussain

Creative Artist of the Year

Eesa Bokhari

Fettayleh Smallgoods

Fish on a plate, that’s its fate, After a year, they start to grow some fear, The splash of the net, scares them I bet, Corruption below, with nets to tow, Fish stocks will decline, and fishermen will resign, Less fish to find, less money to grind, Birds will die, before they can fly, With no more food, what a mood, Fish will be hiding, and will be striving, For survival which is rare, we wouldn’t care, Vast in the ocean, nets are like a potion, Marine life, got stabbed with a knife, But there is a solution, that could spark a new revolution, Fish stocks wont go down, and humans will be renown, Instead we could be sustainable, which will make us able to have good fish, All you can do is take action, and we will get a reaction from the fisheries, We can create new ways, their will be lots of rays of abundant fish, And humans should never reduce, with that fish will always produce.

Business of the Year

Eman Rahim

Volunteer of the Year

National Zakat Foundation Community Organisation of the Year

Muslim Film Festival

Best New Project of the Year

Ms Nadia Saeed Youth of the Year

Haji Sultan Deen Photo by Zia Ahmad.

Overfishing

Lifetime Achievement Award

Haji Sultan Deen with his family. Photo by Zia Ahmad.

Eesa Bokhari, 10 is a class 5 student at Trinity Grammar School in Strathfield, Sydney. He received full marks for his poem “Overfishing” creating a mood of love, despair, fear and hope. DECEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 169

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AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

AMUST

COMMUNITY

NEWS 1-4

BOOMERANG 5-7

COMMUNITY 8 - 18

AUSTRALIA 19 - 22

LIFESTYLE 23 - 28

Responding to climate change through religious collaboration

Enrolments for 2020 are open Spots are limited

Speakers Ms Thea Ormerod and A/Prof Mehmet Ozalp.

Islamic School of Canberra, a school of excellence providing a positive learning environment with a rich emphasis on Islamic Studies, Arabic and high standards in other Key Learning Areas. Hamza Alkin

Employs highly qualified teachers Has fully resourced classrooms and small class sizes Conducts daily Zuhr Salat and Juma prayers on Fridays Offers Arabic and Islamic Studies as an integral part of school program Participates in International Competitions ICAS and NAPLAN Ranked among the top schools in the ACT in academic performance. For enrolment: please visit our school website (www.islamicschoolofcanberra.act.edu.au), fill the enrolment form and contact the office (0262887358) for finalising your child's enrolment. Tuition Fees Local Students: Enrolment Fee First Child per term First Sibling per term Second Sibling per term Third Sibling per term Fourth Sibling per term

$50.00 $600.00 $550.00 $500.00 $450.00 $450.00

International Students: Enrolment Fee $100.00 First Child per term $2000.00

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

While Sydney was surrounded by bushfires and smoke, “Faithful Responses to Climate Emergency: Acting In Hope” was the topic addressed by CSU A/Prof Mehmet Ozalp and Ms Thea Ormerod from ARRCC on Thursday 14 November at Affinity Offices in the city. Affinity hosted yet another lecture series on Climate Emergency with Associate Prof Mehmet Ozalp, Director of the Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation at Charles Sturt University and Thea Ormerod, President of Australian Religious Response to Climate Change. Dr Kathy Egea, Senior Lecturer, UTS and Affinity advisory board member welcomed the audience and introduced the panel facilitated by Associate Professor Clive Pearson, Research fellow at the Public and Contextual Theology Centre, Charles Sturt University. A/Prof Mehmet Ozalp opened his speech with “The ethical and practical aspects of environmental protection” saying “Climate Change is not only an environmental problem, but it is also a social, political and economic problem” and argues that “the lack of political response is due to not recognizing climate change as a problem.” He stated that in the Muslim world, this issue was not recognized as a threat and was avoided with the response of “we have other problems”. He also provided an example of the Indonesian government working with GreenPeace to reduce plastic bags usage, however at the same time the government is clearing rainforests, which he believes doesn’t go hand in hand. “It is time for Muslims to take a serious look at the catastrophe the environment is facing,” A/Prof Ozalp warned. In 2015, Muslim leaders released the Islamic declaration on climate change calling for Muslim governments to bring their discussions to an equitable and binding conclusion. After reading the declaration A/Prof Ozalp claimed that “Protecting the environment is Fard meaning obligatory in Islam for individuals, organizations and governments”. “Every individual has a carbon footprint, it is vital for each individual to reduce their carbon footprint while organizations have the resources greater than individuals to influence society,” he further added. A/Prof Ozalp concluded by calling for

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climate emergency response by creating “Awareness through education, friends (organizational influence), religious arguments (places of worship) and individual conscience (environmental concern)”. Ms Thea Ormerod opened her speech by stating the fact that, “the global temperature has just increased by 1 degree, yet there are multiple catastrophic events such as the bushfires and drought we see in Australia”. She argued that “even those who acknowledge the seriousness of climate change do not resort to action.” “In a 2015 meta-analysis research studies shows that fear is effective at positively influencing attitudes, intentions and behaviours,” Ms Ormerod said. She further added, “Those of faith search for the traditions to resolve climate emergency because the core to live ethically is at the heart of faith traditions.” She stated that Australia has the highest carbon emissions per capita and we should encourage Australians to embrace lifestyle options, which would reflect caring for the earth. Ms Ormerod believes that “Australia needs movements of people to rise up and create the change that is urgently needed” and that the ARRCC’s response to climate change is to “Provide ways to believers to live out their values with integrity and pressure business and big corporations to do the right thing”. The program continued with a conversation, where the question of “How to keep hope alive?” was raised and Ms Ormerod response was that “People working together draws hope, the more active you are the less anxious and worried you become.” A/Prof Ozalp talked about the three steps that will keep hope alive being action, taking sides (activism) and commitment. The executive director of Affinity, Mr Ahmet Polat concluded the program saying “Affinity is working for the rise of a new generation which is aware of and strives to protect our environment especially with the concern of the recent bushfires around NSW and Queensland, we can begin this step by inviting experts and knowledgeable speakers and in order to contribute to the well-being of society we must address awareness, concern and promote activism amongst our community. Hamza Alkin is the Administrative Assistant (Intern) at the Affinity Intercultural Foundation based in Sydney. ISSUE 169 / DECEMBER 2019

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IFEW hosts forum on mental health Sakinah Bokhari

From left: Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad, Mrs Mehar Ahmad, Ms Nasreen Hanifi and Mrs Serhan.

The Islamic Foundation for Education and Welfare (IFEW) hosted its second presentation dinner for the year on Sunday 24 November at Darulislam in Bonnyrigg on mental health. This is the sixteenth event in a series of IFEW Presentation Dinners organised to develop mutual understanding between IFEW, Australian MEFF Consortium, organisers of the Multicultural Eid Festival and Fair and Seena Incorporated, publishers of AMUST with other sister organisations in Sydney, with short presentations followed by a dinner in a family atmosphere. On behalf of the hosts, IFEW President Sakinah Ahmad presented the 48 years of history of the extended family of Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad and the long track record of IFEW for the last 37 years serving the community in the field of Daawah and education. Aamir Ahmad, Vice President of MEFF highlighted the unique Multicultural Eid Festival & Fair, first in Australia running for 35 years while Mehar Ahmad, President of Seena Inc showcased the success of

AMUST currently in its 6th year of publication as well as other innovative projects such as marking International Day for People with Disability, Grandparents Day, multicultural cooking classes and helping refugees and victims of human rights violations. The guest speakers most competent in the field included Nasreen Hanifi, President of Mission of Hope, Ziyad Serhan, Co-founder of EducAID and Dalya Ayoub, CEO of Life Matters Academy. All three speakers shared

Dayla Ayoub, CEO of Life Matters Academy.

Ziyad Serhan, co-founder of EducAID.

their experience and expertise as well as gave a glimpse of their current innovative work serving the community through their respective organisations. Nasreen is a Psychologist by profession and has been providing leadership for Mission of Hope for a number of years. Mission of Hope is a well-known organisation in the Muslim community having been established for 14 years now. They have created various programs to help the Muslim community in the health and wellbeing sector. Their projects have included Hayat house - Drug and alcohol program, Australian Muslim Achievement Awards, Muslim Mental Health Conference and Luna Park day outs for refugee families. Ziyad Serhan is a high school teacher who had a deep passion in understanding the wellbeing of his students. In 2018 he participated in a mental health project at his school with Western Sydney University and the Department of Education and this sparked him to get passionately get involved in this area.

Ziyad decided to undergo intensive training and then co-founded EducAID and has now run 17 courses, training students, teachers and community members on mental health first aid. Dalya Ayoub is the founder and co-founder of Life Matters Academy. She speaks with great passion to empower women. Although it was started in 2015, Life Matters Academy has become well known in the community for the critical programs they are running for women. This includes health workshops, retreats, youth activities, self-care events, business club showcasing prominent guest speakers such as Yasmin Mogahed. All these projects that the three guest speakers spoke about are innovative and much needed by the Muslim community and it was a delight to share the drive and passion that these projects are run by these icons in the Muslim community. Sakinah Bokhari is a high school teacher based in Sydney.

Furthering Islamic Psychology

Historic MOU signed between ISRA and Muslim Psychologists Dr Bagus Riyono, President of IAMP with A/Prof Mehmet Ozalp, Founder of ISRA,

From left: Ms Hanan Dover, Vice President of IAMP, Dr Bagus Riyono, President of IAMP, A/ Prof Mehmet Ozalp, Founder of ISRA, Dr Diana Setiyawati, Director at Centre for Public Mental Health, Faculty of Psychology, Indonesia. Mobinah Ahmad It was an historic moment as the Islamic Science & Research Academy (ISRA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Association of Muslim Psychologists (IAMP) on Friday 29 November 2019 at Mission of Hope’s Australian DECEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 169

Associate Professor Mehmet Ozalp, founder of ISRA and Dr Bagus Riyono signing the Memorandum of Understanding.

Muslim Mental Health Conference at Bryan Brown Theatre, in Bankstown, Sydney. The MoU was signed by Dr Bagus Riyono, the current President of the International Association of Muslim Psychologists and A/Professor Mehmet Ozalp founder of ISRA. Dr Bagus Riyono from Indonesia is a lecturer of Psychology in Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia, and conducts research on Islamic Psychology, that touches the areas of motivation, personality, leadership and

organisational development. He have a lecture at the conference talking about his own developed Tazkiya therapy. “The idea of collaboration fits well with ISRA’s mission of solving issues of what Muslims go through,” A/Prof Ozalp commented. Dr Zuleyha Keskin, senior lecturer and course director, will lead this initiative at ISRA. The MoU agreement covers three areas: 1. Design and delivery of the Graduate Certificate in Islamic Psychology course

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through Charles Sturt University. 2. Conduct research on mental health and well being from an Islamic perspective and in relation to Muslims. 3. Organise a biannual conference on Islamic Psychology. Inshallah this collaboration contributes towards the Islamic Psychology disciplines. Mobinah Ahmad is a professional social media analyst and AMUST Multimedia Journalist based in Sydney.

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Community Forum calls on government action on Kashmir Anjum Rafiqi The Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi hosted a Community Forum on Kashmir on Wednesday 20 November at Holroyd Community Centre, Merrylands calling on the Australian government to urgently raise its voice on the oppression of the indigenous people of Kashmir. Senator Faruqi pointed out that, following the 5th of August unilateral revocation of the autonomy of the state of Jammu & Kashmir, India had imposed a total blackout in order to suppress the any reaction of the people towards that unjust move. As a result, citizens had limited to no access to the outside world through phone or internet while freedom of movement had been restricted; public meetings banned; democratically elected public representatives locked up; and the state handed over to armed forces. Senator Faruqi expressed her disappointment at the lack of traction, with the Australian Government, on seeking to escalate the matter at an official level with the Indian government. “Inspite of her numerous attempts at getting her parliamentary colleagues from the two major parties to take a principled stand on this long outstanding dispute in the sub-continent and the human right violations rampant in Kashmir, both Labour and the Coalition have failed to take a principled stand,” Senator Faruqi lamented. Former Pakistani Ambassador to Australia Mr Khizar Niazi, in his presentation,

From left: Senator Dr Mehreen Faruqi, Mr Joel Clark, Mrs Shafaq Jaffery and Former Diplomat Mr Khizar Niazi. Photo Sada-e-Watan Sydney. briefly narrated the sequence of events that has led to the most recent and continuing clampdown on the people of Kashmir since 4 August 2019. Mr Niazi highlighted the absurdity of the actions of the current Indian BJP government having unilaterally revoked Articles 370 and 35-A of the Indian constitution, making use of their brute majority in the parliament. “This is a flagrant of the terms of tempo-

rary accession signed by the maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir and India, in 1947, and goes against the Indian constitution itself,” Mr Niazi said. Expressing his disappointment at the double standards demonstrated by the Australian polity, Mr Niazi called out the Liberals led government and the Labour opposition, together with the Australian media, at having sealed their lips on this burning humanitarian issue.

Mr Joel Clark, from Amnesty International, highlighted the challenges his colleagues are faced from the Indian state machinery, while seeking to document and establish facts on the ground in Kashmir. Mr Clark drew the attention of the forum to areas of immediate concern – one that of severe restrictions on the movement and activities of the people of Kashmir, arbitrary detention of thousands of individuals from all walks of life, including politicians, with a dissenting view – prior to and after the 5th of August and more importantly the detention of juveniles which numbers at 144 according to official figures. Emphasising the right to expression as a global human right, Mr Clark expressed alarm at the continued denial of the right to the people of Kashmir. He called on the process of dialogue to begin at the earliest, for all disputes have to be talked out and negotiated for an enduring solution to this long standing dispute. Ms Shafaq Jaffery, a community activist, gave voice to the anguish of the people of Kashmir through a touching poem. She also expressed her anguish at the continued denial of expression to the people of Kashmir. As a global citizen, she appealed to all to stand up for humanity and speak for the people of Kashmir. Concluding the forum, as a way forward, Senator Faruqi encouraged the public to continue to positively engage with the elected representatives at all levels to bring about awareness about the Kashmir Issue, continued human rights violations and the impact on women and children in Kashmir. Anjum Rafiqi is a community volunteer associated with the Riverstone Muslim Cemetery Board

Peace building through interfaith dialogue Zia Ahmad The Indian Crescent Society of Australia (ICSOA) organised an interfaith forum on Friday 15 November 2019 at the NSW Parliament House in Sydney with the theme “The place of Interfaith dialogue in a culturally diversified Australian context”. The event was attended by a diverse group of people of faith and no faith with speakers representing Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs. The gathering was also addressed by a number of politicians, diplomats and civil society organisations. The program was started after refreshments at 3 pm by Mr Fasih Khan, ICSOA Secretary welcoming those present and acknowledging the presence of guests representing various faiths and organisations. The program commenced with the recitation of Quran by Master Zohaib Khan and a brief outline of ICSOA by Mr Fasih Khan

Photo by Ali Photography. followed by a video promo of ICSOA showcasing its activities and achievements. The president of ICSOA Mr Abbas Raza Alvi after acknowledging the presence of guests and elders commenced his address with a quotation from the Quran: “Our God and your God is the same (One). To Him we peacefully surrender (Submit).” (Quran 29:46) Talking about global peace, he pointed out, “Institute of Economics and Peace in their 2018 report indicated that the world was less peaceful than at any time in the last decade and over the last 10 year, the average level of global peacefulness has deteriorated by 3.78. Talking about the detrimental effects of violence, Mr Abbas said, “In 2017, the global impact of worldwide violence was $ 14.1 Trillion PPP ($14.96 trillion in 2018) equivalent to 11.2 % ( 12.4% in 2018 ) of

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global GDP or $ 1,853 ($1,988 in 2018 ) per person. He said part of the solution to conflict is interfaith dialogue, “Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions, faiths or spiritual beliefs at both the individual and institutional levels. The forum was addressed by a number of speakers introduced by ICSOA members including Mr Abbas Chelat, Mr Siddiq Panwala, Mr Zia Ahmad, Mr Abbas Chelat and Mr Rayyan Khan, along with: • Mr Manish Gupta, Consul General of India in Sydney • Ms Trudi Mitchell, representing UNHCR • Ms Mary Patetsos, representing FECCA • Hon Lee Rhiannon, former Greens Senator • Hon Jihad Dib MP, NSW Labor

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• • • • • •

Hon Geoff Lee MP, NSW Liberals Rev Russell Davies, Christianity Pandit Jatin Kumar Bhatt, Hinduism, Maulana Nazeerul Hasan Thanvi, Islam Rabbi Zalman Kastel, Judaism Rev Dr Patrick J McInerney, Christianity Rev Dr Patrick J McInerney from the Columban Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations was presented with the inaugural ICSOA Interfaith Peace Award 2019. During his presentation Dr McInerney talked about diversity in Australia and the commonalities amongst people of various faiths. He said that all religions can learn and cooperate with each other and come together to fulfil their particular divine calling of universal concern, inclusivity and connectivity. Zia Ahmad is the Editor-in-Chief of the Australasian Muslim Times AMUST. ISSUE 169 / DECEMBER 2019

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Recognition of Khodr Saleh by ANIC Zia Ahmad The Australian National Imams Council held a reception at their Sydney headquarters in honour of Mr Khodr Saleh OAM, the former deputy mayor of Canterbury Bankstown Council recognising his services to the community while celebrating his award of Medal of Order of Australia. The dinner event, MCed by Mr Saleh’s son Kemal Saleh, was held in Chullora on Thursday 31 October 2019 attended by a number of politicians, Imams, business and community leaders. The President of ANIC, Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman welcomed the guests including the chief guest Mr Khodr Saleh describing in details his past as well as ongoing services to the community in general and the Muslim community in Bankstown in particular. Sheikh Shady took the opportunity to formally introduce Bilal Rauf, a lawyer and media personality who has recently been appointed as ANIC’s Spokesperson. He acknowledged the skills and competence of Bilal for the position and hoped that ANIC’s views articulated very well in the community through this move. Bilal Rauf talked about his current readings in Muslim history of Australia with quotations and display of some historically significant photos that he said will make the young Muslim Australians proud of their heritage. The Grand Mufti of Australia labelled Khodr Saleh of the bride groom at the event tonight celebrating his grand achievements including the title of being OAM. Several politician colleagues including Tony Burke MP, Jihad Dib MP, Sophie Cotsis MP, Mayor Khal Asfour and Councillor Bilal Alhayek paid tribute to Mr Saleh spe-

cially pointing out his contribution towards peace and harmony in the district. During his acceptance speech Mr Khodr Saleh OAM described how he was incredibly humbled to be honoured with the award of Medal of Order of Australia and thanked ANIC for the recognition. Talking about his journey from being a migrant from Lebanon and entering politics he reflected on how the Muslim community has progressed in an incredible pace towards success in this country. “Today I stand here not just as the first Muslim of Lebanese -Arabic heritage, who had the honour to be elected on the Labor tickets in the Canterbury City Council in 2004 , but also as husband of the first Muslim woman, my wife Nadia who made history in 2017 being the first Muslim hi-

jab-wearing woman to be elected into local government in Australia.” “This local identity was joined by our local member Jihad Dib, the first Muslim elected to the lower house of the NSW parliament and federal MPs Ed Husic and Anne Aly, including NSW upper house member Shaoquett Moselmane and Mehreen Faruqi and many mayors and counsellors around NSW and Australia.” Towards the end of his address he thanked all those who believed in him, advised him, mentored him and cooperated with him. “I would like to take this opportunity to thanks the ANIC for organising this events and special thanks also to the Mufti Dr Ibrahim abu Mohamed and sheikh Shady Alsulaiman for their support and leadership. “Many thanks also to my Labor col-

leagues Tony Burke and Jihad Dib for being there always to advice and provide guidance, thank you Tony, for believing in me , it is only with you by my side that I have been able to run till the end!” My thanks also goes to my extended family in Riverwood community centre and the Muslim Arab and Lebanese community. “Thank you for my family , I would not be here today without the love and support you provide, my wife Nadia , my sons Mohsen, Kamal, Hady and my daughter Rana.” “Finally to the people of Canterbury Bankstown , to whom I pledged to always be a strong and fair voice and I could not have gone through this journey without your support. I look forward to working with you, and for you in serving our community in future.”

Al Amanah College Open Day at Green celebrates Year 10 Valley Mosque and Graduations School Ayman Alwan Al Amanah College, Liverpool Campus held its Year 10 Graduation Ceremony on Friday 29 November in the school’s Grand Hall. The presentation ceremony marked the end of 11 years of studies and highlighted the academic performance, extra-curricular and sporting achievements of the students throughout the academic year. The ceremony officially began by the MCs for the event, Year 10 students, Alae Jamous and Yasmin Bajouri with a beautiful recitation from the Holy Qur’an by a talented Year 10 student Muhammad Ayman Alwan. This was followed by the Head Principal Mr El Dana congratulating the Year 10 students for completing their Year 10 studies and reminded them to remain steadfast and preserve for the next two years in their future academic studies. Mr El Dana also thanked the families for providing support during their journey towards reaching their goal. Dr Sheikh Ibrahim Alshafie spoke on the DECEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 169

importance of acquiring Islamic knowledge and remaining steadfast on the path set by out beloved Prophet Muhammad (s). Year 10 student Halima El-Zahab reflected on the most important and memorable moments that signified the cohort’s experiences at Al Amanah College while Sabrina Kfoury presented a speech in Arabic and enlightened all attendees with her eloquent Arabic speaking skills. The Year 10 Advisor Miss Baker congratulated the students on this great achievement and showed her appreciation to their hard work and contribution throughout the years. A short school video projection that highlighted the school’s academic and community-based achievements and a Year 10 video that showcased the wonderful memories of the Year 10 students from their humble beginnings at Al Amanah College was presented for the entertainment of all present. Al Amanah College congratulates all the Year 10 students and the award winners. Ayman Alwan JP is the Principal of Al Amanah College. He is a high-performing executive with more than 15 years of Education experience. He has in-depth knowledge of education operations at all levels. Ayman is highly passionate about teaching, learning, teamwork and team building.

Rizvi Khan The Green Valley Mosque in conjunction with Green Valley Islamic College opened its doors to the community with their Open Day on Sunday 10 November 2019 with the estimate of 700 visitors. A large number of families visited the premises in South West Sydney observing student displays, assignments, projects, artworks and science experiments. The school also showcased Arabic language projects as well as displays pertaining to normal curriculum. The entertainment included horse/pony rides, jumping castles, carnival rides, Turkish coffee, food, henna art, face painting and lolly and candy. It was a beautiful and heart-warming experience for the Mosque as well as the school.

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The mosque and school administration wishes to express deep and sincere gratitude to each and every person who made this landmark day possible from the volunteers who worked tirelessly in preparation, to the brothers and sisters who helped out on the day with various tasks and most important of all, for immunity members accepting the invitation. It is hoped that the visitors enjoyed the unique experience that should be shared by family and friends looking forward to further increase in numbers during future open days. To stay up to date with all that is happening with Green Valley Islamic College, visit their website: https://www.gvic.nsw.edu.au/ If you want to know what is happening with Green Valley mosque follow them on FB: fb.com/groups/greenvalley.masjid Rizvi Khan is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Green Valley Islamic colleague and the President of Muslim League of NSW.

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AMU Alumni marks Sir Syed Day 2019 Mehar Ahmad Dazzling performances by children were the highlight of this year’s Sir Syed Day celebrations in Sydney organised by the Aligarh Muslim University Alumni of Australia. The AMU of Australia marked Sir Syed Day 2019 on Saturday 2 November at the Granville Town Hall. Sir Syed Day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, founder of the Aligarh Movement that contributed towards the modern education of Muslims in India. AMU Alumni of Australia was founded in the early nineties and has been holding Sie Syed Day every year inviting educationists, community leaders and diplomats for a gala dinner, inspiring talks and entertainment. The formal programme started after Maghreb prayers with recitation of Quran by Rehan Akhtar and its translation by Safiy Rehman. The President of AMU Alumni, Mr Khurshid Anwar during his welcome address paid tribute to Sir Syed for working on his educational mission in spite of widespread opposition from the community elites of the time. “Sir Syed was an early pioneer and a great reformer in 19th century who wanted to change the thinking of Indian Muslims and obtain modern education,” Mr Anwar said. Pointing out to the Alumni’s scholarship program, he said its main objective was to provide education for the under privileged children and thereby break the cycle of the poverty. He acknowledged the efforts of the past presidents of Alumni who led the team in carrying out its highly successful projects for more than a quarter century. Mr Anwar thanked the continuing partnership of the sponsors of Sir Syed Day year after year specially by Human Appeal Australia, LCH Group and AMUST. A video presentation was shown highlighting the projects by the Alumni in India including scholarships, school buildings and helping the underprivileged sections of the society. A printed copy of the Alumni’s Scholarship Committee report was distributed to

the audience while Scholarship Committee Chair, Mr Riyaz Akhtar highlighted its achievements during the past year. “Education is not the key to just solve poverty but it also it helps with social justice and health,” Mr Akhtar said. He further made an appeal, “If you are genuinely ready to help us then help the poor children in India so they can have proper education. We are helping hundreds of students to get their education.” All donations to the Alumni are tax deductible. The keynote speaker at Sir Syed Day 2019 was Professor Inam Haq, Associate Dean (Education), Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney. Prof Haq is a rheumatology specialist currently carrying out teaching and research supervision in the fields of medical education, technology-enhanced learning, inter-professional education and assessment. He commended the Alumni for the great work they were doing in the field of edu-

cation especially the establishment of the scholarship project for students in India. “I came to Australia four years ago. It brought me in contact with new families while settling here. What I learn from the indigenous people is the power of story telling from generation to generation. Go, tell people your story of compassion and help to students in India in the field of education,” Prof Haq said. At this year’s Sir Syed Day, the chief guest was the newly appointed Consul General of India in Sydney, Mr Manish Gupta who attended the event together with Mrs Gupta. During his address, Mr Gupta highlighted the contribution of Sir Syed towards modern education in India and elaborated on Sir Syed’s vision for education and his great achievements and services for the community. Dr Sami Syed went on stage to announce the Sir Syed Award 2019 for Mr Mohammad Shaheem for his accounting services to the Alumni and other charitable organisations

that was presented by Mr Gupta. There were addresses by representatives of sponsors including Human Appeal Australia and LCH Group. There were a number of dazzling performances by the children of Alumni members including nasheeds and Indian film song medley followed by a trivia competition using Kahoot App. The entertainment included a ghazal recited in his melodious voice by Mr Khurshid Anwar. The formal programme ended with the usual tradition of Tarana recited from the stage by some members of the Alumni joined in by the audience. Dinner was served by the popular Himalayan restaurant based in Granville. A well documented Scholarship Report 2018-2019 was freely distributed at the event listing the names of donors and recipients of scholarships that the Alumni has established as well as a detailed audited financial report

First Sir Syed Day celebrations in Adelaide Mohammad Zia The first Sir Syed Day was celebrated in Adelaide on Saturday 16 November 2019 attended by Aligarh Muslim University Alumni in South Australia, and a large number of other members of the community. Sir Syed Day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, founder of the Aligarh Movement that contributed towards the modern education of Muslims in India. It is my pleasure to write for the first time in AMUST, a newspaper which is fast becoming popular not only the Indian community but Australians at large including those in Adelaide. AMU Alumni of Australia was formed more than 27 years ago in Sydney. Subsequently a complimentary organisation was formed in Melbourne a number of years ago and now in Adelaide. When I moved to Adelaide in March 2019, I started looking for Aligs (AMU Alumni) and I am still looking and adding them to the group. Currently we are six families and a number of individuals joined by fellow Pakistani and other Indian brothers and sisters who want to live the legacy of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and AMU.

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This has been a teamwork with the help of my senior Alig friend Mr Mushtaque Rehmat and wife Mrs Nasreen Ghafoor, and my school friend Mr Umar Masood and wife Mrs Hina Masood and my wife Mrs Saba Zia Siddiqui. The Sir Syed Day formal program was conducted by Miss Maryam Mushtaque and Miss Ayesha Zia and started with Quran recitation and translation by Miss Ayesha Zia followed by Mr Mushtaque Rehmat’s welcome speech while highlighting services rendered by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan for the upliftment of the Indian community. The event attended by more than 55 guests and kids also included a presentation to the chief guest on Sir Syed Day, Dr Abul Khair M Farooqui, renowned personality within the South Asian community in Adelaide. The program ended with a trivia competition, cutting of the cake and Sir Syed Day Lunch. As a token of thanksgiving the Alumni ladies decided to initiate a community service with free food distribution to the needy and homeless people in Adelaide. The Adelaide AMU Alumni team is now excited to increase their activities for the coming year, highly motivated to maintain the legacy of Sir Syed in this part of the world Inshallah. Mohammad Zia works in management with BP based in Adelaide, South Australia. ISSUE 169 / DECEMBER 2019

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Youth Art Exhibition at Victorian Parliament House

Students with Mr Daniel Andrews, Premier of Victoria.

Gulhan Eryegit Yoldas Premier Daniel Andrews launched the Youth Art Exhibition at the Victorian Parliament House on Tuesday 29 October, hosted by Bronwyn Halfpenny MP in celebration of Young People’s Contribution to the Thomastown Electorate. Premier Daniel Andrews who gave a beautiful opening speech on the importance of young people sharing their stories. He thanked the participants, families and the community saying, “I want to thank you all for being here and sharing your stories because when we put all our stories together that’s the story of our state. This is about the diversity that unites us, the things that we share in common but also the things that challenge us all. That’s what community is all about. Fairness matters in this state, success matters too and of course, excellence matters. We are stronger and more prosperous together and our diversity is a key strength of our state.” Several Al Siraat College student artworks were selected to be a part of this exhibition with a special interview conducted

Nur Naziihah Hafidi with artwork.

with year 9 student Nur Naziihah Hafidi reflecting on her artwork and culture. Head of Art Department, Mr Suffian Amin and leading specialist art teacher Ms Gulsen Alhucema as well as several staff from the art department were involved in coordinating the involvement of Al Siraat College students. “We are here to celebrate the significant contributions that young people make to our society in many different ways. Their efforts, sincerity, talent and generosity is infinite and should be celebrated more often. This exhibition is a testament to those talents, the strength of the human spirit and the care we have for others,” Ms Bronwyn Halfpenny commented. Other participating Muslim groups included Thomastown Mosque’s youth group led by Remzi Unal, Pakistan Welfare Organ-

isation and Bint Al-Huda Iraqi Women’s Association each displaying amazing artworks, photography from major youth events and other creative displays. Creative artist Noor Mohammed from Bint Al-Huda Iraqi Women’s Association displayed several exceptional artworks including a striking piece titled For the Orphans. Formal speeches were concluded with a speech by Youth Ambassador and member of the Multicultural Youth Network Nicole Nabbout who acknowledged and praised the countless young people involved in making the event a success. “Challenge yourself, try something new and be courageous. Embrace every single opportunity that you experience,” Nicole said.

Lamiah Naddaf from grade 3c.

Marsden Park Masjid established in record 2 months Usman Malik The formal opening of the Marsden Park Masjid on the newly acquired property purchased recently by Islamic Forum for Australian Muslims (IFAM) was held on Saturday 9 November attended by local community members as well as guests from all over Sydney. The event was organised the Masjid premises itself at 16 Wealtheasy Street, Marsden Park NSW 2765 located in the outers Western Sydney. The property was purchased for 1.5 mil-

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lion dollars and the funds were raised within two months with intensive fundraising campaign amongst the community who generously supported the project. This is another important landmark project delivered by IFAM who have been serving the Muslim community inAustralia for its socio-religious needs for more than 25 years. IFAM President, Mr Rais khan during his address at the event said that this Masjid was a special gift from Allah that was paid off in record two months with generous support of Muslims all around Sydney. He especially thanked Imams of the Masajid, who supported the fundraising campaign by highlighting this project in their Friday prayer Khutbas (sermons). “Such decisions of establishing mosques

for the community were important and were only possible if community members were working together and could foresee the community needs,” he told the audience. Sheik Muhammad Akram Buksh, Imam of Slackscreek Masjid in Queensland, delivered his powerful message to the community. He said that communities could only become stronger and harmonised if its members follow the footsteps of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (s). He mentioned a Hadith of the Prophet(s) known as Hadith of Salaam narrated by Abdullah bin Salaam in which he described his first meeting with the Prophet (s). The Prophet (s) told him to spread greetings (Salaam), feed others and pray in night and you would enter Paradise with Salam (greetings). The Imam then remarked that it was very unfortunate that the people sometimes don’t greet, show the cold attitude and pay less attention towards each other that eventually builds a barrier between the hearts. So the community is shattered and Shaitaan (devil)

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plays its role to make it even weaker to lead a miserable life. Prophet Muhammad (s) always emphasised in exhibiting good manners and described this act as the most precious thing in the eyes of Almighty Allah. IFAM Secretary General, Mr Usaid Khalil concluded the ceremony with dua (supplications). He prayed for the prosperity of the Masjid and for being accepted by Allah and to play its everlasting role in spirituality and purity of the community and the future generations. All the participants then prayed Dhuhar salaat which showcased a large gathering of men, women and children participating with vigour and enthusiasm. Kids were delighted to enjoy the jumping castles installed for their pleasure. A delicious sub-continental food was served to all with a beautiful dessert at the end. Usman Malik is the MGM of IFAM. He is based in Sydney.

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Muslim Toastmasters club in Canberra Amadu Barrie The nation’s capital will soon be home to a Muslim-run Toastmasters International (TI) club. Canberra Islamic Centre (CIC) is again taking the lead and set to become the first Islamic organisation in the nation’s capital to charter a TI club. In 2013, CIC was also the first Islamic organisation to be crowned overall winner of the “ACT Community Organisation of the Year Award”. To register the new club, the sponsors of the potential club have held their first Toastmasters’ club demonstration meeting in the main hall of the CIC complex on Saturday 9 November 2019. A reasonable number of people from the community attended the demonstration meeting, and a few people signed up on the spot to become club members. Earlier, as part of the starting a new club

process, the proposed club initiators Amadu Barrie and Saad Shamsi, club sponsors Susan Prunster and Pamela Cooper and club mentor Andrew Maine agreed to have two club demonstrations for the target audience at the CIC premises at 221 Clive Steele Avenue in Monash. Saad Shamsi and Amadu Barrie are both

members of TI, public servants with the Department of Human Services (DHS) and members of the CIC. Amadu is a member of the DHS TI club and Saad a member of the Namadgi sister club. Amadu has participated in several TI competitions. He took out 1st Place for the Area 26 and DHS club International Speech

contests in 2018. He was also awarded the DHS Toastmasters Club 2016/2017 Symmons Members Choice Award in 2017. Saad said that he was very pleased with the support from the EC and hope that the community will use the club as a platform “to become more confident public speakers and stronger leaders in every sphere of their lives”. President of the CIC, Suhail Khan agrees with Saad. “The Canberra Islamic Centre supports all organisations that help our members to be better Muslims and Australians. Toastmasters is a time tested organisation that helps its members to be good and confident public speakers which is an essential quality for one’s self confidence and leadership,” Suhail said. The CIC is the largest Islamic organisation in Canberra and the surrounding regions. The Centre compromises of a mosque, library, community hall and an industrial size kitchen. Amadu Barrie is an ICT Systems Analyst with the Department of Human Services.

Mustafa Hashemi speaks ANIC denounces at interfaith seminar violence against women AMUST Media

Hena Jawaid Mustafa Hashemi a year 9 student at Melbourne’s Minaret College presented Islamic values at a United Nations platform on 23 November at Mount Waverly. The seminar titled “Challenges Facing Families in Australia and Opportunities for Renewal” was organised by Victoria Peace for Youth, Universal Peace Federation and Women Federation for World Peace. Mustafa talked about the teachings of

Quran in terms of human interaction and the life of Prophet Mohammad (s) as an example for the humankind to follow. He highlighted his journey of ups and downs and how the spiritual support provided by the community uplifted him from the various digs of life and its challenges. 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 Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) has called on all Imams, Khateebs and community leaders on Friday 29 November 2019 in conjunction with ‘International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women’ this week to dedicate their Juma Khutbah (Friday Sermon) explaining that “Islam Denounces Violence against Women”. ANIC recommends the following points to be addressed: • Kind and compassionate treatment of women is so significant in Islam that in his farewell pilgrimage sermon the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Treat women well for they are your helpers and partners.” • Domestic violence is a growing problem in Australia, and it is a religious obligation to stand against all forms of violence in the home that targets women, children and aging parents. • Islam came to honour women and to safeguard their personality and dignity and any form of abuse towards them is a direct abuse to the Islamic teachings and its principles.

• There’s a great need for education and campaigns to highlight the problem of domestic violence globally and nationally, and at the same time, we need to work towards eradicating the problem. • The Prophet Muhammad Peace be Upon Him was an ambassador for the women’s rights and honour. He stood up for the rights of women. He openly spoke out on injustices and oppression towards women taking place in his community during his time. • In Islam, marriage is defined as a relationship of love and mercy Allah says {And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquillity in them; and He placed between your affection and mercy. Indeed, in that are signs for a people who give thought} (Quran 30:21). However, some fail in living up to that. Domestic violence is an extreme example of that failure, and it is a major sin in Islam. • the Prophet Muhammad Peace be Upon Him “The best of you is the one who is best to his wife, and I am the best of you to my wives.” and this is part of the true character of a believer and a Muslim. • Islam gave rights to women during a time when nobody gave her rights.

Islamic Museum celebrates its 5th anniversary Mei Nee Cheong Guests at the Islamic Museum of Australia’s (IMA) Five Year Anniversary Gala Dinner held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on Saturday 26 October were treated to entertainment by Canadian nasheed artist Siedd along with one of the evening’s highlights, a comedy set from friend of the Museum, Nazeem Hussain. The record 560 guests also heard from IMA Chair Moustafa Fahour; Federal Treasurer, The Hon Josh Frydenberg; La Trobe University Vice Chancellor Professor John De-

war; and Captain Mona Shindy from the Royal Australian Navy delivered a rousing keynote address. The Gala Dinner is an annual event bringing together people of diverse background and faiths from around the country to connect, celebrate the year’s achievements and hear from inspiring Muslim voices. Mei Nee Cheong is a marketing professional who has worked across the arts, arts education and travel. She is currently the Media and Marketing Manager at the Islamic Museum of Australia and is based in Melbourne, Australia.

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Captain Mona Shindy, keynote speaker at Islamic Museum of Australia’s Gala Dinner.

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ISC and St Edmund’s College share a meal Manarul Islam St Edmund’s College in Canberra hosted the Islamic School of Canberra (ISC) for the inaugural annual Harmony Dinner on Friday 15 November. The intention of the event was to spend an evening together with select staff and students from the student leadership teams of the two schools to extend the bond of friendship. St Edmund’s College had organised a halal menu as well as prayer facilities for the staff and students of ISC. The event was jointly coordinated by Michael Monagle, Assistant Principal (Mission and Identity) of St Edmund’s College and

Nazia Shirin, School Liaison and teacher at ISC. “We have formed a positive rapport with St Edmund’s College through liaising and coordinating sporting events (including ISC’s first Athletics Carnival) and further coming together in an interfaith dinner setting with the intention of spending an evening together with staff and student leaders to extend our bond of friendship as Australians from faith-based schools,” said Ms Shirin. “We are now working towards coordinating more opportunities for both school communities in the next academic year – including more sporting events, inviting more faith-based schools to join us in dialogue, creating authentic school visit opportunities for students to learn about each other’s faith and co-exist in harmony,” she further added. The evening was one of fine food, prepared by staff and students of St Edmund’s College, conversation and dialogue on the

From left: Father Dan Beneditti, Michael Monagle watch Imam Adama Konda explain the special relationship between Christians and Muslims.

From left: Joe Zavone, Toni Brammall and Nazia Shirin with the olive tree and the collage. topic of ‘building unity’ by the head of religion/chaplains from both schools as represented by Father Dan Beneditti from St Edmund’s College and Imam Adama Konda from ISC. Patrick McFarlane as a representative of students of St Edmund’s college and Haneen Al Asfi as a representative of the ISC presented passages from the Bible and Qur’an respectively. Imam Konda related the story of the Muslims’ journey to Abyssinia to flee persecution and seek protection from the Christian King Negus as the symbol of the bond between Muslims and Christians. Joe Zavone, Principal of St Edmund’s College, referenced Pope Francis’ “hidden sea of goodness” that is key to fraternity and peace. “I am excited that St Edmund’s College and the Islamic School of Canberra are leading the way in the ACT for school-based inter-religious dialogue and look forward

to our friendship and partnership growing and developing through the next few years through a range of different activities. Next year we hope to have the interfaith dinner as an Iftar dinner during Ramadan,” he said. Toni Brammall, Principal of ISC, echoed these words during her vote of thanks as she presented St Edmund’s College with an olive tree, which has meaning in both religions, as a symbol of the blossoming relationship between the two institutions, as well as a collage of photos from the recent athletics carnival. “ISC is very excited about its newfound relationship with St Edmund’s Catholic College. We appreciate everything they have hosted so far and we are looking forward to more inter-school activities in 2020,” she said. Manarul Islam is an IT professional, community worker and AMUST correspondent based in Canberra.

Melbourne rally marking Kashmir Black Day Aziz Ur Rehman Khan A rally was held on Sunday 27 October in Melbourne to mark Kashmir Black Day and in support of Kashmiris held under lockdown for the last three months by the Indian military. The rallies were in support for the right to self-determination of the people of Kashmir per UN Resolutions and to ensure the implementation of International Human Rights in Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir state. Every year the 27 October is observed as Kashmir Black Day all around the world. It was on this unfortunate day in 1947, the Indian army forcibly occupied Jammu & Kashmir against the wishes of the indigenous people of Kashmir. The current Modi Hindu nationalist

government abruptly annexed the state of Jammu & Kashmir on 5 August 2019 by abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which gave the state a special autonomous status. The rally was organised by a number of Kashmiris living in Melbourne including Shujat Mantoo, Afshan Mantoo, Aziz Ur Rehman Khan, Nahid Sura, Sardar Wasif

Hanif Khan, Zain Jamal Chak, Nazish Arif, Yunous Shair, Omar Farooq, Umme Hani and many others. Australians of diverse background, faith and cultures including Kashmiris heard a number of speakers denouncing the oppression by the military in the valley of Kashmir and calling for the self-determination of the indigenous people of the larger Kashmir re-

gion. Socialist Alliance Councillor for Moreland, Sue Bolton talked about the ideological roots of the current PM of India, Narendra Modi with the Hindu supremacist organisation RSS and its stance against minorities in India especially Muslims. Speakers said no to illegal occupation of Kashmir by the Indian military and no to abrogation of article 370 & 35A. Concerns were raised about curfews, blockage of means of communication and detention and beating of thousands of people including children. Aziz Ur Rehman Khan is a social media activist. He is an International Student Award winner at La Trobe University in 2015, out of 17,000 international students. He has been a Cpa Student Ambassador and International Brand Ambassador at Latrobe. He is the Founder of Pakistani Community of Australia.

Sue Bolton, Socialist Alliance Councillor for Moreland.

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Forum highlights global human rights violations Mehar Ahmad Speakers from major human rights organisations highlighted the human rights violation of refugees, minority communities and opposition groups in Syria, Kashmir, Myanmar, Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, Vietnam and Philippines during the Fowler Human Rights Forum at the Mounties Club on Tuesday 19 November. More than 150 people attended a recent Human Rights Forum hosted by Fowler MP, Chris Hayes where representatives from Oxfam, Amnesty International and Save the Children were the guest speakers who provided an on the ground update on various human rights issues occurring around the world. Members of the Cambodian, Uyghur, Vietnamese, Bangladesh and Kurdish communities made up a large part of the listeners while some representatives asked questions and gave comments concerning atrocities being committed in their home communities while they enjoyed the free-

doms in Australia. Mr Chris Hayes MP, Federal Member for Fowler and Chief Opposition Whip gave an overview of the situation while thanking members of the community who had made representations to him with their concern of human rights violation in various countries. Mr Hayes highlighted the condition of more than one million Uyghurs jailed under inhuman conditions in China and criticised people who were reluctant to criticise China because it was Australia’s trading partner. Mr Wayne Gum, Australia’s East Asia Regional Manager at Oxfam talked about the mismanagement of Mekong river including the building of dams along the river in several countries that was impacting on the lifestyle of a number of minority communities and the poor. Mr Joel Clark, Strategic Campaigner at Amnesty International while acknowledging the poor record on human rights of indigenous communities in Australia talked about the plight of 740,000 Rohingyas made to leave their homeland and suffering in refugee camps in Bangladesh. He said that the condition of Rohingya refugees specially women and children in Bangladesh was alarming with restrictions

“Silence is

not an option when the rule of law is being undermined, because the first casualty is always human rights.

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From left: Mr Chris Hayes MP, Mr Wayne Gum, Mr Joel Clark and Mr Simon Henderson. on movement, work, education and simply freedom to live. On a question from AMUST regarding the lockdown of the indigenous people of Kashmir for the last 4 months, Mr Clark said that indeed it was a very serious situation of mass human rights violation and because of prohibition of entry into the lockdown valley, no one knows what the situation on the ground was with no visitors allowed, no news, no images. He said that the night before on Monday 18 November Amnesty Office in New Delhi was raided and closed down with the arrest and detention of its head presumable because Amnesty was one of the major human rights organisation raising awareness of the plight of Kashmiris. Mr Simon Henderson, Head of Policy at Save the Children Australia talked about the plight of refugees in Syria specially the wives and children of Australians who joined ISIS. He praised the heroic efforts of Kemal Dabbousy, whose daughter and grandchildren are stranded in the refugee camps under inhuman conditions, for his advocacy to bring them back to Australia. During the Q&A session a number of par-

ticipants praised the initiative of Mr Hayes to hold such forums with the following comments: • “It was great to see such a large cross section of the community come together to share their stories, to ask questions, and interact with other community groups.” • “It is disturbing to hear that in this day and age, such atrocities are still occurring, and they are impacting many members of our community.” • “It is their families and friends who are suffering and we as a community cannot turn a blind eye to their plights.” • “As an active member of the international community, we have a moral, if not legal responsibility, to do all that we can to encourage countries in our region to adhere to their human rights obligations.” Mr Hayes finally concluded the session saying, “Silence is not an option when the rule of law is being undermined, because the first casualty is always human rights.” Mehar Ahmad based in Sydney is a Public School Teacher and President of Seena Inc, Publishers of AMUST.

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Mr Chris Hayes, Fowler MP.

Weaving Hope mural to help healing in NZ Tahir Nawaz A mural, titled” Weaving Hope” consisting of a long wall of ornate flowers was unveiled in October 2019 in the heart of New Zealand city of Wellington at Te Ngākau Civic Square by way of a healing process remembering the Christchurch attack. The mural was weaved together by local mural artist Ruth Robertson-Taylor, with the vision and Key elements coming directly from the Muslim community. Ruth said of the project that it was a great opportunity for her and the Muslim community to start to create relationships between them and the wider New Zealand community “and create a more coherent society that hopefully doesn’t have horrible things happen to it in future.”

Local furniture maker Mahmoud Shagouri worked with the artist to carve out 51 flowers each one representing the 51 lives lost in the Christchurch tragedy. The flowers come from around the world, a reminder that Islam is diverse and global. Half a year after the terrorist shooting, Nabil Adam, who also helped with the mural, said this “is a good way to bring us back

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to all of those positive emotions that we had, all of those goals we might have set.” Tahir Nawaz, President of Kilbirnie Mosque Association, spoke at the unveiling of six months of the collaborative work of forty people saying “The terrorist, he wanted to sow hatred and division, but what happened instead was truly remarkable with generous initiatives in the healing process,

one being this mural representing a vision for a more unified, accepting, and diverse Aotearoa. He further added, “In this busy city-centre location, the many passers-by every day will have the opportunity to pause, read, and reflect as they view the mural and the victims of Christchurch will be in their thoughts.” “Weaving Hope” is a group creation alongside the Muslim Students Association VicMuslim, the International Muslim Association of New Zealand, Kilbirnie Mosque community, Vodafone New Zealand’s Muslim Society, Salam Network with site support from the Wellington City Council. Tahir Nawaz is Specializing in Muslim Affairs of New Zealand & Global Muslims. He is Current President of International Muslim Association of New Zealand (IMAN). He is also the Current council member for Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) and previously served as First Vice President of FIANZ.

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Faith in action on the climate emergency Thea Ormerod As fires burn across NSW and Queensland, people from diverse faith traditions considered their role in the climate crisis at the inaugural national conference of the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC) held on 8-10 November 2019 in Canberra with the theme “Faith in Action: a religious response to the climate emergency”. Professor Lesley Hughes of the Climate Council presented the science behind describing the current situation as an “emergency”. She demonstrated that the observable data on rising average global temperatures leads scientists to conservatively predict the kinds of phenomena as the unprecedented drought and fires that our fellow Australians are suffering today. Professor Hughes highlighted the fact that Australian emissions have been rising since the carbon pricing legislation was scrapped by the Abbott Government. The current Coalition Government is dismissive of the findings of the IPCC 1.5 Degree report, paving the way for new coal and gas mining regardless of IPCC warnings that this is incompatible with a safe climate. Associate Professor Mehmet Ozalp from the Islamic Sciences and Research Academy (ISRA) was one of the respondents to Professor Hughes’ presentation. He outlined the growth of a number of Muslim initiatives internationally, responding to the current climate crisis. ARRCC President and Catholic grandmother of eight, Thea Ormerod, said, “Po-

litical leaders who say that concerned citizens are ‘lunatic city-based greenies’ fail to acknowledge the worrying, basic facts that global average temperatures are rising and seas are acidifying.” “People in the bush are being failed by denialist-led governments who refuse to support new pathways to economic prosperity, and instead rely on old formulae,” Ms Ormerod said. She further added, “They are paying the highest price for the mismanagement of water resources today. People in the bush are also being robbed of a viable future by government support for coal and gas exports and unsustainable models of agriculture.” The conference considered whether or not human beings could remain hopeful in our hostile political context and worsening environmental crisis. Professor Hughes and other speakers agreed that hope has to be separate from empirical facts, that hope is necessary if we are

to take action. Giving up is not an option. During the Conference, Muslims, Christians of various denominations, Buddhists, ordained and lay participants drew on faithbased sources of hope as valuable resources for believers. These include the capacity to trust in a Creator God, dedication to doing what is right without attachment to results and the gifts of meditation or contemplative prayer. The gathering was inspired by Aboriginal Australians such as Bruce Shillingsworth and Murrawah Johnson speaking about their passion for protecting country. Ways forward ranged from making climate-conserving lifestyle changes to supporting the School Climate Strikers, putting more signs out the front of places of worship, divestment from fossil fuels and even nonviolent civil resistance. Uniting Church Minister, Rev Elizabeth Raine, said, “Mobilising people in our churches, forming networks, and protesting

to push our government to take meaningful action on climate change is really an imperative.” The gathering was fortified by two School Climate Strikers, Aoibhinn Crimmins and Tess Carlton. Ms Crimmins, who was awarded ACT Young Environmentalist of the Year 2019, told the gathering about acting on the climate crisis, “We must jump on that opportunity like our lives depend on it because they truly do and use it as a chance to start from scratch and create a world that we want to live in, together.” Further reflective pieces on conference content can be found at the blog site of Rev Dr John Squires: https://johntsquires.com Thea Ormerod is the President of the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC), a Catholic Christian, retired social worker and grandmother of eight.

Every drop counts: Muslim community assists drought-affected Queenslanders The southern Queensland town of Stanthorpe is on the brink of running out of water. Photo: Muslim Aid Australia.

Water donated by Muslim Aid Australia is distributed to the Queensland town of Stanthorpe. Photo: Muslim Aid Australia. Faseeha Hashmi A drought-stricken southern Queensland town has cherished a substantial donation of hay and water from Australia’s Muslim community. The generous relief was provided courtesy of Muslim Aid Australia, was embraced with open arms by Stanthorpe locals who are on the dire brink of running out of water over the approaching summer. The town fears this to occur as early as December or January in what rural Queensland communities are regarding as its worst bone-dry drought in living memory. The parched landscape has devastated the state of Queensland. Not only has it created a downturn in the local economy but has also ravaged its ecosystem as well. A recent decision by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science has haltered the 2020 kangaroo harvest, as millions of the animals starve to death from the DECEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 169

prolonged drought. Furthermore, similar disastrous scenes can be found right across the Murray Darling Basin which predominately supplies northern New South Wales, but also extends to Queensland, Victoria and South Australia. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the ongoing drought in the Murray Darling Basin is now the worst on record. Climatologist David Jones said the drought had now exceeded the Federation Drought, the WWII drought and the Millennium drought, in terms of its severity.

Muslim Aid Australia delivered 438 bales of hay and 190,000 litres of water, which arrived on 20 semi-trailers to Stanthorpe on the first weekend of November. The most welcomed aid was sourced from overseas organisations, including Turkey and the United Kingdom, as well as local mosques and Muslim-run businesses. Images of the scene went viral on social media, as stunned locals expressed their gratitude for the trucks rolling into the town. Members of Australia’s Muslim community who have previously donated to rural

Trucks filled with water and fodder rolling into the town of Stanthorpe. Photo: News Regional Media WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

towns expressed that they were delighted to be of service to their fellow Australians. “At the end of the day, we don’t need the ‘thanks’. We do this because we love it,” shared Riyaad Ally. Indeed, the Holy Quran highlights the significance of treasuring water, instructing for the efficacious use of our planet’s finite natural resource. “And have you seen the water that you drink? Is it you who brought it down from the clouds, or is it We who bring it down? If We willed, We could make it bitter, so why are you not grateful?” [56: 68-70] Caption: Trucks filled with water and fodder rolling into the town of Stanthorpe. [Source: News Regional Media] Similarly, last year the organisation began its work for drought relief, donating dozens of truckloads of hay to the outback Queensland town of Goondiwindi. “We’re all part of the same family and we’re all trying to help each other out,” commented Riyaad Ally.

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Fires do not care for postcodes

Making preparedness no longer an option Faseeha Hashmi Dangerous weather is sweeping across the country as the fire season is well and truly amongst us, earlier than expected. Right across the country, six states in Australia are facing fire weather warnings as hot and windy conditions scorch Australia. The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has fire weather warnings in place for Western Australia, South Australia, NSW, ACT, Victoria and Tasmania. In Queensland, authorities have partially lifted the imposed State of Fire Emergency as blazes ease. Whilst report of smoke inhalation in Southport on the Gold Coast was listed as worse than in Mumbai, India. Whereas, in Victoria, the first code red fire danger day was declared on the 21 November 2019 for the first time since 2010. Similarly, in South Australia, more than a dozen temperature records have been broken across the state. While, major cities like Sydney and Adelaide were blanketed under a thick smokey haze, with experts urging children, the elderly and people with health concerns to be extra vigilant. In a statement released by the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC), the Australian Muslim community was encouraged

When fire seasons are generally anticipated in different parts of Australia. Source: Bureau of Meteorology. to aid the country to combat, what authoriMoreover, the council advised the Austies’ fear is one of Australia’s worst bushfire tralian Muslim community of the religious season to date. significance to give in charity and to support “(The ANIC)… urge(s) mosques and locals in emergency relief efforts. Islamic Centres to hold the Islamic rituBushfires are a natural part of the Ausal prayer (Al-Istisqaa) ‘seeking rain’ from tralian environment however these ferocity Allah to ease the situation of those who are levels have not been seen in years. Consuffering,” read the statement. sequently, reigniting the debate about the The esteemed supplication ensures the link between climate change and its effects protection of water sources and requests on the severity and frequency of bushfires. for water to be plentiful for the provision of Sadly, every year many Australians fail to crops, animals and humanity. prepare for these perils.

Crucial to fire preparation is establishing a plan. It is also about making sure that family members, especially children are made aware of the risks involved. A bushfire can be a terrifying ordeal to deal with. Therefore, being prepared is imperative. There are numerous considerations to evaluate: • Stay alert. Be sure to monitor which local areas could place you in risk? • Make a bushfire survival plan and/or back up plan. Defending your property is a risk. Therefore, leaving early is the best option to protect yourself and your family. • What will you do to protect your pets and property valuables on high fire danger days? For more information, CFA has a wealth of resources to help you understand fire risk and know what to do before and during a fire. Check out: https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/ plan-prepare/before-and-during-a-fire Stay informed on hot, dry and windy days by monitoring conditions outside and tuning into a local emergency broadcaster. Be sure to check emergency.vic.gov.au regularly and download the VicEmergency app. Make a bushfire survival plan by visiting: https://www.myfireplan.com.au

Bushfire Amahoro means Salaam, appeal in Peace and Shalom Wauchope

Chris, Caleb and Philip playing at the Burundi Fundraising evening. Philip Feinstein Dean Mousad The Brothers In Need team drove up to the town of Wauchope ( 4.5 hours drive from Sydney) on Sunday 24 November 2019. We met up with our amazing hosts, Tim and Coralie from Hastings Coop, and Scott from Wauchope Show Society. Over $10,000 in aid was distributed to assist at least 30 families who have been severely impacted from the bushfires in the region. We plan to visit again in February 2020 to continue our support. Brothers In Need and National Zakat Foundation Australia are grateful for everyone’s help thus far. Yet again, this wouldn’t be possible without our communities support. Dean Mousad is the Co-founder/Director of Brothers in Need, Co-founder/treasurer of Project Quran and a teacher/mentor at Alfirdaus College.

Just north of Lake Tanganyika in east Africa is the beautiful Republic of Burundi. And deep in the hills are the famous gorillas at play. Sounds wonderful . . . . With a GDP per capita of US$267, the country’s 10.16 million people are among the poorest in the world. But despite this situation, the people are friendly, open-hearted and play a unique style music. The main two communities are Tutsi and Hutu and, despite their poor history, including the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda, they can be warm, loving and very caring. A power-sharing agreement between the Tutsi’s and Hutu’s led to the signing of a new constitution in 2005, and to the election of President Pierre Nkurunziza. However, Burundi has seen escalating violence since Nkurunziza violated the constitution and won an illegal third term of office in 2015. Over 500,000 Tutsi’s and others have since escaped the country to neighbouring Rwanda, Uganda, Congo, Kenya and Tanzania. Some have even fled to Australia. This

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exodus is partly because of the new genocide imposed on the minorities by the ruling junta. Here in Australia the Burundi refugees live in an atmosphere of intimidation as militia from Burundi come to our country to threaten those seeking sanctuary. “I have witnessed these wicked actions in both Brisbane and Perth” said Mr Pacifique Ndayisaba, one of the respected Tutsi leaders. “When someone approaches you with a camera saying ‘I’ve got your picture and we know who your family is back in Burundi’, that is very scary” he added. It is interesting to note that the Australian government has allowed the opening of a Burundian Consulate in Perth while warning Australians not to visit that country because of the inherent violence there. “There is a double standard here” said Philip Feinstein of the Music for Refugees organisation. “I personally spoke to the consulate, Australian Barry Court, who commented on the safety of travel to Burundi despite warnings on our DFAT website” he added. “I believe he is putting Australian lives at risk.” This new consulate is located in a Perth church run by Barry Court’s wife, Margaret Court, our former tennis hero. Early in November Music for Refugees ran a fundraising evening at the St Ste-

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phen’s Church in Sydney for the benefit of over 30,000 Burundian refugees currently residing in a very poor camp called Nakivale in southern Uganda. “Having visited the camp I saw first-hand the squaller and impoverished conditions that these people are living in” said Feinstein. “They have no water, very little medical assistance and zero education for their kids. The list goes on” he implored. With a greeting of ”Amahora – Welcome” to the 200 guests, the dire messages on the night were interspersed with beautiful African music and dancing. Even the Aussie audience got involved. “It was wonderful to see Australians open their hearts as we collected over $7,000 on the night” said a jubilant Pacifique Ndayisaba. “But we also need to focus on the current catastrophe as the Tanzanian government is forcing refugees back to Burundi to a very uncertain future. We are hoping that Australians report to their political leaders about this upcoming genocide” he said. The audience on the night left with heavy hearts knowing just how tragic the situation is for those Burundian refugees. Philip Feinstein is a Sydney based writer, musician and activist working for MUSIC FOR REFUGEES www.musicforrefugees.org ISSUE 169 / DECEMBER 2019

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Spices of India come alive in youthled cooking event Albert Thai Hidden away in a small community hall in southwest Sydney resides an up-and-coming youth organisation, using food and story-telling to bridge the gap between the multicultural communities of Cabramatta. The non-profit youth-organisation, The Youth Co-Lab, hosted their first Indian-themed cooking class, named ‘Kitchen Co-Lab’, in collaboration with Seena Incorporated earlier this month with the aim of uniting the different cultural communities of Fairfield City under the love of food, and empowering young individuals to create change. “The Youth Co-Lab was formed in early 2018 as there were no real opportunities for young people to get together and make a difference,” said Vice-President of The Youth Co-Lab Thomas Dinh. Dinh says that the Kitchen Co-Lab, as their first community enterprise project, was a medium in which they could “change the world in south-west Sydney”. Host chef Mehar Ahmad, the President of Seena and publisher of the Australasian

Muslim Times AMUST, taught the class how to make a variety of traditional Indian dishes, including chicken biryani, yoghurt raita dressing, kachumber - a tomato, cucumber and onion salad, and sawain – a sweet vermicelli-based dessert. “Everyone loves Biryani as it’s got that balance of spices and meat and rice all in one,” said Mehar. “Whether you’re Lebanese or Turkish, [everyone] just loves biryani.” Uyen Tran, 21, participated in the event and said, “it was a great experience to learn about foods from other cultures” and “loved how delicious and simple it was to make the chicken biryani and how we all got together at the end to eat what we’ve made.” Fairfield City is considered one of the most multicultural communities in Australia, with more than half the residents born overseas, and over 70 per cent speaking a language other than English at home, according to the 2016 Census. The Youth Co-Lab has been running their cooking classes on a monthly basis since January 2019 and cuisines from different cultures, such as Vietnamese, Assyrian, Turkish and Laos. The Youth Co-Lab is a non-profit organisation which aims to empower young change-makers to create positive social impact through the development of communi-

ty-based projects. For more information on The Youth CoLab, visit theyouthcolab.com.au. or email at admin@theyouthcolab.com.au. For more information on AMUST or SEENA Incorporated, visit www.amust.com.au or email at mehar@amust.com.au. Albert Thai is the Public Relations Lead of The Youth Co-Lab, a non-profit youth-run organisation based in South-West Sydney with a mission to empower young changemakers to create positive social impact.

Building bridges in Museums Together

Mei Nee Cheong Students from King David School and Sirius College participated in this year’s final Museums Together session at the Islamic Museum of Australia on 11 November. Sirius students guided their King David counterparts through activities exploring Islamic faith, architecture, cuisine, script and social contributions as well as the Australian Muslim experience. The session closed with DECEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 169

a ceremony detailing lessons learnt and how they might be held onto. Reports of bullying in Victorian schools have underscored the importance of Museums Together’s mission of building bridges between communities – so future generations might accept and respect each other and stand stand against intolerance and racism. “Museums Together is a powerful vehicle for cross-cultural exchange,” said Islamic Museum of Australia General Manager Maryum Chaudhry. “We are thrilled to be

part of it and contribute to positive interfaith dialogue.” Sirius College Religion and Values Educator Dr Sadik Kirazli agreed, stating, “Museums Together represents an opportunity for students to learn about difference as well as how to live with people from diverse backgrounds, which in this country is so important.” Funded via a three-year Sidney Myer Fund grant, the program has seen 100 Year 6 students get to know each other, train as guides at their respective museums, and act

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as hosts when their counterparts visit. It has been tailored to integrate with the Victorian curriculum across civics and citizenship plus ethical, intercultural, and personal and social capabilities. Jewish Museum of Australia Senior Education Coordinator Jenny Better said, “Museums Together encourages students to meet and engage with each other in a meaningful way. This is the simplest way to break down barriers and strengthen multiculturalism. We look forward to it continuing in 2020.”

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An evening with Pakistani cricket stars The Shahid Afridi Foundation Australia hosted the visiting Pakistan Cricket team members on Friday 1 November at Lal Qila restaurant in Sydney at a fundraising dinner to help underprivileged people in Pakistan. The Pakistan cricket team are currently touring Australia from October to December 2019 to play two Tests and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. The Test series will form part of the inaugural 2019–21 ICC World Test Championship. The second Test is scheduled to be a day/night match at the Adelaide Oval. The dinner was attended by a number of players as well as community leaders and cricket fans representing Sydney’s diverse community. The Pakistan Cricket Board supports the Shahid Afridi Foundation’s initiatives with the signing of a MoU between the two organizations in May 2019. Shahid Afridi Foundation helps underprivileged people by providing them access to basic health, clean drinking water and education. Besides other areas, organisation has strong focus on Girls Education and aiming to educate at least 5000 more student with 20 new schools in Pakistan by year 2020. The dinner event included an informal QA session with players where the players were asked questions about their career and how do they feel about Shahid Afridi’s initiative. Misbah ul Haq, Chief Selector and Head

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Largs Bay Adelaide 1949 Dr Reginald Naulty In the hot summer afternoon a silence as quiet as the moon penetrated and possessed the streets like a dream. The hush which had ruled for millennia presented as a vague enigma; What did it convey what did it say? It was beyond intellection, like the ocean, like the feel of the wind, like existence, inexplicable the stillness. Dr Reginald Naulty, originally from Adelaide, has taught at Charles Sturt University and has been a prolific writer since 1972.

Coach commended the Foundation saying, “We should all come forward and support the work that Shahid Afridi is doing in relation to Health and Education.” Another player, Wahab Riaz said, “Shahid Afridi’s efforts are commendable, specially his mission to educate girls as these young girls will become pride of Pakistan in future.” Star cricketer, Muhammad Amir added, “Shahid Afridi is playing biggest inning of his life and we wish that may Allah keep him ‘Not Out’ in this mission, this is a very big step and it’s our responsibility to support him.” The sold out event included overwhelming participation from local business community, government officials, media representatives and the enthusiastic Pakistani community in order to meet the players face to face and help the cause of the Foundation. Mr Osman Karolia from Unity Grammar helped with the auction where several cricket memorabilia were snapped up including Shahid Afridi’s signed biography book, cricket ball, bat and t- shirt signed by Pakistan Cricket Team players. A cricket bat signed by former captain and now prime minister Imran Khan was donated by Dr Khurram Kayani which was by Mr Faisal Shamsi in the highly contested auction. SAF Australia appreciates and encourages community support for the cause of education of girls in Pakistan and seeks donation in educating children from poor families in Pakistan. Learn more at shahidafridifoundation.org

My great initiative for the Deaf Community Raian Hoblos When my family heard that their precious new born was diagnosed deaf they were in shock and grief. Life was so hard for me and my family. My life started with challenges and the biggest challenge was communication. I could just cry or smile but could not say anything to my mother. My family and I had to put a lot of effort learning sign language. Auslan was my first language through which I was able to speak to my family, I could say to my mother that “I love you”. I got more confident when I could communicate with other kids and made friends. Today life is so beautiful for me, I have 3 beautiful normal kids and a handsome husband and I hope the same for other deaf kids in the world. That is why I am try my best to contribute to the community teaching them sign language so the barrier between a deaf and a normal person can be removed. Taking my efforts of teaching Auslan to the next level, I started meeting restaurants owners to peruse them to become deaf friendly restaurants and get their staff the basic training of sign language so the deaf people visiting to the restaurant would be more comfortable ordering their meals. I have a big vision for the Deaf community. I want to see them successful in their career and in their life. I want to help every single person around a deaf in Australia to

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learn sign language and give them strength and comfortable environment rather than keeping a distance from them. I want to teach many people my language so we can become one strong community. I want to create awareness of the Deaf community using TV, movies or any digital or offline media to do something different. I want to shout out to everyone about the importance of sign language and the benefits it will bring to the community. I want everyone to get the benefit from my experience and ideas. I want all restaurants and cafes across Australia Deaf friendly which will also help to grow their business involving deaf community. I want to go on national TV creating awareness of sign language and to grow my passion bigger helping others. I think it’s time to make a better change for the deaf community. They should have the equal opportunity live, work, drive and buying house like normal people do. I will be more than happy to provide help making a video on sign languages. I can be part of ads or small shows (5-10 mins) which can go on TV or in the Cinemas explaining how I changed my life or how sign language can help change other life. I can also help you creating some fun games or quizzes to create awareness.

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“I want to teach

many people my language so we can become one strong community.

“

Zia Ahmad

Contact me on Facebook: facebook.com/DeafMuslimAustralia/

Raian Hoblos is currently studying for her Diploma in Dental Technology. She is an ambassador for the Deaf community in Sydney. Raian was born full deaf. Her first language was Auslan (Australian Sign Language) which she used to communicate with her family. Raian teaches Auslan to the community to remove the barriers between a Deaf person and a hearing person. ISSUE 169 / DECEMBER 2019

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Seena celebrates Grandparents Day Mehar Ahmad Seena Incorporated celebrated the Grandparents day by holding an event on Sunday 3 November at Campbell Hill Pioneer Reserve, Guildford attended by around 60 people amongst them grandparents and their families. The event was attended by people of different background such as from Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Turkey, Philippines and of course Australia, and they thoroughly enjoyed the day out with their families. The day started with people networking with each other and later Mrs Mehar Ahmad, Seena President welcomed the attendees emphasising the importance of the role played by the grandparents in their families and the strong relationship and bond between them and their grandchildren. Lunch was provided by volunteers and everyone enjoyed the biryani and South Asian menu items. Zuhr prayer was done in congregation with all four generations attending. Members of other groups who came at the park for the picnic joined the prayer as well. The day was filled with fun indoor and outdoor activities/games for the young and not so young. Indoor games was organised by Eesa Bokhari, a 10-year-old grandson. Grandparents played games such as connect four, snakes and ladders, and other various games with their grandchildren. For an outdoor game soccer was organised by Mrs Naaz Rasul and her son Farhaan Rasul. Some grandparents needed to show off their skills in soccer and they competed with the grandchildren. Grandparents had a great time with their children as well as their grandchildren. Mrs Naaz Rasul organised the presents for the grandparents and each grandparent received the beautiful presents. The day ended with relaxing with a hot cup of tea and dessert. Seena incorporated, the publishers of AMUST is a not for profit community organisation and organises a number of innovative programs to mark special occasions in order to bring our diverse community together.

Why should you plan a day out to the Royal Botanic Gardens? Muhammad Yousha Siddiqui You should plan a day out to the Royal Botanic Gardens because there are lots of things you can do there. These are the things you can do on your day out, buy an ice-cream, take a tour to the Sydney Opera House, walk around farm cove, there is also two ponds to see and one more thing you can see is where Queen Elizabeth first landed in Australia. Let me tell you more about these things, let’s start with the ponds. The ponds over there are a very exciting place to visit. That is because there are eels in the two ponds which eat the fish and there can be ducks as well. Now let’s talk about farm cove. It’s not much though but I will tell you what I know, well it is water that is surrounding the pathway in a semicircle kind of shape. We are now going to talk about the iconic Sydney Opera House, a landmark and wonderful masterpiece of engineering. When we look at the shell type structure of the Opera House it looks mesmerizing. There you can buy yourself some food and something to drink. Also you can pack some food from there so if you get hungry on your journey. DECEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 169

We are up to the bit where Queen Elizabeth first landed in Australia. Over there you will see something that will be about 1.5 meters tall with some writing on it. The writing

will say this is the point where Queen Elizabeth first landed in Australia. Finally we can discuss about the icecream. If you get hot while exploring you

can simply get an ice-cream just walk to the Sydney Opera House and outside the opera bar and you should see a sign that says BASKIN ROBBINS that is where you can get an ice-cream from. The yummy chocolate mint flavor is a must to try. The Royal Botanic Gardens have way more things than that even I have not seen. Also you can even catch a ferry. That is what I was going to say but wait there is a bit more. And I almost forgot to say that it is a beautiful place if you ever visit. And there are some things I have not mentioned I think you can explore them for yourself. Ok I will tell you the things I have not mentioned a place where there is a big rock which is kind of curved into a shape which also has the shape of a staircase. This is the other thing there are plants which make up letters of the alphabet that is cool. So if you want to plan a day out I believe you should choose the Royal Botanic Gardens!!! MORAL: traveling always brings pleasure and information to your life. Muhammad Yousha Siddiqui is a student at Ermington Public School of grade 2. He loves to play chess and to read books.

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Little seeds and big hearts bring water to Bangledeshi communities Jessica Swann For young Australian Muslim children attending Bene Kids, a weekend Madrassa based in the outer eastern suburb of Doncaster in Melbourne, the idea of not being able to access basic clean drinking, for many of the students, is impossible to comprehend. However, earlier this year during the month of Ramadan, the school partnered up with Muslim Aid Australia on the Little Seeds Project teaching the students the value of water, and the reality that for many communities across the world, clean drinking water is literally a matter of life or death. The Little Seeds Project is a children’s charity program developed by MAA as a fun and educational initiative to inspire children to help those less fortu-

nate. In the case of the Bene Kids students, their focus was to raise funds to build a water well in their name, to bring clean water to the communities of Varullapur, Lalpur, Mithapukur, Rangpur in Bangladesh. Azi Mustafa, Bene Kids Manager explained that it was very much about teaching the students about giving back in a global way. “For the kids, it was very exciting. It was very different to the everyday Saturday programs.” During lessons, the students were leaning the basic concept of water and where it comes from. “Some places in the world, you just can’t turn on the tap and depending on the age of the children determined what they were learning and how they were to raise money.” MAA provided Little Seeds bags with seeds to sell and little money boxes to collect donations, older students focused on raising money through their own ideas. “The students in the fifth grade came up with a mini fete idea, with stalls and games all

“Some places

in the world, you just can’t turn on the tap...

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in the aim of raising funds for the well in Bangladesh.” A total of $3120 was raised by the students and the well is now operational and providing fresh drinking water for 34 people. For the Bene Kids students the idea that this well in Bangladesh has their name on it has also been a huge inspiration for the students. “Bene Kids have always taught the kids in a critical thinking way is the focus of Bene. It’s not just about sitting in a classroom, when they are actually out there doing things, they are understanding the whole project more.” Bangladesh being located in South Asia, on the fertile Bengal delta, means that it is an excellent location for agriculture. However, the land is also inundated with extreme flooding throughout the year.

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This leads to water becoming easily contaminated and water-borne diseases becoming rampant, such as dysentery. The only clean and safe drinking water is located deep underground and wells must be dug to access this water. According to the World Health Organisation one in every 20 deaths in Bangladesh (around 43,000 deaths per year) are the result of contaminated ground water in wells. For more information on the Little Seeds Program, visit www.littleseeds.org.au/aboutus 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

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5 steps straight to Harmful effects someone’s heart of smartphone addiction – Part 1

Aroosh Khalid

In daily life, we meet different people at different places, in a classroom, office, or going to be a part of a team and work together and we want to get to know each other in order to develop friendships. Your relationship can kick start quickly and organically and with integrity by following 5 basic steps that can help to know others and also lead straight to someone’s heart. Smile Keep the smile up, this gives positive emotions towards another person and also keeps your emotions in the right phase as well. Smile is also an initiative to another person that you are willing to initiate a conversation. Greet After getting an eye contact and smiley response, this is a great sign that the other person is willing to communicate and initiate the conversation as well. Warmly greeting a person will initiate the conversation and should be done holistically from your body like handshaking with warmness. Name Introduce yourself, tell your name, nickname. A person’s name is so important that it is the sweetest and important sound in any language.

Pronounce the other person’s name properly, show interest in the meaning of the name and all this will get other person interested in you as well because you are going to open a file in your mental library for a new person. Getting personal Call that person always with their name. With this, a magical thing will happen, you are no stranger to the person anymore. You can also ask some basic questions like where are you from? Your future goals? What kind of occupation do you have? Your hobbies etc. You should also share your personal information like what you do? Where are you from etc. When you both share personal details, you start looking for the common connections and common grounds which can initiate further dialogue. Help Taking relationship to the next level involves bonding and helping one another. There is a common saying, “You scratch my back, I will scratch yours”. Empathise by finding other person’s pain and how you can be helpfully providing comfort. Without committing find how you can offer help within your capacity that will initiate reciprocal empathy and develop strong bond of friendship. Aroosh Khalid has done MPhil in Human Resource Management and based in Lahore, Pakistan.

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Saied Altabaa Using smartphones excessively can harm our bodies, minds and even our emotions. While technology has the benefits of providing information, connecting people and benefits of making our lives easier, it is a double-edged sword and has many drawbacks. The impact of radiation waves emitted by advanced electronic devices, as the light emitted from the screen may cause several problems for both the brain and eyes, especially when using the device in the dark, where this type of light causes sleep disturbance and fatigue. Smart phones and tablets cause problems in the neck and spine pain, mainly due to the permanent curvature of watching the screen. The muscles of the hands and arms have a share of these negative effects, as the user can develop carpal tunnel syndrome, which is caused by excessive pressure on the median nerve at the base of the wrist. Excessive use of these devices can reduce user activity and cause obesity. On an emotional and psychological level, mobile addiction may cause neophysics, fear of a smartphone or lack of access to it. Added to these symptoms are depression and constant anxiety about not being able to keep up with everything new on social media. Some training experts have said that mobile phone addiction could cause personal crises, depression and increased levels of stress and anxiety. This type of people may show behavioural patterns similar to those

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who suffer from drug addiction. In fact, introducing these devices into our daily system has transformed our habits, as the mobile phone that is supposed to bring us closer to others is doing the opposite. In general, we stick to our virtual bubbles and refrain from interacting with others in the real world, making us live in complete unity. Smartphone technology and the Internet have contributed to linking people around the world, but its negative effects are linked to the excessive and inappropriate use of this technology. The reason for this is the lack of adequate awareness of the rules of use and its various positive and negative aspects. To avoid this, it is advised to take a digital holiday to get rid of technological toxins, by spending a few days away from the daily routine, and away from technology and smart devices, in order to re-link the link with itself, and reduce the levels of stress and fatigue caused by excessive use of these hardwares. In the next article, I will give some tips how we can get rid of these digital toxins.

Saied Altabaa is an IT consultant and community leader. He is heavily involved in so several communities and humanitarian causes. He has established some community schools in Melbourne, Sydney & Bendigo in regional Victoria. He is currently an executive in few community associations and community schools as well as the executive and secretary of Bendigo Islamic Community Centre and a local IT educator and Khateeb in several mosques in Melbourne.

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Who is Imam Adama Amadu Barrie “Why do people always ask me if I am from the same African country as Imam Adama Konda?” Some even pose the question in Arabic even though I don’t speak the language. Well, to put this issue to ‘rest’ I decided to find out myself about who Imam Adama Konda is. Imam Adama Konda is Canberra Islamic Centre (CIC)’s first full-time Imam. With his arrival in 2010, and the opening of the Sabah Al Ahmad Masjid and Islamic Education Centre, congregational daily prayers are offered along with other ongoing activities including lectures and Islamic awareness sessions run for government organisations, universities and schools, community school and Quran classes and multi-faith dialogue. Born in the village of Koungoussi, which is a department or commune of Bam Province in north-western Burkina Faso (Land of the Upright people). He said that he was born at a time when a child is seen as a trust of the community; i.e. it was the responsibility of everyone in the community to raising up the child. As a child he started his Quran and Islamic studies at the Sabilul Falah (The Path of Success or Prosperity) school in Koungoussi under the tutelage of Sheikh Abubakar Saana. Alhamdulillah as a good student his performance secured him a scholarship to pursue his studies in Syria.

LIFESTYLE Konda? A great act of kindness

However, given their poor financial background, his family was unable to buy him the flight ticket to Syria. As Allah willed, his father’s friend, a Christian came to the family’s aid to contribute the bulk of the airfare cost for our imam to continue his studies in Syria. In 1983, our respected Imam was sent to

Syria where he spent 8 years studying Arabic, Sharia’a and memorising the Quran. In 1990, he left Syria for the Islamic University of Madinah in Saudi Arabia where he spent another 5 years pursuing bachelor studies in Sharia’a and the Science of the Qiraat of the Quran. In 1995, after graduating from Madinah University, he spent a couple of months in China to perfect his martial arts skills before moving to Malaysia to pursue a master’s program in his field of study at the International Islamic University in Kuala Lumpur. He was unable to complete his master’s studies in Malaysia because he had to move to Australia to take up an Imam’s role at the Darwin Islamic Centre in the Northern Territory. While in Australia, he spent 10 years as Imam in Darwin before moving to Melbourne where he spent a year as teacher at the Victoria Islamic Centre and Imam at the Faulkner Mosque. He returned to Darwin and spent another 3 years as Imam at the DIC. Alhamdulillah in 2009 he became Imam of the Canberra Islamic Centre and few years later became a fulltime teacher at the Islamic School of Canberra (ISC). He is currently a fulltime Imam at CIC and part-time teacher at ISC. Given his rich upbringing in a multicultural and multi religious society, Imam Adam’s take on life is to (quoting him): “From every ocean, I take a drop and from every garden, I take a flower”

Selfies and Narcissism: Judge yourself Md Juman Hussan A selfie is a self-portrait digital photograph, typically taken with a digital camera or smartphone, which may be held in the hand or supported by a selfie stick. Selfies are often shared on social media, via social networking services such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram. Narcissism is the pursuit of gratification from vanity or egotistic admiration of one’s idealised self image and attributes. This includes self-flattery, perfectionism, and arrogance. “Social media lets narcissists make a perfect picture of themselves, edit it, doctor it, throw it online and watch the stream of potentially global social approval. It’s the narcissist’s perfect tool,” sais Nash in a study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. He further adds, “We wanted to see if rejected narcissists feel better after posting selfies,” Nash and his team first gave participants in his study a test called the narcissistic personality inventory. It measures for “trait narcissism” found normally across individuals, and characterized by “a grandiose yet fragile self-image” as opposed to the more debilitating narcissistic personality disorder that makes it hard to function in the world. We all fall somewhere on the scale of narcissism, said Nash, but in some it’s more pronounced than in others. The condition is generally defined by some degree of lack of empathy, grandiosity, a chronic sense of entitlement and a constant need to seek out admiration and validation from other people. “Narcissists are particularly sensitive to exclusion,” noted Nash in his study, “causing them to react more aggressively toward those who rejected them and even toward DECEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 169

uninvolved third parties.” “Can Trump, for example, just look in the mirror and feel great, or does he need the feedback?” asked Nash, who added the US President is the perfect example of a narcissist seeking self-validation through social media. One unexpected finding was that a particular subset of narcissists—those characterized by leadership and authority—found the most relief in social media validation. But does this mean social media is turning us all into narcissists? “I can’t say for sure, but I would bet that social media could be increasing levels of narcissism,” said Nash, adding that other studies have shown a generational rise in the trait.

And let’s face it, he added, posting a selfie is always a bit narcissistic. “Not that the average person is always narcissistic, but occasionally so. There’s no other way to explain it. This study does indicate why some people seem to be more drawn to social media than others, and why there is a correlation between narcissism and how often you post. “And it does explain Trump and his constant tweeting.” (Source: University of Alberta, Technology.com, Wikipedia.)

Dr Faroque Amin A student of mine recently had a deadline to submit his assignments. Few days before the due date, he sent me an email with a medical letter. So, I replied wishing him quick recovery and informing about the deferral procedures, if necessary. However, he showed up in the class after a couple of weeks with a fractured leg. I wanted to have a chat with him when the class ended, I wanted to know what happened. On a Saturday night, he was working to deliver pizza in Sydney’s eastern suburbs and a car hit his motorbike. The bike was completely broken, and his leg was fractured. I felt sympathetic, I already knew that he has been struggling financially. I asked him how is he going to recover this loss? He replied that the car driver was clearly at fault and she accepted it and she bought him a new motorbike as compensation. I asked him, why did she do that? Why they didn’t go through insurance procedure? Then he told me the whole story. He did not have any insurance for the motorbike. His medical treatment was covered by health insurance, but he could not afford to get a new motorbike. He thought that he had lost the means of his earning. But after hearing about his situation, the other driver helped him. While he was describing the other driver, he said ‘a lady with hijab’ presumably a Muslim. However, my student is not a Muslim. I do not know who that lady is, but I felt grateful to her for doing this act of kindness. It has reminded me of the rights and support-based approach toward others that our religion wants us to practice. We read news and stories of exploiting migrants, some of us might even know someone doing this in reality, as if we have accepted this situation as norms. That unknown lady could have easily avoided this financial burden, instead, she did what our Prophet Mohammad (s) might have done in this situation. This great act of kindness by an unknown Muslim woman to a non-Muslim man is a great role model of Islamic act of generosity to humanity at large. Dr Faroque Amin works with Suprovat Sydney, a Bengali community newspaper published from Sydney, Australia.

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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.

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Life Skills Workshops helping migrant woman navigate life in Australia Nora Awad A series of Life Skills workshops by the Muslim Women’s Welfare of Australia with the support of the Department of Home Affairs kicked off in September this year, and the classes have been nothing short of popular! Migrant women are given the opportunity to learn important skills and information to enhance their life experience in Australia. The workshops are a series of five of which three workshops have already been conducted. The workshops so far have taught women informational skills such as how to write a perfect resume, how to prepare for a job interview and pathways to higher education. Migrant women were encouraged to write and submit resumes review by a HR consultant as well as get involved in sample interviews to enhance their skills. In addition, the workshops have offered a

skills based session teaching women about how to make and use essential oils, cake decorating skills and dressmaking essentials. The women were all given material and tools to allow them to make their own items and learn first hand the skills from professional women in the field. Exciting topics are coming up in these workshops teaching women floristry basics, how to start a business, volunteering skills and photography basics, all of which will be held free of charge to the women. This has allowed the women access to information that they would normally not have access to. The remaining two workshops will be held on the 7 December 2019 and the 18 January 2020. The objective of these workshops is to allow women of various backgrounds and walks of life to have an opportunity to learn ways of enhancing their skills. There is still time for the remaining two workshops if anyone would like to jump on board and register. Nora Awad is the Project Manager of the Muslim Women’s Welfare of Australia and is based in Sydney, Australia.

Tahir Nawaz shares Importance of The Wellys award running for long life AMUST Media

Md Juman Hussan

Mr Tahir Nawaz Satti, President of the International Muslim Association of New Zealand has shared the Wellingtonian of the Year Award for 2019 popularly known as “The Wellys” together with climate change activist district councillor Sophie Handford. The Wellys, offered in nine different categories are given to honour members of the community who work often behind the scenes, towards making some exemplary local contribution to the local community. Tahir Nawaz was recognised for promoting friendship and inclusion in the NZ community, for working to bring Kiwis in all their diversity together against racism and to stand strong in opposing the wider scourge of discrimination. Tahir Nawaz showed calm and strong leadership in the wake of the tragic Christchurch mosques’ shootings and helped the community to come together in unity after the terrorist attack. Such patience and compassion shown by the leadership and the members of the community directly thwarts any divisive and violent agenda to take root in the peaceful society that exists in New Zealand. Sophie Handford said that she was “honoured and extremely humbled to receive this award alongside Tahir Nawaz.” The awards night was held last month at Te Papa, that Tahir Nawaz could not receive

Regular running is highly linked to significantly less risk of health. It can significantly improve physical and mental health. Many expert’s think human bodies are shaped the way they are because we evolved to be extremely effective endurance runner. The shapes of our hips and feet, the length of our legs, our shock-absorbing spinal discs, and our ability to sweat make it possible for us to run mile after mile. So it’s perhaps no surprise that running is strongly associated with a number of benefits for our bodies and brains. To try and find out, the researchers systematically reviewed relevant published research, conference presentations, and doctoral theses and dissertations in a broad range of academic databases. They looked for studies on the association between running/ jogging and the risk of death from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. When the study data were pooled, any amount of running was associated with a

Mr Tahir Nawaz Satti. in person because he was overseas engaged in some important commitments. “On my return, I found my email box full with over 600 messages of support and congratulations in relation to this award and therefore I wish to thank the wider Wellington community for their support as well as the Wellys award committee for bestowing me with this honour,” Tahir Nawaz said. He further added, “ although racist attitude is not compatible with Kiwi values, it is very important to not close our eyes to this sort of problem that unfortunately exists in any community, for us all to keep vigilant. Tahir showed calm and strong leadership in the wake of the tragic Christchurch mosque shootings and role modelled how to come together in unity after a terrorist attack. Such patience and compassion directly thwarts any divisive and violent agenda.

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27% lower risk of death from all causes for both sexes, compared with no running. And it was associated with a 30% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, and a 23% lower risk of death from cancer. Even small ‘doses’, for example, once weekly or less, lasting less than 50 minutes e a c h time, and at a speed below 6 miles (8 km) an hour, still seemed to be associated with significant health/longevity benefits. S o running for 25 minutes less than the r e c ommended weekly duration of vigorous physical activity could reduce the risk of death. This makes running a potentially good option for those whose main obstacle to doing enough exercise is lack of time, suggest the researchers. But upping ‘the dose’ wasn’t associated with a further lowering of the risk of death from any cause, the analysis showed. Any amount of running is better than none, concluding, “increased rates of participation in running, regardless of its dose, would probably lead to substantial improvements in population health and longevity.” (Source: Science Daily and business insider) ISSUE 169 / DECEMBER 2019

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Sydney Play: Main bhi hoon Kashmiri (I am also Kashmiri) Mehar Ahmad An outstanding innovative play in Urdu language titled “Main bhi hoon Kashmiri” (I am also Kashmiri) was staged in Sydney on Friday evening 15 November at the The Bryan Brown Theatre attended by a house full of hundreds of patrons. The play was created within a couple of months after the lockdown of Kashmir valley by the Indian military since 5 August 2019 as a tribute to the victims in Kashmir, and inspired by the current situations the Kashmiris are facing. The story was based on Kashif, a leader of the resistance movement, who has a blazing passion for the freedom of Kashmiris. Based on this, it triggers the military forces, who have occupied the region of Jammu & Kashmir, to investigate Kashif (played by Nabeel Khan) and his movement leading to his arrest and severe torture. The climax of the play is when an honest patriotic Indian military officer (Mahaveer played by Farjad Mahmood) who thinks that he is fighting terrorists in Kashmir listens to

his conscience realising that the Indian military is in fact oppressing ordinary Kashmiris and and finds it justified to quit the army saying that, I am also Kashmiri. The play was a Kalakar Theatre production organised by the Pakistan Youth Council of Australia, written by Rakia Raza, directed by Mussawar Chughtai, produced by Afaq Rahat and sponsored by a large number of community businesses in Sydney. With a token ticket price of $15, the patrons were warmly treated with plenty of cakes, snacks and drinks in a festive atmosphere before the play and were handed packed biryani dinner at the end of the play. There were a number of guests including former Senator Lee Rhiannon, a passionate voice against oppression in Kashmir and Senator Mehreen Faruqi who presented the artists with awards. “Had the privilege of meeting with the cast and crew of this incredible play. ‘I am also Kashmiri’ showed the stark reality of the plight of Kashmiris but also their courage and resistance to fight for self determination,” Senator Faruqi commented.

Kashmir: From a land of peace to a conflict zone Tahir Nawaz Dr Abdul Malik, the High Commissioner of Pakistan in New Zealand, gave a heartfelt talk on Saturday 2 November in the Wellington Kilbirnie Mosque, on the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir that has become a most dangerous global flashpoint. It is said of Kashmir that it is more than just a place, it is an emotion for its peoples, for India and for Pakistan. That emotion was born out at the event and then engaged audience with responses. Kashmir is bordered in the north by China and west by Pakistan. In the formation of India as a nation, an arrangement was made between the national government and the Maharaja of Kashmir which gave control to India. An arrangement that led to war, and a simmering insurgency and resentment ever since, in which up to 10,000 people have been victims of enforced disappearance DECEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 169

From left: Maulana Nizam Thanvi, Dr Abdul Malik and Mr Tahir Nawaz.

by the Indian government, but where India claims insurgencies are aided by Pakistan. The two nuclear countries came to what some analysts have described as to the brink of war in February 2019 after a suicide bomber blew up a convoy of Indian soldiers in Kashmir. During the event, Dr Abdul Malik under-

lined the resolve of the Pakistan government that it would continue supporting the just cause of the Kashmiri people for their right of self-determination in accordance with the UN Charter and the relevant UNSC resolutions. Yet on the 5 August this year, legislation was pushed through the parliament of India

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to approve the abrogation of article 370 of the constitution that for over 70 years has guaranteed certain rights to the predominately Muslim region. Kashmir is an already heavily militarised region that has been placed under strict curfew since 5 August and was yet again flooded with extra troops. As part of this security crackdown, politicians and public figures have been placed under arrest. Thousands of ordinary people also have been jailed. Phones and the internet services have been shut down. Mr Tahir Nawaz, President of the mosque association spoke of the long history of conflict, himself having been taken to a place as a child by his grandfather, who pointed to a mountain over the border and said: that is Kashmir, that things are hard there. A short film of dire Kashmir human rights violations was shown during the evening Sheikh Nizam, Imam of the mosque concluded the program with dua and for freeing all Muslims from oppression.

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Israelization of more than water in NSW Professor Stuart Rees On 21 November, the Zionist Federation of Australia awarded the Jerusalem Prize to the Prime Minister for his friendship and support of Israel. Scott Morrison used the occasion to praise the Israeli government and repeat his attacks on the deliberations of the United Nations. Israel is expert in stealing water from the Palestinians. In the first week of November, just after she had sacked Jock Laurie, the NSW Drought Coordinator, Melinda Pavey the NSW Minister for Water, Property and Housing flew to Israel to meet the Israeli Minister for Energy Yuval Steinitz. They signed an MoU to enhance collaboration and cooperation in water resource management aimed at helping secure water for NSW’s future. Mrs Pavey said that innovation in all aspects of Israel’s water management could help inform future water policy and infrastructure plans for NSW. In January 2019, on ABC Radio’s Saturday Extra, Geraldine Doogue interviewed two Israeli ‘water experts’ who had been sponsored by the Israeli Embassy, David Gonski and the Jewish National Fund. Doogue reported on a supposed ‘major initiative between the Australian Government, the NSW and Queensland state governments and the Israeli Embassy and the Jewish National Fund.’ The Jewish National Fund has been active in dispossessing Palestinians of their lands since 1948. These events suggest potential for far more than Israeli influence in water management. Once accepted as a partner, Israeli government and corporations will have a chance to give advice and promote other sales, concerning information technology,

irrigation systems, surveillance equipment and even the manufacture of arms. Secrecy is crucial to these developments. Premier Berejiklian apparently did not know of Mrs Pavey’s hasty visit to Israel. No-one seems to know whether her travel was Israel sponsored, the duration of this MoU, how much it will cost or whether ‘future water policy in NSW’ will extend beyond state boundaries. Australia’s interest in encouraging Israeli expertise in water preservation and the supply of safe drinking water ignores a major human rights issue. Israel is expert at stealing water from Palestinians. In Australian politicians’ references to cooperation with Israel, let alone in the Prime Minister’s responses to the award of Jerusalem Prize, no mention is made of the mismatch between Israeli claims and Palestinians’ experiences. A JWire Newsdesk report on Minister Pavey’s visit refers to ‘smart technologies, energy-efficient and chemical-free de-salinization plants which enable Israel to continually supply safe drinking water to its people.’ These ‘people’ do not include Palestinians. In the occupied West Bank, Palestinians cannot access their own water resources, they are unable to dig new wells, forbidden from utilizing water from the Jordan River and are forced to purchase nearly a quarter of their water from the Israeli water company Mekorot. Controlling access to water is a means of humiliation, subordination and punishment. Palestinians in the West Bank use about 72 litres of water per person per day compared to 200-300 litres for Israelis. Amnesty International reports that ‘Swimming pools, well-watered lawns and large irrigated farms in Israeli settlements stand in stark contrast to Palestinian villages whose inhabitants struggle to even meet

Israeli Minister for Energy Yuval Steinitz with Melinda Pavey the NSW Minister for Water as they signed an MoU to enhance collaboration and cooperation in water resource management. their essential domestic water needs. In parts of the West Bank, Israeli settlers use up to 20 times more water than neighboring Palestinians who must manage on the minimum amount recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Access to clean water on the West Bank is severely limited but in Gaza it has been polluted or denied completely. The cruelty is endless. A WHO Report of March 2019 says that denial of clean water to Gaza will soon make that densely populated strip of land uninhabitable. The WHO also insists that 97 per cent of water pumped from Gaza’s aquifer which is depleting at a rapid rate, fails to meet minimum standards of quality. OXFAM concludes that less than four per cent of fresh water in Gaza is drinkable. The US based RAND Corporation says that one fourth of diseases in the besieged Gaza strip are water borne and that ‘water is frequently unavailable at Al Shifa, the largest hospital in Gaza.’ This NSW water management agreement with the Israeli government may be presented as a logical response to Australia’s

drought, but it also looks like an invitation for Israel to be accepted as a partner in Australian governance. The process in which Minister Pavey is a willing promoter could almost certainly include arrangements for security which would mean military-like surveillance plus protection of corporate interests which are state owned or closely allied to the Israeli government. Like a drip feed irrigation system, controls could be introduced in NSW as though they are desirable, inevitable and likely to be taken for granted. Given Australia’s record of welcoming dependency on influential patrons, the Israelization of NSW via this water agreement could be just a start. Authoritarianism nurtured by outside influence can be insidious. That is how democracy erodes and inhumane governance works. (Courtesy: www.johnmenadue.com) Stuart Rees OAM is Professor Emeritus, University of Sydney & inaugural recipient of the Jerusalem (Al Quds ) Peace Prize.

India’s Supreme Court orders building of temple at mosque site Zahid Jamil On 9 November 2019, the Supreme Court of India ordered that 2.77acre land in North Indian town of Ayodhya, where Babri Masjid stood for centuries, be handed over to a trust to build a Hindu temple. It also ordered the government of India to give an alternate 5-acre land to Sunni Waqf Board, to build a replacement mosque. The site of the historical old mosque has been a centre of dispute between Hindus and Muslims since the 18th century. Hindus claimed that the mosque was the site of birthplace of their god Rama. The first recorded instance of conflict over the site was in 1853 when India was going through socio-political upheaval and uprise against the British rule had begun. The courts had then allotted separate areas of the site for Hindus and Muslims. In 1949, two years after India’s independence and country’s partition into India and Pakistan, Hindu activists associated with the fundamentalist religious organisation Hindu Mahasabha covertly placed idols of Rama inside the mosque. In the ensuing controversy, the site was closed off to both communities, but the idols were not removed. A campaign was launched in 1984 by

the right-wing Hindu Nationalists to remove the mosque and build a Hindu temple in its place. The movement gained momentum in the following years. BJP leader L K Advani led a procession of Hindu volunteers on a chariot called Rath Yatra in 1990 which covered hundreds of villages and cities across the country for two months raising the issue of Mosque/Temple. The journey involved thousands of volunteers of Hindu extremist groups, raising communal tensions. The religious passions helped BJP winning power in several states including the state of Uttar Pradesh where the site in located. On 6 December 1992, thousands of Hindu activists attacked the mosque and destroyed it as the security forces stood by allowing it to happen. The incident sparked serious communal riots in many parts of the country resulting in hundreds of deaths, most of them Muslims. Subsequent court battles kept the issue alive. In 2010, Allahbad high court divided the land between Hindus and Muslims, giving two third to Hindus and one third to Muslims. The decision was appealed by both Hindu and Muslim litigants leading to the current Supreme Court order which entrusted the site exclusively to Hindus. The judges of the apex court based the

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judgement on a report by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) that it had found evidence of there being a temple under the Babri Masjid. However, ASI is being challenged by other prominent archaeologists such as Supriya Varma, a professor of archaeology at Jawaharlal Nehru University and a prominent historian Jaya Menon. They accused the ASI of having preconceived notions and blamed them for violating ethical codes and procedures during the excavation. In their opinion, ASI was under pressure from BJP led government to reinforce the Hindu narrative that Mughal emperor Babar’s general Mir Baqi had knocked down a temple to build a mosque. With the same evidence of findings of structural pieces under the mosque, these archaeologists have interpreted that there were actually two or three phases of smaller mosques underneath the Babri Masjid. Since BJP came to power five years ago and following their re-election early this year, various institutions in India seem to have lost their independence. Doubts are raised about the integrity of judges in supreme court who unanimously gave the decision in favour of Hindus in the Babri mosque case. Although all sides had said that they would accept the decision of the supreme court, a

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few Muslim bodies are not convinced. All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JUH), the prominent body of Muslim scholars, said they would contest the judgment. JUH president Arshad Madani said that it was not a prestige issue. “This is a matter of Sharia (Islamic law). We can neither give the mosque nor take anything in lieu of it,” he said, referring to the land being promised for Muslims. Both organisations were not part of the 9 November court ruling. The Sunni Central Waqf Board, the main litigant for Muslims, has said it accepted the ruling, as was promised earlier. However, it is yet to decide whether to accept the plot of land and build a replacement mosque. It is unlikely that any appeal against the court ruling will be accepted. Muslims fear that this decision is likely to open flood gates of many claims by Hindu communal organisations against several mosques being built during Muslim rule in India that lasted almost 1000 years. Thus, communal tensions are unlikely to subside as issues are continuously being raised to harass and intimidate Muslims under the current Hindu nationalist government. Zahid Jamil runs a financial planning practice based in Sydney. He heads South Asian Muslim Association of Australia, SAMAA: http://samaa.org.au), ISSUE 169 / DECEMBER 2019

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France marches against Islamophobia Faseeha Hashmi More than 10,000 Parisians paraded through the French capital on Sunday 10 November 2019 to protest against animosity towards Islam and discrimination against Muslims. In a staggering display of solidarity, thousands of people have marched against Islamophobia on the streets of Paris and other French cities. The mass spectacle comes following an attack two weeks prior when an elderly gunman with far-right links injured two men at a mosque of the southwestern city of Bayonne. According to French authorities, the suspected attacker who previously stood as a regional candidate for the far-right National Front party in 2015, admitted that the attack was conducted as part of a revenge-seeking plot. Without any evidence, the alleged assailant based his actions on a conspiracy theory pointedly disparaged Muslims for Notre Dame cathedral fire. Raising his voice on behalf of French Muslim citizens, President Emmanuel Macron took to Twitter to denounce what he called a “heinous crime”. He alluded to the nations espoused uniting camaraderie known as esprit de corps. “The Republic will never tolerate hatred. Everything will be done to punish the perpetrators and protect our Muslim compatriots. I

People hold placards reading “report racism” (L) and “the women together” as they participate in a demonstration in Paris to protest against Islamophobia. Photo: Geoffroy van der Hasselt, AFP. commit myself to it,” said President Macron. Whilst in Paris, demonstrators carried placards denouncing attacks on Islam with banners which read “Yes to criticism of religion, no to hate against the faithful” to discredit criticism of Freedom of Speech. Some tenacious women also proudly displayed their patriotism by adopting the tra-

ditional Muslim veils in blue, white and red colours resembling the French flag. The demonstration was assembled by several community organisations including the Collective against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) as well as Muslim groups. “We want to be heard… not pushed to (the) edge of society,” Asmae Eumosid, a veiled

woman from the suburbs of Paris commented. Regrettably, Muslims in France have reported high rates of discrimination in recent times. According to a survey conducted early this month by French pollster IFOP, more than 40% of Muslims in France felt they had experienced religious discrimination. The country has the largest Muslim minority in Western Europe followed by Germany. According to Pew Research Centre, there were 5.7 million Muslims in 2016 (constituting for 8.8% of the country’s population). Furthermore, Islam is also the second sizeable religion in France. The burgeoning French Muslim population has grown in recent years and is only expected to continue to do so. Unfortunately, this is partly due to a record number of vulnerable people seeking asylum in Europe as they flee the unabating conflict in Syria and other predominantly Muslim countries. France is a nation fiercely protective of the quintessential secular principles known as Laïcité, as stated in its constitution, having banned the donning of religious symbols in state schools. This is exemplified in Article 1 of the French constitution, which states that “France shall be an indivisible, secular, democratic and social republic.“ Nevertheless, the demonstration was an elating marvel of French harmony denoting unity and potential for change.

Iran-Pakistan new bilateral relationship will re-shape the region Hanif Bismi Recent visit of Pakistan army chief General Qamar Bajwa meeting with Iranian President, Foreign Minister, Supreme National Security Council and Military leaders will not only boost the relationship between two neighbors but re-shape the geo-politics of the region. Iran and Pakistan historically share religion, culture, civilization and linguistic identities. General Bajwa discussed “regional security environment and matter of mutual interests”. There exists Pakistani readiness to strengthen bilateral relations in all spheres. High level exchanges of top military officials of both nations demonstrated the commitment of further active ties of defense through diplomacy, hoping regional peace and security. Iran and Pakistan share a common border with Afghanistan, the battle ground of postcold war era, where many foreign hands are involved to create instability in the region. General Bajwa with President Rouhani.

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President Rouhani with PM Imran Khan. As a result, the national security of Iran and Pakistan has been compromised. What was happening in Afghanistan directly influenced Pakistan, politically, economically and its internal security more than any nation. In 1995, Iran and Pakistan initiated the gas pipeline project and signed an agreement. As a goodwill gesture Iran had proposed to include India in 1999, began the

dream project of Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) known as the Peace-Pipeline. India signed the ‘civilian nuclear’ deal with America in 2008 and withdrew from IPI in 2009 and began gravitating towards US and Israel. India’s Modi government is inexorably gravitating towards the US-Israel-Saudi triangle by sacrificing traditional independent polices as noted by a former Indian Ambassador. Iran is concerned with Modi’s personal friendships with all powerful Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Israel PM Netanyahu. Recently Modi was conferred Saudi Arabia’s highest civilian honor – the King Abdulaziz Sash. The popularly elected Imran Khan government in Pakistan last year has enabled a new image of Pakistan while China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) boosting Pakistan’s economic and security requirements and greater role in the region. Iran-US tensions are accelerating and the Indian U-turn on Chabahar project further shifting Indian regional policies to include roll back ties with Iran. Recently India terminated oil imports from Iran under US pressure. Bilateral relationship between China-Pakistan and China-Iran are stronger than ever. At this juncture, a stronger and active bilateral relationship between Iran-Pakistan will

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only take geo-politics to a different direction. Particularly, after 70 years the vulnerable situation in Kashmir is being discussed once again at international level calling for the self determination of the Kashmiri people, thanks to Imran Khan. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Imam Khamenei explicitly said that ‘he is seriously concerned about the recent developments in Kashmir’- where more than 900,000 Indian boots are on the ground, making Kashmir the world’s largest militarized zone. An international conference in Ankara declared that ‘Kashmir is not an internal matter (of India)’. ‘Turkey will stand by Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir as its duty’, the Turkish parliament speaker said. Looking through current political spectrum in the region, the active relationship between Iran and Pakistan as General Bajwa reiterated on the ‘two countries’ coordination on the major issues in the Muslim world’. Definitely this will make huge difference in the geo-politics and security measure in the region. Hanif Bismi is a Sydney based historian, political analyst, community activist and an Advisor to ARO.

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Do not stereotype Muslim Women with hijab Professor Kamran Siddiqui There is a growing trend in the media showing women or girls wearing hijab to portray social diversity and religious accommodation. However, this is leading to a false perception among ordinary citizens living in the West that hijab is an essential attire for a Muslim woman. Any debate or argument against hijab is by default assumed as an attack on Islam. It is very important to clarify this misleading perception. The head covering by a Muslim woman as a religious obligation is a debatable issue within Muslim circles because the source of Islam, which is its divine book Quran has not provided any explicit prescription or obligation for a Muslim woman to cover her head. It however, instructed women not to expose their hidden adornments, which is open for interpretation. Hence, like on any debatable is-

sue, maintaining neutrality is the appropriate option. Head covering of women typically using scarf is a cultural practice in many societies, including those in the Middle East. While in many other societies women do not cover their heads. For example, in South Asian countries, majority of women do not normally cover their heads except during some religious rituals. Such practice is shared among the followers of various religions in that region including Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, etc. Whether to cover the head or not is a matter of personal choice and it is neither a concern nor an issue if it stays like this. The problem arises when the hijab outfit is presented as an Islamic attire. By assigning a religious status, it consequently has been portrayed as a symbol of piousness and morphed into a dress code for Muslim women. It unwarrantedly results in the wrong perception of non-hijab wearing Muslim women as a lesser class of Muslims. These Muslim wome n often face tremendous peer-pressure from hijab-wearing w o m e n i n t h e i r families, friends or social circle to sur-

render their freedom of choice. When media brands Muslim women with hijab, it creates an unjust situation for these non-hijab wearing Muslim women. They become out-casted in the general sphere because the representation of Muslims women in media and social affairs is taken over by those who wear hijab. If the West wants to promote better integration of Muslims into the Western society, then the media should not try to give a distinct appearance to Muslims, which not necessarily is their identity. In a secular society, where religion is a private matter, religious branding in the public sphere needs to be avoided. Wearing hijab is certainly a matter of personal choice and one must respect the decision of a women whether to wear the hijab or not. However, branding the entire community with a particular icon, which is a matter of personal choice and a debatable issue from religious perspective, is not appropriate. If the media stops portraying hijab as an Islamic symbol, then it will mitigate the rift that is forcing people to take extreme sides with denounc-

ing the religion on one end and religious bigotry on the other. The flaring up of debate on the hijab ban in France and the ruling of the European Court of Justice on a similar issue are rooted in the emphasis on hijab as an Islamic attire. If hijab is treated as a headgear of personal choice rather than a symbol of Islam, then this issue would have never reached the flash point. In order to pacify the religious hater and to promote a better integration of Muslim community in particular Muslim women into the western society, media should not give a specific importance to hijab. It is very important that a common person should see hijab as a matter of personal choice rather than a religious symbol and this is only possible if Muslim women are neither portrayed nor represented by hijab. Kamran Siddiqui is a Professor at the University of Western Ontario in Canada.

Community languages Al Amanah College: 2019 essential to our future Annual Business Dinner Warren Duncan The Prime Minister, Mr Morrison, has told a large gathering of community-language teachers that Australia is not defined by a common ethnicity or background but by the “shared values of understanding, kindness and respect”. He was speaking by video link on Saturday 23 November at the annual dinner of the NSW Federation of Community Language Schools, which “does an amazing job teaching language to 36,000 students”. “To me that’s pretty special”, he added. He told over a thousand guests: “Australia’s diverse linguistic capability is one of our greatest strengths. It helps communities connect and be informed. It links us to the wider world and, for many, it’s central to culture and identity”. Mr Morrison thanked the Federation for its commitment to our shared values and for “championing the benefits of learning another language, for more than 40 years.” In a written message to the dinner guests, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the Federation’s work was “important because fostering community language not only helps to keep cultural traditions alive, it also aids cognitive development of students.” She further added, “The New South Wales Government commends the Federations and all its stakeholders – teachers, volunteers, parents and students - for their dedication to this vital work.” In response, the President of the Federation, Lucia Johns, said, “I am delighted to see the strong support from both Prime Min-

Ayman Alwan

Lucia Johns, President of the Federation.

ister Morrison and Premier Gladys Berejiklian because strong leadership is necessary to promote the value of teaching community languages.” “Last week the Federation released a research paper - What are languages worth? Community languages for the future of New South Wales - which we jointly produced with Macquarie University’s Faculty of Human Sciences Multilingualism Research. “That research demonstrated that community languages are a means to economic, social and cultural prosperity”. “It warned, however, that if we were to abandon our active community support for them we would be throwing away a valuable resource.” “The Federation will be spurred on by this finding and we will continue to expand and develop our network of language schools”, she said. Members of Parliament including the Minister for Customer Service, Victor Dominello, representing the Premier, community leaders and hundreds of community-language teachers who teach 86 languages across the state at community-run schools throughout NSW attended the event.

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Al Amanah College held its 2019 Annual Business Dinner on Friday 22 November in the school’s Grand Hall. Staff members and prominent guests gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of our school throughout the academic year 2019. The evening’s formal events began with a beautiful Qur’an recitation by Sara Kahil – 2017 Year 12 graduate, followed by a magnificent performance by the School choir of the school and national anthems. The School’s Head Principal Mr Mohamad El Dana, delivered the welcome speech highlighting the main achievements of the School in 2019, followed by the Chairman of Darulfatwa Islamic High Council of Australia Dr Salim Alwan Al-Hussainiyy focussing on the importance of acquiring Islamic

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knowledge and remaining steadfast on the path of Prophet Muhammad (s). The ICPA President, Mr Mohammed Mehio thanked the community for their support in making Al Amanah a great success Sheikh Ghanim Jalloul mentioned several verses from the Holy Qur’an which are related to the perfect knowledge and wisdom of Allah. The school’s achievements for the year were highlighted in the video of students and teachers which embodied the school’s culture and values in many different ways. Mr Mahmoud Ismail, one of the 2014 graduates moved the audience by focussing on the moderate teachings of the school and how the teachers had a positive effect on his life and his journey. The evening continued with the Award Ceremony during which awards were presented to staff members.

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Study Tips 2 - Study and Homework Umar Khan In order to be an effective learner, it is important to recognise and appreciate the differences between studying and homework. Often students believe that studying and homework are the same thing, and the two terms are used synonymously. However, the two activities are two very distinct tasks, with different goals in the wider learning of students. Let me explain how. Homework is any work assigned by the teacher, as work outside of the classroom, to do at home. These include assignments and exercises that aim to reinforce the content and skills learnt in class. They allow for extra practice, development of skills and revision of content. Homework is important as it allows for students to identify gaps in their education and to help further strengthen content, concepts and skills learnt in the classroom. Homework can be used by students and teachers to detect areas of learning that may need to be worked upon. Now, homework is important – but that

is not all that students should have in their learning arsenal. Study is the time spent reviewing work, and preparing for future classes. It involves going over previous work, spending time reading and processing information. Now, most students would associate studying with preparing for exams, and whilst,

it is in these periods that students should increase studying, it is not the only time they should study. It is important to set aside time regularly to study, to ensure that you understand all the concepts, content and are competent with skills learnt in class and to make sure that you don’t fall behind.

Studying is similar to homework; however, you are in control – in that, the student themselves nominates the time and task. Studying also includes creating flashcards, writing and reviewing notes, reading textbooks and doing questions. For those of you who are visual and auditory learners, you might like to watch YouTube channels for education and TED Talks related to the topics you are studying. Now to demonstrate this in a classroom example, take your maths class. In class, the teacher demonstrates and teaches a concept. You do some questions in class to cement that concept and skill, and are assigned some questions from your maths book to further embed the content. Now, the work done at home is homework, but a few months later you decide to review this content yourself, going through the content and doing questions. This is called study. Now, that you know the importance of study and difference between study and homework, it’s important to allocate enough time to complete both, because they both are essential to your learning as a student. Happy studying!

Ibn Khaldun Part 3: From Umran Badawi (Rural) to Umran Hadari (Urban) Dr Jan A Ali In my first piece relating to Ibn Khaldun’s work I examined his theory of asabiyah and then in my last piece I expanded on it and focused more deeply on asabiyah. In this final piece relating to Ibn Khaldun’s work I want to wrap up by looking at the transitory process that takes place in society where group-forms undergo transformation or evolution, thus, from Umran Badawi (Rural) to Umran Hadari (Urban). Ibn Khaldun, therefore, uses umran badawi more broadly and beyond the framework of nomadic life to include human groupings with ties to each other beyond shared ancestry including trade partners and political allies. Thus, people involved in agriculture, vegetable farming, animal husbandry, and so on, in all geographical areas outside the major towns, Ibn Khaldun refers to them as umran badawi. In contrast, the umran hadari (sedentary people, urban dwellers or the urbanite society) lacks a sense of solidarity as individuals pursue self-interest, life of luxury, and compete for limited resources often in an egocentric manner. Life is based on material pursuit of happiness underpinned by hedonism and extravagance leading to moral decadence and social disequilibrium. Ibn Khadun explains: They corrupt the city generally in respect to business and civilization. Corruption of the individual inhabitants is the result of painful and trying efforts to satisfy the needs caused by their (luxury) customs; (the result) of the bad qualities they have acquired in the process of satisfying (those needs); and of the damage the soul suffers after it has obtained them. Immorality, wrongdoing, insincerity, and trickery, for the purposes of making a living in a proper or an improper manner, increase among them. The soul comes to think about (making a living), to study it, and to use all possible trickery for the purpose. People are now devoted to lying, gambling, cheating, fraud, theft, perjury, and usury (1967:286). DECEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 169

Umran hadari is civilized or a sedentary way of life characteristic of urban living or urbanism. People in this group are distinguished by their decadence and self-indulgent living. They lack the willingness to cooperate with each other and if cooperation is ever undertaken then some self-benefit is expected as an outcome. The dichotomy between umran badawi and umran hadari is expressed in the contrast between rural living (ruralism) and urban life (urbanism). With the use of asabiyah Ibn Khaldun offered the explanation and reasons for the rise and fall of societies. In asabiyah where the emphasis is on unity, group consciousness, and shared purpose, he found the basis for the progress of human collectivities. In the way of explanation, he created the stages and division of societies where a society go through a change process; from nomadic to sedentary and gave them names - umran badawi and umran hadari. The dynamic change from umran badawi to umran hadari is cyclical in nature. Since states and dynasties represent umran hadari, Ibn Khaldun claims that they cannot be established without strong asabiyah. Asabiyah is critical for state formation or the development of urbanism. Nomadic people strive for urbanism; it is their goal. They possess strong asabiyah and, therefore, they can achieve this goal. Once they have achieved basic necessities of life, as hard workers they start working towards securing comfort, luxury, and delight of sedentary life. With strong asabiyah, courage, fearlessness, and willingness to fight nomadic people defeat the sedentary people and establish their own dynasty. Once the dynasty is established the people become absorbed, over time, into a sedentary lifestyle. This lifestyle, inherently self-destructive inevitably contributes to the gradual erosion of asabiyah. Sedentary lifestyle, by nature, has the effect of weakening the feeling of social cohesion and when social cohesion is seriously impaired concurrently is damaged the military strength, social structure, and the state power. In the natural cycle of rise and fall, the cycle come to full circle when the dynasty is subdued and replaced by a group of pre-sedentary people with stronger asabiyah. It is true that dynasties rise and fall but

Statue of Ibn Khaldun on Independence Square in Tunis, Tunisia.

there is, according to Ibn Khaldun, a solution to the “dying factor” which causes the demise of dynasties. The solution is that it helps the dynasty stay in power, not for ever because there is no such thing, but for longer. In times of dynastical crisis or decline the power can be maintained or restored with the emergence of a “good” and strong leader who can unify and consolidate the people with his own asabiyah.

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Here, Ibn Khaldun introduces his concept of the institution of leadership (imamate) which will be the topic of my next discussion. 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.

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Qur’an dignifies every human being Professor Shahjahan Khan What is the Islamic world view on the status of human being? Does Islam support or oppose dignity of non-Muslims as representative of Allah? What does Islamic scripture say about the unity of mankind? To answer these fundamental, yet not so commonly discussed, questions we need to revisit the Islamic scripture, the Holy Qur’an. Every human created as a representative of Allah According to the Qur’an (2:30), when Allah intended to create human on earth, His Majesty told the angels, “I am going to send my representative (khalifah) on earth.” Eventually, Allah SWT end up creating human (insan), namely, Adam and Eve (peace be upon them). By the account of the above text (and many other verses in the Qur’an), every human is a daughter or son of Adam (bani Adam), and a representative of Allah on earth regardless of her/his race, colour, faith, ethnicity, gender, language etc. This is the highest dignity that Allah has vested upon everyone of us. Clearly, it is a very strong and key teaching of the Qur’an that removes all kinds of man-made discrimination and division, and places every human at the same status as the representative of Allah. As a consequence, every Muslim must respect all humans, believing or not believing, viewing as a representative of Allah. Unfortunately, this core teaching of Islam is very much undiscussed and not so prevalent within the conventional teachings of Muslims. Of course Allah has clearly stated the severe consequences of not recognizing Him as the unique and ultimate Power/Authority and worshipping Him exclusively. After speaking about creation of khalifah He created Adam (a) from sounding claysout of dark-slime transmuted (salsalin min hamayinmasnun, 15:26), essence of clay (sulalin min tin, 23:12) and sounding clay, like pottery (salsalinkalfakkar, 55:14). Thus the material component of human being is from soil.

On this point the Qur’an states human reproduction starts from a drop of sperm (nutfa, 16:4, 36:77) and He determines his nature/destiny (qaddarahu, 80:19). Then elaborates the stages of embryonic growth as creating out of the drop of sperm a germ-cell, then embryonic lump, bones, clothe the bones with flesh to complete a human baby (23:14). Furthermore, He endowed it with hearing and sight (sami and basir, 76:2), and articulated thought and speech (55:4) as well as breathed into His spirit (nafakatyfihi min roohi, 15:29). The Qur’an asks Muhammad (s) to say that the spirit (rooh) is a command of his Lord. Thus rooh is a creation of Allah, and as such it is totally different from any physical entity. So, unlike the body of human being the spirit will never perish. Because of the presence of the spirit of Allah, every human is favoured with His command so that they could strive to acquire His hue (sibghata, 2:138). By the nature of its creation, every rooh is capable of recognising its Creator and inherently inclined to do good and avoid evil if it is not polluted. Any creation blessed with such divine spirit to be viewed with highest dignity and respect. Knowledge made human superior to angels Then Allah taught all names to Adam (2:31) and asked angels to name things which they did not know. When Adam (a) told all the names, Allah asked the angels to prostrate before Adam (2:34), all did except the cursed Iblis (shaitan) who argued he was superior to Adam (a) because he was created from fire and hence superior/better than someone created from soil. Through this process, Allah has raised the status of human above the angels by imparting superiority of knowledge to the children of Adam (a). The teaching is simple, salute the one who is more knowledgeable. Even among the children of Adam, the ones with higher knowledge (including science) are revered more than those who do not have knowledge.

a much lesser level/degree and dimension than it is for Him, and it is distinctly different from the being (zaat) of Allah who is unique and without any comparison. This spirit not only makes human a living creature but also takes it to a much higher intellectual level to be able to distinguish between right and wrong and recognise the essence of fully submitting to the creator compared to his physical material being that is made of soil. Some scholars are in favour of limiting the world ‘khalifah’ to the prophets but they are clearly distinguished, in the Qur’an, from the ordinary servants/worshippers as chosen messengers (nabi and rasool) of Allah. Their position is much higher than khalifah and they are the manifested role model for the mankind. Many of them were also blessed with the divine revelation (wahi) elevating them above common human folks. In the general terms and in tune of the verses of the Qur’an related to khalifah, it is used for all children of Adam (a) without any further classifications. Obviously, any representative only have a very specific and extremely limited ‘authority’ that s/he has been delegated by the One who appoints the representative, and the status of a representative is valid only until the terms and conditions are not violated. Those Conscious of Allah are the best To highlight the unity of humanity further, Allah emphasized that mankind was one nation (2:213) and He has conferred dignity on the children of Adam (17:70). However, He explains that He has created all humans out of a male and a female, and have made them into nations and tribes, so that they might come to know one another, but the best of then in the sight of Allah is the one who is most deeply conscious of Him (39:13). In view of the above verses related to creation and attributes of mankind in the Qur’an, as a representative of Allah on earth, every human is a part of the same nation, shares common origin from soil and then from sperm. Furthermore, each one of them are blessed with spirit of Allah and ability to speak, see and hear, and He has raised their status above angels by conferring them dignity as well as superiority of knowledge. Hence every human is a respectable and

honourable being regardless of age, origin and believe. The gender, race and places of birth are only for the purposes of identity, not for discrimination or division or hate, but the closeness to Allah is only on the basis of the level consciousness of Allah. Thus the Qur’an laid the foundation of equality of all human and thus introduced the modern day concept of human right. Human created for testing good deeds Allah has created human in the best stature and then reduced him to the lowest of low (asfala safelin, 95:4-5) as He wants to test which of them is best in conduct (amal, 11:7, 18:7, 67:2). While inspiring to be in the way of the best deed He warned, while sending human to the earth, that there shall come unto you guidance from Him and those who follow His guidance need have no fear and grieve; but those who are bent on denying the truth and giving the lie to His messages - they are destined for the fire (2:38-39). About those who reject His messages, He terms them as those who have hearts with which they fail to grasp the truth, and eyes with which they fail to see, and ears with which they fail to hear, calling them the likes of cattle or worse (7:179). Human can be worse than animal Humans have two distinct sides: (i) Material side that are derived from soil and manifested as flesh, bones, blood etc like that of other animals, and (ii) Eethical side coming from the spirit of Allah, the rational and intellectual aspects that make human different from the other animals. The spirituality leads to rationality guided by the morality making human an ethical and rational being, but the material side drives to immorality and other animal instincts making human worse than animals. The superiority of human (over other animals) is its spirituality through rational choices and ethical actions guided by knowledge. In the absence of rationality, ethical dictates and consciousness of Allah there is every danger of human to be guided by animality leading to evil, transgression and disaster. Professor Shahjahan Khan is professor of Statistics at University of Southern Queensland, Australia. He is the former President of Islamic Countries Society of Statistical Sciences and Expatriate Fellow of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences.

Need to reach Need to reach Need to reach thousands of people? thousands of people? thousands of people?

Every human inherit spirit of Allah After the first creation of human, Allah has put in place embryonic reproduction system for the continuity and growth of human race.

Representatives and Messengers of Allah From the above discussions, it is clear that rooh/spirit has the ability to imitate only some limited attributes (sifaat) of Allah in

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Copings that do not work at the workplace Hena Jawaid A number of signs and symptoms reveal stress in the workplace. We react to cope from different challenging situations. Our reactions determine the way we think and represent cognitive pattern (templates). There are many preliminary and late signs of ineffective copings that one should be aware of and try to resolve early. 1. Blaming oneself for bad outcome – (Personalisation) The habit of self-blame and remorse is lethal in a bigger set-up as it prevents you from progression and keeps one feel guilty all the time. It will also prevent one from utilizing positive feedback because of excessive attention on picking up wrong threads. The emergence of positive psychology has transformed perspectives to view any adverse circumstance to use for self-development. Even the negative feedback can be taken in the most constructive way. 2. Trying to make others happy – (People pleasing) Even a balanced decision in any conflict can disappoint people. One has to find enough confidence within to bear disagreements in any working situations. The struggles of keeping others happy reflects our inner most void and reliance on others for

self-affirmation. 3. Repeated self-validations The tendency to prove the decision and choices (you have made) for conflict resolution takes place to have satisfaction that is mostly transient in nature. Why do we have to prove? We tend to prove in order to consolidate others’ (sanguine) views about us. Why we want to consolidate? We do, because their reassurances give us sense of being right. Why? It happens when you feel yourself weaker, guilt-ridden and under fear of being isolated and marginalized. By increasing the volume of our followers, we tend to compensate for our low self-esteem. 4. Rationalizations Confidence comes with positive experiences in diverse backgrounds. The need to rationalize every step and action is sometimes a hallmark of personal hollowness. People strive to reason to unconsciously prepare answers for others. They have enormous fear of being questioned/challenged by anyone. 5. The Roots of mess It is a common inference that productive work strategies and creativity elevate the ratio of satisfaction, achievement and offers

air of confidence to people. The root of ineffective coping is divided into two halves: 1. Personality makeup: The fragile composition of personality (id; animalistic desires like hunger and sex, ego; patterns of coping mechanisms and superego; principles and morals) renders one to admit him or herself as incompetent. This may be the result of early childhood experiences. 2. Ineffective working habits: Despite the strong hold of personality, dishonesty causes loopholes and unfavourably affect one’s attitude towards peers.

Conclusion The work life balance is essential for everyone. We obtain joy and fill our cups from resources like friends, family, hobbies and spiritual practices. Hardworking employees suffer a lot from lack of recognition, favouritism and prejudice at workplace, which eventually make them leave. Employees’ undesired and derailed attitudes are always a cry for help and carries a reason behind. Leadership teams can only disentangle the matters by looking deeply into it and not via helicopter view.

“Think innovatively and creatively” workshop in Sydney Shafqat Ali The 21st Century is all about Information and Knowledge Technologies. How to think differently about presented information and create new knowledge through creativity and innovation. The latest trends of this approach are Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning. Our youth needs to learn this from high school. Young Innovators has designed a workshop to full fill these needs under the name “Think Creatively and Innovatively”. Recently this workshop was run in Campbelltown. Think innovatively and creatively workshop was an interactive workshop conducted by Young Innovators Network for the young minds to learn about how to think differently and in an innovative way. This workshop was held to make the children learn how to sharpen their imagination power that they can use to think outside the box and that thing will enable them to bring new ideas in their assignments. And at the same time when they learn new things, they can design the thinking concept which they can apply in their real-life projects to bring fresh ideas and build new concepts and that is the skill which will be part of the job market in future.

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During the workshop included a set of activities that the students had to go through, Children’s feedback reflected they really enjoyed every bit of the workshop and found useful for their studies. If you are interested to know more about Young Innovators Network activities, please join our mailing list https://tinyurl.com/yinjml Shafqat Ali based in Sydney is the Training Manager at Notebook Solutions, Campbelltown and a mentor with Young Innovators Network.

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Africa Tour Part 7: Johannesburg MODERN IBNE BATOTA Zia Ahmad & Mehar Ahmad We flew back from Durban to Johannesburg on SafeAir, a budget airline on Sat evening 20 April 2019 and found the weather to be cold and raining. Since we did not have much luggage, we had decided to catch the train from the airport to Santon train station from where our hotel free shuttle picked us up. The train system in Johannesburg is very efficient and good value for money with multi-story underground or overground train station with car parks. Next day was Sunday and we had to catch our flight at 8 pm. We planned to do a city tour of the city landmarks in the double decker red bus. Therefore we left very early morning catching a train to the e the important places. We were dropped at the station which was very close to the hotel. At the station we noticed that red bus has a 10 percent discount. Our stop was after two stations. We walked to the Red Bus Centre to buy the ticket for the Red Bus. The lady at the counter didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any information regarding the discount. We told her that at the station we saw that there was 10 percent discount for the double decker Red Bus Ride. She clarified from the head office and yes we were right. So the other people who were after us got the 10 percent discount as well for their Red Bus Ride. The red bus took us through various parts of Johannesburg and its landmarks. While going some suburbs we saw big mansions with very high electrical fences. This is something we could never imagine in Australia, being a very safe place. Every office, Business areas were patrolled by the guards. That seemed very unusual to us. Again ass we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see this in Australia. We visited the place where Gandhi was jailed and changed our bus there. Apparently Gandhiji had a great impact on South Africa and at struggle against Apartheid. He is remembered and celebrated as a South African leader. Our next stop was to Apartheid Museum. We roamed around the museum and saw and heard some fascinating stuff. Johannesburg is still divided into affluent and poor areas, safe and unsafe areas and in some downtown areas the crime rate is very

high. On the way back in the afternoon, we caught the train again to Stanton station and were picked up by the Hotel shuttle. The

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weather was gloomy, windy and it was raining. We wanted to treat our Turkish host, Davud and Salma for early dinner. Both of them were excited to meet with us again. Davud picked us up and this time we went

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to a shopping mall and an Indian eatery run by a Turkish man. We ordered the meal for four people. When the meal came we were very surprised as it was huge. It had rice, salad and four different kinds of chicken. We had a great time meeting again with

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to Sydney via Abu Dhabi

our host Davud and Salma, and enjoyed the delicious meal. I wanted to buy sun flower seeds, (my favourite to pass on time on the plane) I found out that it is sold in Turkish shops. As being a great host, Davud rang around different

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shops and found one Turkish shop was still opened. He took us there, but unfortunately, the sunflower seeds were sold out there. Anyway, we bought some other items from there. We took the hotel shuttle to drop us to the

airport to catch the overnight flight to Abu Dhabi at 8 pm. Our plain ride to Abu Dhabi was very smooth in a large jet of Etihad airlines. While we were attempting selfies in our seats, a very nice airhostess offered us to

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take our photos. We took a black limousine from the airport to our resort known as Al Raha Beach Corniche. The friendly Pakistani driver briefed us about the city and provided much needed information. The hotel had a good system of shuttle mini bus dropping and picking up to the shopping malls, the mosques and other places of entertainment. There are huge shopping malls in Abu Dhabi, some with very pricey items. We did most of our shopping in the American Carrafour. Next day we went to the most famous Abu Dhabi landmark, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center. We visited it earlier about eight years ago, but now it has become a huge complex. Last time we went to Abu Dhabi we were dropped right near the mosque. But now they have a different system. We were dropped at the parking spot and were told that at a certain time the driver will come to pick us up. We followed the crowd and went through a corridor and there were lots of machines where you register your name and then you walk. Lucky that they had buggy as well and we travelled by the buggy to reach to the mosque. It was a long walk. Very organized system around the mosque and very helpful staff. Thank goodness that this time ladies didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to wear a long toub. They could enter the mosque in whatever they were wearing. Ladies and men who wore skirts or shorts were given long toub with a hoodie to wear. It is a fascinating mosque. Very white and grand. The mosque courtyard floor ws decorated with various flower patterns. This mosque is very famous and it is open for the tourists and visited by thousands of tourists each day. While at the resort for two days we kept our daily routine of early morning gym and swimming in the upmarket swimming and spa complex. Adjacent to the resort was beach area and we hired a jet ski for a half hour ride in the corniche waters that was much fun. On Wednesday 24 April we caight the 14 hour flight back to Sydney arriving on Thursday 25 April at 6.30 am picked up from the airport by my eldest daughter Sakinah. Back to home sweet home after a memorable trip to Africa.

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Social Spotlights The Australian Dream

@AusDreamFilm

Charmaine Wilson @CharmaineWilson TheAustralianMedium All I can say is wow. We are caught behind the 20 semi loads of water and hay being donated by Muslim Aid Australia. Being delivered right now to our little town of Stanthorpe. What a mammoth effort. Thank you. We need all the help we can get. <3

Women with Disabilities Victoria @womenwith disabilitiesvictoria Congratulations Shakira Hussein, winner of the #BrendaGabeLeadershipAward! Shakira has written disability-related articles for Crikey and The Saturday Paper. Her Griffith Review article ‘Nine Elevenitis’ was selected for ‘The Best Australian Essays 2011’. Her essay on raising her daughter as a single mother while having MS for the book ‘Mothers and Others’ was republished in the Good Weekend Magazine. Shakira is a much sought after speaker and was recently invited to speak at the International Summer School on Disability and Law at the National University of Ireland.

Greenacre Public School @GreenacrePS Thank You UMA Greenacre Public School would like to thank and acknowledge the United Muslim’s Association ( UMA ) for their generous donation of $2000 to our school for the City Country Alliance Dinner. Their continued support and kindness in giving back to our school community is greatly appreciated. Words can not express how much this means to us all. Greenacre Public School Staff and Students

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Congratulations to our latest Islamic Chaplaincy Course graduates!! AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

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ISRA Australia

Osman Karolia The power of a generous community! Yesterday Unity Grammar hosted a barbecue picnic for the My Home Disability Services centre for those with special needs, their families and their carers to give some respite, bring some joy and share some food. It was a huge occasion only made possible by some big hearted people including The students of Unity Grammar, Chester Hill Halal Meats Abu Salim Allouche, Nado Zoabi, Moe Kabz, Bilal Ismail, Electrical Trades College RTO 45347, Mohammed Smiley Alameddine, Ahmad Sakar Abu Zayds. ALWAYS support those who support your community!

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Huge congratulations to the entire team as The Australian Dream has just won the award for Documentary Production of the Year at the 2019 Screen Producers Awards.

Asylum Seeker Resource Centre @Asylum.Seeker.Resource. Centre.ASRC “Just so you know, I’m going to be your Prime Minister. But before that, let me introduce myself. I’m Mohammad and I’m 16. For nearly half my life I have called Australia home, without knowing if I will be allowed to stay. Nine years ago, my family and I were forced to flee our country. We left everything behind in the middle of the night. When I started school in Australia I had a really hard time. I couldn’t read or write in English. Fortunately, my fifth grade teacher took it upon himself to teach me English. Studying and ‘being the smart kid’ became my identity, my way to be optimistic about my future. I am in grade eleven now and law is my favourite subject. My goal in life is to become the Prime Minister of Australia. The first thing that I will do as Prime Minister will be to recognise and celebrate Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander people meaningfully in the constitution. But wait, before that, I need to celebrate my family’s resilience. Just some days ago my mum called me in the middle of class. She was hysterical. Choking on tears she told me, ‘we got the visas’. I am so happy. This temporary residency means everything. Soon, I am going to have my name on an Australian passport. I feel like I am part of something, that I have an identity and that I am allowed to stay and feel like I belong. This is the welcoming Australia I want for everyone. Sign the pledge with me!” Mohammad >> http://bit.ly/2q68woq ISSUE 169 / DECEMBER 2019

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Sheikh Shady recognised in 2019 The Muslim 500 Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman.

AMUST Media The Muslim 500, published annually listing the World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims is a book that recognises Muslims whose influence has made a significant impact on the Muslim world. In their eleventh publication released in 2019 for the region of Oceania, they have recognised Ed Husic MP in the Political Section, Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman and Dr Anwar Ghani (NZ) in the Administration of Religious Affairs section, Sheikh Tawfique Chowdhury in the Social Issues section, Talal Yassine in the Business section and Sonny Bill Williams in the Celebrities & Sports section. In 2010, Mr Ed Husic became the first Muslim to be elected to the Australian Federal Parliament. When Kevin Rudd announced the Second Rudd Ministry in 2013, Husic was named as Parliament Secretary to the Prime Minister. Taking his oath on the Qur’an, Husic became the first Muslim sworn in to the Australian federal government frontbench. With his rise in political prominence came growing Islamophobic abuse directed toward him. In May 2019 he announced that he would step down from the Shadow cabinet. Imam Shady Alsuleiman is the president (second term) of the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC), which represents over 200 member Imams from each of the Australian States and Territories. It is also the body that elects the Mufti of Australia. Alsuleiman is an Australian born Imam who has strongly connected with the Muslim youth and helped integrate the Muslim community with wider Australian society. He’s an international speaker with many followers on social media. Dr Anwar Ghani has been President of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) for 12 years. He is now leading national and international relations of FIANZ. His work in leading FIANZ has been considerable, building bridges with the government, New Zealand’s population as a whole, and leaders of other faiths. He has been a strong advocate of community engagement for creating more connected societies. He was invited to be the first Muslim leader to be a patron of New Zealand Royal College of Police. Dr Ghani was awarded with the title of Member of New Zealand Order of Merit by the government of New Zealand. Sheikh Dr Tawfique Chowdhury is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Mercy Mission, one of the world’s fastest growing Muslim social enterprises. Its premier program is the AlKauthar Institute (alkauthar. org), which offers courses in Islamic disciDECEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 169

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plines to the general public through a medium that is accessible to working professionals. When AlKauthar initially launched in 2005, its offerings were limited to Australia. AlKauthar Institute has since spread its reach across the Western world, South Africa, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Malaysia. A medical doctor by profession, Tawfique studied Islamic theology in Medina, specializing in Islamic finance, personal law, and Islamic medical ethics. He also runs a successful multinational IT company, and is a corporate trainer and business coach to many successful people worldwide. Mr Talal Yassine has spent 20 years in business, politics, and charity work. He is the Founder and Managing Director of Crescent Wealth, the world’s first Sharia-compliant pension fund. Talal also serves as the Chairman of First Quay Capital and LandCorp Australia and serves on the Board of the Whitlam Institute Limited, a Prime Ministerial Board connected to the University of Western Sydney. He is a Director of Finocracy Ltd (USA) and the Responsible Finance Initiative (UK). His previous positions include a number of high-profile public-sector roles. Talal is a Professorial Fellow with the Crawford School at the Australian National University and an adjunct Prof with the Business School at the University of Western Sydney. Mr Sonny Williams is an international rugby player and former heavyweight boxing champion of New Zealand. Williams converted to Islam in 2008, and is the first Muslim to play for the legendary All Blacks. In 2013, he was judged the World’s Best Rugby League player at the annual RLIF Awards. He memorably gave away his World Cup winner’s gold medal to a young supporter just after the 2015 final. There are approximately 1.93 billion Muslims in the world today, making up 25% of the world’s population, or just under one-quarter of mankind. As well as being citizens of their respective countries, they also have a sense of belonging to the ‘ummah’, the worldwide Muslim community. The publication sets out to ascertain the influence some Muslims have on this community, or on behalf of the community. Influence is: any person who has the power (be it cultural, ideological, financial, political or otherwise) to make a change that will have a significant impact on the Muslim world. Note that the impact can be either positive or negative, depending on one’s point of view of course. The individuals are listed in each category according to geographical region (Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, North America, South America), then in alphabetical order by country and surname.

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The Future is Accessible Join us in celebrating the

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES With Speakers:

Hanan Dover Psychologist at PsychCentral

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Saturday 7 December | 5:30pm 206 Humphries Rd, Bonnyrigg, NSW

Everyone is welcome! Register: seena2.eventbrite.com seena.com.au | info@seena.com.au 40

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