AMUST
CENTREFOLD 12 - 13
LIFESTYLE 14 - 16
UMMAH 17 - 19
EDUCATION 20 - 21
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AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES
www.amust.com.au ISSUE # 171
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Multicultural News & Views
FEBRUARY 2020; JAMAADIYUL UKHRAA 1441
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Tribute to my living father: Dr Q A Ahmad
Australia’s loneliness epidemic
CENTREFOLD PAGES 12 - 13
LIFESTYLE PAGE 15
Muslims recognised with Order of Australia Zia Ahmad Five Muslims including Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad, Chief Adviser of AMUST have been honoured with the Order of Australia announced on Australia Day, Sunday 26 January 2020. Dr Ahmad, resident of NSW and a retired professor of engineering is a veteran Muslim leader who has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in recognition of his outstanding services to the Muslim community, and to interfaith relations. Professor Mohamad Abdalla, Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of South Australia and an Imam has been honoured as Member (AM) in the general division of Order of Australia for significant service to education in the field of Islamic studies. Ms Tasneem Chopra of Victoria currently Chair of the Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights has been recog-
Faiza El-Higzi OAM.
nised with the Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia for services to the community through a range of roles. Ms Faiza El-Higzi from Queensland, convenor of Professional Muslim Women’s Network has been recognised with the Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia for her service to the community through social welfare organisations. Mr Toufic Zreika, resident of NSW, lawyer, councillor and currently the Chairman of AusRelief has been awarded the Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia for service to the community, to local government, and to the law. Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad, 89, arrived in Australia from India in 1971 and determined then to make Australia home for him and his family. Since then he has contributed to the betterment of society engaging actively in community affairs by establishing organisations and institutions on local, state and
Prof Mohamad Abdalla AM.
Tasneem Chopra OAM.
federal levels to ensure Muslims have the opportunity and structures to be productive members of the Australian society. He was the founding President of peak Muslim body, Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) 1976, founder of Islamic Foundation for Education and Welfare (IFEW) 1983, established the first Eid festival in Australia, the Multicultural Eid Festival & Fair (MEFF) 1986 and Editor-in-Chief of the multilingual Australian Muslim Times in 1991. On being asked how he felt to be named as one of the OAM recipients this year, he said, “I feel very honoured but also glad that the tradition of recognising community leaders and volunteers is alive and well because they are the backbone of a cohesive society.” Read life and achievements of Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad OAM on Centrefold pages 12-13
Toufic Zreika OAM.
Police brutality and shootings Joint Muslim submission on by Hindutva extremists in Delhi Religious Discrimination Bill Widespread protests in India against antiMuslim legislation enter its third month
Gopal Sharma opened fire at Shaheen Bagh protesters while Delhi Police looked on. Zahid Jamil There have been three shootings under the watch of heavy police presence within the last few days, allegedly by Hindutva extremist at people protesting against anti-Muslims legislation at Shaheen Bagh near Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi. On Thursday 30 January, Gopal Sharma opened fire reportedly shouting “Yeh lo aazadi (here’s your freedom)... Delhi police zindabad... Hindustan zindabad” while po-
lice were photographed in the background with folded arms or hand in their pockets. A Kashmiri student at Jamia, Shadab from amongst the protesters was injured and taken to hospital where he is known to be in a stable condition. Ironically, 30 January marks the assassination anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi who was shot dead by a Hindu far right extremist in 1948. The Shaheen Bagh protesters were trying to march to the spot now called Gandhi Smriti but were stopped by police barricades. continued on page 17
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Mohamed Ainullah The Australian Muslim community has once again united to make a Joint Submission in January 2020 on the Second Exposure Draft of the Religious Discrimination Bill under consideration by the Australian federal parliament. More than 160 national and state based organisations in the Australian Muslim community are signatories to this submission (list given in Schedule 1 of the submission document). This submission puts forward proposals aimed at mitigating the chance of another terror event like those that befell Christchurch from occurring in Australia. On 2 October 2019, a submission by the Muslim community on the first exposure draft of the Religious Discrimination Bill 2019 (the Bill) was made. That submission: (a) Raised a concern about the increasing experience of anti-Muslim sentiment in the Australian Muslim community which extended to vilification and other endangering conduct on the grounds of a person’s religious identity and/or the manifestation of that person’s faith; (b) Noted the absence of adequate and consistent appropriate laws at the federal level
and also across the States and Territories to deal with the conduct of concern; and (c) Sought for a new civil remedy to be included in the Bill dealing with vilification. It is apparent that the second exposure draft of the Bill remains silent on the issue of vilification on the grounds of person’s religious belief or activity. continued to page 6
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ISSUE 171 / FEBRUARY 2020