Issue 210 - May-Eid 2023

ANZAC, AUKUS and Australia’s future

Ramia Sultan on Palestine Albanese celebrates with Muslims

UMMAH PAGE 26

Thousands attend Eid-ul-Fitr

Prayers at Lakemba Mosque

Friday morning 21 April saw the traditional Eid-ul-Fitr Prayers held at the Imam Ali Bin Abi Taleb Mosque at Lakemba in Sydney, marking the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.

An estimated crowd of almost 40,000 worshippers flocked to the historic masjid, which is facilitated by one of Australia’s oldest Islamic charitable organisation, the Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA).

For the first time since 2019, attendances at Eid Prayers weren’t impacted by COVID-19 health restrictions and community hesitancy associated with the pandemic.

And it was evident even prior to daybreak that a huge crowd was imminent this year, with the mosque and its recently refurbished underground area quickly filling to capacity, causing the congregation to spill over into the car park and onto nearby streets, walkways and pavements.

Worshippers utilised every available vantage point to pray including the length and width of Wangee Rd, as far as the eye could see.

The LMA welcomed a large contingent of politicians from the three tiers of government, who joined religious, business and other community leaders as official guests at the gathering on the first day of Eid.

The VIPs were hosted in style by the LMA board, with an intimate breakfast prior to Eid Prayers in the Association’s Grand Hall, which was superbly and tastefully decorated, with an Arabian theme.

Newly elected NSW Premier Chris Minns received a warm reception when introduced to the public during the traditional post-Eid Prayers speeches on the steps of Lakemba Mosque by the MC Gamel Kheir, LMA Secretary.

Flanked by many of his MPs including

Multicultural Eid Festival & Fair Souvenir Liftout

SOUVENIR PAGES 15 - 18

From teacher to Minister: Jihad Dib becomes NSW’s first Muslim Minister in landmark appointment

Ministers Sophie Cotsis, Steve Kamper and Jihad Dib, the Premier praised the LMA for the leadership it showed the Muslim community during the pandemic and subsequently.

“You’ve welcomed people into your homes, your mosques and your community centres,” he said.

“New South Wales is a strong and connected society….we come from different

backgrounds and cultures and faith traditions but together, we are richer for it.”

Mr Minns also pointed out that, “a new chapter has recently been written with the investiture of the first ever Muslim Cabinet Minister in New South Wales, Jihad Dib,” and that it was a “watershed moment” when the new Minister for Customer Service was sworn in, holding the Qur’an.” continued on page 3

Jihad Dib MP, newly elected from Bankstown and former NSW state member for Lakemba, was sworn in on Thursday 6 April 2023 as the Minister for Customer Service & Digital Government, Minister for Emergency Services, and Minister for Youth Justice in New South Wales.

NSW Premier Chris Minns made the announcement at the NSW government Premier’s Iftar in Parramatta on Monday night 3 April, which was met with thunderous applause from Muslim and interfaith community leaders.

Jihad Dib, who was born in Lebanon and migrated to Australia with his family when he was two years old, began his career as a teacher at Ulladulla High School. He was later the principal of Punchbowl Boys High School from 2007 to 2014, where he is acknowledged for changing a tough school into a respected community facility. continued on page 3

AMUST Media

Jihad Dib.

John Mahoney

NSW Premier Chris Minns at the Imam Ali Bin Abi Taleb Mosque at Lakemba in Sydney

Thousands attend Eid-ul-Fitr Prayers at Lakemba Mosque

Continued from page 1

“Jihad Dib may be the first Muslim Cabinet Minister in this state but he most certainly will not be the last,” Premier Minns concluded.

Federal government Ministers and local MPs Tony Burke and Jason Clare are both great friends of the LMA and have been regular attendees at Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations at Lakemba for many years. Mr Burke represented Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at this year’s blessed event.

The current Leader of the House and Employment Minister, Mr Burke thanked Muslims “for a month of fasting, a month of acts of charity and a month of prayer.”

“Twenty years ago when I first joined you here, there were media stories and constant attempts by some members of parliament to undermine our community….to view us as something less than what we are,” Mr Burke said.

“But that is now starting to turn. Finally, we are seeing positive news stories about Muslims in our community, (positive news stories) about the Lebanese Muslim Association, and we are seeing acts of generosity.”

“As I move around Australia, I am hearing people say, ‘oh, you live in Punchbowl…. you represent Lakemba, that must be an incredible place to live’!”

“And it’s our community which has led this turnaround and which is now an example to the rest of Australia that multicultural Australia – and communities led here in so many ways by Muslim Australia – represent the best of modern Australia.”

“I now sit in a Cabinet room that involves Ed Husic as a Muslim Minister in a federal

government and Anne Aly also as a Minister….and she grew up here in Lakemba.”

NSW Liberal MP Mark Coure complimented the LMA on working with the previous state government and acquiring an aged care centre in Bankstown which is being upgraded to benefit the elderly in our community.

He also acknowledged the Liberal member for Holsworthy Tina Ayyad, the NSW parliament’s first female Muslim member of the Lower House.

An LMA board member himself many years ago, Jihad Dib also received a warm welcome at the podium, commencing his address by stating, “May all your prayers, duas, fasting and acts of charity be accepted.”

Mr Dib also praised the way the Muslim community has opened up its hearts and its doors to everybody and added: “Modern, multicultural Australia is a place for everybody, where everybody has a part to play and where everybody’s role is just as important as everybody else’s.”

“I stand here incredibly proud to be the first Muslim MP (sworn in) holding the family’s Holy Qur’an and I did this to send a message that everybody belongs.”

“You belong no matter where you come from, no matter what your faith is, no matter what colour your skin is and no matter what language you speak.”

Commenting on the phenomenal crowd, Mr Dib told this writer later in the morning: “I’ve been attending Eid Prayers here since I was a kid and this would have to be the largest crowd I can ever remember.”

Open-air Taraweeh prayers in Lakemba: A historical moment

From teacher to Minister: Jihad Dib becomes NSW’s first Muslim Minister in landmark appointment

Conitnued from page 1

Jihad Dib is also recognised for his previous service on the Australia Day Council of New South Wales, the New South Wales Police Commissioner’s Advisory Panel, and the SBS Community Advisory Committee. He was awarded a Pride of Australia award in 2013.

In a historic moment, Jihad Dib was sworn in on the Holy Quran in front of NSW Governor Margaret Beazley, as he assumed the role of NSW’s Minister for Customer Service & Digital Government, Minister for Emergency Services, and Minister for Youth Justice.

Jihad Dib expressed his gratitude and honour in a Facebook post after being sworn in, saying, “It’s a big task, but I will do my absolute best to help make people’s lives better and to make a difference.”

He also highlighted the significance of his appointment as the first Minister of the Muslim faith in NSW, saying, “I hope this serves to inspire people that anything is possible no matter who you are, where you’re from, the colour of your skin, or the sound

of your name.”

Jihad further added, “Don’t let anyone put a ceiling on your success. Thank you all for your support and for being the shoulders I can stand on.” Jihad Dib’s appointment has been seen as a positive step towards greater representation and diversity in government.

AMAN wins right to hold Twitter to account over ‘hateful’ content

For open-air mass Taraweeh prayers for American Muslims, it was Times Square in New York. Its Australian equivalent was held in Haldon Street, Lakemba where thousands of men and women from all over Sydney gathered on Wednesday 19 April, for a historic night of prayer in conjunction with Lakemba markets Festival “Ramadan Nights”.

The unprecedented occasion was organised by the Canterbury Bankstown Council in partnership with Masjid As-Sunnah Lakemba for the 29th night of Ramadan. It was the largest Taraweeh prayer ever held in Australia.

“Peace be onto you, brothers and sisters. Dear guests, welcome to the heart of beautiful and peaceful Australia. Australia is Sydney and Sydney is Lakemba and Lakemba is Haldon St where we are all gathering tonight,” Sheikh Abdul Salam Zoud greeted the crowd.

The event took place on Haldon St, which is transformed into a month-long global food bazaar during Ramadan, welcoming tens of thousands of Muslims and non-Muslims.

The proceedings began with Isha prayer and were followed by Taraweeh prayers.

In the middle of the Taraweeh prayers, Sheikh Abu Bakr Zoud delivered a short talk about the meaning of Ramadan and fasting.

After Taraveeh prayers, Councillor Bilal El-Hayek delivered a short message saying, “Tonight, Alhumdullilah, this is history in the making.”

He spoke about how he convinced the Council to do hold this Taraveeh prayer saying, “We have to do this, this is what the community wants. We’re there as the voice of the people and by the will of Allah, we managed to deliver this to the community.”

The event was a huge success, and social media was flooded with positive comments.

“Jazak Allahu khayrun for all your efforts and the efforts of Sheikh Abu Bakr, council, and community. Definitely the most beautiful and heartwarming sight to see. We hope more of these nights are possible next Ramadan,” commented Eman Roumieh Sanoussi. Another Facebook user, Ahmad Darwiche, said, “This is Islam at its finest Hamdiallah and May Allah (SWT) guide us all.” Even non-Muslims were moved by the event, as Jakallini Tbath wrote, “I’m an atheist, but this looks like a hugely moving event.”

Twitter’s attempt to dismiss a complaint by the Australian Muslim Advocacy Network (AMAN) over hateful content on their platform has been rejected by the Queensland Human Rights Commission (QHRC).

AMAN had accused Twitter Australia and Twitter Inc of failing to act against accounts that incite hatred. AMAN lodged the complaint under Queensland’s Anti-Discrimination Act, alleging Twitter’s responsibility as a publisher of third-party accounts and its discrimination for refusing to act against hateful content.

In its complaint, AMAN cited as an example a far-right account that has been referred to in the manifesto of a white supremacist and mass murderer. The platform had repeatedly refused to delete the account or take down replies to its posts which refer to the Qur’an as “the terrorist handbook” and to Islam as “the most violent and sexually perverse cult”.

The complaint to the commission also contained 419 items, including 29 tweets which AMAN contends incited hatred and 390 comments and quotes on those tweets.

Twitter argued the complaint should be dismissed as it does not host, operate, or control the Twitter service – which is controlled by Twitter Inc., but the QHRC disagreed and referred the matter to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal for jurisdiction.

The QHRC did not agree with Twitter that the complaint was “misconceived or lacking in substance” and questioned Twitter’s claims that the state’s legislation does not apply to them. “A foreign person is not immune from [the] application of Queensland legislation in respect of things that occur in Queensland,” a QHRC officer said. “The service is available and operates within Queensland and as such, it is likely to be required [to] comply with Queensland legislation.”

AMAN said Twitter’s approach “contradicts” the position put forward by Twitter Inc’s chief executive, Elon Musk, at February’s world government summit in Dubai.

“Social media companies should adhere to the laws of countries, and not try to put a thumb on the scale beyond the laws of countries,” Musk said at the summit.

“I think that the general idea is to reflect the values of the people as opposed to imposing the values of, essentially San Francisco and Berkley, which are somewhat of a niche ideology as compared to the rest of the world.”

Community groups like AMAN have been forced to bring one legal action after another to assert their right to live free from discrimination.

This case will address the issue of social media companies’ liability for content published on their platforms and whether it is discriminatory for them not to uphold local standards.

Read the full article at the Guardian Australia.

Dr Mustafa Ally OAM

Jihad Dib (right) with NSW Governor Margaret Beazley.

Rubinah Ahmad

ANZAC, AUKUS and Australia’s future

Fadlullah Wilmot

As a young air force cadet in the 1950’s I stood at the war memorial in Burnie Tasmania with rifle reversed mourning the Australians who died in conflicts overseas. I still mourn those killed in wars every ANZAC Day.

At the war memorial, I wondered about the parents and brothers and sisters and children of those whose names were on the memorial.

I had learnt in school about Simpson and his horse and the mateship and courage of the Anzacs, but I was not aware of that the First World War had, in fact, deeply divided Australia and that the deaths at Gallipoli had galvanised a huge democratic rejection of conscription in which women played a leading role.

It seems that the events at Gallipoli – despite the even greater loss of life on the western front — is the event that Australia looks to for its national moment.

It says something that Simpson and his donkey has come to be seen as the embodiment of the Anzac spirit of selflessness, larrikinism, determination, mateship, humanism, courage, and improvisation.

Interestingly he camped with the 21st Kohat Indian Mountain Artillery Battery and given the nickname Simpson “Bahadur” –the “bravest of the brave”.

For almost 24 days Simpson operated through the impossible conditions and was credited with saving the lives of almost 300 wounded soldiers.

At some point there was discussion of making Anzac Day a day to strive for peace, but this idea was rejected. Likewise in the US Armistice Day became Veterans Day and a justification for the military machine.

In the 1960s people were criticising war culture on Anzac Day. But it was revived, and Australian politicians saw advantage in putting the 1915 Gallipoli landing at the heart of the Australian story — Billy Hughes, Bob Hawke, Kim Beazley, John Howard, Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott, Scott Morrison.

The one Prime Minister who didn’t was Paul Keating who did not share Hawke’s opinion that Gallipoli was the birthplace of Australian nationhood.

On his first Anzac Day as prime minister, Keating went to Kokoda, where he made a speech implying that the Second World War was more important for Australia than the First:

“The Australians who served here in Papua New Guinea fought and died … died in defence of Australia, and the civilisation and values which had grown up there. That is why it might be said that…the battles in Papua New Guinea were the most important ever fought.”

Anzac Day and Politicians

Upon his election as prime minister in 1996, Howard reinvigorated the Anzac commemorations merging the Anzac legend with his conservative, nationalist policy agenda.

25 April has now become one of the closest things Australia has to a sacred tradition. Even hinting at a criticism of our military heritage can get you into hot water – just ask Yassmin Abdel-Magied.

However, for Keating, “Gallipoli was shocking for us. Dragged into service by the imperial government in an ill-conceived and poorly executed campaign, we were cut to ribbons and dispatched. And none of it in the defence of Australia.”

These words put him into hot water with some but he was right – in fact this badly-managed imperial adventure resulted France and Britain dividing up the Middle East into new colonies over which they installed puppet rulers after signing oil deals.

The carving up of the Ottoman Empire’s Middle Eastern provinces is the main source of the instability in that region to this very day. Sadly Australia, Britain and the US are making the same mistakes that were made 100 years ago.

The landing on Gallipoli was an invasion of foreign soil like the British invasion of Aboriginal land in 1788, says John Lack of the University of Melbourne:

“And we should put the two coves together — Sydney Cove and Anzac Cove — because both invasions were just as bad as each other and cost a lot of lives.’’

Where is the memorial to all the indigenous people killed in the colonisation of Australia? Where is the conversation about how the aboriginal soldiers who fought in both world wars were not given their rights when they returned

A pertinent question on ANZAC Day might be to ask if it should be dominated by politicians and their speeches, or would it be better to use it to reflect on the pain of men, women and children who have suffered as a result of wars and conflicts?

Is it right for the dead of the battlefields of Gallipoli to be used by politicians to justify more military expenditure and more wars especially in areas where it is not in Australia’s national interests?

There was no compelling national interest for Australia to intervene in Vietnam, in Afghanistan or Iraq other than going along with America’s war machine which was also not in America’s national interests.

Anzac and the National Interest

Australia saw itself as part of and dependant on the British Empire until the emergence of the US as the world’s preeminent power.

John Curtin broke with the British to bring back Australian troops to defend Australia and the battles in New Guinea prevented a Japanese invasion of Australia.

Unfortunately, Australian has failed to develop an independent foreign policy designed to promote Australia’s national interest which is greater engagement, and eventual economic and strategic integration with the other countries in our region rather than their (and our) former colonial overlords on the far side of the world.

As Keating has put it, “the area that matters most to Australia, the area that should be our strategic habitat, is the Indonesian archipelago: 250 million people, in an arc across the northern reaches of Australia; a central part of ASEAN. But no; we’re not happy to be in the region. We’re still trying to find our security from Asia, rather than in Asia.”

Hence AUKUS.

For Keating AUKUS is symbolic of a more general cultural cringe, the assumption that Australia can only define itself in relation to London and Washington, rather than take pride in our own Indigenous history and geographic position.

What’s truly shocking about Australia is that its knowledge and understanding of its immediate neighbourhood is remarkably poor. Australia has no idea what a powerful partner ASEAN could be.

Many in Canberra, for example, celebrate Australia’s current closeness with Japan in

the Quad. Japan’s economy was eight times bigger than ASEAN’s in 2000. However, it’s now only 1.5 times bigger. By 2030, ASEAN’s economy will be bigger than Japan’s.

By working with AUKUS partners, such as the UK, or with Japan, Australia is betting on the past. It’s certain that the future will be different.

The time has come for Australia to make cold and rational calculations on how to adapt to this Asian century, which will bear no resemblance to the American century.

AUKUS is a walk back to the past, not the future.

Australia is more than ANZAC

Also are not Australia’s achievements more substantial than courage and mateship on the shores of Gallipoli?

It might be more important for us on ANZAC Day to remember that our democratic freedoms — freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of speech— were won in battles fought on home soil by courageous women and men who sacrificed much but are still accorded little recognition.

In the first decade of Federation, Australia established parliamentary democracy to serve a federation forged without the war and death that marked nationhood elsewhere.

Australia established women’s’ suffrage; legislated working conditions and minimum wages; built flourishing cities; developed a rapidly growing economy and legislated a social security safety net.

But there were discriminatory laws also like the white Australia policy and the mistreatment of the aborigines and the discrimination against the Afghans and the Chinese who had opened up Australia.

The freedoms and achievements of Australia are for ever under threat and need to be defended as they are under attack and have been weakened by the neo-conservative agenda, the security state, and the Murdoch press.

On ANZAC Day let us also remember those who went to prison for opposing the war and the veterans who returned and spoke out against war. Women were a powerful force.

For example, on August 11, 1914, veteran political campaigner Vida Goldstein as she had done 20 years earlier in mobilising forces around the issue of female suffrage, rallied her own army of foot soldiers with fighting words:

“The time has come for women to show that they, as givers of life, refuse to give their sons as material for slaughter.” She suffered imprisonment for her efforts.

The courageous premier of Queensland T J Ryan, spoke out against military censorship imposed by Billy Hughes on the issue of conscription.

Have we ever heard of Private Rayan? He saw a possibility of ending WWI early with round-table negotiations and a compromise peace, ending what seemed to be an unbreak-

able military stalemate.

Had peace come in this way, perhaps there would have been no Communism, no Fascism, no Nazism, no Great Depression, and no Second World War.

Private Ted Ryan from Broken Hill was one of many who rebelled against the war and urged a mediated settlement. He actually sent a letter to Britain’s famous anti-war politician, Ramsay MacDonald, urging him to keep pushing for peace.

Ryan denounced the war as the herding of men to a hideous ‘abattoir’ of industrialised killing! He blasted talk of fighting on to ‘the knock-out blow’. Eventually, Ryan’s revolt landed him in four courts martial. He even received a death sentence.

Were secret diplomatic deals prolonging the war? It is a valid question to ask if promising opportunities for peace were callously rebuffed. From what we know now about the squashing of peace initiatives, Ted Ryan’s instincts were dead right. The Great War was a protracted catastrophe, unnecessarily prolonged.

Lest we Forget

Let me conclude with the prescient words of Paul Keating on Anzac Day in New Guinea in 1992:

“We will continue to remind ourselves –“Lest We Forget”. Legends bind nations together. They define us to ourselves. But they should not stifle us. They should not constrain our growth or restrict us when we have to change. Anzac is a commemoration of the most universal human values. But it does not confer on us a duty to see that the world stands still. The Australians who went to two World Wars, or to Korea, Malaya, Vietnam, went to secure a place in the world for their country and its ideals. The world moves on. Our country must move with it.”

He mentioned a new memorial to the ANZAC legend near Parliament House, inscribed with the words: “Look around you –these are the things they believed in.”

“In the end,” said Keating, “they believed in Australia – in the democracy they had built, in the life they had made there, and the future they believed their country held. Not all generations are called on to risk and sacrifice their lives for their beliefs – but all generations need to believe. On this ANZAC Day it seems appropriate to remind ourselves of our responsibility to renew that faith and loyalty. There can be no better way, surely, to honour those who so gallantly fought and died here.”

Fadlullah Wilmot formerly served at universities in Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia but after the tsunami in Aceh became involved in the humanitarian and development sector. He has worked in Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Solomon Islands, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon, Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Post-analysis of Eid day determination: 1444 AH/2023 CE

There was almost a 50:50 split for the day of celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr ending the fasting month of Ramadan this year globally between various countries and within Australia itself.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Yemen, Bahrain, Egypt, Palestine, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, Jordan and Iraq celebrated Eid al-Fitr on Friday 21 April 2023 after the crescent for the month of Shawwal was sighted in Saudi Arabia on Thursday evening.

Turkey and its diaspora worldwide including countries located in the Western hemisphere including UK, Europe and the Americas also celebrated Eid on Friday.

On the other hand, Iran, Oman, Morocco, Libya and countries located in the Eastern hemisphere including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and New Zealand largely celebrated Eid on Saturday 22 April 2023.

Eid is celebrated on different days due to the differences in the methodology of determining the beginning of the lunar month which is based on the sighting of the crescent in the Islamic calendar.

There are three different methodologies in determining the Islamic dates followed by various Muslim-majority countries and their diaspora in Muslim Minority countries. As an example, we will analyse various scenarios for Ramadan/Eid-ul-Fitr 1444 AH/2023 CE.

1. Global Sighting or prediction of sighting

This methodology is based on the astronomically predicted sighting of the crescent anywhere in the world where that particular date is adopted as the beginning of the first day of the lunar month for the whole world.

Thus for this year the month of Ramadan was determined to be for 29 days starting Thursday 23 March and ending Thursday 20 April with Eid on Friday 21 April.

This scenario was followed by Turkey and its diaspora mosques spread in various countries including Australia.

2. Regional Sighting

This methodology is based on either astronomical prediction of sighting or waiting for the actual news of sighting of the crescent within a country or in neighbouring countries for determining the first day of the lunar month.

Thus for this year Ramadan was 30 days starting Thursday 23 March and ending Friday 21 April with Eid on Saturday 22

April. This predicted scenario was used by The Australian Fatwa Council Chairman and Mufti Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohamad backed by The Australian Imams Council (ANIC) and announcements were made well in advance for the beginning of Ramadan and the day of Eid. Most Arab and South East Asian Muslims usually follow this methodology.

Some individual scholars also used this scenario but waited for an actual sighting of the crescent within the country or the region before commencing fasting on Thursday and completed 30 days of Ramadan to celebrate Eid on Saturday.

3. Local Sighting

This methodology is based on either actual sighting of the crescent in your own country or in close neighbouring countries for determining the first day of the lunar month.

Thus for this year Ramadan for moonsighters was 29 days starting Friday 24 March and ending Friday 21 April with Eid on Saturday 22 April.

This methodology is consistently adopted by Moonsighting Australia and largely fol-

lowed by South Asian Muslims.

However, unusually there was a hybrid scenario followed in Australia this year where Ramadan fasting was announced by Lakemba Mosque authorities from Thursday 23 March while Eid was announced well in advance to be celebrated on Friday 21 April.

AFIC and its Dar Al-Ifta Mufti Sheikh Abdul Quddoos Al Azhahi backed by Dar-ul-Fatwa of Lebanon also announced the day of Eid to be on Friday 21 April, a few days in advance.

Various methodologies of the determination of Islamic dates need to be considered as sincere efforts and the differences should be tolerated.

However efforts should be made to develop consensus in adopting a reliable calendar to avoid social and administrative chaos and confusion specially at the time of enjoying Eid celebrations.

This is indeed a challenge to find a workable solution for the Ummah at large.

Zia Ahmad is the Editor-in-Chief of the Australasian Muslim Times AMUST and is based in Sydney.

Readers comments

Re: Kemal Omar remains a pillar of strength on the BIC construction project

I am not a Muslim but this article came to me at just the right moment. A few things have happened to my family, my friends and myself recently which spiralled me down emotionally. I am feeling uplifted now and Kemal Omar’s story is an inspiration. Thank you to the author.

Anne Somerville

Re: Crossover Stories: Showcasing contemporary issues through play

That’s a fair representation of the purpose of theatre. Glad Crossover Stories was able to serve the craft of performance art.

Taufeeq Ahmed Sheikh

Re: Israeli raids in Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan: The yearly pattern continues

Israel will continue to break any International norms because they can. America, the West and Arab leaders will just voice their platitudes, condemning their brutality. Perhaps actual meaningful sanctions impose very quickly on countries other than Israel be done to Israel for once.

News

- Eid Prayers at Lakemba Mosque - Taraweeh Prayer at Haldon St

Boomerang

- ANZAC, AUKUS & Australia’s future

- Post-analysis of Eid day - Islamophobia: Emotional violence

Community

- Albanese attends ANIC iftar

- NSW Parliamentary Iftar

- Ramadan Nights

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MEFF Souvenir 15 - 18

- Map + Stall Directory - Showground Program

Australia 19 - 21

- Mother’s Day gifts for food lovers

- A date with Australian Muslim stories

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22 - 25

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- Faith is intrinsic to life

- Letters from Palestine: Consolation

Ummah

- Ramia Sultan on Palestine

- OIC failure on Palestine

Education

Social

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29 - 30

- Islamic Observatory Institution

- HAA: Schools’ Ramadan Iftars 2023

- Eid around Australia - Memes

Disclaimer

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Sudan: Is the World’s Food Basket eating itself as it edges towards civil war?

Arwa Elshaib

In pre-emptive strikes, Sudan’s China-backed Al-Burhan led Military Dictatorship derails the march to democracy by waging war on Saudi-UAE backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leaving Sudan’s civilian population in fear for their lives during the last week of the holy month of Ramadan.

The resource rich nation remains one of the poorest in Africa with up to 18 million people facing acute food shortages according to a “World Food Program” Report released in March 2022.

On 5 December 2022, opposing Sudanese factions signed a Framework Agreement for the transition of Sudan from military to civilian rule, it would seem that the first phase of the transition has led to ambushes and murders that have so far left 100 dead and many more wounded.

Tragically, among the dead were also World Food Program (WFP) workers who were there to help feed the third of the population who are suffering from hunger.

Their killing led to the halting of WFP work in Sudan, of course this will be followed by the looting of their stores and without doubt the deprivation of those in need.

I write this as Sudan teeters towards a civil war and I receive news of my extended family being devastated by the murder of 9 young men and the wounding of more than ten others, most ambushed, most in their

twenties.

Their lives snatched from their families leaving behind grieving parents, widows and orphans. I have lost uncles, cousins and more relatives in earlier attacks by the military against the RSF.

Civil wars are especially ugly in the way they divide a nation

Wars are ugly, they devastate and leave behind much loss of lives and destruction of livelihoods, crops and infrastructure. They lead to starvation, malnutrition, deaths, ignorance and massive displacement of people.

Civil wars are even more ugly, because they pit citizens of the same nation, people with the same hopes and aspirations, against each other.

They all become tools used by those who

encourage and fund, and thereby control, the varying factions. The pawns fight and kill each other in the name of defending the nation and will continue until the foreign war-profiteers (and warlords) realise their goals.

Watching from Australia, I want to act away from politics, I want to speak in the name of the daughters who like me have lost their father, or in the name of all those who have lost or will lose a loved one if this war does not end.

I empathise with these children as I lost my father, but I live in peace knowing that he was taken peacefully and not shot in the head or hit by a missile like many of my uncles and cousins.

I live in a country that became my backbone when I lost mine, this is a far cry from the situation in Sudan when families lose

their only hope in life, a country with no discernible welfare system, a country where one third of the population are suffering food shortages.

I write this article and I pray to Allah, on this Holy Night of Qadr to bring peace to Sudan and to our world, to help all people in all conflicts find a path to peace and harmonious coexistence.

Please let this article to be an open letter to the Honourable Prime Minister of Australia, the Honourable Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Honourable Secretary General of the United Nations, please do what you can to save the people of Sudan.

Arwa Elshaib is a year 12 student of Sudanese parents, she is also a member of the Australian Sudanese Welfare Association.

An aerial view shows black smoke rising above the Khartoum International Airport in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 20, 2023.

Should climate change and associated racism worry Muslims?

Bilal Cleland

If there is one concept which should have sunk into the minds of the Muslim Ummah in the present situation the world finds itself in, it is that of khalifatullah, vicegerency of Allah on Earth.

That is the responsibility given to humanity at creation.

It has great significance for us today with the build up of glasshouse gases as a result of the industrial revolution and universal reliance on air-polluting fossil fuels, which threaten us with huge changes in rainfall patterns, droughts, floods, rising sea levels and rising heat.

Australia has already witnessed its first climate change refugees in the raging bushfire of 2020, flood refugees in Lismore NSW and reports of inland temperatures so high that continued occupation of some areas has come into question.

On 10 April 2023 the ABC reported on the rising sea levels in Fiji, leading to the moving of many villages away from the coast.

The Pacific Islands which Australia claims as its “family” are beginning to be overtaken by rising waters and the salination of farmland.

The new federal government under PM Albanese realises the significance of climate change, winning support from all, including Independents, except from the extremists.

Former head of the ADF, Admiral Barrie, warned that climate change would have devastating effects upon trade, bring more severe drought, and increase demands for emergency services and the military.

In June 2022 the government commissioned the most senior intelligence executive in the country to undertake a study of the national security implications of climate change.

This was delivered at the end of 2022 but has not yet been published as yet. Barrie has called upon the Prime Minister to open it up to the people.

That classified intelligence was used in its production is the excuse for its secrecy but

that is not enough reason to hide it. [ Guardian, 5 Apr 2023]

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report of 2023 states that greenhouse gas emissions must be halted if we are to slow down global warming.

It reads: “C.1 Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health (very high confidence). There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all (very high confidence).”

The Morrison government’s shocking reaction to the floods and bushfires of 2020 was noted across the world for its incompetence.

The New York Times in an article entitled “Australia is Committing Climate Suicide,” wrote of the destruction of the Barrier Reef, our kelp forests, our water shortages and our stupendous bushfires, commenting:

“And yet, incredibly, the response of Australia’s leaders to this unprecedented national crisis has been not to defend their country but to defend the fossil fuel industry, a big donor to both major parties — as if they were willing the country to its doom.”

[NYT, 3 January 2020]

Although the new Labor government, with pressure from the Greens and Independents, has passed the Safeguard, controlling domestic emissions from both old and new coal and gas projects, it will allow some new projects and it continues our role

They Call Her ‘Catturia Woman’

Floods and silt caused the massive fish kill at Menindee

Fazlul Huq

They call her the catturia woman who moves in the garden and the orchard with the pair of scissors and electric trimmer.

as the world’s third major exporter of fossil fuels.

What we are witnessing is what Katherine Murphy described as “swimming between the flags” in her Quarterly Essay “Lone Wolf.”

The Labor Party, shocked by its defeat under Shorten at the last federal election, deliberately did not rock the boat with major reform offerings in 2022, allowing the Morrison government to destroy itself in a welter of questionable projects.

David Shearman in “Swimming between the flags” on climate policy threatens our future,” argues that although governments funded by the powerful fossil fuel lobby may have got the IPCC Report watered down, they must understand the effects of what they are doing on the planet. [John Menadue, 4 April 2023]

Even so, he suggests, they may be afraid to act as they could lose elections in those democracies with corrupted media or in the authoritarian states where powerful interest groups could destroy them.

It is the economic South, the Third World, the Pacific Islands which are already suffering from climate change, and it has started to affect Australia.

It is the Indigenous peoples of South America, North America, Australia and also the Pacific who are resisting most stringently the exploitation of their resources and the destruction of their lands.

So you witness her to frequently shape the may bush and the golden shrubs, mango tree and the mulberry, guava and the dwarf apple, geranium and the lychee, iceberg rose and pomegranate, agapanthus and hydrangeas, passion fruit vine and the nashi pear. But nothing bothered him as much as it did when she chopped the head of one the new plants on the window seal in his absence.

Dr Fazlul Huq is a retired academic and Editor-in-Chief Emanreserch Journal Of Angiotherapy. He is also the poet “Jujube” at Allpoetry. com with over 35,000 compositions.

Perhaps that is why the fossil fuel lobby fears the success of the referendum for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament and why rightwing politicians make jokes about the flooding seas in the Pacific.

Such considerations mean that those who have the awareness of the concept of khalifatullah have a lot of work to do in the years ahead.

The welfare of coming generations is at stake.

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

Islamophobia as a form of emotional violence

Assoc Prof Derya Iner car parks (11%) and schools or universities (11%).

Emotional violence is a form of abuse to control, isolate or frighten individuals. A common misbelief is that physical violence causes more serious and long-term harm than emotional violence.

In fact, the imprints of emotional abuse are similarly real and long-lasting.

The fourth Islamophobia in Australia report which analysed 930 incidents reported to the Islamophobia Register Australia in 2014-2021, found that verbal abuse hurts as much as physical abuse.

The research conducted by the Islamophobia Register Australia, Charles Sturt University and Islamic Science and Research Academy (ISRA), reveals that of the 515 incidents occurred in real life circumstance, 62% were in the form of verbal threats and intimidation in contrast to 23% physical attacks and 15% property damage. The ratio of those expressing a long-term impact was similar both for verbal (24%) and physical (25%) abuse.

Inaction by surrounding people aggravated the emotional impact on victims. For instance, the most common hotspots were shopping centres (20%), construction sites and streets (14%), public transport (11%),

Most of these hotspots were surrounded by the members of the public. Nevertheless, almost three quarters (72%) of those cases involved only the perpetrator and victim in the absence of bystander intervention. Bystander inaction caused disappointment. A woman walking with her three sons (12, 9 and 6) in her neighbourhood was verbally harassed, laughed and filmed by group of five teen girls while no one from the surrounding people took any action. The impact was expressed by the victim as “exhausting, it’s traumatising, it’s compounded trauma, a thousand tiny cuts among the larger gashes…” (case)

Likewise, a young hijabi woman, who was verbally abused in a shopping centre during lunch time, when the crowd peaked, was surprised and disappointed to see that no one took any action. Feeling insecure in the crowd, the young woman decided to “avoid being alone or hesitant about travel to local [holiday] towns with [where] no diversity [was] present.” (Case 79-21)

Avoidance behaviour, pretending that nothing happened by ignoring and passing by the perpetrator, further aggravated the emotional impact. Avoidance behaviour was prevalent in two thirds (66%) of the physical cases. It was mainly a coping mechanism for women to avoid the escalation of the perpetrator’s hate and harassment, especially in the presence of young children.

Yet, the impact was deeper since 81% of those showing avoidance behaviour also expressed an emotional impact (in contrast to those who felt no emotion and did not show any avoidance behaviours 65%). The most commonly felt emotional impact by those showing avoidance behaviour was fear and fright followed by humiliation and disappointment.

The statistics and examples derived from the reported cases of Islamophobia inform the public and policy makers about the harm caused by Islamophobia and urge everyone to combat Islamophobia in their respective areas to protect the wellbeing of the public and contributed to the public health.

It is essential to report Islamophobia incidents to the Islamophobia Register Australia to minimise harm and contribute to the wellbeing of the Muslim community. The Register collects Islamophobia incidents belonged to 2022 and 2023. Those cases are essential to raise awareness and combat Islamophobia through the Islamophobia in Australia reports and the Register’s advocacy work.

Furthermore, it is essential for the victims of Islamophobia to feel supported. The Register provides victim support services to minimise harm and pursue legal paths to cope with Islamophobia both psychologically and legally.

Derya Iner is Associate Professor at CIS-

AC, CSU, deputy chair at the Islamophobia Register Australia, and volunteer at ISRA. Iner is the chief investigator and author of the Islamophobia in Australia Reports I-IV (2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023).

Genuine hospitality on Eid day

James/Yaqub Phillips

Now, this isn’t going to be the type of article that rears its’ head twice a year and outlines some of the experiences that fellow reverts have on Eid ul-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha.

Most people have read enough of those articles to understand some of the experiences; from leaving Eid prayer and sitting in a shopping centre food court alone or even worse having to dodge conversations to even attend the Eid salah. Instead, this is a challenge and call to action!

Most of us leave the Eid salah at the closest masjid or Eidgah and go to family members’ houses for a post-salah breakfast; followed by a litany of open houses until we get to 4-5pm and decide that we need to go home and sleep all the biryani off.

It’s a routine that most of us know and enjoy however despite all of the houses, the

concept of hospitality seems to be lacking!

Hospitality is one of the key concepts demonstrated by Prophet Muhammad (s) and as we follow his life and example we

should open our hearts and homes to people. This was indeed demonstrated by him.

“A man prepared some food, especially for the Prophet (s), and he also invited four

other persons with him. However, an extra person who had not been invited also joined them. On arriving at the door of the host’s house, the Prophet (s) said to the host, “This man has accompanied us. If you like, he will join us; otherwise, he will go back.” The host replied, “O Messenger of Allah, I invite him” (Hadith: Bokhari).

The challenge you might be wondering is to firstly talk to someone at the Eid prayer that you have never seen before or want to get to know better, strangers, reverts, loners. The second part of the challenge is to invite them to spend a part of Eid with you; whether or not they already have plans.

Don’t let the post-salah conversations be empty words but instead a genuine way of connecting with our Ummah and demonstrating the Prophetic example of hospitality.

May Allah bless you and your families on Eid al-Fitr!

James/Yaqub is a high school teacher in music and history and is based in Cairns, Far North QLD.

Refuting Atheism 2: Evidence for God’s existence from Prophet Muhammad’s life

Dr Daud Batchelor

Cosmologist-atheist Stephen Hawking believed it implausible for God to exist and have a personal relationship with humans. Abrahamic religions counter that God as Mercy for His creation, sent Messengers as exemplars and glad tider-warners bearing scriptural guidance on how believers could succeed by conducting a pious life and worshipping The Almighty.

This article focusses on proofs for God’s existence from the Seerah (Life) of Prophet Muhammad (s). Next edition will present evidences about the Qur’an that it is indeed God’s Revelation.

Said Nursi, wrote that after the Qur’an, the greatest miracle was Muhammad’s (s) own sublime character.

Indeed, I authored “Muhammad (s) The Ultimate Leader: From Western Business Perspectives” to convince any skeptical Westerners that he was the world’s ultimate leader, using leadership criteria of western business, demonstrating Muhammad (s) excelled in all these and to the maximum extent.

I challenge atheists to read my book and conclude he was anything but a noble Prophet of God.

As God-instructed, he is also the ultimate change manager ever, with the enduring individual/societal changes he brought upon idol-worshipping tribal Arabs, such that within a few centuries Islam spread to become the way of life for one-quarter of humanity.

Guided by an All-Seeing God, Muhammad (s) could foretell certain future events. Only a few examples are provided here, validated by authentic Hadiths.

Hadiths refer to reports of acts, utterances, silent approvals of Muhammad (s). These are mostly recorded in six main collections; Bukhari and Muslim are the most trustworthy. An ingenious methodology was developed by classical scholars to evaluate authenticity of hadith from their transmission chains.

Mongol invasion:

Almost 600 years after Prophet’s death, Mongols invaded Muslim lands and in 1258 CE ransacked Baghdad. Mongols had flat noses, small eyes, and fur covers over their boots.

This was foretold by Muhammad (s):

“The Hour (Judgement Day) will not be established till you fight the Khudh and Kirman from among the non-Arabs. They will have red faces, flat noses, small eyes; their faces will look like shields, and their shoes will be of hair.” (Hadith: Muslim)

Competing constructing tall buildings: Hadiths record that Muhammad (s) when asked about signs of the ‘Last Hour’ said: “You’ll see barefoot, naked, destitute herders competing in constructing tall buildings.” (Hadith: Muslim/Bukhari)

Scholars Ibn Hajar and Imam Nawawi centuries ago identified these to be Arab Bedouins.

It describes specifically people who became rich suddenly. We see this in the Gulf States. People who 80 years earlier had barely means of existence, after rapid oil boom developments, now compete in erecting the tallest buildings.

Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the world’s tallest at 828 metres. Saudi royal family shortly afterwards announced it would build taller, and Kuwait this month announced it will dethrone Burj Khalifa with Burj Mubarak (1,000 metres).

These developments reflect Prophet’s prophecy accurately.

Great victories:

Seerah records that while digging the trench outside Madinah preceding the Battle of Khandaq, a hard unbreakable rock was met.

The Prophet (s) took a pickaxe and entered the trench. He struck hard at the stone which emitted a spark. The Prophet raised the cry “God is the Greatest” and remarked “I have been given the keys of Syria. With my own eyes I see the red palaces of the land.”

He struck another blow; the stone was split and another spark emitted. He again cried out “God is the Greatest” and observed: “I’ve been given the keys of Persia. By God! I see the white palaces of Mada’in.”

The third attempt broke the stone into pieces and the Prophet announced he would be given the keys of Yemen.

“By God! I’ve been shown the gates of Sana’a.” [Ibn Hajar]

Siddiqui remarked: “history bears out the fact that the prophecies of the Prophet came true in all de-

tails and these kingdoms … fell like a pack of cards before the rising tide of Muslim power.”

In an authentic narration, Muhammad (s) informed his Companions what was happening in the Battle of Mu’ta near Damascus as if he was seeing it directly: “Zayd has taken the banner and been struck [killed]; now Ibn Rawaha has taken the banner and been struck; now Ja’far has taken the banner and been struck; now one of God’s swords [Khalid ibn Walid] has taken it.”

After three weeks riding, Ya’la ibn Munabbih returned from the battlefront. Muhammad (s) then described to him the battle details; Ya’la swore the battle was exactly as Prophet described.

God has set natural (scientific) laws that constrain human interactions in His created universe, especially as a compassion for humanity to facilitate conducting their daily affairs with confidence, and being able to harness these laws in developing technologies for human comfort. God, being Omnipotent, is not however, constrained by His laws.

To demonstrate His power, He may facilitate miraculous acts by His prophets (eg Abraham unharmed in the furnace) that contravene natural laws.

Water miraculously increasing:

Jabir b Abd Allah al-Ansari said: “We [companions] were thirsty during the Hudaybiyya Campaign.

The Messenger (s) performed ablutions from a leather water-bag, then dipped his hand into it. Then I saw water flowing from his fingers like a spring. 1500 men drank from it and filled their water-bags.” (Hadith: Bukhari/Muslim)

Making Food Abundant

Authentic hadith relate that during the feast on occasion of Prophet’s marriage to Zaynab, Umm Sulaym prepared a dish by frying two handfuls of dates and sent it with Anas to the Prophet.

Prophet told him: “Go and invite soand-so and whomever you encounter.”

Anas invited all those he met. About 300 Companions came

Then the Prophet said, “Make circles of ten.” He placed his hand on that little amount of food, uttered supplications,

and told them to help themselves. They all ate and were fully satisfied.” (HadithBukhari/Muslim)

Protection of the Prophet (s):

God revealed: “Allah will defend you (O Messenger!) from men.” (Quran 5:67)

Hadiths/Seerah report that Quraysh made an agreement in Makkah to kill Muhammad (s). One member of every branch of the Quraysh tribe was represented forming a large group under Abu Jahal/Abu Lahab’s leadership to kill him. They then attacked Prophet’s house.

The Messenger waited till the Quraysh completely surrounded his house, then he went out throwing a handful of earth at their heads. Miraculously, no one saw him as he passed through and escaped. (Hadith: Musnad/al-Haythami)

The Prophet (s) organized 64 military campaigns, leading 26 of them. He led the Muslim armies to victory.

Ali recounted, “Whenever the fighting grew fierce, we would take refuge behind God’s Messenger.”

Muhammad’s forces always faced alarming odds – their enemies outnumbered them typically 3-to-1. This demonstrates the faith the Companions had in God’s promise that He would make them victorious: If there are 100 patient ones of you, they shall overcome 200 … by God’s permission. (Quran 8:66) This all came to pass, yet the Prophet himself died peacefully at home.

The first battle faced after Prophet’s (s) migration to Madinah was at Badr.

The poorly-equipped force of 313 Muslims faced a mounted enemy of 1000 Quraish. It wasn’t expected moral strength of the Muslims alone could overcome such disparity.

God, however, provided miraculous assistance: Remember you implored the assistance of your Lord, and He answered you: “I will assist you with a thousand angels in ranks.” (Quran 8:9) Only because of this divine support, the Muslims were victorious.

Evidence provided from reliable sources demonstrates clearly the existence of an Omnipotent God who favoured His Prophet (s)with divine support, the ability to glimpse future/distant events, and to perform wonderful miracles, including restoring sight and healing the sick.

Dr Daud Batchelor, holds an MA in Islamic and Other Civilisations and a Diploma in Islamic Studies from the International Islamic University Malaysia, PhD from University of Malaya, MSc from the University of London.

Burj Mubarak, Kuwait (1km high) planned to eclipse Burj Khalifa, UAE

Albanese celebrates diversity with Muslim community at National Iftar in Sydney

Jane Jeffes

Understand, connect, relate: this was the theme on Wednesday April 5 when the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) and the Alliance of Australian Muslims hosted almost 600 guests at the 2nd National Muslim Community Iftar on behalf of the Muslim community.

Held at the Waterview on the edges of Sydney’s Olympic Park, it was an impressive gathering with the Prime Minister Mr Anthony Albanese, the Governor of NSW Mrs Margaret Beazley and the newly elected Premier of NSW, Mr Chris Minns prioritising the evening in their diaries.

Other distinguished guests included Muslim federal ministers Dr Anne Aly and Mr Ed Husic amongst numerous federal ministers and MPs, plus 20 members of the new NSW state parliament including five ministers who had been sworn in earlier that afternoon: Minister Jihad Dib MP on the Quran, and Treasurer Daniel Mookhey MLC on the Bhagavad Gita becoming the first ever Muslim and Hindu ministers in state parliament.

Other guests included Mayors and Councillors; the Australian Federal Police, Assistant Commissioners and officers; NSW Police, Deputy Commissioner, Assistant Commissioners and officers; Australian Defence Force officers; the Race Discrimination Commissioner; Federal and State Government departments, agencies and bureaucrats; ambassadors, consular generals and diplomats representing various countries from around the world; media; academics; entrepreneurs; faith leaders, representing many faiths in this country; and imams, shaykhs, Muslim community leaders and representatives of Muslim organisations who had travelled from all states and territories.

MC-ed superbly by Bilal Rauf, it was an evening marked by warmth, good humour and inclusivity in the context of which some serious issues were raised, comfortable in the knowledge that dialogue and understanding are established and flourishing.

In his welcome, the President of ANIC Imam Shadi Alsuleiman reflected on Australia’s status as the most multicultural and most multifaith country in the world, and called the event “A night of unity, diversity and great hope for a great future in this great country… a night of celebrating the rich and profound multicultural and multifaith Australia that we live in…. a night for the big Australian family.”

Noting that the event had emerged from the “ongoing resilience of the Muslim community” in the face of the many challenges it has faced, he said with quiet pride that “Defying all odds, the Australian Muslim community stayed resilient, persistent, and robust and continued to contribute to the growth and prosperity of the Muslim Community, Australia and the Australian people. As a result of this, we have learned how to work together constructively and productively, and how to work with others.

“It is a good time,” he told assembled guests, “to engage with the Muslim community and the non-Muslim community, to celebrate our diversity, our respect and our connection, regardless of our faith, culture or ethnicity.”

It was a perfect headline for the evening in which the Prime Minister went off his prepared script to say that “We (Australia) can be a light on the hill for the rest of the world to show diversity is a great strength. That’s my mission. I am proud to lead a government that includes Australia’s first Muslim ministers and represents and celebrates the diversity of beliefs and experiences of modern Australia.”

“Events like this one,” he said, ”remind us of the value of coming together and taking time

to reflect on both the sacrifices in our histories and the possibilities of our shared future. Our world is so fast-paced but tonight, reminds us of the importance of sharing food, sharing experiences, and spending time with each other – and how this strengthens and nourishes our bonds as people and as a community.”

It was also an occasion to hold political leaders to their commitments.

In front of an attentive and respectful audience, Imam Shadi, MC and ANIC spokesperson Bilal Rauf and ANIC Community Relations adviser Sr Ramia Sultan reminded both federal and state leaders of their promises to re-visit discrimination and vilification laws to provide safety and protection on the basis of faith, in particular to women.

Imam Shadi said he spoke “not only on behalf of the Muslim community but the many major faiths and leaders who join us tonight.. (of) a need for religious freedom and anti-discrimination laws to be introduced and enacted on federal and state levels.”

Newly elected NSW Premier Minns was reminded warmly by both Imam Shadi and Bilal Rauf of his commitment to review and amend the Anti-Discrimination Act within 100 days of taking office, with the clock ticking: “Premier there is 89 days left!” was the refrain.

The Minns government was thanked for committing to establish a NSW Faith Affairs Council to provide a formal channel of feedback from faith organisations to the NSW Government, and the Albanese Government was urged to establish a similar body to connect faith communities to the leaders of the country so they could ‘be on a similar page for the greater good of the Australian people and people of faith.’

The Australian Muslim community was acknowledged by the Prime Minister for its role in Australian history with strong links, trade, marriage and cross fertilisation between Aboriginal people, the Yolngu Clan from North East Arnhem Land and Macassan Muslim traders predating the arrival of the British on the continent.

MC Bilal Rauf added to this the significant cultural and economic contributions to Australian society made by cameleers from Afghanistan and Pakistan between 1860-and the 1930s. Pioneers of inland Australia, opening lines of supply, transport and communication between isolated settlements, they made the development of the Australian interior possible yet their contribution has never really been recognised.

Premier Minns acknowledged the cameleers’ forgotten role with Burke and Wills and mutual agreement seemed to emerge that more should be done to share the rich history of Muslims’ contributions to Australia, past, present and future; and that demonstrating how these contributions are interwoven with the nation’s history would increase community pride and a more widespread appreciation of the place of the Muslim community

in Australia.

A sneak preview of ‘Before 1770’, a film produced by Sheikh Wesam Charkawi and Fadl Harris, exploring the cross fertilisation between the Yolngu Clan and Macassan Muslim traders was shown with Sheikh Charkawi announcing that the film would open in cinemas across Australia in August with screenings also planned in the US and UK and on one of the big streaming platforms.

Theological context for the evening was provided by the Grand Mufti of Australia, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohamad, whose address really should be read in full. Speaking poetically in his native tongue of Arabic, the language of the Quran, Dr Ibrahim provided a Muslim

perspective on diversity, inclusion and social responsibility, saying.

“Islam views the world as a forum for civilizations and multicultural backgrounds to co-exist in peace. A safe haven where love and tolerance is spread, and in which its inhabitants enjoy freedom and security.”

The English translation was delivered by Sister Mona Abdulraheem

The speeches were rounded off by Khalil Shahin AO to a still attentive audience. Just one of many Australian Muslim success stories, Mr Shahin was awarded Officer of the Order of Australia in 2017 for services to business and philanthropy. Managing Director of Peregrine Corporation, he was born in Beirut where his father ran a refugee camp before moving to Australia in 1984 to escape Lebanon’s civil war. Unable to find a job, Mr Shahin Snr. bought a petrol station in suburban Adelaide, and that petrol station became the cornerstone of a business empire which became the 7th largest private company in Australia, and the largest private company and largest employer in South Australia. Mr Shahin spoke of how “there is nothing contentious in saying I am a proud Muslim, and a proud Australian. The list of achieving Muslim families and individuals is endless and we’re good Aussies because of our beliefs, because of our faith.”

Just one of many Australian Muslim success stories, Mr Shahin provided a perfect finish to an evening characterised by professionalism, style and substance, many great examples of ‘understand, connect, relate’ and much hope for the future.

Jane Jeffes is the founder and producer of ‘Recipes for Ramadan – After the First Date’, a virtual iftar project in which AMUST is the community media partner.

PM Anthony Albanese flanked by Imam Shadi Alsuleiman on his left and on his right Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed with Mr Ed Husic and Dr Anne Aly at the 2nd National Muslim Community Iftar 2023 in Sydney.

The Ramadan Nights Mitigating Islamophobia through multiculturalism

AMUST Media

Sydney’s Ramadan Nights Festival in Lakemba continues again this year to showcase Ramadan atmosphere in Australia with more than 150 stalls displaying a variety of delicious foods from multicultural cuisines during the entire fasting month of Ramadan attracting crowds of almost one million people from all backgrounds and faiths.

The founder and head of the Ramadan Nights Festival, Canterbury Bankstown Councilor Khodr Saleh, believes that this year’s festival in 2023 was distinguished by

the large turnout of visitors from across various Australian states. He expects more than one and a half million people to attend it this year.

“The idea of establishing the event began 14 years ago in 2009 when I held the position of deputy mayor of Canterbury Council. The main motivation for the idea was to respond to the Islamophobia at the time, which was focusing on the Lakemba area in Sydney, which is inhabited by a large proportion of Muslims of mainly Arab origin. It was described as an area housing extremism, violence and terrorism where the main Haldon Street in Lakemba during the nights of Ramadan seemed almost empty, except for

regular Police patrols and a few people”, Mr Saleh recalled.

The festival began as a humble and joint project in cooperation between the Council and the Chamber of Commerce in Lakemba, with a budget not exceeding $20,000 and attended by a few hundred people. Today the festival’s budget exceeds more than one million dollars, and attracts more than a million people.

Throughout the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, it has turned into one of the largest Ramadan activities in Australia, and its news is covered by media outlets from Australia and across the world.

“This festival is characterised by the presence of official Australian political figures and members of diplomatic missions. It includes the presence of different cuisines, including Lebanese, Syrian, Bangladeshi, Indian, and other cuisines, and camel meat hamburger, which is one of its most popular attractions. In addition, there are many sweets and juices, including the famous Nabulsi and Jerusalemite Kunafa,” Mr Saleh added. Haldon Street in Lakemba is generally

crowded from sunset until a couple hours before the break of dawn, with large numbers of stalls from different countries selling various foods such as shawarma, cakes, koshari, kunafa, ice cream, and many other dishes.

In response to a question about how to control these huge crowds that attend the festival during the nights of Ramadan and maintain an atmosphere of security in the area, as well as car parking procedures and cleanliness Clr Saleh explained that there are a large number of surveillance cameras and security control measures managed through an integrated security operations room on the night to ensure the safety of the festival visitors. Dozens of security guards and volunteers work on the night, along with free shuttle bus services to transport visitors from the various nearby train stations to the festival venue.

In regards to future plans to develop the festival further, Clr Saleh referred to plans and studies carried out by the festival management to expand the geographical scope of the festival which currently serves as a distinctive phenomenon of Multicultural Australia.

NSW Parliamentary Iftar: Sharing eye witness account of earthquake relief and interfaith prayers for victims

Gulen Azra Polat

The 14th NSW Parliament Friendship & Dialogue Iftar was held on Wednesday 5 April 2023 at The Fullerton Hotel in Sydney bringing together more than 350 guests including members of Parliament, Royal Australian Navy personnel, Fire & Rescue NSW team members, religious and community leaders, education leaders, businessmen, academics, members of the judiciary, media representatives, and many more individuals who symbolising the diverse multicultural fabric of the state of NSW.

The event was organised by Affinity Intercultural Foundation and hosted by Labor state minister Penny Sharpe MLC and Liberal MLC Chris Rath while the guest of honour was Amar Singh and the keynote address was delivered by NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb. The veteran singer Kamahl mesmerised the audience with his voice, eloquence and spontaneous singing on demand.

The theme of the evening was inspired by the profound words of poet Rumi: “The beauty of the plant comes from the goodness of the seed, and the beauty of man comes from his heart.”

Setting the tone for the evening was the charismatic MC, Darren Mara, a renowned SBS Presenter & Dateline Reporter, who effortlessly guided the proceedings with his warmth and charm.

The evening commenced with a moving Acknowledgement of Country & Traditional Owners by Professor Michael McDaniel AO FRSN, a Special Adviser to the Vice-Chancellor of UTS. Professor McDaniel shared insights from his own Wiradjuri First Nations Culture, reflecting on the philosophy and spiritual practice of Yindyamarra, which emphasises living lives of honour, kindness, and graciousness. His words resonated deeply with the audience.

The Acknowledgement was followed by a mesmerising Didgeridoo performance by Uncle Walangari Karntawarra, an esteemed Australian Aboriginal Artist and a valuable advisory member of Affinity. His performance captivated everyone in the room, showcasing the richness of Indigenous culture.

As the fast was broken, and the call to prayer, known as the “Adhan,” was delivered by Mr Bilal Kilic, a respected teacher from Amity College, the guests indulged in a sumptuous dinner.

The Hon Penny Sharpe eloquently expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to come together and engage in meaningful conversations with individuals from all walks of life. She shared a touching quote from her daughter, highlighting the importance of kindness, love, and compassion in creating a society where everyone belongs.

The Hon Chris Rath MLC also reflected on the significance of cross-cultural friendships in the success of New South Wales as a multicultural society, and praised the Iftar dinners for representing the best aspects of living in the state.

The Executive Director of Affinity, Mr Ahmet Polat, delivered the final welcome, emphasising the power of human connection and heartfelt conversations in fostering understanding and unity among people.

He drew parallels between the theme of the night and the current challenges of natural and man-made disasters, highlighting how communities can come together to sow the seeds of goodness and cultivate beauty in the face of adversity.

He also spoke about the importance of the Uluru Statement of the Heart as a powerful initiative that promotes mutual respect and understanding in working towards a shared vision for a better future.

Adding to the serene atmosphere of the evening, a beautiful Quran recitation was performed by Mr Ibrahim Karaisli from Amity College, bringing a sense of spiritual serenity to the gathering.

Honorary NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb APM’s keynote speech emphasised diversity, community collaboration, and addressing societal challenges. She highlighted the importance of partnership between community leaders and police to tackle silent crimes, youth violence, and indigenous community issues.

Her powerful message echoed the event’s

theme of collective efforts for positive change, underscoring that our society’s success depends on coming together to make a lasting impact.

The audience was mesmerised as they were transported to the captivating world of Sufi and Eastern Contemporary music during a live performance by some very special guests who had traveled all the way from Adelaide to grace the event.

Australia’s foremost Sufi Qawwali Group, led by the multi-award-winning Sufi Rockstar Farhan Shah, dubbed as the “Pakistani Pavarotti” by Advertiser, enthralled the audience with their soul-stirring melodies.

The event reached a peak of excitement when renowned Australian singer Kamahl took the stage. After presenting the Farhan Shah brothers with a gift, Kamahl wowed the audience with a spontaneous performance of his own, belting out ‘Nature Boy’ and regaling everyone with hilarious anecdotes from his own life.

It was an electrifying and unforgettable moment that filled the room with laughter, applause, and a palpable sense of excitement.

The program featured a moving segment with three firefighters from Fire and Rescue NSW AUS02 task force, who shared their reflections on their time in Turkiye responding to a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. They recounted their firsthand experiences, highlighting their selflessness, courage, and resilience in assisting those in need.

It was a poignant moment as the audience listened attentively, showcasing their unwavering commitment to humanitarian service in the face of adversity.

At the event, attendees expressed heartfelt support for global victims of wars, natural disasters, and calamities.

The evening featured an ‘Expression of Sentiments’ to honour those who lost lives, homes, and families. Ten faith leaders and

representatives, including the Centre of Islamic Studies and Civilisation, Buddhist Council of NSW, Jewish Board of Deputies, Uniting Church of Australia, Hindu Council of Australia, Australian Zoroastrian Association of NSW, Shia Imami Ismaili Council for Australia and New Zealand, Office of the Ayatollah, Research Centre for Studies of the Second Vatican Council, and Faculty of Theology and Philosophy at Australian Catholic University, came together to showcase their collective compassion and solidarity with those in need.

This symbolic gathering reaffirmed their commitment to supporting communities facing adversity.

The evening continued in perfect harmony as the Guest of Honour, Amar, Founding President of Turbans 4 Australia INC, 2023 Australian Local Hero, and 2023 Volunteer Leader of the Year, took the stage.

He shared his inspiring life story and the journey of Turbans 4 Australia, emphasising the importance of multicultural diversity in creating a better home for future generations. His words resonated deeply with the audience, inspiring them to strive for a more inclusive and harmonious community.

The Hon Verity Firth, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Social Justice & Inclusion) at the University of Technology Sydney, expressed gratitude and extended a heartfelt vote of thanks at the Friendship & Dialogue Iftar Dinner and emphasised the importance of the Voice in Parliament in shaping inclusive societies.

Dr Graham Thom, Refugee Adviser of Amnesty International Australia and Affinity’s Advisory Board Member, delivered the concluding remarks at the event. He emphasised the significance of the holy month of Ramadan and highlighted the shared values of humanity, fellowship, harmony, charity, and respect that were evident throughout the evening.

The 14th annual Friendship and Dialogue Iftar dinner had truly been an unforgettable evening of connection, reflection, and celebration of the beauty of humanity, inspired by the words of Rumi and the spirit of intercultural understanding promoted by Affinity Intercultural Foundation.

The Friendship & Dialogue Iftar Dinner was made possible by the generous support of sponsors: Galaxy Foundation, The University of Sydney, Innovo Technology Solutions, Cultural Pulse, and other distinguished individuals.

Gulen Azra Polat is an intern at Affinity Intercultural Foundation and is based in Sydney, Australia.

Interfaith Ramadan Dinner at Al Siraat

Noori Ahmad

The 7th annual Interfaith Ramadan Dinner was held at Al Siraat College on Tuesday 4 April 2023 with the aim of to foster unity and understanding among people of different faiths. The event provided an opportunity for spiritual renewal, self- discipline, and charitable acts.

The program commenced with a moving recitation of the Qur’an by Year 4 Hifz student, Harris Wardak followed by Indigenous Muslim elder Uncle Hassan Andrew Gardiner of the Wurundjeri people delivering the Welcome to Country.

College Captains Ms Zainab Rida and Mr Osama Akkad skilfully led the proceedings as masters of ceremonies. Notable guests gave special speeches:

Ms Lily D’Ambrosio MP, Minister for Energy, Resources, Climate Action, and State Electricity Commission

• Ms Kathleen Matthews-Ward, Member for Broadmeadows

• Commissioner Mr Andrew Crisp, Emergency Management Victoria

• Chief Executive Officer Ms Jane Miller, Ambulance Victoria

• Ms Gurinder Kaur, President of Whittlesea Interfaith Network and

• Mr Fazeel Arain, Principal of Al Siraat College.

There was about 100 attendees on the night including different faith and community leaders as well as representatives from St Monica’s College, Al-Taqwa College,

Huntingtower School, Minaret College, Ilim Dallas Secondary Campus, Victoria Police, CFA Epping, City of Whittlesea and members of Whittlesea Interfaith Network were in attendance at the iftar dinner.

Attendees had the opportunity to network and connect with representatives from various organisations. The ceremony concluded with a closing prayer by College Imam Sheikh Waseem Khan.

The sponsors of the event included Khan’s Foods, Craigieburn Quality Halal Meats, Aboulaban Sweets, Afiouni Sweets and Khalsa Sweets and Snacks.

The highly successful event was held with the team effort provided by Al Siraat Student Leadership team, including the Interfaith, Media, and SRC students, as well as the PFC, Canteen Staffs, Mr Bajram Arifoski, Ms Gulhan Yoldas, Ms Noori Ahmad, and many others.

Noori Ahmad is the Student Leadership and Interfaith Coordinator at Al Siraat College. She is quite active in community services projects and works as a teacher in Melbourne, Victoria.

BIC Open Day: 1200 Visitors witness early stages of construction

Dr Mustafa Ally OAM

The new Brisbane Islamic Centre (BIC), under development, hosted an Open Day on Sunday 9 April, that drew in over 1200 visitors throughout the day. The event was a unique and historic opportunity for members of the public to see the early stages of the construction of the foundations of the community hall and underground car park.

BIC will become a significant place of worship for the Muslim community in Brisbane. It has also been designed to serve the growing needs of the community and provide a hub for events and activities.

One of the more notable visitors was Mr Yusuf Limbada whose family were very supportive of the project from its inception.

“This is a very well-researched and thoughtfully and exquisitely planned complex, tailored for our community’s short term and long-term needs,” Mr Limbada said.

At the end of the tour he further added, “I want to congratulate the BIC team. This ambitious project is on its way to fruition. I can’t wait to see the progress during the rest of the journey, Insha’ Allah, until its completion.”

Visitors were led on a guided tour of the construction site, where they could see the progress of the construction work.

The first stop was the community hall, where the attendees could see the foundations being laid for the future structure.

The six key facilities of the project were marked by stations with volunteers providing details on what structures would be coming up and where they would be in relation to the rest of the development.

They were also given a sneak peak of the

architectural design and virtual presentations of the Mosque that is soon to be started on, and which promises to reflect the vibrancy of the Muslim community.

They were shown the designs of flexible spaces that will accommodate a range of activities and events beyond prayer, such as community gatherings, educational programs and social events in the auditorium, gyms for males and females, and community halls. In particular, the 200, 000 litre capacity rainwater tank installed for the purpose of irrigating the gardens and washing the buildings, caught the imagination of many.

Throughout the tour, the visitors could ask questions and interact with the volunteers who were well-briefed on aspects of the undertaking. They were left in awe of the level of detail and care that was being put into the project, not least of all its size, scale and ambitiousness, and were excited about the prospect of using the new facilities.

Visiting the 10-acre site using the transport provided was the highlight for some of the attendees. One such visitor, Nazira, described the Centre as a holistic development which, for her, has “catered for all aspects for an Islamic way of life”.

She also remarked, “It’s impressive that from the sisters’ car park the lift will go straight up to the women’s section.”

The Open Day event was a resounding success, with attendees expressing their appreciation for the opportunity to see the progress of the construction work and to learn more about the building project. It was also a great opportunity for the Muslim community to see at first hand the enormity of the task undertaken thus far by the BIC committee.

Hishaam, on Facebook, posted that it was a,”(v)ery well organised and informative day out with the family. Really enjoyed the impressive tour of such a massive site and project. The buses and tour guides (were) ef-

Best wishes to everyone celebrating the blessings of Eid. Wishing you, your family and friends peace, and happiness.

ficient and family activities made it enjoyable for the whole family.”

BIC Secretary, Mr Imraan Price, said that the Open Day showcased the Brisbane Islamic Centre’s commitment to serving the needs of the community and their investment in creating state-of-the-art facilities.

“The new Mosque, community hall, and facilities will play a crucial role in accommodating the growing needs of the Muslim community in Brisbane,” Mr Price said.

Mr Faisal Hatia, the President of the Centre, expressed his gratitude for the support and participation of the community in the Open Day and the project itself, particularly during the fasting month of Ramadan.

The event was a testament to the Brisbane Islamic Centre’s commitment to serving the community and investing in its future.

BIC vice president, Dr Iqbal Sultan, facilitates discussion with Open Day visitors.

Dr Mustafa Ally OAM is the co-founder and Chair of Australian Muslim Advocacy Network (AMAN) , foundation member of Queensland Muslim Inc. (QMI), and founder and former Editor-in-Chief of Crescents Community News (CCN).

AIMA cardiac symposium in South Australia

Noreen Khan session on atrial fibrillation and supraventricular tachycardia management.

Centred around the topic of the ‘heart’ the Australian Islamic Medical Association of South Australia (AIMA-SA) held its first symposium at the Hilton hotel in Adelaide on 5 November 2022 featuring discussions on a variety of fascinating topics from prominent and emerging cardiologists.

General practitioners, junior doctors and medical students were amongst a range of health and medical professionals attending the symposium.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) approved the event for continuing professional development (CPD) points.

The symposium had its own Islamic touch as it began with a recitation from the holy Quran by Dr Muhammad Shakibur Rahman.

The aim of the event was to achieve the core objectives of AIMA, which are to unite, inspire and to serve.

Dr Asif Ashraf, the President of AIMA-SA, stated that the event was part of the organization’s efforts to contribute to the welfare of Muslims and the broader Australian community.

AIMA has undertaken initiatives to improve the health and wellbeing of the Australian community for many years. Some of these efforts include the nationwide blood donation drive and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) education programs in Mosques.

The program Kicking off the day’s talks was cardiologist Dr Kashif Khokhar with an interactive

Next, Dr Mohammad Umair, an advanced cardiology trainee from Lyell McEwin hospital followed up with a talk on heart failure.

Following tea break, interventional cardiologist Dr Abdul Rauf Sheikh, discussed chest pain in the absence of obstructive coronary disease.

Dr Dian Andina Munawar covered the complex topic of premature ventricular complexes.

After lunch and afternoon prayer Dr Ehsan Khan, an interventional cardiology fellow from Flinders Medical Centre discussed the new research in the emerging management of dyslipidaemia.

Dr Shahid Hafeez brought everyone up to date with the recent advances and changes in cardiology.

Finally, Dr Usman Mushtaq finished off the talks with a discussion on perioperative care in the elderly.

Reception

The symposium was well received by the audience who eagerly participated and proposed challenging queries to the guest speakers.

The MC for the night Dr Samia Al Haque, a general practitioner, and a member of AIMA SA’s leadership team, commented, “The event was a great success for AIMA SA, this is the first time we have put a symposium on for the medical community, and it went very well.”

Following the success of the cardiac symposium, AIMA SA will be hosting a renal/ diabetes symposium in July of 2023.

Noreen Khan is a medical student from South Australia and a member of the Australia Islamic Medical Association (AIMA)

Strong support for LMA Iftar 2023

John Mahoney

Saturday 8 April saw the Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA) host some 300 guests at its annual Iftar at the Orion Function Centre in Campsie, Sydney.

The guest list included the Consul-General of Lebanon, the Consul-General and Vice Consul of Turkey and many prominent politicians from the three levels of Australian Government including Federal Education Minister Jason Clare and recently appointed State Cabinet Ministers Sophie Cotsis (Industrial Relations) and Jihad Dib (Customer Service).

The LMA also welcomed many of its partners, sponsors, members and staff and prominent religious, business, medical, educational and media figures.

It was very pleasing to see a strong rollup from many community organisations,

Celebrating multiculturalism: IPDC QLD Community Leader Iftar

Zerrin Afza

On Friday 24 March 2023, the Springwood Tower Function Room was alive with energy as leaders from different communities gathered to break their fast at the IPDC QLD Community Leader Iftar event.

The annual event, hosted by the Islamic Practice and Dawah Circle (IPDC), Queensland brought together leaders from different communities to share their perspectives on Ramadan and explore ways to promote multiculturalism and Australian values.

Dr Akram Hossain, the Founding President of IPDC QLD and Chairman of the Australian Centre for Unity, inaugurated the event.

The event was graced by John-Paul Langbroek MP, Member for Surfers Paradise and Shadow Minister for Seniors, Communities and Disability Services, and Shadow Minister for Multiculturalism and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships.

Councillor Natalie Willcocks, Logan Deputy Mayor, and leaders from various faiths like Michael Wroe (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) and Sovannary Uk (Secretary, the Khemer Buddhist Society) also joined the program.

Prominent community figure Beny Bol, OAM (President, QACC), and Councillors representing different divisions of Greater

Brisbane also attended the event, along with Acting Assistant Commissioner Melissa Adams.

All the guests spoke on various aspect of multiculturalism and Australian values during Ramadan.

Dr Abed Majid, Secretary of the Islamic Medical Association of Queensland (IMAQ), shed light on the medical aspects of fasting during Ramadan. At the same time, Imran Price, President of the Brisbane Muslim Fellowship and Secretary of the Brisbane Islamic Centre, discussed Ramadan’s significance and community building’s importance.

The event culminated with a speech by Mohammad Zahid Hossain, the IPDC QLD State President.

The Iftar meal was delicious, and community leaders from different religions and ethnicities enjoyed the event together.

The Community Leader Iftar event is an annual program that allows leaders from different communities to come together, share their perspectives on Ramadan, and explore ways to promote multiculturalism and Australian values.

This year’s event was a huge success, thanks to the efforts of the IPDC QLD and the support of the community.

Zerrin Afza is a doctoral student researching intergenerational patterns of Islamic knowledge transmission and religiosity in Queensland at the University of Queensland.

while the many high profile religious leaders at the gathering included LMA Lakemba Mosque’s Imam Sheikh Yehya Safi, Australia’s Grand Mufti Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohamed and ANIC president Sheikh Shadi Alsuleiman.

Sheikh Yehya spoke passionately about an LMA initiative of which he is justifiably proud, the introduction of the Al-Azhar Project, where full and part-time Shariah students have the unique opportunity to obtain an Azhari College degree through the branch of Azhar (Lebanon) and recognised by the iconic Al-Azhar University in Egypt.

In the days leading up to the Iftar, the LMA issued a strongly worded media release in support of Palestine.

And Association secretary Gamel Kheir doubled down on this statement at the Iftar – reiterating that the LMA stands with Palestine – and calling upon the Australian government to make a stand by denouncing Israel, its leaders and its army, in the hope that the rest of the world will follow.

A graphic video of the recent brutal attacks on Muslim worshippers praying at the sacred Al-Aksa Mosque visibly moved many of the guests present.

An earlier video presentation showcased the LMA’s many noteworthy achievements and milestones over the past 18 months, since the election of the current board of di-

rectors.

These included the announcement by the board last July of the “LMA: Our Community, Our Future” project: a major upgrade of Lakemba Mosque and its grounds and the nearby Wangee Rd streetscape as well as the LMA Islamic Funeral Services and the four-storey LMA services building.

The infrastructure repairs and upgrades of all its buildings are desperately needed by the LMA to support the capacity and delivery of its services.

The community is being asked to assist with this project by way of donations, bearing in mind that the LMA didn’t request donations from the public to assist with any of its 2022 property purchases or any of its other recent major projects.

A heart-warming sight at the Iftar was that of over 20 Mashaykh from not only Sydney but also interstate and overseas enjoying each other’s company at adjoining tables.

The night ended on a superb note when the six-member Nasheed group Ahbab Al-Mustafa manned the stage and delivered some amazing Islamic poetry, accompanied by the beating of drums.

John Mahoney is a Content Writer with over 30 years experience and is based in Sydney, Australia.

Virtual talk: Medical insights on Ramadan

The Australian Islamic Medical Association (AIMA) and the Islamic Medical Association of Queensland (IMAQ) organised a virtual health talk on Ramadan on 18-19 March 2023, featuring medical experts providing valuable insights on various health aspects related to fasting during Ramadan.

On the first day of the event, “Let’s Talk Ramadan,” presented two expert speakers, Dr Fatima Ashrafi and Dr Omer Shareef.

Dr Ashrafi discussed “Ramadan & Women’s Health,” covering topics such as breastfeeding, pregnancy, and fasting while having certain health conditions.

Dr Shareef spoke about “Ramadan & Brain Health,” highlighting the effect of fasting on brain functioning and providing practical tips to manage mental health during Ramadan.

Q&A sessions followed each presentation, allowing participants to ask questions and clarify their doubts.

The second day continued with “Healthy Ramadan”, featuring Dr Seema Shah and Professor Usman Malabu.

Dr Shah discussed “Gastrointestinal Health during Ramadan,” focusing on the importance of a healthy diet and monitoring gastrointestinal health during fasting.

Professor Malabu shared his expertise on “Endocrine Management during Ramadan,” offering important health advice for diabetes patients. Attendees actively participated in the Q&A sessions following each presentation.

The virtual format of the event made it more accessible to a wider audience, and attendees appreciated the informative talks and engagement with medical experts.

The AIMA and IMAQ’s initiative were successful, providing valuable insights on maintaining a healthy lifestyle during Ramadan.

Learn more about AIMA by visiting www. aimamed.com.au.

AMUST Media

IMESA holds fund raising Iftar

Indian Minority Education Society of Australia Inc (IMESA) held a fundraising Iftar event on Sunday 26 March 2023 at The Bowman Hall in Blacktown with well over 300 people in attendance.

The program commenced with Quran recitation and Ramadan talk by Moulana Abeer ul Hassan Thanvi, a locally raised Imam, educated in South Africa.

Soon after Iftar, Shaikh Abeer Thanvi spoke about the importance of acquiring of knowledge in Islam. He mentioned about the great contribution to knowledge and science during Islamic rule of nearly 1000 years.

The Muslims cities of Baghdad, Damascus, Cordoba etc were the largest centres of learning for the entire world during Golden Age of Islam (7th-13th century), imparting knowledge and undertaking research in all fields of sciences and philosophy.

He emphasised the importance of education for Muslim children and appealed for giving zakat and sadaqat during the holy month of Ramadan.

MC Dr Nisa Sheriff told the audience that IMESA aims to increase the educational levels of poorest Muslim children in India. Indian Muslims, nearly 200 million in number, are among the poorest communities, having below average levels of education, and suffer from deprivation of their basic needs.

Current political environment is also not favourable. Education is the only tool which will strengthen their socio economic condition. She urged the guests to help this one of the most deprived Muslim community in the world.

A short film of IMESA showed the proj

ect details, the data on Indian Muslims and how their weak socio-economic status had effected their lives, leaving them the least educated and poverty stricken community in the country.

A mini-documentary of IMESA run classes from various parts of India was also screened. In this documentary, a collection of clips, the poor students in various cities, their parents, and teachers told their stories and experiences and extended their gratitude to IMESA for the continued support .

IMESA has now been operating for a few years, continuously expanding its programmes to more cities across various states of India. Currently IMESA projects are running successfully in Vadodara in Gujarat, Shaheen Bagh in Delhi, Saharanpur & Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Boisar in Maharashtra, Hyderabad in Telangana, Dehradun in Uttarakhand, Bangalore in Karnata-

ka and Dinajpur in West Bengal benefiting hundreds of the poorest children and their families.

The fundraising call was very well received by the attendees who generously donated to the cause. The fund raising team

consisted of Dr Nisa Sheriff, Mr Taufeeq Shaikh, Mr Zahid Jamil, Mr Syed Aslam Shaheer, Mr Shahnwaz Ali, Mr Parveen Jang, Mr Asad Farooq supported by a team of volunteers. Mr Zahid Jamil applauded the patrons for their generosity and thanked the team members and the volunteers for their tireless efforts.

IMESA seeks to improve the lives of these families through promoting education, both encouraging children to stay in school, and encouraging parents of child labourers to enrol their children in school. It is achieved through educational campaigns, providing additional financial support for families (school fees, uniforms, compensation for lost income of child labourers), and providing after-hours study spaces and tutoring support.

By providing vulnerable children with an education, IMESA seek to improve their future employment and economic opportunities, to improve their overall socio-economic status, and ultimately pass on these benefits to their families and the broader community.

Please visit https://imesa.org.au/ for more details of the organisation and its activities.

AIMA Newcastle Chapter: Blood donation drive and networking in Hunter region

Dr Mustafa Majeed Omar

The Australian Islamic Medical Association (AIMA) Newcastle chapter has been busy with various activities aimed at promoting health, improving health literacy, and providing a platform for networking and collaboration of Muslim health professionals.

The chapter organised a blood donation drive in partnership with Australian Redcross Blood service on Friday 24 February 2023, at three different masjids, including the Mayfield Mosque, the Newcastle Mosque, and the Rutherford Mosque (Masjid Mohammed Mustafa).

In addition, the chapter supported similar drives at the Taree musallah, Port Macquarie Mosque, Coffs Harbour Mosque, and Tamworth Mosque. The blood donation drives were a huge success, with a significant number of people registering to donate blood to help those in need. This blood donation drive was positively covered by local radio and TV channels.

More recently, the AIMA Newcastle chapter organised a picnic, which was attended by 40 families providing a relaxed and informal setting for attendees to interact and network, while also promoting healthy living and encouraging physical activity.

The chapter’s inaugural meeting was held on Saturday 19 November 2022, at The Place, Charlestown Square attended by 58 people.

The meeting began with a welcome and introduction by Dr Mustafa Majeed Omar, Emergency Physician and President of the AIMA Newcastle chapter, followed by a short religious talk by Dr Mohamed Ehsan Ebrahim.

Dr Muhammad Afzal Kahloon, Canberra based senior urologist and National President of AIMA, explained that the objective and purpose of AIMA is to unite and inspire Muslim health professionals in Australia. He further stated that AIMA members wish to serve and contribute to the welfare of Muslims and the broader Australian community.

An AIMA video showed previous events, including a public health awareness campaign during COVID-19, CPR training in masjids and Islamic centres, and Blood donation drives.

Dr Kahloon urged Muslim medical and health professionals to come forward and support AIMA’s vision, goals, and objectives with active participation in various activities.

The meeting ended with a dua by Dr Fazal Mughal, followed by dinner and Maghrib prayer.

The AIMA Newcastle chapter has been consistent in its efforts to promote health and wellbeing in the community, and their activities have been well-received by the Muslim community in Newcastle, Hunter region and surrounding areas.

The chapter will continue to organise such activities in the future to promote health awareness and encourage collaboration among Muslim health professionals.

Recording of various previous AIMA sessions and details of other activities conducted by the Australian Islamic Medical association is available on the website: www. aimamed.com.au

Dr Mustafa Majeed Omar is a Specialist Emergency Physician, co-ordinator of AIMA Newcastle chapter and central executive committee member of AIMA.

MEFF 2023 MAP

Please use this as a guide only

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THIS IS A DRUG AND ALCOHOL FREE EVENT SECURITY MAY PERFORM BAG CHECKS

EXHIBITION STALLS DIRECTORY A-Z

Stall No.

14pearls

Modest Clothing & Hijabs For Women

A Touch of Glitz and Glam

Express Manicures For Children | Glam Bag Gift Bags

Absolute Showbags

Showbags

All toys

Helium Balloons | Bubble Guns | Glowing Products | Toys N Novelties

Alphaline Marketing T/A Next Level Paintball

Paintball Vouchers

Amal Makki

Islamic Clothing

Asma henna artist

Henna Tattoos

Australian Airbrush Co

Airbrushed Temporary Tattoos | Airbrushed Trucker Caps

Balreet Boutique

Ladies And Kids Clothing

Bella Fashion Design Pty Ltd

Pakistani And Indian Clothing And Accessories

Bupa

Health Insurance

Cherriscope

Jewellery | Handbags | Homeware

Costco Wholesale

Yearly Business And Goldstar Memberships

Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts

Information For Western Sydney International Airport

discover the cover

Hijabs | Clothes | Scarves | Under Caps | Pins | Hijab Accessories

Elite Protectors

"Hydro-Gel Screen Protectors For All Devices | Phone Cases | Phone Accessories

ENJO

Various Chemical Free, Reusable And Sustainable Household Cleaning Fibres.

Face Ace (Facepainting , Henna& clothing)

Clothing | Henna | Facepainter

CAMEL & PONY RIDES

GambleAware

Information about Gambling Harm

Henna art by Shanza

Henna Cones

Henna by nimra

Organic Kaveri Henna |Golecha Instant Black | Cherry Red | Maroon And White Henna

Hills Distric Muslim Society - Glenhaven Masjid

Decorative Pieces | Tasbeehs | Prayer Mats | Wall Hangings | Plants | Hampers | Rugs. Fundraising For Glenhaven Masjid

House of Sakinah(Women Support Centre)

Information

IFAM & CAI (Charity Australia International)

Islamic Literature & Dawa'h Materials

IIPC Canada

Inviting / Promoting Islam & Quran.

Indowest

Clothes | Kids Clothes | Jewellery

ISRA Academy

Islamic tertiary education and community service

Jersey Brothers

Soccer Jersey

Jwalini

Imitation Jewellery

KANIZ FATEMA

Light Up Toys | Light Up Bubble Gun Toys

Kaur Mehndi & Art

Henna | Face Paint | Glitter Bar (Includes Glitter Designs On Body And Hairs) | Temporary Tattoos, Festivals Hair Braids | Personalised Gift Shop: Includes Personalised Items T-Shirt | Mug | Pens & Keychain.

Kid’s

LED Lights For Kids | Kids Toys

Mobile-Only Sim Plans

Traditional Womens Dresses | Jewellery | Footwear

Crystals | Hand-Made Items: Resin Coasters | Resin Trays | Resin Figures | Resin Trinkets

Modest Designs

Hijab | Scarves | Undercaps | Jilbaabs | Kids Hijab, Abayas

My Collections

Scarfs | Pins | Caps | Sandals | Kids Night Dress | Belts For Women | Clips | Hairbands | Purses

Noble Clinical Rehabilitation

Exercise therapy for a better quality of life

Notjustabox

Halal Candy

Nuzhat Collections

Pakistani Dresses

OnePath Network - OPN Media Limited

VR Experience | VR & OnePath Merchandise

OWWA - Orphans and Widows West Africa

Handmade Jewellery (Bracelets, Necklaces)

Reza Gallery Au

Islamic Art Wall Portraits | Rugs

Royal silks

Sarees | Dresses | Jewellery | Kids Dresses

Sevensprings

Jewellery & Clothing

Stand with Kashmir

Kashmir Advocacy, Books And Kashmir Handcrafts

Styles with Mehsal

Ladies Jewellery & Clothes

Sultana Artistry

Henna Services | Henna Candles

Sweet Treat World

Boxed Candy | Lolly Bags | Chips

Sydney lighting and toys

Kids Toys | Light Up Toys |Balloons

SYDNEY SOUTH SHAPLA SHALUK LIONS CLUB INC (SHAPLA SHALUK LIONS CLUB ) Toys and stationery

Water And Cold Drinks

Toys For Kids | LED Glow Princess Sticks Wands | LED Balloons | Hand Lightings Flippers | Electric Bubbles Guns | LED Flowers Headbands | Lighting Glowing Swords | Kids Toys | Kids Character Helium Balloons.

GATE 6

Turquozzy pty ltd

Walidsportsclothes

Tea Tables | Kids Toys Afghanistan Dresses And Goods Clothing And Jewellery

Ausgreen Steel Frames & Trusses Pty Ltd

Design Engineer supply light gauge steel wall

frames roof trusses for residential houses

Australian Relief Organisation

Human Aid & Relief Programs Worldwide

Ethnic Communities Council of NSW

Information in languages on the environment and aged care and promoting the ECC NSW.

Love Learning Quran

Quran Tutoring Program

Megaward Property Group

Information for selling o the plan properties

Sponsor Stalls

Human Appeal Australia

Australia's Leading Islamic Charity

SBS

Australia's multicultural and multilingual broadcaster

Remitly

Helping you send money home with peace of mind.

Powerhouse

Your stories. Your collection. Your new museum.

Islamic Foundation for Education & Welfare

Australasian Muslim Times AMUST

Information Tables Information | Books Voice of the Muslim Community in Australia.

FOOD STALLS DIRECTORY A-Z

Apera family stall

Deep Fried Foods | Fried Chicken And Chips | Fish And Chips |

Calamari & Chips | Corn On A Stick | Loaded Fries | Hotdogs | Chips

CHATORE

Chaat Items: Dahi Bhall | Papdi Chaat | Samosa Chaat | Egg

Biryani | Wraps |Veg & Non Veg Curry | Mango Lassi | Faluda

Eat Indo

Indonesian Fried Rice | Beef Martabak | Roti

Himalaya Restaurants pty ltd

Tandoori | Curry | Naan | Sweets

ASH'S NACHOS & TACOS (ITA GROUP PTY LTD)

Nachos | Tacos | Cans Of Soft Drink

May's Malaysian Hawker

Nasi Goreng | Mee Goreng | Singapore Noodles | Char Kway Teow | Char Beehoon | Fried Radish Cakes | Mi Goreng Fries

Mehfil

Indian Food | Biryani | Chicken Curry | Naan Bread | Tea | Paan |

Mikki´s Paella

Valencian/Chicken Paella | Seafood (Fish, Prawn) Paella | Vegan Paella | Drinks

Mr Spanish Churro

Vegan Churros With Chocolate Dipping Sauce | Vegan Churros Filled With Nutella Or Salted Caramel | Churro Bowl (Churro With Ice Cream) | Nachos

Namaste Indian

Indian And Pakistani Food | Cold Drinks | Sweets

Bubble Tea & Drinks (Ngoc Hong Nhu Nguyen)

Fruity Iced Tea |Bubble Milktea | Fruity Soda | Iced Co ee

PourSomeSuga

Design Fairy Floss | Cup Fairy Floss

Procatering Service

Turkish Gozleme And Chips On A Stick

SHOWGROUND ENTERTAINMENT

Art Exhibition Powerhouse Parramatta

Camel & Pony Rides 10AM - 6PM

Tarek The T-Rex and Characters Meet & Greet Throughout the Day Bubbleman (Roaming) 1:30PM - 3:30PM

Reptile Zoo 3:30PM - 6:30PM

Ghanian Drumming

Balloon Twisting (Roaming) 4PM - 5PM

Fireworks 7PM

Future Thinkers Workshop (Registration Required) 2:30PM - 4PM

Register: https://tinyurl.com/3a5euvvx

V12 V16 V19 V18 V9 V5 V6 V17 V4 V11 V3 V10 R5 R6 R8 R7 R4 R4 R6 R4 R4 R4 Supported By AUS TRA LI A abw

Stall No. Stall Name V13

Soft Serve

Soft Serve Ice Cream | Hot Fudge Sundaes | Slushys

Snowcone

to go

Co ee | Snowcone | Popcorn | Fairy oss | Slushy | Milkshakes | Fresh Lemonade

Smashed Burgers | Loaded Chips | Chips

El's Fried Chicken

Fried Chicken Burger And Chips | Fried Chicken Tenders And Chips | Fried Chicken Sliders And Chips

ISTANBUL GOZLEME PTY LTD

Gozleme: Spinach And Cheese | Spinach, Cheese And Chicken | Spinach, Cheese And Beef | Sujuk And Cheese | Vegan Gozleme | Hot Chips | Saucy Cheese Fries |Turkish Loaded Fries

Jordan kebab

Beef And Chicken Kebabs | Hot Dogs | Hot Chips | Chicken Chips | Chicken Stick | Pluto Pup

M & M Kebabs

Kebabs | Hot Food: Chips, Chicken Chips, Chicken Stick, Pluto Pup, Hot Dogs | Hot Drinks (Tea, Cappuccino, Latte | Cold Drinks

mr squeeze fresh lemonade

Lemonade | Lemon Mint | Rose Lemonade | Strawberry Lemonade | V Bomb |Redbull.Bomv | Watermelon Lemonade

Oboxau

Loaded Donuts: Oreos/MnMs/Nutella/TimTams/KinderSurprise/Bisco | Thic Shakes With Whipped Cream: Chocolate/Caramel/Strawberry |Oreo/Bisco /MnM/Timtam Shakes

Pearls Gozleme

Freshly Made Turkish Gozleme Rolled By Hand And Folded Over Various Fresh Ingredients

Shahi Kulfi

Kul - Traditional Indian Ice Cream

Sydney ice cream

Soft Serve Ice Cream | Co ee |Slushie

Twist Chips | Hot Chips | Cheesy Chips | Loaded Fries | Nachos |

Guess who’s coming to dinner?

As we end this Ramadan, the Recipes for Ramadan collection of recipes and stories will have grown to more than 65 recipes from 25 countries.

It started exactly 3 years ago as an online, community and social media project in response to the first COVID-19 lockdown which meant that face to face Iftars, indeed any of the normal social events held during Ramadan, simply weren’t possible.

The idea then was to pivot what had been a TV idea into a kind of virtual iftar that could continue to extend hospitality, share food and host the kind of conversations we might have over a shared meal, conversations that are every bit as important as the food. The conversations in the main took the form of first-person narratives exploring each contributor’s backstory, the country of their family’s origin, memories of their ancestors and the cuisine of that country of origin.

Along the way, the project, in which AMUST is the community media partner, has picked up the NSW Premier’s Multicultural Communications Award for Best Use of Digital or Social Media and has been featured each year in mainstream media too: SBS, ABC Local Radio, ABC Radio National and Guardian Australia.

Each year since 2021, the Guardian has run a five- or six-part series, taking both the food and the ‘conversation’ to a wider audience each week of Ramadan. This year they wanted to create a kind of menu: something for suhoor, a snack, a fish main, a meat main and a dessert or sweet.

The dishes they chose were not ones we’d filmed in the first couple of years when funding from community partners meant we could film professionally with some of Australia’s best-loved Muslim foodie influencers, so it also required running a kind of test kitchen at home, taking new photographs and video-ing the process to make short social media reels.

We started with Taysir Ghazi’s Ful Medames as a traditional Egyptian suhoor dish. We used dried fava beans rather than tinned, so the process took longer with soaking and simmering than it had done with the tinned

beans we used when running an Iftar Kitchen with Penny Appeal last year. The finished dish was also a much darker brown but serving it four ways as Taysir does was absolutely delicious… and the Guardian’s Lifestyle team liked the photos!

Farukh Tahery’s Afghan Bolani was next on the menu: a kind of stuffed sourdough flatbread that can be eaten alone as a snack, as a side with the mains or for breakfast/suhoor.

If you haven’t tried it before, it’s straightforward only requiring that you’ve got some

sourdough starter on the go or can plan ahead.

Farukh and her family were evacuated from Afghanistan following the fall of Kabul in August 2021 and their story, like each story, is worth taking a moment to read, perhaps while the dough rises.

The fish dish was Sivine Tabbouch’s Samkeh Harra, a recipe from the Lebanese port of Tripoli inherited from Sivine’s mother. My mother and I had attended Sivine and her daughter Karima’s Sunday Kitchen cooking class just before Ramadan and took the need-

ed photos there before we also tested the recipe at home with friends.

Teasing out Sivine’s story made us wish we could visit Tripoli and filled us with awe at her mother, a courageous and stoic woman who fled Tripoli to prevent her sons still living at home from becoming involved in the sectarian violence of civil war.

It was important this year to share Beyza Koca’s recipe and story which drew on her family roots in Gaziantep, the centre of the recent devastating earthquake which wreaked so much destruction on Turkey and Syria. Beyza had shared her recipe and story and her dream of one day living in Gaziantep in 2020 and now it seemed important to share what Gaziantep was like before it was destroyed.

Thought of as the Paris of South East Turkey, the city was recognised by UNESCO as one of the gourmet capitals of the world and comes alive as you hear of Beyza’s father’s youth and their extended family still living there.

Finally, the sweet rounding off this year’s Guardian series was Sally Mousa’s Qatayef Five Ways, a traditional Ramadan street food in Palestine which she’d learnt when she married and has adapted with her daughter to provide both traditional and unconventional fillings.

Ramadan may be over by the time you read this but on the experience of our ‘test kitchen’, Qatayef is definitely a dessert that is fun to make with family and friends and will bring everyone coming back for more.

Hoping these photos will whet your appetite and give you a taste of what’s in the collection. Some are quick and easy, some a bit more fiddly but great fun to make involving friends and family in the process.

All these recipes and edited versions of these stories can be found at The Guardian www.theguardian.com/food/series/recipes-for-ramadan as well as on the Recipes for Ramadan website, www.recipesforramadan/recipes. Just scroll through the recipes, laid out in country order, until you find the country you are looking for.

Do explore the website and follow @recipesforramadan on Instagram.

Jane Jeffes

Afghan Bolani almost the way that Farukh’s family makes them.

Ali Nazik, a dish with historical ties to Gaziantep, the epicentre of the recent earthquake.

Sally Mousa’s traditional and unconventional Qatayef.

Sivine Tabbouch adding the finishing touches to her Samkeh Harra.

Mother’s Day gifts for food lovers

Jane Jeffes

Everyone has a different idea of the perfect Mother’s Day but for many of us it involves food: preparing a special feast; gathering family in the kitchen and around the dining table, trying something new, chatting and laughing, solving the world’s problems.

Maybe it’s an occasion to eat out. For letting someone else cook. Or just for putting your feet up and finding future inspiration in a book – maybe about the joy of food!

Maybe as you read this, you’re thinking of making this Mother’s Day on Sunday May 14 special. Maybe making a weekend of it. Maybe thinking of ideas to spoil your mum, wife, daughters, sisters, in-laws, friends… gifts they might enjoy as a special thanks for all they do.

Recipe books make some of the best presents – in particular those that are part food and part people, place and history, feeding hunger for travel, knowledge and learning and informing bucket lists.

My shelves bend under the weight of books like Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s ‘Jerusalem’, Sami Tamimi and Tara Wiggles ‘Falastin’, ‘Britain the Cookbook’, ‘Rick Steins’ Seafood Odyssey’, Hetty McKinnon’s ‘Neighbourhood’ and ‘Together’, a life-affirming, forward-looking collection compiled by survivors of London’s Grenfell Tower fire who started cooking together, exchanging their histories, their culture and their food, and healing together.

‘Dishoom’ – a recent present from my daughter – has literally whet my appetite to return to India as soon as I can, or to prioritise getting a booking in one of the Dishroom restaurants in the UK next time I go back to visit family.

Describing itself as a ‘cookery book and highly subjective guide to Bombay with map’, this is a love letter to Bombay laden with beautiful location shots from Mumbai and recipes from a small UK restaurant group also called Dishoom.

The book and the restaurants are inspired by the Irani cafes popular in Bombay in the 1960s – and if your Mother’s Day gift ideas are much more extravagant than a book, you could book a trip to Bombay or make a booking at one of the six Dishroom restaurants in London or in Manchester, Edinburgh and Birmingham. Nigel Slater and Yotam Ottolenghi are fans.

Another favourite of mine which evokes a strong sense of people and place is ‘Handmade – stories of strength shared through recipes from the women of Sri Lanka’.

This book has inspired some wonderful foodie evenings with Sri Lankan friends and is the work of an Australian not-for-profit called Palmera which supports farmers and

rural entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka to start and grow their own businesses.

With the dire economic situation in Sri Lanka at the moment, purchasing this book for the women in your life could also give other women a leg up too.

Then there are first-person narratives of exploration and discovery like Anthony Bourdain’s ‘A Cook’s Tour’ and Arwa Abousamra’s ‘Tea With Arwa’ which trans-

port you to places you may not have been and acquaint you with people you may not otherwise encounter.

And novels such as ‘Maggie’s Kitchen’, written by Sydney-based author Caroline Beecham, which sets a fictional restaurant-based narrative in context of the historical events of WW2 London.

If you rely on the internet for food inspiration, do spend time exploring our dedicated (and award-winning) website: www.recipesforramadan.com and Instagram @recipesforramadan.

Since launching the project in April 2020 as a response to Covid, we are expecting the collection to have grown to more than 65 recipes and stories from 25 countries with more in the pipeline.

The collection aims to share recipes and stories of Australian Muslim families whose histories and culture reach back to all four corners of the world. Some of the contributors’ names you may know. Some will be new acquaintances.

And these recipes and stories are not just for Ramadan! They’re for dipping into any time, enjoying trying new foods and discovering stories that feed into the story of modern Australia. We’re hoping we can find a way to publish in hard copy in the foreseeable future too.

What’s the weekend for?

Everyone has a different idea of the perfect weekend but for many of us it involves food: preparing a special weekend feast to share with friends and family; or gathering family and friends in the kitchen to try something new, solving the world’s problems or just chatting and laughing for hours.

Or perhaps it’s time for batch cooking while we’re not on the clock in a Monday to Friday way. Or for eating out and letting someone else cook. Or for putting your feet up and reading – maybe about the joy of food? Or, this weekend, perhaps it’s time to start thinking about last minute gift ideas for Eid.

Recipe books make the best presents –in particular those that are part food and in equal parts people, place and history, feeding hunger for travel, knowledge and learning and informing bucket lists.

My shelves bend under the weight of books like ‘Britain the Cookbook’, ‘Rick Steins’ Seafood Odyssey’, Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s ‘Jerusalem’, Sami Tamimi and Tara Wiggles ‘Falastin’, Hetty McKinnon’s ‘Neighbourhood’ and ‘Together’, a life-affirming, forward-looking collection compiled by survivors of London’s Grenfell Tower fire who started cooking together, exchanging their histories, their culture and their food, and healing together.

‘Dishoom’ – a recent present – describes itself as a ‘cookery book and highly subjective guide to Bombay with map’ and is laden with beautiful location shots. It has literally whet my appetite to return to India as soon as I can.

Whilst ‘Handmade – stories of strength shared through recipes from the women of Sri Lanka’ has inspired some wonderful foodie evenings with Sri Lankan friends and is the work of an Australian not-for-profit called Palmera which supports farmers and rural entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka to start and grow their own businesses.

First-person narratives of exploration and discovery like Anthony Bourdain’s ‘A Cook’s Tour’ and Arwa Abousamra’s ‘Tea With Arwa’ also take you on a journey to places you haven’t been. And novels such as ‘Maggie’s Kitchen’ set a fictional narrative in context of historical events.

If you rely on the internet for food inspiration, do spend time exploring our dedicated (and award-winning)

Personal food journeys to inspirewebsite: www.recipesforramadan.com and Instagram

@recipesforramadan. Since launching the project in April 2020 as a response to Covid, the collection has grown to 64 recipes and stories from 22 countries with more in the pipeline.

The collection aims to share recipes and stories of Australian Muslim families whose histories and culture reach back to all four corners of the world. Some of the contributors’ names you may know. Some will be new acquaintances.

And these recipes and stories are not just for Ramadan! They’re for dipping into any time, enjoying trying new foods and discovering stories that feed into the story of modern Australia.

Keep your eyes open too for Guardian Australia tomorrow (Saturday 15 April) for the last part in their Recipes for Ramadan series this year, using recipes and stories from our collection.

Tomorrow’s recipe is for Sally Mousa’s Palestinian Qatayef which she does five ways: traditional as her husband likes them or Bounty and Snickers variations which she and her daughter dreamed up. We did the lot earlier this week – with friends to share the cooking and the eating!

If you’ve never tried them, do! And invite friends and family to get involved to batch cook ahead of Eid.

Jane Jeffes

Handmade – stories of strength shared through recipes from the women of SriLanka

Police remove multi-faith group praying in Sydney NAB HQ

Thea Ormerod

Police removed a group of people of faith from Muslim, Christian and Buddhist backgrounds on Wednesday 5 April while peacefully praying and meditating in the lobby of the National Australia Bank’s headquarters in Sydney while calling on the bank stop funding fossil fuel projects.

The group was urging NAB’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ross McEwan, to publicly rule out finance for coal, starting with Whitehaven Coal as the company is seeking a renewal of NAB’s $110 million debt facility by the middle of the year.

Protestors quietly refused requests to leave by NAB management and police were called. Thirteen police arrived at the site and removed the protestors.

Ms Fahimah Badrulhisham, a Muslim architect who was part of the pray-in congregation said, “I am currently observing Ramadan, a month where Muslims fast during the day to cleanse our body, mind and

spirit.”

“It is also the month where we remember and help the less fortunate, and level up our efforts in seeking justice. Which is why today, in this holy month, I am standing with Pacific Islanders, young people and climate-vulnerable communities of the Global South by taking a stand against NAB,” she said.

Ms Badrulhisham further added, “The bank continues to expand the coal industry while selling the public an image of a community focussed, climate-friendly bank.”

Rev Dr Chris Walker, a retired Uniting Church Minister said, “My concern about climate change arises from my Christian faith in God the Creator who calls us to care for and appreciate creation.”

“It is imperative that action be taken now before it is too late to prevent serious climate warming and the devastating effects that it is already bringing,” he further added.

Many supporters also gathered outside the bank in meditation to support those gathered inside.

Background

Peaceful protests against NAB have been going across the country for the past 9 days. They were demanding NAB stop funding climate wrecking coal mines in response to the release of the latest IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report.

The report prompted the Secretary-General of the UN to call on the world to “do everything, everywhere, all at once” to pull back from the brink of irreversible climate damage.

NAB has loaned hundreds of millions of dollars to Whitehaven Coal including a loan of $110 million in 2020. Since January 2016, NAB has loaned $9.5 billion to fossil fuel intensive industries.

However, NAB has a goal to align with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. The International Energy Agency has said that, to ensure global warming is limited to 1.5 degrees, there can be no new fossil fuel extraction projects.

Thea Ormerod is the President of the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC), a Catholic Christian, retired social worker and grandmother of eight.

A date with Australian Muslim stories

In February, I left London for Sydney to work on Recipes for Ramadan, leaving one of the most multicultural cities on earth for the most multicultural nation. A non-Muslim, my understanding of Ramadan was half-knowledge. I knew of fasting but didn’t know what iftar meant.

Graduating university last August, I was adamant I would do a year of work and travel to engage with people and places I previously hadn’t. Recipes for Ramadan had my attention. The Australian Muslim community was far from my own, and the project intertwined things I had a pre-existing fascination with: history, ancestry, food.

Mia Jeronimus high-level politics but remember that 1942 was the beginning of the Japanese occupation, 1948 independence and 1962, after a coup d’état, when the socialist government confiscated Ayesha’s father’s metal business and the family’s samosa business began. The lens of personal story really enabled me to get to grips with histories I wasn’t familiar with.

My assumption was that I would learn a lot about Ramadan, Muslim culture, and Islam. I do now know the meaning of the word iftar, and special thanks to the Taheri family for hosting me at theirs. But the stories on the website take you beyond an understanding of the Islamic faith.

By the end of Ramadan 2023, the site will be a portal to 25 different countries and histories outside of Australia by way of migration stories. I leave knowing as much about the small Russian province of Tatarstan as I do about Muslim practices.

When I think of the troubles in Burma, now Myanmar, I don’t think of complex

Just as personal stories inform history, history informs personal stories.

Ayesha’s story gave me an insight into Burmese history, but Lebanese history made sense of the gravity of Sivine’s mother’s decision to leave

Tripoli. Knowing that it was sectarian violence that killed her dream to retire to a flat in El Mina harbour – a dream within her reach until the civil war – helped me grasp the scale of what was at stake in individual lives and to see how external events re-route lives in ways that may later be termed fate. Writing up such stories, placing them in their historical context and realising these experiences are not anomalies has been an education which resonates with my own family’s past. I wrote my undergraduate dissertation about my Dutch grandmother’s experience in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Java during the Second World War and talking

to participants for Recipes for Ramadan provoked my same fixation on the details, patterns, hopes and pains of familial pasts. Affording other families’ histories the same curiosity we do our own is a powerful form of empathy.

Cooking these recipes and reading their stories as something simmers, cooks, browns or rises is not just pseudo travel but pseudo time travel to a place as it once was. Just as music locks in memory, food locks in story, story locks in history. Cooking and photographing recipes for The Guardian’s third series of Recipes for Ramadan, learning about people and places and sealing that learning with taste was a very special shared experience – the virtual iftar it was intended to be.

Learning about what it might mean to be of Lebanese or Russian, Bosnian or Burmese descent, I have seen what it means to be Australian, and what it means to be a multicultural society. Strange how it takes travelling to the other side of the world to have a clearer idea of things at home. I will be returning to London excited for new conversations.

As the poet T S Eliot put it in Little Gidding: “… the end of all our exploring / Will be to arrive where we started / And know the place for the first time.”

My special thanks to Jane Jeffes, AMUST and Recipes for Ramadan’s contributors for having me.

Mia Jeronimus is an intern on Recipes for Ramadan.

Photographs of Ayesha Habibullah’s family in India and Burma, now Myanmar.

Ayesha Habibullah showing us how to make her samosa salad.

Afgan phirni milk pudding and Australian pavlova, an exchange of cultures and stories at the Taheri family’s iftar.

From blood and dust of Gaza to the lucky country Australia

Souleiman Ould Mohameden

When 12-year-old Mohammed stepped out of his home, he didn’t expect to be shot. Well, that’s because he wasn’t.

His mother dropped, dead. A bullet hole was what Mohammed saw, right through her temple.

Aasma screamed. Mohammed ran over to his little sister. Another shot was fired at the window as their father cursed in agony. Aasma was bleeding out. She was starting to feel lightheaded.

“This isn’t good,” he thought.

He carried Aasma in his arms and ran.

Mohammed heard his sister moving on the bench.

“Mohammed?” she groaned.

“Oh! You’re awake!” He responded with a small humourless smile.

Aasma winced as she tried to sit up, she had a white bandage, with red splotches tightened across her stomach.

“What is this?” She asked.

“You were shot”, Mohammed responded with his smile fading.

Aasma looked around, she saw an old man and his son in a corner with rifles in their hands.

“Where are -”Aasma started, but was cut off.

“Mama and Baba are dead”; Mohammed whispered.

Aasma’s chest tightened trying not to cry. Their parents were killed by the Israelites. Mohammed told her where they were and why they were here. They were in a base-

ment of a Masjid.

The Imam of the masjid was an old man, and his son was an army veteran. The Israelites were oppressive people and were trying to take Palestine from the Palestinians.

Mohammed explained that he didn’t know much because it just started and that they were going to be fine. Aasma believed him and had a little hope still left in her.

A bomb siren sounded; this was the third one in the last hour. Mohammed now only found it annoying. No longer alarming.

It was night, a cool breeze blew under the basement door. It had been hours since Mohammed had been outside; he felt comforted by the wind and its sound.

Mohammed stood on his feet and slowly inched toward the door. The dry desert air licked his ankles, beckoning him on. He reached his hand toward the door, when he finally grasped the smooth cold handle; the son of the Imam began to wake.

Mohammed started to twist. The man was now fully awake and watched as Mohammed, unknowingly, put all of their lives in imminent danger.

“NO DON-” The man screamed.

It was the last thing Mohammed heard before smoke filled his lungs, and an angry red flash blew him across the room.

Mohammed woke up and sat there, not knowing what to do. He realised Aasma was sleeping on his lap with her face streaked with tears. Mohammed smiled and thought, ‘She assumed thought I was dead.’

Mohammed’s nose was bleeding. Cuts and bruises painted his body like a purple, blue, and red canvas. Dust from the debris started to settle in the injuries and made Mohammed groan in pain.

Two hours passed. His pain was getting

worse. He didn’t want to wake up Aasma. Mohammed finally found the strength to crawl. Mohammed started in the direction of a tap in the corner of the bunker, one of the only parts that wasn’t obliterated by the bomb.

He slowly reached the tap and stretched his hand towards it. Mohammed’s hand gripped the rusty metal when he twisted. Water is the elixir of life. Mohammed believed it to be. Water poured onto his face, cleaning it from the blood and dust. He opened his mouth and let the liquid flow into his dry, parched throat. He splashed some water on his wounds, it stung a little, but after, felt like heaven.

Mohammed knew that he had to get out of the basement, but he couldn’t leave Aasma behind. He slowly crawled back to where Aasma was sleeping and woke her up. They had to leave the basement, and Mohammed had to find a way to get them to safety.

As they stepped out of the basement, the world outside was a war zone. Buildings were destroyed, and there was chaos everywhere. Mohammed assessed their surroundings and decided that their best chance of survival was to make their way to the nearby mountains. He had heard stories of people who had escaped the war by hiding in the mountains and he knew that they had a better chance of surviving.

With Aasma by his side, Mohammed started walking towards the mountains, avoiding the main roads, and sticking to the back alleys and side streets. They had to be careful and avoid getting caught by the Israelites. Scenes of destruction lay in their wake. Bodies of civilians scattered like leaves in autumn. But they had to keep walking.

Two days passed, and the kids were camping out in a small, abandoned convenience. Mohammed found a bag of chips his dad always used to eat. It made him cry. Aasma looked in the aisle, so Mohammed turned

and wiped away his tears. He had to be strong for his sister.

“W-what’s wrong?” Aasma said.

“Oh! n-nothing.” Mohammed stammered. “Go sit down somewhere, I’ll look for something to eat.”

Aasma listened and walked away. Mohammed walked to the canned foods aisle when she screamed. Mohammed ran towards her when a masked man struck him across the chin with the butt of a rifle. He lay in pain as his eyesight got blurry, when he saw a sign on the man’s mask that he had seen saw before in school. It was blue with stars and the southern cross.

“It’s AUST-” Mohammed thought right before he passed out.

Mohammed woke up to the sound of a boat engine. He rubbed his chin. It was swollen after the violent strike of the soldier. Aasma was sitting next to him.

“Mohammed…” she whispered. “They’re taking us to A-Australia.”

Salam! I’m Souleiman, a high school student of Islamic School of Canberra. I like write stories. InshaAllah I want to be a doctor who is hafidz when I grow up.

Light up Bass Hill Plaza with Brothers in Need

Dean Mousad donation ‘bringing light’. I’m so excited to see the tree decorated for Eid insha Allah,” says, Dahlia, a staff member.

Brothers in Need, a Muslim not-for-profit organisation based in Australia, has been, ‘lighting up Bass Hill Plaza’, for the last ten days of Ramadan.

“Ramadan is such a beautiful month, a month of mercy, forgiveness and blessings, so collaborating with the staff of Bass Hill Plaza to make a, “Light Up Bass Hill” fund-raising initiative, was a great idea.

I think that it was a lovely idea to hang one decoration on the tree for each person who donates. It’s a nice way to think of your

Join us at Bass Hill Plaza for the last ten days of Ramadan: come along just to say hi, or, to make a donation of your choosing, or something specific such as a food hamper. Help us to light up Bass Hill with the light of Ramadan!

To learn more about the work of Brothers in Need, visit brothersinneed.org.au, or call 1300 007 433.

Dean Mousad is the Co-founder/Managing Director of Brothers in Need, Co-founder/ Treasurer of Project Quran, a Teacher/Mentor at Alfirdaus College and a registered Counsellor with the Australian Counselling Association.

How to replace regret with gratitude

Princess R Lakshman

To regret is to wish that you had something other than what you have now. It is to spend the present moment wishing it was different.

Regrets can quickly turn into a default setting in the mind if you are not aware of your present moment. Moments spent in regret do not serve your purpose – they hold you back and before you know it, a vicious cycle of regrets becomes your default setting. You lose sight of your present moment and forget to appreciate the beauty and serenity of surrendering to Allah’s plans for you.

Someone wise once said, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

1. Praise Almighty Allah for all that He has already given you. Write down a list of

everything you are blessed with.

2. Now, Praise Almighty Allah for all the lessons you have learnt from past experiences, negative and positive.

3. Replace all what-if statements with “Alhumdolillah”.

4. Avoid comparing your life with someone else’s. Your unique abilities and experiences make you different from the rest of the world. Focus on your soulful connection with Allah. Increase your own ibaadah and good deeds. Don’t worry about other’s words and actions. Focus on your deeds, your thoughts, your words.

5. Daily positive affirmations. Consciously choose positive words when talking about your situation. The more you affirm your life positively, the more positive outcomes arise from situations. Refer to the examples below:

Princess R. Lakshman is a writer, speaker, qualified clinical nutritionist, life coach and a counsellor. She is based in Sydney, Australia.

Situation Regretful Perspective

Money I don’t have enough money yet.

How come other people’s marriage is happier than mine?

Grateful Perspective

Thank you, Allah, for providing me with exactly what I need precisely when I need it. Ya Allah, you are the only source of rizq, and you know what I need and when I need it. I am so grateful for this daily abundance of rizq.

Marriage

Disobedient children

What more can I do? They’re so unappreciative and ungrateful.

Job I hate my job. I can’t stand my colleagues.

Body image I hate my body.

Thank you, Allah, for my realisation that I need to reflect upon how I’m contributing to my marriage. I am grateful for this realisation that I need to be accountable and responsible for my own choices.

Thank you, Allah, for making my children healthy and joyful and protecting them. I am grateful that you help me every day to be a good role model for my children.

Thank you, Allah, for the realisation that my heart is not aligned with my work. I place my trust in you that you are guiding me to knowing what my purpose is. Ya Allah, help me to be of service to others in all that I do in my work so that I may please you.

Thank you, Allah, for my healthy body which unconditionally breathes for me and allows me to accomplish righteous deeds that may please you.

Living your Islamic values: Living with a state of excellence

C Aisha Meguid

The ‘Transformed by Values’ – Islamic self-improvement guidebook

(Author: Cynthia Aisha Meguid) is about effectively practising and living your Islamic values with excellence (Ihsan).

Did you know…The word ‘excellence’ (Ihsan) is mentioned over 50 times in the Qur’an! Allah is teaching and encouraging us to develop ihsan excellence in all areas of our life. As such, it is my deepest inspiration and the focus of my book.

What is Ihsan?

Ihsan (excellence) means thinking, acting, feeling and living with excellence to be the best Muslim you can be. It means aiming to do whatever you’re doing, in the best possible way, at all times.

Early in my career 20 years ago, I discovered a personal development methodology that perfectly matched everything that Ihsan stands for in Islam.

It is called NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), (an applied behavioural science and includes applied cognitive psychology methods), which offers advanced self-improvement concepts and methods that I tailored over the years and in my book to make them easy to understand and practice Islamic excellence (Ihsan).

About 50% of the personal development methodologies used in my book, stem origi-

nally from NLP, but have been re-interpreted based on my Islamic personal development work with clients and participants.

NLP focuses on the relationship between the mind (neuro) and language (linguistic) and how they affect our behavior, actions & habits (programming).

The goal of NLP is to help people understand and change their thought, language and behavioral patterns to achieve any outcome/goal and solve any level of problems.

According to Modern Psychology Magazine, “NLP may be the most powerful vehicle for change in existence”. “NLP has metamorphosed into an all-purpose self-improvement program and technology”, TIME magazine.

The focus of NLP is the improvement of how you use your mind, leading to a greater ability to make positive changes in your thoughts, behaviours and more – which is the key focus of Ihsan (striving for excellence) and Islamic self-improvement.

Now, what if we combine NLP with the teachings of the Qur’an and perfect role model for mankind, the Prophet Muhammad (s)?

This is exactly what my book (Transformed by Values) is about – to support individuals in being more like our Prophet (s) Insha Allah. The Prophet (s) had an incredible human skill set that he used to communicate with himself, Allah and oth-

ers.

He had powerful psychological, emotional, social, and spiritual skills and habits. He was so skillful at managing and directing his thoughts and actions towards living Islamic values, with ihsan which allowed him to embody character traits such as mercy, patience and bravery at their highest human level.

Towards this process, NLP is also great training for the nafs (self). Islamic teachings emphasize the need to train and master our self (nafs) which includes our psyche (mind, feelings, attitudes), ego and desires.

These are all aspects that are addressed by NLP’s advanced methods in my book – to support your highest Islamic personal growth.

Want to learn more about Transformed by Values? Join our free webinars for women. Register here: www. aishameguid.com/event/ transformed-by-values-webinars

Transformed by Values (eBook, paperback, hardcover) is available on Amazon: www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0BTRLZHJN

Light of the Stars

Dr Reginald Naulty

May the light of the stars fall upon them, who, with constructive insight, solve problems made by misfortune and the misguided, and who defeat the destroyers with ideas so deep they cause no vengeance. Enlightened are they, under –writers of beneficence, whose intelligence and sympathy promote harmony, assisted as they are by people, allegedly ordinary, whose toil makes the world work. Their goodness penetrates hearts of rock, opening and warming.

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

Cynthia Aisha Meguid is a wellbeing teacher, educator, consultant and coach based in Sydney.

Reflections on Ramadan: Building a strong community through Zakat

Ismail Davids

Alhamdullilah another Ramadan has passed by, and I make dua that Allah accepts each and everyone’s Ibadaat and duas. A very special thank you to all those that has supported us as we are here to serve you, our community.

Despite all the moon controversies this year, I am overly positive that our community is maturing and becoming extremely comfortable in its Muslim identity and the positive contributions we are making in Aus-

As with the dua of prophet Ibrahim when he left his beloved wife and son in the desert and pleaded to Allah:

And when Ibrahim said, “Our Lord, I have settled some of my progeny in an uncultivated valley near Your sacred House, our Lord, that they may establish prayer. So, make hearts among the people incline toward them and provide for them from the fruits that they might be grateful.” [Quran 14:37]

He did not say my wife and son but referred to his descendants and for them to establish prayer. So, we can learn from this is that to secure the success of our future generations we need to ensure prayer is established.

Following on, as we also learn from the miracle book, the Quran, Allah mentions Salah and Zakat together twenty-eight times.

Also from the Prophetic way, in how our beloved Prophet (s) cared for the people of the Suhfah and his instructions to Muadh (r) when he sent him to Yemen, he tied the pillar of Zakat with Salah.

So, as we build our capacity of Mosques here, to establish prayer, we are now also for the first time continuing to build out the pillar of Zakat with our partnerships with many

mosques across the country as far as Darwin. This is a major milestone for our community. This is very encouraging as I saw so many of our youth in the Taraweeh and Tahajjud prayers this Ramadan. We have the recipe for

the success of our descendants remaining on the path of Islam. Ameen.

Wishing you all a blessed and happy Eid Mubarak.

Faith is intrinsic to life: An oath to care and honour

Washing boards, collograph prints, soap bars

98 (w) x 68 (L) x 16 (D) cm

Photographs by Yasmine Killeen

Arabic: “And the only defeater is God”

niches for the memories that I still revere about my mother’s dedication to her family.

I still recall waking at dawn to witness my mother’s silhouette against the soft light in the courtyard of our home to observe her daily dawn prostrations.

It was ambiguous at first, whether she was praying or washing clothes.

This anticipated ritual became a reassuring sight, as it gave me a sense of peace and a resolve between exiting a dream and the start of a new morning.

My mother used a wooden scrubbing board to wash clothes, it was a daily chore in a house full of kids.

I remember my mother’s shiny hands from the repeated movements of washing the clothes, which seemed to polish the surface of the wooden board, thus creating

Faith is intrinsic to life, an oath to care and honour. It is a duty that upholds and fulfils responsibilities by manifesting as a strength, which reveals itself in all aspects of society.

Both my mother’s religious devotion and family duties were interwoven to become a personal promise. The commitment of washing the clothes converted to a prayer, before the daily prayer.

The installation box (featured) houses a journey of life’s devotion.

My artwork is a tribute to my mother who passed away years ago in Morocco – may she rest in eternal peace.

Fatima Killeen is an award-winning Moroccan artist with acquisitions at Australian War Memorial, ANU, Human Rights Commission, Islamic Museum of Australia, National Museum of Australia, La Trobe University.

Fatima Killeen

Devotion 2020 – Fatima Killeen

TDC Australia fundraising Iftars in Wollongong, Perth and Melbourne

Shafqat Ali

TDC Fundraising Iftar Dinner in Wollongong

An Iftar dinner hosted by the Australian chapter of The Diabetes Centre (TDC) was organised 0n Saturday 25 March 2023 at Altitude 1148 Restaurant, Southern Gateway Centre, Bulli Tops with the aim of raising funds for supporting treatment services that TDC provides to needy diabetics.

The generated funds would be used for free treatment to 60% of patients who deserve and get diabetic treatment free of any charge on a routine basis.

The President of TDC Australia, Dr Asrar Khan gave a formal welcome to the guests and briefed the audience about TDC Australia and its respective achievements. Dr Salman Ahmed gave a valuable lecture on diabetes and offered suggestions about its control.

The Consul General of Pakistan in Sydney, Mr Muhammad Ashraf who was guest of honour at the event, expressed his views on the commendable work that TDC provides for the community.

The Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, Mr Shaoquett Moselmane who participated as a Chief Guest delivered his speech saying NSW Parliament acknowledged the efforts being made by TDC to deliver state-of-the-art treatment to diabetics.

Certificates of appreciation were awarded to the volunteers of TDC.

The event’s sponsors and supporters included Rumi Supermarket, Focus Radiology, Minuteman Press, OZ Hart Buthcher, Assie-Asean Edu, Healthworths specialist centre, Aus Pak Women Association, Dapto Medical and Dental Centre, Pakoz, Illawarra, MA Petroleums Pty Ltd, Pro Green Energy, Dea Kidney Care and Wollongong Foot and Ankle Centre.

Mr Haroon Azam who contributes his services as the vice president of TDC Australia thanked all guests and participants joining the event.

See the Live Streaming video of the event https://www.facebook.com/TDCAustraliaInc/videos/787602712322190

TDC Fundraising Iftar Dinner in Perth

An Iftar dinner hosted by the Australian Chapter of The Diabetes Centre (TDC) was held on Saturday 1 April 2023 at Arya Restaurant and Café, Maddington, Perth with the aim of raising funds for supporting treatment services that TDC provides to needy diabetics.

The generated funds will support the best treatment of 25000 deserving patients who will get diabetic treatment free of any charge on a routine basis.

The program started with recitation of Quran by Huzaifa Shahid followed by a Neat by Nabeel Musharaf.

The Public Officer of TDC Australia, Mr Adil Bin Tariq gave a formal welcome to the guests and briefed the audience about TDC Australia and its particular achievements concerning the TDC’s vision.

Sheikh Safdar Parkar delivered an eloquent speech on spending in the path of Allah.

A valuable lecture on diabetes was delivered which suggested how to control its related complications.

A number of speakers including Abdullah Khan and Mustafa Chaudhry, expressed their views and lauded the efforts being made by TDC for diabetes prevention.

Certificates of appreciation were awarded to the volunteers. The honourable guests acknowledged the efforts being made by TDC to deliver state-of-the-art treatment to diabetics. They also requested cooperation by all present at the event.

The individuals and personalities who ensured to provide sponsorship include Hafiz Ehsan Shahid, Dr Ayesha Arshad from Kelvale Medical Group, Mr Mustafa Chaudry, Mr Shahid Iqbal from Buttler Medical Im-

aging and Shoose Cake.

See the Live Streaming video of the event https://fb.watch/jPl1kF0onC/

TDC Fundraising Iftar Dinner in Melbourne

An Iftar Dinner hosted by the Australian Chapter of The Diabetes Centre (TDC) was held on 9 April 2023 at Umma Centre in Doncaster East, Melbourne with the aim of raising funds for supporting treatment services that TDC provides to needy diabetics.

The generated funds will be used to support the treatment procedures of an estimated 25000 deserving patients during the year 2023. They will get treatment free of any charge on a routine basis.

Uzair Shah and Zara Shah recited verses from the Holy Quran, to begin, the program.

Dr Rashid Bashir gave a formal welcome to the honourable guests.

The President of TDC Australia, Dr Asrar

A Khan delivered a detailed presentation to the audience about TDC Australia, its particular achievements and activities for the last five years, with a particular focus on the Sahiwal Hospital project.

Mr Ahsan Zafar delivered an eloquent brief about charity in Islam.

Mr Waseem Akram along with his better half and social personality in Australia, Mrs Shaniera Akram joined the event through Zoom talk as chief guests. They talked about the importance of projects initiated by TDC and shared their personal experience

of involvement with the hospital’s activities.

Mr Mustafa Chaudry who donated valuable land for the TDC Sahiwal talked briefly about this project. Some other speakers expressed their respective views and lauded the TDC’s efforts for the prevention of widespread.

An auction was held to raise funds.

Many guests including Salman, Saad, Sumair, Farhan, Dr Ainee, Nadeem, and Dr Emad from Umma Centre, Saeed Anwer, Samina Saeed, Sara Butt, Sobia Soshi Saeed, Uzair Farooq and Shafaqat who were present on the eve acknowledged the TDC’s future passion to deliver at par excellence services and pledged their cooperation for TDC.

Dr Mohsin Shafique expressed a token of thanks to all guests and participants for their kind support and donation.

Sara Butt was in particular thanked for her pledges of support to TDC and aspirations to be on the front for the cause of the hospital. She also announced to donation to the Type-1 Clinic in TDC Lahore.

See the Live Streaming video of the event https://www.facebook.com/TDCAustraliaInc/videos/627135082567656

For further information and donation visit: www.tdcaustralia.com.au

Shafqat Ali is the Founder/President of Young Innovators Australia. He is a Trainer, Youth Mentor, Author and Consultant.

Letters from Palestine: Consolation

Bassam Jamil

I look at a neighbour’s shop, and I watch this neighbour who goes to great lengths with his children to prepare meals in his modest kitchen.

He moves in a small space waiting for one of his sons to start working. A relative, who brings unpleasant news, surprises him and informs him of the death of a relative.

He pours water on his face, and stands in front of the small shop looking at the road separating us. He seems absent-minded, waiting.

A few minutes pass, I still can’t understand the sounds coming from the nearby Masjid in the camp, I try to listen to make sure “people are called in the event of the

death of a resident to inform them of the date of burial” but I can’t tell, unfortunately this is the old microphone they use.

One of my neighbor’s sons arrives, and his father informs him of the news. They ex-

change looks sadly. It looks confusing, the store hasn’t closed yet. One of the men, followed by others, tells him to leave but he refuses before he distributes the tasks to them, and then goes home.

Maybe he will start arranging burials, mourning, and taking care of his family.

He does not prolong the absence, returns with a sad face, tries to gather his strength, and goes to the small kitchen to continue with one of his sons preparing food.

Many families rely on the meals provided by this small kitchen to be their main meal at breakfast after a long fasting day.

Several hours passed, food was distributed, and my neighbour left to accept condolences. Tomorrow is a new day, in which he will spend his day preparing food for those in need, and in the evening he will stand in the funeral hall.

He offers condolences with food to the poor, and receives it with kind words and supplications.

Bassam Jamil is a Palestinian novelist and storyteller, with a total of four literary publications, and many articles published in Arab newspapers.

Wollongong.

Melbourne.

Perth

Ramia Sultan on Palestine: Call for awareness

John Mahoney

The ongoing violence inflicted on the innocent people of Palestine by the Israeli army (IDF) and police and most recently, the violent raids on the sacred Al-Aqsa Mosque during the second week of Ramadan 2023, are actions which surely sicken and disgust any fair-minded person.

Yet sections of the media continue to label the interaction between the brutal Israeli oppressors and the defenceless natives of Palestine as a “conflict”….as if there is something even remotely ‘two-sided’ about it!

Once called out by Turkish president Recep Erdoğan as “a tyrant who massacres children”, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will surely also go down in history as one of the world’s greatest liars.

Just one of many examples of this is his 2021 statement which recently has been widely recirculated on social media: “There is no army in the world that acts in a more moral fashion than the army of Israel….. .”

Yes – this is one of the saddest constants of the world today….the ongoing situation in Palestine.

For decades, we’ve been watching, listening to and reading about the very drastic plight of our Palestinian brothers and sisters.

It’s a situation which many Australian Muslims – especially younger people –probably don’t have a great understanding of, as the amount of information released about Palestine by the Western media is limited and so much of its accuracy is not only questionable, it is laughable.

MENTS: The displacement of Palestinians has been going on since 1948 and continues relentlessly.

• ETHNIC CLEANSING: Israel is ethnically cleansing the original people of the land of Palestine and has been doing so for 75 years.

Nakba Day

Nakba Day – the Palestinian Catastrophe – is commemorated on 15 May every year. Not that it’s an actual commemoration as by definition, ‘commemoration’ means a remembrance of an event which occurred in the past.

As Ramia explains: “15 May, 1948, was the original Nakba, when Israel entered Palestine by force and massacred/evicted hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.”

“But here we are just on 75 years later and there is a Nakba taking place in Palestine each and every day, with the Occupier (Israel) using a disproportionate level of force against the Oppressed: innocent Palestinian civilians and especially children.”

But it’s not just the bloodshed. The way Israel continues to steal Palestinian land and for Jewish ‘settlers’ to come from outside and force Palestinians from their homes – and even desecrate Palestinian cemeteries – it’s not only illegal but there are also matters of humiliation and dehumanisation to consider.

Even visitors from overseas can be detained at a checkpoint for hours, being asked the same questions over and over again by Israeli officials, dehumanising and humiliating the traveller, so he or she won’t want to visit there again.

But Ramia is full of praise for the locals for their resilience and positivity.

“Palestinians in Jerusalem are constantly assuring visitors: ‘Please keep visiting us – keep us in your dua and keep supporting us’!”

Ramia points out that it is also important that we build on our knowledge of the Al-Aqsa site as this entire area is sacred.

“This whole area of Jerusalem is regarded as an extremely sacred place by the three Abrahamic faiths, not just Muslims.”

“We need to plant the seeds early so our kids can connect with what is going on in our Holy Land of Palestine,” she added.

Vicious Cycle

A very important point to note is that when it comes to Palestinian refugees, there is a vicious cycle which has been created where these unfortunate people have no nationality.

No right to citizenship and several other basic rights.

In some countries, Palestinians cannot own anything in their own name, which is quite humiliating.

But in spite of this, Palestinians remain the most resilient, resolute and optimistic people….and their desire to protect their homeland is unwavering.

Ramia recommends the following suggestions that we as Australian Muslims should not only consider but follow up on where possible:

Nabulsi, a Palestinian British Oscar-nominated and BAFTA award-winning filmmaker and human rights activist, will give you an idea of what life is like for Palestinians in Jerusalem and on the West Bank.

“As an example, you may be stopped at several checkpoints just when you’re on your way to purchase an item such as a refrigerator, and this is so humiliating,” she said.

“Even going to work can be a mission where you may be turned back home for no good reason.”

“Of course, there are unlawful killings and excessive use of force, especially against women and young children.”

“The percentage of children imprisoned is quite staggering and Palestinian civilians are tried by a military Court, not under a standard civilian system.”

Prominent Sydney lawyer Ramia Abdo Sultan is a much admired and respected figure within our community.

Australian-born and raised and of very proud Palestinian/Lebanese heritage, Ramia is also the Community Relations Advisor to the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) and the first female appointed to that body. She is also a member of the executive committee of the Gaza Children’s Fund, a not-for-profit humanitarian organisation which seeks to help and empower women and children in Gaza.

Ramia also sits on other committees seeking to impart positive change including an advisory committee with the Australian Human Rights Commission.

AMUST is extremely grateful to Ramia for providing her insights and feedback with regard to Palestine and we are sure that much of the information that you are about to read will be an eye-opener.

Community Discussion

Firstly, Ramia has listed some terms that she believes we need to use in our community discussions about Palestine. These include:

• OCCUPYING FORCE: As mentioned in our introduction, Palestine is not a conflict between two equal powers. There is an Occupier and there is an Oppressed party.

• APARTHEID: We need to use this term in our community as it is the policy of separation that the Israeli government is using over the Palestinian people. But is incorrect to blame all Jewish people (Yahud).

• STATE-SANCTIONED TERRORISTS:

The Israeli army and police are terrorists who are endorsed by the Israeli government against minorities who don’t have that power.

• FORCED EVICTIONS and SETTLE-

“It’s literally the Holy Land and it’s always been a point of contention among the three faiths so it is critical that we understand the history of these places.”

Refugee Camps

Most Australians would be unaware that the 250,000-300,000 Palestinians who were expelled or fled their homeland in terror in 1948 now have several hundreds of thousands of descendants of their own who are also refugees so there are indeed several generations of Palestinian refugees born into camps who are fighting for the right to return to Palestine.

Take for example Palestinian refugees in Syrian camps, being forced to flee their own country initially and then later having no alternative but to leave Syria when its own problems escalated.

How would you like it….being thrown out of home, time and time again?

All Palestinians want is to return home but Israel will not allow them the right to do so, contravening international law time and time again.

Ramia also makes the point that Palestine was once the hub of the Middle East, with an abundance of educated and articulate people in a wealthy country.

So when the invasion and massacre took place, not only were their homes taken but also their valuables – money, jewellery and other priceless heirlooms.

“Many Israeli settlers built their wealth and their power on the back of displaced Palestinians and the sad irony is that while Palestinians welcomed displaced Jews after World War II, now they are being oppressed by the people they helped,” she said.

Ramia believes there should be a subject in our school curriculum devoted entirely to what has happened and is still happening over there as when we talk Islamic history, Palestine should be the centre of all conversations.

1. There has to be some form of action – we cannot continue to just be reactive and only do something when backed into a corner.

2. Make dua.

3. Regarding protests in Australia to support Palestine, they are well-meaning but we must realise that there is more to change than just going to a protest and waving a flag. So attend these rallies by all means but also consider the other points raised here as well.

4. Consistent advocacy and lobbying by contacting your state and federal MPs. And if you’re not good at this yourself, at least support the organisations which are.

5. Raise awareness among those around you in the community.

Media Censorship

Ramia has strong feelings about the lack of adequate and accurate reporting of the events transpiring in Palestine and social media censorship with regard to this topic.

“With regards to what we say on social media about the Palestinian situation, of course, we do have a right to speak out…. and it is not anti-Semitic to call out Israel for what they are doing in Palestine.

“But our social media accounts are being censored/limited/blocked when we speak out, and to think this is even being done to charity groups trying to raise funds for Palestine is a disgrace.

“Social media is a very powerful tool and it’s important that we realise that the responsibility has been shifted to us.”

“We need to educate ourselves on how we can support one another and push influencers to potentially put the word out there far more widely.”

“Social media is no longer just about posting.”

Jerusalem and the West Bank

Ramia says that the 2020 short film The Present, directed and co-written by Farah

So the conditions in Palestine are humiliating and dehumanising, something that Ramia and her husband Forat witnessed with their own eyes on a visit to Palestine in 2016 when they saw a 14-year-old student on her way to school being physically stomped on by Israeli soldiers!

Incidents like this are not isolated and clearly illustrate that there is no freedom of movement, no security or no safety: blessings that we take for granted here in Australia.

Palestinians in Gaza

Gaza is tiny and Ramia says you can tour the entire area in less than two hours, yet there are two million people squeezed into living there.

All of the residents of Gaza are refugees so Gaza is basically a massive refugee camp and this has always been the plan of the Occupiers.

Almost 40 per cent of residents in Gaza are living below the poverty line and 75 per cent of them are receiving humanitarian aid.

There is an air, land and sea blockade on the region. Aid cannot be sent by ship and the people are forced to purchase most of their goods from Israel which makes the cost of living extremely high.

In terms of water supply, resources are drying up rapidly in Gaza but the enterprising Palestinians are coming up with their own methods of desalination and other watering systems.

The importance of Al-Aqsa

The first qibla in Islam, Al-Aqsa is vitally important to our faith and it is regarded as the third holiest site after Makkah and Madinah.

Al-Aqsa carries great rewards and there are many Hadiths which recommend it to us, so the importance of visiting Al-Aqsa after visiting Makkah and Madina is immense.

Above all else, Al-Aqsa was also the site where our beloved Prophet Muhammad (s) ascended into the heavens and was presented with the gift of prayer and salat.

The Palestinians residing in the Al-Aq-

Ramia Abdo Sultan.

and action

sa area are hospitable and welcoming and when it comes to asking them what you can do for them, there are three things:

(a) keep visiting and never stop visiting;

(b) keep them in your dua; and

(c) for the Ummah to repair itself. Palestinians keep saying that Masjid Al-Aqsa is “the thermometer of the Ummah”.

People, Not Numbers

Ramia points out that one of our biggest failings is that we view the Palestinian people as numbers and data when we should be viewing them as human beings.

We need to start putting a face and a name to our brothers and sisters who are murdered each and every year.

In the May 2021 carnage which saw 256 Palestinians killed including 66 children, seven members of one family died in the bombings, including a bride waiting for Eid to be married.

If we don’t feel for REAL people like these, it shows that we are becoming desensitised.

As for the locals, the innocence of every child in Palestine is stripped away from them by the Occupiers because of what they see on a daily basis in terms of devastation.

Children as young as 10 are being faced with the real possibility of raising a family of orphan children whose parents have been killed, which is almost beyond our comprehension.

The children of Gaza have never seen anything of what we consider as normal in their entire lives.

What needs to happen

“Obviously, what would be a great start would be for the Palestinian people to be able to live with the same level of rights as any Israeli person… and of course, the right to return home,” Ramia acknowledged.

“For us in Australia, we need to be proactive….donating money and protesting is great but as I’ve already mentioned, there are many other ways we can also help.”

“And remember this: we are all going to be questioned on the Day of Judgement about exactly what we did to help.

“The answer will come from our hearts and lip service won’t protect us anymore.”

Positive Steps

The decision by the Albanese government in October 2022 to strip references to West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is a step in the right direction.

Hopefully, this is just the first step of many from a government which is showing that it does have a heart.

Our major religious organisations also need to be more vocal in their support of Palestine and appeal to the government as the Sydney-based Lebanese Muslim Association is doing.

On 7 April, within 48 hours of the most recent shocking raids on Al-Aqsa, the LMA issued a public statement not only standing with Palestine but also calling on the Australian government to take a stand by denouncing Israel, its leaders and its army, in the hope that the rest of the world will follow.

Japanese PM resumes hosting Iftar in Ramadan

The following day, LMA secretary Gamel Kheir doubled down on this statement in front of a large gathering at his organisation’s annual Iftar at Campsie in Sydney.

Ramia Abdo Sultan also spoke passionately on the subject at the second annual National Muslim Community Iftar, hosted by ANIC and the Alliance of Australian Muslims in Sydney) on 5 April 2023.

Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida hosted an Iftar, breaking of fast for ambassadors and diplomats from 44 countries based in Japan at the Prime Minister’s official residence on Thursday 30 March 2023 that was attended by a large number of parliamentarians and other guests.

Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara, and others attended from the Japanese side.

While delivering his opening remarks, Mr Kishida touched on the bonds of trust and friendship that have been deepened over many years with the Muslim countries saying, “there is a need to lead to cooperation rather than confrontation, and the spirit of emphasising harmony and tolerance shared by Japan and the Muslim world that is more important than ever.”

In accordance with religious precepts, Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from the time of prayer before sunrise until sunset during the month of fasting called Ramadan.

The first meal after sunset is called Iftar (meaning, breaking the fast in Arabic), and it is said that everyone eats together with their families and acquaintances, and strengthens mutual ties and consideration for others.

The Japanese government considers this to be a beneficial opportunity to promote friendly relations with Muslim countries. In 2005, under the auspices of then Prime Minister Koizumi, the Prime Minister’s Office held an Iftar for the first time with Muslim diplomatic corps stationed in Japan.

Since then, the Iftar has been hosted by

the Prime Minister or the Minister for Foreign Affairs every year, with the exception of 2020 to 2022, when only a message from the Minister for Foreign Affairs was issued due to the Covid-19 Pandemic

The period of fasting in Ramadan this year started on Thursday 23 March and will last for a month.

Participating countries and regions celebrating Ramadan are as follows (in alphabetical order): Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Cameroon, Côte

d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Guinea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan , Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Togo, Uganda, Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen.

Noor Din (Thein Ngwe) is a Muslim revert from Tokyo, Japan. He is currently visiting his daughter in Melbourne, Australia.

Gamel Kheir.

Thein Ngwe (Noor Din)

Islam in Japan: First Muslims and first mosque

OIC failure: No end to oppression of Muslims in Palestine

Kazi Haq

Once again it was hard to bear the brutal act of Israeli police beating the Muslims in the Al-Aqsa mosque praying during the fasting month of Ramadan while Muslims from Palestine peacefully offered their prayer in mosques in Australia during the holy month of Ramadan without fear of baton-charge.

At heart, seething with sadness and resentment they worry for their kith & kin back home. Other than submitting to Allah, can they do anything better for the oppressed Muslims in Palestine?

On Wednesday 5 April 2023 and subsequent days the fasting month of Ramadan, Israeli forces violently entered Al-Aqsa Mosque. They used stun grenades and tear gas, baton, and rifle butts to injure worshiping older men and women.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, without any remorse, said he was working to “maintain the status quo” – what could be a farce than this?

As usual, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) denounced the Israeli attack and held an emergency meeting without any meaningful outcome.

US’s favour in terms of money and weapons to defend it from from rocket attacks. The lackluster actions and verbiage resolution of OIC has failed to stop the Zionist expansion over the territory of Palestine.

with perpetual oppression of Palestinians.

After the Russian October Revolution in 1917, religion was dealt with very strictly under communism. Many Muslims belonging to the Turkish-Tatar tribe fled from Soviet Russia and fled to the rest of the world. Japan began to practice the open door policy in Meijikot in 1868. Therefore, like other countries in the world, it accepted about two thousand Muslim refugees and settled them in major cities.

In 1870, a Japanese translation of the biography of the Prophet Muhammad (s) was published.

In 1909, a Japanese citizen, Kataro Yamaoka accepted Islam while traveling to Bombay. He took the Muslim name “Omar Yamaoka”. He was the first Japanese to perform Hajj. Through the efforts of him and Russian-born Abdurashid Ibrahim, they were able to publish Islamic literature in Japanese.

Shime O Kawasan was a writer who was active in national politics. He translated The Holy Quran into Japanese while in prison.

The Muslims who arrived in the port city of Kobe formed a group in 1928 and collected funds, and in October 1935, Japan’s first mosque was opened in the bustling center of the city.

It was designed by the famous Czech architect Jan Josef Svagr. There are about 21 of his designed buildings in Japan. In 1941, he left for Latin America because of the World War. The only religious building by him is the Kobe Mosque that was built by the Takenaka Corporation.

There was a flood in Kobe in 1938 causing a lot of damage. In 1943 ,the mosque was confiscated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. In 1945 , the entire city of Kobe was bombed during World War II and on 6 August 1945 Hiroshima was hit by an atomic bomb.

In 1995, the world-famous Kobe earthquake with a magnitude of 6.99 struck. The mosque of Kobe escaped from all these disasters though.

When the Kobe earthquake hit, the mosque became a refugee camp. While we were sending food and water supplies from Tokyo, we were able to contact Lat Maung Cho, a Burmese Muslim who died due to the earthquake later on.

The age of the Great Mosque of Kobe has been more than 87 years. Japan’s Kobe (Hyogo) Department of Ancient Culture preserved it as a historical building in 2006.

Following the attack, several rockets were fired from Lebanon and Gaza, claimed by Israel, towards Israel, which did not damage anything in Israel because of the Israeli defence system of the “Iron Dome”. In retaliation to the rocket attack, Israel bombed Gaza and Lebanon causing colossal damage and casualties.

In fact, it has been the usual pattern of Israel attacking Muslims in Al-Aqsa every year during the fasting month of Ramadan for at least the last 6/7 years. Israel, a small but mighty country supported by the United States, has been pursuing its agenda through dreadful acts that have become a farce to the world.

Netanyahu is a hard-right coalition government brazen politician who goes all out against Palestinians. It is well known to the world that he was trying to divert the world’s attention, for the time being, from the biggest political crisis against his decision to judicial changes he faced in Israel just before this attack.

After the installation of the Iron Dome, Hamas rockets could not seriously cause any damage against Israel, but Israel’s retaliation brought massive casualties to Muslims. And most importantly, Israel does not leave any stone unturned to bomb Muslims on a flimsy cause.

If it is so, why does Hamas/Hezbollah keep firing rockets, knowing they cannot damage Israel or bring any solution?

The most crucial forgotten lesson the rambunctious leaderships of Hamas/Hezbollah is repeating is that firing some rockets toward Israel invites Israeli military retaliation on Muslims, causing irreparable suffering.

And every time OIC condemns Israel without any follow up action, Israel gets the

Since the exodus of Jews from all over the world to Palestine and the establishment of Israel in 1948, the Arab world has fought many wars with Israel, but they have never won a single battle against Israel. Israel was always the winner and got the opportunity to expand their territory each time which now became Israeli-occupied land.

The OIC, borne in 1969 mainly to protect Al-Aqsa from burning had committed to safeguarding Palestine but subsequently failed to protect the vital interest of Muslims other than to condemn Israel.

In 2017, OIC condemned Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem; also, in 2019, it condemned Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to annex the eastern portion of the occupied West Bank known as the Jordan Valley. The OIC, a body meager and lacking unity, hopelessly failed to stop Israeli expansion.

Also, on many occasions, Muslim leaders have been unable to raise their voices unitedly, which was cited in an article on “Muslim countries foiled the UN debate on Uyghur Muslims”.

Amidst the world’s denunciation, Israel is carrying out its planned strategy to successfully divide the Arab world and safeguard its own interests at the expense of getting away

The callow leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah are the babes in the wood to understand the power politics in the Middle East. Both factions are supported by most of the Arab world, but mainly, Hezbollah is allegedly funded and armed by Iran.

Iran had no diplomatic relations with many Middle East countries, though China has recently tried to restore ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia. However, Israel remains suspicious of Iran’s intention to the building of nuclear weapons.

In short, Muslims are deeply divided by their own sectarian beliefs and interests in the Middle Eastwhile the Middle East’s oil-rich countries have enough money to fuel Arab factions for their political gain.

As a result, the unified voice of Muslims is absent in taking united actions against oppression of Muslims, neither in Palestine, Yemen, nor in Syria. And amid this imbroglio and lack of cohesion among the OIC, Israel unabatedly gets away with oppression and murder.

Kazi Haq is a retired Commodore from Bangladesh Navy and an electrical engineer. He served as Director in Prime Minister’s Office, National Parliament, and Managing Director of a dockyard. Kazi is the founding member of BIMRAD(Bangladesh Institute of Maritime Research and Development). He is now based in Sydney.

Thein Ngwe (Noor Din)

In fact, it has been the usual pattern of Israel attacking Muslims in Al-Aqsa every year during the fasting month of Ramadan for at least the last 6/7 years.

Revival of the institution of Islamic Observatory

Prof Dr Mohammad Ilyas

In 773 CE, the first astronomer-mathematician arrived at the Court of Caliph Mansur at Baghdad starting the flourishing of astronomy and allied sciences. However, the Sack of Baghdad by Hulagu Khan (1258 CE) followed by the colonization of the Islamic Empire in later times impacted the Institution of Islamic Observatory most significantly. Modern re-activation of the Islamic Observatory Institution was successfully undertaken in Malaysia with support by Dato Zakaria Bakar, then State Minister in Penang.

Prior to West’s scientific awakening, the entire spectrum of science (House of Wisdom or Baitul Hikmah was established in Baghdad by Caliph Al Mamun in 815 CE) and education (world’s first University, Al Qarawiyyin, was established in Morocco by Fatima Al Fihri in 859 CE) was in the hands of Muslims.

Muslims preserved works from ancient civilizations and further expanded on it. The practical astronomical needs gave impetus to develop sciences like mathematics, physics, space astronomy, computers and other areas like medicine, pharmacy, chemistry and instrumentation.

Demanding astronomy and observatory became the barometer of excellence.

After ‘Sack of Baghdad’, rebuilding of the scientific and astronomical base was

given new impetus by the Muslim Empire: northwards in Turkey, westwards in Egypt, north-west Africa, southern Spain (Andalusia) and eastwards in Muslims India. However, conflict with Europe, weakening economies and subsequent colonization of Muslim lands resulted in the decline of learning and the institution of observatory.

On an Internationally competitive Fellowship, I joined Adelaide University Physics Department in the Rocket and Satellites research group. Recognising the need for re-

vival of modern Islamic astronomy I moved to Malaysia to undertake this task.

Firstly, I established a modern mathematical foundation for Islamic astronomy. But a revival must incorporate the re-activation of the institution of Islamic Observatory first envisaged in Baghdad. Over the years, numerous expositions within Malaysia and overseas created wider appreciation for this institution.

Most significantly, for the Muslim World we received a major breakthrough in Ma-

laysia through the support by Dato Zakaria Bakar, the then State Minister for Islamic Affairs in Penang. The charismatic Minister quickly recognised the need and was swift in transforming the vision to reality in the form of Sheikh Tahir Astronomical Centre.

During this process, he reminded me of great Mughal Court poet Mirza Ghalib’s famous couplet (kehte hen ke Ghalib ka he … aur): people say that his style is very different.

I believe, the Oenang Observatory Centre became the first such setup in modern times based on Islamic needs and a model of collaboration between religious, political, and scientific establishments.

Seen as a ‘breath of fresh air’ in the Muslim World, it received international importance and appreciation at one of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) General Assembly and at many more forums and served as catalyst for others.

For his ground breaking initiative and exquisite contribution, Dato Zakaria Bakar will be remembered and rewording opening lines of ‘Lamhe’, we could say (wo lamhe, wo pal, hum barson yaad karenge): Those moments, those times will be remembered for years to come.

It is appropriate for some Islamic Educational Colleges in Australia also try establish observatories.

Prof Ilyas taught physics at Adelaide University, in Malaysia revived modern global Islamic Astronomy, published numerous books, recognized in Noble Peace Prize 2007 to IPCC .

Reflections on Eid day celebrations

Farid Ahmed

Muslims look forward to Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations with great enthusiasm after the fasting month of Ramadan

Every year Eid comes and goes and will continue but I will not continue living in this life for very long. My parents, and grandparents have departed from this life in old age, and they can’t celebrate the Eid as others who are still alive.

Shall I just pass my Eid with few rituals, or shall I take lessons from it for my everlasting benefits even if I die today? I ponder.

My first thought is what is the Eid for? Is it only for eating, drinking, and dressing up in new clothes? If that is so, then what about the joy of Eid for a poor Muslim? He cannot enjoy equally as I can because he can’t afford nice food or nice clothes on Eid day.

Is Eid for the rich Muslims only affected by a class system, so the rich ones will enjoy Eid while poor are deprived?

No, that is not what the Eid is for. Eid is for the Muttaqeen, who have profound Faith in Allah’s Judgment, and to avoid Allah’s punishment, they controlled their desires and cravings from sins, and have done lots of good deeds.

For them, Allah accepts their worships, forgives them, and promises them rewards before and after death. Eid is happiness and is for of them.

Allah says, “Allah does accept (worship) from those who have Taqwa.” [Quran 5:27]

My reflection on this Eid is, have I done enough to receive Allah’s forgiveness and rewards? I am hopeful in Allah’s Mercy, but have I done my part? If not, how soon must I mend myself?

My second thought is about my level of achievement after the fasting. Allah prescribed fasting for me to increase Taqwa (High level of self-control to resist temptations).

If I have achieved the pass mark, then yes, I should celebrate the joy of scoring the high grade. If I have not scored high grade in Taqwa, am I to be enjoying Eid? Again, I have hope in Allah’s Mercy, but have I done my part in achieving Taqwa? Have I achieved my goal of fasting that Allah has set for me? If not, when should I work on it before I die?

My third thought on this Eid day is my freedom. during the month of Ramadan, I was fasting, and during my fast I avoided food and drink exactly as Allah commanded me to avoid. I was restricted under fasting rules. After fasting of Ramadan ended on Eid day, am I a free bird? Can I do anything in the name of Eid? Or am I always a servant

of Allah even on Eid day?

Do I have to follow the boundaries set for Halal and Haram to be a proper servant of Allah? This what I should reflect upon!!

Farid Ahmed is a survivor of Christchurch attack on 15 May 2019, a peace advocate, author of HUSNA’S Story and Quran teacher in Christchurch.

Prof Ilyas ( second from left) presenting a cosmic perspective to H.E. Governor Tun Dr Awang Hassan (middle), Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu (right), and Minister Dato Zakari Bakar ( Left) during launch

HAA: Schools’ Ramadan Iftars 2023

Kurlow

Every year the Community Care Division at Human Appeal Australia provides support to several schools to organise Ramadan Iftar dinners where Muslims and Non-Muslims in the school community share a meal in order to develop mutual understanding.

On Wednesday 29 March 2003, for the first time, Chester Hill High School held their first ever Community Iftar Dinner. Iftar is the breaking of the fast for Muslims who are fasting during the month of Ramadan. It was an opportunity to come together, whatever the cultural and/or religious backgrounds, and celebrate the wonderful diversity of the school community.

On the same day, Burwood Girls High School and Unity Grammar carried out its Annual Ramadan Iftar Dinners. With over 200 guests in attendance including Jason Yat-sen Li, Member for Strathfield and Jihad Dib, the newly elected Member from Bankstown who created history as he become the first Muslim Minister of New South Wales.

He was sworn in on the Holy Quran, as he assumed the role of NSW’s Minister for Customer Service & Digital Government, Minister for Emergency Services and Minister for Youth Justice.

Burwood Girls High School had a wonderful opportunity for the school community to come together to learn more about the Islamic faith, build understanding and enjoy some amazing food together. As Burwood GHS is such a multicultural school and Muslim students come from many different backgrounds, the evening was a wonderful opportunity for everyone to try food from

many cultural regions.

For the 4th year, the community of Lurnea High School hosted a hugely successful Iftar dinner on Friday 31 March. It was wonderful to break the fast and celebrate the richness and diversity of the multicultural school community with more than 350 people in attendance including Tina Ayyad, Member Of Holsworthy; Anne Stanley, Member for Werriwa; Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun; Dace Elletson Director Educational Leadership at NSW Department of Education; Dr Jan Ali, Lecturer in Islamic Studies and Modernity at Western Sydney University; Clr Charishma Kaliyanda, now Member for Liverpool and Narelle Curry President of the Liverpool Local AECG (Aboriginal Ed-

ucation Consultative Group).

“Such a privilege to join the Lurnea High Community at their annual Iftar. Thank you to Principal Ms Landrigan and May Jouni and all the staff for the invitation and warm hospitality,” said Anne Stanley MP.

“Human Appeal Australia’s sponsorship helped us create an environment of unity and diversity, where people from different backgrounds, cultures and religions came together to break the fast and celebrate the spirit of Ramadan. We believe that events like this help fostering a great sense of understanding and compassion among our community, and we are grateful for Human Appeal’s support in helping us achieve this goal,” said May Jouni, School Community Liaison Officer.

The Iftar at Arkana College was a great success with hundreds of students, parents and teachers from different faiths in attendance. The Principal and CEO of Arkana

College Osman Karolia welcomed guests in his opening speech and praised the great initiative from Human Appeal to support the community and share the pleasure of feeding the fasting during Ramadan.

On the Tuesday 4 April HAA supported the Ramadan dinner initiatives at Australian International Academy in Kellyville and Punchbowl Public School for students, teachers and their families. Punchbowl Public School Community Iftar has become an annual celebration for the school. Families, current and ex-teachers, local schools and local community leaders gather in the school hall to share a meal in the spirit of Ramadan – giving to others.

Over 220 guests attended on the night, filling the school hall with a positive atmosphere, with families and staff sitting together. Amal Farhat, a teacher at the school, who led the Ramadan Iftar team, described the night as a huge success with families voicing their appreciation. Principal Donna McGeary believes the night is one where the diversity of our community shines brightly.

The community of Macquarie Fields High School hosted a successful Iftar dinner on Wednesday 5 April. In all three schools, students and their families gather collectively on the school grounds at sunset and share in a meal and prayers together.

The next day the Iftar evening was thoroughly enjoyed by Birrong Boys High School students and school guests at the Himalayan Emporium in Bankstown.

These school Iftars foster a sense of community and well-being, develop friendships and build love and harmony through sharing the blessing of Ramadan.

Human Appeal Australia is proud to be involved with events that celebrate multiculturalism by bringing people of different backgrounds together in the spirit of sharing and caring and will continue providing opportunities for our community to come together and celebrate important events.

Alsu

Alsu Kurlow is the Community Care Events Coordinator for Human Appeal Australia.

Lurnea High school.

Burwood Girls High school.

Chester Hill High school.

Punchbowl Public school.

Sydney.

Melbourne.

Canberra.

Melbourne.

Perth.

Adelaide.

Brisbane.

Sydney.