Issue 194 - January 2022

AMUST

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

www.amust.com.au ISSUE # 194

/

Multicultural News & Views

JANUARY 2022; JAMAADIYUL UKHRAA 1443 /

Aligarian high achiever wins yet another award NEWS PAGE 2

PH: (02) 9158 3020

Lessons for Muslims to learn from cricketer BOOMERANG PAGE 6

/

Digital Newspaper Available

EMAIL: INFO@AMUST.COM.AU

“A to Z of Mini Muslims” book launch COMMUNITY PAGE 10

/

$2

/

Why everyone should create a financial plan BUSINESS PAGE 21

ISRA resumes its iconic graduations

Photo Courtesy Shemsi Ilham, SHEM’s Photography Zia Ahmad After a break in 2020 due to COVID-19, ISRA resumed its unique graduation ceremony for the class of 2020-2021 on Saturday 11 December 2021 at Sydney Olympic Park showcasing excellent performance by its graduating students.

The Islamic Sciences and Research Academy (ISRA) is integrated with Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation (CISAC) at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) delivering quality Islamic education for all Australians for more than a decade.

Following its strong performance in the teaching of Classical Arabic, three of its graduates in Masters of Classical Arabic, Asra Anjam, Fraiba Joyan and Shukria Mujaddedi passed with distinction while the top student Aisha Armstrong was awarded the Postgraduate University Medal by the CSU. Amongst graduates in other degrees offered by ISRA, Kamel Kheir passed with distinction in Batchelor of Islamic Studies

while Amina Baghdadi passed with distinction in Master of Islamic Studies.

Bachelors and Masters degrees, graduate diplomas and graduate certificates in Islamic Studies and Classical Arabic were awarded to the graduating students by Professor Lucie Zundans-Fraser, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Education and Associate Professor Clive Pearson, former Head of School of Theology and Senior Research Fellow in the Public and Contextual Theology Research Centre at CSU. ISRA graduations are a unique combination of intellectual, academic, emotional and spiritual experience held in a dignified yet family-friendly atmosphere where the graduating student is given the opportunity to deliver a short reflection on his/her educational experience.

The formal event was also attended by ISRA staff from Sydney as well as Melbourne and Charles Sturt University academics, community leaders and families of the graduates. continued on page 9

Master of Classical Arabic graduate, Aisha Armstrong, winner of Postgraduate University Medal by the CSU. Photo by Zia Ahmad.

Proudly Printed in Australia by Spotpress Pty Ltd

Reflecting on what my Masters meant for me Mobinah Ahmad This Masters in Islamic Studies degree changed the trajectory of my life. It turned me from a cultural Muslim to one who has awakened to the depth of Islam.

This masters degree is a scratch on the surface of Islamic knowledge, and I’m so excited to be on the path of seeking more knowledge.

Each ISRA Academy staff member displayed prophetic leadership. This being my fourth degree, I’ve never seen teachers like the ones at ISRA and the way ISRA executed the facilitation of Islamic knowledge with traditional principles and contemporary scholarship.

I don’t want anyone to think that getting a degree is easy as if there’s anything special about me. It was hard, there were many challenges. I ask my teachers for forgiveness and I’m grateful for your patience and understanding with me.

Working in the community for the past fifteen years has been eye opening. There is a lot of suffering in this world. But we must always have hope, and events like these shine as a beacon of light in darkness.

This life is supposed to be a struggle, the worship is in the struggle, and the true test is how we respond to these struggles. Whatever knowledge you have, embody it, maintain it and share it. This is a responsibility upon us all.

I imagine Allah will ask me: I gave you so many privileges, good mental and physical health, money, love, family, friends, education, country, so what did you do with it? This is a question for us all to reflect on.

Allah will ask what did you do with all the favours I gave you? Which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny? Make this life of effort to please Allah.

I dedicate this degree to my parents: Mehar Ahmad and Zia Ahmad whose immense love and guidance strengthens me everyday.

I am nothing without your love. I also dedicate my degree to my grandfather Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad OAM, as well, who has created a powerful legacy for us to follow in his footsteps.

I am grateful and humbled that Allah has graced me to live to see this day. It lights a fire of passion within my heart to continue in serving my community. I plan to continue my research on Islam and social media leading towards a PhD. Inshallah. This life is short, we don’t know when our time will come, so make the most of the time we do have.

Dispose of this paper thoughtfully - PLEASE RECYCLE

AMUST

NEWS

NEWS 1-4

BOOMERANG 5-7

COMMUNITY 8 - 10

AUSTRALIA 11 - 12

LIFESTYLE 13 - 15

Aligarian high achiever wins yet another award Zia Ahmad Ahmad Tabish has won the annual AusIMM 2021 Award and scholarship from the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy for his outstanding contributions to the resources industry and work in the mining community.

He is currently a PhD student at the University of Newcastle’s Global Innovative Center for Advanced Nanomaterials (GICAN) researching in the field of nanotechnology for making the environment more clean and green.

Ahmad is the youngest recipient of Australian Prime Minister’s Distinguished Global Talent Award 2020 from Department of Home Affairs where he was granted the highly competitive Distinguished Talent Visa under the Government’s newly launched Global Talent Independent Program.

The Global Talent Independent program is designed to attract the best talent from around the world, who are at the top of future-focused fields, to live and work permanently in Australia.

The achievement is a reflection of Ahmad’s impressive research accomplishments in his home country of India and the United Arab Emirates where he worked in the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s Research and Development Center.

His work is based on novel research innovations of silica based nanomaterials for capturing green house gases from Australian mining sites and power plants. Currently he is working for the Australian Carbon Neutral targets of 2050.

At the moment, Ahmad together with his wife Reda Fatima, is living in Sydney and working for the crucial and critical Australian Defence Project as part of Defence Innovation Network’s Industry placement program.

He arrived in Australia in February 2020

Ahmad Tabish recently in Sydney. as an international student and was granted a permanent residency visa within six months under the highly competitive Distinguished Talent Visa program by the Australian government.

Ahmad is a three generation Alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University in India having completed BTech in Chemical Engineering in 2014 and went on to do a Masters followed by working as a research engineer in UAE. Even before his graduation Ahmad won “Excellence in Research Award” from Uni-

versity of Queensland, Brisbane in 2013 for his research work on mining safety in Australia in association with ACARP, The Australian Coal Industry’s Research Program.

His grandfather was a professor of Arabic at AMU while his father Professor Dr Ghayoorul Haq, a medical doctor and academic at AMU also worked at Saudi Arabia’s King Abdul Aziz Hospital and Research Center.

Ahmad says that his motto is to serve the Society and bring technological advancement in Australia and for the greater humani-

ty globally by working judiciously.

He believes that the guidance and support he got from his father and grandfather, serves as the motivation for his hard work.

“The Tehzib (culture) of Aligarh Muslim University is deeply instilled in my heart and my mind rings and sings for Hindustan (India), the land where I was born,” he reflects.

Ahmad went on to say that he wishes to fulfil the dream of his mother and wants to be the role model for the community and thanks the Almighty for all the blessings.

Muslim Lawn

KEMPS CREEK MEMORIAL PARK

Kemps Creek Memorial Park has a dedicated lawn for the Muslim community with peaceful rural vistas.

Located only 25 minutes’ drive from Blacktown and 35 minutes from Auburn. › Single and double burial graves available › 3 year interest free payment plans available

Part of the local community For further information please contact:

2

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

Call us on 02 9826 2273 from 8.30am-4pm www.kempscreekcemetery.com.au

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

ISSUE 194 / JANUARY 2022

UMMAH 16 - 17

EDUCATION 18 - 20

BUSINESS 21

JANUARY 2022 / ISSUE 194

NEWS

SOCIAL 22 - 23

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

AMUST

3

AMUST

NEWS

NEWS 1-4

BOOMERANG 5-7

COMMUNITY 8 - 10

AUSTRALIA 11 - 12

LIFESTYLE 13 - 15

Facebook sued by Rohingya for $150 billion Zia Ahmad Lawyers in both US and UK sued Meta Platforms Inc (new name for Facebook) on behalf of Rohingya refugees on Monday 6 December over allegations for failing to prevent its social media platform being used for hate speech and incitement to violence against the Muslim group living in Myanmar who became targets of ethnic cleansing amounting to genocide.

Earlier this year the Australian Muslim Advocacy Network (AMAN) lodged a complaint against Facebook, through the Australian Human Rights Commission alleging that the firm breached discrimination and hate speech law under the Racial Discrimination Act. Facebook has also been accused of having bias against Palestinians where it established a special operations unit to censor, filter, block and remove any content that exposed the truth about the human rights abuses and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

The class-action complaint against Facebook, filed in California on Monday 6 December accuses the firm’s failures to remove

hateful content and propaganda where its platform’s design contributed to brutal violence against the Rohingya community.

Facebook in August 2018 acknowledged that its platform was used to “foment division and incite offline violence” on a wide scale and began deleting and banning accounts of key individuals and organisations in Myanmar.

Myanmar’s military launched a brutal campaign in 2017 to push Rohingya Muslims out of the Rakhine state resulting in almost a million Muslim men, women and children driven out through rape, murder and razeing of villages that UN called a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.”

Mynmar’s nationalist monks and top government officials posted and recirculated propaganda against the Rohingya, while spreading falsehoods and doctored images that suggested some Rohingya burned their own villages and then blamed it on Myanmar security forces.

Under US law, Facebook is largely protected from liability over content posted by its users. But the new lawsuit argues the law of Myanmar – which has no such protections – should prevail in the case.

British lawyers also submitted a letter of notice to Facebook’s London office soon after the US action alleging:

• Facebook’s algorithms “amplified hate speech against the Rohingya people” • The firm “failed to invest” in moderators and fact checkers who knew about the political situation in Myanmar • The company failed to take down posts or delete accounts that incited violence against Rohingya • It failed to “take appropriate and timely action”, despite warnings from charities

and the media The case refers to the Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who leaked a number of internal documents earlier this year, that the company does not police abusive content in countries where such speech is likely to cause the most harm.

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

US Congress approves Act combating Islamophobia Dr Aslam Abdullah The US House of Representatives approved with 219-212 votes Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Jan Schakowsky’s Combating International Islamophobia Act on Tuesday 14 December, thereby warning Islamophobes all over the world that they are under its watch.

The draft for the bill, authored by Representative Ilhan Omar and her colleague was presented in Congress on 21 October 2021 and would now create a special envoy for monitoring and combating Islamophobia and include state-sponsored anti-Muslim violence in the department’s annual human rights reports.

“We are in the midst of a staggering rise of anti-Muslim violence and discrimination around the world,” Omar said on the House floor. “Islamophobia is global in scope and we must lead the global effort to address it.”

The initiative was supported by Democrats while all Republicans members of the congress opposed it except one.

Addressing the Congress, Rep Ilhan Omar said, “some cynics would rather see us divided on racial, ethnic, gender, and religious lines. But as Americans, we should stand united against all forms of bigotry.”

Congress members referred to human (1) acts of physical violence or harassrights violations of Muslims in India, My- ment of Muslim people, anmar, and China expressly.

(2) instances of propaganda in governIt is a significant achievement of Ilhan ment and nongovernment media that atOmar and her colleagues when the pro-Is- tempt to justify or promote hatred or incite raeli lobby and the supporters of the violence against Muslim people, and Hindu national organizations, (3) actions taken by a counRSS and BJP, with the help try’s government to respond of right-wing Christian orto such acts. The Office ganizations, are vowing shall coordinate and asto remove her in 2022 sist in preparing these mid-term elections.. portions of the reThe Combating ports.

International IslamoDuring the Act’s phobia Act establishfloor debate, the Bides a particular envoy en-Harris Adminoffice at the U.S. istration expressed State Department to solidarity with the monitor and combat Act. international IslamoPraising the pasphobia. sage of the bill, House The Bill establishes the Majority Leader Steny H Congresswomen Special Envoy in the State Hoyer (MD) released the Ilhan Omar Department will monitor and following statement : combat Islamophobia and Islamo“I’m pleased that the House has phobic incitement in foreign countries. passed a bill to combat Islamophobia by The Bill also requires specific existing an- creating a special envoy for that purpose nual reports to Congress about human rights at the State Department. I want to thank and religious freedom in foreign countries Rep. Omar, Rep. Schakowsky, and its other to include information about Islamophobia. sponsors for introducing and championing It would include information about: this legislation. “We have seen a dangerous

rise in Islamophobia and violence against Muslim Americans in our country and around the world in recent years, particularly since September 11, 2001. No one should have to live in fear because of one’s religion – today, however, the threat of Islamophobic violence has become a daily reality for Muslim Americans. Just as we have a special envoy to address antisemitism, it is important that we take this step today to continue our commitment to addressing the scourge of religious intolerance here at home and around the world. “House Democrats will not sit silently in the face of religious bigotry. It is shameful that Republicans would not stand with us to affirm this core American value, which ought to be an easy and straightforward objective.”

However the last section of the bill effectively to establish in the Department of State, the Office to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia, and for other purposes, under the heading, “Prohibitions” is very interesting: S.E.C. 4. PROHIBITION. No funds made available pursuant to this Act or an amendment made by this Act may be used to promote or endorse a Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (B.D.S.) movement ideology or used to promote or endorse a Muslim ban, such as the one instituted by former President Trump.

Australia joins US, UK and Canada in boycott of China Olympics Mohamed Ainullah The US announced its diplomatic boycott of Winter Olympics in Beijing to be held in February 2022, on Monday 6 December, because of China’s human rights record specially its brutal oppression amounting to genocide of the Muslim Uyghurs minority in the Xinjiang region.

Many more countries are expected to follow suit.

The UN and rights groups believe at least one million Uyghurs and members of other mostly Muslim minorities have been detained by Chinese authorities.

Diplomatic boycott means that no ministers, diplomats and government officials will be attending the Olympic events while

4

the teams may be taking part in the competitions.

Australia’s decision came because of its struggles to reopen diplomatic channels with China to discuss alleged human rights abuses in the far western region of Xinjiang and Beijing’s moves against Australian imports.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison highlighted “human rights abuses and issues in Xinjiang,” were some of the concerns raised by the Australian government with Beijing.

He clarified that the government would keep its official representatives at home, although Australian athletes will still attend the Games in February.

The Australian Olympic Committee said the boycott would have no impact on athletes’ preparations for the Games, which

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

run from 4 to 20 February 2022, adding that “diplomatic options” were a matter for governments.

Earlier this year, the Canadian Parliament

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

also passed a non-binding resolution describing China’s treatment of Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang as “genocide”.

ISSUE 194 / JANUARY 2022

UMMAH 16 - 17

EDUCATION 18 - 20

BUSINESS 21

BOOMERANG

SOCIAL 22 - 23

2022: Hoping and praying for a better year We entered the year 2021 with a lot of parently attacks only nose and throat with optimism hoping to see the end of COV- limited adverse affect on the lungs, hence less ID-19 pandemic, resumption of face to symptomatic. face interaction, education, socialisaThankfully, although the infection rate has tion, weddings and with holiday gone sky-high, hospitalisations of inplans. fected patients has not been matched Here we are entering the year and so far has been manageable.

2022 in a much worse condiNow we enter the year 2022 tion than a year ago. Much with many uncertainties as to of the world including Auswhich variant of the COVZia Ahmad tralia is struggling with mulID-19 will emerge next, how tiple variants of Covid-19 contagious it will be and how Assalamu inspite of widespread rollout severe dease it will cause.

Alaikum of vaccines and testing for inThe holiday plans this sumGreetings fections. mer had to be abandoned so Sydney had one of the longest were major celebrations, conferof Peace and strictest lockdowns in an atences, sports and even weddings. It tempt to bring the infection rate to zero, has become very risky under the circuma strategy that had to be finally abandoned stances to plan for major communal events in due to public pressure and political fatigue. the new year.

With the daily infection rate in AustralOn the positive side, we have now learnt ia overblowing to 50,000 and more where to live, work and play with the virus. Virtual NSW has reached a record number of 35,000 communication skills have been developed infections overnight, the new strategy is to and both employees and employers are satislive with the virus and manage the disease it fied with the mutual arrangements of working causes, as best as possible. from home.

The latest data shows the new variant With skyrocketing infection rate globally as Omicron to be highly contagious but it ap- well as in Australia, albeit from the Omicron

AMUST ISSUE # 194 FRIDAY 7 JANUARY 2022 3 JAMAADIYUL UKHRAA 1443 News

- Boland: Lessons for Muslims - Keeping up with the virus - Aboriginal wellbeing challenged - Young Muslims excel at Tedx - Book launch: A to Z of Mini Muslims

Australia

Re: Facebook sued by Rohing- Re: A Muslim convert’s reflecya for $150 billion in US and UK tions on Christmas The about-face of most of the Muslim leaders re: oppression of Palestinians, Kashmiris, Rohingyas, Uyghurs and more embolden the profiteer of Facebook to be accessory to the crime. Zuckerberg and Co would continue to be blasé about the whole Muslim thing so long his profit machine is

Subscribe Yearly subscription

- 37 $10 Digital36Edition $30 Print Edition

Subscribe now at

amust.com.au/subscribe JANUARY 2022 / ISSUE 194

Matt 23.23 stating the words of Jesus (p) has long impressed me. These have the ring of truth and are a warning against perform-

Advertise Choose from 3 ways of effective advertising

• Newspaper • Website • Email Newsletter For more info, Email info@amust.com.au

11 - 12

- Concerns of shortage of burial space - Muslim participation in politics

Lifestyle

13 - 15

- New Year resolutions - Grief management plan

Ummah

16 - 17

- Remembering Boxing Day Tsunami - Indians warn against genocide

variant, there is still no light at the end of the tunnel and we can only hope and pray that this year 2022 will somehow be the year where we will able to manage this disease if not eradicate it completely Inshallah.

faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”

Bilal Cleland

Re: Tenfold increase in COVID-19 infections within a week

Tenfold increase in COVID-19 infections within a week.

Bilal Cleland

Re: US Congress approves Act combating Islamophobia Re: Aboriginal wellbeing seWhat a great achievement – this must not verely challenged within a ‘Cohave come easy. Bravo, American Muslims. lonial Settler’ culture Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Jan Schakowsky’s did better than any Congressman in this achievement. My hat’s off to them for their steadfastness and sense of Justice against the Republican’s (bar one) pigheadedness. mal

8 - 10

Community

ative religiosity without the actual content.

Re: Increasing Muslim par- not anti-semite or perceived as one. mal “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, ticipation in Australian mainhypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise stream politics A very interesting report, “Increasing Re: The contradictions be- and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and Muslim participation in Australian main- tween two Americas

Shinwari

5-7

Boomerang

Readers comments Contradictions indeed! Even with the articulate and cosmopolitan President Barack Hussein Obama, his lesser achievements were the drone killing of civilians/ non-combatants and the pandering to Israel’s military by signing off 38 billion in military assistance the largest such aid package in U.S. history. mal

1-4

- ISRA resumes iconic graduations - Aligarian high achiever wins award - Facebook sued by Rohingya

EDITORIAL

stream politics.” Thank you.

I recently joined a new independent party ( and raised $6k toward their campaign.)

In a discussion of the Religious Freedom Bill, I suggested that 51 Muslims dead on the floor of their masjid might have liked protection from the hate speech that enabled their killer. Unlike antisemitism or homophobia for instance, there are no Acts to protect against Islamophobia. One of the inspirations for the killer, Lauren Southern, was given a visa to live and work in Australia.

The response from one of the exec was, ‘if they weren’t so deluded worshipping their invisible man in the clouds they wouldn’t have been shot.’

In an Anglo dominant culture, I don’t believe Muslim communities will ever be able to ‘assimilate’ enough to be accepted as Australians.

Sad. I’ve stepped back from the indy party now.

Shayne Chester

AMUST

The lack of appreciation and understanding of First Nations cultures by mainstream Australians and our political leaders is one of the deficits in our culture which needs to be addressed.

Ignorance kills.

Bilal Cleland

HAVE YOUR SAY

18 - 20

Education - Who and what was Jesus?

- Maulana Yusuf Islahi

21

Business - Create a financial plan - Problem with banking

Social

21 - 23

- Solidarity with Palestine - Derya Iner on ISRA graduation

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

AMUST Team

Editor-in-Chief: Zia Ahmad Managing Editor: Mobinah Ahmad Sub-Editor: Nilufer Kurtuldu Graphic Designer: Rubinah Ahmad Chief Adviser: Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad OAM Multimedia Journalist: Mehar Ahmad Multimedia Journalist: Faseeha Hashmi Columnist: Dr Abul Jalaluddin (Finance) Columnist: Bilal Cleland (Victoria) Columnist: Manarul Islam (ACT) Columnist: Dr Daud Batchelor (QLD) Columnist: Zahid Jamil (NSW) Columnist: Shahjahan Khan (QLD) Promotion: Dr Wali Bokhari Web Developer: rubinah.design Multimedia: iMoby Productions Printers: Spotpress Pty Ltd Distributers: Abul Fateh Siddiqui, Shujaat Siddiqui, Usaid Khalil, Ibrahim Khalil, Usman Siddiqui, Zahid Alam, Shahab Siddiqui, Mahmoud Jaame, Mateen Abbas, Rashid Idris, Sakinah Ahmad, Anjum Rafiqi, Hasan Fazeel, Dr Quasim, Ismail Hossain, Hanif Bismi, Luqman Landy.

Contact AMUST Email your thoughts or comment of current events to

info@amust.com.au

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

Post: PO Box 111, Bonnyrigg (Sydney), NSW 2177 Australia.

Email: info@amust.com.au Web: www.amust.com.au Phone: (02) 9158 3020 Facebook: @amustnews Instagram: @amustnews Twitter: @amustnews

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

5

AMUST

BOOMERANG

NEWS 1-4

BOOMERANG 5-7

COMMUNITY 8 - 10

AUSTRALIA 11 - 12

LIFESTYLE 13 - 15

Boland: Lessons for Muslims to learn from the Australian cricketer

Dr Aslam Abdullah

Scott Michael Boland (born 11 April 1989), an Australian cricketer in headlines, recently discovered that his grandfather, John Edward, was Aboriginal. Boland embraced his indigenous heritage, started playing in indigenous representative teams, and educated himself on indigenous traditions. He owned his people and their history.

On 27 December 2021, Boland capturing six wickets for seven runs on his debut for Australia proudly dedicating his victory to his people. He promised to work with youngsters in their future growth.

He did not bring his specific tribal identity into the discussion. Instead, he owned the aborigines, history, and culture despite their differences and cultural variations.

Indigenous Australians comprise 3.3% of Australia’s population. The term includes many distinct peoples who have lived across Australia for thousands of years. They have a shared genetic history.

From the 1780s, when white Christian settlers started arriving at the continent, British soldiers, the police, and the settlers have orchestrated over 350 known massacres until November 2021. No one knows the number of people killed by white settlers.

When the settlers arrived, the local population was about 750,000. By 1920 the white supremacists reduced it to about 120,000.

According to new data, discrimination against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is far higher than for the rest of the population.

On behalf of Inclusive Australia, researchers at Monash University surveyed people over several years on several measures, including their experiences of discrimination, feelings of belonging and well-being, and prejudices towards minority groups.

The survey found the percentage of Abo-

riginal and Torres Strait Islander people who reported experiencing at least one form of major discrimination increased dramatically in 2019 from 28.6% to 52.1% and remains very high at 49.7%.

Realizing all injustices against his people, Boland proudly adopted his people and culture. There are lessons for Muslims living in the West and elsewhere in the example of Boland.

1. Do not abandon your people and faith, no matter how intense the propaganda is.

2. Identify with the community as a whole, ignoring your subculture or sectarian split.

3. Never give up. Keep struggling and fighting for your rights.

4. Never feel ashamed of your way of life.

5. Do not isolate yourself from the rest of society.

6. Compete in every walk of life to prove your worth.

7. No amount of phobia and discrimination should impact your desire to succeed.

8. Never hide your identity.

9. Rely on the good nature of people 10. Trust your ability to overcome all difficulties.

11. Always stand with the victims of injustice Born in Mordialloc, Melbourne, Victoria, Boland started his career with Parkdale Cricket Club and first played a competitive game aged six in the under-12’s competition. He then joined Victorian Premier Cricket club Frankston Peninsula at age 16, to further his cricketing development. After moving, Boland’s first two seasons were less productive, only playing six matches in first grade, with just three wickets.

However, he fared much better in second grade, getting 37 wickets in the 2008/2009 season, at an average of 18.60. His next season proved more fruitful, where he played 20 matches for first grade, taking 27 wickets at an average of 27. Another consistent season with Frankston-Peninsula saw Boland take 33 wickets at an average of 25.3 in the 2010/2011 season, earning him a rookie state-level contract with the Victorian Cricket team.

Despite a solid start to the 2011/2012 season, Boland wasn’t called up to debut until Victoria’s fourth Sheffield Shield game.

In the 2012/13 season, Boland was not a regular member of the Sheffield Shield or Ryobi Cup squad, playing in seven of

Victoria’s games across both formats. The 2013/14 season was much more productive for Boland, as he enjoyed an extended stay in Victoria’s teams for both the Sheffield Shield and Ryobi Cup tournaments.

Boland’s performances were again consistent in the following season in 2014/15, and he was now a mainstay in the Victorian attack. The 2015/16 season was a breakout season for Boland at both state and international levels. Boland took a career-best 7/31 against Western Australia that got the attention of the national selectors.

As a result, he was on the standby list for Australia’s Test against the West Indies in Hobart. In addition, he got the Bill Lawry Medal as Victoria’s best Sheffield Shield player.

The 2017/18 season was another consistent season for Boland, as he claimed 38 wickets at 26.92 to finish the season. The 2018/19 domestic season was another success. Boldon took 48 wickets at a miserly average of 19.66.

In 2018, Boland was in the Aboriginal XI to England to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the 1868 Aboriginal team that traveled to England. His brother Nick was also in the squad of 13. The 1868 tour was the first time an Australian sports team represented the country overseas. He was a standout on tour, with some commentators noting he was unplayable at times.

In 2017, Boland’s family discovered that his grandfather, John Edward, was Aboriginal, from the Gulidjan tribe in the Colac area of Victoria. After discovering this, Boland embraced his indigenous heritage, playing in indigenous representative teams and further educating himself on indigenous traditions.

Dr Aslam Abdullah is a resident scholar at Islamicity.org. He is also the editor of the Muslim Observer published from Detroit, MI, USA. He is based in the USA and is a trustee of the American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin. He has taught at several colleges and universities in India, England, and the USA.

A Muslim convert’s reflections on Christmas Fadlullah Wilmot

God is on the side of the poor and downtrodden, those pushed aside and oppressed by the rich and the powerful. Christmas, celebrated by the Western Church on 25 December and the Eastern on 7 January, is a reminder to me of the links between Islam and Christianity and the important role of the mother of Jesus (a), Mary (a) in both faiths.

There are striking similarities between the Quran and Luke’s scriptural accounts of Jesus (a) birth. Even though Christmas is not an Islamic celebration, I take it as a time to reflect on the Qur’anic chapter dedicated to Mary (a) and honour the message of Jesus to create peace and build cohesive and inclusive societies without fear of the ‘other.’

Let us all, like Jesus (a) and Muhammad (s) saw, free ourselves from prejudice, illwill and malice. Let us forgive and embrace those whom we dislike and free ourselves from all biases and hate. Let us practice the humility taught by both Christianity and Islam which builds bridges among people and knock down rather than build walls.

I am reminded at this time that a Muslim’s faith is incomplete without belief in Jesus (a) and the other prophets who came to bring goodness, peace, compassion, forgiveness and justice to humanity.

6

Jesus (a), who Muslims call Isa alMasih (a), the one who heals and one who brought life to the dead is mentioned by name 27 times in the Qur’an and that the name of Mary (a) is mentioned more times in the Qur’an than in the Bible.

One of the 114 Chapters of the Qur’an is dedicated to Maryam (Mary) (a) mother of Jesus (a) and the virgin birth. Although Muslims and Christians differ in their understanding of the role of Jesus (a), Muslims deeply respect him as a Prophet of God. But one aspect of Mary (a) that may be missed is her call to end unjust and exploitative economic systems. The prayer called the magnificat, the longest set of words spoken by a woman in the New Testament who is poor, young, unmarried and pregnant is not only one of obedience and praise of God but all a prayer to right unjust systems.

At the time of Jesus (a), 2 to 3 percent of the population was rich, while the majority lived a subsistence-level existence. Mary articulates an end to economic structures that are exploitative and unjust.

She speaks of a time when all will enjoy the good things given by God, “putting forth his arm in strength and scattering the proud of heart; bringing down the powerful from

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

their thrones and raising up the lowly; filling the starving with good things, while sending the rich away empty.”

The God Mary (a) praises with all her heart is, certainly, the Loving and compassionate God, “ever mindful of his mercy” — and of course the rich and powerful can receive that mercy if they are open to God’s Word and willing to change their ways.

But the God of the Magnificat is clearly a God who is on the side of the poor and downtrodden, those pushed aside and oppressed by the rich and the powerful.

Oscar Romero, priest and martyr, drew a comparison between Mary (a) and the poor and powerless people in his own community. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor and theologian who was executed by the Nazis, called the Magnificat “the most passionate, the wildest, one might even say the most revolutionary hymn ever sung.”

Many revolutionaries, the poor and the oppressed, have loved Mary (a) and emphasised her glorious song. But the Magnificat has been viewed as dangerous by people in power. Some countries banned the Magnificat from being recited in liturgy or in public.

And evangelicals — in particular, white evangelicals — have devalued the role of

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

Mary, and her song, to the point that she has almost been forgotten as anything other than a silent figure in a nativity scene.

My soul magnifies the Lord And my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; Because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid; For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed; Because He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name; And His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear Him. He has shown might with His arm, He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and has exalted the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.

He has given help to Israel, his servant, mindful of His mercy Even as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity forever.

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.

ISSUE 194 / JANUARY 2022

UMMAH 16 - 17

EDUCATION 18 - 20

BUSINESS 21

BOOMERANG

SOCIAL 22 - 23

Keeping up with the virus Australia Bilal Cleland In the United States, which seems to be the point of reference for the right-wing freedumb protesters in Australia, the pandemic has been politicised to a lethal degree.

“Right-wing state legislatures like Montana’s have rushed to stop employers from requiring vaccines despite the overwhelming scientific evidence that vaccines protect people from COVID-19.

Last week, Texas governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order preventing governments and school districts in the state from requiring people to even wear masks.

[4 August 2021 NBC News] A similar politicisation has developed in Australia, with political divisions being sharpened over pandemic issues. We are moving into election campaign time and things could get nasty.

A recent case in point was the controversy over the administration of a booster shot, a further protection against the virulent omicron variant.

The Leader of the Opposition, Anthony Albanese, advocated the time between the second vaccination and the booster be reduced from five months to four.

Federal Health Minister Hunt said this was; “Utterly irresponsible, utterly inappropriate, utterly unworthy of someone who

wants to be a Prime Minister.” [23 December 2021 Sky News] Only one day later he announced that booster shots will be reduced from five to four months from 4 January and then down to three months after January. [24 December 2021 Sky News] In NSW the new Premier Perrottet told NSW to take personal responsibility for the virus as the QR code, masks and track and tracing were dropped. [8 October 2021 Crikey] Epidemiologic expert Professor McLaws responded: “I see that the NSW Health Department and Minister of Health are abandoning public health responsibilities and focusing on only hospital cases. …… Hospitalisation can be manipulated.” [18 December 2021 Independent Australia] Former independent MP Dr Kerryn Phelps was also scathing in her response, pointing out that in the same week that the Omicron variant started to take off exponentially, virus control measures were being dropped.

[20 December 2021 Independent Australia] NSW Health Minister Hazzard predicted 25,000 cases a day by January 2022 at the same time the Premier was announcing the abolition of control measures.

Norman Swan, host of RN’s Health Report, and commentator on ABC TV’s 7.30 tweeted on 24 December suggesting that this figure of 25,000 is already with NSW. “In the US last year the underdiagnosis rate ranged from 7-10. So let’s take a fair midpoint, say 5. That’s 5×5000 = 25,000.

Let’s take last year’s rate (3) and it’s still

15,000 a day. That’s why if you live in Sydney, by now you know someone who’s got or had COVID.” The leaked Doherty Institute modelling projecting 200,000 daily cases was based on the assumption that it would occur if nothing was done. [22 December 2021 Guardian] Perrottet was forced to respond. Masks indoors were again mandated. Immediately after Christmas social distancing measures in indoor venues returned and “QR checkins will also again become compulsory in hospitality and retail.” [23 December 2021 Yahoo Sport] Perrottet’s hands off approach was mirrored by PM Morrison. He was lambasted

by Quentin Dempster, a Walkley Award journalist, on Twitter on 23 December 2021.

Aboriginal wellbeing severely challenged within a ‘Colonial Settler’ culture Dr Daud Batchelor Aboriginal societal elements can enrich Australian mindsets – concepts of inter-responsibility for each other and the environment. Just as African societies are still impacted from the European Slave Trade, Aboriginal society is still recovering from colonial onslaughts.

Recovery is impeded I believe, as solutions are sought within a Western framework.

Efforts should be applauded for recovering knowledge of traditional Aboriginal societies, through study of resilient communities and from early European ethnology-cultural reports.

Attention is deserved towards adaptive strategies of communities who successfully negotiated modernity and avoided harms from mainstream society. Let’s inform ourselves about Aboriginal Beliefs/Values: 1. Dreaming Origin of the Universe and active creation ancestors.

2. Unicity of the Natural World – interconnectedness, interdependence and inter-responsibility of people, ancestors, animals, plants, landforms, and celestial bodies, which are sentient living beings.

3. Individuals have an eternal soul/spirit and autonomy. Land is part of a person’s being/identity.

4. Obey the Law from the Dreaming, which ensures individuals know their responsibilities and provides justice; practice the traditions/rituals.

5. Respect Elders, family/community connections, and obligations of responsibility/assistance.

6. Live a moral/ethical path in the present.

Spirituality is the core of Aboriginal being, based in connectedness.

Contrasting to Western individualism, Aboriginal spirituality emphasizes the collective as ideas/rules/morals binding on inJANUARY 2022 / ISSUE 194

dividuals.

As Western society intrudes into indigenous minds, Aborigines may neglect their own principles (Everett).

The Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health identifies colonialism as root cause for wellbeing loss.

Lack of respect of what constitutes Aboriginal wellbeing and the centrality of Spirituality, deepens the problem Aboriginals have with the ‘settler colonial society’: “without deep respect/knowledge of what constitutes Aboriginal wellbeing, there’s little opportunity for governments, agencies and Western-educated professionals to work meaningfully with Aboriginal groups to engender healing. (Grieves) I believe it is failure to understand serious impacts from harmful Western lifestyle elements that frustrates efforts to ‘Close the Gap’ and improve Aboriginal Wellbeing.

Of 13 Closing the Gap reports, none met more than three of the seven targets.

Adoption of Western lifeways from an empathetic co-religionist outlook, apparently blind-sighted many Aboriginal leaders to destructive practices impacting on Spirituality, and delayed them taking stronger prevention actions.

Surprisingly, leaders didn’t condemn these as insidious colonial corruptions.

Aboriginal leaders underestimated their destructive powers and generally didn’t call for their abstinence or prohibition.

I refer to addictive behaviours: alcohol

consumption, illicit drugs, gambling, and pornography.

Aboriginal words for ‘alcohol’ often mean ‘dangerous’ or ‘poisonous’.

To ensure wellbeing of Muslim societies, God prohibited these practices. “They ask you concerning [intoxicants] and gambling.

Say: ‘In them is great sin, and some benefit …; but the sin is greater than the benefit.’”

(Qur’an 2:219) This is not stated for proselytization, but to highlight that condemnation of negative practices is integral to preserving community wellbeing.

WHO estimates alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs cause 12.5% of all deaths worldwide.

Alcohol impacts more seriously on Aboriginal society than non-Aboriginals.

While fewer Aborigines drink than non-Aboriginals, Aboriginals are five times more likely to die from alcohol-related causes, while fetal alcohol syndrome is 60 times more prevalent than among the general population. (Korff) Western indulgences cause worse impacts to Aboriginals because firstly, many already suffer stress, trauma and mental illness from painful cross-generational life experiences.

Secondly, consequences are most harmful to Aboriginal spirituality/wellbeing. Western indulgences harm connectedness.

“Substance abuse interferes with spiritual relationships that exist between family members; so, may deny people their reason for existence.” (Carroll) Prompt action is long overdue.

As Vicki Grieves counsels, settler colonial societies can only decolonize by decolonizing the mind, by developing new understandings of indigenous culture and society, and new respectful ways of relating to indigenous people and incorporation of their lifeways into the idea of the Nation. .

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.

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

AMUST

‘It’s now apparent this response is politically calculated to hold LNP’s anti-vax anti-government base, now being incited by Clive’s UAP billboards & ad blitz. Thus are we governed. UAP = LNP.” If this is correct we have a major problem.

The ASIO caseload of homegrown violent far-right extremists has grown from 40% to 50% in just a year.

Some of our elected officials must see advantage in the provocation and threats that are being uttered in the controversy to allow it to continue.

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

Life and Living Fazlul Huq Like the brightness of innumerable stars and heights reached by the lofty waves.

And resonance in the enclosed cavity perturbing silence of the night.

Or like the restlessness of untamed youth and blending of myriad of colors and shades.

The lotus dancing in excitement and reverence.

With the recurrent change in the Mother Earth taking the cue not from the neverending flow.

The narrator is lost in thought and expression.

As the introvert repeatedly withdraws and the extrovert continues to append.

Or like the verses towering the clock of life with remnants of symmetry left in the chaos.

The fear and joy from the flash of lightning and thunder and hail from violent storm.

The invitation of flowers in full bloom.

The squeeze and warmth of the embrace, matched by devotion of the ancient sage.

Fire rings expanding the universe within.

Like the transient habitat built in body of the sand.

Or like the imagination of Omar Khayyam. and the narration of Khalil Gibran.

I drink from the fountain of life.

As I sing the Creator’s glory and hymn.

At times imbued and often out of tune.

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.

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

7

AMUST

COMMUNITY

NEWS 1-4

BOOMERANG 5-7

COMMUNITY 8 - 10

AUSTRALIA 11 - 12

LIFESTYLE 13 - 15

Young Muslims excel at TEDx in Casey Hena Jawaid Minaret College has recently celebrated success stories of two of its students, Ayman Khan and Mohammed Mubashir Shah. Both of these students were selected by the City of Casey Council, Victoria for TED talks to inspire lives of people around them.

These two young Muslims were equally passionate about sharing their stories of struggles and faith with people from diverse ethnicities, devotion and conviction.

According to Ayman, she had a crazy drive and passion for public speaking and throughout her years in Minaret College, she has participated in numerous inter-school debating competitions. Finally, TEDx Talk was the utmost opportunity for her to take a big lead.

The TEDx team had chosen her because of her critical personal experience. She audaciously talked about dangers of diet culture and eating disorders. She highlighted destructive effects of diet and obsession with slimness.

She further emphasized how children, and youth, can be free of mental and physical consequences of eating disorders and grow with nourishment to their best fuels, allowing them to thrive and flourish.

She elaborated themes like diet culture, body shaming, and frequent (media) messages about what to feed to one’s body which can potentially lead to anorexia nervosa, a type of eating disorder.

Diet conversations, diet products and compulsive behaviors contribute to an unhealthy relationship with food and body insecurities. Ayman opened up in her conversation, that she had battled with the condition for over 6 years, and during that time, she saw other young teens and adults suffer heinous consequences of this disease.

Unfortunately, few individuals know about eating disorder. She clarifies that it is more than just a desire of not eating and maintaining a low weight.

Ayman enumerated maladaptive attitudes

Ayman Khan.

Mohammed Mubashir Shah. such as: • observing people talk about skipping meals • body shaming • obsessively counting and limiting calories, and • online exposure to be thin and to look good which devastates an individual She wonders about the futility of such conversations and how it can put precious lives on the verge of death. Ayman concludes that by looking back at her gloomiest period, there were times when she prayed to Allah to get better with the desire to proactively help people understand that body shaming and unhealthy diet talks can make individuals suffer and linger not in physical but psychological, emotional and spiritual domains.

With time, Ayman realized the power of faith. She feels grateful that Allah has healed her and bestowed her with the most beautiful faith. The thought of dying is one component of Islam that motivates her.

According to her, tomorrow may or may not come. Life of hereafter is a real pleasure. Hence, one must pass this time doing good deeds with the conscious remembrance of Allah and His creation.

Another wonderful student, Mubashir, is a school captain of Minaret College. He has

been a driving force for other students to lead in community and academic projects.

He was recommended by teachers for the TED talk because of his active involvement in school activities.

Mubashir says that faith has played a pivotal role in shaping his personality. He is immensely inspired by the life of beloved Prophet Muhammad (s), and tries to follow his teachings.

The Prophet always gave back to the community and encouraged his companions to continue his legacy. He hopes to be among those who can be an example for others and continue the legacy of the Prophet Muhammad.

In addition to that, he shares that his family, especially his parents, are quite mindful about giving back to the community. His parents have encouraged him to volunteer and participate in different extracurricular activities. He is also inspired by his elder sister, who mentors’ youth at the local mosque, and she often asks him to volunteer at events with her.

He commemorates that once he joined her in community work and realized how people only a few years older than him were setting an example to establish a culture of kindness, sharing and compassion, he finds that this can only be possible when we role model the character /conduct of the Prophet

in all spheres of our lives.

Interestingly, Mubashir has presented an insightful aspect of human life in his decision-making. He took a unique lead to introduce his topic. He pursued a philosophical thread of thought to explore the foundations of decision-making.

He tried to evaluate the idea of decision-making from psycho-social perspective as how it influences one’s life. He used some historical, social and personal examples to understand the importance of decision-making in life. He explains that we all choose options which lead to different paths.

Decisions can be big or small like choosing a career, or eating an extra chip, but despite that, the decisions that one makes, accumulates over time. The cumulative set of decisions made on a daily basis, decides ones fate. He assumes a bottom up approach to observe that the various aspects of small decisions eventually shape a greater course of ones’ life.

Mubashir further elaborates that if one would not make the correct set of decisions throughout their lives, then he/she would not be where they are now. He investigated the idea that an individual is not only affected by his or her own decisions, but also other peoples’ choices shape our present and future through principles of Casuality – the relationship between cause and effect.

Mubashir exquisitely taps the areas of rationality and emotionality to recognize how our decisions are being colored by them.

In his personal life as well, Mubashir has seen the consequences of the minor and major choices he has made. These experiences have provided him with an edge as well as an opportunity to reflect on the metaphysical aspects of human life through the lens of human freedom. The freedom to reason, process and decide in ones’ life.

Hena Jawaid is a mental health professional having trained in Pakistan and US completing 5 years of medicine and then 4 years training in psychiatry. She has contributed to international and national newspapers, magazines and scientific journals on professional and community issues and spends many hours volunteering for various NGOs.

Meri Pehchan Pakistan celebrate Pakistani positivity Daniya Syed Meri Pehchan Pakistan conducted its 6th event on Saturday 4 December 2021 at Liverpool Catholic Club to mark another milestone showcasing young talents in the community through speech competition, quiz and a character parade.

The event was attended by Consul General Pakistan who was Chief Guest of the event along with prominent Pakistani community members, families and children.

The Meri Pehchan Pakistan patented segments demonstrated young people of Pakistani origin knowledge about Pakistan’s history, personalities and facts.

8

The topic for this year’s speech competition was “I am a proud Pakistani” where children aged 12 to 16 years participated judged by reputable authors, writers and broadcasters including Mr Tariq Mirza, Ms Nighat Nasim and Mrs Mehar Ahmad.

This year Meri Pehchan Pakistan introduced first-ever Pakistani Youth Talent Awards to acknowledge the efforts of Pakistani children and youth high achievers.

The awards were hosted by Co-Founder of Pakistani Youth Talent Award Ms Daniya Syed, who herself is winner of several awards in relation to her technological achievements and community work.

Awards were presented to the winners of nine different categories including Academics, Sports, Community Services, Performing Arts, Fine Arts & Religious Studies while medallions were presented to 28 finalists from these categories.

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

Meri Pehchan Pakistan received over 100 nominations for these awards from Pakistani community. The awards were sponsored by Pakistani businesses who were presented with shields to acknowledge their support for the event.

The founders and President of Meri Pehchan Pakistan Mr Syed Atif Faheem & Erum Atif briefed two objectives of the organisation, firstly establishing link of Pakistani youth & children with their heritage & culture, secondly through this platform generating the much-needed funds for underprivileged people in Pakistan.

All the proceeds from this event will be donated to Shahid Afridi Foundation.

Towards the end of program, audience were given prizes by answering simple yet funfilled questions which electrified the event.

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

The event was concluded with a special performance about Sufism (a spiritual movement in Islam emphasizing mysticism and asceticism) presented by young members of Meri Pehchan Pakistan team aged between 14-16 years on a poetry from Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s book Bang-e-Dara.

The event received great appreciation from attendees and special guests in general while Pakistani community showed interested to participate in the next year’s event from now.

Daniya Syed is a student of Year 9, she is technology enthusiast and have participated in FLL International Robotics Championship competitions. Daniya also has keen interest in community related activities and volunteers herself for various charity organisations.

ISSUE 194 / JANUARY 2022

UMMAH 16 - 17

EDUCATION 18 - 20

BUSINESS 21

COMMUNITY

SOCIAL 22 - 23

AMUST

Webinar on Islamic ISRA resumes its economic, finance iconic graduations & technology

Mobinah Ahmad receiving her Masters in Islamic Studies Award from Associate Professor Clive Pearson. Photo Courtesy Shemsi Ilham, SHEM’s Photography.

Dr. Chalidin claimed that education is a tool to bridge the gap in the global Islamic economic index Dr Teuku Aulia Geumpana The international webinar on Islamic Economics, Finance and Technology Australia (IEFTAR) 2021 held on Saturday 4 December 2021 was one of the realisation of concerns over the education on Islamic financial economics and its technology implementation in Australia.

Strengthening the Australian Muslim community literacy and empowering the public awareness to live ethically according to the sharia was the main goal of holding this international webinar.

The event that was conducted sequentially with the AKIC ground breaking ceremony has successfully promoted rich initial discussions between community members and the industry practitioners in Australian Islamic finance and banking sector.

The international webinar was organized by the Ashabul Kahfi Islamic Center (AKIC) Sydney, in collaboration with the Crescent Wealth Australia and the Indonesian Islamic Economic Community (Masyarakat Economi Syariah – MES) in Australia.

During his keynote speech, Dr Chalidin Yacob, founder of AKIC began the session by expressing AKIC`s commitment in facilitating education to create community awareness over the development of the Islamic finance industry in Australia, and AKIC will optimize its resources, including its network of experts, to participate in encouraging the growth of the Islamic economy and finance in this country.

Similarly, other important messages were delivered by Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman, President of the Australian National Imams Council, Dr Sayd Farook, Executive Director of the Crescent Foundation, and Professor Fethi Rabhi from the School of Computer Science Engineering, University of NSW. These speakers highlighted the development of Islamic economics and finance from the sharia law perspective, the challenges of developing Islamic economics and finance in Australia, and the use of financial data to encourage innovation in Islamic finance.

Dr Sayd Farook from the Crescent Wealth emphasised that the financial industry was a highly-regulated sector and therefore, it was necessary to have a deep understanding of the various applicable regulations and requirements before establishing any Islamic financial institutions.

Meanwhile, Professor Rabhi highlighted the importance of value extraction from financial data to promote innovation in Islamic finance and stressed that with the current technology we have easy data access on various information on Islamic money, sukuk, JANUARY 2022 / ISSUE 194

indices and funds.

During the panel sessions, Dean Gillespie, Chief Executive Officer of Islamic Banking Australia (IBA) Group shared their experience in establishing the first Islamic Bank in Australia. IBA Group is the first prospective Islamic bank in Australia which is currently waiting for an operational permit from the local regulatory agency, the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA).

Mas Johan Harris, the Head of Investment from Crescent Wealth, explained the history of the establishment of Crescent Wealth and the company’s strategy on its future growth.

Dr Imran Lum, Director of Islamic Finance, National Australia Bank talked about his experience in establishing an Islamic finance unit in a large bank, as well as various business strategies and challenges he faced.

As the final speaker in the first panel session, Dr Abulkhair Jalauddin, an expert on Islamic finance and director of the Islamic Financial Services Council of Australia (IFSCA) explained the huge market opportunity for the Islamic finance industry, especially with the continued increase in Australia’s Muslim population, especially those in the productive age group.

The second panel session of the IEFTAR webinar discussed various opportunities that need to be optimized by the Indonesian diaspora community in Australia. The president of MES Australia, Shaifurrokhman Mahfudz, emphasized the importance of strengthening a common commitment in building a common platform with all components of Muslims and the diaspora in general.

Being the last speaker at the second panel session, Wachid Muslimin from ALAMI Sharia outlined the contributions of ALAMI Sharia Financial Platform in Indonesia by elaborating how ALAMI adopted both sharing and digital economy models into the correct implementation of Maqashid Al-Shariah (the Goal of Sharia).

Continued from page 1 In addition to brief comments by staff, the graduates shared their feelings from the stage in a one minute speech, thanking their teachers and family members, many of them shedding tears of joy at the completion of their unique educational journey.

The program was started by Makiz Ansari with the acknowledgement to country and welcome to all those present followed by recitation of Quran by Anas Agha.

Associate Professor Mehmet Ozalp, Executive Director of CISAC during his address congratulated the graduating students for their high achievement and thanked CSU for facilitating the delivery of Islamic studies and Arabic language programs.

The keynote speaker Dr Sheikh Arif Chaker, Imam at Sydney’s Lakemba Mosque who also teaches Islamic Sharia courses inspired the graduating students by reflecting on his research on Quran, community service experience and family counselling.

The main highlight was the admission to the degrees for the graduating students by Professor Lucie Zundans-Fraser and pres-

entation of the awards by A/Professor Clive Pearson followed by a brief speech by each student.

After a brief address by Professor Lucie Zundans-Fraser congratulating the students for their achievement, ISRA alumni members presented gifts to the graduating students followed by concluding remarks by A/ Professor Zuleyha Keskin, CISAC Course Director who acknowledged the presence of veteran Islamic leader, Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad OAM who was turning 91 next day on Sunday 12 December 2021.

During the years 2020-2021, ISRA has 106 graduates, 1 Associate Degree in Islamic Studies, 37 Bachelor of Islamic Studies, 9 Graduate Certificate in Classical Arabic, 3 Graduate Certificate in Contemporary Islamic Studies, 5 Graduate Certificate in Islamic Studies, 4 Graduate Diploma of Classical Arabic, 3 Graduate Diploma of Contemporary Islamic Studies, 3 Graduate Diploma of Islamic Studies, 1 Islamic Studies Research, 16 Master of Arts (Classical Arabic), 1 Master of Contemporary Islamic Studies, 23 Master of Islamic Studies

Associate Professor Mehmet Ozalp, Executive Director of CISAC addressing graduating students. Photo by Zia Ahmad.

Dr. Teuku Geumpana is the Head of Development for the Ashabul Kahfi Islamic Centre (AKIC) Sydney, the Chairman of International Webinar on Islamic Economic, Finance and Technology Australia (IEFTAR) and a lecture at the University of Newcastle Australia.

Dr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad OAM at the Isra Graduation 2021.

Photo by Zia Ahmad.

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

9

AMUST

COMMUNITY

NEWS 1-4

BOOMERANG 5-7

COMMUNITY 8 - 10

AUSTRALIA 11 - 12

LIFESTYLE 13 - 15

Ground breaking ceremony for AKIC Dr Teuku Aulia Geumpana In collaboration with the Human Initiative Australia, Ashabul Kahfi Islamic Centre (AKIC) in Sydney held the ground breaking ceremony to mark the beginning of the construction of its Islamic Centre building on Saturday 4 December 2021.

The ground breaking ceremony event was conducted in parallel via zoom and onsite at 10-11 Edge St, Wiley Park, NSw. This is the location where the Ashabul Kahfi Islamic Centre will be built.

The event was attended by the Consul General of Republic Indonesia in Sydney, Mr Vedi Kurnia Buana, community leaders, donors and diverse members of the community.

Among the invited community leaders to the events were from the Centre for Islamic Dakwah and Education (CIDE) NSW, Indonesian Muslim Nurse Association (IMNA), Al-Ikhlas, Cahaya Islam, Iqro Foundation, One Brothers, IKAPPABASKO, Al Irsyad, Muhammadiyah NSW, KKSS, Aceh Australian Society (AAS) and many others.

During his welcoming remarks, Dr Chali-

The Ashabul Kahfi Islamic Centre ground breaking ceremony. din Yacob; the founder of AKIC thanked all donors and contributors in the realisation of this ground breaking event. He also shared the journey of AKIC since its establishment in 1998.

Dr Yacob emphasised that the presence

Mr Arif Taufiq from Human Initiative Australia handed over the donation raised in Indonesia to Dr Geumpana as the head of development of AKIC.

of AKIC in Sydney cannot be separated from the concern of educating the younger Muslims generation in Sydney to become the young generations who understand and appreciate the values of Islamic culture and can apply these values in their daily lives.

Consul General Vedi remarked that the process of establishing AKIC does not stop with the completion of its physical construction, but to ensure the maximum benefits flow on to the Muslims community and to all Australians.

Update on the donations was reported by the head of AKIC development, Dr Teuku A Geumpana, and also the handover of the raised fund in Indonesia through the Human Initiative Australia which was directly handed over by the Director of Human Initiative Australia, Mr Arif Taufiq.

Dr Geumpana thanked Human Initiative Australia and all other organisations and individuals that have contributed and donated to the development of the centre.

About $450,000 were collected for the project and a lot more shall be required to support the completion of this 2 million dollar project. Hence, the donation toll will be kept open for everyone to participate.

The ground breaking event was finally marked by the cutting of the cone-shaped rice (Indonesian traditional meal) and the symbolical ground digging by community leaders including the Consul General of Indonesia.

Mr Vedi (right), the Consul General of Indonesia in Sydney handing over the cone shape rice to Dr Chalidin Yacob (left) the founder of AKIC marking the beginning of the centre’s development.

“A to Z of Mini Muslims” community book launch AMUST Media When a teacher becomes an author and creates a unique children’s book that combines faith, culture and identity The Afghan Community Support Association (ACSA) held a Community Achievement Ceremony that celebrated the achievement of community members with broader members on Sunday 5 December 2021.

One such celebration was the book launch of Ms Mariam Latifi, author of A to Z of Mini Muslims, a children’s alphabet book exploring all about Islam and being a Muslim.

This book launch was recognised and acknowledged by Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman, President of the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC), who congratulated Ms Mariam Latifi for publishing such a valuable book for the community.

Ms Mariam Latifi is a professionally qualified educator, academic tutor, writer, and a community volunteer who has recently

10

self-published her first Muslim children’s book.

A book that promotes religious awareness, tolerance, diversity and inclusivity whilst embedding Australian and Aboriginal perspectives. Her beautifully illustrated book focuses on the universal themes of respect to all faiths and cultures; the importance of kindness; the power of unity as one human race and the value of ethics and morals extending beyond the individual perspective to the community and society at large.

Ms Mariam’s A to Z of Mini Muslims book uses child-friendly language to explore the teachings and principles of Islam using vivid illustrations. The A to Z of Mini Muslims is a must have book for young children of all ages to help promote their understanding about Islam and religious world views.

Her alphabet book, presented in an interactive manner, is a perfect tool to promote children’s early literacy concepts. It is a vital source in enhancing children’s vocabulary development. Her book includes a glossary with available teaching guides that are aligned to the Australian curriculum.

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman presenting Ms Mariam Latifi with a certificate of recognition for her published children’s book “A to Z of Mini Muslims” Ms Mariam had seen a vital need in embedding children’s culture and identity within a Muslim children’s book thereby promoting their connection and motivation to learn.

A to Z of Mini Muslims is a perfect book for young children whereby not only will the learn Islam from A to Z but be connected by their culture and by the Australian and Aboriginal themes in the book.

During the launch, Ms Mariam discussed her journey as a self-published author and read a snippet of her children’s book. Her book was a sell-out during the launch.

Ms Mariam’s A to Z of Mini Muslims is available at major retail bookstores includ-

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

ing Amazon. Her book is available in paperback, hardcover and eBook formats. Her book is available across all Australian State and Territory libraries.

The event was joined by honourable guests including Mr Jason Constable from Australian Federal Police; Mr Ebadullah Amid from SSI and many other distinguished guests present.

Mr Al-Hajj Mohammad Nader Azamy, President of ACSA hosted this wonderful event to celebrate the achievement of its community members.

For more information www.mariamlatifi.com.au ISSUE 194 / JANUARY 2022

UMMAH 16 - 17

EDUCATION 18 - 20

BUSINESS 21

SOCIAL 22 - 23

Muslim leaders concerned at shortage of burial space in Sydney

AUSTRALIA

CCC conducts Inter-Faith Remembrance Service AMUST Media

Photo by Alphonsus Fok.

Zia Ahmad More than 75 Muslim leaders representing over 20 Islamic organisations gathered at Kemps Creek cemetery, Western Sydney on Sunday 5 December to urge NSW Government not to delay the provision for much needed burial spaces in Sydney. The gathering was addressed by NSW Leader of the Opposition, Chris Minns who assured of his full support to resolve the matter.

NSW Property Minister, Ms Melinda Pavey has been pushing ahead with plans to merge all five Sydney cemetery trusts under one single government-controlled model called One Crown.

Mr Kazi Ali addressing the gathering.

Photo by Alphonsus Fok.[/caption] A number of speakers at the event urged the Premier of NSW, Dominic Perrottet to step in and resolve the protracted negotiations about the future of the cemetery trusts as it is delaying the construction of much needed burial spaces for them in Sydney.

The Catholic Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust’s (CMCT) Kemps Creek cemetery have been successfully providing much needed, cost-effective burial spaces for Muslims in recent years and have approved development plans to do the same at two other sites in Western Sydney.

CMCT CEO, Peter O’Meara said that burial space in greater Sydney is in rapid decline and his organization has plans to open new cemeteries at Wallacia and Varroville to help it meet rising demand.

But the NSW Government has blocked the plans and threatens to place the CMCT into administration by the end of the year with no apparent justification.

Mr Minns said, “there is no excuse for the NSW Government to further delay the decision to allow the CMCT to continue offering cost-effective burials for Muslims and other faith groups, which it has been doing successfully for more than 150 years.”

He was accompanied by the Shadow Minister for Water, Housing and Multi-Cultural Affairs, Mr Steve Kamper attending the event.

Mr Minns asked, “The question for Minister Pavey is why would you take the most affordable and the most efficient and put it into a business that hasn’t been able to JANUARY 2022 / ISSUE 194

achieve those sorts of outcomes?”

“It just doesn’t make sense and the only reason is that they want to get rid of faithbased associations from this sector,” Mr Minns argued.

“The Catholic Cemeteries Trust has forged partnerships with waves of immigrant communities from Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism- all have been respected and all the individuals have had their needs accommodated,” Mr Minns concluded.

The CMCT has developed a close relationship with the Muslim Cemeteries Board (MCB) over many years providing a dedicated Muslim Lawn at Kemps Creek cemetery meeting needs of the Muslim community while accommodating all Islamic regulations for Muslim burials, including burial of still born foetuses and free digging, perpetual maintenance and headstones on the graves for the destitute.

Mr Kazi Ali, President of the MCB said, “Our gathering has been a graphic demonstration of our concern about the NSW Government inaction about the looming shortage of burial spaces for our people, as well as a show of support for the continued operation of the CMCT.” He further added, “Over the last five years with the help of CMCT, we have established a Muslim Lawn Cemetery at Kemps Creek.

While the number of plots at Kemps Creek presently meet our short-term needs, we are fast running out of space and within five to seven years there will be no burial plots for Muslims to bury their loved ones in Western Sydney.”

“We have been relying on two new cemetery developments conceived and acquired in Varroville and Wallacia by the CMCT for our future needs, but both projects have been put on hold two years ago by the Minister for Water, Property and Housing for no apparent reason,” Mr Ali concluded.

Anjum Rafiqi of the Australian Kashmiri Association said “We would like to see the current arrangement continue into the future”, referring to the continued operation of Kemps Creek Cemetery by the CMCT.” Zawar Hussain Shah from Alamdar Association said, “We are quite satisfied with the running of the cemetery by the CMCT and found them most credible, fair, transparent, open, well organised, professionally managed and very sensitive to the people of the faith and the general masses.

“The CMCT must remain independent

and separate from the so called OneCrown”, he added.

Jasim Ahmed from Muslim Cemeteries Board expressed his concern about lack of a clear business case for OneCrown in the 11th hour report saying the report, “contains no financial model for the amalgamated entity and no detail on how it will operate. We don’t know how the new model will work at what time frame, what impact it will have on cost of burial plots.”

“I am dismayed with the thought of NSW Government accepting a report that recommends a new organization with no clear financial, organizational, or operational plan. We as a community feel by supporting OneCrown we will only be supporting an uncertain future in exchange of a proven model that delivers cheapest burial for us,” he further added.

Mr Mohammad Azom, Secretary of the Al-Barakah Welfare Trust Australia (Quakers Hill Mosque), said, “We are concerned about the looming shortage in burial spaces across Sydney in our Muslim community and we believe that CMCT is the best place to deliver them.”

Mohammed Azamy of Afghan community expressed his strong support for Muslim Cemetery Board’s active support for the Muslim community and the clear benefit of working with CMCT. “We should stick to what works,” he said.

Mr Rachid Ben Zerouk, Chair of the Moroccan Sydney Association said, “We congratulate the CMCT for their great achievements as an independent not-for-profit organisation, managing and delivering high quality cemetery services to a diverse range of communities and families across Western Sydney.”

“We have witnessed the diversity of the many communities serviced by the CMCT and are very impressed with their efforts into assisting and given a helping hand to all people”, he further added.

Dr Anisul Afsar, President of Australian Muslim Welfare Centre Inc, said, “With significant growth in Muslim population around Campbelltown, Camden Valley area we are concerned about the looming shortage in burial spaces. For us Varroville Cemetery is the solution and believe that the Catholic Metropolitan Cemetery Trust is best placed to deliver the much needed burial spaces.”

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

AMUST

Catholic Cemeteries and Crematoria (CCC) held their annual Christmas Inter-Faith Remembrance Service on Sunday 12 December 2021 at St Mary’s Cathedral with over 300 people in attendance commemorating family and friends who are no longer with us. The service was also available to view via live stream.

The service, which is celebrated each December, features beautiful carols and hymns sung by a choir. There is a candle tribute wherein candles were lit during the service in remembrance of those loved ones.

This is one of the unique events that CCC holds that brings together the multi-cultural communities it serves. The evening was also an opportunity for leaders of multiple faith communities to come together after several months of separation due to COVID. The Cathedral was delighted to welcome the Governor of NSW, Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, as well as community leaders Mr Kazi Ali, President of the Muslim Cemeteries Board and Gawaine Powell Davies, Chair of the Buddhist Council of NSW. Inside St Mary’s Cathedral (left to right) Front row: Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of NSW, Mr Peter O’Meara, CEO of Catholic Cemeteries + Crematoria, Mr Kazi Ali, President of the Muslim Cemeteries Board. [/caption] The service was led by Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney Terry Brady with readers from different faith backgrounds. At the conclusion of the service, the attendees moved outside to Cathedral Square to view the stunning Lights of Christmas display on the façade of St Mary’s Cathedral.

In this spirit of inter-religious collaboration, CCC has created strong and respectful alliances with many multi-faith groups including the Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities., whereby the interests of these communities are protected.

Mr Kazi Ali, the president of the Muslim Cemeteries Board has been working closely with CCC for several years said, ”Dealing with a mission driven organisation like CCC ensures that the needs of our community and other faith groups are listened to and respected.”

This service with communities from all faiths and backgrounds is an integral part of CCC’s spiritual heart of community engagement. CCC will continue the inter-faith service and working with the religious leaders and communities in the new year.

In front of St Marys Cathedral (left to right): Father Don Richardson, Dean of St Mary’s Cathedral; Mr Peter O’Meara, CEO of Catholic Cemeteries + Crematoria; Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of NSW; Bishop Terry Brady, Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney and Mr Kazi Ali, President of the Muslim Cemeteries Board.

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

11

AMUST

AUSTRALIA

NEWS 1-4

BOOMERANG 5-7

COMMUNITY 8 - 10

AUSTRALIA 11 - 12

LIFESTYLE 13 - 15

E le mala ‘ese inā mala ‘ese ‘inei

You are no different from us

Rev Charles Tupu

of religion.

Their wording was one of Samoa is founded on God. Expressed in this way the reference to God was not specific and not potentially exclusive.

When the Bill to change the Constitution was tabled in Parliament to this more explicit Christian understanding, the National Council of Churches welcomed and applauded the government.

They reflected an understanding of Islam which comes through sensational news coverage. Without any personal experience of

Increasing Muslim participation in Australian mainstream politics

Meet the Press event by Community Voice Campbelltown Dr Faroque Amin Community Voice Campbelltown organised a ‘Meet the Press’ event on Monday 29 November 2021 evening at their campaign office at Minto.

Community Voice Campbelltown is participating in the upcoming local government election, with the objective to carry the community’s voice to the Council and help the Council become more effective in doing its job for the benefit of all its residents instead of implementing any political party’s agenda.

Community Voice Campbelltown is a panel of 10 candidates running in the upcoming local government election on the Saturday 4 December 2021.

The candidates are Khalil Muhamad Masud, Halabi Khaled, Karki Sajjan, Jaber Bellal, Khan Morsheda, Sofiuzzaman Md, Hossain Khurshida, Nasrin Sultana, Sultana Sharmin and Chowdhury Afzal. Their group is D on the ballot paper.

12

At this event, Mr Kahlil Muhammad Masud, the lead candidate, acknowledged the Traditional Custodians of the land, Elders and communities and the spirit that binds us in our dreams and aspirations in the Dharawal country.

During his address, he said, “we have invited you today as we believe media is an integral part of a community. Social issues, people’s needs and demands, and a community’s voices are reflected mainly through media coverage. We need your support to identify our community’s asks and ensure that their voices are heard, which political parties have long undermined.”

A brief video documentary was shown at the event that portrayed their objectives and goals.

The participation of Community Voice in the Campbelltown local council election demonstrates the increasing participation of local Muslims in Australian mainstream politics.

knowing a Muslim they assumed (wrongly) that Muslims are terrorists and should not be accepted in Samoa.

When I studied for my Master’s degree in Fiji in 2011-2012, this was the first time I was introduced to the studies of different religions. I came across different kinds of religion which included Islam.

We went for a visit and tried to understand the basis of Islamic beliefs but I must confess – I was not much interested because I was trapped with this understanding that Islam is not a true religion.

When I arrived in Australia to take up my studies for my PhD degree, I came across the importance of interfaith dialogue. It has been an eye-opener for me.

I have become aware of how Muslims also seek to nurture a good society.

The Graduation Ceremony When we arrived at the venue of the ISRA/Charles Sturt University graduation ceremony on the day, I experienced meeting a different crowd of people.

Their appearances were unique and different to what I usually see in my familiar environment. I began to feel nervous because I am a Christian among the Muslims audience.

While waiting for the start of the event, I was greeted by a member of the Muslim community, who set me at ease. He asked me who is graduating that leads to me being present.

1.

I responded I was accompanying my supervisor to the event since he was one of the guests for the day. He started to talk about how he appreciated the work of my supervisor in working with the Muslim community.

In the midst of the conversation, I said to him, ‘sorry, I am a Christian.’ He replied ‘no

“One of the

essential highlights that I witnessed on the day is the number of women who graduated. The majority were women.

“

I am a Samoan Christian. There are very few Muslims in my country.

I have been in Australia for the almost 4 years completing a PhD on public theology and land issues in my homeland.

Encouraged by my supervisor Professor Clive Pearson and Associate Professor Mehmet Ozalp, I attended the graduation ceremony of ISRA students on Saturday 11 December 2021 at Sydney Olympic Park.

I was interested in taking the opportunity to first hand witness and experience how my Muslim brothers and sisters professed their faith.

Let me give some perspective.

I come from a Christian background and recently, my home country Samoa declared itself to be a Christian nation through the amendment to the Constitution by the former government.

Ever since it became independent Samoa reckoned itself to be a nation founded on God. This amendment qualified God by inserting references to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – hence the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.

This amendment is at odds with the intention of those who framed the Constitution in the first place. They made an open declaration in favour of the principle of the freedom

worries, you are most welcome .’ He talked with me about the importance of working together no matter how we worship and whichever God we believed in. The main task for us is to provide comfort for our community.

During the presentation of degrees, I was impressed by how the graduands addressed the gathering. Each graduand received his/ her awards took turn in delivering a short speech.

They acknowledged those who have contributed during their journey, their parents, husbands, wives, children, their community and the their lecturers. They also reflected on the importance of continuing to search for wisdom. Frequently they testified to the help they had received from Allah.

There were a number of things that jumped out at me during the speeches, some of the things they said echoed my own Christian experience: 1.

Most reflected upon the word mercy. Verses of the Quran from Surah AlAlaq 1-19 were recited as a guiding theme of the graduation. The emphasis was on ‘In the name of God the entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. This struck me. It reminds me of the nature of God that Christians believe in. He is a loving, generous, and merciful God. 2.

Some of the graduands reflected on the issue of ‘minority’.

They were thankful to the ISRA (Islamic Sciences and Research Academy) and the CISAC (Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation) for taking the lead in pursuing their faith tradition to exist in this multi-faith context which allows the believers to have a chance to explore and keep their faith tradition alive in a strange land.

3. One of the essential highlights that I witnessed on the day is the number of women who graduated. The majority were women.

Islam in my country is a minority. In our 2016 census Islam is not listed as a particular religion and included under ‘others’.

I would say that I now see how the Christian religion has dominated this minority group.

The title I selected for this article suggests that it is time for my fellow Christians in my homeland to accept other religions and note how we share some common values.

I now find myself wondering how helpful it is that change to the Constitution of Samoa and why it is important for us to consider and value that principle of freedom of religious expression.

Rev. Charles Tupu. Is currently a Ph.D. student at Charles Sturt University. He is an ordained Methodist minister of the Samoan Methodist Church and is based in New South Wales.

Dr Faroque Amin works with Suprovat Sydney, a Bengali community newspaper published from Sydney, Australia.

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

ISSUE 194 / JANUARY 2022

UMMAH 16 - 17

EDUCATION 18 - 20

BUSINESS 21

LIFESTYLE

SOCIAL 22 - 23

New Year Resolutions

A time for soulful reflections Princess R Lakshman As you embark upon preparing that oftentimes ritualistic annual list of resolutions for the new year, remember to reflect upon your thoughts, words, and deeds.

Remember to include a prayer. A prayer to be an instrument for kindness, compassion, love, light, peace, courage, joy and justice.

In every moment of the Creator’s miracle, ask to be an instrument to facilitate healing, empathy, health, wisdom and soulfulness.

Every moment in life’s cycle of learning, ask to be a student and a teacher.

In life’s daily tests, pray for lessons that uplift, inspire and celebrate life. And pray that your thoughts, words and deeds be in sync with the Creator’s master plan. The only plan that matters.

I am deeply grateful to you for taking time out of your precious life to read my columns and send me messages of encouragement and constructive feedback.

Almighty Allah bless you and your loved ones with optimal health and wellbeing and give you clarity, courage, wisdom, and guidance to remain steadfast in your faith in Him alone and to ride through the waves of the ocean of life with gratitude and prayer.

Life in this body is temporary. Your soul temporarily dwells in a body with sensory perceptions. This body reacts to those perceptions. In other words, your body is a bag of Nafs motivating the Egoic self to succumb to unnecessary fears and want to control outcomes instead of flow with the Creator’s plans for you.

As much as possible, remain aware of this and aim to operate from your soulful self,

We are the same Frazia Ali This poem is inspired by this verse of the Quran: “And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided.” (Quran 3:103) We are the same We are united together We share our happiness with each other We are travelers of the same ship We are flowers of the same garden We are stars of the same sky Our destination is same Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Alahi Raaji’oon To Allah we belong and to Him is our return We follow rules of the Creator We love our homeland We love humanity Frazia Ali is a Pakistani American Muslim single mother.

She has two children and lives in San Ramon California, USA. She started writing poetry to spread peace and love through her writing.

JANUARY 2022 / ISSUE 194

AMUST

My top 3 take-aways of 2021 Aisha Abdu

not your egoic self.

Here’s a poem from my new book The Soul Speaks. Happy and prosperous 2022 to one and all.

In the hope of new beginnings, today, pause with gratitude and reflect on your past one year.

Untangle all knots of regret obstructing your heart and celebrate your resilience.

Rejoice over your every little accomplishment ruminate on your healing and know that you are more than

a mask, a squirt of sanitizer, a border closure, a lockdown, a diagnosis.

Know that you are not your experiences .

You are the FORCE that overcomes them.

And so In the hope of new beginnings Embrace the flow.

Exit the cycle of control.

With love, kindness and gratitude, Enter the ascending spiral of alchemic surrender.

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

The struggles of Muslim youth in modern society Bashar Kammoun As an 18-year-old Muslim entering a new world of adventures, I learnt a lot during my first year out of High School.

I remember the time I got my first job, which wasn’t easy, whilst trying to fit into a white environment where your religion wasn’t as significant as it used to be. I’ll admit, I didn’t fit in to the environment at all, however I kept working on focusing on myself.

I felt insecure, nervous, anxious, attacked internally and paranoid about my surroundings. Why am I addressing this you may ask? Well, genuine Muslim youth are finding it difficult to fit into mixed environments that can potentially stray their mind away from Islam.

It is very hard and difficult, it is scary and I totally get it! These environments we are placed in at different workplaces, could potentially harm and lead to the loss of our connection with Islam. I am sure everyone has lost some sort of connection with Islam in one way or another.

The stereotype reactions we receive, the bad images we may get throughout our lives, all these factors and more are what add up to our struggles, whilst we try to conform with Islam.

Although it is evident that racism towards Muslims is still out there, it has been lessened a lot due to Australia’s Workplace Safety regulations. However, the struggle is real and is still out there.

We may feel insecure, anxious, worried, emotionally and mentally attacked. As a Muslim male, it is harder to fit into a genuine same-sex Muslim group than it is with the opposite gender.

You might disagree with me, and that’s totally fine but these are my views of what I had experienced. You might be wondering, what do I do? What should the Muslim Ummah do?

One must seek help from their friends, vent out, express your views and feelings to your loved ones. If you see others who you might believe or steer away from Islam, bring them back to our Ummah and help educate them and comfort them.

Having a bigger and stronger community will help eliminate these stereotypes and views of Muslims.

A more powerful Ummah will make it easier for us to cope with experiences that do not abide with Islam.

How may you ask? We can relate with one another, reflect on what we should have done and identify what is wrong and what is right in Islam.

Bashar Kammoun is a student studying and has joined the ISRA Muslim Leadership Program.

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

1. There is no power, except God’s power Just when many of us believed that the worst of the pandemic was over, the virus mutated.

Despite being two years since the first outbreak, governments across the globe are still dipping their nations in and out of lockdown and experimenting with manifold public health strategies to somehow curb the virus.

Then, at the close of 2021, NSW triumphantly emerged from its 5 month-long lockdown, only to have its hubris exposed in the face of the unexpected Omicron variant.

Even if every single person on Earth simultaneously willed for the COVID-19 crisis to cease (which seemed to be the case as the holiday season approached), unquestionably, the virus would remain.

Any claims of humanity’s self-subsisting power are hence, in vain.

As a Muslim, I understand this to be because humanity’s power is in submission to One, Almighty, All-Encompassing will – the will of God. Surrendering to the knowledge that the apparent chaos of this world is in fact orderly in God’s plan, provides an immense serenity. If the pandemic has reminded me of anything, it is that the only predictability, is that tomorrow’s unpredictability rests with the Best of Planners [Quran 8:30].

2. Screens: the sinister saviour While social media conglomerates have discovered how to dazzle people into hours of thoughtless scrolling, the toll on the heart and mind is yet to be reckoned with. My own experiences have taught me that excessive screen-time suppresses the natural palettes of emotion, reflection and creative expression.

A walk in the park is immensely more revitalising and inspiring when not reduced to an Instagram story or shared with bouts of haphazard texting. Whilst the convenience of the digital world has proven crucial during the pandemic, nothing parallels the meaningful stimulation of a paperback novel, or an afternoon alone with nature.

The pandemic plunged humanity deeper into its faux-connection crisis. From clips of rioters storming Congress, to heartbreaking photographs of wounded Palestinian children – the inundation of ‘bad news’ has numbed us.

The true tragedy is our ability to flick from one calamity to the next within seconds, unfeeling and detached.

After the lockdown I met with a friend, she began to tear up whilst sharing some news with me, and after months of sanitisation and social distancing, I reached out and touched her arm in reassurance. We both began to cry.

Our humanity remains anchored in voice to voice, eye to eye, in touch and less so, in the shortcuts that the digital world offers to express sorrow, empathy and love.

3. Nothing beats matriarchal recipes My final, albeit more light-hearted, takeaway of 2021 is that it’s virtually impossible to rewire your taste buds.

During the lockdown, I dared to cook beyond my own cultural cuisine; a culmination of recipes handed down from my great-grandmother to my grandmother, to my mother, to me. And though I surely appreciated the novelty of new cuisines, dinners felt incomplete without the aroma of Arabic spices.

My friend said the same of her traditional Indian cuisine, and another of her mother’s Afghani cooking. I suppose that some generational chains are not yet ready to wither.

Aisha Abdu is a medical student at UNSW and a conference organiser at UN Youth NSW.

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

13

LIFESTYLE

NEWS 1-4

BOOMERANG 5-7

COMMUNITY 8 - 10

AUSTRALIA 11 - 12

LIFESTYLE 13 - 15

Novel tackles the taboo about widowhood AMUST

Rashida Tayabali.

AMUST Media

Kenyan-born and Sydney writer, Rashida Tayabali, wants to portray Australian migrant stories and challenges through fiction as these stories are not being told.

“Hello! My name is Rashida Tayabali.

Ever since I can remember, stories have been a part of my life. It all started with my maternal grandmother Fatima who loved to narrate stories about her life in Yemen, magical folk and her life experiences. I was born and brought up in Kenya and discovered books from a very early age. By age 9 I had read all the books and magazines mum had in the house. Reading books always makes me feel alive. It’s no surprise bookshops and libraries are my favourite places to visit! I’d also harboured a dream of becoming an author from the age of 15. Life after Ali is my first novel. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it.”

“The best piece of advice I’ve ever received from writer groups is that if you don’t see the type of books you’d like to read, write them yourself,” said Rashida who self-published her debut novel, Life after Ali, on 6 October 2021.

Life after Ali is the story of Tasneem Zain, an Indian migrant and Sydney resident who loses her husband Ali without any warning.

Overnight, she becomes an outsider and is considered ‘bad luck’ by her small, conserv-

ative community.

While struggling to come to terms with her loss, she starts searching for a new identity. Who is she and what does she want?

“The story is inspired by a true event in my family, and also how I’ve seen and heard widows being treated in certain communities. I wanted to shine a light on this issue through my book, that a woman’s life isn’t over just because her husband dies. She has a right to move on with her life and start over if that’s what she wants,” said Rashida.

Life after Ali has received some great reviews on Amazon.com.au Life After Ali is a fresh insight into the culture, challenges and shifting expectations of Muslim Indian Australians. Rashida gently tackles the devastating question of ‘what would you do if you lost your partner?’ with a sense of grace and serendipity. Her characters are warm and believable as they move through their shared grief to creating their new life post loss. The perfect novel for a rainy Saturday afternoon by the fire.

Life after Ali took me on a beautiful, heart-breaking, but hopeful journey into the world of life-changing loss. And gave an enlightening insight into the cultural expectations facing Muslim Indian Australian women in times of grief. I devoured this book over a weekend, taking every spare moment to unfold the story of Tasneem and her family. Life after Ali is about honouring loss, but also about how grief fits us all differently,

and the hope that comes with moving on.

“I self-published my novel as I didn’t want my story altered to fit mainstream expectations. I wanted to focus on and bring out the cultural nuances that often get lost in translation so readers can fully experience what Tasneem’s character goes through. I want to write authentic stories of migrants just being people, facing certain challenges

and how they overcome these. I also want the Australian audience to have good insights into the unique challenges faced by migrants,” said Rashida.

Life after Ali is available as an ebook and paperback on Amazon.com.au, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Booktopia and Google Play for $10.99 and $18 respectively.

Tariq Mirza releases Marriage counselling: Did I new book of his travels hear you correctly?

AMUST Media

Rania Ahmed There has been a lot of problems with marriages in Australia lately, especially with the COVID-19 lockdowns we have been experiencing. These problems have affected the harmony within our houses even the ones with healthy relationships.

Before the pandemic we had many distractions which helped take our minds off the problems within our household.

However with so many lockdowns especially in Victoria, it became nearly impossible to not have marital issues.

We realised that communication between spouses became very minimal as it caused many arguments and misunderstandings.

Each spouse realised that there was a lot they disliked about the other, and some realised that they knew nothing about their partners. Some realised they grew apart due to kids and work.

COVID-19 opened our eyes to where our marriage was on our priority list.

If you ask some women they will say it’s the men’s fault, and if you ask the men they will say it’s the women’s fault. But the question is not just who’s fault is it? It is also how do we bring harmony back to our homes?

How do we become friends again? How do

14

we instill Muwadda and Rahmah back into our relationship?

Research shows that most marital fights are due to miscommunication. Men and women tend to speak different languages and processing the information differently, which results in misunderstanding and conflicts. Men tend to offer women with solutions when all women want is to vent.

Women tend to offer men unsolicited advice when men have not asked for advice.

They are both bickering at each other until they both admit defeat and stop talking.

We, as a group of counsellors and psychotherapists in Melbourne, are preparing a psychoeducation program where couples come to learn in a group, how to communicate with their spouses. In this group we use experiential work and practical strategies, which they use in the class on each other.

These strategies are proven to work in bringing harmony to the home. The methodology is used in a combination of Islamic concepts and Emotion Focused Therapy. We learn about Muwadda and Rahmah, and how to ward off Shaitan from destroying a peaceful married life.

We practice positive ways of settling arguments, and we learn something about controlling our own Nafs.

This program is held

by Comxtra.com and it includes a sheikh/counsellor including a lady counsellor.

Australia-based writer, author and columnist Tariq Mahmood Mirza’s fifth book, “Mulkun Mulkun Dekha Chand” has been published in Pakistan by a distinguished publisher Sang-e-Meel.

This book is about Tariq Mirza’s travelogue to Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Qatar. As well as being interesting and informative, it is full of literary charm. Its introductory review has been written by Prof Dr Ali Muhammad Khan and the title was created by Shahid Malik.

Tariq Mirza is a well recognized author in the Urdu literary circle globally and has been awarded by a number of local and international literary organisations and his literary services have been researched at the PhD level.

He also writes columns and articles in various newspapers and magazines.

Tariq Mirza has lived in Sydney, Australia for decades and has been at the forefront of literary, social and religious work in the country.

‘Mulkun Mulkun Dekha Chand’ is available in all major book stores in Pakistan or through Sang-e-Meel publishers.

FOLLOW

AMUST ON INSTAGRAM

@amustnews

Rania Ahmed is a Melbourne based writer and poet. Her aim is to change perspective via her and therefore inspire the change from within.

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

ISSUE 194 / JANUARY 2022

UMMAH 16 - 17

EDUCATION 18 - 20

BUSINESS 21

LIFESTYLE

SOCIAL 22 - 23

AMUST

Q&A with visual artist Patrice Wills

Azlin Ali

“Always work around what you know and what you love,” Patrice Wills.

Patrice Wills is a name familiar in the Sydney art world. A person so humble, thoughtful and warm. She has opened doors to countless artists and counting.

As a finalist in numerous art prizes over the years, she shares her daily life, inspiration and future hope in this interview.

Tell us how it all started out?

“I have always been painting. I was an artsy kid. After school, I went on to study visual arts and then studied Education and eventually a Bachelor of Counseling. I have had the pleasure of working as a counselor in mental health for 10 years and then as a high school art teacher for another 10 years. Currently, I am running the arts studio at Blacktown City Council where we conduct workshops, events and other art related programs.”

Patrice continues to add that this provides opportunities to local artists, whether new or experienced.

“I’m connected to the community and try to provide pathways for the many local talented artists through the studio and workshop program. The Blacktown Arts Studio is inexpensive and accessible to artists needing the space and resources. ” The programs we have had attracted a diverse mix of a creative and eclectic group.”

Besides teaching in a workshop, Patrice also guides and offers advise to fellow artists

Patrice Wills horse riding with her daughter. as needed.

When asked what differentiates her artwork, she mentioned human experience. Her background in counseling and teaching has led to her artworks having a deep emotive character.

“Painting is what I do for me. With four kids, aged between 15 to 26, I make sure I spend at least a few minutes a day in my home studio. Whether it’s writing in my jour-

“Seeking” by Patrice Wills

nal, painting, or just sitting down admiring the works of other artists, I make sure I protect my time when it comes to art. Otherwise, you get derailed.”

As a woman with many commitments, she mentioned the importance of carving out time for yourself.

By this point of the interview, I understood that Patrice has had a fulfilling life with vast experience in her career. I proceeded to ask

Towards preparing a grief management plan

Azlin Ali is the art curator at Gallery One62, a privately owned art gallery showcasing local and international artists, as well as art workshops, based in Sydney, Australia.

Farid Ahmed Grief is a very powerful emotion. We can’t see it, but we can feel it strongly. Unlike physical injury, it attacks us from within, and if we can’t deal with it properly, then it crumbles our inner foundation. As a result, the whole of us collapses and our mental, emotional, physical plane fails to hold on.

Therefore, to maintain our well-being, to be strong in our worship and ability to carry out our life duties, we need a grief management plan.

Grief touches everyone No one is bullet proof from grief. It is a part of our lives. It is only a matter of time, when it will come to us. Allah, the creator, has created us with many emotional traits, and one of them is grief. It is to test us, and Allah will test everyone. Allah confirms this in ‘His’ divine message in the Holy Quran: “And be sure WE shall test you with some fear and hunger, some loss in goods, or lives, or the fruits (of your hard work), but give glad news to those who patiently persevere.” [Quran 2:155] Can we deal with grief?

The good news is that Allah gives tests for us together with guidance about how to pass them. Allah wants us to believe in two main points regarding grief, as following: Allah never overburdens us with the test.

Whatever we can bear, or whatever ability we have, the test is within that limit. So, we must not underestimate ourselves saying, “I can’t face it.” The Holy Quran confirms,“On no souls does Allah place a burden greater than it can bear.” [Quran 2:286] JANUARY 2022 / ISSUE 194

about any other skills that she has.

“Horse riding,” she mentioned excitedly.

“I used to stay with my grandmother whose neighbor’s had a horse. By the time I was an art student at Uni I was working on the race track and at the local riding school.”

What is that one advice you would like to give to the readers?

“Follow your heart,” Patrice said. “Be kind to yourself and one another. Do what you love. Always.”

I concluded the interview by asking Patrice who inspires her the most to which she mentioned her daughters.

“Not only as a mother, but as a woman I am constantly amazed by them, my daughters.

And of course, other wonderful artist friends I have around me.”

Patrice Wills works of art and other information about her can be found on her website: patricewills.com

Allah supports us in passing tests if we put our trust in HIM. The Holy Quran confirms, “So, surely with every difficulty there is relief: Surely, with every difficulty there is relief.” [Quran 94:5-6] Some tips for dealing with grief Salah & Sobor: “Seek (Allah’s) help with patience and prayer.” [Quran 2:45] Engage your mind in positive thinking: For example, think about how much reward Allah will grant you for your patience during the grief. The Holy Quran reminds: “And give good news to those who are patient (In their grief).” [Quran 2:155] Ask Allah to give you better: Strive to bring out better things from the state of grief. The Holy prophet (peace be upon him) said: “When calamity strikes a Muslim, he/ she should say what Allah has commanded to say, “Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raajeoon

(To Allah we belong and to Him is our return)” then say: “O Allah! Reward me in my calamity and give me reward better than this.” [Hadith: Muslim] Share with good people: Cry, if necessary, with modesty, talk to trustworthy persons, write to express your emotions to avoid bottling up, keep yourself busy with good tasks, don’t target to be alone. Allow good people to be a part of your grieving journey. It will help your healing, and it will give them a chance to earn lots of rewards from Allah.

Prophet Mohammad (s) said: “And take care of those who are unwell.” [Hadith: Bukhari] 1.

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.

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

15

AMUST

UMMAH

NEWS 1-4

BOOMERANG 5-7

COMMUNITY 8 - 10

AUSTRALIA 11 - 12

LIFESTYLE 13 - 15

Remembering the Boxing Day Tsunami At 5.30 am Sunday 26 December 2004 people in Aceh were performing the dawn prayer but at 7.58 am, about 30 kilometres below the surface of the Indian Ocean approximately 150 kilometres off the coast of Aceh, at the triple point junction of three tectonic plates, geological forces reached breaking point and a fault started to rupture.

The western side of the undersea mountain range on the edge of the plate was thrust up by as much as 12 metres. At twice the speed of a bullet, the plates unzipped over a distance of more than 1,200 kilometres lifting the seabed of around 300,000 square kilometres of the ocean floor as well as the entire ocean above causing one of the ten worst earthquakes in recorded history.

Even though the jolt of the powerful earthquake was stronger than other quakes experienced in the past, living in the ring of fire the Acehnese are used to earthquakes and they carried on normally although in the town a number of buildings had been damaged.

The Acehnese had been living with sudden death for almost 150 years since the Dutch invasion in 1854. The 30 years before the tsunami had seen 15,000 people killed in a brutal military conflict with the Acehnese wanting independence from Indonesia.

But nothing could have prepared them for what was to come on this day. Around 20 minutes after the earthquake, a 30 metre high wall of water hit the shore. The earthquake had displaced 200 trillion tonnes of water travelling at over 800 kilometres an hour.

As it neared coasts and entered shallow water it released the energy equivalent to about five megatons of TNT, more than twice the total explosive energy used during all of World War II (including the two atomic bombs).

About half an hour after the earthquake, all along the coast, huge waves full of debris; some more than 30 meters high struck the shore with a velocity of between 80 to 50 kilometres an hour penetrating up to 5 kilometres inland. A series of waves, hit after the first wave with smaller tsunamis continuing for the rest of the day.

Along an 800 kilometres stretch of coastline (almost the same distance between Paris and Berlin) the homes of 150,000 people were destroyed completely erasing villages leaving only the concrete floors where houses and other buildings once stood. The west coast highway ended up in the ocean and bridges were tossed them hundreds of metres away. Around 4% of the population died, decimating the educated elite in Banda Aceh. Households and the private sector bore the brunt of the loss loosing 2.8 billion USD. All along the coast fishermen’s wives and children were waiting for the husbands and fathers to return home and on the beaches of Banda Aceh families were taking advantage of the weekend to bathe early before the sun became too hot. When the waves retreated many unaware started to pick up the fish.

In Meulaboh which was closer to the epicentre, some of my wife’s relatives who lived on the coast were cooking the fish for their restaurant. None of them survived. The Tsunami inundation height can be seen on a house in Banda Aceh

16

South-west suburb of Banda Aceh, Sumatra on 2 January 2005.

crew of a 15,000 ton generator ship moored 3 km offshore were having their breakfast only to be dumped 4 kilometres inland in the middle of the town.

In Meureuhom Daya (Lamno) more than 50 Acehnese families with fair complexions, blue eyes and blond hair descendants of shipwrecked European sailors from the 17th century were out fishing or having breakfast when the fury of the sea that had brought them there destroyed their unique community in just a few terrible minutes leaving only one or two families behind.

In the prison of Banda Aceh Irwandi Yusuf, a professor of veterinary science was in jail for subversion accused of supporting the Aceh Freedom Movement (GAM).

He had been tortured frequently. Seeing the rising waters, he ran to the prayer room in the jail as the guards had locked the doors of the prison and run away trying to escape the wall of water.

He found that the ceiling which was supposed to be solid concrete was, in fact made of asbestos.

With a quick prayer of thanks for the corruption of the contractor, he punched a hole through the ceiling and pushed open the corrugated iron roof to see only two others had survived – a petty thief and a guard.

After the waters had receded three hours later he searched frantically for his family, found they were safe and escaped to Jakarta and left the country on a forged passport.

My nephews Bukhari, Shuahda and their families perished as well.

In Jakarta the Vice President of Indonesia who was finalising the plans for a peace resolution to a long running conflict with Acehnese independence fighters had to delay the negotiations between the Government of Indonesia and GAM (The Aceh Independence Movement) but in 2006 an agreement was reached and fighting ceased and free

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

and fair elections were held seeing the former freedom fighters like Irwandi become the first democratically elected Governor of Aceh and other GAM leaders become elected heads of Districts.

As the surreal gradually became real, the world responded with compassion, concern and practical help which is continuing even after four years. Collections were made in workplaces, schools, football matches, mosques, churches and temples.

The response to the disaster says something about the decency of ordinary people and the meanness of the world’s politicians. It took immense pressure from ordinary people to force the British and US governments to come up with funding.

Initially Tony Blair’s government only pledged £1 million and George Bush was equally stingy with a first pledge of only $15 million. Within days the American and British public raised an enormous amount shaming their governments into increasing their commitments.

But it also does say something about attitudes towards tragedies and deaths caused by conflict, poverty, malnutrition and disease.

On 16 April 2005 using an out of the box solution, the Indonesian Government created a unique institution, the BRR, (the Agency of the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction for the Region and Community of Aceh and Nias) to oversee the local and international aid effort.

It was given a clear time frame of four years ending in April 2009 and has been praised for getting the job done without the corruption that routinely infects Indonesian government projects. Through the agency it was possible to expedite the work and overcome bureaucratic impediments which would have delayed the recovery process.

Both in Malaysia with only 68 deaths and Sri Lanka, the rehabilitation and recover

“The response

to the disaster says something about the decency of ordinary people and the meanness of the world’s politicians.

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

“

Fadlullah Wilmot

projects were tainted with mismanagement and allegations of corruption.

Some people and preachers started to blame the tsunami on the sins of the Acehnese; others said it was a test from God. Some hard-line preachers from other parts of Indonesia from the now banned FPI (Islamic Defenders Front) came and wanted to expel all the foreigners who had come to help, the ever pragmatic Acehnese said – you are bringing hoes, they are bringing heavy equipment.

On one occasion one of the FPI preachers during Friday prayers was lecturing the congregation that the tsunami was God’s punishment of the Acehnese who immediately ejected him from the pulpit and substituted with a new preacher.

Dr Azman, the Chief Imam of the Grand Mosque of Banda Aceh, rejected the sin or test explanation and called on the Acehnese neither blame God nor the people for this disaster. Rather than thinking that it was a test from God or a punishment for deviating from God’s teachings, he clarified that the tsunami was a natural disaster pure and simple and that the real tests from God come not after His blessings are taken away but while they are in our possession.

He quoted a saying of Prophet Muhammad (s) which related that the real test comes when we have knowledge, health, wealth and strength and that we will be asked as to what use did we put our knowledge, health, wealth and strength when we had them?

The test after the tsunami is on how we help those who survive.

Overturned cement carrier in Lhoknga

ISSUE 194 / JANUARY 2022

UMMAH Gautam and Siddiqui: Victims of Muslim casteism UMMAH 16 - 17

EDUCATION 18 - 20

BUSINESS 21

Dr Aslam Abdullah Why are Omar Gautam, Kaleem Siddiqi, and their colleagues are still languishing in Indian prisons? Why are human rights groups in the world silent? Why have Muslim organisations in India and abroad failed to mobilise religious voices to support the religiously persecuted people?

Gautam and Siddiqi are prominent Muslim activist scholars. Gautam is a former Hindu who accepted Islam in his youth and devoted his life to informing others of Islam. Siddiqi organised a grassroots movement dispelling malicious information against Islam and Muslims.

Nothing they did was against the constitution of India in letter and spirit. They did not serve as agents of any foreign government or organisation, and they did not conspire to commit any unlawful activities anywhere in India or the world.

They received funds from Indian Muslims to establish educational institutions and welfare activities for the poor and the needy.

Furthermore, they did not force anyone to convert to Islam.

They did not bribe anyone in one, luring them to their faith. Some individuals accepted Islam on their own and sought help to learn more about Islam.

Those who change their faith face pressure from their families. They lose support from their previous religious community and live in isolation. Gautam and Siddiqi offered them social and moral support to be part of their new community and move forward in their lives. The two always taught these new converts to respect their families and never condemn their previous faith.

However, the Hindu nationalist organization, the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS), and its religious and political outfits saw in Gautam and Siddiqi a conspiracy to convert Hindus to Islam and give Muslims a majority in the country.

It appears to be an absurd argument as, during the 1,000-year-old presence in India, Muslims could not get more than 10 percent of people attracted to their style of life. Nei-

SOCIAL 22 - 23

AMUST

Maulana Umar Gautam

Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui. ther their might nor missionary activities excited the locals, many of whom had suffered at the hands of upper-caste Hindus.

One of the main reasons Muslims could not convince the locals about the genuineness of Islam was the prevalent racism and casteism among them. Regardless of their claim, the Muslim community has division based on ashraf and ajlaf.

In South Asian Muslim society, the ashrāf (Arabic, plural of shārīf, “nobleman”) are supposedly descendants of Muslim Arab immigrants, Afghans, Turks, or converts from upper Hindu castes. The non-ashrāf or Ajlaf are from lower Hindu castes. The ashrāf group has four subgroups: 1. Sayyids, the descendants of Prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fāṭimah and son-in-law ʿAlī.

2. Shaykhs (Arabic: “Chiefs”) are descendants of Arab or Persian immigrants, and some converted Rājputs.

3. Pashtuns, members of Pashto-speaking tribes in Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan.

4. Mughals, persons of Turkish origin, came into India with the Mughal armies.

The non-ashrāf Muslim castes have three levels of status: at the top, converts from high Hindu castes, mainly Rājputs, insofar as they are not the Shaykh castes; next, the artisan caste groups, such as the Julāhās, originally weavers; and lowest, the converted untouchables, who have continued their old occupations.

They observe endogamy in a manner close to that of their Hindu counterparts. Two of the main indexes of Hindu caste, principles governing eating and marital arrangements, do not appear as strongly in Muslim castes.

The Ajlaf comprises 85% of the total Indian Muslim population, with the least represented group within the Muslim leadership in India.

The author of the Indian constitution, Dr Ambedkar, was highly critical of the caste system among Muslims. After the 1901 caste census, he wrote, “The Muslims do not realize that these are evils and consequently do not agitate for their removal. Indeed, they oppose any change in their existing practices”.

He further stated, “Everybody infers Islam must be free from slavery and caste. Regarding slavery, nothing needs to be said. It stands abolished now by law. But if slavery has gone, caste among Muslims has remained.

There can thus be no manner of doubt that the Muslim Society in India is afflicted by the same social evils as afflict the Hindu Society.”

In 2019, an Online news portal, Firstpost, published an article by Ajaz Ashraf that revealed that there were 7,500 members of India’s parliament between the First and the Thirteenth Lok Sabha (lower house). Four hundred were Muslim, and only 60 were from the Ajlaf.

The caste system among Muslims is so deep that Islam has no relevance for the lower castes and tribes. In the view of RSS ide-

ologue, Gautam and Siddiqi’s movement for a caste-free Muslim society with equality to all and privileges to none based on their birth had the potential to impress the victims of Hindu hierarchy.

They viewed their work as a threat to upper caste hegemony. Consequently, they used the RSS-led Hindu government of UP to implicate the two under false charges and present them as anti-nations.

The government has yet to produce any concrete evidence regarding its false charges.

However, many converts have refuted the official accounts of forceful conversions.

What is worst is the attitude of Muslim leadership in India. Most Muslim organizations have leaders from the Ashraf category of Muslims. As a result, they still have difficulty empathizing with the Ajlaf and the new movements calling for a caste=free Muslim society. Muslim leaders deny the existence of caste hierarchy, but the reality speaks louder than their voices.

Only a few Muslim groups in India have raised the illegal imprisonment of Gautam and Siddiqi. Many are afraid of the government’s power, but the sense of superiority among the so-called Ashraf may also contribute.

Most Muslim Indian organisations in North Americas and Europe have leaders who support the Ashraf-led Indian groups or are from the Ashraf. So Gautam and Siddiqi are not their priorities. Nor are they the priority of Muslim organizations.

When the Iranian government arrested a priest working in Tehran, the evangelical and other Christian groups turned that into a significant international issue, pressuring the Administration to take up the case at the highest level. Finally, the UN intervened, and the Iranians freed him reluctantly.

No one is there to take up the case of Gautam and Siddiqi; everyone talks of persecution of Muslim Indians, but the leaders soaked in their Ashraf ideology are least concerned about the challenges the Muslim community has faced for centuries.

As a result, Gautam and Siddiqi pay the price to free their community from the caste hierarchy. Their colleagues and families feel abandoned, and the RSS knows that.

Prominent Indians warn against call for genocide of Muslims AMUST Media Hundreds of prominent Indians led by former military leaders and including journalists, peace activists, academics, interfaith and community leaders have written to the President and Prime Minister of India to condemn calls for the genocide of the large Muslim minority in India and take action against the Islamophobic hate mongers.

tra and, if required, picking up weapons and killing of India’s Muslims in the name of protecting Hinduism.

At about the same time, a large number of persons gathered in Delhi and publicly took an oath resolving to make India a Hindu nation, by fighting and killing if necessary, and more such seditious meetings are being or-

ganised in other places.

Regardless of which persons or parties initiated calls for such genocide, Government of India and the Judiciary, at the highest level, need to take urgent action. We cannot allow such incitement to violence together with public expressions of hate – which not only constitute serious breaches of internal securi-

Open statement on national security and incitement to violence

31 December, 2021 To Shri Ramnath Kovind President of India Shri Narendra Modi Prime Minister of India

Dear Mr President, and Mr Prime Minister, We, the undersigned, are writing to you about recent events in Haridwar, Delhi and elsewhere, openly calling for a genocide of Indian Muslims. In addition, other minorities – Christians, Dalits and Sikhs are also being targeted.

India’s Armed Forces, the Army, Navy & Air Force, together with CAPFs and Police, are responsible for National Security – external and internal, respectively. All of the above have sworn to uphold India’s Constitution and our secular values.

We are seriously perturbed by the content of speeches made during a 3 day religious conclave called a Dharma Sansad, of Hindu Sadhus and other leaders, held at Haridwar between 17-19 December 2021. There were repeated calls for establishing a Hindu RashJANUARY 2022 / ISSUE 194

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

ty, but which could also tear apart the social fabric of our nation. One speaker made a call to the army and police to pick up weapons and participate in the cleanliness drive (safai abhiyan). This amounts to asking the army to participate in genocide of our own citizens, and is condemnable and unacceptable.

In view of the current situation on our borders, any breach of peace and harmony within the Nation will embolden inimical external forces. The unity and cohesiveness of our men and women in uniform, including the CAPFs and Police Forces, will be seriously affected by allowing such blatant calls for violence against one or the other community in our diverse and plural society.

We therefore call upon the Government, Parliament and the Supreme Court, to act with urgency to protect the integrity and security of our country. The Constitution provides for the free practice of religion across faiths. We strongly deplore such polarisation in the name of religion. We urge you, Mr President and Mr Prime Minister, to take immediate steps to curb such attempts, and urge you to condemn such incitement to violence in no uncertain terms.

We also take this opportunity to urge leaders of all political parties to condemn these calls for what is tantamount to genocide of Muslims. They must restrain their own cadres and thereby set examples of their commitment to Secularism, Fraternity and Justice for all.

It is in the National Interest that all parties should refrain from using religion in politics and pledge to uphold our Constitution and the wellbeing of our people – thus ensuring both National and Human Security for all.

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

17

EDUCATION

NEWS 1-4

BOOMERANG 5-7

COMMUNITY 8 - 10

AUSTRALIA 11 - 12

LIFESTYLE 13 - 15

Less material more spiritual AMUST

Dr Asrar Talukder Disclaimer: I read Quran in the light of science, philosophy, ethics, and public policy. This is not a theological discussion, but some rational thinking shaped by the Quran.

“The enjoyment of worldly desires—women, children, treasures of gold and silver, fine horses, cattle, and fertile land—has been made appealing to people. These are the pleasures of this worldly life, but with Allah is the finest destination.” (Quran 3: 14).

When I was growing up during late seventies and early eighties, my hometown Dhaka (the capital city of Bangladesh) was very different. There were very few cars on the streets and us, as children, used to play car counting; how many cars (or white cars) we can see pass in one hour. In the extended family, only my youngest aunty had a car.

We were considered to be a middle class family. However, being a middle class of the global poorest South did not mean much.

Our life was plain and simple. We used to

have beef once a week. The beef curry was a luxury food. My siblings and I waited for the beef day of the week.

Now I live in Australia and belong to the same middle class, however, economically speaking, of the richest global North. I have two cars. I can eat beef every day. But my daily struggles are different these days; how can I walk more and stay away from any beef to keep my blood pressure and cholesterol level in check. I have realised that my body is a finite system.

What is true for a human body as a living system is also true for our planet earth. We

are living amid climate emergencies. The science has been warning us about it for a while now. However, our economic model of production and growth did not allow us to act upon it as the three pillars of our modern-day economy and lifestyle choices; fossil fuel-based energy systems and construction material (i.e., steel and cements), and livestock farming, are the main sources of the greenhouse gas emissions. The alternative energy sources have been neither cheap nor reliably stable for our ever-increasing production lines.

Fortunately, renewable energies are get-

Age, but they believe that someday Messiah Jesus (a) will return again to accomplish that holy goal.

Jews say when they see it they will believe it. However, even if a future Jesus (a) proves to be a Messianic figure; Jews will not believe that Rabbi Jesus (a) is, or ever was, a Divine Son of God. Judaism and Islam both teach that there is only One God, and therefore God’s basic message for humanity, conveyed by God’s Messengers, is and has always been basically the same, although many of the details of perspective and practice are different for each Monotheistic religion.

Thus, what Prophets Moses (a), David (a), Jesus (a) and Muhammad (s) delivered to their followers was essentially the same Message in terms of the nature of God’s Oneness and opposition to worshipping idols.

It doesn’t make sense that God would send Messengers like Abraham (a) Moses (a), and David (a) to tell people to believe in only one God, and then suddenly send to Jesus (a) a radically different message (the Trinity), which contradicts the monotheistic Unitarian teachings of God’s previous Messengers.

Those early sects of Christianity, that believed Jesus (a) was a human Prophet and nothing more, were following the original teachings of Jesus (a), because their concept of Unitarian Monotheism was the same as that taught by all the Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, called by Christians-the Old Testament.

Indeed, Jesus clearly thought of himself not as the “Son of God”, but as the “Son of Man”, a Messianic term. The Aramaic phrase Bar ‘ěnosh’ “son of man” is a Semitic expression denoting a single member of humanity, a certain human being. This Aramaic phrase is used by Daniel (7:13-14) to describe a Messianic figure riding with the clouds of the sky.

In the four Gospels, “the Son of Man” is Jesus’ favorite self-designation. Prophet Ezekiel is addressed by God as “Son of Man” 93 times in the Biblical book of Ezekiel.

The term “the Son of Man” appears 81 times in the Greek text of the four Gospels: thirty times in Matthew, twenty five times in Luke, 14 times in Mark (the shortest of the Gospels), and 12 times in John (the latest and least historical of the Gospels).

Yet in Paul’s epistles, “Son of Man” is never used for Jesus. In fact, the term “Son of Man” appears in the whole New Testament only 4 times (5%) outside of the Gospels.

Paul does briefly mentions meeting

“James, the Lord’s brother” in a letter to the Galatians: “Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.” (Galatians: 1:1820) Indeed, in early extra-biblical Christian writings during the generations following Paul’s letters; the term “Son of Man” that Jesus preferred for himself, is never used at all.

Although the oldest surviving Christian liturgy, the Liturgy of St James, also calls James “the brother of God”.

I am a Reform Rabbi who has studied Christianity and Islam for over 60 years. I am in full agreement with the Qur’an’s teachings about God. But when I read the four Gospels and Paul’s letters, I find many things that I cannot believe because they conflict with the Torah of Moses (a) and the teachings of the Prophets of Israel.

Yet even within the Gospels there are examples that show that Jesus (a) actually preached the same moral and religious message of Monotheism that the Prophets in the Hebrew Bible preached.

A passage in the Gospel of Mark which really emphasizes the core message of Prophet Jesus (a) occurs when a man came to Jesus (a) and asked “Which is the first (most basic) commandment of all?” Jesus (a) answered, “The first (most basic) of all the commandments is Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.’’(Mark 12:28).

So the greatest commandment, the most important belief according to Jesus (a) is that God is one. If Jesus (a) was the Divine “Son of God” he would have said ‘I am part of the triune God, worship me’, but he didn’t.

He merely repeated a verse from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4) which Jews repeat every day during their prayers, confirming that God is One. In another Gospel (Luke) “a lawyer stood up to put Jesus to the test, saying, “Rabbi, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said, “What is written in the Torah? How do you read it?”

He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind. (Deuteronomy 6:5) And your neighbor as yourself.” (Leviticus 19:18) And Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly.

Do this, and you will live.” (Luke 10:25-28)

ting cheaper. Many have begun to think that the green technologies and economic opportunities are there to give a fight with the incumbency of fossil fuel. It takes us to the next important question. Our current uses of global natural resources are already two times over the safe ecological boundaries of our planet (1).

Science is telling us that we need to urgently have an alternative economic model of material extraction and consumption, which will go at par with the regeneration capacities of our ecosystems. Otherwise, the green energies of net zero emissions alone will not be able to save us. So far, all the alternative ideas and propositions have shown one simple truth that we must learn to live with less material goods and compensate the deficit budget with more spiritual plenitudes.

1. Jason Hickel, LESS IS MORE; HOW DEGROWTH WILL SAVE THE WORLD, Windmill Books, London, 2020.

Read the full version: https://tinyurl.com/bp68tunk Dr Asrar Talukder is a marine geologist and a passionate community activist. He is based in Perth, Australia.

Who and what was Jesus?

Rabbi Allen Maller

The Qur’an states: “It is not (possible) for any human being to whom Allah had given Scripture, wisdom and prophethood, that he (Prophet Jesus) should afterwards have said to mankind: Be slaves of me instead of Allah; but (Jesus actually said): Be faithful servants of the Lord by virtue of your constant teaching of Scripture and your constant study of it.” (3:79) A report by Gallup of a review of over 174,000 interviews conducted in 2015 found that only 56% of Christians believe that Jesus (a) was Divine, and 26% say he was a great man, but only a human religious or spiritual leader like Moses (a), Mohammed (s) or Buddha (18% are not sure what Jesus was).

It is not surprising that almost none of the Jews, Muslims or Buddhists polled believed that Jesus (a) was God or the Son of God. But it is surprising that only 56% of Christians in our generation are Trinitarians.

About 5-6% of Americans identify with a non-Christian religion. What do they think about Jesus? While many, but not all, Buddhists pray to Buddha; there are no Jews or Muslims who pray to Moses (a) or Muhammad (s). Indeed, one of the most important teachings in their sacred scriptures, the Hebrew Bible and the Arabic Qur’an, is the prohibition of praying to anyone other than the one and only God. The Qur’an of Prophet Muhammad (s), as the last of the world’s major Sacred Scriptures, includes within itself statements about Prophet Jesus (a) that differ greatly from the Christian New Testament.

Since the Torah of Prophet Moses (a) and the Psalms of Prophet David (a) preceded the New Testament by many centuries, they contain no statements at all about Jesus (a), although many Jewish prophets in the Hebrew Bible do have prophecies about a future Messianic redeemer.

Jews do not believe the New Testament claims that Rabbi Jesus (a) was a Messiah, not because he couldn’t have been; but because he did not in fact usher in, or bring about the Messianic Age of world wide peace and justice. Jews wish he had succeeded.

Christians do admit that the world is still clearly not in, or even close to, the Messianic

18

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

Note, Jesus (a) did not say that you need to believe in the ‘Son of God’, in order to inherit eternal life (heaven or the world to come).

Jesus (a) just affirmed two verses in the Torah that say people need to love God intensely; and love their neighbors as much as they love themselves.

In Luke’s gospel, Jesus does not even mention that the requirement to love God be directed to the one and only God. But he was speaking to Jews, and Jesus (a) knew they were committed to monotheism.

The Gospel of Matthew also reports the same question about the most important basic commandment in the Torah: “Rabbi, which commandment in the Torah is the greatest?”

Jesus (a) said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’” (Deuteronomy 6:5) This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Leviticus 19:18) These two commandments support the whole Torah and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-4) Again note that Jesus says nothing about loving a Divine “Son of God” or anyone else attached to his father in heaven, because Prophet Jesus (a) was a unitarian, as were all the Jews who Jesus spoke to about his ‘father in heaven’, and they understood that this term was a metaphor, not to be taken literally, the way the pagans meant it.

When, after his death, the words of Jesus (a) were spread out to the world of the Greeks and Romans, most of them did take these words literally, and started believing that Jesus (a) himself was a Divine human being like the Greek (Hercules) and Roman (Aesculapius); human heroes who became Gods.

This is why the use of the term “Son of Man” that Jesus himself preferred, disappeared from Christian Trinitarian usage in the generations after Jesus (a) was gone.

Perhaps now is the right time to bring the term Jesus (a) used to refer to himself back into our usage and our belief.

Allen S Maller is an ordained Reform Rabbi who retired in 2006 after 39 years as the Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City, California.

His website is: www.rabbimaller.com. Rabbi Maller blogs in the Times of Israel. His book ‘Judaism and Islam as Synergistic Monotheisms: A Reform Rabbi’s Reflections on the Profound Connectedness of Islam and Judaism’ (31 articles previously published by Islamic web sites) is for sale ($15) on Amazon.

ISSUE 194 / JANUARY 2022

UMMAH 16 - 17

EDUCATION 18 - 20

BUSINESS 21

EDUCATION

SOCIAL 22 - 23

AMUST

Maulana Yusuf Islahi: A much loved Islamic scholar

Dr Aslam Abdullah

Maulana Muhammad Yusuf Islahi, a prominent Muslim scholar, author, speaker, and founder of several educational institutions, passed away in India on Tuesday 21 December 2021, after a short illness. However, he left behind a treasure of knowledge that would continue to benefit its seekers worldwide.

Much of what he wrote and said was in Urdu, but through his students scattered all over the world, he reached an audience speaking different languages and belonging to different cultures. Many of his students are in the United States as well as in Australia.

His book Asan Fiqh (Easy Jurisprudence) and Adab-e Zindagi (Etiquettes of Life) are his best-circulated books.

He frequently visited Australia on invitation by Islamic Forum for Australian Muslims (IFAM) and was a popular speaker at its family camps and conferences.

Born at Formulli, Attock district, in 1932, Maulana Islahi was a member of the consultative body of Jamat-e-Islamic Hind. He was also the chief patron of project Why Islam of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA).

Attock is a district in Pothohar Plateau of the Punjab Province of Pakistan. Its capital is Attock city. He was greatly influenced by the thoughts of Maulana Abul Ala Maududi, Maulana Amin Ahsan Islahi, and Maulana Abdul Hayy.

He received his primary education in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, British India. Initial-

ly, he got educated in Islamic Studies from Mazaher ul-Uloom, Saharanpur District and Higher studies, and Fazilat from Madarsat ul-Islah, Sarai Mir. He memorized Qur’an and also learned Tajweed. Then, his father, Shaikh-ul-Hadees Maulana Abdul Qadim Khan, sent him to Madrasa Mazahir ul Uloom, Saharanpur, for further education.

Later he joined Madarsat ul Islah, Sarai Mir, Azamgarh. He spent four years under Maulana Amin Ahsan Islahi and received Sanad Fazilat with distinction (Certificate of Graduation).

He was part of one of the most distinguished families in India that served Islam through their scholarship. Maulana Islahi was the brother-in-law of Dr Muzammil Siddiqi, former President of Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and a prominent Muslim American leader, scholar, and an iconic figure among Muslim thinkers.

Dr Muzammil Siddiqui’s father, Maulana Tawassul Hussain Siddiqi, who dedicated his life to serving Islam through Jamat-e-Islami Hind succeeded Mualana Abdul Hai as the in-charge of Jamiatul Salehat.

Dr Muzammil Siddiqui is the son-in-law of Maulana Abdul Hai. Maulana Abdul Hai was the editor of Butool, a woman’s magazine, Hasanat, a journal of Islamic thoughts, Noor, a children’s magazine, and Hadi a magazine in simple Hindi on Islamic subjects.

He left behind him a publication house dedicated to the publication of Islamic books.

Maulana Yusuf Islahi was married to Dr

Muzammil’s eldest sister, who passed away a few years ago and had eight children. His youngest daughter is settled on the East Coast of USA. Following the footsteps of many Muslim scholars of his time, Maulana Islahi became a member of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind in 1953 and served Islam and the organisation through various activities.

Maulana Yusuf Islahi was also guiding many educational and welfare institutions.

He was the Rector of Jamiat us-Salehat, Rampur, which Maulana Abdu Hayy founded) as a unique and very well-known institution for girls’ higher Arabic and Islamic education.

More than a thousand students now reside

in the sprawling campus spread on several acres of land in the best locality of Rampur city. The number of hostlers who come from the city to the new campus alone is more than three times.

Markazi Darsgah-e-Islami, Rampur has been running under his guidance for the last few years. Many other educational and welfare institutions also sought advice and guidance from him.

He led a simple life and devoted his knowledge to serving people. His scholarship was rooted in humility, humor, and care for humanity.

May Allah elevate his status in the life hereafter.

Tafsir in the non-Arab Muslim world: AJIS Special Issue Mirela Cufurovic This issue of the Australian Journal of Islamic Studies, together with the following issue, address the topic of Qur’ānic exegesis, or tafsīr al-Qur’ān, in the non-Arab world.

Much scholarly attention has been devoted to exegesis of the Qur’ān produced in Arabic down the centuries, and deservedly so. Arabic language exegetical output represents an invaluable treasure of Islamic studies.

Furthermore, exegetical writings outside the Arab world through time have often drawn on, and sometimes closely mirrored, exegetical writing in Arabic. We need look no further than the profound influence exerted on non-Arab exegetes by works such as al-Ṭabarī’s Jāmiʿ al-bayān ʿan ta’wīl āy alQur’ān, the Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr, and the exegetical output of Jalāl al-Dī̄n al-Suyūṭī.

Nevertheless, exegetical gifts and callings are found across Muslim communities the world over. Islamic exegetical activity is not unidirectional from the Arab world to non-Arab Muslim communities. Rather, it is a dynamic dialogue, a call and response.

Richly diverse Muslim cultures have specific requirements in terms of interpreting the Qur’ān. Thus, the world of Islam produces a rich mosaic of interpretations of the Qur’ān, which all Muslims can draw on.

This issue of AJIS carries strong flavours of Islam in Southeast Asia and Africa. Of the ten authors included in the papers, nine originate from Indonesia and Malaysia, while the tenth is a North American scholar of African origin. All thus speak with considerable auJANUARY 2022 / ISSUE 194

thority about their topics and regions of focus.

Further, the authors are engaged in diverse educational settings, again outside the Arab world. Five are faculty members of state universities and institutes of Islam in Indonesia; three are faculty members of private Islamic institutions in Indonesia; one is on the faculty at the National University of Malaysia; and the last is on the faculty at Adelphi University in the United States. Three are currently undertaking PhD research into topics related to Qur’ānic exegesis. In this way, this issue of AJIS presents readers with rich perspectives from diverse settings on a range of vitally rel-

evant topics in the field of tafsīr al-Qur’ān.

The six articles in this issue of AJIS demonstrate the richness of resources in tafsīr al-Qur’ān produced outside the Arabic-speaking world. These articles provide a snapshot of the rapidly developing interest in this field of studies in Southeast Asia and Africa. Further exciting glimpses into non-Arab world research into Qur’ānic exegesis will be on display in the next issue of AJIS, focusing on scholarship from India, Iran, Turkey and central Caucasus.

To read the six articles published in the new AJIS special issue, please visit: www. ajis.com.au.

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

Editorial Introduction written by Prof Peter G Riddell * and Hakan Çoruh ** * Prof Peter G Riddell is a Professorial Research Associate in History at SOAS University of London and Senior Research Fellow of the Australian College of Theology. ** Dr Hakan Çoruh is Senior Lecturer of Islamic studies at Faculty of Arts and Education, Charles Sturt University.

Mirela Cufurovic is a Research Associate at Charles Sturt University. She is also a Sydney based watercolour artist and illustrator.

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

19

AMUST

EDUCATION

NEWS 1-4

BOOMERANG 5-7

COMMUNITY 8 - 10

AUSTRALIA 11 - 12

LIFESTYLE 13 - 15

People of faith targeted by radical right and left Zahid Jamil A very large proportion of the world population follows a faith in some form or another. They believe in supreme power and very often in His deities, in His angles, in His prophets and in His books of guidance.

Human wellbeing has two important segments; physical wellbeing and mental wellbeing and they are interlinked. Mental wellbeing plays a huge role in peoples’ life matters and has significant impact on their physical health.

Life is full of challenges. An average person faces difficulties on a daily basis, be it work related, health of self and dear ones, rivalry of various kinds at family and social levels, and relationships become very stressful at times.

We find ourselves helpless where despite our best efforts, we are unsure of outcomes in most of the life matters. The future always looks uncertain and worldly temptations leave an average person concerned most of the time.

People of faith find peace in their daily life through prayers and they seek refuge in their God in times of crisis.

The connection with the divine power elevates the psychological wellbeing of an individual. Spirituality and sacred dimension of it creates an amazing feeling and the human being finds oneself above the worldly affairs bringing ultimate peace to the heart and mind.

Billions of people with religious beliefs enjoy the advantage of having support from a supreme being, which even if unrealistic as atheists claim, has a huge psychological impact. Belief in the unseen is fundamental to the religious philosophy and scientific reasoning need not be sought to this aspect of human life.

Many religious scholars do relate scientific findings to what is mentioned in the holy books and claim that science is a spiritual as well as a temporal duty for people of faith.

Religions brought about huge social changes when they were launched by their founders. For example, serious social evils prevailed in the Arabia before the advent of

Islam. Arabia was a male-dominated society. Women had no status other than as sex objects. A savage custom of the Arabs was to bury their female infants alive.

Drunkenness, gambling, slavery, prostitution were common. Slavery was an economic institution, male and female slaves sold and bought like animals and they formed the most oppressed section of the community. The most powerful were money-lenders who charged exorbitant interest on loans from ordinary people who had to borrow money for their urgent needs.

This system was designed to make them richer and the borrowers poorer. The tribal system of the time had no political organization, lawlessness was common and the system led very frequently to acts of horrendous cruelty.

Prophet Muhammad (s), apart from spiritual awakening of the highest form, established a perfect society in Madinah, abolishing the evil practices and establishing a civic society which was just and orderly, of highest moral values and great humanistic principles.

The Medinah model lead to birth of great civilizations for several centuries. Muslim rulers established governments which had set up the unrivalled intellectual centers of science, philosophy, medicine and education.

Within one hundred years of passing away of the holy prophet, the Islamic empire extended from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to Central Asia in the east. The subsequent empires of the Umayyads, Abbasids, the Fatimids, the Mughals, the Safavids, and Ottomans were among the largest and most powerful in the world.

Other religious founders also achieved great feats in their times.

Unfortunately rivalry among nations, following different religions, have raged for centuries resulting in conflicts and wars.

However, for the vast majority of ordinary people, their religious faith was sacred and spiritual which offered them tranquillity and peace.

With industrial revolution couple of centuries ago, new political concepts emerged.

With rise of communism and capitalism in various regions of the world, religion was not only sidelined but targeted. Political extremists used religion as a tool to incite the masses.

Over past few decades, Muslims have been in the firing line due to geopolitical factors, most importantly finding of oil wealth in the desert states of the Middle East and forced creation of the Jewish state of Israel through settlement of Jews who had lived in Europe for centuries.

In reaction to the atrocities of the world powers, both capitalist and communist, Muslim religious extremist groups were born.

Both radical left and radical right of modern times target religions and people of faith while pretending to be protecting them from each other.

Radical left makes a mockery of people’s faith. As they do not believe in God, they insult sacred religious institutions. They have no understanding of spirituality and do not respect people’s deepest faith in their religions which is very often the most valuable commodity in their lives. The communists do not refrain from insulting the holy books and the holy prophets, thus deeply hurting sentiments of hundreds of millions of religious followers.

Leftist’s powers have engaged in attacks and mass murders of ordinary religious people, solely because of their belief.

Slobodan Milošević, the Communists leader of Yugoslavia and his comrades orchestrated one of the worst massacres of Muslims in modern times. In today’s communist China, millions of Uyghurs are sent to concentration camps because of their religious beliefs and ethnicity.

Radical right, while defending their own

Choosing to become chosen: Plural relationships in One God religions Rabbi Allen Maller A major misunderstanding of the Biblical concept of God choosing a people or a prophet is caused by the use of the word ‘the’ chosen when a better translation would be ‘a’ chosen prophet or ‘a chosen people’.

Relationships are always unique and exclusive, but just as a parent can and should have a loving relationship with several different children; God can and does have unique and exclusive relationships with many different prophets and many different religious communities.

As a well known Hadith says, “Prophets are paternal brothers (sons of one father by co-wives). Their mothers (mother tongue, motherland etc.) are different but their religion (from the one and only God) is one.”

(Bukhari Vol. 4: Book 55 #651 and Muslim Book 30: #5834-6).

According to the Bible the relationship between God and Israel is similar to a marital partnership, as can be seen from the following Biblical verses.

20

God proposes a marriage covenant at Sinai.

God said to Moses “Speak thus to the house of Jacob, and tell this to the children of Israel… Now if you listen to me and keep my covenant, then you will be my special possession out of all the peoples, for the whole earth is mine. You will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation. These words you shall speak to the people of Israel” (this is the proposal).”

“Moses came and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these proposals as God had commanded him. All the people answered together, “All that God has proposed, we will do. (the acceptance, like “I do” at a wedding). Moses brought this answer back to the Lord.” (Exodus 19:5-8) Why the Jews? Because God loved their ancestors.

“The Lord cared for your ancestors loving them and chose their descendants after them from all nations, as you are this day.” (Deuteronomy 10:15) “I will fulfill my covenant between myself and you (Abraham) and your descendants after you, generation after generation, an everlasting covenant, to be your God, yours and your descendants after you.”

(Genesis 17:7)“All the families of the earth

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

shall be blessed through you (Jacob) and your descendants.” (Genesis 28:14) Why the Jews? Divine love isn’t based on popularity or large numbers.

“It was not because you were more numerous than any other nation that the Lord cared about you and chose you, for you are the smallest of nations; it was because of the Lord’s love for you, and his oath to your ancestors.” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8) Is being chosen and special make you better? No. A committed loving relationship results in more giving (Mitsvot), more receiving (Torah, Prophets and sages) and more grief (because each cares about the other).

“For you alone have I cared among all the nations of the world, therefore I will castigate you for all your iniquities.” (Prophet Amos 3:2) So other nations will also be blessed through their own religions that were sparked

by Israel’s covenant with God at Sinai, thus fulfilling the promise to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth.

As a Rabbi I believe that the many prophets Allah sends to the Children of Israel is a sign of the ongoing covenant between Allah

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

religion, engage in vilifying other religions.

Over past few decades, Muslims have been the target of several right-wing extremist groups around the world. Western powers encouraged mischievous people in hurting sentiments of Muslims by allowing them to insult the holy prophet and religious symbols in the disguise of freedom of expression.

In India, all minorities including Muslims, Christians and Sikhs have faced attacks from Hindu right-wing groups.

The Western powers, on one hand, have raised concern over human right issues of religious minorities in many countries including communist countries. However, at the same time, they have engaged in heinous crimes when they invaded Muslim countries over past few decades.

They killed millions of innocent civilians repeatedly that proved to be on false premises. Under the pretext of fighting terrorism, they invaded many countries, enslaved their people, looted their wealth and massacred men, women and children.

The modern day political schools have done huge harm to centuries old religious traditions creating chaos in societies and disturbing psychological well being of ordinary people.

Zahid Jamil is an engineering post graduate from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and runs a financial planning practice based in Sydney. He heads South Asian Muslim Association of Australia, SAMAA: samaa.org.au. and the Children of Israel. I know Muslim interpreters interpret 2:63-64 to mean that the favors mentioned in those verses were conditional with a certain period of time when the Divine trust—the representation and promotion of God’s eternal religion—rested on the shoulders of the Children of Israel.

The biblical religious tradition claims this trust is an “ongoing covenant” between God and the Children of Israel. Clearly not all Jews live up to this trust, but God’s commitment is ongoing for the whole community of those who do.

Although many Christians claim the new covenant replaces the old covenant for all Jews, and some Muslims say the Jewish covenant has expired for all Jews, faithful Jews remain loyal to their spiritual relationship with God. I believe wisdom dictates that we follow the Qur’an’s (22:67) advice, “For every community We have appointed a whole system of worship which they are to observe. So do not let them draw you into disputes concerning this matter.”

The Qur’an relates God’s ongoing concern for faithful Jews when Prophet Moses speaks to his people as follows: “O my people! Remember God’s favor upon you, for He appointed among you Prophets, and rulers, and He granted to you favors such as He had not granted to anyone else in the worlds” (5:20).

This is one reason why Jews in Muslim lands have rarely been forcibly converted; as frequently happened in Christian lands.

ISSUE 194 / JANUARY 2022

UMMAH 16 - 17

EDUCATION 18 - 20

BUSINESS 21

BUSINESS

SOCIAL 22 - 23

Why everyone The problem with should create a conventional financial plan banking

Muhammad Lambat

Muhammad Lambat

need the money, and what your risk tolerance is, will help to create your investment plan.

As the new year approaches, many people tend to set New Year’s resolutions. Some are realistic and some are less so. The most common financial goal is to save more. I believe there’s more to financial planning than just increasing our savings.

Setting financial goals can help us figure out where we want to be moneywise and what our priorities are.

When it comes to setting goals, it helps to be specific, realistic, and to write them down. You’ll likely have a mixture of shortterm, medium-term, and long-term goals.

Here are 7 steps to help you create a financial plan.

4. Create a retirement plan Retirement may seem far away (or it could be round the corner). Either way, set up a retirement plan, taking inflation into consideration, to help you work out how much you will need to save and invest for when the time comes.

1. Start an emergency fund An emergency fund is crucial to your financial plan. It helps deal with those unexpected costs like if you suddenly lose your job.

You want to make sure you are prepared for the worst (*coughs* COVID). Build up an emergency fund of 3-6+ months of your monthly expenses to provide you with a safety net.

5. Plan for taxes Taxes are something often overlooked when planning finances. Not factoring them into long-term projections can drastically impact your cash flow. Have a look into tax-saving investment accounts like an Investment ISA and you may just find that you save a big chunk of cash in the long run. Speaking to a tax accountant or financial planner can help if you are unsure about taxes.

“Debt is your

biggest hindrance when it comes to achieving your financial goals.

6. Create an estate plan As Muslims, it is important to have a will.

It is essential to determine exactly what happens to your assets after you are gone. Set things up legally and officially by creating a will with a financial planner or estate lawyer.

2. Pay off your debts As Muslims, we are told to stay away from debt. However, if you do find yourself in any debt, it’s best to get rid of it as soon as you can. Debt is your biggest hindrance when it comes to achieving your financial goals.

7. Review your plan frequently It is important to review your plan frequently and make necessary adjustments if your goals or circumstances change. Having a regular check-in date can help ensure things are going to plan. A financial plan can help you achieve your financial goals and get you to where you want to be. Stay the course and learn from your mistakes.

3. Create a savings & investment plan Savings help you with your short-to-medium term goals. Setting aside money for these goals will help you achieve them faster. If you want to build long-term wealth, that’s where an investment plan comes in.

Allocate a certain percentage towards your investments. Having a basic understanding of what you are investing for, when you’ll

Muhammad is the founder of Muslim Investing – an Instagram blog built with the idea to create a community of financially literate Muslims. Through the Muslim Investing page, he shares content to educate Muslims on ethical investing and Islamic finance. His aim is to create awareness around the misconceptions of finance in Islam in a simplified way.

bank’s point of view, and if the customer is unable to repay the loan, the bank will repossess the property and sell it to cover the cost of the loan.

Islamic banking is designed so that profit and loss are equally shared between both parties in a transaction. This eliminates the ability of the bank taking advantage of the customer.

Shariah-compliant savings accounts are typically based upon the Mudaraba Principle (Partnership). The customer acts as the financier and the bank acts as the fund manager. All investments made are Shariah-compliant.

The bank and the customer agree to a profit/loss sharing ratio and as the bank will have researched the investment, there is an expected profit, but that could potentially fluctuate. Hence, both parties are taking on risk. The bank then receives a portion of the profit (just like a fund manager would), and the customer receives the remaining profit.

For Islamic mortgages, there are several types. The most commonly used type is the Ijarah loan. The bank purchases the property outright from the seller and then agrees to lease the property to the customer over a set period.

Once the customer has made their final rental payment, the bank then transfers ownership of the property to the customer as a promissory gift. The customer did not borrow any money from the bank and is not paying back any interest.

Islamic banks and their customers are also not allowed to deal in any interest. The Islamic banking industry is continuously evolving and innovating to find better alternatives to make it easier for Muslims to grow and store their wealth.

“

JANUARY 2022 / ISSUE 194

The biggest problem with conventional banking is the very framework that it is built upon. Islam encourages a partnership in that both profit and loss are shared for both parties of any transaction. In conventional banking, there is an imbalance of risk, most of which is put on the borrower.

This ties into interest – one of the fundamental differences between Islamic and conventional banking. Banks make money through multiple avenues: charging interest via credit cards, investing its customers’ money from savings accounts, and interest on mortgage loans which are a few of what we will discuss.

Customers who are unable to pay off their credit card loans are required to pay interest to the bank. From an Islamic point of view, you are not allowed to benefit from lending money.

Conventional savings accounts are based on a creditor and debtor relationship. The bank borrows the customers’ money and invests or lends it to others (with no guarantee that these investments are Shariah-compliant).

The bank then returns the customers’ money with an agreed-upon interest and keeps the remaining profit for itself. There is no risk taken on by the customer as they are guaranteed the interest.

In a mortgage, the bank lends the customer money for the purchase of a house. The customer then pays back the money with interest periodically over a set timeframe.

Again, there is minimal risk from the

AMUST

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

21

AMUST

#SOCIAL

NEWS 1-4

BOOMERANG 5-7

COMMUNITY 8 - 10

AUSTRALIA 11 - 12

LIFESTYLE 13 - 15

Social Spotlights

Emma Watson

Muslim Women Australia

@emmawatson

“Solidarity does not assume that our struggles are the same struggles, or that our pain is the same pain, or that our hope is for the same future. Solidarity involves commitment, and work, as well as the recognition that even if we do not have the same feelings, or the same lives, or the same bodies, we do live on common ground.” —Sara Ahmed

@MuslimWomenAustralia

Daniya Syed

@robotix.dan

Western Sydney Young Women of the Year Award Thankyou Western Sydney Women Amanda Rose and the award Sponsor Bright Print Group for this wonderful opportunity!

Congratulations Sarah on receiving recognition for all your volunteer work at the Banks Volunteer of the Year Awards.

Sarah has been involved in numerous programs of MWA and is a great advocate for inclusive and supported opportunities for children and young people.

MWA is incredibly proud to have Sarah as a Board member

Auburn Gallipoli Mosque

@gallipolimosque

Derya Iner I get emotional in every graduation ceremony at #CISAC/ #ISRA. Wisdom, compassion, the role of seeking knowledge and the pleasure (as well as satisfaction) coming along with the knowledge...These are some highlights from the talks and testimonials today. Every single student’s individual journey was quite special and moving...

Congrats to all of our 2020 and 2021 graduates for their perseverance and dedication to complete their degrees regardless of Covid-19 and the lockdowns they have gone through in the last two years...

Dr Asfaq Ahmed’s presence was meaningful. Br Anas’s Quran recitation was breathtaking. And Sr Amina Baghdadi’s graduation was quite special to me as in the course of her study, we co-authored two articles with Amina and started to discuss new and exciting projects for future..

22

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

ISRA Academy

@isra.org.au

ISRA’s Muslim Leadership Program came to an end last night with the celebration of the growth and achievements of the 19 mentees. Special thanks to all 19 mentors and the organising committee. Looking forward to the 2022 MLP!

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

S.A. Thank you to everyone who attended our Open Day / Night of Lights event last night. We had an excellent turnout which generated a vibrant atmosphere that lifted the event to special heights. Approx. Two thousand people from the local community and across the Sydney Metro joined our celebration. We had over 100 people register for our Mosque tours. Together with our Ask an Imam stall, we were able to share information and break down some of the misconceptions circulating about Islam.

The event was a wonderful celebration of the diversity of our community in NSW. Thank you again to everyone who helped make last night possible.

We would like to make a special mention of a sister who donated a beautiful (and tasty!) cake in the shape of our Mosque for the celebration. Thank you to sister Nazli Genc from Nazli Eller (https://www. instagram.com/cake_by_nazli.eller) . We auctioned off the cake to raise funds for the Mosque – the winning bid was $2,500 from Brother SHUV HOMSI from Giving Back Australia

ISSUE 194 / JANUARY 2022

UMMAH 16 - 17

EDUCATION 18 - 20

BUSINESS 21

TOP 6 Memes

#SOCIAL

SOCIAL 22 - 23

SHARED Snaps

AMUST

TOP 7 Tweets @Muslim

History of Indian subcontinent @muslimhistoryofindia

JANUARY 2022 / ISSUE 194

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

23

NEWS 1-4

BOOMERANG 5-7

COMMUNITY 8 - 10

AUSTRALIA 11 - 12

LIFESTYLE 13 - 15

COVID-19: 2022 - What you need to know

24

AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES

WWW.AMUST.COM.AU

ISSUE 194 / JANUARY 2022