Crescent Times May 2010

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RESCENT T IMESE

Issue N 19 May 2010

Strengthening Our Community

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WA: war over FUTURE of Australian Islamic COLLEGE

Niqab is her choice

OPINIONS:Crescent Times special discussion about the niqab debate on page 16

Perth CT Exclusive

A turf war has broken out over control of the Australian Islamic College in Perth following the convictions of founder Mr. Abdallah Magar and Principal Aziz Magdi for fraud in March this year. The pair were convicted of fraud following an extensive investigation that commenced in 2006, led to charges being laid in June 2008 and then concluded with a three week trial during which the prosecution claimed that the pair had created “ghost classes” full of students who either no longer attended the school or had never attended the school.

Despite the fraud conviction, Mr Magar maintains that there was no intent to defraud the government and that the college had always acted in a legal manner and upheld all requirements relating to government funding. A source at the College told Crescent Times that: “As stipulated under the Education Act, schools are required to confirm the whereabouts of students prior to their removal from the school register. The college maintained such students in the register whose whereabouts were unknown and consequently these students were included in the Census figures for the year which form the basis for funding figures.”

Mr Magar is due to be sentenced on 18 June 2010. The sentencing date has been delayed for several reasons. Firstly to enable the Education Department to finalise the amount owed by the College to the Department (Mr Magar has stated his intention to repay all the fraudulently obtained funds in full prior to the sentencing date) and secondly to allow reports to be provided to and reviewed by the court and the prosecution in relation to Mr Magar’s health and character.

A significant number of supportive letters have been received by the Court in relation to Mr Magar’s character and the delay of the sentencing date will allow the prosecution to review these documents. Crescent Times is aware of posts to a Facebook page in support of Mr Magar that express a hope that he will receive a suspended sentence if all the funds are repaid in full.

In a further development, Crescent Times has obtained copies of letters to a state government department and to the Minister for Education signed by leading members of Perth’s Muslim community, outlining concerns over the management of the College and the control of the AIC Foundation Trust that administers the college funds. These documents allege that the AIC Foundation Trust is in effect solely under the control of Mr Magar, his family and close associates and as such the assets of the college and the funds administered are treated as a “family business” rather than a not for profit school organisation.

Allegations have also been made about further irregularities in the school’s operation including claims that only members of Mr Magar’s family are permitted to be controlling members of the school and its Board of Governors. The Australian Islamic College has confirmed that they have already made several changes to the corporate governance structure under the guidance of Dr Ken Evans and are in the process of implementing further changes to ensure they comply fully with Education department requests and remain compliant with regulatory changes as they arise.

Mr Magar’s daughter, Sherene Hassan, Vice President of the Islamic Council of Victoria, told Crescent Times “Anyone who knows my father Mr Magar will testify to the fact that when the school started he used to pay the

continued on page 15

issue 19, May 2010

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Local and Community events

Australia Wide Community Events: New South Wales Women’s Leadership and Wellness 3-Day Retreat Date: Friday May 28th-Sunday 30th Location: Vision Valley Cost: Free Run by Muslim Youth Leadership Challenge (MYLC), a premier training program for young leaders. If you identify yourself as a Muslim and are enthusiastic, female and motivated toward positive change, apply to participate in the unique 3 Day Leadership and Wellness Retreat by downloading the application form from www.mylc.org. au. MYLC will select 50 Muslim females between the ages of 18 and 35 from various cultural, ethnic, and Muslim backgrounds across Sydney to bring them together to develop a new generation of Australian Muslim women leaders. Participants will be encouraged to work towards accomplishing personal goals through teamwork, respect, and pro-activity.

MYLC has partnered with the Australian Federal Police Community Liaison Team in bringing the 2010 program to Muslim youth.

Muslim Youth Leadership Forum Date: Saturday 22nd of May 2010 Time: 9:00am to 5:00 pm Location: University of Western Sydney, Bankstown Campus Cost: Free Muslim Youth Leadership Challenge (MYLC) is a premier training program for young leaders. The aim is to empower, inspire, motivate, and mentor Muslim youth by encouraging personal excellence, community development and spiritual growth. MYLC is an initiative of Mission of Hope, a not for profit Muslim health organisation with a focus on health and community development. This MYLC program will offer attendees an inspirational experience with the leaders and role models of today.

Online registration is compulsory.

Deadline for registration is May 14th 2010.

Non-registrants will be turned away at the door. For more information, please contact info@mylc.org. au Victoria Islam & the Media: Muslim Responses to Biased Reporting Date: Sunday 23rd May 2010 Location: Yasuko Hiraoka Myer Room, Level 1, Sidney Myer Asia Centre, University of Melbourne (corner of Swanston Street and Monash Road).

Cost: Free Presenter: Dr Nasya Bahfen is a journalism lecturer, specialising in radio journalism.

She regularly works as a journalist, editor and newsreader for ABC Radio. Nasya’s freelance work has appeared in The Age, the Far Eastern Economic Review, Crescent Times and the Brunei Times. She has helped establish Melbourne’s first indigenous radio station 3KND and has worked for SBS Radio and MediaCorp (formerly Singapore Broadcasting Corporation).

Nasya has lectured and tutored at various universities in Victoria, the University of Technology Sydney and also in Singapore.

Her PhD from UTS compared internet use

by Muslim tertiary students in Southeast Asia and Australia.

Please contact Shaan Ali if you have any queries on 0430394911 or shaan.r.ali@ gmail.com.

Employment Law Updates Date: Tuesday 18 May Time: 6:30pm Location: Logie-Smith Lanyon, Level 13, 575 Bourke Street Cost: Free Presented by Rima Newman, Partner-inCharge Employment Law and Industrial Relations. Rima was born in Syria, and she speaks fluent Arabic. Rima has previously served on the Executive of the Workplace Relations Section of the Law Institute of Victoria for 5 years and held the position of Chair of the Discrimination/Equal Employment Opportunity Sub Group of the Law Institute of Victoria. Halal

refreshments will be available and prayer facilities will be made available. Places are strictly limited please rsvp to hgulam@ logielaw.com to confirm your attendance.

Youth Victoria Entertainment Extravaganza Date: Sunday 16th May 2010 Time: 5:30pm - 8:00pm Location: Wyndham Events Centre, 80 Derrimut Road Hoppers Crossing Cost: $5 Youth Victoria, an initiative by Muslim youth, invites you to participate in its entertainment extravaganza. This entertainment night will showcase statewide talents of Muslim youth in a friendly Islamic environment. We invite and encourage Muslim youth of Victoria and their families to join us for this momentous night aiming to further raise funds for future Muslim youth activities.

Performances include: three theatrical stage plays, comedy, Islamic songs/rap (English, Arabic, Urdu), short films, Tae Kwon Do demonstration. Guest performers Nazeem Hussain, Aamer Rahman, The Brothahood, Mohammed El Leisse, Rize Up. For more information and for nearest ticketing agent: www.youthvictoria.com.au or call Saqib 0404 624 157 or Rashid 0425 856 657 Queensland CresWalk2010 Fun Walk/Run Date: Sunday 16 May Time: starting at 8.30am Location: Orleigh Park, West End, Brisbane The Muslims of South East Queensland are gearing up for Creswalk 2010. A fun run experience for the fit and not so fit, fostering community cooperation.

Creswalk is the flagship event of Crescents of Brisbane, a not for profit community based organisation fostering a healthy lifestyle through sport, education, entertainment and culture.

The race is one of the most popular events in the local community and this years’ motto is striding for fitness, striving for multiculturalism.

Now in its seventh year Creswalk is growing in support every year with over 700 men, women, and children of all shape, sizes and physical abilities expected to take part.

Creswalk caters for all levels of fitness and all ages, starting with events for kiddies between the ages of three and six years, and wheelchair /pram pushing categories.

Participants are able to walk the circuit, or run, or any combination of walking and running.

In addition, each year Crescents of Brisbane/ Creswalk honours the achievements of an individual who has contributed selflessly to the local community.

South Australia Building Bridges Soup Kitchen Project Date: Saturday 29th May 2010 and ongoing Time: 4:00pm to 9:00pm Location: Soup Kitchen at St. Mary Magdalene’s Church, 26 Moore Street, Adelaide Brought to you in collaboration with the Building Bridges Program of the Catholic Interfaith Commission, this project involves preparing meals as well as serving them to the needy at St. Mary Magdalane’s Church.

There are several ways of supporting this project: Cooking: This involves cooking a main meal (Spaghetti Bolognese) to be ready by 4pm on the day of the Soup Kitchen.

You will be provided with the ingredients and recipe for the meal. If you would like to support this Soup Kitchen project as a Cook, please send an e-mail to Ramiza Gaco at manager@aynacademy.com stating your name and a contact number, by Monday, 24th of May 2010.

Volunteering: You will be placed either in the kitchen to assist in meal preparations or in the dining hall to assist with serving. If you would like to become a volunteer for the Soup Kitchen sessions, please send an e-mail to Maisarah Skaka at programs@ aynacademy.com no later than Monday, 24th of May 2010.

La Trobe University Welcomes Muslim Students La Trobe University’s Muslim students have welcomed the recent opening of the University’s new prayer room. The $927,000 facility is expected to help Muslim students meet the challenges of combining the demands of tertiary study with the daily ritual of prayer. The prayer room has been specifically designed to provide extra privacy and facilities for female students and is the only facility in Australia designed with the objective of catering for female worshippers.

A new Muslim student lifestyle guide was launched to coincide with the opening of the new prayer facility. The lifestyle guide includes listings of mosque locations, halal food outlets and local Muslim associations.

Dr Ishaq Bhatti, director of La Trobe University’s innovative and unique Master of Islamic Banking and Finance program, said the new prayer room will cater for the needs of existing and future students and staff on campus.

“La Trobe has promised an educational experience where all students feel welcome. We have a diverse student population and it makes sense that we have a wide range of facilities on campus to meet their needs, from sport and childcare to social and spiritual activity,” said the University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Johnson. He said the Muslim Prayer Room is an important addition to improving student experience.

The University already has a Chapel and Lounge for Christian prayer and Bible study, and provides facilities for chaplaincy services of the Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian and Orthodox Christian churches.

According to the La Trobe University Islamic Society President, Mohamad Tabaa, there are close to 600 students who are members of the Muslim Student Association. Mr Tabaa said Muslim students appreciate any efforts to help them juggle a full course load and finding time (and space) to pray 5 times each day. “Having the wash room and prayer room facilities means we can spend more time studying, and we can pray discreetly. Prayer is very private and unique to various religions, and it is great to have a space where we can wash before prayer,” he said.

“It may seem a bit anti-social if we were to wash our feet in the general students’ public bathroom and there is a lot of movement during prayer which may be interpreted differently by people who don’t understand our religion,” he said.

Raihan in Perth, Western Australia: Raihan, a renowned nasheed group from Malaysia, has been a pioneer of the contemporary nasheed industry since 1996. They have since travelled and performed in almost all continents - Asia, Europe, Africa, North and South America and Australia, and have been appointed as “Malaysian Peace Ambassador” by the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Department.

Raihan’s very first album, grossed sales of more than 750,000 units in Malaysia alone, with 200,000 units sold within the first 2 months of it’s launch. 3,500,000 units have been sold worldwide which make them the most successful Malaysian artist of all time.

Raihan will be in Perth from 26th to 30th May 2010, the visit will start with an album launch at the Australian Islamic College, Kewdale on Friday, 28th May. The album entitled “We are Brothers and Sisters” is filled with English children’s songs. The album is a joint-venture production with Genius Aulad, a Malaysian-owned Islamic Learning Centre.

Raihan will perform in concert on 30th May 2010 at the Herb Graham Recreation Centre, Mirrabooka, hosted by the Malay Association of Western Australia (MAWA).

☪ Sydney: Turkish

RESCENT T IMES Australian Muslim Newspaper

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Strengthening Our Community

Mosque Joins Honour Roll Of Australian Heritage Buildings

Anzac Day 2010 marked the 95th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign, a dark episode in both Australian and Turkish history. This year, the National Trust chose to mark the occasion by listing the Auburn Gallipoli Mosque on its heritage register.

The trust’s advocacy manager, Graham Quint, said the listing was part of a push to recognise buildings that were architecturally and culturally significant to migrant Australians.

“We already have churches and synagogues and Chinese temples on the list; we realised we needed to look further afield,” he said.

Levent Gunaydin, assistant secretary of the mosque, said the recognition took him by surprise. The grand building, which attracts about 800 worshippers every week, has been a lightning rod for anti-Muslim feeling in Sydney since September 11, 2001. It has received threats, and petrol bombs have been hurled at its walls.

But, as its name suggests, the mosque was always intended to be a bridge between Islamic and Australian culture, not a fortification. “The name stands very tall,” Mr Gunaydin declared.

It is now one of the youngest buildings on the National Trust’s register.

Opened in 1999, the building was made possible only after a huge fund-raising effort in which worshippers raised $6 million and then enlisted help from artisans and designers from Turkey.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Muslim Women Showcase Their Talents Shayma Alshakshir* More than 450 people made their way to the Darebin Arts Centre on Saturday 1 May to attend the Poetry fundraiser night organised by the Milli Gorus Sareera Turkish youth group.

Milli Gorus Sareera is a Melbourne based non-profit female Islamic youth group that seeks to provide educational, social and cultural services to nurture the spiritual and positive upbringing of youth.

Zeynep Sertal, a member of the Milli Gorus Sareera Youth committee says the aim of the event is to provide the community with an entertaining Halal alterative.

“It is a Halal form of entertainment for the community and a different form of Dawah.

“It is also an invitation for girls in the community to join our activities, to get the girls to understand their skills and build their confidence, and to involve the girls in performing arts,” she said.

Back by popular demand following the first performance last year, this year’s event took love as it’s theme. Performances explored love in all of its contexts, including: religious, national identity and even comedy.

The poetry performances were delivered by females for females only, and they weren’t just words of poetry; each poem had its own scene, props, outfits, tone and mood. Although most performances were in Turkish, with only one in English, even those who didn’t understand Turkish were able to connect with the themes.

The Sareera committee says any profit made by the evening’s entertainment will be put towards the establishment of a new female education and recreation centre.

To learn more about the activities of the Milli Gorus Sareera youth group, please email: sareera@aisamg.org

National

The Islamic Society Of UNSW Islamic Awareness Week

The Islamic Society of UNSW held its annual Islamic Awareness Week (IAW) from the 3rd7th May. The week, sponsored by Human Appeal International and MCCA Islamic Finance and Investments, was themed “Islam and the Modern World” and focused on the common history of Islam and the West and the challenges Muslims face in contemporary society.

The week started with a multicultural lunch organised by the Libyan, Malaysian, Indonesian and Pakistani student communities. For a $2 donation, students, staff and visitors were offered a plate and sat on large prayer mats on the science lawn to eat and converse with each other.

Stalls were set up in front of the library to distribute information about Islam and offer a point of contact with the Muslim student community on campus. The sisters group organised henna artists to attend and nonMuslims were able to “try on a Hijab” in a quiet location.

One highlight of the week was the lecture entitled “Muslim Scientists and Discoverers” presented by Gary Dargan, a former geologist who is researching this area. This lecture was comprehensive, covering Muslim explorers, maps, philosophical ideas, institutions (the world’s first universities), scientific discoveries and innovations that shaped our world. With over 75 people attending, there were few seats left in the lecture room.

Whilst rain almost derailed the week’s events, the IAW crew was able to pull through holding a Mediterranean style charcoal barbeque. The Thursday evening lecture on Islamic Banking and Finance was well attended, with some guests arriving in their business attire after a long days work.

The non-Muslim attendees provided positive

Muslim Legal Network Information Night

Victorian bureau

On Tuesday 13 April, the Muslim Legal Network (MLN) held a legal information session for young lawyers and law students.

The session consisted of a panel of some of the leading Muslim lawyers in Melbourne including: Adel Mohamed from a top tier commercial law firm; Rehana Chowdry from Victorian Legal Aid; Saba Hakim consultant lawyer specialising in

feedback to most events. Many were curious as to what Muslims believed, how they thought or just wanted to share an experience with them. The Friday Prayer event was delivered

by Dr Zachariah Matthews who urged worshippers not to lose hope in the Mercy of God. He encouraged listeners to have mercy on everyone and to be a source of benefit for them.

Many curious onlookers paused to witness the occasion which was held publicly just off the University’s main walkway.

The Friday Night Finale was well received.

Around 150 people attended including a number of non-muslims. Muhammad Abdallah, an Australian convert to Islam, presented a history lesson on Muslims in Australia and explained how we as Muslims should live in Australia. He was well received by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Following a break for Lebanese sweets and biscuits the guests were treated to a video presentation from Shaykh Faraz Rabbani from Toronto Canada. The shaykh had been ill and was not able to record his lecture or appear on a live broadcast, but he did get up at 3am to provide an inspirational video about purifying the heart. When dinner was called at 7:30pm, over 60 guests chose to continue watching his lecture until nearly 8pm.

The event closed with dinner where the visitors sat on the floor in large circles and ate together.

Over $1000 worth of food was distributed at the Finale, including some that was provided free of charge by the guests themselves. It was an occasion that many students will remember.

The Islamic Society has organised future Friday night lectures, including a speech by Mamtimin El Ela from the Uighur Association of Australia on the 21st May at 6pm. For more information about future events, email president@isoc-unsw.org.au

IP; and Urfa Masood, Barrister specialising in Criminal Law, Family Law and Child Protection matters.

The session was hosted at Logie-Smith Lanyon Lawyers, with halal food and prayer facilities provided.

Fatima Dennaoui, President of the MLN, said that she was surprised with the strong interest Australia-wide for this event. Fatima said the “session was very well attended and covered many different areas such tips for getting a job, motivational advice, dealing with non-halal legal matters, family life-work balance, tips for CVs, challenges of wearing the hijab and career advice generally.”

Fatima said that the MLN was planning another session in the near future.

Anyone interested in joining the MLN, or learning more about the MLN can do so through Facebook.

Editorial

Covering Up Supports Fraud And Fraudsters!

We believe, as Muslims and as the CT team, in applying the same standard to Muslims and non Muslims alike. If we publish news and opinions condemning war crimes against innocent civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan or Palestine by Zionists, Americans and their allies why shouldn’t we do the same when it comes to Muslim criminals? Aren’t all human beings liable to fall into error regardless of their religious beliefs? Oh, YES. There is no shame on us whatsoever when we expose the crimes of Muslims just as we do with non Muslims. The holy Quran did not discriminate when comdemning Muslims for hypocrisy or non Muslims for lack of faith in Allah.

When it comes to the issues surrounding the Australian Islamic School based in Perth, we have endeavoured to avoid being judgmental or biased.

In the first issue of this newspaper we published an article: “Islamic Education in WA at the Crossroads.” This led some Muslims to accuse us of making fitnah despite the fact that we did not say anything out of context, or comdemn or accuse any one. We just reported the news of the events surrounding the Australian Islamic College accurately and honestly to our readers.

On 31 March the college founder Abdallah Magar and Principal Aziz Magdi

ICV UPDATES: MAY 2010 Salam and welcome to first of the Islamic Council of Victoria’s monthly updates to you, the community.

It’s been a busy month at the Council.

The ICV at its recent AGM late last month welcomed five new members into the organisation taking the total up to 37.

ICV has been dealing with media comment in relation to the calls by a Senator to ban the burqa as well as comments earlier this month by Pauline Hanson about not selling her house to a Muslim. We have continued meeting with officials at all levels of Government and the opposition to raise the concerns of the community on a whole range of issues.

At the grassroots level, Vice-President Sherene Hassan has given talks about Islam to over 15 schools and community groups in the last month alone. We’ve launched our “Muslim Interfaith Network” to help cope with the demand for information. If you are interested in joining please email admin@icv.org.au Lastly, applications have closed for the 2010 ICV/La Trobe Young Muslim Leadership Program. We have been fortunate to receive over 100 applicants. for the program; the final 20 will be short

were both found guilty of fraud offences following a three week trial. In 2006, concerns were raised by unidentified whistleblower(s) about financial affairs at the school. When charges were laid in 2008, concerns were voiced in the Muslim community that this was just another way to persecute Muslims. However, media reports of the trial revealed a deliberate and sustained effort to defraud both state and federal governments of millions of dollars, including the creation of 15 “ghost classes” full of children who did not attend the school, or who had attended the school but left or moved overseas. The reason given for this fraud was that fee paying students were not paying their fees and the school therefore needed additional funds to continue operation.

Recently, following Mr. Magar’s offer to the court to repay the fraudulently obtained funds prior to the sentencing hearing next month, prominent members of WA’s muslim community wrote to the education department urging that the school’s assets be placed under state administration and expressing concern about the ongoing involvement of Mr Magar with the school.

We believe in transparency! We urge the Australian Islamic College administration to clarify their position.

We urge those who signed the letter to the WA education minister to support their accusations with full evidence.

Australian Muslims demand to know the full truth about what is happening and has happened at AIC.

listed before the program commences in June Legal Information Seminar For Young Muslims The Islamic Council of Victoria in conjunction with North Melbourne Legal Service, Muslim Legal Network, Melbourne City Council, the Victorian Arabic Social Service, the African Think Tank, the 2010 Ummah Directory and the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils will be offering a free legal information seminar aimed at empowering the community in dealing with the law; young Muslims are encouraged to attend.

The seminar will cover the following: who makes laws and how are they enforced; understanding the legal system and your role in it; a practical example and discussion: getting a speeding ticket.

The seminar will provide legal information which will raise awareness and understanding of relevant legal issues and help reduce incidents of speeding and motor vehicle offences, drug and alcohol abuse.

The seminar will be held on Saturday 15 May 2010, 1pm-2pm (males) and 2pm3pm (females) at ICV (City Mosque): 66-68 Jeffcott Street, West Melbourne, Vic 3003.

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Strengthening Our Community

Email: info@crescenttimes.com.au

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www.crescenttimes.com.au

Australian Muslim Newspaper

issue 19, May 2010

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RESCENT T IMES

issue 19, May 2010

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Email: info@crescenttimes.com.au

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Australian Muslim Newspaper

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National

Milestones On The Path Of Dawah

Hassan Alshakshir* Although every committed Muslim believes it is compulsory to convey the message of Islam, the question remains: have we met our responsibility by involving ourselves only in scattered activities? This article explores the approaches of Allah’s messengers to this mission.

Although the messengers (PBUT) were sent to different people, they shared similar techniques. These include: 1. They took the initiative and stated clearly the core of their message. “That you should worship none but Allah,” Surah Hud 2. They were not provoked or distracted by minor attacks.

2. They condemned the main deviations; including the political, commercial and criminal ones.

“And (remember) Lut, when he said to his people: “Do you commit the worst sin such as none preceding you has committed in the ‘Alamin (mankind and jinn)?” “Verily, you practice your lusts on men instead of women.

Nay, but you are a people transgressing beyond bounds.” Al-araf 80 & 81 “And to (the people of) Madyan, (we sent) their brother Shu’aib. He said: “O my people!

Worship Allah! You have no other God but Him (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah).” ...; so give full measure and full weight and wrong not men in their things, and do not do mischief on the earth after it has been set in order,…”

“And sit not on every road, threatening and hindering from the path of Allah those who believe in Him, and seeking to make it crooked.

And remember when you were but few, and He multiplied you. And see what was the end of the mischief-makers, corruptors, liars...” Al-Araf 85- 86

Eugenia Flynn* political and religious leaders and the general public; a necessary step to bring them to their senses. Remember that your ultimate goal is to save those people, not to please them at the cost of guidance.

“O ye who believe! There are indeed many among the priests and anchorites, who in falsehood devour the substance of men and hinder (them) from the way of Allah. And there are those who bury gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah: announce unto them a most grievous penalty,” Surah Tawba, 34 “Surely, in disbelief are they who say that Allah is the Messiah,”Al-Maeda, 17.

The Quran criminalised the pagans who buried the female child alive (Surah AlTakweer), who killed their children fearing poverty (Al-Isra), those who committed fraud (Almutaffifin) and those who did not treat the orphans with kindness and generosity (Alfajr).

Our primary focus should be on taking the initiative in presenting Islam. However, if we are exposed to an unplanned situation, then misconceptions should be clarified followed by highlighting wrong beliefs or actions of others.

It is fair to say that we are not ready for such an advanced level of dawah at this stage and we have to plan to achieve it. However, it is not right to believe that this duty was only for the messengers or only for a certain place at a certain time.

We should take note of the revelation every time we come across the name of a messenger as the messengers outline a practical approach to conducting dawah.

“And all that we relate to you of the news of the messengers is in order that we make strong and firm your heart thereby,” Hud, 120

3. The Messengers (PBUT) exposed crimes with firmness if gentleness was not effective.

Non-believers ought to stop throwing stones and making false accusations against Islam. *Hassan Alshakshir is a Melbourne based engineer and They ought to inform themselves that Islamic community activist. He is a frequent contributor with teachings and history are just and bright. They Crescent Times. have to be confronted with their crimes, to undermine their spiritual strength by exposing the fake and false practices carried by their

We’re Brothers And Sisters Khairiah Khalid

As Muslims, our lives are interwoven with the Islamic way of life that goes beyond the distinctive worship of prayers and du’a. With the start of another new day and wondering what lies ahead, our thoughts and actions are bound with the sacred nobility of Quran and Sunnah.

What does it take to be a true Muslim? One thing for sure, it separates us from what the non-believers are consuming in their daily food intake. Other consumer aspects would be what clothing we put on, jobs that we perform, music that we listen to and even the finance and trade that we carry out. At every turn, there will always be that choice: conventional or Islamic?

Haram or halal? Nowadays, we are lucky to have more Islamic products available and it is up to us to make the choice. Let us support our fellow Muslims as they work to provide ‘more Islamic yet quality things’ to furnish our daily needs.

This month, Perth will host a group of Muslim brothers and sisters from Malaysia. They are in Australia to spread the wise words of Islam through heartfelt nasheed songs. Raihan, an international icon in the entertainment music industry, has brought contemporary nasheed

Native 12 Months Of What Matters Matters To A Native

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Strengthening Our Community

songs into the global market, putting Muslim music on a par with mainstream products.

While in Australia, Raihan, a group of four Muslim brothers, will launch an English language album, jointly produced with children from Genius Aulad, an Islamic Learning Centre in Malaysia. The title of the album, “We’re Brothers and Sisters” encourages listeners to appreciate the blessed life that we enjoy with our family, friends and the community at large.

The Raihan entourage will also include a halal products business group from Malaysia, HPA Industries. Incorporated in 1995 after eight years operating AL-WAHIDA Traditional Medication, HPA Industries started out manufacturing traditional herbal health products. HPA has now diversified to include health food products, cosmetics and daily household essentials. The company vision is to set up a “Halal Hub” or Centre to serve Muslim communities both in Malaysia and overseas. HPA prioritises development, innovation and entrepreneurship not only for Malaysian business individuals, but also through global networking.

Let us take up the opportunities presented

by Raihan’s visit - take some time to enjoy the nasheed performance, purchase and teach our kids to listen to Muslim songs and take the step to changing buying patterns by purchasing halal products from Muslim manufacturers. By supporting them, we truthfully ‘walk the talk’ of claiming, “We’re Brothers and Sisters”.

It has been twelve months since I was contacted by the Crescent Times to start writing for this esteemed publication. In that time I have had a number of people contact me to say that they appreciate my thoughts, they agree with me, they want to expand on this point or that point – Alhamdulillah I am truly blessed to be writing and sharing my thoughts with you all.

My last article however did not seem to go down a treat and I have been wondering why that is. Perhaps, as with White Australians, Muslim Privilege – same as with White Privilege – is hard for the Privileged one to see? Perhaps the notion that they have Privilege is just too confronting for Muslim Australians to agree with? Perhaps it makes Muslims too uncomfortable to be thrown together with White Australians, whom they view as lesser than themselves because they are less aligned with Indigenous Australians through shared social exclusion?

Either way, I am very happy to be pushing boundaries. To be calling it as I see it. To be sharing Native matters. To be sharing what matters to a Native. I encourage you all to ask me questions, to push my boundaries, to share your thoughts with me – let’s make this a reciprocal relationship.

On this note, I want to share something on White Privilege and ask that any ‘brown

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

Re: USA Gay Imam Leading Believers In Prayer!

First reader: I am writing to you about the recent article in your newspaper about the “Gay Imam in the USA”. I would like to start off by saying that I was shocked and could not believe that your newspaper would even consider re-publishing this article which in my understanding conveys the message to all Muslims, specially the youth that being gay is acceptable in Islam.

The article does not present the view that this is unacceptable in Islam, rather stating that the Quran does not outlaw homosexuality. In fact the Quran has verses stating the Lut kavm, and how they were destroyed because of this.

I understand that some Muslims may be in this position, but why advertise to the whole Muslim community and make it sound like it is normal.

Second reader: I was really sincerely disturbed about the article about the homosexual Muslim imam.

This article regardless of whom ever wrote it intention.. is crystal clear an attempt to naturalize the idea of homosexuality and Islam. First of all, I don’t need to even remind you the Islamic position of homosexuality, now I am not putting the whole paper under scrutiny but look at it through this perspective.. a glass of clean fresh water with the smallest drop of urine in it.. Would you still drink it? Thats how I feel about your paper

migrants’ and/or Muslims take a moment to think and ponder and reflect on whether this applies to them or not.

Lillian Holt wrote in her 2000 paper “Pssst…I wannabe white” that “…being acceptable Brown in colour versus objectionable Black did have and still does have its advantages. For as the Black Panther saying of the 60s went: ‘If you’re White, that’s all right, if you’re Brown stick around, if you’re Black stay back’…”

Unfortunately, not much has changed in the past ten years since Lillian wrote that paper. Or has it? Less about skin colour and more about what is inside, the notion that being Brown is acceptable and being Black is not acceptable is very much relevant to today. Talking with several Black friends and colleagues (in the performing arts that is) about the mainstream commercial success of the Fear of a Brown Planet comedians, we all instinctively know that if the Planet boys were Black/Blackfellas and purporting the same sentiments, the reaction would be much more negative.

I ask now, do Muslims instinctively know that this is so? If not, why not? If not, will you seek to understand and accept? Twelve months of what matters to a Native. To this Native. I hope it has been as good for you as it has been for me… *Eugenia Flynn is an Aboriginal, Chinese and Muslim woman. In 2007 Eugenia founded the Indigenous Muslim Support Network (IMSN), which she continues to lead. Eugenia is the Deputy Chair of the National Indigenous Youth Movement of Australia (NIYMA) and is the Company Manager of an Indigenous youth performing arts company based in Adelaide.

regardless of what good you have put in it, this article turned me off and I disposed the paper.

What is wrong with you people? Why are you trying to tell Muslims “hey there is nothing wrong with being gay”? Why? Please reply I really want to know what was going through your heads when you did this..

Editor-in-chief: The article about the gay Imam as published in the April edition of Crescent Times was heavily edited from the original to remove confusing material and interpretations made by this imam to justify his lifestyle, including references made to verses of the Quran.

The article was published as a news item in much the same way as other news articles are presented and at no time was there any intention to endorse homosexuality in general or this imam in particular.

In reporting issues that have religious implications, Crescent Times does not seek to endorse or disendorse particular behaviours but rather to report the facts of what has occurred. A certain basic level of knowledge of Islam on the part of readers is assumed. Thus, there is no editorial disclaimer or religious commentary on articles about crimes by or against Muslims, or political events in the Muslim world for example.

Crescent Times is of the view that there is a difference between advertising a particular view point and reporting news and apologises to any reader who was confused or offended by the way in which the article was presented.

Any reader who is uncertain of the Islamic beliefs regarding practicing homosexuality should consult their local imam or other reliable source of religious instruction.

Email: info@crescenttimes.com.au

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Australian Muslim Newspaper

issue 19, May 2010

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Page 6

International

Australian Activist: An Eye-Witness To Injustice

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Shayma Alshakshir* CT Exclusive

Court to appeal our bail conditions and against our deportation order, which is still standing.”

The case in the Supreme Court has been concluded but Ms Chappell says the verdict On the 7th of February 2010, 22 year old Australian Bridget Chappell, the brought nothing new. international co-ordinator for the proPhoto: Bridget Chappell in the Palestinian International Solidarity Israeli court.

Movement was arrested by the Israel Defence Forces in her West Bank apartment along with her Spanish colleague.

The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) claims Ms Chappell’s visa had expired and therefore her presence in the West Bank was illegal.

Ms Chappell who has been in Palestine for eight months now, says the case was nothing but a visa technicality.

“I for my part can argue that I was waiting for an appointment I made with the Ministry of Interior to interview for a visa renewal, so I had a piece of paper from them that essentially functioned like a visa when I was going through checkpoints.”

Ms Chappell says the IDF raided her home at around 3.00 am. She was shackled at gun point and transferred to immigration police.

“What government stages a full-blown Ms Chappell is to appear in the District military night raid on a civilian house to Court later this month regarding the appeal arrest two girls suspected of overstaying their she lodged against her deportation order. visa? What functioning democracy invades Australian Embassy their home, breaks the door, points their Ms Chappell says she was contacted by the rifles at them and then shackles them in the Australian embassy only after her release: middle of the night for something like this? “I met with the consulate and asked her Who then transfers them to immigration to apply pressure to the court regarding police whilst still in the occupied territories the illegality of our arrests and the appeal [which is illegal], searches and confiscates to change our conditions, and to submit many of their possessions [cameras, Arabic an inquiry to the Israeli Foreign Ministry texts, etc], deprives them of their right to a about it. They submitted an inquiry, but the lawyer, a phone call or even food for sixteen questions were pretty weak - it was mainly regarding my treatment once detained - why hours?” she asked. didn’t I get a lawyer, phone call, food etc.

Interrogation and Imprisonment After their arrest, Ms Chappell and her Nothing about the actual arrest or violation colleague were transferred to immigration of the Oslo Accords.” police at Ofer military camp in the occupied Why Palestine? territories, then taken to Holon police Ms Chappell says the issue of Palestine station outside Tel Aviv. Ms Chappell has always stirred something in her and she says they were searched and interrogated felt the urge to stand by the Palestinians and by officers who she believes were in fact their daily struggle.

Shebak (secret police) and not immigration “Just to view the horrors from the pages of a newspaper or on a television screen made officials.

“We were then taken to Givon prison in my heart ache. I searched for a long time for Ramle, where they attempted to interrogate the right group working in the region, at first us again and eventually put us in a cell with finding only NGO-type organisations that I twelve other women. There we were finally felt that - while they are doing good work on able to get a phone and contact people on the ground - are essentially complicit within the occupation of Palestine and in fact the outside.”

“Our lawyers were able to get the case assist in the normalisation of the situation into the Israeli Supreme Court the next day, and the depiction of the conflict as a purely where we appeared, and a panel of three humanitarian crisis, relieving Israel of its judges approved our release on bail until obligations to its occupied territories,” she the end of the trial. The case was regarding said. the illegality of our arrest. A case was then “The International Solidarity Movement’s launched simultaneously in the District (ISM) mandate and structure instantly

issue 19, May 2010

Evangelical Group Claims ‘Noah’s Ark’ Discovery A group of Hong Kong and Turkish evangelical explorers believe they may have found Noah’s Ark at the top of Turkey’s legendary Mount Ararat. The team said they recovered wooden specimens from a structure on the eastern Turkish mountain that carbon dating indicated was 4,800 years old – from roughly the same time period the ark is said to have been in use.

“It’s not 100 percent that it is Noah’s Ark, but we think it is 99.9 percent that this is it,” Yeung Wing-cheung, a Hong Kong documentary filmmaker and member of the 15-member team from Noah’s Ark Ministries International, told AFP. The structure had several

compartments, some with wooden beams, which were believed to house animals, he said. The group of evangelical archaeologists ruled out an established human settlement on the grounds that one had never been found above 3,500 meters in the vicinity, Yeung said.

Local Turkish officials will ask the central government in Ankara to apply for UNESCO World Heritage status so the site can be protected while a major archaeological dig is conducted, Yeung said.

The biblical story says God decided to flood the earth after seeing how corrupt it had become and told Noah to build an ark and fill it with two of every animal species. After the flood waters receded, the Bible says, the ark came to rest on a mountain. Many believe Mount Ararat, the highest point in the region, is where the ark and its inhabitants came aground.

Source: AFP and other agencies.

struck a chord with me when I found them - that we are Palestinian-lead, that we are dedicated to direct-action, non-violent resistance to the occupation and that we work in groups on a consensual basis. My mission was to seek out the communities and individuals actively resisting the occupation and assist them in any way that I could.”

A Witness To Violence “I witnessed a lot of things in the West Bank that I will never forget, from the military violence in demonstrations, to unregulated settler attacks, to extra-judicial murder. The totally disproportionate use of force in demonstrations was manifested in sound bombs, tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition used on un-armed, peaceful protesters. I was shot at on many occasions, and saw friends shot and injured by tear gas and bullets.” Ms Chappell said.

On the Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh Assassination “I think he probably ended up doing more damage to Israel in his death than his life.

As far as I know, Hamas has never taken the conflict outside of Israel/Palestine. I don’t doubt that Israel has committed similar assassinations of Hamas officials before that we don’t know about, but the issue that should really be made here is how it highlights Israel’s disregard for international law, and the law of other nations.” Ms Chappell said.

“I hope that something comes from the murder on a diplomatic front [more than fake passport woes] and on the legal front, that the total illegitimacy of Israel’s methods revealed in a case like this are exploited to the full extent. A systematic and concerted debasement of Israel through a legal framework may be one of the best untapped weapons we have, in conjunction with a mounting media exposure and international boycott and isolation of the state.

Final Thoughts “Palestine is well and truly under my skin, but I always said that I would only stay for the right reasons - that is, if I’m not being useful to the struggle, I cannot stay here.

I witness the struggle every day in every Palestinian I meet, because every one of them is resisting in some capacity, merely by remaining.

“The struggle continues. Until then we can only continue in ways available to us, through Palestinian popular struggle, boycott of Israel from the outside and the application of international pressure” Ms Chappell said. * Shayma Alshakshir is a Melbourne based young journalist and frequent contributor with CT.

Council Of Europe Panel, French Socialists Oppose Burqa Ban A Council of Europe commission is opposing a ban on full-face coverings such as the burqa and niqab.

The commission issued a statement saying a Muslim veil ban would rob women of their freedom of expression and could violate their religious freedoms.

The panel also urged Switzerland to end its ban on the construction of Islamic minarets as soon as possible.

The Council of Europe is a 47-nation human rights institution that will discuss the burqa issue at its plenary next month.

It is a separate organization from the European Union and is the region’s primary human rights watchdog whose rulings are binding on all Council of Europe member states.

France’s opposition Socialists also challenged the plan to ban full Islamic veils in all public places, proposing a milder bill based on practicality rather than values.

The French government is expected to present legislation in the near future to outlaw face-covering veils on the grounds that they are demeaning to women, even though legal experts have warned that such a prohibition could violate religious freedom.

Source: AP and other newsagencies.

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Strengthening Our Community

The Kiki Principle: Debora McNichol* Meanwhile, Back in the States…

The United States is reeling from a catastrophic oil spill, spring flooding, and election primaries throughout the country. The tea baggers continue to grumble, the State of Arizona is on everyone’s hit list for passing an immigration law of questionable constitutionality, and the Staten Island ferry crashed.

The elephant in the newsroom is the attempted Times Square bombing, allegedly carried out by Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American. Alhamdulillah, the bomb was defective and no one was hurt. According to the latest media reports, the Pakistani Taliban is the mastermind behind the crime. It is unclear whether Shahzad worked with a group within the United States, or was taking direction from Pakistan.

To prepare, Shahzad purportedly traveled to Pakistan for training. (His family in Pakistan claims to be completely unaware of any activities with the Taliban.) American authorities believe he was financed by the organisation, and now is urging Pakistan’s government to make sure it is not inadvertently supporting anti-American elements such as the Taliban and al Qaeda.

Again, alhamdulillah. Shahzad seems to have been a complete imbecile. He used the wrong fertilizer and had a terrible habit of losing his keys. And according to authorities, he’s now singing like a canary. Good for his deen that he did not kill anyone, including the many Muslims who were in Times Square. “Protecting Islam” by attempting murder? I think not.

Having started out with limited confidence in the Obama Administration, I am increasingly disillusioned with every passing crisis. This incident is no different.

Authorities had already been aware of Shahzad’s activities to some extent, yet he succeeded in going through the motions to execute the crime. Consider the fact that Shahzad was permitted to board the escape plane to Dubai. The media and government made a huge deal of capturing him before the plane took off.

Kind of silly to claim victory over such a thing. What would have prevented the US from turning the plane around in mid-air, and what risk was there that Dubai would have prevented the US from taking Shahzad into custody if the plane reached its destination?

Consider Attorney General Eric Holder’s comment, “The reality [is] that there is a constant threat from those who wish to do us harm simply because of our way of life.”

(Did you, like I did, have a flashback to the Bush Administration?)

By “our way of life,” Attorney Holder, do you include the wars in which the United States has been stuck since 2001 and 2003 that have killed thousands of innocents?

How about foreign policy disasters since 1947? Oy vey.

Obama’s cabinet just doesn’t have the flair of its leader, and its leader’s lack of substance is becoming clearer by the day.

Giggle worthy news … An employee of the US Transportation Security Administration was arrested for assaulting a coworker who mocked his, ahem, manliness, as the man went through one of those new body scanners during training.

One critic of the scanner stated, “I really think it would give a lot of folks pause if they thought that TSA employees were mocking naked body scans of American air travelers.” No kidding. Those things are a bad idea no matter how you look at them. Pardon the pun.

How many nukes does it take to destroy the world? …

The United States has revealed a number: 5,113. This is the number of nuclear warheads the US admits to having, in hopes of encouraging other countries (read: China and Israel) to become more transparent about their nuclear capabilities.

The number is not the actual number, as it does not include the several thousand that are not assembled, some capable of reassembly, some ready for disposal.

Finally … Israel has refused to cooperate in a United Nations resolution to develop a Middle East nonproliferation treaty. Big surprise. *Debora McNichol is a Muslim wife, mother, daughter, business owner, editor, and attorney in the USA. She has a general law practice in Virginia and North Carolina, and especially takes pleasure in discussing intellectual property and business law with willing clients, friends, and neighbours.

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issue 19, May 2010

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☪ Uighurs’s 60 Years Of Oppression And ‘Chinaisation’ Hassan Vagh*

RESCENT T IMES Australian Muslim Newspaper

Page 8

International NEW MOSQUE APPEAL

Launceston, Tasmania:

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Email: info@crescenttimes.com.au

Please Help Us, We Need A Mosque Asalamualaikum Brothers and Sisters, we are a modest Muslim community in Launceston Tasmania, we have around 106 Muslims from 46 families. The only place available for Jummah prayer and other prayers is at the University of Tasmania’s Launceston campus and we have been advised that as of July 2010 we will no longer be able to use this prayer room as its use is restricted to students and their families. Without a Mosque or proper prayer facilities and with a growing community we desperately need to acquire a mosque. At present, we have access to a small community hall for a few hours on Sundays, Alhamdulillah, which provides us space for Arabic and Quran lessons, this class is growing with 21 children, 11 sisters and 5 brothers attending.

Launceston is a wonderful safe and quiet city, but it is an economically depressed area which means we do not have the capacity to raise the funds needed for the mosque, we hope Insha Allah to build a strong community just as our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) did when he built the mosque and community in Madina.

We need your help dear Brothers and Sisters, our aim is to raise $300,000$400,000 this is the current housing price in the lower end of the market in the area that is close to the majority of Muslims.

We feel we should start with a house and remodel it for our needs. Without your help soon we will have no place for Jummah or to hold any lectures or services for the community - our nearest mosque is 200kms away in Hobart.

As Muslims we need to support our Ummah, we are also eager to do this but need help in establishing a base to start.

May Allah bless you all for you consideration in this matter, Insha Allah we will grow to a thriving Islamic community and in turn support others to do so.

For further information please contact Ayisha Varga El Shamandy, vice president of the Islamic Association Launceston, on 0439579721 FOR DONATIONS: Our bank details are: COMMONWEALTH BANK Islamic Association of Launceston Inc BSB 06 7600 Account Number 10419181 Vice President Islamic Association of Launceston

:‫بعونه تعالى‬

HIJRAH issue 19, May 2010

Dr. Tareq Al-Suwaidan Visits Australia

Australian Muslim lifestyle magazine coming soon!

Human Appeal International-Australia has invited Dr Tareq Al-Suwaidan, from Kuwait, to provide enrichment to the community in Melbourne and Sydney. Having over 30 years of professional management experience and 25 years of experience as a trainer, Dr Tareq Al Suwaidan has been a founder of over 80 organisations. His tour in Australia includes presenting public lectures, as well as other public appearances. For the first time he will also be conducting a 2 day training course in Practical Management Skills. This course is a must for executive members of boards, businessmen and businesswomen, managers and leaders of organisations who wish to excel in their roles.

Australian Tour 2010 Schedule Dr. Tareq Al Suwaidan will be holding public lectures, conducting a training course and attending various functions during his stay in Australia. The Practical Side of Management Training Course is in Sydney on Saturday 12th June 2010 & Sunday 13th June 2010. For more information about the course and to register, please call 1300 760 155.

Dr. Tareq Al Suwaidan is a Kuwaiti entrepreneur, Islamic author and speaker. He is well-known in the Middle East and in Muslim communities throughout the world for his management/strategic planning training, motivational speaking and television shows and appearances. Dr. Tareq was trained in the classical Islamic sciences in his youth and lived and studied in the United States, having received a B.S. in petroleum and natural gas engineering from Penn State University and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in petroleum engineering from the University of Tulsa. He currently resides in Kuwait with his wife and six children.

Accolades and Achievements of Dr. Tareq Al Suwaidan: General Manager of AlResalah Satellite TV Station Chairman of Al Rowad Leadership Training Centre Professional Trainer Chairman of the board of Innovation (ALIBDAA) Group Chairman of AWARE (Advocates for WesternArab Relations) Centre Presenter/Host of several TV and Radio programs

MUSLIM

RADIO SHOW

Hosts: Rashid and Shayma Alshakshir Radio station: 3CR 855am (can be streamed online) When: Last Sunday of every month from 6pm-7pm Discussing issues related to Muslim youth, politics, world news and interviews with international muslim artists/singers To make any suggestions for guests or topics to be discussed on the show Or if you are a muslim organisation or business and would like us to air your advertisements Contact Shayma on 0432 517 364 or email : shayma.alshakshir@live.vu.edu.au

For 60 years now the Uighurs have been facing an onslaught on their culture, religion, language and way of life and in recent times the Chinese Regime has committed the most brutal crackdown on Uighurs denying the Uighurs any semblance of freedom.

Is there any hope for the Uighurs or are they now heading towards the same fate as the pandas of China, to ultimate extinction?

The Chinese Regime has fooled the world and in the darkness of the night which is East Turkistan they have committed crimes that resemble the genocides of the past.

The Uighurs have faced every possible form of oppression that one could imagine, they have been openly murdered, killed by the thousands in the cloak of darkness, tortured to death in prisons that are over flowing with political prisoners, been subjected to deformities and deaths from the fallout of nuclear testing, denied the ability to practice their religion, denied the right to speak and educate themselves in their own Uighur language, denied the opportunity for employment and further education, denied the opportunity to have more than 2 children, denied a passport to be able to travel freely and denied any life that is counter to the Chinese oppression.

China with its mass propaganda apparatus is using all means at its disposal to hide the oppression that is underway in East Turkistan. Inside East Turkistan they have silenced all dissent and have caused fear to run through the blood of the Uighurs. The Uighurs have learnt to think before they talk as one slip of the tongue could put them in prison. They are so careful in their speech that anything that could be linked to politics is not spoken of at all and as a result immorality and criminality is widespread. The prevalence of AIDS, drug use, alcohol abuse, suicide amongst youth are all taboo subjects which are not discussed at all. Ultimately all these social problems are due to the Chinese Communist Government’s inaction and their desire to use these social ills to further exterminate the Uighurs.

Uighurs of the past had a rich culture where characteristics such as loyalty, friendship, hospitality, sympathy were the norm and where community came before individuality, where difference of opinion was welcomed and not ridiculed. But the social fabric of Uighur culture has changed immensely over time due to the influence of the Chinese and survival at all costs has become the norm.

China is on a quest to change the landscape of the nation where once there was a mosque or madrassa on every corner, chayhanas or tea houses were nestled on quiet leafy streets, neighbourhoods were uniquely styled in Uighur architecture, irrigation systems passed through neighbourhoods and backyards and brought in clean fresh water from the mountains, and the same mountains were untouched by humans and gave refuge to creatures of all sizes.

The Chinese have plundered this natural environment in their quest to extract resources from the rich Uighur soil. They have destroyed the environment by cutting down all trees and plant life, built railways and road networks without considering the effects on the environment and the natural wildlife. They have polluted the pristine lakes and surrounding areas by building tourist sites and

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Strengthening Our Community

have made many a lakeside a dumping ground.

The Chinese do not think of the past or the future but are desperate to plunder the present. They are now on a mission to destroy the Uighur City of Kashgar which is over 4000 years old, once a center of trade and learning and to turn it into another Chinese city with dark, gloomy buildings and flawed character.

Mosques which need urgent repair are not considered important enough to restore by the Government. All kinds of excuses are made to halt the construction and repairs of mosques in the hope that they will ultimately decay and be destroyed. And when the community comes together with money to repair the mosques the Government selects who works on them and the majority of the time Han Chinese get the jobs, when there are thousands of Uighurs without employment.

All government employees are fined if they are seen entering a mosque or fasting during the month of Ramadan, and children under of the age of 18 are denied the opportunity to enter a mosque. Spies and informants are sent to keep an eye on worshippers during prayers and monitor the lectures the Imam delivers weekly.

The Imams are given lessons in Marxist ideology and told to keep away from any political or controversial issues. Imams are gagged and not allowed to speak against the repressive policies that are underway in East Turkistan.

In even the most trivial matters of life, the communists ensure that they have total control of the Uighurs. Uighur children are deprived of a normal life, they are not given the same opportunities as the Han Chinese, they are even denied the opportunity to play sports of any kind unless it is sanctioned by the Government. Authorities routinely stop and warn any children that are seen playing on the street or in the school oval and if they continue, their parents are punished. Boxing or sports clubs opened defiantly by Uighurs are constantly monitored and the Chinese Government will use any excuse to close them.

As the International Community keeps silent, the Uighurs are being exchanged for trade, as witnessed recently when Cambodia sold 22 Uighur refugees including two infants to China in exchange for a billion dollar trade contract with China. Prior to this incident Uighurs have been exchanged for trade contracts in places such as Pakistan, Nepal, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Kirghizstan and Kazakhstan.

The Uighurs are being subjected to the most brutal form of oppression on the face of this earth. They have maintained their rich culture in the face of all the pressures to conform or assimilate into the Han culture. However the world around them has fallen silent and left the Uighurs to fend for ourselves as the Chinese continue to exterminate the Uighurs in their own land. * Hassan Vagh is an Uighurian Australian based in Adelaide. He writes under a pseudonym to protect himself and his family from persecution.

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International

The Cowboy President The New Face Of Terror

Yvonne Ridley*

Could it be that Obama has simply signed off the Imam’s execution because there isn’t enough solid evidence to indict him and he doesn’t want to go down the embarrassing route of opening yet another Guantanamo?

And it seems he has signed off the order in the same casual manner that Bill Clinton signed off permission for the bombing of the aspirin factory in Khartoum, Sudan.

Who remembers that one? I’ve walked through the rubble of that factory where a night watchman, a family man, paid the ultimate price for merely doing his job.

Clinton boasted to the world that US missiles had taken out an al-Qaida chemicals factory. There’s that noun again al-Qaida … which has essentially become a rubber stamp for the US doing whatever it likes.

Call it al-Qaida and no one will ask questions.

Yes, it seems the rules of the game are changing yet again, but what makes it more sinister is that the rules are now being written by an intelligent lawyer and not some monsyllabic Republican with the IQ of a baked bean.

The President’s men will no doubt justify the assassination of al-Awlaki by claiming that international law allows the killing of individuals who pose an imminent threat to a country.

You see, when it suits, international law is cited even though the US has run rough shod over it with alarming regularity since 9/11. However, I believe it is debatable whether such an assassination would be legitimate under international law and it is certainly not permissible under the US Constitution.

Both the Sixth and 14th Amendments clearly require due process of law. The Fifth Amendment includes this: “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger . .”

Apart from those ordinary decent Americans who will be appalled at what is being done in their name, what sort of message will Obama’s actions send to the rest of the world?

Islam Karimov, a leader who routinely boils alive pious Muslims in vats of scalding water, has already justified the work of those who torture for the Uzbekistan state by citing the actions of the Bush torturers and interrogators from Bagram, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.

The US President has, like Islam Karimov and other vile little tinpot dictators, set himself above the law and the American courts cannot do a thing because judges will never be called upon to decide if such an extra-judicial killing is legal or not. Why? Because as I write this, al-Awlaki has not been indicted and charged and most certainly never will be.

And just in case you’re in any doubt that the US President has signed off his death warrant without realising the full consequences, a few weeks ago Dennis Blair, the director of national intelligence told a congressional panel that there were certain counterterrorism cases that could involve killing an American citizen.

Then he emphasized that it would require a special process through the National Security Council — for safeguards after saying: “We take direct actions against terrorists in the intelligence community. If we think that direct action will involve killing an American, we get specific permission to do that.”

For decades, the CIA was suspected of covertly plotting political assassinations, but the practice was stopped by President Gerald Ford.

No one would have been really surprised had George W Bush resurrected such a policy but the fact that the Obama Administration has just sanctioned state sponsored assassinations has left some human rights groups reeling.

This is not about the rights and wrongs of the alleged actions of some Muslim cleric in Yemen. This has far wider repercussions including the moral issue of political assassination as official US policy for dealing with those perceived to be enemies.

Now that Obama has decided to dispense with judge and jury he is returning the US to the days of the Wild West … which could make him more of a cowboy president than Bush ever was.

The United States of America has reached a new level in its discredited War on Terror just when we thought it could not sink any lower.

And what makes this even more tragic is that the new depths being plumbed are on the express orders of Barack Obama … a US President who promised the world so much and has delivered on so little.

That he is a Nobel Peace Prize recipient makes this all the more shocking.

President Obama has authorised the assassination of a Muslim scholar by the name of Anwar al-Awlaki.

But what is really breath-taking is that Al-Awlaki is an American citizen, born in Las Cruces in the state of New Mexico of Yemeni parents.

He has now become the first US citizen placed on a targetted killing list. His nationality should not really be an issue because in the eyes of most right minded people extra-judicial killing is wrong, it is an action which puts the killer above the law – and no one, not even the President of the United States, should think himself above the law.

Wasn’t Obama supposed to be more principled than his predecessor? I can almost hear the laughter ringing out loud from the Texan village of Crawford now that its idiot has been returned.

George W Bush brought us the War on Terror and during a bloody decade he brought us a new language with words like rendition and waterboarding becoming commonplace.

He quickly squandered the good will of the rest of the world after the horrific events of 9/11 by carpet bombing freedoms and liberties along with hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children who got in the way of his military in Iraq and Afghanistan.

When he left the White House it marked the end of an era and those of us who believe in equality, justice and human rights for all breathed a sigh of relief.

A new man was at the helm … a man who promised transparency, the closure of Guantanamo and an end to torture among many other things.

Yes, we all placed our trust in the new man sitting in the Oval Office. He had, after all, come from an honourable background as an ambitious civil rights lawyer. Such a man would have convulsed at the thought of anyone imposing an extra-judicial death penalties on anyone, let alone a US citizen who hasn’t had the chance of a trial.

What happened to that lawyer? On his journey to Washington what changed in him that he could squander the freedoms and liberties as set out in the American Constitution?

Surely the correct and honourable way of dealing with Imam Anwar al Awlaki would be to charge him in his absence and then ask the Yemeni government to arrest him and extradite him. This is the legal thing to do, this is the right thing to do and it is the civilised thing to do.

I have read rumours that al Awlaki is supposed to be an al-Qaida recruiter but like all of these rumours they are short on fact and evidence. I know that he has inspired a generation of converts around the world by his tapes. I have listened to one series and I can tell you that those tapes sound completely different to the ones released on the web today.

But I digress – we are not putting him on a trial by media for the truth is, none of us has any concrete evidence although there’s lots of hearsay in the usual minor league blogs and chatrooms.

If the evidence was out there, he would have been charged – and extradited. The Yemeni authorities did have him locked away at the request of the US for some time in 2007.

So we are now entering the world of secret evidence … a process flawed and discredited in * British journalist and author Yvonne Ridley is also Britain already - although there are still men in a patron of the London-based human rights NGO British jails who are being held without trial or Cageprisoners. charge because of it.

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Strengthening Our Community

Aisha Stacey* On March 29, 2010 violence and brutality struck at Russia’s heartland. Forty people died and more than 100 were injured when two suicide bombers blew themselves up in two separate incidents on Moscow’s underground railway. As a wave of terror swept over Russia it was revealed that the bombers were women. Black widows moving silently and unobtrusively through Moscow’s rush hour traffic to keep an appointment with death, destiny and destruction.

Terror has a new face. It is no longer the swarthy, bearded look of Osama bin Laden, but the peaches and cream complexion of a young girl. A Chechen black widow. Terror now comes in the shape of grieving women and girls, widows and orphans, the victims of relentless violence in Russia’s northern Caucasus. Women who have lost husbands, brothers or fathers. Some describe them as embracing terrorism, others speak of women refusing to give in to fear and despair and striking back at the Russian brutality that has scarred the region for more than 500 years.

As Muslims in Australia it is difficult to come to terms with how we feel about the terror that all too frequently sweeps over various parts of the world. Of course, the stock answer is that Islam is a religion of peace, but the sad fact is that great crimes have been perpetrated in the name of Islam by people who claim to be Muslim. Our emotions run the gambit, from profound guilt, to fear, from disbelief to unrealistic justification.

Islam teaches us to oppose tyranny. It teaches us to stand up for what is right, and for what is just. How then do we decide who is right and who is wrong? What is the definition of just?

Can the wanton destruction of life by a fresh faced 17 year old girl be justified, and if so, on what level? Can the taking of any innocent life ever be justified when Quran clearly states that killing one person is like killing all of humankind. Consequently, our hearts bleed and our minds are in turmoil.

In far flung corners of the earth, Muslims pray for those who are oppressed and debased by tyranny. We touch our foreheads to plush carpet and remember those who endure unending hardships, often only because they dare to say that God is One. Every Friday in mosques across Australia and around the world Muslims can be heard calling upon God to protect their brothers and sisters who are suffering.

Noted Islamic scholar Sheikh Yusuf al Qawaradri spoke out against terror when he said “All Muslims ought to be united against all

Free Degree In Islamic Studies

Aisha Stacey Queensland In a bold new step designed to increase Islamic knowledge across the globe, Dr Bilal Philips has launched the world’s first fee-free, Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Studies in English completely online.

The Islamic Online University (IOU) utilises the worldwide presence of the internet and advanced online learning technology to bring Islamic education to virtually anyone on the planet with access to a computer and the internet.

Although all classes are free, each semester there is a fixed symbolic registration fee and examination fee calculated on a sliding scale (from $10 to $50) depending on the student’s country of residence.

On April 1st 2010, students from around sixty different countries commenced their classes of recorded video lectures and weekly live tutorials.

The syllabus is based on the BA in Usool

those who terrorise the innocents, and those who permit the killing of non-combatants without a justifiable reason. Islam has declared the spilling of blood and the destruction of property as absolute prohibitions until the Day of Judgment...”.

Yet we still burn with the desire to ease their pain and we decry a world where injustice is able to flourish and the cries of the oppressed remain unheard. We remember, and ask God to bless Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan, in Palestine and in Chechnya. We raise our hands, beseech God to grant them peace, or victory, and perhaps the unfairness of it all even brings tears to our eyes but as the prayer ends, what really remains?

What do we really know about the places that we refer to as Muslim homelands? What do we really know about the people we call our brothers and sisters. Islam teaches us to seek knowledge, and to look for the evidence. When we denounce the suffering and oppression in Chechnya do we really know about the situation there? Are we even aware that there are Muslims in the surrounding provinces; in Dagestan, Ingushetia and Northern Ossetia.

Whether we know the details or not the plight of the Chechen people looms large in our collective consciousness. Chechnya.

Just saying the word conjures up visions of fur hats, uniforms, guns, snow, and bombed out buildings. However Chechnya is more then the stark reality we are used to seeing in short news bulletins. Chechnya is medieval stone towers and black widows, oil pipelines and mystic Islam. It is a mixture of unlikely combinations and contradictions. Chechnya is oil rich, landlocked and has a history that can be traced back more than 6000 years.

In all of recorded history the Chechen people have never engaged in war except in self defence. Chechnya existed before it was labelled a rebel Russian Republic, and it existed before it was tenuously linked to Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. Islamic extremism did not lead to Russian oppression, vibrant young women did not take on the mantle of grieving black widows in response to a fanatical call for jihad, and the dread embodied in the surreal emptiness of the capital, Grozny is not a late 20th century phenomenon. Russian rage against Chechnya is not new, and the oil lies waiting in the Caspian Sea.

Email: info@crescenttimes.com.au

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Australian Muslim Newspaper

* Aisha Stacy is a QLD based writer and researcher, her main field of interest is terrorism and counter terrorism.

She is the QLD editor of CT.

ud-Deen (Religious Foundations) curriculum of Madeenah University, Saudi Arabia, Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan, and other similar institutions.

Six subjects are available each semester and the teachers hail from a wide variety of backgrounds and countries Aqeedah (Islamic Creed) is taught by Canadian scholar Dr Bilal Philips, Dr Dawood Abdullah from the United Kingdom teaches the biography of Prophet Muhammad, and Dr James Jones from the USA instructs the students in comparative religion.

Other teachers come from as far afield as Malaysia, India, Afghanistan, Egypt, Slovenia, Ghana, Sudan, and Pakistan.

Enrolments for semester one have now closed, however from June 1st 2010 enrolments will commence for semester two beginning in September 2010.

For those unable to commit to a full schedule of classes the IOU continues to run the short intensive free courses that commenced in 2007.

In the past three years, more than 20,000 students from more than 160 different countries have enrolled in the free courses allowing them to pursue quality Islamic knowledge from the comfort of their own homes.

issue 19, May 2010

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A Tribute to Parents

Parents come only once in our lifetime. In this artwork we celebrate the blessings of having mothers and fathers who have taught us many things in life. The bamboo trees represent fathers, strong as pillars for their families, and upright in holding principles of Islam. They are like trees and flowers whose offspring are strong, beautiful; they shade and provide for the next generation.

I equate the love of mothers to the beauty of the lotus and water lily plants that are enduring.

They are hardy, growing amidst stormy weather and dirty water. That is exactly what many mothers have to endure, sacrificing their needs for the sake of their children.

Islam places mothers at a high level of respect although it recognises the contributions of

Belinda El Kadmiri El Azizi

both parents. When Prophet Mohammed was asked, “Who is to be close to me in friendship?” he replied “Your mother, your mother, your mother, then your father, then the one closest to your kinship, and the one after.” In one of his sayings he mentioned, “Heaven lies at the feet of your mothers.” In the Quran God instructs us to honour our parents after honoring Allah.

“And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in terms of honour. And lower unto them the wing of submission and humility through mercy and say: “My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I was young.”

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Perth, WA:

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issue 19, May 2010

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Business

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Islamic Banking And Finance Services: New Trends In The Australian Finance Market “Part II” Melbourne Hyder Gulam* and Maria Bhatti** Islamic Methods of Financing Most Islamic scholars claim that the prohibition of interest is the reason for the alternative Islamic framework of banking and finance. This framework is reflected in three major forms of equity based profit loss sharing methods within Islam known as mudaraba (trust financing), musharaka (participating finance) and murabaha (cost plus trade financing). These three methods of financing are discussed below.

Mudaraba (Trust Financing)

Murabaha (Cost Plus Trade Financing)

Murabaha is defined as a contract of sale in which a customer requests the Islamic bank to purchase goods from a supplier and resell them to the customer at the original purchase price plus expenses and a negotiated profit, on agreed terms.

This financial structure is one of the most commonly used methods by Islamic Banks and financial institutions. In fact, 66% of Islamic transactions worldwide are conducted through the murabaha structure.

Since the Qu’ran permits trade but forbids

Developments in Australia

The Australian Government is very keen to promote Islamic banking and finance in Australia and thinks that Australia can play a greater role in this market segment.

Later this year, the Assistant Federal Treasurer Nick Sherry will be travelling to Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE to promote Australia’s status as a financial centre.

With the Middle East being an obvious major source of savings funds, sovereign wealth funds and Islamic finance, the Australian government is keen to be able to provide a safe, stable and Shari’ah compliant venue in which to invest. The Australian Government is currently considering the tax treatment of investments to ensure compliance with Shari’ah standards for investment flows in Australia.

In addition, in early 2010, the Australian Government released a seminal publication on ‘Islamic Finance’, which is available at the Austrade

Australia’s love affair with crime drama has been recognised at the AFI Awards, with East West 101 picking up three awards in the television categories.

The series took out the most prestigious gong for best TV drama series, beating hit shows like Packed To The Rafters, Underbelly and Satisfaction.

Susie Porter, who plays Inspector Patricia Wright, triumphed over Packed To The Rafters’ Rebecca Gibney in the lead actress category.

East West 101’s director Peter Andrikidis won the director category.

Don Hany was awarded the TV Week Silver Logie – Most Outstanding Actor for his performance in East West 101. This was Hany’s second Logie nomination for his role as Zane Malik, the Muslim detective struggling to balance his work with his cultural and religious beliefs The acclaimed director paid tribute to SBS. “Thank you for commissioning a drama that truly represents a multicultural Australia in 2009,” he said.

More About The Show

Series 1 Zane Malik is a young detective at the Major Crime Squad. He is also a Muslim. And as a Muslim detective in a post 9/11 world where just to be an Arab, is to arouse suspicion and fear, Malik feels under pressure to prove himself, over

more parties comprising the investor (rab-ul-maal) who provides capital and develops a partnership with the working partner (mudarib) who contributes their skills and expertise. This investor usually provides capital to the working partner so that the skills and expertise are used to earn profit.

The profits are shared according to a fixed ratio and the capital provider bears the losses. In practice, mudaraba financing is often limited in Islamic banking activities because it is based on good faith and banks are often reluctant to enter such contracts due to the risks involved.

Musharaka (Participating Finance)

Musharaka literally means ‘sharing’ and is a form of joint enterprise through which the partners share their profit according to a pre-determined ratio.

Musharaka is different to mudaraba because it requires that losses are strictly shared according to the proportion of the respective contribution. This arrangement accommodates partners who wish to pool their financial resources in order to undertake a commercial transaction.

A variation of musharaka, known as declining musharaka, has recently gained popularity and is often used to finance the purchase of a house. The declining musharaka is also known as musharaka mutanaqisah (diminishing partnership) and in Australia, it goes by the name of ijarah muntahiyah

usury (which is lending money at an exorbitant rate), murabaha sale is seen as a valid form of sale.

According to Islamic law, the buying and selling of goods for a profit in the process of trade is permitted.

Whilst it should be noted that some jurists classify the profit mark-up in a murabaha sale as ‘interest’, the majority of Islamic scholars argue that the profit mark-up is different to ‘interest’ because the purchase price (including expenses and profit) is known in advance to the parties involved.

Furthermore, the following rules for murabaha need to be satisfied for the transaction to take place: •the subject of the transaction must exist at the time of the sale and be identified to the buyer; •the seller must possess the subject matter at the time of sale and the sale must be instant, absolute and unconditional; •the subject matter should be a property having value; •the subject matter should be considered permissible by Islamic jurists and cannot include prohibited subject matters such as alcohol or illegal drugs; •the delivery of the commodity to the buyer and the price must be certain.

A popular form of murabaha is known as bai bithaman ajil (BBA), this is a form of sale where the payment of the price is deferred to a future date. It

website. The purpose of this publication is to raise public awareness of Islamic finance in Australia and to promote opportunities for Islamic finance in Australia.

Conclusion

The global Islamic banking sector is gaining widespread recognition in the Western world. It is ironic that while some aspects of the Shari’ah are shunned by the non-Muslim community, when it comes to money and finance, entities like the Australian Government and the major Australian banks are falling over themselves to become Shari’ah compliant and Muslim friendly for overseas investment. This leads to the ‘elephant in the room’ question: all this is great for Muslims in the Gulf Cooperation Council region and elsewhere around the world, but apart from the few products currently being offered, what else is being done to provide Shari’ah compliant services for Australian Muslims? *Hyder is a lawyer with Logie-Smith Lanyon Lawyers, Melbourne.

Hyder practices mainly in the areas of Commercial & Corporate, Defence Procurement and Islamic Finance. He has post graduate qualifications in business/management, law and nursing. **Maria Bhatti is a LLM student in International Commercial Law at the University of Melbourne and the recent recipient of the National Australia Bank Scholarship in Islamic Banking 2009. .

References available upon request.

This article is for educational and general information purposes only and should not be relied on as (or in substitution for) legal, accounting, financial or other professional advice.

and over.

Snr Detective Crowley was a detective of the old school, where rules and regulations played a poor second to getting a result. Crowley is a man at odds with the times. Not just the times, Crowley’s at odds with everything and everyone, even himself. If he’s at war with anyone, it’s Zane Malik.

Series 2 In Season Two, East West 101 expands to seven episodes as the Major Crime Squad investigate crime and murder in all quarters of multicultural Sydney.

But overarching all, is Detective Zane Malik’s quest for to find the truth behind a car bomb attack which kills two men.

The Major Crime Squad form a joint task force with the NSO (National Security Organisation) to deal with the crime. There is paranoia in the city and fallout on the Muslim community.

Malik knows that in order to stop the circle of hate, he must solve the crime. Was the bomb really an act of extremists, as the media suggest, or a sophisticated killing by a career criminal?

Malik doggedly pursues the truth until he, too, becomes a target.

Inspector Patricia Wright questions his motives but her vision is clouded by personal issues she wants to keep hidden from the squad.

Crime has touched her own family.

Source: SBS

issue 19, May 2010

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Mudaraba is a trust financing method in Islam where one partner provides the investment (rab-ulmaal) and the other partner invests this money in a commercial enterprise (mudarib). The profits are shared through a pre-determined ratio.

A mudaraba transaction may consist of two or

bittamlik. This transaction accommodates financial intermediaries who do not wish to involve the bank as a permanent partner in the venture and prefer liquidity in their investments. Therefore, in the diminishing musharaka venture, the bank’s share in equity is diminished annually through the partial return of capital. The bank’s periodic profits are based on its reduced equity shares and as the shares increase over time, the client eventually gains complete ownership of the asset.

is one of the most popular Islamic financing products and has been approved by Islamic jurists worldwide.

BBA involves the deferment of payment and whether the cost and mark-up price are known to the parties is irrelevant whereas traditional murabaha requires both parties to the transaction to know the cost and profit/ mark-up.

East West 101 Cleans Up At AFI Awards

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Australian Muslim Newspaper

The Delicate Balance On Earth Harun Yahya* The earth is a living planet where many complex systems run perfectly without stopping at all. When compared to other planets, it is evident that in all its aspects the earth is specially created for human life. Built on delicate balances, life prevails in every spot of this planet, from the atmosphere to the depths of the earth.

Exploring only a few of the millions of these delicate balances would be sufficient to show that the world we live in is specially created for us.

One of the most important balances in our planet is revealed in the atmosphere that surrounds us. The atmosphere of the earth holds the most appropriate gasses in the most appropriate ratio needed for the survival not only of human beings, but also of all the living beings on the earth.

The 77% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% carbon dioxide as well as other gasses readily available in the atmosphere represent the ideal figures necessary for the survival of living beings. Oxygen, a gas that is vital for living beings, helps food to be burned and converted into energy in our bodies.

If the oxygen quantity in the atmosphere were greater than 21%, the cells in our body would soon start to suffer great damages. The vegetation and hydrocarbon molecules needed for life would also be destroyed.

If this quantity were less, then this would cause difficulties in our respiration, and the food we eat would not be converted into energy. Therefore, the 21% oxygen in the atmosphere is the most ideal quantity determined for life.

No less than oxygen, other gasses like nitrogen and carbon dioxide are also arranged in the ideal quantity for the needs of living beings and the continuity of life. The amount of nitrogen in the atmosphere has the ideal ratio to balance the harmful and burning effects of oxygen.

This ratio represents the most appropriate value required for photosynthesis, which is essential for life’s energy supply on the earth. Moreover, the amount of carbon dioxide has the most appropriate value that is needed to maintain the stability of the surface temperature of the earth and to prevent heat loss especially at night time.

This gas, comprising 1% of the atmosphere, covers the earth like a quilt and prevents the loss of heat to space. If this amount were greater, the temperature of the earth would increase excessively, causing climatic instability and posing a serious threat against living beings.

These proportions remain constant thanks to a perfect system. The vegetation covering the earth converts carbon dioxide to oxygen, producing 190 billion tons of oxygen every day. The proportion of other gasses is always kept constant on the earth by the help of interconnected complex systems. Life is thus sustained.

In addition to the establishment of the ideal gas mixture required for life on the earth, the mechanisms needed to preserve and maintain this order are created alongside with it.

Any break in the balance, though instantaneous, or any change in the ratios even for a very short time period, would mean the total destruction of life. Yet, this does not happen. The formation of these gasses in the atmosphere just in the amount people need, and the constant preservation of these ratios indicate a planned creation.

At the same time, the earth has the ideal size in terms of magnitude to possess an atmosphere. If the mass of the earth were a little less, then its gravitational force would be insufficient and the atmosphere would be dispersed in space.

If its mass were a little greater, then the gravitational force would be too much and the earth would absorb all gasses in the atmosphere. There is an incredibly high number of conditions required for the formation of an atmosphere such as the one our world currently has and all of these conditions should be met simultaneously to be able to talk of life.

The creation of these delicate proportions and balances in the sky is mentioned in the 7th verse of Surat ar-Rahman: He erected heaven and established the balance. (Qur’an, 55:7) The majority of people spend their lives without being aware of the delicate balances and subtle adjustments in the gas composition of the atmosphere, the distance of the world to the sun or the movements of planets.

They are ignorant of the great significance of these balances and adjustments to their own lives.

However, even a minor deviation in any one of these arrangements would create very severe problems regarding the existence and survival of humankind.

There are many other balances established on earth for the continuity of life: For instance, if the surface gravity were stronger than its current value, the atmosphere would retain too much ammonia and methane gasses, which would mean the end of life.

If it were weaker, the planet’s atmosphere would lose too much water, and life on earth would be

impossible.

The thickness of the earth’s crust constitutes another one of the delicate balances in the earth. If the earth’s crust were thicker, too much oxygen would be transferred from the atmosphere to the crust and this would have severe effects on human life.

If the opposite were true, that is, if the earth’s crust were thinner, volcanic and tectonic activity would be too great to permit life on earth.

Another crucial balance for human life is the ozone level in the atmosphere. If it were greater than its current value, the surface temperatures would be too low. If it were less, surface temperatures would be too high, and there would be too much ultraviolet radiation at the surface.

In fact, the absence of even a single of these balances would set the end to life on earth. However, Allah has created the universe with infinite wisdom and power and created the earth specially for human life. Despite this fact, the majority of people lead their lives in total ignorance of these events. In the Qur’an, Allah reminds people of His blessings in the 13th verse of Surat al-Fatir: (Allah) makes night merge into day and day merge into night, and He has made the sun and moon subservient, each one running until a specified time. That is Allah, your Lord. The Kingdom is His. Those you call on besides Him have no power over even the smallest speck.

(Qur’an, 35:13) It is sufficient look at millions of dead planets in space in order to understand that the delicate balances required for life on earth are not a result of random coincidences. The conditions essential for life are too complicated to have been formed ‘on their own’ and at random, and these conditions are specially created for life alone.

These balances we have briefly described so far are only a few of the millions of intricate, interrelated

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balances and orders established so that people can live in peace and safety on the earth.

Examining only a part of the balances and harmony on the earth is enough to comprehend the superior being of Allah and grasp the existence of a planned creation in every detail of the universe. It is no doubt impossible for a person or any other living being to build such an enormous balance and order. Nor are the components of this order such as atoms, elements, molecules, and gasses capable of establishing an order based on such intricate and extremely delicate calculations and measurements, and such fine tunings. This is because activities like planning, ordering, arranging, calculating, and proportioning can only be realised by beings that possess wisdom, knowledge and power.

The Exalted Being Who orders, plans and balances the entire universe to be fit for life of human beings on a planet like earth and Who sustains it with dramatically delicate measures and balances is Allah, Who has Infinite Wisdom, Knowledge and Power.

In the Qur’an, it is stated that those people who are able to realise these facts are ‘people with intelligence’: In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are Signs for people with intelligence: those who remember Allah, standing, sitting and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: “Our Lord, You have not created this for nothing. Glory be to You! So safeguard us from the punishment of the Fire.” (Qur’an, 3:190-191)

*Harun Yahya, has written almost 300 books which are published in 63 languages all over the world. He is well-known as an author of many books on political, faith-related and scientific issues, including very important works disclosing the imposture of evolutionists.

Harun Yahya’s books appeal to all people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, regardless of their age, race and nationality, as they center around one goal: to open the reader’s mind by presenting the signs of God’s eternal existence to them. Please visit: www.harunyahya.com To purchase the works of Harun Yahya, please visit: www.bookglobal.net

Prayer Schedule May 2010 Perth, Western Australia

Fajr 5:26 5:27 5:27 5:28 5:29 5:29 5:30 5:30 5:31 5:31 5:32 5:32 5:33 5:34 5:34 5:35 5:35 5:36 5:36 5:37 5:37 5:38 5:38 5:39 5:39 5:40 5:40 5:41 5:41 5:42 5:42

Sunrise 6:48 6:48 6:49 6:50 6:50 6:51 6:52 6:52 6:53 6:54 6:55 6:55 6:56 6:57 6:57 6:58 6:59 6:59 7:00 7:01 7:01 7:02 7:03 7:03 7:04 7:04 7:05 7:06 7:06 7:07 7:07

Dhuhr 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:14 12:15 12:15 12:15

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Asr 3:17 3:16 3:16 3:15 3:14 3:13 3:13 3:12 3:11 3:11 3:10 3:10 3:09 3:09 3:08 3:08 3:07 3:07 3:06 3:06 3:05 3:05 3:04 3:04 3:04 3:03 3:03 3:03 3:03 3:02 3:02

Maghrib 5:40 5:39 5:38 5:37 5:36 5:35 5:34 5:34 5:33 5:32 5:31 5:31 5:30 5:29 5:29 5:28 5:27 5:27 5:26 5:26 5:25 5:25 5:24 5:24 5:23 5:23 5:22 5:22 5:22 5:21 5:21

Isha 6:58 6:57 6:56 6:55 6:54 6:54 6:53 6:52 6:52 6:51 6:50 6:50 6:49 6:49 6:48 6:48 6:47 6:47 6:46 6:46 6:45 6:45 6:45 6:44 6:44 6:44 6:43 6:43 6:43 6:43 6:42

Eight States That Make Man Inhuman

I would with words here illumine.

Pride, which comes before the fall, Is the one that leads to all.

The vainglorious haste of the would-be; The inglorious waste of the could be.

Avarice or greed, when it’s heeded, The vice of wanting more than’s needed.

Some have needs, others wants: Lack of vision leads to nonce.

Lust is a primitive affair: What the hormones paint as fair, That the eye agrees to, freely; Though it may be diseased, really.

mask.

Strengthening Our Community

Anger, ire, or else wrath, The mind aflame, the mouth afroth, Allows one any vengeful act: Anger is devoid of tact.

Gluttony’s fault is a full belly, Filled fives times over, foul and smelly; As he gorges himself, and swills, He forges himself many ills.

Envy faults another’s fortune, Needs it not, but would importune Any man, fatter or leaner: Another’s grass is, always, greener.

By three forms of Sloth Mankind is burdened: In thought, deed, and response.

Habit rules the slothful man, Who does as little as he can.

What is old is out of style, While all that’s new is seen as vile.

He drifts, in a vague distress, Then, seeks out a vogue mistress.

Intoxication is a vice, so vile, Eight deadly states I’ve slated: That it must wear a constant Look out! How have you smile; rated?

Then must take the world to task When it sees through its rotten

C.W.Idris Ellis

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Prayer Schedule May 2010 Sydney, New South Wales

Fajr 5:06 5:06 5:07 5:08 5:08 5:09 5:09 5:10 5:11 5:11 5:12 5:13 5:13 5:13 5:14 5:15 5:16 5:16 5:17 5:17 5:17 5:18 5:19 5:20 5:20 5:21 5:21 5:22 5:22 5:23 5:23

Sunrise 6:29 6:30 6:30 6:31 6:32 6:33 6:33 6:34 6:35 6:36 6:36 6:37 6:38 6:38 6:39 6:40 6:41 6:42 6:42 6:43 6:43 6:44 6:45 6:46 6:46 6:47 6:48 6:48 6:48 6:50 6:50

Dhuhr 11:53 11:53 11:53 11:52 11:52 11:52 11:52 11:52 11:52 11:52 11:52 11:52 11:52 11:52 11:52 11:52 11:52 11:52 11:52 11:52 11:52 11:52 11:52 11:52 11:53 11:53 11:53 11:53 11:53 11:53 11:53

Prayer Schedule May 2010 Melbourne, Victoria

Fajr 5:33 5:34 5:34 5:35 5:36 5:37 5:37 5:38 5:39 5:40 5:40 5:41 5:42 5:42 5:43 5:44 5:44 5:45 5:46 5:46 5:46 5:47 5:48 5:49 5:50 5:50 5:51 5:52 5:52 5:53 5:53

Sunrise 7:00 7:01 7:02 7:03 7:04 7:05 7:05 7:06 7:07 7:08 7:09 7:10 7:11 7:11 7:13 7:13 7:14 7:15 7:16 7:17 7:17 7:18 7:19 7:20 7:21 7:21 7:22 7:23 7:23 7:24 7:25

Dhuhr 12:18 12:18 12:18 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:18 12:18 12:18 12:18 12:18 12:18 12:18

Asr 2:53 2:52 2:51 2:50 2:49 2:49 2:49 2:47 2:47 2:46 2:45 2:45 2:44 2:44 2:43 2:42 2:42 2:41 2:41 2:40 2:40 2:40 2:39 2:38 2:38 2:38 2:37 2:37 2:37 2:37 2:36

Maghrib 5:15 5:14 5:13 5:12 5:11 5:11 5:11 5:09 5:08 5:07 5:06 5:06 5:05 5:05 5:03 5:03 5:02 5:01 5:01 5:00 5:00 4:59 4:58 4:58 4:57 4:57 4:57 4:56 4:56 4:55 4:55

Isha 6:35 6:34 6:33 6:32 6:32 6:31 6:31 6:29 6:29 6:28 6:27 6:26 6:26 6:26 6:25 6:24 6:24 6:23 6:22 6:22 6:22 6:22 6:21 6:20 6:20 6:20 6:19 6:19 6:19 6:19 6:18

Asr 3:11 3:10 3:09 3:08 3:07 3:06 3:06 3:05 3:04 3:03 3:02 3:02 3:01 3:01 3:00 2:59 2:58 2:58 2:57 2:56 2:56 2:56 2:55 2:54 2:54 2:53 2:53 2:53 2:53 2:52 2:52

Maghrib 5:34 5:33 5:32 5:31 5:30 5:28 5:28 5:26 5:25 5:25 5:24 5:23 5:22 5:22 5:20 5:19 5:18 5:18 5:17 5:16 5:16 5:16 5:14 5:14 5:13 5:13 5:12 5:12 5:12 5:11 5:10

Isha 6:58 6:57 6:56 6:55 6:54 6:53 6:53 6:51 6:50 6:49 6:49 6:48 6:47 6:47 6:46 6:45 6:44 6:44 6:43 6:43 6:43 6:42 6:41 6:41 6:40 6:40 6:39 6:39 6:39 6:38 6:38

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Pregnancy And Gingivitis Yasser Khan* Pregnancy affects the health of gums and teeth. It often causes an oral condition known as pregnancy gingivitis, a common form of gum disease known to develop in almost 50% of all pregnant women.

What every expectant mother should know Pregnancy gingivitis causes the gums to become red, puffy, and inflamed. It can also trigger bleeding gums when brushing and flossing.

These problems are caused by hormonal changes which increase the blood flow to the gum tissue and cause the gums to be more sensitive and vulnerable to irritation and swelling. Hormonal changes also hinder the body’s normal response to the bacteria which cause gingival infections. This makes it easier for plaque to build up on the teeth. The severity of pregnancy gingivitis usually increases between the second and third trimesters, but it begins to decrease during the ninth month.

If untreated, it can progress into periodontal disease (a severe form of gingivitis), which destroys the bones and fibers that help to keep teeth in place. Periodontal gum disease can cause bleeding and swollen gums, bad breath, tooth loss and is associated with an increased risk for both preterm labor and having a low birthweight baby.

A more severe form of periodontitis, known as pregnancy tumour, can arise from pregnancy gingivitis or periodontal disease.

Also known as pyogenic granulomas, these tumors (benign) are growths that form on the gums.

What can be done to manage pregnancy gingivitis?

The best treatment for gingivitis is prevention. Visting the dentist before and during pregnancy is the best advice.

Above:Pregnancy tumor on the gum

The following tips are also helpful: • Brush at least twice daily with a fluoride toothpaste, and floss once a day.

• Rinse the mouth with an antibacterial non alcoholic mouthwash.

• Gentle use of Miswaak - also a Sunnah of the prophet Mohammed (PBUH) • Regular Cleanings Pregnant women should visit the dentist at least once during the pregnancy to have a routine dental checkup. Dental appointments are typically made during the second trimester, after the baby has formed his vital organs, but cleanings may also be done in the first and third trimester if required. Pregnant women with pre existing gingivitis or gum disease can receive their usual treatments during pregnancy.

Hadith Aishah said on the authority of the Prophet, (PBUH): “The tooth-brush purifies the mouth and is a means of seeking the pleasure of the Lord.” *Dr Yasser Khan is a Melbourne based dental surgeon.

UK Election: Muslim MPs Double

Fa’izah Batchelor* I was watching Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, the 1967 classic Stanely Kramer movie starring Sidney Poitier, Spencer Tracey, and Katharine Hepburn. The film is about an African American man and a white American girl breaking the news of their engagement to their parents. Coming off the back of the American Civil Rights Movement it is a powerful film, the first to depict a white woman and African American man kissing.

It has been well over 40 years since the film was released and I have been pondering how much has changed. I believe that the film could be remade today - swap the African American for a Muslim and you’ll have the same shock from both families. Bigotry still exists, all you need to do is turn on the television in a western country to see vilification of Muslims.

However it is not much different in Muslim countries where the west is denigrated and Western women are portrayed as sex obsessed twits who need (and want) a good backhand to bring them

22 women.

The first Muslim woman to win her seat was Yasmin Qureshi winning in the Bolton South East constituency in north-west England, but by a reduced majority of more than 8,600.

Shabana Mahmood increased the majority of outgoing former International Development Secretary Clare Short from under 7,000 votes to more than 10,000 in Birmingham Ladywood in central England.

Rushnara Ali won with a huge majority of 11,000 defeating Abjol Miah of Respect Party to third place in Bethnal Green and Bow. Lib Dems Ajmal Masroor came second.

The first Muslim Conservatives to be elected were Sajid Javid, who retained Bromsgrove with an increased majority of more than 11,000 in Bromsgrove, central England and Rehman Chisti, who won by more than 8,500 votes in newlycreated Gillingham and Rainham in south-east England.

Nadhim Zahawi, the chief executive of online market research agency YouGov, also became the first Iraqi Kurd to become a UK MP by successfully defending the Conservatives’ 10,000-plus majority in Strafford, central England.

The number of Muslim MPs has doubled to eight in the closest elections in decades with the first Muslim women – three Labour members - elected to the 650-member House of Commons.

In addition, the Conservatives have gained their first two Muslim MPs with hopes of adding a third dashed after Zahid Iqbal failed in overturning Labour’s 3,000 majority in Bradford West, northern England.

The elections were marked by a swing from Labour to the Conservatives and resulted in one of two Muslim ministers, Shahid Malik, losing his parliamentary seat for Dewsbury in northern England by just over 1,500 votes.

Transport Minister Sadiq Khan defied the swing to retain his seat for Tooting in south London with a reduced majority of 2,500 votes.

Khalid Mahmood also successfully defended his parliamentary seat for Labour in Birmingham Perry Bar for the second time, increasing his majority to more than 11,000.

In Glasgow Central, Anas Sarwar increased Labour’s majority to almost 16,000 in replacing his For more information on the election father Mohammed Sarwar, who stepped down at outcome please visit: www.muslimnews.co.uk/ the election after becoming Britain’s first Muslim elections2010 MP back in 1979.

Over 90 Muslim candidates of various political Source: The The Muslim News, UK. persuasions stood in the general election, including

Germany Gets Female Muslim Minister The state parliament of Lower Saxony has sworn

in Ayguel Oezkan as Minister of Social Affairs for the northern state, making her the first female Muslim minister in Germany.

The 38-year-old, who is a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), was born in Hamburg to Turkish immigrants.

She was the party’s economic policy

spokeswoman for the regional parliamentary group in Hamburg before being appointed as the first Muslim woman in Germany to be elected to a ministerial post on the state level, Deutsche Welle reported.

Earlier this month, Christian Wulff called her appointment “a good signal for children and young people with immigrant backgrounds.” Oezkan however quickly made clear that she did not want to be regarded as a “token immigrant.”

Oezkan has said she intends to dedicate her efforts to furthering integration in Lower Saxony as social minister.

into line.

Many Muslim families would disapprove of their sons marrying a western girl (whether she was Muslim herself or not). Many Muslim families in fact would be ashamed of their sons marrying outside of their culture, outside of their village, outside of their tribe, outside even of their family. Why? “O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Lo! Allah is Knower, Aware.” The Noble Qu’ran 49:13 I am a western woman. Born and raised in New Zealand.

My husband is from Upper Egypt. He is dark. I am white.

He was born Muslim. I became Muslim 3 months before I met him. Alhamdulillah our immediate families have been very accepting of our relationship. Many of my friend’s families are not. I often invite families of cross cultural couples to my home to talk about cross cultural marriage.

I tell each family that being married to someone from

another culture is both the best and hardest thing anyone could ever do.

These couples need our support if they are going to make it. The negative comments of well meaning family members and friends can kill a relationship before it even has time to begin. For those who choose the path of intercultural marriage let’s stand behind them and beside them. For those who are standing in their way I suggest sending them a copy of Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner so they can see how far they have come in the last 40 years.

Intercultural marriage should be seen as an opportunity to know one another as stated in the Quran. *Fa’izah, is also known as Victoria Batchelor. She became Muslim in South Korea in August 2003. With degrees in communication, digital design, business and education, she is now a life and business strategist, mergeing the principles of success in both life and business with the teachings of Islam. She is married with two beautiful daughters. Her latest publication “The Secrets to Finding the Perfect Spouse” will be released later this year. To learn more about living at cause and her experience check out: h t t p : / / f a i z a h b a t c h e l o r. wordpress.com and http://www. faizahbatchelor.blogspot.com

US Troops Executing Prisoners In Afghanistan: Seymour Hersh David Edwards

The journalist who helped break the story that detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq were being tortured by their US jailers told an audience at a journalism conference last month that American soldiers are now executing prisoners in Afghanistan.

New Yorker journalist Seymour Hersh also revealed that the Bush Administration had developed advanced plans for a military strike on Iran.

At the Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Geneva, Hersh criticised President Barack Obama, and alleged that US forces are engaged in “battlefield executions.”

“I’ll tell you right now, one of the great tragedies of my country is that Mr. Obama is looking the other way, because equally horrible things are happening to prisoners, to those we capture in Afghanistan,” Hersh said. “They’re being executed on the battlefield. It’s unbelievable stuff going on there that doesn’t necessarily get reported.

Things don’t change.”

“What they’ve done in the field now is, they tell the troops, you have to make a determination within a day or two or so whether or not the prisoners you have, the detainees, are Taliban,” Hersh added. “You must extract whatever tactical intelligence you can get, as opposed to strategic, longrange intelligence, immediately. And if you cannot conclude they’re Taliban, you must turn them free.

“What it means is, and I’ve been told this anecdotally by five or six different people, battlefield executions are taking place,” he continued. “Well, if they can’t prove they’re Taliban, bam. If we don’t do it ourselves, we turn them over to the nearby Afghan troops and by the time we walk three feet the bullets are flying. And that’s going on now.”

The video of Hersh was uploaded to Michael Moore’s YouTube account Tuesday, May 11, 2010 Hersh has a long history as an investigative journalist and worked for many years at the New York Times. In 1969, he broke the story of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam.

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As Australian As Home Renovation

Hanifa Deen*

Was anyone as disappointed as Hanifa Deen to hear that Pauline Hanson wouldn’t sell her house to a Muslim? Probably not. I for one feel completely devastated and terribly let down by the news that soon-to-be expatriate Pauline Hanson will not sell her Queensland property to a Muslim.

You see, it was always my intention to make a serious offer for Ms Hanson’s ancestral home.

Last month, on hearing that Pauline’s Coleyville house was up for sale, I pulled together a consortium of like-minded fellow-Muslims. We knew that we’d have to move quickly for word was out that the One Nation Party alumni were thinking of turning it into a Pauline Hanson Museum complete with a 10-foot statue depicting Pauline in her glory days, tastefully wrapped in the Australian flag.

I even went to the trouble of hiring a firm of Muslim architects and asked them to draw designs for a mosque and a madrassah. Someone proposed a secret tunnel between the two buildings but I vetoed that idea on the grounds that the local council might turn down our application if they thought something clandestine was in the air.

I admit that parking and the noise factor were always going to present a problem. Indeed, we anticipated that our mosque would become part of an Australian pilgrimage “Down Under” attracting thousands of worshippers especially on Friday, our holy day. We thought we might overcome the parking issue (just in case any locals objected) by having a string of camels on standby ready to taxi any worshippers willing to forgo the comfort of a car ride for a more traditional approach — the Prophet himself (peace be upon him) was very fond of camels and rode into Mecca on a beautiful white one. And because feral camels are such a problem today in our remote areas, the idea of redeeming the camel seemed a practical idea.

I know that Ms Hanson would probably blame those “damned Afghans” who came here in the 19th century for the feral camel problem and she may well be right. But in view of what’s happening in Afghanistan today some might say we’ve certainly taken our revenge. My fellow committee members and I knew that we’d have to play down the Muslim pioneer theme. We’ve always understood that Pauline might not like the notion that people with dusky skins had played a part in opening up the Australian inland.

I can hear her now: “Muslim pioneers a part of Australian colonial history? Please explain!”

We planned on making the mosque the biggest in the Southern hemisphere. Suggestions for names poured in; the most popular being “The Sheikh Hilali mosque”. A few of the younger Muslims even thought that we should depart

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from classical Muslim architecture and build something more emblematic of Australian culture.

One bright spark suggested that a green neon

Above: Pauline Hanson

“M”, on top of the mosque minaret, flashing on and off 24 hours a day, might be fitting and promote the idea that Muslims worried about the environment too — he quickly backed down when I pointed out the problem of gas emissions.

To show that there were no hard feelings for anything Ms Hanson had said about Muslims in the past, we even intended asking her to return from London to attend the mosque opening. We planned a huge barbecue (only lamb — no pork) and Ms Hanson was to have been treated as an honoured guest, escorted down the aisle flanked on either side by 72 virgins all dressed in green and gold burqas, instead of the traditional black garments. (Believe me, it took a lot of persuasion to orchestrate the switch from black to green and gold!)

One of our committee members was very disappointed with the whole “babes in burqa” idea because he’d planned on inviting the French Ambassador from Canberra to the opening and thought he’d have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting him across once the news broke about our female guard of honour and their intimidating traditional garb.

Nevertheless, in spite of Pauline blackballing Australian Muslims, my consortium will not give up. We intend going ahead with our plans and are prepared to double any offer Ms Hanson receives. *Hanifa Deen is a Melbourne-based author and social commentator; she is an award winning Australian author of Pakistani ancestry who writes narrative non-fiction.

This article first published on New Matilda website 29 April 2010.

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WA: War Over Future Of Australian Islamic College

wages of the teachers from his own money.

I remember my mother used to argue with him frequently for years because of all the money he was pouring into the school.”

In further developments, members of The Islamic Council of Western Australia (ICWA) have approached the Education Department urging that the College be allowed to continue operation under strict supervision of the relevant government departments. ICWA has also asked for the accumulated assets of Australian Islamic College, estimated at $60 million, be placed in a state administered Public Trust to protect them for the benefit of the Muslim community.

According to the Australian Islamic College website, recent announcements by associates and members of ICWA have led to public speculation that the College will be taken over and run by ICWA and that this has been authorised by the Education Department.

Crescent Times has obtained documents that confirm that representatives of the Department of Education Services have met with members of ICWA to discuss concerns relating to the future of Australian Islamic College. Crescent Times has also obtained copies of correspondence between the

Shoura Backs Fatwa On Funding Terror

Education Department and the College which indicate that the Department has no authority to close down or transfer responsibility for a school’s operation from one party to another. A letter from Mr Mark Brown, Diector of Education and Training Regulation states “I can assure you categorically that the claims [that is, the claims that ICWA will take over the College Editors note] are totally without foundation.

This Department has not made any such approaches to ICWA in any form or manner and has no intention of acting in the manner described“ Australian Islamic College will hold an information session for concerned members of the community on 16 May at 2:30pm at its Kewdale premises. This meeting will outline future plans for the College.

Editor’s note: Crescent Times team urge all parties involved in these events and allegations to exercise wisdom and restraint and to reveal the truth of these matters for the benefit of the community.

Any person with first hand information relating to events surrounding the College and the allegations raised is invited to contact Crescent Times to further our efforts to reveal the facts to readers. of terrorism.

“Terror financing amounts to helping acts of terrorism and supporting the existence and spread of terror,” said the fatwa.

“Terror is a crime that sabotages security. It is crime against people and private and public property. It manifests in bombing houses, schools, hospitals, factories and bridges; in hijacking and blowing up airplanes. It also destroys government resources, such as oil and gas pipelines. Such acts of destruction are prohibited under Shariah.” In a statement issued on behalf of the Shoura Council, Abdullah AlAsheikh explained that donations to legitimate and legal charitable activities are not the same as blindly donating to organisations that channel funding for terrorism.

“Charity helps distressed people while financing terror helps destroy men and property,” he said.

The chairman also said that a new recommendation by the council would establish guidelines for financial donations. The Kingdom has already implemented stricter guidelines for establishing charitable organisations, and it is illegal for groups to collect money unless they have been accredited by the state.

The Consultative Committee Of Saudi Arabia, commonly known as the Shoura Council, has endorsed the recent fatwa on terror financing given by the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars headed by Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz AlAsheikh.

Describing terror financing as evil, Shoura Council Chairman Abdullah Al-Asheikh said that the Council will frame a set of regulations to combat terror financing.

He said the proposed recommendations would be sent to the Council of Ministers and would include regulations to prohibit financing terror activities and would incorporate stringent punishments for violations since such funding could be a threat to the peace and security of the country. Last month, the 20-member Council of Senior Islamic Scholars said terror financing was a crime as big as terrorism itself because it empowers and enables sabotage, insecurity, murder and destruction of property. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah echoed this sentiment in a statement, making no Source: Arab News distinction between funding terrorism and acts

Contributors MAY 2010: Kamariah Ahmad - Hassan Alshakshir - Shayma Alshakshir - Fa’izah Batchelor - Maria Bhatti - Tarek Chamkhi - Hanifa Deen - Linda Delgado - David Edwards - CW Idris Ellis - Ayisha Varga El Shamandy - Janine Evans - Eugenia Flynn - Hyder Gulam - Yasser Khan - Khairiah Khalid - Joanne McKeown - Debora McNichol - Yvonne Ridley - Aisha Stacey - Keysar Trad Hassan Vagh - Harun Yahya - Irfan Yusuf

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Senator Cory Bernardi argues that wearing the ‘burqa/niqab’ in Australia is at odds with our “National Identity”. That this practice of covering the face oppresses the women who wear it and cultivates an atmosphere of alienation. He fiercely defends their rights to be free to choose. To be liberated - after all, isn’t this what a democracy upholds, ‘freedom’. Freedom to practice one’s religion without prejudice, freedom of speech, freedom of choice. Is he not at odds with these very values by calling for the banning of the burqa? The wearing of the burqa/niqab comes, in the majority of cases, out of free choice. Aren’t these women simply exercising freedom of choice in our democracy?

The very democracy that the Senator uses as support for the ban.

“Equality of women is one of the key values in our secular society and any culture that believes only women should be covered in such a repressive manner is not consistent with the Australian culture and values”, he states.

Will banning women’s clothing emancipate them? Will it give them the equality he calls for? “The burqa isolates some Australians from others…”he claims. Explicitly forbidding these women from wearing this garment will not ‘free them’ as he seems to think. Banning it may do the very thing he accuses it of – isolate them. If banned, some women may be forced into their homes forever, barring them from other Australians more physically than he claims the burqa/niqab does. Stopped from working, shopping, taking their children to school, the list goes on. A woman who wears this out of

her convictions of belief will not simply take it off and those who are forced to wear it will not be allowed to. This ban will isolate these women in their homes and take away the very tool that gives them personal freedom; freedom of expression, freedom of choice, freedom of belief.

The Australian Ummah must ask ourselves what caused this hard line response to a robbery in NSW. It is not simply an issue of physical security, it is about security of our identity - our Australian ‘way of life’.

What is the ‘Australian Identity’ Bernardi refers to?

Our ethnic mix is too diverse to itemise, all contributing in various ways to this society, none more so than Muslims through the Afghan Cameleers. So how have Australian Muslims become so demonized? It would be easy to blame Terrorist attacks. But that would be too simple. The fact that a woman exercising her ‘free choice’ in our democracy can instill fear and hatred in others should cause alarm.

It should make us question ourselves and our dedication to educating the wider community. To allay fears. To engage – all of us.

Almighty Allah (SWT) commands “… made you into Nations and tribes so that you may know each other, not that you may despise one another”(49:13). We are failing to protect our Ummah. We have to halt demonization of our beliefs, and empower these sisters, or we will be faced with the fact that our inaction has contributed to the call for the violation of their rights.

* Janine Evans is a South Australia based Muslim, the director of ASMA, the Assisting Shift in Multicultural Australia.

PLANET IRF

Burqa Column Irfan Yusuf* In case you’re wondering, this is not another one of those columns where a Muslim defends or attacks or expresses ambivalence about the burqa. I am not going to enter the latest round of the burqa mass debate.

I’m not interested in burqas.

Why? Well, for a start, I don’t wear one. My mum often says that I should wear one, especially when I’m having a bad facial hair day. Basically I find shaving a pain in the face.

Another good reason not to write about burqa is because I believe women should be allowed to do with their bodies what they wish. Whether they want to have an abortion or keep the product of a nasty sexual assault and/or incest is not my concern.

Whether they shop at Supre or Shukr is none of my business. A woman’s body is her own (and, if she believes in a supernatural being, her Creator’s) business.

I’m not one of those moronic fruitloop fundamentalist politicians who wants to burn women at the stake for terminating a pregnancy. Or who wants to send women to jail for joining some Darth Vader Sisterhood.

I believe that Australia should not turn into a type of Iran where religious police led by Ayatollah Cory Bernadi patrol our streets searching out those who dress in an un-Australian fashion. Instead, I believe that police should be granted greater resources to investigate and prosecute gender-based crimes like domestic violence and sexual assault.

I believe that politicians who rabbit on about burqas clearly don’t regard domestic violence as an issue worth talking about. They obviously think it is perfectly acceptable that reported

incidents of domestic violence in New South Wales have increased by 50% in the past 7 years. Women who wear burqas are un-Australian. Men who punch the crap out of their wives and girlfriends are true Australians.

In their minds, we are a nation where equality for women is a paramount value. We treat our women with respect. Real Aussie men respect women with their fists, knees, elbows and other respectful bits. The signs of this respect are displayed by tens of thousands of women in police stations, hospitals and court houses across the country – bruises, black eyes, broken noses, cuts, broken bones.

If, as they say, Australia is a haven of gender equity, why waste time talking about burqas? Let’s celebrate the freedoms we enjoy – freedom to bash our wives (and, at worst, cop a 2 year jail sentence) and freedom to be bashed by our husbands (and at best get some token restraining orders). Freedom to live in a country where perpetrators of sexual crimes more often than not get off scott-free because convicting anyone of such offences is extremely difficult.

So next time you hear your neighbour arguing with and threatening his wife, knock on his door and give him both a cricket bat and a flag. Tell him not to smash her face until he has draped himself with the flag. And remind him that, with each stroke, he’s hitting a six for Australian values (or at least the values of certain Coalition backbenchers’).

See, I told you this wasn’t going to be just another burqa column.

*Irfan is a Sydney based lawyer, writer and columnist. He is the opinion editor of Crescent Times.

Burqa Clad Thief Should Be Prosecuted Under Race-Hate Laws

issue 19, May 2010

Keysar Trad * On Thursday 6 May, a national debate was sparked in Australia following a robbery by two cross-dressers in burqas.

It could not come at a more opportune time. A few years ago, our former prime minister told us that the burqa was confronting. This same phobia, has led the Belgians to ban it and in an election year, the French are trying to do the same. Not to be left behind, the Swiss also want to join the elite circle of those countries that would force a woman to stay below a maximum standard of dress.

It would appear that all these countries want to join the Taliban in having laws relating to the burqa.

European countries are tripping over each other trying to see how many of them can emulate the Taliban by introducing their own burqa laws. Albeit to force its removal.

I can understand some men fearing the burqa, after all, it desexualises encounters with the opposite gender and compels them to respect women for their humanity and their qualities. This very argument was

used by a Canberra based ABC journalist in strongly opposing the burqa.

Muslim women cannot win either way, the feminist arguments to allow women an independent personality is circumvented from allowing them the freedom to dress in accordance with a religious edict, because those who would want the woman to be constantly on show will resort to various forms of sophistry and excuses to force women to adopt their ideas of how they should dress or behave.

One Muslim woman has spoken in support of the ban, many have spoken against the ban. It is time for us to recruit support from the brothers and from people from outside the Muslim community.

Whilst racing to enforce the defrocking of Muslim women in Europe, hardly anyone is posing the question as to what these women would do if forced to uncover their faces? There is a simple answer that people are trying to avoid. Many of these women will choose to remain indoors, virtually placing themselves under house arrest. If this is the desired outcome for those who hate to allow women the freedom to dress as they choose, then it certainly is not the desired outcome for the women who choose

to cover their faces. When Sarkozy projected this reality claiming that he did not want women to be prisoners of their habit-like dress, he did not seem to understand that he would be making them prisoners in their own homes.

Not to be outdone so close to a federal and a state election, Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi jumped into the affray on the very same day. Clearly, ridiculous political commentary targets Islam in direct proportion to the proximity of elections. As if to prove the proximity of the federal elections, opposition leader Abbott also jumped into the debate echoing Howard’s comments and indirectly describing Bernardi’s comments as “understandable community concern”. I suppose with his history of telling women how to live their lives, it was only to be expected that sooner or later he would also recommend to them what not to wear.

Back to our burqa clad bandit. I hope they catch him, and if there was ever a case to invoke the laws against racial hate crimes, this case, at this time in the debate begs the invocation of these laws. *Keysar Trad is a Sydney based writer, activist and a frequent contributor to Crescent Times.

★

Strengthening Our Community

Niqab discussion Tarek Chamkhi

East West Niqabophobia!

The burqa is not compulsory in Islam.

There is no evidence as far as I know that niqab is Wajeb (compulsory) or even Sunnah (recommended). The best evidence cited by those scholars who have tried to impose burqa on Muslim women is the hadith of Aisha describing the earliest Muslim women of Islam when they first wore the hijab, after the revelation of Suraat Anour: “They are like crows on their heads!” This is an Arabic style metaphor describing the way that their unusual black hijab covered most of their heads making them appear to be crows!

Metaphoric descriptions were very common in the early days of Islam and are still common today when speaking Arabic.

Other scholars argue that niqab is recommended and Sunnah but becomes compulsory when the woman’s face causes fitnah (ie when her beauty attracts excessive attention). This argument has some merit, but in this day and age surely the hijab suffices as a clear identifier for Muslim women, signifying that they are not “for sale” in the casual relationship market??

So, do we have to argue with SA Senator Cory Bernandi over his call to ban the niqab in public after it was used in the commission of a crime in Sydney? Are we going to ban motorcycle helmets too because they have been used countless times to rob banks and petrol stations? What about masks? What about knives and guns and.. almost anything because of the possibility of misuse by criminals and terrorists? Or is the niqab a headline grabbing election winning device??

Cory is not ashamed of his Islamophobic behaviour in any way, he said on his blog: “Equality of women is one of the key values in our secular society and any culture that believes only women should be covered in such a repressive manner is not consistent with the Australian culture and values”.

Muslims do not object to identification of Muslim women when this is required for security reasons, provided that this identification applies to all persons using the facility in question and provided that such identification can be made in private by a female. There are solutions in a civilised society for encompassing all religious practices in matters of public safety and security.

The Exclusive Brethren in Australia go so far as to prohibit their members from voting in elections, despite Australia’s compulsory voting laws. However, we do not see any “Bernardi” telling us they are not Australian or trying to force them to go against their strongly held religious beliefs. I believe that such boycotting of elections and public political life is potentially much more destructive than dozens of niqabi women roaming the streets at will could ever be. (I’m sure there are not more than 200 niqabi sisters in all the country!)

To all the new niqabophobics, stop using Muslims and Islam to score cheap votes from the ignorant and the uneducated.

Muslim women will wear whatever they choose. After all it’s a free country!

Please nick off and mind your own business.

We’re not going to vote for you! (but we will vote!)

Australian Muslim Newspaper

Lifestyle guide

★

Strengthening Our Community

CT MONTHLY NATIONAL LIFESTYLE GUIDE:Where to eat out halal, where to buy your halal meat?

where to pray? where to buy Islamic clothes? This life style guide will be a permanent section for your convenience. Are you a business owner? Well, contribute your advertising and invite your fellow Muslims to eat in your restaurant or buy your products. Are you a Muslim mum at home? Contribute your favourite recipe. (Either in Arabic or English) An Aussie Muslim who likes to eat out? Well, contribute to our upcoming NEW monthly restaurant review! Please send ALL your contributions to: info@crescenttimes.com.au

Page 17

☪

RESCENT T IMES

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This is the latest MUST HAVE educational product for Muslims, a smart and wonderful tool for both children and adults.

Quran Readpen is a new learning and teaching technology, where voice can be heard from the pen speaker when pointed on the specially printed Quranic pages.

The recitation voice is clear, full and beautiful.

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TELLING THE STORY OF MUSLIMS DOWN UNDER Crescent Times: Winner of the best media outlet in 2009

issue 19, May 2010

Quality flat bread and groceries

Cherry Blossom www.cherryblossomjewellery.com

Perth Lebanese Bakery

ussana has just been launched in Australia, working under it’s parent company Dukkaan Ltd. The concept behind the Hussana brand started in early 2008. After researching the market, we found very few, if any, body care and beauty products were Halal certified. The products that were available were mainly cheap

imports from the Middle East, with very poor packaging and available only in local Islamic shops.

The aim of Hussana is to introduce a Halal alternative to the current high street products, many of which contain alcohol and other Haram ingredients from different animal parts. None of Hussana’s range contains any alcohol or animal products. The range consists of Shampoo, Conditioner, Body wash, Moisturiser, Cleanser, Face scrub, Lip balm, Baby shampoo, Baby lotion, Baby oil and Baby bath. The range is suitable for use by both males and females.

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Special: BURGER, CHIPS & DRINK: 10.00 KEBAB: $7 (chicken, lamb, falafel) BIRYANI RICE: Small $5.96

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☪

Page 18

Focus

F OCU S : Linda D. Delgado*

www.crescenttimes.com.au

Email: info@crescenttimes.com.au

Every Day Is An ‘M’ Day

May is a special month in the secular world. It is, by tradition, the month that family honors mothers with a special Mother’s Day. I chose to write about this subject because I am a mother (3), grandmother (8) and great grandmother (3) and I am the only Muslim in my family.

Talking recently with some of my non-Muslim girlfriends, the discussions focused on their anticipation of seeing their children and grandchildren who plan to visit them on Mother’s Day or receiving greeting cards and flowers. One friend has teens still living at home and she said they are planning on fixing a special family dinner and doing the washing up afterwards.

Sounds like a nice day being planned for Mums, right?

Then I got to thinking about Muslim reverts who had family members reject them when they converted to Islam. I also thought about the importance of maintaining the ties of kinship. Carrying this thought a bit further… using this secular Mother’s Day as an opportunity to reopen lines of communication with estranged mothers might be something to consider.

I mused some more…thinking about the importance of mothers in Islam. I thought about the honor mothers are to be given as stated by Allah and our beloved Prophet (pbuh). It occurred to me that every day is Mother’s day for Muslims…right? This was a super thought...something to make you feel all warm and fuzzy and happy.

But… yes with me it seems there are always a few buts…then I got to

thinking again…

Do we (Muslims) say/think every day is mother’s day, but forget to follow through with positive action?

Do we remember our mothers in our daily duas and prayers?

Do we visit because we want to and not because we feel obligated?

Do we give gifts, flowers, and phone only occasionally or at every opportunity?

Have we checked to see if our mother needs help around the house…especially if she is ageing and unwell?

Do we really know if she is well or have we just been accepting her assurances that all is well when we talk long distance on the telephone?

Do we visit our mother when she is sick or do we say we are busy but will visit soon?

Have we made some plans for our mother once she can no longer take care of herself on her own?

And what of our parents who are no longer with us on this earth? Do we visit their grave and say prayers?

Do we remember the love and care we received and are we thankful to Allah for the gift of the treasure - our mothers?

On a personal note I am happy to be Muslim and to know that for my sisters in Islam, who are mothers, there is our Islamic belief that every day is an ‘M’ day.

*Linda Delgado, known by many as Widad, is a Muslim revert, a mother of three, grandmother of eight, and great grandmother of three. She is a graduate of the University of Phoenix. Widad is an award winning author and poet and the ownerpublisher of Muslim Writers Publishing: www.

MuslimWritersPublishing.com

Brunei Gives Star Ratings To Its Public Rest-Rooms Public rest-rooms at tourist spots in BruneiMuara District have been given star-ratings by the Brunei Tourism Board, which released a list rating 12 “spots” last week. The rating took into account various aspects and factors. With 1-star being a low rating and 5-star being highly rated, no location on the list was given the maximum 5-star rating. Three locations were given 4-star, one location 3-star, two locations were given 2-star, another two locations were given a 1-star, while four were given no-star rating at all.

Sheikh Jamaluddin Sheikh Mohamed, CEO of Brunei Tourism, said, “This is just the beginning in our effort to keep our public restrooms clean. We will cover all the other districts soon.” The tourism chief added “Our objective is to instill pride and good hygiene to all our stakeholders. They must do more to maintain the good image and reputation of our country.”

The star rating is the culmination of the first ever spot-checks conducted by the Brunei Tourism Board with the support of Bandar Seri Begawan Municipal Board and various government agencies at locations frequented by tourists. A total of 16 committee members from various government agencies inspected male and female toilets at seven locations in downtown Bandar Seri Begawan and Gadong.

The committee members included the BSB Municipal Board, Brunei Tourism Board, Ministry of Health, Public Works Department, BruneiMuara District Office, Tutong District Office,

Burj Khalifa Hotel Suite Costs $11,000 A Night With suites costing up to US$11,000 for one night, Italian designer Giorgio Armani yesterday opened his first signature hotel, located in the world’s tallest tower in the Gulf emirate of Dubai.

“Yesterday I saw this hotel come to life and I felt very emotional. It was marvellous to see this come to life,” Armani, wearing a black T-shirt and beige trousers, told reporters at a news conference in the hotel in the Burj Khalifa.

He said his reaction when he was asked to design the hotel was one of surprise. “Are you really sure you want me?” he said he asked Mohammed Alabbar, the chairman of Dubai’s giant property

RESCENT T IMES Australian Muslim Newspaper

★

Strengthening Our Community

Temburong District Office, Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation and Radio Televisyen Brunei. The committee said it will continue to conduct checks in all districts to ensure cleanliness is maintained in public toilets for the benefit of both local residents and visiting tourists.

The ratings are as follows: The Mall = 4-Star, Rizqun International Hotel = 4-Star, Centrepoint = 4-Star, Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Complex = 3-Star, Jalan Bendahara = 2-Star, Manggis Mall = 2-Star, Jalan Residency = 1-Star, Pasar Gadong = 1-Star, whilst four spots, including Tamu Selera, Kianggeh Tamu, Multistorey Carpark and Hua Ho Yayasan were given ‘Nil’ as star rating.

A long list of problems were noted during the survey including: no toilet tissue (Hua Ho Yayasan), poor lighting (Tamu Selera), slippery floor (Tamu Kianggeh), poor maintenance (Multistorey carpark), not enough facilities (like mirror), unpleasant smell (Hua Ho Kiulap), ‘weird’ smell (The Mall), bad design (Multi carpark), dirty floor and toilet bowl (Multi Carpark), broken toilet flush (Yayasan), piping problems, unclear toilet label ( Jln Residency), low grade ventilation system (Pasar Gadong), no changing room for babies ( Jln Bendahara), no coat hangers, too much damage, leaky pipes, no ledge, no soap dispenser, uncomfortable odour, no exhaust fan and an unsafe environment with fish tank, bulbs and boxes (Hua Ho Kiulap), need for renovation, too small (Brunei Museum) and all ‘squatting pans’ (Malay Technology Museum).

There were no disabled access facilities in most locations and where disabled facilities were provided they were often locked.

The only squeaky clean “spot” in the snapshot survey was Rizqun Hotel.

Source: Brunei online

developer, Emaar.

“My thinking is less is more, and Dubai was being called the Las Vegas of the desert. I couldn’t understand why he wanted this hotel in Dubai,” Armani said through an interpreter.

Prices may seem high, but the hotel in the iconic 828-metre building that opened in January is slightly more down to earth. Designed in plain shades of black and brown, it occupies space on the ground floor of Burj Khalifa and on floors one to eight, with the luxury suites on floors 38 and 39.

On levels nine to 16 is the Armani Residence, apartments designed by Giorgio Armani and sold to private buyers. Hotel staff said a night at the best suite, the Armani Dubai suite, costs 40,000 dirhams ($ 10,900). However, the same suite can already be found at a discount on the hotel’s website going for a mere 24,000 dirhams ($ 6,530). The suite has been fully occupied since the hotel opened.

issue 19, May 2010

Gallipoli: Turkish Villages Restored For ‘Respect For History’ Project The restoration project for villages on the Gallipoli Peninsula is now complete following the opening ceremonies for the refurbished towns of Kocadere and Behramlı in Çanakkale’s Eceabat district. OPET, a prominent Turkish fuel distribution company, has spent over $8 million for the project titled ‘Tarihe Saygı,’ or Respect for History, which aims to develop the area.

The Respect for History program has been ongoing since 2006 on the peninsula, which was the site of a significant military campaign during World War I. The project has focused on the province’s Eceabat district, while Kocadere and Behramlı were the last villages to be restored. The opening ceremony for Kocadere, a war-time medical center, and the unveiling of a four-meter-high memorial statue by sculptor Tankut Öktem, depicting a nurse carrying a wounded Turkish soldier in her arms, took place last month.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, OPET Board Member Nurten Öztürk said the firm has been offering educational programs to support

social development and architectural plans for the functional rehabilitation of the environment in villages that are part of the national park on the Gallipoli Peninsula. As part of the project, construction teams worked on refurbishing Kocadere’s village center, erecting Öktem’s sculpture in a prominent location.

In addition, OPET also renovated the village head’s building and the village coffeehouse and converted a former school building into a Respect for History Museum. The Respect for History project has already been implemented in other locations in Eceabat, including Alçıtepe, Seddülbahir, Bigalı, Kilitbahir, Büyük Anafarta and Küçük Anafarta.

Within the scope of the project, village centers and the façades of houses have been renewed, larger green areas have been formed, existing museums have been renovated and new cultural centers have been constructed. In cooperation with public education centers, courses in English, computer studies, boarding house management and personal development have also been offered.

Furthermore, a park functioning as an openair museum has also been built in Eceabat.

The project was expanded to cover the entire peninsula due to its previously neglected condition, Öztürk said. “We thought all the peninsula needed to be taken care of. We have been working on this for the last four years.

Some 150 people on average worked in this region for three years. Significant progress has been achieved. All villages in the national park area have been completed,” he said.

The final cost of the Respect for History project was over $8 million, Öztürk said, adding that the figure was higher than initial estimates due to the expansion of the project over time.

Mentioning plans to develop Eceabat, an important transit spot in the region, she also drew attention to the work being undertaken at the Respect for History Park in collaboration with Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University.

Discussing possible future OPET projects, Öztürk mentioned a panorama museum, which could be constructed via a build-operatetransfer model. The firm also plans to build war

graves in the region if the necessary permission is granted.

When asked whether the project could be a model for urban transformation projects in Istanbul that are mostly based on handover of properties at the moment, Öztürk said: “Due to rapid immigration from Turkey’s villages, villages have become deserted. If villages had been offered the facilities to stand on their own feet, maybe people would migrate from cities into villages. It is crucial to modernise villages rather than seeing cities turn into villages.”

The project has enriched the lives of people in the villages, according to a grocer in one of the previously restored villages. “The work has improved our businesses. OPET’s grant and the military’s cooperation have removed all the ruins,” he said, adding that the training courses have particularly helped shopkeepers in the region.

Source: Hürriyet Daily News

‫‪Arabic‬‬ ‫‪Page 19‬‬

‫هيئة االعمال الخيرية منظمة إنسانية تعنى بمساعدة الفقراء‬ ‫والمحتاجين حول العالم من خالل مشاريع خيرية مختلفة‪.‬‬ ‫احد مشاريع الهيئة المميزة مشروع كفالة االيتام‪ ،‬حيث تقوم‬ ‫الهيئة حاليا ً بكفالة ما يقارب ‪ 50000‬يتيم في خمس عشرة‬ ‫دولة حول العالم ‪،‬تقدم لهم الطعام واللباس والتعليم والعناية‬ ‫الطبية‪.‬‬ ‫إن اعداد االيتام المحتاجين في ازدياد وكثير منهم بأنتظار مد يد‬ ‫العون والمساعدة‪ .‬ساهم معنا في تخفيف معاناتهم واكفل‬ ‫يتيما ً اليوم ‪......‬‬ ‫لمزيد من المعلومات‬ ‫يرجى االتصال بنا على الرقم ‪1300760155‬‬ ‫‪ www.humanappeal.org.au‬او زيارة موقعنا االلكتروني‬ ‫هيئة االعمال الخيرية ‪ .....‬معكم على طريق الخير ‪.....‬‬

‫‪Email: info@crescenttimes.com.au‬‬

‫كيف اغتيل يحيى عيا�ش‬ ‫وال�شيخ �أحمد يا�سين و العديد‬ ‫من قادة ال�شعب الفل�سطيني؟‬

‫الح�س الأمني وتع ّلم النجاة من‬ ‫االغتيال الوح�شي اال�سرائيلي‬ ‫برث ‪ -‬خليل إبراهيم‬

‫‪www.crescenttimes.com.au‬‬ ‫‪issue 19, May 2010‬‬

‫كلنا نعلم أن نجاح الصهاينه بالوصول الى‬ ‫الكثير مما وصلوا إليه هو بجهود العمالء‬ ‫الذين يشكلون الخطر األكبر على النشطاء‬ ‫العسكريين والقادة الميدانيين‪ .‬ورغم أن هناك‬ ‫وعي عام لهذه االمور إال أن القادة ما زالوا يقعون‬ ‫في شرك العمالء بشكل متواصل وهذا يدل‬ ‫على أن الحس األمني ما زال غائبا إلى حد كبير‪.‬‬ ‫منذ أن تبنت حكومة صهيون سياسة‬ ‫االغتيالت السياسية واستهداف القياديين في‬ ‫سياراتهم ومواقعهم الثابتة ونحن نشاهد‬ ‫نجاحهم في الوصول الى أهدافهم‪ .‬وفي الوقت‬ ‫ذاته نالحظ فشل المقاومة في التصدي لهذه‬ ‫السياسة الخطيرة‪ .‬فالئحة أسماء الشهداء‬ ‫الذين سقطوا ضحية اإلستهداف بالطائرات‬ ‫و السفن الحربية و الدبابات والجنود الذين‬ ‫يدخلون بلباس عربي (المستعربين) خير شاهد‬ ‫على ذلك‪ .‬ودون العودة الى أسماء وأعداد هؤالء‬ ‫الشهداء فإننا متأكدون من شيء واحد هو‬ ‫أهميتهم في تفعيل دور المقاومة وإيالم العدو‬ ‫وخ��وف حكومة صهيون من قدراتهم على‬ ‫التطور واالرتقاء بالمقاومة‪.‬‬ ‫ومما ال شك فيه أن العمالء لهم الدور‬ ‫االعظم في الوصول الى المعلومات الدقيقة‬ ‫التي تؤدي إلى توجيه ضربات مدروسة تمزق‬ ‫أجساد المقاومين مرسلة بذلك رسالة إرهاب‬ ‫الى المقاومين اآلخرين‪ .‬فالعمالء هم الذين‬ ‫أوصلوا هاتفا نقاال ملغما إلى الشهيد يحيى‬ ‫عياش وهم الذين يضعون عالمات أو ربما‬ ‫أجهزة تعقب صغيرة جدا على سيارات أو حتى‬ ‫مالبس المستهدفين بعد االحتكاك بهم مما‬ ‫يجعل مهمة مراقبتهم أقل تعقيدا وأكثر أمنا‬ ‫لجواسيسهم الذين ال يقدرون بثمن‪ .‬وهم ايضا‬ ‫من يراقبون االشخاص المطلوبين وأعضاء‬ ‫حركات المقاومة بشكل عام ‪,‬االمر الذي من‬ ‫شأنه أن يوصلهم الى اشخاص أهم ومعلومات‬ ‫أكثر حساسية‪.‬‬ ‫وإن من أكبر نقاط الضعف التي تواجهها‬ ‫التنظيمات الفلسطينية هو سهولة االختراق‬ ‫من قبل االستخبارات الصهيونية‪ .‬فمن السهل‬ ‫جدا االنتماء ألحد التنظيمات الفعالة والتدرج‬ ‫في الوصول الى مكانة هامة ذات اطالع على كل‬ ‫صغيرة وكبيرة بشأن التنظيم وربما التنظيمات‬ ‫االخرى‪ .‬ومع أن بعض الجواسيس قد يعملون‬ ‫بإخالص للتنظيم الذي ي ّدعون االنتماء إليه‬ ‫لسنوات طويلة قبل أن يبدأوا نشاطهم‬ ‫االستخباري المدمر وبعد كل ذلك الوقت يكونوا‬ ‫قد اكتسبوا ثقة االعضاء والجمهور الذي يراهم‬ ‫قادة مخلصين‪ .‬وإن مثل هذه المشكلة لها‬ ‫حل وان كان معقدا ويتطلب جهدا ال مثيل له‬ ‫للنجاح‪ .‬وان حزب اهلل هو مثال على ذلك فهم‬ ‫تمكنوا من سد الثغرات ومراقبة االعضاء‬ ‫لسنوات طويلة قبل إدراجهم في التنظيم‬ ‫وبعد ذل��ك ايضا فهناك أعين ال تنام عن‬

‫المراقبة وهي في نهاية االمر ال تضر أحدا سوى‬ ‫العميل المتخفي‪ .‬وقد كانت حركة فتح على قدر‬ ‫عال من السرية في اختراق صفوف االستخبارات‬ ‫االسرائيلية واالمير االحمر خير مثال على ذلك‪.‬‬ ‫فقدرة التنظيمات الفلسطينية على القيام بذلك ال‬ ‫شك فيها وانما الجاهزية هي المطلوبة‪.‬‬ ‫واصبح اآلن‪ ,‬لسوء الحال‪ ,‬من األكثر فاعلية أن يقوم‬ ‫أحد األشخاص بالعمل الفردي المدروس غير الموجه‬ ‫بنشاطات ترهق العدو دون أن يتم اكتشافه كما فعل‬ ‫الشاب ثائر من قرية سلواد قضاء رام اهلل حيث تمكن‬ ‫وبكل مهارة من قنص ثالثة عشر جندي ومستوطن‬ ‫وجرح ضعف ذلك ولم يتم القبض عليه إال بعد عامين‬ ‫ونصف العام بعد أن أخبر صديقا له بالموضوع‬ ‫وبالتالي ذاع الخبر‪ .‬فالسرية هي التي تحدد‬ ‫المصير النهائي للعمل العسكري واألمني فمهما‬ ‫يكن مستوى النجاح في األداء فإنه يتحول إلى‬ ‫فشل فور اكتشافه والتصدي له من قبل العدو‪ .‬فلو‬ ‫قام مجاهد باقتحام معسكر واغتال كل الجنود وعاد‬ ‫الى مأمنه ولم تكتشف هويته بعد ذلك‪ .‬فهذا أفضل‬ ‫بكثير من شخص آخر يقوم بالعملية ذاتها ويقتل عدد‬ ‫أكبر ثم يستشهد‪ .‬ألن الذي عاد قد اكتسب مهارة‬ ‫جيدة وشجاعة وسيعود مرات ومرات ليلحق بالعدو‬ ‫بالغ األذى‪ .‬و في الوقت ذاته يقع العدو في حيرة من أمره‬ ‫من حجم القوة التي تهاجمهم‪ ,‬فهل هم مئات وهل‬ ‫هم مدربون بأسلحة متطورة‪ ..‬الخ‪.‬‬ ‫والعمل العسكري ال يدوم نجاحه إال إذا كان مو ّجها‬ ‫مؤسسة عسكرية لها قوانينها وأحكامها‬ ‫من قبل‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫التي ي ّتبعها األعضاء وال يخالفونها مهما كان األمر‬ ‫ألن ه��ذا سيخلق الفوضى والهزيمة في نهاية‬ ‫األم��ر مثل ما ح��دث عندما تجاهل المقاتلون‬ ‫أوام��ر الرسول الكريم صلى اهلل عليه وسلم في‬ ‫معركة أح��د مما س ّبب هزيمتهم‪ .‬فاإلنضباط‬ ‫هو من أساسيات العمل العسكري‪ ،‬والسرية هي من‬ ‫أساسيات العمل األمني ولنجاح أي تنظيم يجب أن‬ ‫يتم اتباع اإلثنين معا‪ .‬وعندما تندمج السرية األمنية‬ ‫تتغير طريقة القتال كليا‬ ‫مع اإلنضباط العسكري‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫فيستخدم المقاتلون أساليب أكثر أمنا كالقنص‬ ‫عن بُعد واستخدام التنكر وكاتم الصوت والتخطيط‬ ‫ودراسة لغة العدو وإتقانها وهذا تماما ما فعله إبن‬ ‫مدينة البيرة علي قرعان حين خطط جيدا مع فريق من‬ ‫الخبراء الغتيال الوزير الصهيوني المتش ّدد رحباعام‬ ‫زئيفي الذي كان ينادي بترحيل الفلسطينيين‪ .‬ونفّ ذ‬ ‫علي العملية بكل دقة ومهارة أذهلت العدو‪ .‬فلم‬ ‫يقم بتفجير نفسه‪ ،‬وإنما راقب مع رفاقه تحركات‬ ‫الوزير وخالل أيام قليلة تمكن من حجز غرفة في نفس‬ ‫الفندق الذي نزل فيه الوزير الصهيوني ولما خرج الوزير‬ ‫لإلفطار فاجأه برصاصات صامتة قتلته في مكانه وغادر‬ ‫بهدوء‪ .‬هذا هو العمل الذي يخيف العدو ويذهله فإن‬ ‫كان بإمكانهم إغتيال وزير متطرف بهذه السهولة‬ ‫فإنه من الممكن أن تتكرّر العمليات النوعية هذه التي‬ ‫من شأنها أن تخضع العدو وتجبره على احترام‬ ‫قدرات المقاومة‪.‬‬ ‫* خليل إبراهيم هو كاتب وأسير سابق فلسطيني مقيم‬ ‫ببرث غرب أستراليا‪ .‬اآلراء الواردة بالمقال ال تعبر بالضرورة عن‬ ‫آراء الناشر او الكريزنت تايمز‪.‬‬

‫★‬

‫‪Australian Muslim Newspaper‬‬

‫�إحراق م�سجد بال�ضفة‪ ..‬وهدم �آخر بغزة‬

‫‪www.humanappeal.org.au‬‬ ‫‪1300760155‬‬

‫�أفكار و�آراء‬

‫☪‬

‫‪RESCENT T IMES‬‬ ‫‪Strengthening Our Community‬‬

‫العثور على المتسببين‬ ‫وتوقيفهم‪،‬بدون‬ ‫بالحريق‬ ‫إضافة أي تفاصيل أخرى‪.‬‬ ‫ول��م يكن بوسع متحدث‬ ‫عسكري إسرائيلي تأكيد هذه‬ ‫المعلومات أو نفيها‪،‬ولكن‬ ‫مصادر أمنية فلسطينية‬ ‫أكدت “أن مستوطنين يهودا‬ ‫اح��رق��وا ف��ج��را المسجد‬ ‫الرئيسي ف��ي قرية اللبن‬ ‫الشرقية”‪ .‬في اإلط��ار ذاته‬ ‫توغلت قوات إسرائيلية معززة‬ ‫بعدة آليات عسكرية على‬ ‫أط��راف مدينة رف��ح جنوبي‬ ‫قطاع غزة وجرفت مسجدا‬

‫أشعل مستوطنون إسرائيليون فجر الثالثاء ‪ 4‬ماي ايار‬ ‫‪ 2010‬النار في مسجد بقرية اللبن الشرقية قرب نابلس‬ ‫شمال بالضفة الغربية المحتلة‪ ،‬مما أدى إلى تدمير قسم‬ ‫كبير منه‪ ،‬فيما تم تجميع المصاحف بداخله وإحراقها‪،‬‬ ‫واتهمت السلطة الفلسطينية مستوطنين يهودا بتنفيذ‬ ‫الجريمة‪ ،‬يأتي ذل��ك في وق��ت ق��ام فيه جيش االحتالل‬ ‫بهدم وتجريف مسجد آخر في قطاع غزة‪.‬‬ ‫وكانت مصادر فلسطينية وإذاع��ة الجيش اإلسرائيلي‬ ‫أعلنت أن مجهولين قاموا فجرا ً بإحراق مسجد قريب من‬ ‫مستوطنات إسرائيلية في اللبن الشرقية بالقرب من نابلس‪،‬‬ ‫ما أدى إلى تدمير قسم كبير منه‪.‬وأضافت أن اإلدارة العسكرية‬ ‫اإلسرائيلية في الضفة الغربية فتحت تحقيقا لمحاولة‬

‫بالمنطقة‪.‬‬ ‫وقالت مصادر فلسطينية وشهود عيان إن القوات‬ ‫اإلسرائيلية ترافقها سبع آليات عسكرية وثالث جرافات‬ ‫توغلت مسافة مئتي متر في منطقة الدهنية شرق رفح‬ ‫وشرعت في أعمال تجريف وتمشيط وسط إطالق نار‬ ‫متقطع لم يسفر عن وقوع إصابات‪.‬‬ ‫وقال رئيس بلدية الشوكة في رفح منصور البريك إن‬ ‫جرافات إسرائيلية هدمت خالل التوغل مسجدا عند‬ ‫مثلث الحدود بين جنوب قطاع غزة ومصر وإسرائيل‪.‬‬ ‫وأشار البريك في تصريحات إذاعية إلى أن المسجد كان‬ ‫مهجورا وتعرض قبل أربعة أعوام لهدم جزئي إثر قصف‬ ‫إسرائيلي قبل أن تهدمه الجرافات بشكل كامل‪.‬‬ ‫المصدر اسالم اونالين‬

‫�سيناريو لتدمير �أميركا في ‪ 15‬دقيقة‬ ‫حذر المستشار السابق للبيت األبيض في مكافحة اإلرهاب ريتشارد‬ ‫كالرك من أن الواليات المتحدة قد تتعرض لهجوم إلكتروني قد يدمرها‬ ‫في غضون ‪ 51‬دقيقة ألنها لم تستعد بعد لمثل هذا الهجوم خالفا‬ ‫لدول أخرى مثل الصين وروسيا وحتى كوريا الشمالية‪.‬‬ ‫فحسب سيناريو كتبه ك�لارك وروب��رت نيك في كتاب “الحرب‬ ‫اإللكترونية‪ ..‬التهديد األمني القومي المقبل”‪ ،‬فإن خدمة اإلنترنت‬ ‫حينما تتعرض للتشويش‪ ،‬فإن احتماالت كارثية يمكن ان تحصل‪ ،‬مثل‬ ‫اندالع النيران وانفجارات في مصاف في فيالدلفيا وهيوستن‪ ،‬وتعطل‬ ‫المصانع الكيمياوية وانتشار غيوم من غاز الكلور القاتل في الجو‪.‬‬ ‫كما سيكشف مراقبو حركة الطيران عن عمليات اصطدام للطائرات‬ ‫في الجو‪ ،‬وتحطم قطارات األنفاق في نيويورك وواشنطن ولوس‬ ‫أنجلوس‪ ،‬وسيعم الظالم في أكثر من ‪ 051‬مدينة أميركية‪ ،‬ويقضي‬ ‫أكثر من عشرات اآلالف من األميركيين في هجوم ال يختلف عن‬ ‫الهجوم ال��ن��ووي‪ ،‬وك��ل ذل��ك يمكن أن يحصل خ�لال ‪ 51‬دقيقة‬ ‫فقط وعلى يد “ارهابي” واحد فقط‪.‬‬ ‫ونقلت صحيفة ديلي تلغراف عن الكتاب أن “أكبر سر للحرب‬ ‫اإللكترونية أنه في الوقت الذي تستعد فيه لشن هجوم إلكتروني‪،‬‬ ‫فإن الواليات المتحدة تستمر في سياساتها التي تجعل من الصعوبة‬ ‫بمكان الوقوف في وجه أي هجوم”‪.‬‬ ‫فالواليات المتحدة أدخلت اإلنترنت في جميع مجاالت الصناعة إلى‬ ‫درجة بلغت حد الخطورة في االعتماد عليه‪.‬‬ ‫ويعتقد كل من كالرك ونيك أن اإلدارات األميركية المتعاقبة ‪-‬بما‬

‫معايير االبت�سامة الجميلة‬ ‫نجاح السعيد‪ -‬ملبورن‬

‫معايير الجمال تختلف من مكان الى اخر ومن زمن الى اخر بإختالف‬ ‫الثقافات واألجيال‪ ،‬وكذلك الحال بالنسبة لمعايير اإلبتسامة‬ ‫الجميلة‪.‬‬ ‫وأهم المعايير التي اتفق عليها في كل زمان ومكان هو صحة الفم‬ ‫واألسنان وخلوة من األمراض ولقد ناقشنا ذلك بالتفصيل في عدد‬ ‫سابق من الهالل تايمز‪.‬‬ ‫أما إذا أردنا أن نتحدث عن المعايير الجمالية التي درسها اخصائيو‬ ‫وض َع نسبها‬ ‫التجميل فهي خارجة عن إرادتنا اال وهي المقاييس التي َ‬ ‫رب العالمين فإذا إختلّت أحدى هذة النسب يقوم اخصائيو التقوييم‬ ‫بمحاولة لرصف األسنان بأقرب ما يكون للنسب الطبيعية‪.‬‬ ‫أما المعايير األخرى فهي تتبع أذواق البشر كما قلنا فما يراة شخص‬ ‫جميل وجذاب يراه أخرغريب وغير مقبول‪ .‬ففي الماضي مثال كانوا‬ ‫مقومات الجمال عكس ما‬ ‫يعتبرون الفرق بين االسنان األمامية من‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫نراه في الوقت الحالي حيث نسارع الى طبيب التقويم كي يغلق هذة‬ ‫الفجوة‪.‬‬ ‫ومثال أخر‪ :‬كانوا يتباهون بأسنانهم الملبسة بالذهب أما في‬ ‫أيامنا فيطلب المريض من الطبيب أن يبذل كل الوسائل كي يصنع‬ ‫التلبيسة أو التعويض مثل لون االسنان المتبقية وال يرضى بأي إختالف‬ ‫مهما كان بسيطا‪.‬‬ ‫أما من أغرب المعاييرأو الصرعات التي طرأت على عصرنا هو وضع‬ ‫يخصنا هنا هو الفم حيث درج وضع االحالق‬ ‫االحالق في كل مكان وما‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫في منتصف اللسان‪ ،‬دون حساب ألي ضوابط صحية‪ .‬وعادة ما يدفع‬ ‫صاحب الصرعة الثمن بعدها باهظا من صحته‪ .‬فلقد وجد االطباء‬ ‫وتجمع الجراثيم حول هذة‬ ‫ترسب‬ ‫أضرارا كثيرة لهذة االحالق منها‪ّ :‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫المعادن ثم تحولها الى بؤر إنتانية تدخل الجراثيم من خاللها الى الدم‬ ‫وتنتشر في أخطر منطقة في جسم االنسان وهي الدماغ‪ .‬وكذلك‬ ‫تكسر و تصدع االسنان وتخلق موجات كهربائية بينها وبين‬ ‫تسبب‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫الحشوات المعدنية في االسنان المجاورة‪ ،‬وتس ّبب التهابات مزمنة في‬ ‫اللثة مما يسبب في الرائحة الكريهة في الفم‪ ،‬وهذا غيض من فيض‬ ‫ال يتسع المجال للحديث عن كل االضرار المتس ّببة عنها‪.‬‬ ‫فيجب أن نرب ّي أنفسنا وأوالدنا قبل أن نلهث وراء أي صرعة جديدة‬ ‫أن نتأكد أنها تخضع للمعايير الصحية وقبل كل هذا أن ال تخالف‬ ‫الفطرة التي فطر اللة الناس عليها‪.‬‬

‫فيها إدارة الرئيس باراك أوباما‪ -‬أخفقت في إدراك حجم المشكلة‪،‬‬ ‫فالجيش حتى اآلن لم يدشن مركز القيادة اإللكترونية وسط خالفات‬ ‫بشأن دور األجهزة المختلفة التي قد ستعمل فيه‪.‬‬ ‫وفي الوقت الذي اخترعت فيه الواليات المتحدة اإلنترنت‪ ،‬هناك ما‬ ‫ال يقل عن ثالثين دولة أنشأت قدرات الحرب اإللكترونية الهجومية‬ ‫التي تهدف إلى زرع مختلف أنواع الفيروسات في شبكات المنشآت‬ ‫األساسية مثل الجيش واألنظمة المالية للدول األخرى‪.‬‬ ‫ويجزم مؤلفا الكتاب باندالع حرب إلكترونية في مرحلة ما بين‬ ‫دولتين على األقل‪ ،‬مما قد يمهد الطريق أمام حرب بالرصاص والقنابل‪.‬‬ ‫وحسب تعبير الصحيفة فإن الواليات المتحدة أكثر هشاشة من‬ ‫روسيا والصين وحتى كوريا الشمالية‪ ،‬إذا ما تعرضت لحرب إلكترونية‬ ‫ألن تلك الدول لم تركز على دفاعاتها اإللكترونية وحسب‪ ،‬بل كانت‬ ‫أقل اعتمادا على اإلنترنت‪.‬‬ ‫وقال نيك ‪-‬ال��ذي يشغل منصبا رفيعا في مجلس العالقات‬ ‫الخارجية‪ -‬للصحيفة “يجب أن نملك القدرة على مواصلة العمل‬ ‫رغم انقطاع جميع اتصاالتنا باإلنترنت”‪.‬‬ ‫وخالفا للواليات المتحدة‪ ،‬تمكنت كوريا الشمالية ‪-‬وهي بلد فقير‪-‬‬ ‫من اختراق شبكات اإلنترنت األميركية لوزارة الداخلية والمالية‬ ‫والعديد من الدوائر الحكومية عام ‪.9002‬‬ ‫وتعرضت الواليات المتحدة لتهديدات أمنية مختلفة كان آخرها‬ ‫سيارة مفخخة عثرت عليها الشرطة بميدان تايمز في نيويورك في‬ ‫األسبوع الماضي قبل أن تبطل مفعول قنبلة بدائية كانت بداخلها‪.‬‬

‫تركية تلد طفلها �أثناء تنفيذ حكم الإعدام فيها‬

‫أنقرة ‪ :-‬شهد اهالي اقليم كحاريسى التركى معجزة تعد األولى من نوعها‪.‬‬ ‫فقد وضعت المدعوة صباح موسليباسا ‪ 28‬سنة” إحدى نزيالت السجن‬ ‫المحكوم عليها باإلعدام شنقا مولودا ذكرا في كامل صحته اثناء تنفيذ‬ ‫اإلعدام بها ‪ ،‬وامام صيحات ودهشة الحضور هرع طبيب السجن نحوها‬ ‫إلستطالع سر هذا الجسم الغريب الذي سقط من سروالها الفضفاض بمجرد‬ ‫خروج روحها إلى بارئها‪..‬‬ ‫وكانت صيحة “اهلل أكبر” تجلجل في المكان ‪ ،‬واخرج الطبيب الطفل الذي‬ ‫جاء مبكرا عن موعد والدته بشهرين ‪ ،‬حيث كانت األم حامال بشهرها السابع‬ ‫لكن لم يكن أحد يعلم بأمر حملها ألنها كانت ممتلئة الجسم ولم تشتك‬ ‫من أعراض الحمل طوال فترة سجنها وهو ما زاد من حيرة الموجودين ‪.‬‬ ‫وكانت صباح قد أدينت بقتل زوجها وطفليه بالسم فحكم عليها باإلعدام‬ ‫شنقا وظلت في إنتظار الحكم ثالثة أشهر كاملة‪ ،‬وفي وقت تنفيذ اإلعدام‬ ‫وبعد وضع الحبل حول رقبتها وبمجرد أن إنفتحت الخشبة ليسقط جسدها‬ ‫متدليا فوجئ الحاضرون أنها لم تمت بعد ‪ ،‬حيث استمرت قدماها في‬ ‫الحركة بشكل غريب للحظات قصيرة جدا‪.‬‬ ‫وما أن هدأت حتى سقط جسم منها وكأن روحها إنتقلت إليه ‪ ،‬في البداية‬ ‫ظن الطبيب ان المولود ميت ألنه كان فاقدا الوعي ولكن بعد أن حاول انعاشه‬ ‫بعملية تنفس سريعة التقط الطفل أنفاسه وأخذ يصرخ وكأنه يعرف‬ ‫المصير الذي ينتظره ‪...‬‬

‫اختفاء كارثي لخاليا النحل في العالم‪:‬‬ ‫أشارت صحيفة ذي أوبزيرفر البريطانية إلى ما وصفته بالمخاطر الكبيرة التي‬ ‫تهدد المحاصيل في الواليات المتحدة ودول العالم في ظل اختفاء خاليا النحل‬ ‫بمعدالت كارثية‪ ،‬وذلك وسط ذهول وحيرة العلماء وعدم القدرة على معرفة‬ ‫األسباب الكامنة وراء الظاهرة‪.‬‬ ‫وأوضحت أن هناك أدلة ومؤشرات تثير القلق بشأن اضمحالل واختفاء أعداد‬ ‫من خاليا نحل العسل في الواليات المتحدة للسنة الرابعة على التوالي‪ ،‬حيث‬ ‫فقدت البالد أكثر من ثلثي الخاليا التي لم تستطع مقاومة فصل الشتاء‪.‬‬ ‫وبدأت خاليا النحل في الواليات المتحدة االختفاء بمئات األولوف مع بداية ‪6002‬‬ ‫حيث استمرت الظاهرة ليختفي أكثر من ثالثة ماليين خلية في البالد ومليارات‬ ‫الخاليا في العالم‪.‬‬ ‫ويقول مراقبو خاليا النحل في الواليات المتحدة إنه وفقا لإلحصائية السنوية‬ ‫التي يعدونها باالشتراك مع دائرة البحوث الزراعية التابعة للحكومة فإن ما‬ ‫يقرب من ‪ %34‬من الخاليا في البالد اختفى في فصل الشتاء الماضي‪.‬‬

‫☪‬

‫‪Crescent Garden‬‬

‫‪RESCENT T IMES‬‬ ‫★‬

‫‪Australian Muslim Newspaper‬‬

‫‪Strengthening Our Community‬‬

‫‪Page 20‬‬

‫ط ّيب اهلل �أوقاتكم‬

‫بقلم‪ :‬طارق الشامخي‬

‫الداعية الإ�سالمي العالمي الدكتور‬ ‫طارق ال�سويدان يزور �أ�ستراليا‬ ‫الداعية الإ�سالمي العالمي الدكتور طارق ال�سويدان‬ ‫يزور �أ�ستراليا‬

‫�شعر‬ ‫عربي‬

‫كما يمكنكم الإطالع على البرنامج الكامل للدكتور طارق‬ ‫ال�سويدان على الموقع الإلكتروني التالي ‪:‬‬ ‫‪www.humanappeal.org.au/drtareqstour‬‬

‫ـاب أنَـا‬ ‫قال لي‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫لمـا زُرْتُـ ُه َمنْ ب ِ َبابِي قُل ُْت بال َب ِ‬ ‫المحبـوب َّ‬ ‫ـت فيـ ِه بي َن َنـا‬ ‫قالَ لي أخطأ ْ َت‬ ‫َ‬ ‫تعريف الهوى حي َن َمـا فَرَّق ْ َ‬ ‫عليـهِ ُمو ِه َنـا‬ ‫الباب‬ ‫عـام فلمَّـا‬ ‫ومضى‬ ‫ِجئْ ُتـ ُه أ َ ْط�� ِرقُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ٌ‬ ‫ْ‬ ‫ـاب ُه َنـا‬ ‫أنت‬ ‫قلت ُ‬ ‫َم إال أن ْ َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫قالَ لي َمنْ َ‬ ‫فما ث َّ‬ ‫ـت بال َب ِ‬ ‫انظر َ‬ ‫ب فادْخل يا أنَـا‬ ‫ت‬ ‫َ‬ ‫تعريف َ‬ ‫فت ُ‬ ‫الح َّ‬ ‫اله َوى وعَ ر َ َ‬ ‫قال لي أحسنْ َ‬

‫أنشر إعالنك في جريدة الكريزنت تايمز وأنقذ الصحيفة من المشاكل‬ ‫المادية لتبقى منبرا مشعا في الجالية إعالما وتثقيفا وحرية راي!‬ ‫اتصل بنا االن و التحق بفرق متطوعينا وداعمينا‬ ‫جريدة الكريزنت تايمز مبنية مائة في المائة على جهود أهلية وتطوعية‬ ‫ال نتلقى ماال من اية جهة كحومية او خاصة‬

‫‪info@crescenttimes.com.au‬‬

‫‪Blade steak $9.99‬‬ ‫‪Beef mince $7.49‬‬ ‫‪Gravy on bone $6.99‬‬

‫‪Ph: 08 9356 5166‬‬ ‫‪Mob: 0421 377 622‬‬

‫‪Our Specials:‬‬ ‫‪Whole chicken $5.99/kg‬‬ ‫‪Topside steak $11.99‬‬

‫‪FRUIT & VEGETABLES‬‬ ‫‪FRESH DAILY‬‬ ‫‪Dried Fruit‬‬ ‫‪Frozen foods‬‬ ‫‪Olive Oils‬‬ ‫‪Middle Eastern food‬‬ ‫‪Nuts, Pickles, Spices‬‬

‫*‬ ‫*‬ ‫*‬ ‫*‬ ‫*‬

‫لكل احتياجات االجالية العربية من �أجود و�أجدد منتجات ال�شرق الأو�سط و�أ�ستراليا!‬ ‫‪Shop 49, 140 Albany Hwy Bentley Shopping Centre Bentley WA‬‬

‫‪Ph: 08 9258 0787‬‬

‫‪issue 19, May 2010‬‬

‫‪All the meat‬‬ ‫‪you need.. Top‬‬ ‫‪quality & great‬‬ ‫!‪service‬‬

‫‪www.crescenttimes.com.au‬‬

‫‪BENTLEY FRESH‬‬ ‫‪MARKET & CONTINENTAL DELI‬‬

‫‪Carousel Meats‬‬ ‫‪Shop 1100‬‬ ‫‪Carousel Shopping Centre‬‬ ‫‪1380 Albany Hwy‬‬ ‫‪Cannington WA‬‬

‫‪Email: info@crescenttimes.com.au‬‬

‫بدعوة من هيئة الأعمال الخيرية يزور �أ�ستراليا‬ ‫الداعية الإ�سالمي العالمي الدكتور طارق ال�سويدان‬ ‫في الفترة الواقعة ما بين ‪� 7‬إلى ‪ 14‬حزيران القادم‬ ‫‪. 2010‬‬ ‫الدكتور طارق ال�سويدان حا�صل على �شهادة‬ ‫الدكتوراه في هند�سة البترول من جامعة تل�سا ‪/‬‬ ‫�أوكالهوما ‪ /‬الواليات المتحدة مع مرتبة ال�شرف‪.‬‬ ‫وي�شغل الدكتور طارق ال�سويدان العديد من‬ ‫المنا�صب �أهمها ‪:‬‬ ‫•رئي�س مجل�س �إدارة مجموعة الإبداع منذ عام ‪2001‬‬ ‫وحتى الآن‪.‬‬ ‫•رئي�س مجل�س �إدارة �شركة الإبداع الخليجي‬ ‫لال�ست�شارات الإدارية واالقت�صادية منذ عام ‪1992‬‬ ‫وحتى الآن‪.‬‬ ‫•مدرب محترف في مجاالت التنمية ال�شخ�صية‬ ‫والإدارة العامة منذ عام ‪ 1992‬وحتى الآن‪.‬‬ ‫•مدير عام قناة الر�سالة الف�ضائية منذ عام ‪2005‬‬

‫وحتى الآن‪.‬‬ ‫•و�شغل من�صب مدير عام �أكاديمية الإبداع‬ ‫الأمريكية منذ عام ‪ 1997‬وحتى عام ‪.2001‬‬ ‫وتهدف هيئة الأعمال الخيرية من خالل‬ ‫ا�ست�ضافتها للدكتور طارق ال�سويدان في‬ ‫�أ�ستراليا �إلى تعميم خبرته في مجال الدعوة‬ ‫والتربية القيادية على �أبناء الجالية الإ�سالمية‬ ‫في �أ�ستراليا وتطوير قدرات العاملين في حقل‬ ‫الدعوة والم�ؤ�س�سات الخيرية واالجتماعية ‪.‬‬ ‫و�سيقوم الدكتور طارق ال�سويدان ب�إلقاء‬ ‫العديد من المحا�ضرات والدرو�س العامة‬ ‫في مدينتي ملبورن و�سيدني ‪ ،‬كما �ستكون‬ ‫هناك دورة خا�صة في مو�ضوع مهارات الإدارة‬ ‫العملية يعطيها الدكتور في مدينة �سيدني ‪،‬‬ ‫خا�صة للعاملين في الجمعيات والم�ؤ�س�سات‬ ‫االجتماعية والتربوية والخا�صة‪.‬‬ ‫لمزيد من المعلومات حول زيارة الدكتور‬ ‫طارق ال�سويدان �إلى �أ�ستراليا يمكنكم االت�صال‬ ‫بهيئة الأعمال الخيرية على الرقم ‪1300760155‬‬ ‫@‪� : drtareqstour‬أو مرا�سلة الهيئة على الإيميل‬ ‫‪humanappeal.org.au‬‬

‫ثالث اشهر مضت منذ بدأنا الملحق العربي لجريدة الكريزنت تايمز والنتيجة‬ ‫مازالت جد محتشمة ان لم نقل سلبية‪ .‬لم نتلق تجاوبا ايجابيا من القراء كما ان‬ ‫المعلنين العرب االستراليين لم يدعمونا كما أملنا بادئ االمر‪.‬‬ ‫وبالمقابل على المستوى الفني شكّل الملحق عبئا اضافيا على مستوى‬ ‫التحرير واالنتاج واسهم بشكل واضح في تاخر الجريدة عن الصدور‪ ،‬كما اسهم‬ ‫بتكثيف االعباء المادية‪ .‬والنتيجة؟ ان لم نسمع تشجيعا ودعما واضحا من‬ ‫القراء العرب حتى عدد حزيران ‪ -‬جوان المقبل او نتلقى بالمقابل دعما ماليا من‬ ‫المعلنين ذوي االص��ول العربية فان الملحق الذي كان تجريبيا باالساس‬ ‫مسمى‪.‬‬ ‫سيتوقّف عن الصدور الى أجل غير‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫بالتوازي فان الجريدة ستصدر بإذن اهلل مالحق أخرى موسمية متعلقة برمضان‬ ‫وموسم الحج واألعراس ونحوها كما أن االمكانية متاحة إلصدار مالحق أخرى‬ ‫موسمية بأية لغة أخرى ممكنة غير العربية أو االنجليزية اذا وجدنا معلنين او‬ ‫متبرّعين لتغطية التكاليف الطباعية وغيرها‪.‬‬ ‫واالمر االخر الذي قد يدفعنا لتوقيف الملحق هو االحتجاج غير المتحضر‬ ‫لبعض القراء على نشرنا لخبر في الشهر الماضي متعلقا بشيخ االزهر الجديد‬ ‫ونيته محاربة التشيع في االزهر‪ .‬لم تكن نيتنا على اية حال ان ندعم شيخ االزهر‬ ‫فيما يقوم او ينوي القيام به ولكننا نشرنا خبرا صحفيا من المتوقع ان يهتم به‬ ‫الجميع او الكثير السباب شتى منها المذهبية والسياسية‪ ،‬وكونه خبرا غير‬ ‫معتاد في حد ذاته‪ ،‬اذ العادة محاربة التبشير المسيحي في المنطقة وليس‬ ‫للتشيع او الشيعة للتسنّن! والشيء نفسه المتعلق بمحكمة‬ ‫محاربة السنة‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫الحريري الدولية وحزب اهلل في لبنان وهو مما كتبه الصحفي البيروتي والصديق‬ ‫همنا من احد كتاب الجريدة باننا رجعيين في نشرنا‬ ‫القديم هشام عليوان‪ ،‬اذا ات ّ ّ‬ ‫لذلك الخبر وكأن بايران دابت واتباعها على تص ّدر الحركات التق ّدمية في العالم‬ ‫ونحن نقف االن نناهضها! ان التحزب في المنطقة العربية والتمذهب االعمى‬ ‫القى بغشاوة قاتمة على مستويات الوعي بين أبناء االمة سنة وشيعة على‬ ‫السواء‪ .‬كما ان االجتياح الصليبي االمريكي للعراق وافغانستان لم يو ّحد‬ ‫ابناء االمة ضد العزو العسكري الفكري الجديد بل أمدهت باالعيب كبرى‬ ‫للتشتت والتقاتل والتكفير بين بعضهم البعض؟‬ ‫إن جريدتنا تعتبر نفسها في خندق االمة بسنيها وشيعيها وال تتخذ موقفا‬ ‫محايزا الحد الن االمة موزاييق كبير يشمل الجميع باختالف آرائهم وعطاءاتهم‬ ‫وحتى تناحراتهم وتنافساتهم‪ .‬التعصب لدينا اال ضد التعصب والمذهبية‬ ‫وأحادية الرؤية‪ .‬والسالم عليكم‪.‬‬ ‫الرجاء إبالغنا بمقترحاتكم بشان ملحق الكريزنت تايمز بالعربي‪.‬‬ ‫رئيس التحرير‬