to as a PDF. - Lebanese Muslim Association

november 2014
PLUS: WHOSE SIGN IS IT ANYWAY? THE DAESH FLAG
FLICKR / RENARS PETERSONS
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Representing the Exile
Inheritors of the Prophets
Xperia Review
Women as Precious Objects?
november 2014
Plus: WhOsE sIgn Is It AnyWAy? thE DAEsh FlAg
editorial
EDITORIAL CONSULTANT:
Khodr Ghantous
Mostafa Rachwani
raiding the muslim community
flickr / renars Petersons
EDITOR:
Raiding
the Muslimy
Communit
DEPUTY EDITOR:
Representing the Exile
Fariza Fatima
In the name of God, the most Merciful, the most
Compassionate.
PUBLISHER
As-salamu ‘alaykum – peace be with you.
contributors
Ansari Jainullabudeen
Kaa-Tiba
Yassir Morsi
Tasneem Chopra
Nav K. Samir
Mostafa Rachwani
Mustafa Davis
Nova Longhurst
Zachary Rea
Samad Fatima
Amna Hassan
Aftab Malik
Safia Marabani
Sara Saleh
Rarbie Taha
Design and layout provided by TIM Consulting, timconsulting.org.
Every care has been taken in compiling the contents of this magazine.
The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher.
Welcome to youthink, a volunteer-led work in
progress, run by young Muslims, which expands
upon a previous web-format incarnation of the
same name. Based in Sydney, this initiative aims
to facilitate discussion amongst young Muslims
across Australia generally and Sydney specifically.
The topics in this edition are a bricolage of
identities, tastes, talents and aesthetics. Whilst
modern in outlook, we aim to cast light on
our religious, intellectual and spiritual legacy,
something which we feel is often ‘lost in
translation’. We hope this magazine serves as a
positive reflection on our community and provides
a platform for accurate representation.
This edition is about representation. Due to the
current divisive, polarising and ‘otherising’ political
discourse, the question is raised concerning the
degree of self-determination that the subjects of a
news story actually have. Representation must be
viewed both in terms of the initial representation
and the actions stemming from them to legitimise
such misrepresentation. Thus the cover story is
about the representation of the Daesh (IS) flag.
Inheritors of the Prophets
Xperia Review
Women as Precious Objects?
Perhaps if we had been more vigilant and objected
earlier to the appropriation of the black Shahadah
flag, then the everyday usage of the flag would
not amount to the accusation of being a terrorist
sympathiser. Our second cover story focuses on the
raids and the narrative of Islamophobia as a result
of the divisive representations. Additionally, the
first feature article of this edition offers insight to
the representation of Muslim women as ‘precious
objects’. Whilst this approach is well-intentioned, it
often downplays the agency of Muslim women. The
second feature considers that works of art often
form and inform our subconscious, discusses the
representation of truth in poetry and explores the
burden of representation being lower in works of
art and fiction than those in news (truth).
The exploration of the concept of representation
and its manifestation in multiple forms led to the
development of this edition.
We are keen to promote the work of aspiring writers
who have some insight, analysis and contemplative
thoughts to share, so do get in touch. Hope you
guys enjoy this edition of the magazine and thank
you for your support.
Fariza Fatima
Khodr Ghantous
© Copyright 2014 Youthink, LMA, 71-75 Wangee Road, Lakemba, Sydney, NSW, 2195 Tel: (02) 9750 6833
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FLICKR / HARUNGUCLU1979
2014.11
table of contents
40
6
6
Stop Comparing Me to a Pearl!
Kaa-Tiba
8
A Word’s Worth in Truth
Nav K. Samir
FLICKR / ROB TIM
what kind of world do
we live in?
12
20
photojournalism
32
community matters
TE
FLICKR / JAAP STEINVOOR
The Scholars are the Inheritors of
the Prophets
Mustafa Davis
Our Business
life down under
on the cover
24
29
4
Raiding the Muslim Community
Mostafa Rachwani
Whose Sign is it Anyway?
Nova Longhurst
ISTOCKPHOTO / FOTOEDU
book reviews
14
The Miseducation of The West
Aftab Ahmed Malik
16
The Name of the Wind
Nav K. Samir
16
Purification of the Heart
Zachary Rea
17
Treatise for the Seekers of Guidance
(Risala al-Mustarshidin)
Sara Saleh
reflections
18
Who Represents the Exile?
Yassir Morsi
20 Masjid Development in Regional
Australia
Ansari Jainullabudeen
36
FASHION AND FAITH:
Modest Street Fashion Review
Tasneem Chopra
38
THE GREEN DIN:
Hayfever – Spring is in the Air
Safia Marabani
40 GADGETS AND TECHNOLOGY:
Xperia Review
Samad Sultan
42 MOVIE REVIEW:
Captain Phillips
Amna K. Hassan
44 FOODIES:
The Local Press
Rarbie Taha
46 THE SAGE, SAINT, AND THE SCHOLAR:
Commentary on Revelations of
the Unseen
Imam Abu ‘l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Taimiyya
5
L
what kind of world do we live in?
youthink | november 2014
Stop Comparing Me to a Pearl!
You see images like these are scattered across the
internet. A simple Google of ‘Muslim women’ and
you have yourself thousands of images of women
adorning black garments, black niqabs, black hijabs
– oh did I mention black garments? You see the
issue isn’t the black, the issue isn’t even the niqab,
nor the fact that there are many Muslim women who
choose to adorn the niqab. The problem, however,
lies in the heart of representation. The proliferation
of such imagery ignores a very important reality
that we are living today: it actually ignores millions
of other Muslim women, those women who have
chosen not to adorn the hijab, those women who
have chosen not to wear black, nor a burqa, nor an
abaya. I am one of those women.
ast week I was on my
train ride home after
a long day at work and
as usual I was on my phone
scrolling through my Instagram
Stop Comparing
Me to a Pearl!
Kaa-Tiba
feed. I happen to be following
frequently
condemned
by the UN.
a few
motivational
Islamic
Oddly, Israel has always insisted that it
accounts
that
post
images
that
only wants
peace
with
the Palestinians,
yet, how can peace be fostered by a
arecountry
reminders
to help maintain
that has been condemned by
thefaith
UN Human
Commission
your
level.Rights
I came
across for
Although I wear the hijab and like to think I dress fairly
modestly, I don’t believe these images do justice to the
diversity of Muslim women across the world. Muslim
women, like any other group of women, come in all
different shapes and sizes, veiled, not veiled, modestly
dressed, not modestly dressed. Now I know what
you’re thinking: “A Muslim women should be modest
in appearance because Allah has commanded them
to be so.” Yes, I agree, however that’s not to say that a
Muslim woman who has chosen to not wear the hijab
is any less of a Muslim than one who does.
the “systematic killing of civilians and
anchildren,”
image of
Muslim
woman of
andafor
“gross violations”
humanitarian law?
adorning a black abaya (long
Israel garment)
brings to memory,
loose
and thoughts
a blackof
apartheid South Africa. The massive
hijab
She Palestinian
had her
West (headscarf).
Bank Wall has divided
villages and separated families from
back
turned to the camera and
one another. While Jewish Settlers have
access
to Jewish-only
roads in the
was
sitting
on a beach.
TheWest
Bank, Palestinians face innumerable
image
hadThe
a text
which
read,
“A
checkpoints.
injured
and the
sick are
often unable to seek medical attention,
due to the stringent and often very
which commuters
ahumiliating
pearl inways
its in
shell.”
The image
are “processed.” There have been
was
there
wasbirth
no at
cases beautiful,
of women who
have given
checkpoints without proper medical care.
woman modestly dressed is as
After
66 years of occupation,
Hamas
accompanying
it was just
as
was democratically elected in 2006 by
appealing.
However,
something
the
Palestinians.
Seen by the
outside
world as a terrorist organisation, many
inside of me was dissatisfied,
see the hopes of resistance within
it.dare
In 2009,
President
Clinton noted
I say
even annoyed.
that the people did not vote Hamas
for wanting “terrorist tactics,” but
6
ISTOCKPHOTO / FLUXY
doubt about it and the message
Within the Muslim community, we seem to be
intolerable of categories, for example moderate
Muslims vs. radical Muslims, good Muslim vs. bad
Muslim etc. With that same theory, Muslim women
too don’t appreciate being categorised, for example
‘hijabi’ vs. ‘non-hijabi’, ‘niqabi vs. non-niqabi’. This
categorisation establishes a good vs. bad dichotomy
of what constitutes a ‘good’ Muslim woman. The veil
is being used as a measuring tape for a woman’s
faith and reducing a woman’s belief to a piece of
material wrapped around her head does an injustice
to Muslim women and to Islam. Representing
Muslim women with images of long, draped jilbabs
and abayas automatically implies that those who
don’t ascribe to that dress code are inferior.
Images of Muslim women that compare us to
‘a protected pearl deep beneath the sea’ or a
‘diamond buried under the ground’ or ‘a lollipop
uncovered with flies around’, portray the image that
we are delicate beings that need to be handled
with care. Furthermore, these analogies imply
that the sole purpose of a Muslim woman is to
be completely covered up and await a saviour to
‘unwrap the lollipop (Muslim woman)’ by a good
Muslim man who has gone to the effort of digging
deep for his prized possession.
These images ignore the reality of today’s world and
reduce Muslim women to their physical appearance.
They in turn also perpetuate the message that a
Muslim male’s behavior is lustful for a ‘wrapped’
Muslim woman. I have many female Muslim friends
who don’t wear the hijab and knowing their personal
stories and their devotion to their deen (faith) makes
those glorified images all that more inappropriate.
The comparison of Muslim women to objects, which
suggest that without a ‘covering’ we are ‘impure’,
reduces us to sexual beings, ignoring our intellect
and depriving us of our right to define ourselves.
Wearing the hijab isn’t easy and any woman who
does so should be supported, however, those who
have chosen not to wear the hijab should not be
ridiculed nor mocked. One of the many beauties of
our religion is that we have countless opportunities
to be a good Muslim and our dress code is simply
one of many of these methods. So next time you
think of posting one of those images, remember
the other believing sisters, remember that just like
you they struggle and just like you they have their
faith, so don’t assume they don’t simply because
you can’t ‘see it’. I’m not only speaking to men
when I say this, but to my fellow sisters who all too
easily are in agreement with such images that pit
us against each other, comparing us to an pearl,
a lollipop or diamond. It is not a compliment, it’s
degrading and it needs to stop because we Muslim
women are so much more than what we wear. l
7
youthink | november 2014
A ‘Word’s Worth’ in Truth
“What is truth?” Pilate had retorted, with no
real intention of waiting for a response from
the Messiah himself. “I find no guilt in him,” he
announced, stentorian in his judgement and
opaque in his intent, wiping his hands clean from
a situation that threatened to destabilise the
very fabric of the society he had been expected
to regulate lawfully. Yet the question lingered and
continues to linger today: what exactly is truth and
how does one come to define it?
A ‘Word’s Worth’ in Truth
By Nav K. Samir
Often, people cite ‘science’ as being the source of
‘truth’. Science is an effective tool at uncovering
and utilising what already exists but is sheathed in
uncertainty, inquisition and vicissitude. Therefore,
the scientific method provides a means to an end
that is only as truthful as the theory that disproves
a former theory of truth.
This segues into the idea of a theory of truth,
which in itself is oxymoronic, for a theory cannot
technically be true qua truth. So how then can one
define truth as is completely and objectively?
8
ISTOCKPHOTO / BEZOV
This leads us to further questions about the
objectivity of truth and how it can be verified.
Can the criteria by which we define truth be
considered objective? Or are they purely relative
to the prevailing intellectual thought that, in itself,
is subjective to the determinant social, cultural
and technological norms specific to a certain
locale or era.
To draw from Emmanuel Kant, it would seem that
given the inherent fallibility of the human mind
that renders each one of us uniquely susceptible
to finite understanding and individuality, the
closest we can possibly get to objective truth is
‘intersubjective’ truth; a general consensus due to
similar circumstances of social conditioning. This
therefore provides the nucleation of ‘conceptual
relativism’ which posits that being shaped by a
certain ‘language’ – of which pertains not just
to the language of communication, but also the
language of culture and its pervasiveness in the
human conscience – would mean interpreting
the world in a certain, subjective way. Therefore,
being shaped by another ‘language’ would result
in the interpretation of the world through another
lens of subjectivity, labelled ‘objective’ by all those
subscribed to said ‘language’.
Consequently, if inclined to such radical thinking,
it would seem to suggest that there exists no real
sense of objective truth in the world. Sartre’s
dissertations on existentialism would have us
believe so. He claimed that in a world unrestrained
by objective, immutable and eternal truths, the
onus was on us, its inhabitants, to create what is
true to ourselves, thereby making ‘truth’ purely
subjective. Sartre believed that without subjective
truth, there could be no self-determination.
How does one represent truth in poetry then?
Plato had a number of concerns regarding the
integrity and utility of a poet and the morality of
poetry as an art-form itself. In his dialectic Ion,
Plato describes a discussion between Socrates
and the titular Ion, an award winning rhapsode
of Homer’s epic poetry. Ion claims that Homer’s
poetry is superior to all other poetry and that he
is the only person who can properly incite the
intended emotional response from a crowd due to
his perfect understanding of the source material
and his nonpareil method of reciting it. Socrates,
ever the cynic, goes about deconstructing each of
Ion’s assertions, bringing them into question.
Ion claims that he is a first-rate explicator
of Homer’s works and that the works of any
other poet, no matter how great, only pale in
comparison. Socrates postulates that if Ion truly is
an exegete of Homer, he must therefore be able to
perfectly explain what the poet meant. Throughout
his poetry, Homer describes many subjects
that are concerned with specific provinces of
specialisation, such as the art of war or the leading
9
youthink | november 2014
of nations. Homer, not being an expert in many
of the fields he writes about, cannot verifiably
lay claims to such specific fields of knowledge.
Therefore, Ion’s claims are unfounded in that there
is no way he is able to define as to how Homer was
a superior poet to other greats, such as Hesiod,
who themselves spoke of similar matters of
esoteric knowledge. Hence, Ion, however earnest
the encomiast, cannot claim to know precisely
what Homer intended in his works, for Homer
himself was in no position to provide honest
information. What results, then, is a facilitation of
a lie that is easily consumed by the masses with
the intention of seeking applause and validation.
Socrates sees this as an obfuscation of truth and
one that appeals only to the baser nature of better
men who look to indulge in the extravagances of
entertainment rather than moral duties (such as,
in typical Socratic lore, the intellectual pursuit of
philosophy).
Plato extends upon this critique in Book X of The
Republic where Socrates accuses poetry to be
works of mimesis over truth. He indicts poets for
misrepresenting the true nature of subjects about
which they write and delivers a scathing critique,
claiming that their works are so far removed from
the truth that they morally impose upon the fabric
of society. To demonstrate this, Socrates asks us
to think of beds and tables. He postulates that
there are ‘Forms’ (or ‘Ideas’) of these beds and
tables that represent their true nature. These
Forms are created by the Divine, therefore the
carpenters who build these beds and tables work
upon Divine inspiration, as though witnessing
these Forms as blueprints which provide them
with the knowledge to construct them. This,
however, is but an imitation of the ‘truth’, as the
Forms are manifests of the Divine, and therefore,
cannot be reproduced in earnest by humans.
Socrates then moves on to the ‘artist’, which,
for the sake of our argument, we’ll consider to
be a poet. The poet thereby creates ‘images’ of
10
A ‘Word’s Worth’ in Truth
these beds and tables in their poetry, which are
themselves imitations of Forms. Poetry, therefore,
becomes a somewhat bastardised version of
the Form, twice removed from the source; an
abetment of the mimesis of truth at a third
generation from its nature.
Thus, Socrates concludes that the poet is an
ambassador of the misrepresentation of truth
which makes them potentially dangerous for
society. Considering Plato’s era, the poet was seen
as a primary means of social conditioning; they
not only provided entertainment, but also a source
of learning. Their words appealed to the masses
and both the aristocracy and the hoi polloi were
consumed by their allure. Socrates believed that
the people were being fed information that in itself
was a fabrication of truth which only appealed to
the baser notions of the soul. Consequently, he felt
that it needed to be heavily censored and to only
focus on good will and overall positivity. In some
ways, one can liken his thoughts on poetry to the
role of the media today.
Plato’s prodigal student Aristotle differed in
opinion from his teacher. He agreed that although
poetry was a representation of the truth, it was
not inherently false in nature. Plato suggested a
method of education that did away with the arts,
poetry included, for they were misrepresentations
of the truth. Aristotle however believed that learning
was acquired through a world of representations.
Plato believed that representational poetry sought
only to incite harmful pleasure from its audience.
Aristotle argued that representational poetry
was pleasurable and ‘cleansing’ and therefore
beneficial for the common man. He further stated
that representations of harm and negativity through
the arts would only serve to educate people in a
controlled and creative space without fear.
Aristotle went at lengths to explain the importance
of poetry to contest Plato’s position that it was
nothing more than merely a device to pander to
the whims of an audience. Plato believed that the
greatest of all intellectual pursuits was philosophy
and that pursuing representational poetry was
moot. Aristotle drew comparisons between poetry
and other schools of thought, such as history, the
latter being an investigation into things that have
already occurred, whereas the former relates to
things that may happen. Poetry, therefore, is the
more ‘philosophical’ of the two in that it involves
probability and necessity, thus broadening its
scope for all. His argument for poetry went
further, for he recognised the opportunity for
‘katharsis’, not just for the writer, but even the
reciter and the audience. Aristotle was of the
belief that such mutual catharsis could result in
the moral, intellectual and spiritual enlightening
of all those involved, and thus, poetry was seen as
an authority in ‘emotional liberation’ rather than
‘emotional weakening’ as Plato had described.
But did Aristotle believe that truth could be
represented through poetry? As with Plato, he
was also of the belief that poetry was the output
of a sequence of representations, but he did not
consider that a bad thing per se. By highlighting
the mass appeal and wide scope for poetry,
Aristotle touched on a significant point about truth.
In order for something to appeal to the collective, it
has to be captivating on a subjective level so as to,
drawing upon Sartre, be truthful to all.
These sentiments were echoed by William
Wordsworth, the great English poet who inspired
the Romantics, who believed that poetry was an
expression of truth qua the writer’s emotional
state.
He determines a good poet, in the capacity of being
an artist, has inherent creative ability, and in the
capacity of being human, has the innate ability to
experience emotions from their own mind. Armed
with these two instinctive characteristics, the poem
that originates from the poet’s mind is not an
imitation of reality, but is a reality unto itself.
Wordsworth expounds upon his proposition,
stating that a good poet becomes overwhelmed
by feeling that manifests into poetry. The
emotion that surrounds the poetry originates
from the poet’s own mind, thereby appertaining
to their subjective reality; no room for mimesis,
as the source of inspiration is the reality itself.
This reality is how, according to Wordsworth,
poetry is able to capture the fundamental laws
of our emotional nature. It is truth inchoate,
raw and earnest. Those who listen to the poetry
and are moved by it may experience something
that is an imitation of this reality, but how they
perceive it may have something to do with,
to recall Kant’s radical line of thought, what
‘language’ they have been conditioned upon.
However, what they draw from the expression
of truth from the poet is their own perception of
the truth, which in itself cannot be falsified, for
it is theirs and no one else’s. Consequently, we
have a rendition of truth that is perpetuated by
a sense of solipsism that may be informed by an
objective consensus of intersubjective perceptions
conditioned upon a certain ‘language’ that
represents an abstruse ‘conceptual relativism’.
Which basically means that, in the end, the truth
is present in poetry because it simply comes down
to how you understand it. A good poem from a
talented poet will elicit a response from a reader
which originates from how they absorbed it. That,
ultimately, is how truth is represented in poetry. It
may be different from person to person, but alas,
in the end, it is how one perceives it that matters.
We can indulge in the endless badinage of
intellectuals who continue to debate over what is
true and what is not. Though essentially, it means
naught. If poetry makes you feel something,
then it’s real and true to you and to the poet
themselves. If not, then perhaps the poem just
wasn’t all that good in the first place. l
11
community matters
youthink | november 2014
Our Business
Our Business
Affinity Lecture Series: Contemporary Policing –
Engaging Communities, Building Resilience
Affinity Intercultural Foundation
Suite 502, Level 5, 51-57 Pitt Street, Sydney,
Australia 2000
8am – 9:30am
In this lecture, Commissioner Scipione explores the
contemporary policing landscape and the practical
implications for protecting individuals, communities
and the state.
Friday 14th November Tonight Show with Jay Leno until its completion and
now writes for Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell on the
ABC. He is also the host on Channel 31’s flagship
show Live on Bowen along with his web show Beat
Streets with Shanon Taylor. Tickets cost $20.
Saturday 15th November Film Premier – My Name is Faten
Faten, a girl from NSW, finds herself shouldering
the responsibilities of keeping her family afloat
after the unexpected death of her father. This is a
free event. For tickets, contact Reuben Brand on:
[email protected].
I Am Near 1127 Albany Highway, Bentley, Western Australia
Taught by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani from 7pm-9pm,
understanding Allah’s closeness and realising the
potential and purpose of religion.
Friday 14th November
Sit Down for Stand Up – Comedy Night with
Azhar Usman Bryan Brown Theatre, Bankstown library and
Knowledge Centre
Azhar Usman and Simon Taylor will bring the house
down in laughter, don’t miss out! He was called
“America’s Funniest Muslim” by CNN and was also
named among the “500 Most Influential Muslims in
the World” by Georgetown University.
Simon Taylor is an Australian standup comedian
based in Melbourne and LA. He was a writer for The
12
Saturday 15th November
Sounds of Light Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre, 6pm
Sunday 16th November Sydney Muslim Conference 2014
Rosehill Garden, Grand Pavillion, Parramatta
A stellar line up of scholars with a keynote speech
from Imam Zaid Shakir (Zaytuna College, Berkeley).
For tickets and full details, visit: smc2014.com.au.
Tickets cost $30 and include refreshments and
lunch.
European energy policy objectives are
competitiveness, security of supply and
sustainability. The interplay of these objectives is
a complicated issue and different objectives have
been emphasised in different periods. Market
building and competitiveness in the 1990s, security
in early 2000s, and sustainability taking the lead
in more recent times. The recent events in Ukraine
have once again changed the relative weight of
these three objectives and have arguably raised the
security of supply discussion in the EU to a new level.
Wednesday 19th November
Manufacturing Blackwattle Bay: Uts 2014 ISD
Honours Grad Ex
UTS ISD invites you to the 2014 Honours Exhibition
to be held at 47 George St, The Rocks
6:00pm - 10:00pm
Under the title Callicoma: Manufacturing
Blackwattle Bay, the Honours studio focuses
on forwarding design propositions that reclaim
the spaces of industry and manufacturing as
fundamental to the city’s fabric and economic
wellbeing. Design ideas take into account
predictions for future conceptions of transportation
and public waterfront access. Allowing students to
take the practice of spatial design to embrace new
models of urban generation melded to social and
industrial interests.
The exhibition will include the work of 18 students with
a diverse range of programmes proposed for the site.
Sunday 23rd November ZimSEF Street Soccer Tournament
Eastern Suburbs Rugby Union
Nov 22 at 2:00pm to Nov 23 at 11:00pm
A Mixed Mini Soccer Tournament to raise funds for
ZimSEF.
ZimSEF is an Australian based non-profit
organisation established for the benefit of
Zimbabwean children and families. They are
raising funds to ensure further children can
be provided with education and to establish a
community centre and headquarters for the Young
achievement sports for Development (YasD)
programme in Harare. To achieve this they are
fundraising to install solar power in and extend the
existing ZimSEF Library. They are aiming to raise
$10k and raffle/auction prizes will be announced
over the next two months.
20 team captains are currently looking to recruit a
mixed soccer team for an afternoon of mixed mini
soccer within inflatable boundaries.
Sunday 30th November
Giants Presentation Night and AGM
Auburn Giants Australian Football Club
12:00pm - 2:00pm
Lunch • Entertainment • AGM l
Tuesday 18th November
Kevin Mccann Lecture 2014: The Legal and Market
Challenges Facing the Energy Sector in Light of the
Russia/Ukraine Conflict
13
ISTOCKPHOTO / LOCKIECURRIE
Tuesday 11th November Sydney Law School
Sydney Law School, University of Sydney,
Law School Building
6:00pm - 7:00pm
book reviews
youthink | november 2014
Book Reviews
The Miseducation of The West:
How Schools and the Media Distort Our
Understanding of the Islamic World
Edited by Joe L. Kincheloe and Shirley R. Steinberg
Reviewed by Aftab Ahmed Malik
The editors of this anthology have produced a
book that seeks to re-educate and repair the
damage done to Americans (read: western
audience) by continuous myths and distortions
pertaining to Islam as perpetuated by the media
and institutionalised by some schools and
colleges. While this in itself is a mammoth task,
I believe that it succeeds to achieve this by the
inclusion of essays that capture the sense of
intellectual dishonesty and historical fantasy
that have plagued the arena of the study and
understanding of Islam.
While it is safe to say that many Americans are
oblivious to the “invisible” side-effects of its
foreign policy, the book succinctly explains and
outline these as “unintended consequences of
policies that [are] kept secret from the American
people,” otherwise known as “blowback.”
However, rather than being a compilation of
essays that catalogue the disastrous effects of
US foreign policy, this book’s scope is broader.
For example, the book explores how Muslim
women have continued to fall victim to both
Western stereotypes and Muslim radicals,
how Arabs are portrayed in the media and one
essay pays particular attention to how Islam is
portrayed in school textbooks. Kincheloe notes
in his introduction that we are living in a “postmodern Orientalism” period in which the current
14
mis-education of Islam has emerged from a “long
history of distorted Western knowledge production
about Islam.” Indeed, as many of the authors
demonstrate, most of the prejudices carried today
against Islam are nothing more than the inherited
assumptions and skewed understandings of
the Orientalist scholars who thrived during the
colonial age. Justifying the Colonial project, these
Orientalists viewed the “other” as inferior and
civilisationally at a lower ebb than the colonising
masters. Thus, by viewing the “other” as barbaric
and primitive, colonisation was seen as bring
“civilisation to inferior people’s.” In discussing this
re-emerging theme of colonialism and its impact
upon the modern Muslim world today, the essay
by Yusuf J. Progler is poignant. Yusuf discusses
the consequence of modern schooling techniques
that were first employed by the French in Egypt,
the reason why it was introduced and the way
that it facilitated colonial rule. Napoleon saw
traditional Islamic schooling as a major threat to
his colonial project and initiated the abolition of
the whole ijaza1 system. His actions paved the way
for traditional Islamic education to be replaced
by a modern schooling based upon Western
philosophy.
While most of the book examines the way
Western distorted assumptions about Islam (read:
Orientalism) are utilised, this essay urges one to
think of the consequences of this disruption in the
Muslim psyche itself. While there are other strong
factors to be taken into consideration,2 without
any doubt in my mind, the dismantling of the
traditional Islamic system of education that had
existed and thrived up to Napoleon’s entrance into
Egypt has resulted in “blow-back.” We are seeing
the consequences of these actions taken at the
turn of the eighteenth century, being played out
on technology that is being used in the twenty-first
century.
Of course, the importance of having an isnad is
belittled and its significance is ignored by those
who are self-taught. Taking their “knowledge”
primarily from books, they neither have an ijaza
or any isnad linking them back to any credible
authorities and so, they do not emphasize its
importance. The consequences have been that
authoritative Islamic rulings have been substituted
for authoritarian opinions of those who possess
little or no traditional Islamic education. The
results that follow have shown to be disastrous.
Kincheloe makes the point that non-Muslims
should take care from where knowledge
concerning Islam is taken from. This is also a
message for Muslims: Imam al-Zuhri (d.124)
warned people that, “This knowledge is religion,
so look well to whom you are taking your religion
from,” while ‘Abd Allah Ibn al-Mubarak (d.181 AH)
said, “according to me, the isnad is from the din.
If it were not for the isnad, whoever wished could
have said whatever he wished.” While there are
many well argued explanations as to why 9/11
occurred vis-à-vis foreign policy,3 nonetheless,
the justification for it as perceived by those
Muslims who planned, executed and supported
it, could not have come from Muslims who had
been trained in or had an understanding of, this
classical educational model, one that these early
Muslims (salaf) articulated, developed and lived
by. While we are told in a hadith that one of the
signs of the end of time is that knowledge will be
taken from a saghir (little one), its explanation by
the hadith master, Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr is striking.4 We
are told that this hadith means that
I would hope to find this book listed on an
undergraduates reading list in an Islam and the
Modern World course. While advance readers
in this area would have read most of the source
material of these essays, nonetheless, the book
provides an excellent introduction and overview of
a number of crucial topics that require attention
if Muslims and non-Muslims want to make sense
of the post 9/11 world that we live in and the
disorder that accompanies it. l
the chain [of those who transmit
knowledge] would be broken towards the
end of time [in that] people who had not
taken their knowledge from the previous
generation will begin to transmit knowledge
and that knowledge will be their own
opinion and not transmitted knowledge.5
1
The ijaza was given to an individual who had reached
a degree of mastery over a particular discipline or text,
which he was then authorised to teach to others. It carried
with it authority, since it was only given by masters who
themselves had received it from their teachers and so on
until this chain reached back to first generation of Muslims
(al-Salaf) and to the Prophet himself.
2
In this regard, see Akbar Ahmed, Islam Under Siege: Living
Dangerously in a Post-Honor World (Polity Press, 2003).
3
It is no surprise that the Pentagon’s Defense Science
Board in 1998 concluded that, “A strong correlation exists
between US involvement in international situations and an
increase in terrorist attacks against the United States.”
4
Ibn `Abd al-Barr was a major hadith master of the Maliki
School. He died 463 AH.
5
As related by Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr in his Kitab jami’ bayan
al-‘ilm wa fadlihi wa ma Yanbaghi fi Riwayatihi wa Hamlihi
(“The Comprehensive Exposition of Knowledge and its
Excellence and What Needs to be done in its Transmission
and Dissemination”).
15
youthink | november 2014
Book Reviews
The Name
of the Wind
Purification
of the Heart
By Patrick
Rothfuss
By Shaykh
Hamza Yusuf
Treatise for the Seekers
of Guidance (Risala alMustarshidin)
By Imam Al-Muhasibi
Translated by Imam Zaid Shakir
Reviewed by Nav K. Samir
Reviewed by Zachary Rea
Reviewed by Sara Saleh
In his debut book, The Name of the Wind, Patrick
For any introduction to some basic
ihsan or tas.awwuf, this is it. The
book is a translation of a traditional
West African poem and features a
commentary from the translator.
It discusses various diseases
of the heart that many of us
unfortunately possess. Additionally,
it offers practical solutions to these
problems. So the nature of the book
is twofold: observing and diagnosing
these conditions within ourselves,
which most of us will have to varying
extents at various times, and
remedying them. l
This is one of my favourite books on tasawwuf.
It caused me to realise that there is a word
which embodies the ‘innate feeling’ or ‘inward
dimension of Islam’ as is the general definition
of ‘tasawwuf’.
Rothfuss introduces Kvothe (pronounced ‘Quothe’),
a legendary hero now on the run for committing a
horrendous crime that has brought the Kingdom
to its knees. Travelling under the alias ‘Kote’ and
accompanied by his equally mysterious companion
Bast, we find him as the barman of a lonely
tavern left to ponder his own impending sense
of existential nihilism. He is chanced upon by a
legendary Chronicler who, upon finding out his
true identity, requests that he inscribe his story
over three days, with each day to correspond to
installments in the planned Kingkiller Chronicles
trilogy.
Treatise for the Seekers of Guidance is a lifechanging book that epitomises the ‘sciences of
spirituality’ and the ‘sciences of the heart’. Delving
into social and moral psychology, the essence of
this text is ‘God-consciousness’ and the way in
which such an intangible, infinite ‘phenomenon’
manifests itself in the action of believers.
There is much meaning and wisdom behind the
content as it draws on countless sources – ibn
Qayyim, Imam Nawawi, hadiths and sayings of the
Sahaba and Salaf. I found it to be an extremely
positive and heart-warming read that improves
a Muslim’s ibadah, brings us closer to Allah
Subhanah wa Ta’ala and helps us to gain mastery
over our nafs. l
The reader is therefore invited to a story about
stories, written in a classical script that hearkens
a fluid modality of elegant prose, tinctured
with subtle poetic form. His style of storytelling
seems, at first, blaringly archaic and somewhat
anachronistic. However, this only adds to its
fervour and zeal. Rather than focusing on the
Rothfuss breathes life into a man trampled by his
past, exalted by his ability and left resigned to his
fate. A must read! l
16
17
ISTOCKPHOTO / TONYTAYLORSTOCK
inner neuroses of an entire universe of characters,
reflections
youthink | november 2014
Who Represents the Exile?
Who
REPRESENTS
By Yassir Morsi
ISTOCKPHOTO / PORTISHEAD1
the Exile?
To the exile, opponents yell out the popular,
tedious and wholly wrong list of their well-trained
pragmatism. A bunch of engineers and doctors tell
us that being an exile means that you are adrift
without political grounds. We are simply dreamers,
troublemakers and bring a bad name to the rest.
We have by the force of our own stupidity isolated
ourselves and impoverished our right to speak as
citizens. We are just drifting about in abstractions
and dangerous nonsense about Islamicate,
discourse, postmodernism and humanities. Our
‘disengagement’ is hopelessness they say. We
must learn, they conclude, to live in our adopted
grounds – the sea is dangerous.
Representation is the political act of feeling entitled
to speak, of being appointed to act on the behalf
of someone: for others, for community, for oneself.
They say it is the official right for you to be heard,
but in these most turbulent times as a Muslim of
the West, I often wonder who ‘represents’ me, how
and for what?
Let me reword my question by way of digressing
into philosophy. I read somewhere that humankind
is a centaur. We are half beast. We are half spirit.
We are immersed in nature and half transcending
it: “like a boat,” they said. We are drawn up on
the beach with one end of the keel in the sea
and the other half docked on land. That is to say,
one half of us wishes to set sail in search of our
future aspirations and leave behind the other half
18
of us that remains anchored in the daily realities
of this world. Half my life is grounded by personal
histories: body shape, colour, ethnicity and gender.
The other half is the dreamer at sea, the within,
who wants to transcend the particulars of what
they say I am.
How does one therefore represent a spirit lost
at sea, the spirit of exiles? By exile, I mean the
part of you and me who spend days of undirected
seafaring between our parents’ past and our
children’s future. The middle generation who is
nostalgic about our Islamic past and angry about
our Western future. We are, as Edward Said said,
lepers – the unsociable, the political untouchables.
We are both enemy and friend: undecidable.
They are wrong about a thing or two, for the fact is
that for most of us exiles the trouble consists in not
giving the wrong answer to a choice, but rather we
live with the many daily reminders that we never
really had a choice. If it was as simple as wearing a
t-shirt, I would have brought the chopped onions and
cooked the sausages myself, drowned them in sauce,
in celebrating ‘straya through BBQs. However, there is
an indignity that follows such acts and we are all told
what we are, before we whisper back what we are
not. The exile is not a choice. It’s a condition. I don’t
want it. It is that who yearns that which is absent,
that which cannot be, that which is suspended in
past and in future and that which remains untouched
in the present. We metaphorically run between safwa
and marwa awaiting the political mercy of a gushing
zamzam: a caliphate, a self-determination, a leader,
a thought, a spark, a dignity...
So a question to all those who represent me:
how do you represent the sense of being lost by
continually telling everyone we are ‘just like you’
Australians? What are you talking about?
What of the exilic of me speaks through you? What
of a voice that is very different to the integrated
leaders whose skill is survival and who are involved
in that political equivalent of trimming beards? That
is to say an approach of not taking a clear position
but surviving handsomely as both ‘us’ and ‘them’,
nonetheless a circular and pragmatic approach
of working out an accommodation within power
to accommodate power. They who politically trim
are managers of sensibilities, who lack nautical
co-ordinates of sailing beyond the existing coordinates. What of the voice of overwhelming
dissonance or dissent and not the politics of two
choices? I do not want yea-sayers or the nay-sayers.
I want people who question questions.
The exilic is volatility and instability because it
is the diaspora’s condition. It is metaphorical,
theological. You’ve heard it before and it is said
to return as it was before: we are the condition
of the stranger. It represents dislocation and
migration, not of homes or values, because living
on a raft are the truths of a lost history and not
our embarrassments. Exile is restlessness, it is
movement, it is feeling unsettled and unsettling
others. It matches our movements from south
to north and the space in between. The exile
cannot go back to some earlier home and can
never fully arrive here. That is the story that needs
representing…
The exile embraces such debate about loyalties
so they can speak of disloyalties and their
representation thus is a style of thought. It is
an articulation of the condition of marginality.
It doesn’t win friends, it gathers allies because
it speaks of conditions and not the counting of
nodding heads. It might seem to the pragmatist
all abstract dribble, irresponsible or flippant,
nonsense…and that is precisely the point.
...but the exilic as Edward Said concludes, “does not
respond to the logic of the conventional but to the
audacity of daring.” It represents change, moving
on, not standing still. It represents the verb to-be
and not the rusted relics who parrot the what-is
of nouns. It represents a minority view for who
representation means that which remains at sea. l
19
youthink | november 2014
come
“The Newcastle Islamic Centre is a wel
tle
par t of the Mayfield and wider Newcas
ed in
Community,” Nathan Clarke openly stat
d
his letter to the Newcastle Herald on 22n
read
September, responding to news he had
that the mosque had been egged on the
.
same evening of the AFP raids in Sydney
ent
These words brought cheer to the curr
castle
committee of the Islamic Centre of New
r the
(ICN), who have been working hard ove
ointed,
previous twelve months since being app
ause
as well as the congregation, simply bec
ity
we have far too often read about commun
20
ing
members in regional Australia loudly stat
that mosques are not welcome in their
se of
communities. Two days later in the Hou
tle
Representatives in Canberra, the Newcas
tled
MP Sharon Claydon made a speech enti
her
Islamic Centre of Newcastle to express
,
outrage at the egging incident. She said
“The Islamic Centre of Newcastle is very
and the
much valued within Mayfield (suburb)
it was
broader Newcastle community.” Again,
a
heart-warming to see such support from
local politician.
Gaining Acceptance & Service Development
in the
Gaining acceptance from non-Muslims
ity is
immediate suburb and wider commun
regional
one of the two main areas of work for
eggs
Australian mosques. While they may face
t of
or other forms of hate from one segmen
community which will inevitably take time
d
to improve, the challenge is to foster goo
usive
relations, understanding and to be incl
from
of everyone. This will lead to acceptance
as
other segments of community, as well
rcises
leaders and politicians. It was not PR exe
ed
or back door political lobbying that gain
ted
the ICN this level of acceptance. It star
By Ansari Jainullabudeen
2007
the very day the centre started back in
ght and
when a Salvation Army citadel was bou
tre.
converted into a mosque and Islamic cen
e to
Groups of individuals walked into the plac
having
express their condemnation of Muslims
ship. In
taken away their Christian place of wor
ght
each instance, the mosque founders brou
them into the mosque, offered them tea,
an
explained that the space was bought at
mosque
auction, that despite now becoming a
they
it remains a house of worship and that
ship the
are welcome any time to come and wor
today
Creator who created all mankind. Even
21
FLICKR / ROB TIM
Masjid Development in Regional Australia:
youthink | november 2014
the masjid. Some claim they were walking down the
street when something inspired them to walk into
the masjid. Nobody is chased away. Sometimes
they even wear their shoes and we have to advise
them to remove them.
When thinking about how to respond to the
overwhelming bias against Muslims, we did not
have to search far, only needing to pay more
attention to examples in Islamic civilisation.
The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him
peace) responded to the worst forms of bias and
treatment only with mercy. Our imams have shared
some of these stories with the congregation. Habib
Qais Assegaf, our current visiting scholar, will
often share the story of how the Prophet (may God
bless him and grant him peace) fed a blind Jewish
woman who was wicked and unfair towards him,
without telling her who he was; ‘respond to what is
bad with what is good’. Another guiding inspiration
for the ICN is Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi’s famous
prose “Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer,
idolater, worshipper of fire. It doesn’t matter. Ours
is not a caravan of despair. Come, even if you have
broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet
again, come, come.”
22
The ICN has also started a learning programme by
Prof. Seyyed Naquib Alatas Kulliye about Islamic
civilisation and thought. Part of the objective is
for the congregation to learn examples in Islamic
civilisation of how migrant Muslims were able
to settle peacefully, gain acceptance, establish
masjids and grow their communities in nonMuslim lands. One common approach the ICN
realised to be characteristic of such migrant
Muslim communities was the tendency for them
to participate in the wider narrative of society –
the workforce, society-building, nation-building,
the learning of cultures, etc. – and not just lock
themselves into the Muslim community domain.
For example, during its celebration of the United
Nations’ International Day of Peace, the ICN invited
theologians, religious communities, police and
academics to present on the concept of peace and
non-violence and after the event encouraged the
various sides to build a framework for preventing all
kinds of violence. This effort was well received and
was specially mentioned by MP Sharon Claydon in
her speech at the House of Representatives.
Another area of work for all Australian mosques,
be it regional or not, is service development. When
I was appointed as secretary to the ICN, I did a
quick study of the entire set-up and embarked on a
FLICKR / MATTHEW PERKINS
we get all kinds of non-Muslim people walking into
Masjid Development in Regional Australia: Gaining Acceptance & Service Development
restructuring exercise. As a public health evaluation
expert of health services and programmes, I used
my domain approaches for the assessment. I
realised that the ICN needed to restructure itself to
separate the mosque services – five daily prayers,
Friday prayer, etc. – from the broader services. The
fact that we had two separate buildings made it
easy to implement this, even at the level of physical
space, with one building becoming the mosque
building (Sultan Fatih Masjid) for religious services
and the next building (Fatimah building) being used
for broader services.
through the promotion of Islamic scholarship.
When I searched for data on the Newcastle
Muslims, I discovered there were 2,200 Muslims
who are citizens as per census data, 450 Muslim
university students as per university information
and, via rough estimates, another 350 Muslims
who were working on visas, making a total Muslim
population of 3,000. However, the two mosques
in Newcastle were not able to reach out to more
than 1,000 Muslims. The make-up of the Muslims
is also very diverse and in the ICN congregation
there are no less than 20 communities. Out of the
estimated 3,000 Muslims, one third are below 21
years of age. Sadly, only 20% or less of this youth
segment is accessed.
adults. The second visiting teacher started
A closer look at underlying factors revealed some
reasons for this. Rather than a strong Islamic
learning culture led by scholars, there was instead
a futile debating culture, with misinformed groups
led by preachers. There were also deep divisions
and ridiculous identity conflicts over ethnicity,
nationality, theology, law and Shariah issues that
morphed into turf wars, personal conflicts and
so on. Many local Muslims were also from an
affluent background, which weakened the spirit for
community-building, as its need was not patently
obvious to them.
past 12 months and currently is at the next stage
It was evident the root of these symptoms was a
weak culture of Islamic knowledge. The solution
therefore was to increase Islamic knowledge
this, it is not about chasing after the best leaders,
However we were faced with a lack of resources.
Attempts to seek help locally with other Muslim
organisations led to nothing more than big
promises. Hence, the ICN teamed up with one
of the largest zakat foundations in Indonesia
which runs a scholarly preaching programme,
Dompet Dhuafa. They offered to support the
development of learning programmes and various
other programmes through visiting scholars.
The first visiting teacher who arrived started a
daily Qur’an reading programme for youth and
Qur’anic commentary, hadith commentary and
Ihya Ulumuddin classes. The third visiting teacher
started to offer support services for individuals and
families in distress, developed improved classes
and started webinar teaching. With the support
of an Afghan and Iranian family, a basic refugee
integration programme was initiated. Shaykh
Amatullah Armstrong also aided in the launch and
running of a ladies’ zawiyah. We now have a Sydney
congregation including men, women and families,
who visit us from time to time to participate in our
activities. In summary, the ICN has managed to
make large leaps in service development over the
of making improvements in order to make these
services sustainable.
Developing a masjid in regional Australia offers
better opportunities than in metropolitan cities due
to the availability of space, lower costs and so on.
However, it also comes with greater challenges.
Muslim communities in North America in nonmetropolitan cities have achieved remarkable
growth proving that it is indeed possible for Muslim
communities to thrive in regional areas. To achieve
rather it is about finding the best scholars who can
provide the best advice and guidance. l
23
on the cover
youthink | november 2014
ISTOCKPHOTO / FAUST80
RAIDING
THE MUSLIM
COMMUNITY:
What happened,
the law, and the
politics
I woke up Thursday
morning, 18th of
September, to a
buzzing of my phone.
It wasn’t my alarm
going off, but a
series of messages
from friends, alerting
me to the fact that
the police were
raiding homes across
western Sydney, in
the name of terrorism.
I remember sitting up
and taking stock for a
second, as the news
websites I check
every morning had
not yet run stories
on it, the Facebook
statuses had not
emerged yet and
the texting had not
become rampant. I
prepared myself for
what would inevitably
be a very bad day.
By Mostafa Rachwani
24
25
All in all, in excess of 800 police officers were
involved in raids on multiple houses in Beecroft,
Bellavista, Guildford, Merrylands, Northmead,
Wentworthville, Marsfield, Westmead, Castle
Hill, Revesby, Bass Hill and Regents Park. Stories
emerged of terrifying ordeals with families awoken
suddenly at 4am as the police barged in, yelling and
screaming, demanding they drop to their knees and
raise their hands. Fifteen people were arrested and
two were charged.
It was billed as the “largest counter-terrorism
operation in Australian history” and it flooded the
newsfeeds of many. It produced the kind of kneejerk
reactions the Muslim Community prides itself on:
from fear, panic, disillusion, anger and resentment,
to the usual call for ‘unity’.
And it would be difficult to fault them.
Just as it would be difficult to outline how exactly
we should be feeling. Should we feel a sense of
injustice at what is, at the very least, a show of
excessive force on what was essentially a group of
boys? This episode showed just how dangerous it
is to give the police force more powers, the kind of
powers they usually crave. Knocking down people’s
doors in the middle of the night is a terrible way of
investigating a potential crime. Would it have been
so hard to knock on the door in the middle of the
day and do the search in a respectable manner?
been successful in their plans to kidnap someone
at random and behead them in the name of the
‘Islamic State’?
Wouldn’t we, as a community, be in a far worse
place if this act of random violence had taken
place? What kind of backlash would we face then?
Surely, far worse than what we are facing now.
That isn’t to say the random acts of thuggery and
Islamophobia that members of the Muslim community
currently face aren’t already appalling, but to what
extent would we have faced a far crueller fate at the
hands of a public swayed by their fear mongering
politicians and the xenophobic mainstream media?
The problem with making an argument like that is
that it begins a slippery slope of rationalisation that
could lead one to justifying the raids and even the
new, proposed anti-terror amendments.
And even so, even if there was a legitimate fear that
those arrested were to carry out a random act of
terror and even if there was a genuine threat, that
doesn’t even come close to justifying the publicity
and the violence that surrounded the raids. Why
did we need to know the intricate details, why did
we need to watch as the police searched homes
and smashed down doors, why did the entirety of
Australia need to watch, bewildered, as people’s
lives came apart, live on television?
On the other hand, what if those young men hadn’t
been stopped?
There can be little conclusion other than the
fact that these raids were carried out so publicly
as a means to shift public perceptions on the
Government. And just like the far-right wing reaction
to the Q&A episode dedicated to the raids claimed,
these may be conspiracy theories, but there is
the unavoidable fact that these raids and the
ensuing debates splashed across the front pages of
newspapers have been good to the Liberal Party.
I can hear the backlash already, but spare me for
a second, and consider if those young men had
Gone are the days where the controversial 2014
budget dominated public debate and gone are the
The lack of restraint shown by the police, and
those in charge of the police, is nothing less than
despicable. It showed no respect for these people
and their families, a majority of who are still yet to be
charged. Tales of women forced to go without hijab
as the police barged in is only further infuriating.
26
COVER: Raiding the Muslim Community: What happened, the law, and the politics
days where the bumbling-around asylum seeker
policy was a key player in the polls. We have now had
nearly a month of continuous focus on the Muslim
community. Whether in placing the emphasis on
foreign policy and the strategy to stop ISIS or dealing
with the idea of ‘home-grown’ terrorists, the Liberal
Party has been hitting home run after home run with
their vilification of Muslims in Australia.
And vilification it most definitely is. Although Senator
George Brandis may insist his ‘Foreign Fighters Act’
– the anti-terror amendments he has proposed to
the Senate – is not aimed at Muslims, there is no
doubt who it is intended to affect. After all, as he
proclaimed in his ‘consultation’ with leaders of the
Muslim community, it is only Muslims going to and
from Syria and Iraq.
And they continue to ask why there is such a feeling
of disaffection amongst the Muslim youth. The
amendments proposed by Brandis appeared to
have the particular purpose of regulating talk of
Australian foreign policy, as well as taking a stance
on complex issues overseas. That is, only if the
issues involve terrorist groups of some sort, usually
reserved for Muslim groups.
So, young Muslims are being asked not to care for
the conflicts happening in their ancestral lands,
the lands their parents grew up in and the lands
which they consider holy. They’re being asked not to
show a passion for it, not to involve themselves in it
– even if they feel it is their religious duty – and to
avoid anyone that speaks out on the issues.
Add to these proposed amendments the further
powers they wish to give intelligence and policy
agencies to spy on and watch hypothetical
‘offenders’ and the widening definition of terms such
as ‘terrorism’ and you have a boiling pot of changes
that will only serve to further heighten the sense of
injustice that permeates the Muslim community.
It is genuinely baffling as to why the government has
decided on this course of action in direct opposition
to anything Muslim Community leaders have been
suggesting in the years since the infamous Muslim
‘riots’ of 2012.
John Esposito suggests in his brilliant essay, “The
Challenges in Defeating ISIS,” that the source of
this radicalisation is not quite what the Government
is targeting. “In many cases terrorists are neither
particularly religiously literate nor observant. Drivers
of radicalization include moral outrage, disaffection,
peer pressure, the search for a new identity, and
for a sense of meaning, purpose and belonging. For
many it is the experience or perception of living in a
‘hostile’ society, disenfranchisement and heightened
political consciousness, anti-imperialism and social
justice, emancipation and the personal search to
be a good Muslim or the headscarf as liberation,
bringing together a constellation of narratives.”
And this has been the advice given by leaders to
the Australian Government for years. That is, the
problem is not an Islamic one, nor one of a group of
people obsessed with criminal behaviour, nor can it
be explained by the reductionist approach of calling
all radicals ‘nut-jobs’.
ISTOCKPHOTO / MYSHKOVSKY
youthink | november 2014
27
youthink | november 2014
There is the influence of growing up in an overpoliticised environment, as a post-9/11 young
Muslim, who increasingly faces a rejection of
traditional Islamic norms, and questioned at every
turn. Having to face down discrimination and
racism in every aspect of life can go quite far in
turning frustration into anger, a frustration at the
climate we live in and a frustration at the feeling
of powerlessness as we watch the destruction and
re-colonisation of the Middle East and having no
legitimate channel of release.
It would be unfair to judge these young people by
the standards I may set myself, as I would probably
have my own privileges get in the way. The truth is,
educational opportunities provided to me could have
been held back from others. The family environment
I was in could be very different to the one others
grew up in. And although I had my struggles as a
teenager, I doubt they compare to others.
And this is where the Muslim reaction comes into
play. There can be no denial that communication
between players in the Muslim community can
be stifled as they forget their own privileges and
assume all western Muslims grew up in the same
environment. As much as we would love to assume
privilege doesn’t impact the Muslim community
internally, it does and is one of the main reason
there is such dissatisfaction and misunderstanding
of community leadership.
That isn’t to criticise the leadership of the Muslim
Community in Sydney, who have generally been stellar
in their political lobbying and work with the media,
28
with few exceptions. However, they are not immune to
criticisms and should welcome people attempting to
bring up valid points, no matter the medium.
The hysteria and panic that these events have
inspired in the community has been depressing at
best. From blame being thrown about as though we
were playing volleyball, to slander and backbiting
overshadowing genuine engagement between
groups, as well as a discussion on the place of
Western Muslims in Australia.
ISIS FLAG PHOTOGRAPH: ALAMY
There is a huge web of factors that lead someone
down a path where they believe violence in the
name of Islam is justified, especially with ISIS.
Social, cultural, economic and educational factors
are all major players in the path young people
tread towards extremism in Islam, but it doesn’t
completely do justice to the complex sand castles
that form the basis of this mindset.
What is being forgotten is the Sunnah of being
oppressed. That is, how should Muslims be
responding to oppression they can and cannot
change, locally and internationally? How that
oppression is responded to is an important facet
that has regularly been ignored in the discourse.
Perspective and contextualisation of the behaviours
and reactions of the Prophet (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace) are an essential element
to understanding how the Australian Muslim
community should react. The recipe that our
Prophet used to respond to the oppression he
faced in his time in Mecca, before the Hijra, is to
understand that there were short-term and longterm goals and that the Muslims had to be able to
differentiate between the two. He requested and
showed a great amount of patience as he and his
Ummah were vilified and tortured. Finally, he turned
to his Creator as the source of all in the Universe,
and the release of this oppression.
It is in this Sunnah that we find the structure
for response to the complex situation we as a
community find ourselves in. Patience, strategy,
strength, accord, and most importantly, faith are
the characteristics that marked the turbulent time
RasulAllah spent under such oppression.
I can only hope we learn to turn to this Sunnah as we
face down what could be the most turbulent time in
the history of the Australian Muslim community. l
?
y
a
w
y
n
A
t
i
s
Whose Sign i
By Nova Longhurst
In an information age with an overloaded
server of opinion and questionable
journalism, we must question everything
we see, but more importantly, question
how this globalised chatter affects people,
communities and the image they walk with
on the streets every day. With the death of
Osama bin Laden, it was assumed the terror
crisis occurring in the Middle-East would
come to an end, troops would be pulled
out and now the image of Islam could be
the focus. Finally Muslims could begin to
represent themselves without a choice of
‘are you with us or against us?’
This hope came crashing down when
Syria moved into civil war and new groups
and extreme organisations saw the strife
as an opportunity. Again, the Muslim
community had to take a global stance
and be placed on the apologetic back foot.
Instead of being given the platform on
their terms, their loyalty was again coming
into question and sides once again had
to be chosen. For the Australian Muslim
community, this escalated with the threat
of a terror attack being upgraded to ‘High’
and PM Tony Abbott committing our forces
to Iraq once more.
29
youthink | november 2014
A new media barrage has again engulfed the
community with harsh terms about proving loyalty.
We are once more asked to explain if Islam is
really like this, with ‘experts’ saying “of course it is
violent. I have read their Qur’an!” Words are thrown
about with linguistic and phonetic questionability.
This has long been a struggle with the media and
government: terminology.
Some may call it semantics; they have to use some
sort of term for what is happening, don’t they? But
what happens when they pick up Islamic terms and
then use them when discussing extreme groups
of people as if they represent Islam, when in fact
they are off the beaten track? Muslims then find
themselves caught in a bit of a pickle with nonMuslim colleagues, friends, family and strangers.
Most of it being that you are siding with extremists
by using the terms used by media outlets to discuss
extremists, such as Islamic State, Sharia, Caliphate
or Khilafah.
It is interesting to note that these wayward
groups claim they are enacting ‘Allah’s will’ and
‘Allah’s justice’. This claim in itself is excessive
and extreme. Some important understandings
of Islam they clearly passed by in their studies of
the religion are ‘only Allah knows’ and ‘He is the
Most Just’. To declare themselves deliverers of
said justice means they in fact fall counter to their
claims, because it is indeed impossible as ‘only
Allah knows’.
Symbols of Islam are now taken as
Terrorist Insignias
We see then that a simple Islamic concept has
been taken to represent something un-Islamic.
This means that each mention of this concept
in passing or in a critical conversation causes
one to become an apologist and defender of the
faith, redefining the term or concept. It is not for
the religion to reframe itself and use alternative
30
COVER: Whose Sign is it Anyway?
terminology, as words used by extreme groups are
regularly invoked out of context and inappropriately.
We have seen the same done to other religions
such as Buddhism and Hinduism. Adolf Hitler,
leader of the Nazi party, took the Swastika (a
symbol of peace of Hindu and Buddhist origins)
flipped the image, tilted it on its axis and claimed it
as his symbol of unity. As many do, even when you
see it in its original form, you can’t help but assume
you are seeing the Nazi party symbol. On a second
glance you would realise you are wrong. Though
how many of us take a second glance?
What Islam lacks in pictorial symbols, it makes up
for in the power of the word. The group calling itself
‘Islamic State’, abbreviated to ‘IS’ (this writer does
not yield to this title for it is a misrepresentation of
the group and the term), has, like other groups, taken
the shahadah flag to be their symbol. Just as the
Nazis turned the swastika from a peace symbol into
a symbol of violence, hate and murder, so too has ‘IS’
turned the shahadah flag into something similar.
While this article could run through all the
misunderstood terms used by extreme groups
to justify their legitimacy, this is really beside the
point. What needs to be understood is how these
words and concepts are now perceived in the
wider public, not just within Australia, but globally.
It is easy to gauge this through social media
discussions, blogs and forums. Simply look at
Islamic terms and when they are used in journals
and news articles. They are placed next to people
like ISIS, Al Qaida and Boko Haram. The discourse
is negative.
What the Muslim community needs to accept is
that the negative representation of their religion
is not something done only to them. It is but a
condition of the political powers of propaganda
at the time of an intellectual-physical war. The
dehumanising of the ‘enemy’ has been done by
each side battling the other for whatever reason, be
it land, money, family or all of these, since the time
of Cain and Abel. Did Cain not attempt to portray a
negative image of Abel, that he was trying to make
him look sorrowful in front of God and his father?
And this was the case of Cain killing Abel?
As populations grow, land and resources become
a concerning issue. It was not too long ago that
the Cold War had the Capitalists portraying the
Socialist powerhouse, the Soviet Union, as a
literal beast, a bear trying to bring destruction and
mayhem to the democratic, capitalist way of life.
During the First and Second World Wars, Germans
were represented as hideous creatures who would
boil babies alive, grind human bones for glue and
wanted to take advantage of all women in the
West. George W. Bush declared the ‘war on terror’
after the attacks of 9/11. So it was for certain, at
that point, that the Islamic faith and Muslims were
in for a similar treatment of dehumanisation and
racial vilification. Once accepting these precedents,
the Muslim community can grow, and remove its
grief and anger over what is politically natural
towards a perceived threat and focus on changing
perceptions in the appropriate manner.
The question that now comes to mind
is, “What would Muhammad do?”
There is a common and old example that comes to
mind, which is when the Prophet (may God bless
him and grant him peace) spoke to the Bedouin
man who had asked what Allah meant to him as a
Bedouin. This story tells us that when speaking to
people we must first understand their language to
be able to speak to them in that language. This is
a social language that can often be misunderstood
if the different scopes of society never meet and
discuss ideas and concepts.
Firstly, when the Muslim community engages with
the non-Muslim community it is important that they
understand what ideas and concepts are coming
with that community. Secondly, we must recognise
that there is a large first generation migrant
community in Australia. The concepts, therefore,
when engaging in discussion, will often not be
based on a ‘homegrown’ Muslim attitude, but one
that stems from concerns brought from community
constructs in that migrant’s place of birth.
Thirdly, we have a community of young Australian
‘homegrown’ Muslims who are caught between the
old world and the new, so to speak.
We know that, while engaging in discussion, the
Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace)
did not engage those who were confused by his
message with anger, violence and hate. Instead
the Prophet was mindful, careful, considerate
and always willing to discuss ideas and opinions,
without jumping to a harsh response. Something
not often realised is that the harsh response
equals a dismissive response. A soft and gentle
response filled with confidence and affirmation is
an opinion which will be met with acceptance and
interest.
How can these lessons be used to
reclaim that which was stolen?
It is time for the community to get active, and
not reactive but proactive. By understanding the
political minefield and historical propaganda, the
Muslim community can advance from the defensive
back-foot and can move forward to reclaim the
symbols that have been lost to them. Part of
this reclaiming is in understanding the symbols
lost, what they originally meant and to ensure
published media, whether social, televised, radio
or printed, comprehend the correct meaning and
not those being pushed by extreme groups in our
global society. Through the methods of Prophet
Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him
peace) as a starting point, the Australian and global
Muslim communities will begin that first, big step
towards positive social and community progress. l
31
photojournalism
youthink | november 2014
The Scholars Are The Inheritors Of The Prophets
By Mustafa Davis
We live in an age where we are inundated with hundreds and thousands of
images on a daily basis. More people own cameras today than at any time in
history and there are more ways to share our images than ever before. With
the advent of digital cameras, social media and online forums, we can now
capture an image and share it instantly with friends on the other side of the
planet. It’s an exciting time to be a photographer.
We’re starting our photographic journey with images I’ve captured of Muslim
scholars who have positively influenced both my religion and my art. I’ve had
the honour of spending nearly a decade studying sacred law in Mauritania,
Morocco, Syria, Sudan and Yemen. The men in these images helped me
understand the purpose of my art, or rather, they helped give my art a
purpose. I would not be an artist today if it wasn’t for these individuals who
act as beacons of light during my darkest days.
I’m often looked at as a bit of an anomaly. I spent a decade studying the
sacred sciences while at the same time pursing my career as a visual artist.
My studies didn’t prevent me from doing what I love, instead my time spent
studying Islam has become the foundation from which all my work emanates
today. In a sense, these are the men that helped shape who I am today. One of
my teachers once told me that the light that emanates from the people of God
is enough to wipe out the darkness in a land. I photograph these men with the
hopes of spreading the light of knowledge to all who gaze upon the images.
(TOP TO BOTTOM, LEFT TO RIGHT)
DR. SHERMAN JACKSON SHAYKH HABIB UMAR USTADH USAMA CANON SHAYKH ABDULLAH BIN BAYYAH DR. UMAR F. ABD-ALLAH IMAM ZAID SHAKIR
SHAYKH
MURABIT AL HAJJ SHAYKH YAHYA RHODUS SHAYKH ABDUL HAKIM MURAD SHAYKH IBRAHIM OSI EFA SHAYKH HAMZA YUSUF YUSUF
32
33
youthink | november 2014
The first time I ever heard of Imam al-Ghazali
was by reading his works translated by Dr. Abdal
Hakim. I ended up studying Imam al-Ghazali’s
Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din (Revival of the Religious
Sciences) during my studies and it has informed
my art more than the works of any other scholar
I’ve read.
DR. UMAR F. ABD-ALLAH (USA):
I met Dr. Umar in Jeddah while performing Hajj
with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf in 1998. Dr. Umar
was still living in Saudi Arabia at the time and
hadn’t been back to the United States for close
to 17 years. He mentioned to me recently that
it was this meeting with Shaykh Hamza and his
students that made him realise that there was
work to do back home. Shortly after this visit
he returned to the United States and he is now
currently living and teaching in Chicago.
IMAM ZAID SHAKIR (USA)
I first met Imam Zaid in Damascus, Syria, in
1998. He picked me up the first day I arrived
and took me all around the city showing me
where things were and how to catch the bus to
the University etc. He spent the entire day with
me and I’ll never forget it. Imam Zaid was the
first scholar to encourage me in the arts.
SHAYKH HABIB UMAR (YEMEN):
I spent nearly five years studying with Habib
Umar in Tarim, Yemen. He saw that I had an
inclination to the arts and encouraged it. By
his advice I went on to film school and I have
created media for him and his students for over
a decade.
DR. SHERMAN JACKSON (USA):
SHAYKH MURABIT AL-HAJJ (MAURITANIA):
The first time I met Dr. Jackson he told me,
“Hit ’em with the left, follow with the right…and
we got your back.” It was profound because I
had just written him a letter telling him I was
considering leaving art and focusing full time
on my Islamic studies. He told me that media
was the voice of our age and that we needed
Muslims to be our voice. He’s been there as a
support for me ever since.
The image of the bed is of Murabit al-Hajj’s house.
He’s sleeping in the tent in this image. I captured
this on a disposable camera in 1997. I went to
Mauritania just a year after I converted to Islam.
It was a profound experience that changed the
course of the rest of my life. It was the impetus for
me spending a decade studying sacred law.
SHAYKH HAMZA YUSUF (USA):
Shaykh Hamza was my first teacher in Islam
after I converted in 1997. I lived just a few miles
from him and would walk to his house several
times a week to study Maliki jurisprudence
(fiqh). He gave me my name ‘Mustafa’ and is
the person who introduced me to every scholar
34
I’ve ever sat with. He remains one of the most
influential men in my life.
SHAYKH IBRAHIM OSI EFA (UK):
I met Shaykh Ibrahim when I arrived in
Damascus. He was completing the last year
of his Arabic studies before heading off to
Mauritania and Yemen. Ibrahim is a dear friend
and teacher and has constantly encouraged me
to continue creating art.
SHAYKH YAHYA RHODUS (USA):
I met Shaykh Yahya the week before he
embraced Islam. Since then we have journeyed
together across the globe many times over.
Shaykh Yahya is one of my teachers and a
dear friend.
USTADH USAMA CANON (USA):
Usama Canon and I have a unique story. We
were both the reason each other embraced
Islam. I was searching for God and Usama
pointed me in the direction of Islam, although he
was not yet a Muslim himself. After I embraced
Islam, Usama came to me asking about Islam
and I took him to the mosque to say his Shahada
(declaration of faith). We’ve been connected
ever since and we run Ta’leef Collective together,
an organisation which caters to the needs of
converts and seekers.
YUSUF (CAT STEVENS):
Yusuf is the first Muslim artist I had ever heard
of. I learned that he left his former self (Cat
Stevens) behind and walked away from the
fame and fortune to focus on his faith. I met
Yusuf in 2002 for the first time and he gave
me some amazing advice. He said, “If you’re
going to create art then you have to seek to
perfect it. Allah loves the acts that are done with
perfection…so act well.” I have this written on
a piece of paper in my home office to remind
myself to strive harder. l
SHAYKH ABDULLAH BIN BAYYAH
(MAURITANIA):
I met Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah when Shaykh
Hamza Yusuf brought him on his first visit to
the United States. Being with him was the first
time I heard a scholar talk about the importance
of establishing vibrant, positive, Muslim
communities in the West. He is one of the most
intelligent and illuminated men I’ve ever met.
35
CHEIKHNA BIN BAYYAH © 2013
SHAYKH ABDUL HAKIM MURAD (UK):
The Scholars are the Inheritors of the Prophets
life down under: fashion and faith
youthink | november 2014
Modest Street Fashion: The Australian Chapter
In June 2013, I was midway through curating the
Melbourne exhibition content for ‘Faith fashion
Fusion: Australian Muslim Women’s Style and
Identity’ for the Immigration Museum when I
received a Facebook message from a ‘Langston
Hues’, a photographer from Detroit, USA.
I was familiar with his work having seen his
incredible images of modest street styles, including
renowned fashionistas overseas, commencing with
his hometown and now across the US coast. When
he reached out to include me in his Modest Street
Fashion book (due out this month) owing to him
observing my fashion sense through social media,
I experienced a surreal moment.
The pressure of curating a fashion
exhibition had propelled me into a frenzy
of ‘strategic sartorial selfies’, in a bid
to promote the upcoming event. And it
appeared my efforts hadn’t gone unnoticed
in the online Muslim fashion world,
knowing that my work ethic would be the
catalyst in linking me with Langston’s
project and potentially organising his visit
to Australia. I was grateful for the contact
on Facebook; my selfies juggernaut at last
paying dividends.
Modest Street
Fashion: The
Australian
Chapter
The Australian Muslim
foray with Modest Fashion
took an interesting leap this
year when presented with
an opportunity to be part
of a global initiative which
originated in the streets of
downtown Detroit, USA.
36
IMAGES: BEHIND THE SCENES AS LANGSTON PHOTOGRAPHS SARA YOUSEF
(DRESS) AND PATRICE KATEHOS (PANTS) AT A LOCATION IN SURRY HILLS, AS
PART OF THE SYDNEY LEG OF HIS AUSTRALIAN TOUR.
BY TASNEEM CHOPRA*
After our initial conversation I realised the logistical
issues impairing my involvement in the book given
Langston was in the US and I was knee-deep
curating in Melbourne. I recall candidly mentioning,
“Well unless you’re planning to include Australia in
your book, I can’t be in it.”
Not long after Faith Fashion Fusion officially opened
to the public in October, I immediately began
exploring the viability of Langston’s Australian tour.
Several weeks later, consisting of calls and emails to
bloggers, boutiques and industry colleagues across
the nation, the programme was planned. Langston’s
reputation as a fashion photographer aficionado was
currency enough to garner their sponsorship.
In early February 2014, seven months after our first
chat, this well travelled, amiable and boundlessly
energetic fashion photographer landed in Melbourne
airport. In the ensuing week of Langston’s visit, I
scheduled shoots with bloggers, fashionistas and
boutiques in Melbourne and Sydney, before he took off
to Indonesia, via Perth, for another prearranged shoot.
Traveling with Langston, I observed him to be the
consummate photographer, evidenced in the way
he engaged his subjects before and during photoshoots, capturing truly exquisite portraits. I often
wonder if he appreciates the magnitude of his talent.
Further, I observed Langston impressively engage
in public forums and media interviews with an
intelligence and candour beyond his years. This
guy was a genius, keenly aware that he was a male
taking part in a Modest Fashion conversation,
dominated by women. Through respect, he
deftly navigated his role as a documenter of this
phenomenon while acknowledging his niche in
this burgeoning industry that allowed him to visit
over 18 countries and photograph in excess of 400
subjects. He was clearly doing something right.
Langston and I spoke at length about the way a
book like Modest Street Fashion might provide a
counterpoint from which Muslim women’s identity
could be gauged, rather than be forever dissected
by those outside the community. It is noteworthy
that it took a male to deliver a highly awaited
publication in Modest Street Fashion for a western
market, representing a platform for females to
emerge as flag bearers of identity on their terms.
For this artistically inspired and socially relevant book
that is bound to engage supporters, enquirers and critics
alike in vibrant conversation, I commend Langston. l
*Curator: Faith Fashion Fusion, (Melbourne
content), Immigration Museum.
37
life down under: the green din
youthink | november 2014
The Scholars are the Inheritors of the Prophets
Hay Fever – Spring is in the Air
Some conditions that may be triggered in the
spring season include asthma and hay fever, also
known as allergic rhinitis. Hay fever is one of the
most common conditions and even those who don’t
suffer with allergies may experience the symptoms
of hay fever. Hay fever is an allergy caused by dust
or pollen inflaming the mucous membranes of the
eyes and nose, resulting in symptoms such as a
runny nose, sneezing and itching.
Hay Fever – Spring is in the Air
By Safia Marabani
Anti-histamines are the most common treatment
option, however when used on a long-term basis
they become less effective due to the body
producing a tolerance to the anti-histamines,
therefore reducing their effectiveness. There are
also some lamentable side effects associated
with taking anti-histamines including dry mouth,
drowsiness and dizziness.
Luckily, there are plenty of natural alternatives that
may assist with the treatment of allergies! These
include:
y welcome the arrival of
After a cold winter season, we finall
ter coats and embrace the
spring. It’s time to pack up the win
a beautiful season that
first warm days of spring! Spring is
ly. Sadly, it’s not such a
many of us welcome wholehearted
ffer with allergies.
pleasant transition for those who su
1. VITAMIN C: helps to boost the immune system.
You can get some Vitamin C into your system
by taking it in supplement form, as well as
by increasing your intake of citrus fruits such
as oranges and lemons, leafy dark green
vegetables, kiwi fruit and papaya.
2.PERILLA: this is one of the most popular herbs,
famous for its anti-allergy effect. The leaf
extracts of Perilla have anti-oxidant, anti-allergic
and anti-inflammatory preventing properties. It
also contains a flavonoid compound, Luteolin,
which inhibits histamine release.
38
ISTOCKPHOTO / LORDRUNAR
with a stuffy nose, watery
If you welcome the arrival of spring
ct time to address
eyes and sneezing, now is the perfe
s some of the highest
your seasonal allergies. Australia ha
ergies are only triggered
allergy rates in the world. Some all
chronically.
seasonally, while others can occur
5. ASTRAGALUS: works by stimulating the
immune system and can help to reduce the
effect of allergies, the common cold and upper
respiratory conditions. It also reduces blood
pressure.
6. ECHINACEA: boosts the immune system,
increases the number of white blood cells,
reduces the effect of allergies and helps
combat some viruses that may cause common
colds and inflammation.
Nutritional advice:
Increase your intake of anti-oxidants to help
boost your immune system and eliminate
free radicals in the body. Also ensure you
are consuming essential fatty acids such as
omega-3, as they have an anti-inflammatory
effect on the body. Fish such as wild salmon
have the richest source of potent omega-3 fatty
acids. Additionally, eat red and purple fruits and
vegetables, because they are rich in Quercetin
which works as a natural anti-histamine. Finally,
familiarise yourself with super foods, including
goji berries, kale, chia seeds and flaxseeds.
Other tips:
1. On a dry, windy day, it is best to stay indoors.
The best time to go outside would be after a
rainy day, as the rain helps to clear pollen from
the air.
2. Avoid outdoor activities early in the morning
because pollen counts are highest at this time.
3. GARLIC: boosts immune system and has an
anti-inflammatory effect which can help to
alleviate the symptoms of hay fever.
3. If you have been outside, especially in the
garden, wash your clothes and shower
regularly to remove pollen.
4. PROBIOTIC SUPPLEMENT: assists with healthy
gut function by building good bacteria and
boosts the immune system.
4. If you take your medication early you are less
likely to develop a snowball effect with your
symptoms. l
39
life down under: gadgets and technology
youthink | november 2014
By Samad Sultan
What has speakers in the front, a vivacious display
and one of the sharpest cameras in the Android
world? Let me give you a hint: it’s a metal and
glass obelisk that can go for a swim and look good
while doing it. It’s Sony’s premium smartphone: the
Xperia Z2.
From the first moment you pick it up, one assumes
that this Android is a lightweight at 163 grams, but
with 5.2 inches of display, 8.2 millimetre thickness,
an 801 snapdragon quad-core processor, a
Lithium-Ion 3200 mAh battery and 3GB RAM, it can
go head-to-head with any leading Samsung. Not
only that, but it can record this battle in ultra HD
(4K recording) on its 20.7 megapixel camera. All
this in a water and dust-proof glass casing, making
this phone markedly different.
Though its glass sandwich construction makes
it one of the most functional Android offerings
of the year, there was room for improvement
aesthetically, with the side rails glinting purple in
colour, detracting from its sleek black and silver
finish. On the other hand, this is made up for by the
magnetic DockPort, which enables it to be attached
to a stand up dock, making charging effortless,
rather than the usual fiddling of the port covers on
the side.
Other features that will set this device apart and
that users will appreciate are things like clear audio
40
plus, which automatically optimises sound settings
for listening to things. The active noise cancellation
works by having a microphone located on the top,
next to the headphone jack, automatically reducing
atmospheric noise whilst on the phone or listening
to music. There is a separate microphone for voice
recording located near the bottom of the phone.
When listening to your music, you can have a play
around with the free equalizer that is on offer.
It’s not exactly comprehensive, but it’s free and
better than nothing, which is what most other
phones offer. The dynamic normaliser is another
cool feature which minimises the difference in
volume of songs and videos. Basically it increases
the volume of quiet sounds, whilst decreasing the
volume of loud ones, without harming the audio
quality.
The notification light built into the ear piece
will light up differently according to the type of
notification it is. For example, messages and
missed calls are white, whereas Facebook is blue.
Waking up the device is now as simple as
double-tapping the screen. When you do, you are
presented with a 1080p (Full HD) display, which is
now made with the Triluminos technology found in
high-end Sony Bravia televisions. For those who are
not familiar with this form of display, it works like
this: the eye sees the colour range pictured below
in the back of the two images. Triluminos displays
allow for a wider pallet of rich, natural colours.
Combine this with the X-reality image processor
engine, which adds clarity to pictures by enhancing
contrast, adding saturation and sharpness,
whilst reducing noise, not to mention the superresolution function, which analyses and then
produces missing pixels to allow a high-resolution
experience.
The software behind its sharp display is Android
4.4.2 (Kitkat), allowing for a lot of customisation.
There was, though, a few little things that I found
that other users also might find bothersome, such
as Sony’s UI (User interface), which is as intense
as ever. While this does not affect the smoothness
or speed at which it runs, it does make it feel
full-on. This is noticeable in the small apps option.
Even on a big 5.2 inch display, the windowed
apps feel clunky and serve little purpose. Other
things include Sony’s self-promotion as seen in the
‘what’s new’ app, which is a disguise for the Sony
media store. Similarly, there was no need for the
special Xperia versions of social media apps, such
as Facebook and Twitter.
photo. However, to take clean, crisp photos in a
wide range of shooting conditions, you can use the
default superior auto mode. Low light performance
is exceptional, even in auto mode, but for a truly
brilliant picture I advise you to play with and tweak
some of the features available in manual mode.
What is also great is that zooming in on objects is
no longer a problem when shooting in the 15 or
20 megapixel mode. With its ability to also record
video in 4K (Ultra High Definition), I believe the Z2
offers the best overall camera experience on the
market thus far.
Currently it is valued $650-$750 outright through
various outlets and service providers. All that said
and done, I was thrilled to hear the announcement
of the Xperia Z3 and I am looking forward to what it
brings to the ring. l
All these minor things pale in comparison when
it comes to the Sony’s trademark: a 20.7
megapixel camera with a dedicated shutter
button. The dedicated button is a feature
which I would like to see in all standard
Android devices. It not only allows
for quick launch, but half pressing
it allows for focus. The software
allows for cool features such as
‘background defocus’, ‘creative
effect’ and my personal
favourite ‘info-eye’, which
takes a picture of landmarks
and objects and gives you
information on them. Most
of these, though, are for
edits you make to your own
41
WIKIPEDIA
Xperia Z2
Xperia Z2
life down under: movie review
youthink | november 2014
Movie Review
It is the camera work that allows the viewer to
experience the ultimate standoff between Phillips,
Muse and their crews. The close shots of their faces
create the sense of urgency in the situation, compared
to the wide shots of the endless ocean, which give you
a sense of the eternal experience of desperation.
At first, Phillips daringly guides his crew to outrun
two pirate boats. There is a short-lived moment of
relief before Muse returns and despite the ship’s
fire hoses, Muse’s crew manages to attach a ladder
to the side of the ship and climb on board. With no
weapons, Phillips must protect the lives of his crew
and he instructs them to cut the ship’s power and
remain hidden until they hear the password, while
he and a few officers remain on deck.
W:
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FLICKR / CANBURAK
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BY AMNA
Captain Phillips is a thriller based on the 2009
hijacking of the US container ship MV Maersk
Alabama by Somali pirates. The movie is based
on true events and is mainly focused on the
relationship between Phillips (Tom Hanks) and
Muse (Barkhad Abdi).
Captain Phillips will appeal to those who are
interested in edge of your seat adaptions of
real stories where the lives of the rich and
poor intersect. The movie explores themes
of globalisation, culture, economics, politics
and power. The movie has a symbolic blend of
authenticity, drama and broad audience appeal.
The story develops in three sections: the association
of the two worlds of Phillips and Muse where we
witness the reality of modernity vs. poverty; the
climactic capture of the ship and the ensuing power
42
struggle between Phillips and Muse; then the nailbiting finale in a claustrophobic lifeboat where the
Somali pirates hold Phillips hostage.
From the outset of the movie, we empathise with
the lead characters that live in sharply contrasting
settings. Phillips, a hard working family man
with his scrubby beard and tired face, appears
reluctant to go to work. Then there’s Muse, an
existence of steely resolve, a man born by his
harsh motherland, Somalia, one of many poor
fishermen with little options for work where piracy
becomes livelihood.
Phillips and Muse are destined to clash as the
US container ship travels isolated through African
waters making the ship the target of Somali pirates.
We get to know Phillips and Muse up close and
personal; we sympathise with their struggle and
their will to survive.
There is sharp detail and clarity that Phillips is
an ordinary man who is out of his depth in this
situation. He makes life and death decisions in
unpredictable and dangerous circumstances.
At this point you start to see and appreciate the
heroism of Phillips. He becomes more dishevelled
as the scenes become more gruelling.
Muse incessantly states “I am the captain now” and
the hostility is palpable with the pirates armed and
screaming “where is the crew?” Phillips offers Muse
$30,000 from the safe to leave the boat, but Muse
wants the big prize and insists on finding the crew.
Muse ventures below deck where he’s wrestled
and captured by the crew who try to negotiate an
exchange with the pirates, Phillips for Muse.
Abdi has a thrilling screen presence, which earned
him the Academy Award for Best Performance by
an Actor in a Supporting Role and BAFTA Award
for Best Actor in a supporting role in 2014 for his
performance as Muse. He embodied the intense
determination and tormented desperation of the
Somali pirates.
The failed exchange results in Phillips being taken
hostage by the pirates in a claustrophobic yellow
capsule for a lifeboat. As the capsule bobs through
the waves, it dawns on Muse that his radio crew
has abandoned him when they claim they cannot
pick up the pirates due to a breakdown of their ship.
Muse and his crew must make it back to Somali
land, but the true magnitude of their conditions
dawns with arrival of the US Navy. The tumultuous
twists will make you nervous as you watch Hanks
sweat, shudder and shake in fear. Hanks proved
once again he is one of the great actors, reminding
me of his performance in Castaway.
The pseudo-documentary shooting style gave
me a newfound appreciation for the directorial
style of Paul Greengrass. It is through his camera
techniques that the audience experiences the
intensity and turbulence of the movie. He skillfully
creates an electric tension, the sense of an
escalating conflict, in the endless view of water
around the ship.
By the finale, I was enthralled by the strange,
reluctant respect that forms between Phillips and
Muse, anguished and relieved by the outcome
and exhausted by the traumatic ending. This
movie is bound to make you reflect on the forces
which motivated the Somalis to be pirates and
to contemplate the impact of capitalism on
societies. It allows the viewer to recognise the
forces that drive people are larger than our own
simple perceptions. This suspense thriller is an
intelligent, mainstream cinema movie that will
astonish you.
The film is directed by Paul Greengrass, from a
screenplay by Billy Ray, based upon the book A
Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and
Dangerous Days at Sea, by Richard Phillips with
Stephan Talty. It is worth noting that the adaption of
the movie has been criticised for portraying Phillips
as heroic when in reality crewmembers thought
he was stupid and put their lives in unnecessary
danger. Some of the crew are suing the company
for damages. l
43
life down under: foodies
life down under:
the sage, the saint and the scholar
youthink | november 2014
19/331 Balmain Rd, Lilyfield NSW
(02) 9818 1255
By Rarbie Taha
www.thelocalpress.com.au
The growing food
Sydney’s inner west already boasts a number of things to do – Orange Grove Market on
culture in Sydney
has taken huge
strides in recent
times and now it
looks set to make
its mark on the
international
coffee scene.
Caffeine, the
world’s most
widely used drug,
has been linked
to improvements
in memory and
protection against
the destruction
of brain cells.
It can also lead
Commentary on
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f
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o
i
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Revela
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b
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(Sharh
The Local Press – Specialty Coffee Burwood
Saturdays, seven kilometre Bay Run, the rolling gardens and hidden parks. The Local Press
imiyya
hmad ibn Ta
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a
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b
A
‘l
u
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A
m
a
m
by I
café is located only a block from the school. Be prepared to fight for a seat when the local
markets are in full swing on a weekend.
The Local Press menu is simple and seasonal with a focus on locally sourced produce.
For breakfast, I suggest corn fritters with salsa de chile guajillo & poached eggs, avo and
tomato. If you have a sweet tooth, then definitely go with buckwheat crepes with sweet
ricotta, caramelised banana and chocolate hazelnut. You will get a good read on the
Local Press.
This extract has been reprinted by permission of the publisher, Al-Baz Publishing
Food: Delicious fresh food
(www.al-baz.com)
Coffee beans: In house
Coffee: Blend is based on Central American and African beans. Depth of flavor
Shaikh ‘Abd al-Qadir and his own Shaikh,
on him to make it his purpose and to act
and full body blends well with milk or espresso.
Hammad ad-Dabbas, as well as other
accordingly. They have stated this explicitly in
Staff: Alex Ververis is the owner of the café.
Shaikhs of the people of the straight path
more than one instance.
Friendly and efficient service. Community
(may Allah be well pleased with them), have
feel café. l
RANKING
commanded that the spiritual traveler must
not seek any personal goal whatsoever, and
3/5
that he must not pursue any purpose other
to nervousness,
than the Will of Allah (Almighty and Glorious
anxiety, restlessness
and gastrointestinal
upset. Coffee aside,
brunch involves
savoury and sweet
dishes as well as
Rarbie Taha is an Exercise
operates in him, for that is the purpose of
Physiologist and health
professional with a passion for
the Lord of Truth. They only intended this
good food and coffee. Check out
instruction to apply in those cases where
the accomplishment of natural volition
constitutes perfection, that being
“annihilation in the affirmation of the
Oneness of Lordship [al-fana’ fi tawhid arRububiyya],” and that, once the spiritual
journey has finally reached this limit, when
the traveler performs the commandment,
he does so for a purpose that is not his own,
the servant does not know the relevant
blog on Instagram for his hunt for
or that he does not need to perform the
juices.
Sydney’s best cafés.
commandment of Allah and His Messenger.
commandment. Those incorrect opinions
Instagram: Rabz90
Email: [email protected]
ISTOCKPHOTO / DIMITRIS66
his @Sydneybrunchcrawler brunch
cold drinks and
Twitter: @RarbieTaha
44
is He). It should rather be that His action
Others hold the erroneous view that
As for the case where he knows what Allah
and teachings have been discussed
has commanded him to do, it is incumbent
elsewhere.
45
ISTOCKPHOTO / MTNSNAIL
The Local
Press
Lilyfield’s Local Press Café
youthink | november 2014
This is frequently mentioned in their speech, as in
what Shaikh ‘Abd al-Qadir has to say in the book
entitled Futuh al-Ghaib [Revelations of the Unseen]:
“Step out of your own self and keep your
distance from it. Practice detachment
from your possessiveness, and surrender
everything to Allah. Become His doorman at
the door of your heart, obeying His command
by admitting those He instructs you to admit,
and respecting His prohibition by shutting
out those He instructs you to turn away, so
that you do not let passion back into your
heart once it has been evicted. Passion is
expelled from the heart by resistance to
it and refusal to follow its urges, whatever
the circumstances, while compliance and
acquiescence allow it to gain entry. So do not
exert any will apart from His will, for anything
else is your own desire, and that is the
Vale of Folly, where death and destruction
await you, and falling from His sight and
becoming secluded from Him. Always keep
His commandments, always respect His
prohibitions, and always submit to what He
has decreed. Do not associate Him with any
46
part of His creation. Your will, your passions
and your carnal appetites all belong to His
creation, so refrain from indulging any of
them lest you become a polytheist. Allah
(Exalted is He) has said:
Whoever hopes to meet his Lord, let him do
righteous work, and make none sharer in the
write for us
worship due unto his Lord. (18:110)
Polytheism [shirk] is not merely the worship
of idols. It is also polytheism to yield to your
own passionate desire, and to equate with
Send your submissions or pitches
your Lord anything whatsoever besides Him,
to [email protected]
be it of this world and its contents or of the
Hereafter and what is contained therein.
What is besides Him (Almighty and Glorious
is He) is other than He, so when you rely on
anything other than Him you are associating
something else with Him (Almighty and
Glorious is He.) Therefore be wary and do
not relax your guard, be fearful and do not
develop a sense of security, and keep your
wits about you so that you do not become
careless and complacent. Do not attribute
any state or station to yourself, and have no
pretensions to such things.” l
ISTOCKPHOTO / WRAGG
As for those spiritual travelers who follow the
straight path, like the majority of the Shaikhs of
the righteous predecessors, such as al-Fudail
ibn ‘Iyad, Ibrahim ibn Ad’ham, Abu Sulaiman
ad-Darani, Ma’ruf al-Karkhi, as-Sari as-Saqati,
alJunaid ibn Muhammad and others among those
of early times, and like Shaikh ‘Abd al-Qadir, Shaikh
Hammad, Shaikh Abu ’l-Bayan and others of later
times, they do not permit the spiritual traveler—
even if he flies through the air or walks on water—to
depart from the commandment and the prohibition
prescribed by the Sacred Law. They consider him
obliged to do what is commanded and to leave
alone what is forbidden, until he dies. This is the
Truth, as indicated by the Book, the Sunna and the
consensus of the righteous predecessors.
47
www.smc2014.com.au