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Everything you’ve always wanted to know about Ramadan

<p>Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam and is a period of time where Muslims fast for a month and commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Prophet Muhammad.</p> <p>Muslims can enjoy a very early breakfast just before sunrise, known as “Imsaak”, before fasting for the day. When the sun sets, Muslims get together and share their first meal for the day known as “Iftar”.</p> <p>Following the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, Muslims are encouraged to break their fast with a date before enjoying the rest of the meals prepared.</p> <p>So, when does Ramadan actually begin? Muslims rely on the crescent moon sighting to determine the beginning of the holy month. This year, it is expected that Ramadan will begin on March 23, and will last for 30 days. However, some may begin their fasting on March 24.</p> <p>This year, Australian Muslims will fast longer hours for the first 10 days or so due to daylight savings, but when daylight savings ends on April 2, that will shorten the fasting day.</p> <p>While fasting, Muslims are required to abstain from food, drinks, backbiting, swearing and sexual activities. Sex, for example, is prohibited when fasting. Once the fast is broken, sex is allowed to be performed.</p> <p>Fasting is compulsory for Muslims when they reach puberty, however, some individuals are unable to fast due to disabilities, illness, old age, or pregnancy. Women who are menstruating are also not allowed to fast.</p> <p>Some of the holiest nights of the Islamic year also occur in the month of Ramadan, known as Laylat al-Qadr (night of decree). It is the night when Muslims commemorate the first revelation of the holy Quran that was sent down to Prophet Muhammad, and falls in the last 10 days of Ramadan.</p> <p>Once the 30 days of Ramadan are over, Muslims celebrate Eid with friends and family over three days with a large feast (or two), and children are gifted money and new clothing from older relatives.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Why does Ramadan fall in different seasons around the world? </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Due to the northern and southern hemisphere, Muslims around the world fast either in winter or summer.</p> <p dir="ltr">Australians and New Zealanders have been fasting during the winter months for the past few years, which counts to about 12 hours a day. </p> <p dir="ltr">However, those in the northern hemisphere have been fasting during the summertime, which means longer fasting hours.</p> <p dir="ltr">In addition to that, because Ramadan falls on a different day each year based on the Islamic calendar, those in the northern hemisphere will eventually observe Ramadan in winter and vice versa. </p> <p dir="ltr">An extra fun fact is that from 2023, Ramadan begins 10 days earlier – which means those 10 days will be longer fasting days, thanks to daylight savings. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>What is the most common question fasting Muslims are asked?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">“Not even water?”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Yes. Not even water.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

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Muslim bachelor uses billboard ads to find a wife

<p>Muhammad Malik has come up with a unique way to meet a potential partner. </p> <p>The London-based 29-year-old has plastered his face on billboards across England in an unorthodox bid to "save him from an arranged marriage".</p> <p>The series of billboards show the eligible bachelor laying on the ground with a link to his website, called <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.findmalikawife.com" target="_blank">findmalikawife.com</a>.</p> <p>His website gives potential suitors a look into his life, career, and special interests, as well as what he is looking for in a partner. </p> <p>In Mailk's words, he is looking for, "<span>a Muslim woman in her 20s, who's striving to better her deen. I'm open to any ethnicity but I've got a loud Punjabi family - so you'd need to keep with the bants."</span><br /><span>"Always personality and faith over anything else!"</span></p> <p><span>The free-spirited Malik insists he isn't against arranged marriages, but he "just wanted to try and find someone on my own first."</span></p> <p><span>Speaking to BBC's Asian Network, Malik said he became tired of using dating apps, saying they lack a real connection. </span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">"It takes a lot of energy swiping left and right, and you almost become immune or this robot," he said.  </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">"There's that lack of ethereal human connection when we're talking about the online space." </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">When asked why he went to such extreme lengths with the billboards, he said, "Probably because of my personality."</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">"I'm a creative and I love doing the most random and absurd things - as long as they are 100 per cent halal of course."</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">"Traditional methods such as 'rishta aunties' didn't work for me so thought why not take it to the billboards."</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Since the billboards have been up since New Years Day, Malik said he has got hundreds of responses, and has enlisted the help of his friends to go through the potential partners. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span>He said, "It's early days but responses thus far have been in the triple digits and from some really lovely people - keep them coming. I'm hoping to get in touch with women I like soon."</span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><em>Image credits: Twitter @findmailkawife</em></p>

Relationships

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Starbucks worker under fire for writing 'ISIS' on Muslim customer's coffee order

<p><span>A Muslim advocacy group is demanding an employee of Starbuck’s he fired after they were caught writing “ISIS” on a customer’s coffee cup.</span><br /><br /><span>The incident took place at a store in St Paul, Minneapolis in early July.</span><br /><br /><span>According to a Muslim customer, she told the employee her name when first asked but the employee chose to label the cup “ISIS” before she was finished.</span><br /><br /><span>ISIS is a commonly-known acronym for terrorist organisation Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.</span><br /><br /><span>The employee has claimed they misheard the woman’s name, which is Aishah.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7836845/isis-starbucks.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/e5f19eff67ae4c23b3452d0a9f7f65a3" /><br /><br /><span>The Council on American-Islamic Relations, however, believe the incident is a result of Islamophobia and is demanding the worker be fired.</span><br /><br /><span>“After noticing the writing on the cup, she asked the employee why ‘ISIS’ was written on the cup,” it said in a statement.</span><br /><br /><span>“The employee claimed that she had not heard her name correctly.</span><br /><br /><span>“Later, a supervisor told the Muslim customer that ‘mistakes’ sometimes happen with customers’ names, suggesting that this is not the first incident.”</span><br /><br /><span>The Starbucks, which is operated by a Target store in Minneapolis, have since apologised for the incident.</span><br /><br /><span>According to local outlet Pioneer Press, it says the incident was “not a deliberate act but an unfortunate mistake”.</span><br /><br /><span>“We are very sorry for this guest’s experience at our store and immediately apologised to her when she made our store leaders aware of the situation,” a spokesperson told the publication.</span></p>

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Muslim minorities are facing genocide in Asia

<p>Developments involving <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/muslim-australians-increasingly-victimised/">Muslim populations</a> in India have echoes of the fate that’s recently befallen Islamic minorities elsewhere in the region. There are now fears that a new humanitarian crisis could unfold in India, similar to those involving the Uyghurs and the Rohingyas.</p> <p>Following its return to office last May, the Hindu nationalist BJP government published an updated version of the National Register of Citizens <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/nrc-timeline-through-the-years/articleshow/70921378.cms?from=mdr">in August</a>. It’s a census that was created in 1951 in the north-eastern state of Assam to track illegal immigrants. And it’s <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49520593">the first time</a> it’s been updated.</p> <p>The BJP distanced itself from the register, after the 1.9 million mainly Bengali people left off it were found to be not just Muslims. Indeed, a sizable number of those unable to provide documents revealing they’ve been in the country since Bangladeshi independence in 1971 are Hindus.</p> <p>Some unregistered Assam residents <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49520593">have since been</a> detained in temporary camps set up in the state’s correctional facilities. They have a right to appeal, although it’s an expensive process. And no one knows where those awaiting deportation are meant to be sent, as Bangladesh isn’t taking them.</p> <p>But, as of <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/india-anti-muslim-citizenship-bill-191209095557419.html">mid-December</a>, those non-Muslim people left off the register have been saved, because the government passed new legislation that protects certain illegal immigrants from neighbouring Islamic countries. And it provides them with a fast-tracked path to citizenship.</p> <p><strong>Solidifying Hindu supremacy</strong></p> <p>Indian parliament passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/india-table-controversial-citizenship-bill-parliament-191209041402071.html?utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=article_page&amp;utm_campaign=read_more_links">on 9 December</a>. It provides citizenship to illegal immigrants from persecuted religious minorities – Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Parsis, Jains and Sikhs – from neighbouring Muslim nations, such as Bangladesh and Pakistan.</p> <p>So, immigrants who are followers of those six religions are able to apply for citizenship after they’ve been in the country for six years. And the legislation is stark in that it doesn’t allow Muslims fleeing dangerous situations those same protections.</p> <p>This is especially so in India, as Muslims not only make up the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/08/hindus-drop-80-percent-india-population-muslims-census-150826052655585.html">largest minority in the country</a>, but the Islamic population – which is close to 15 percent of 1.3 billion people – is the second <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/01/the-countries-with-the-10-largest-christian-populations-and-the-10-largest-muslim-populations/">largest Muslim populace on the planet</a>. And it’s estimated to be the biggest by 2060.</p> <p>The bill is widely criticised for enshrining religious discrimination into law in a secular nation that’s no stranger to sectarian violence erupting between the Hindu majority and Muslim minority. In fact, current PM Narendra Modi was chief minister of Gujarat during that state’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/07/narendra-modi-massacre-next-prime-minister-india">2002 Muslim pogroms</a>.</p> <p>And in November last year, Indian home minister Amit Shah <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/india-anti-muslim-citizenship-bill-191209095557419.html">announced</a> that the country would undergo a citizenship registry process – similar to that carried out in Assam – so as to weed out undocumented immigrants. And those found to be illegal and Muslim will have no protection.</p> <p><strong>Mass incarceration in China</strong></p> <p>Meanwhile, in the far western region of China known as the Xingang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the Chinese Community Party (CCP) has been detaining – without criminal charge or trial – <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/stop-the-mass-detentions-an-interview-with-world-uyghur-congress-president-dolkun-isa/">over one million Uyghurs</a> and other central Asian Muslim minorities in political re-education camps.</p> <p>There’s no dispute as to whether the Uyghur people should be living in the area – that many refer to as East Turkistan – but rather, it’s Indigenous locals, who question whether they should be ruled by Beijing.</p> <p>And hence, the political indoctrination many are undergoing within the new detention camps.</p> <p>In 1949, as the CCP took power <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/stop-the-mass-detentions-an-interview-with-world-uyghur-congress-president-dolkun-isa/">in China</a>, its troops rolled into Urumqi: the capital of Xinjiang. And from there, Beijing began its tense occupation of the region, which has involved the gradual deconstruction of Uyghur culture, via the passing of laws and the application of brute force.</p> <p>These tensions spilled over in 2009, when huge Uyghur demonstrations in the capital, turned into civil unrest, which was then followed by a number of violent reprisals perpetrated by Uyghur people, both in the local area and elsewhere in China <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/beijing-launches-all-out-offensive-against-uyghur-minority/">over 2013 and 2014</a>.</p> <p>World Uyghur Congress president Dolkun Isa told Sydney Criminal Lawyers <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/beijing-launches-all-out-offensive-against-uyghur-minority/">in March 2017</a> that CCP secretary Chen Quanguo had implemented a huge security and surveillance program in the region, after he’d cut his teeth in monitoring Tibetans. And by the next month, the gulags began operating.</p> <p>As the reports of mass incarceration began to make their way to the outside world, Beijing denied its camps were prisons, stating they were merely training centres. However, leaked documents obtained by the New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/16/world/asia/china-xinjiang-documents.html">in November</a>reveal a purposeful indoctrination operation.</p> <p><strong>A stateless people</strong></p> <p>And while similarities can be seen between the incarceration of those of Islamic faith in China, with the Muslims who have been detained in northern India, the aim of deporting those undocumented people in Assam is similar to the pushing out of the Rohingya population in Myanmar.</p> <p>The plight of the Rohingya people came to international attention when <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/vdxba4/inside-sittwe-the-point-of-no-return-for-myanmars-displaced-rohingya">an estimated 25,000</a> fled their homelands in rickety boats in early 2015, which led to a situation where many were left stranded at sea, as various countries turned back the boats.</p> <p>At that time, in Myanmar’s north-western state of Rakhine, around 140,000 Rohingyas were living in internally displaced persons camps, following 2012 sectarian riots that saw members of the Rakhine Buddhist population violently attack and burn down Muslim villages.</p> <p>Then in August 2017, Myanmar security forces began <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/myanmar-cuts-off-aid-to-devastated-rohingya-populations/">a huge crackdown</a> on the Rohingyas – who are denied citizenship – in response to some incidents at police posts. This disproportionate attack involved mass killings and burnings, which led 740,000 locals to flee across the border.</p> <p>Today, there are around <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/inside-the-worlds-largest-refugee-camp-conversations-with-rohingya-refugees/">900,000 Rohingyas</a> living in government-run refugee camps in southern Bangladesh. The largest of their kind in the world, these camps have an air of permanency about them, even though the people long to return to their homelands with their rights installed.</p> <p>And it’s a situation similar to this, that critics fear may be the outcome of developments taking place in India right now, as people without citizenship documents are pushed into detention camps and told they’re no longer welcome, as they belong somewhere else.</p> <p><em>Written by Paul Gregoire. Republished with permission of </em><a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/muslim-minorities-are-facing-genocide-in-asia/"><em>Sydney Criminal Lawyers.</em></a></p> <p><em> </em></p>

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Husband shocked as cabin crew threaten to kick wife off flight

<p>British journalist Mehdi Hasan was furious as he watched his wife leave the flight in tears after she was told she would be “escorted off the plane” allegedly because she wanted to sit with her family.</p> <p>The horrific incident took place on a Southwest Airlines flight between Houston, Texas and Washington DC and was shared online by her husband.</p> <p>Hasan explained that him and his family were flying home when the incident occurred.</p> <p>The airline in question operates on an open-seating policy, which means that here are no allocated seats. Passengers can sit in any available seat on a first-come-first-served basis.</p> <p>Hasan explained that his wife had asked another passenger “politely” if they could switch seats so that the family could sit together, which the other passenger agreed to.</p> <p>The Twitter thread, which has now gone viral, explains the situation as it happened.</p> <p>“Hey @SouthwestAir: not a good look for your flight attendant on SW5539 to DC last night to loudly tell a brown woman in a headscarf she’ll be “escorted off the plane” for making people feel “uncomfortable” – because she wanted to sit with her husband &amp; kids!” he wrote.</p> <p>“The flight attendant called ground staff onto the plane, complained about the Muslim woman – my wife! – to them, &amp; escalated rather than de-escalated the situation – simply because my wife politely asked a guy if he’d give up his seat for our family (which he was fine with!).”</p> <p>Hasan added that another flight attendant who was called to the incident agreed with the family.</p> <p>“Even her own @SouthwestAir colleague from the ground staff who came onboard to check things wondered why the flight attendant wouldn’t shut up &amp; let things go so we could take off,” he said.</p> <p>He then sarcastically thanks the airline for “ruining the end of our Thanksgiving trip”.</p> <p>“Thanks @SouthwestAir for ruining the end of our Thanksgiving trip and leaving my wife in tears – because she wanted us all to sit together as a family while your flight attendant wanted to single her out and humiliate her. Thanks a lot.</p> <p>“FYI: @SouthwestAir flight staff seem to have form when it comes to mistreating brown/Muslim passengers. Hadn’t flown with them for years and, at this point, don’t plan to do so again anytime in the near future. Not worth it.”</p> <p>Hasan’s thread struck a chord and received many messages of support.</p> <p>“I’m so sorry this happened to your wife. How upsetting for her &amp; distressing for your children to see,” one person wrote.</p> <p>“I hope the airline takes action against their staff member. @SouthwestAir Isn’t it quite normal for a family to want to sit together? This is totally unacceptable behaviour.”</p> <p>An airline spokesperson said that they had started to “gather information internally” about the incident.</p> <p>“Once we learned about the customer’s social media message, we began to research the flight and gather information internally.</p> <p>“We also reached out to the customer directly to discuss his family’s experience prior to departure.</p> <p>“From our initial discussions, we understand that some passengers on Flight 5539 were involved in a disagreement over seat selection near the end of boarding. (Southwest does not assign seats; customers select their seats as they board the aircraft.)</p> <p>“The flight crew requested a customer service supervisor come on-board to help address the situation, and the conversation was resolved before the plane left the gate.</p> <p>“The family was able to sit together, and the flight arrived safely in Washington, D.C. on Sunday night. We remain in communication with the customer who sent the tweet and are working to address his concerns directly.”</p> <p>Hasan has rejected this statement entirely, saying that the airline have made up a “totally false narrative”.</p> <p>“Update &amp; a new thread from me: @SouthwestAir have apologized privately but refuse to apologize publicly; offered travel vouchers to fly with them (!) that don't cover the costs of our flights; &amp; have made up a totally false narrative,” he wrote.</p> <p>“.@SouthwestAir told The Sun "we understand that some Passengers...were involved in a disagreement over seat selection." This is false. There was no disagreement, only a flight attendant who was trying to incite passengers against my hijab-wearing wife.”</p>

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Bali’s Denpasar airport weighs in on why Aussie Muslim family was kicked off Jetstar flight

<p>Bali’s Denpasar Airport has released a statement around the controversy that involved an Australian Muslim family being kicked off their Jetstar flight.</p> <p>Sarah Aslan, 23, and her husband Muhammed were travelling with a wedding party of 20 after having their dream wedding in Bali.</p> <p>An altercation occurred on board the flight and the family were left in the airport at 2 am local time.</p> <p>Jetstar have since confirmed that the airline paid for an extra flight for the family to go home the next day at no extra cost, but the family have claimed that they were kicked off the flight for “looking ethnic”.</p> <p>Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar has confirmed that the family’s removal from the flight was because of their behaviour and NOT because of their faith.</p> <p>“We want to convey that the removal of a number of passengers from (the Jetstar flight) was purely because of security and flight safety reasons related to unruly passengers,” airport spokesman Arie Ahsanurrohim said in a statement published in<span> </span>the <em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/11/13/they-were-unruly-jetstar-passengers-not-kicked-off-because-of-religion-bali-airport-says.html" target="_blank">Jakarta Post</a></em>.</p> <p>The spokesman also confirmed that the removal of the family had “nothing to do with SARA issues”.  SARA is the Indonesian term that describes tribal affiliations, religious, race and social groups.</p> <p>“Two passengers did not heed the cabin crew’s instructions,” he explained.</p> <p>As one family member explained that his in-flight entertainment was not working, he was told it would be dealt with after takeoff but two members of the party remained standing.</p> <p>“After the warnings were not heeded by the aforementioned passengers, the cabin crew reported the incident to the pilot … who decided that the two passengers should be removed from the plane because they would not listen to the flight safety instructions from the cabin crew,” the spokesman said.</p> <p>The people who protested the removal of the two passengers were also removed from the plane.</p> <p>However, in an interview with<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/jetstar-wedding-party-call-out-jetstar-after-being-kicked-off-bali-flight/0e9eb1b0-9f68-4211-be55-e598cff058d0" target="_blank">9News</a></em>, Sarah has claimed that it felt like they were “attacked” for their faith.</p> <p>“Personally, it did feel like we were being attacked for looking ethnic and being Muslim,” she said.</p> <p>“That’s why I started crying. I’m like, I just want to go home, I don’t want to be here anymore.”</p>

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Family claims Jetstar kicked them off flight for “looking ethnic and being Muslim”

<p>A couple who had their dream wedding in Bali say that the experience was ruined on the flight home due to an altercation with Jetstar.</p> <p>Sarah Aslan, 23, and her wedding party of 22 had planned to return to Melbourne on Monday via a Jetstar flight, but were instead escorted off the flight and left in Denpasar Airport at 2 am local time.</p> <p>The ejection was due to a confrontation between a flight attendant and Mike Mahmoud, who was a member of Sarah’s group.</p> <p>"I really truly don't believe I was arrogant, I just wanted to get home" he says to<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/jetstar-wedding-party-call-out-jetstar-after-being-kicked-off-bali-flight/0e9eb1b0-9f68-4211-be55-e598cff058d0" target="_blank">9 News.</a></em></p> <p>The family continued to argue with staff and other passengers claimed that things were so heated, the pilot made the decision to turn the plane around and kick the family off the flight.</p> <p>The family are Turkish-Australian and some among the wedding party were wearing headscarves.</p> <p>"Personally, it did feel like we were being attacked for looking ethnic and being Muslim" Sarah says.</p> <p>"That's why I started crying. I'm like, I just want to go home, I don't to be here anymore."</p> <p>Jetstar booked the wedding party on another flight 24 hours later at no extra cost, with the family arriving back in Melbourne on Tuesday night.</p> <p>However, other family members have taken aim at the airline, saying that they were “racially, verbally and physically assaulted”.</p> <p>One family member, Selim Tutunca, spoke about the incident on Jetstar’s Facebook page.</p> <p>“We were racially, verbally and physically assaulted by both Jetstar crew members and Bali airport officials. We have footage of all of this,” he wrote.</p> <p>“We were kicked off the flight even though we hadn’t even spoke a single word to the crew members. We have been waiting for over four hours and my children are sleeping on benches at the airport.</p> <p>“We weren’t accommodated by Jetstar whatsoever. We tried speaking to them and they didn’t want to know anything about us.”</p> <p>Jetstar are disputing the entire incident despite the family’s story.</p> <p>“The safety of our customers and crew is our number one priority, and we do not tolerate any kind of disruptive or abusive behaviour,” a Jetstar spokesman said to<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/family-claims-they-were-kicked-off-jetstar-flight-for-looking-ethnic-and-being-muslim/news-story/90a0eac8d850863448c664710b280b52" target="_blank">news.com.au</a>.</p> <p>“We take these allegations extremely seriously and are investigating the matter, however our crew dispute the claims made by these passengers.”</p>

Travel Trouble