AMUST
AUSTRALASIAN MUSLIM TIMES
www.amust.com.au ISSUE # 152
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Multicultural News & Views
JULY 2018; SHAWWAL 1439
Culture Wars in Australian Academia
BOOMERANG PAGE 7
Man donates money, later converts to Islam
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PH: 0432 608 350
Unions in Unison Interfaith Iftar
AUSTRALIA PAGE 19
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EMAIL: INFO@AMUST.COM.AU
‘Civilisation of the Heart’ UMMAH PAGES 26
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Abuse of Women’s Rights
EDUCATION PAGE 28
Sheikh Shady wins defamation case
Zia Ahmad
Zaid Rajab with Jon. Mobinah Ahmad A heart-warming story of a man’s journey to Islam has resonated within the community. In a Facebook post, Zaid Rajab* explained his experience in meeting Jon when in line to attend an Islamic fundraising event. “With his Western Anglo appearance, I started a conversation with him, a loaded question, ‘When did you accept Islam?, I asked.” What peaked Zaid’s interest was the fact that Jon wasn’t a Muslim. “I recall vividly. I was wondering what was he doing at an Islamic event if he wasn’t a Muslim.” With interest in finding out more about Jon’s presence at the event, Zaid invited him to sit next to him. When the fundraising time came up, Zaid was surprised with what happened next. “Turns out later that evening, as the fundraising segment kicked off, many Muslims began raising their hands to pledge money to a cause, a new mosque to be precise. Jon raises his hand and discreetly pledges a significant amount to a male usher. I overhear the amount, and was blown away.” continued on page 22
In a press release dated Tuesday 26 June 2018, the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) announced that Sheikh Shady’s defamation action against News Corp has been settled. Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman, the current President of ANIC commenced defamation proceedings on 16 June 2017, against the publishers of The Daily Telegraph and Courier Mail regarding a series of articles published in June 2016. Sheikh Shady stated that the matter has now been resolved on confidential terms. The articles that concerned him have been removed from the internet. He thanked Barrister Sue Chrysanthou and the Birchgrove Legal team for their outstanding work in taking this matter to a successful conclusion. Sheikh Shady, 40 is Australian born and amongst the first homegrown Imams serving the diverse Muslim community in Sydney. Justice Geoffrey Flick, a Federal Court judge had earlier ordered that newspaper articles that Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman claimed were defamatory of him, be removed from several News Corp websites. Justice Geoffrey Flick also criticised News Corp, the parent company of Nationwide News Pty Ltd, which published the defamatory articles, for tardy action over a motion to tender a new affidavit by an expert witness, as well as change some particulars pleaded. “This case has not been conducted by the respondent in a way that covers them in glory” and when it concluded “will be a model of how not to conduct litigation”, Justice Flick said.
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Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman, President of Australian National Imams Council. He ordered that costs of the court’s proceedings be paid by News Corp. Earlier last year in April 2017, the former Grand Mufti of Australia, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, had won a defamation case against Nationwide News regarding an article published in the Daily Telegraph on 18
November 2015. It is hoped that with such successful actions by Australian Muslim leaders, the culture of blameless, inaccurate, irresponsible, bigoted and damaging reporting within Nationwide News and News Corp will be brought to an end. Continued on page 2
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