Sydney Morning Herald  22.12.2012

Fatwa ... The head imam at Lakemba Mosque has told the congregation they should not participate in anything to do with Christmas.

THE Lakemba Mosque has issued a fatwa against Christmas, warning followers it is a ''sin'' to even wish people a Merry Christmas.

The religious ruling, which followed a similar lecture during Friday prayers at Australia's biggest mosque, was posted on its Facebook site on Saturday morning.

The head imam at Lakemba, Sheikh Yahya Safi, had told the congregation during prayers that they should not take part in anything to do with Christmas.

Samir Dandan, the president of the Lebanese Muslim Association, which oversees the mosque, could not be reached for comment on Saturday.

The fatwa, which has sparked widespread community debate and condemnation, warns that the "disbelievers are trying to draw Muslims away from the straight path".

It also says that Christmas Day and associated celebrations are among the "falsehoods that a Muslim should avoid ... and therefore, a Muslim is neither allowed to celebrate the Christmas Day nor is he allowed to congratulate them".

The posting of the fatwa has shocked many Muslim leaders. The Grand Mufti of Australia, Ibrahim Abu Mohammad, said the foundations of Islam were peace, co-operation, respect and holding others in esteem.

"Anyone who says otherwise is speaking irresponsibly," he said.

"There is difference between showing respect for someone's belief and sharing those beliefs," Dr Ibrahim said.

Dr Ibrahim said the views did not represent the majority of Muslims in Australia. "We are required to have good relations with all people, and to congratulate them on their joyous events is very important."

The fatwa quotes the teacher Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim as saying that congratulating disbelievers for their rituals is forbidden, and if a "Muslim who says this does not become a disbeliever himself, he at least commits a sin as this is the same as congratulating him for his belief in the trinity, which is a greater sin and much more disliked by Almighty Allaah than congratulating him for drinking alcohol or killing a soul or committing fornication or adultery”.

A community leader, Dr Jamal Rifi, said he did not agree with the school of thought behind the fatwa.

"We can share the festivities with friends and families and neighbours – I don't think there is any civil, religious or ethical reason not to," he said.

Dr Rifi and Sheikh Youssef Nabha, the imam of the Kingsgrove Mosque, are travelling to Nauru on Sunday night with priests from the Maronite and Melkite churches in Sydney to attend Christmas celebrations with the asylum seekers held there.

Dr Rifi said he and Sheikh Youssef would be distributing Christmas cards during the visit.

A community advocate and Muslim convert, Rebecca Kay, told Fairfax Media: "It's sad to see the Lebanese Muslim Association, which considers itself the peak body representing Australian Muslims, with comments like these. It goes to show how far they are from representing the community.

"The notion that Muslims wishing other people a merry Christmas will take them out of their faith is outright ridiculous, laughable and borders on the extreme."

Keysar Trad, a former official with the Lebanese Muslim Association, said in his time with the organisation they used to regularly greet people with merry Christmas. "I don't know what has changed," he said. "But now as a representative of Australia's peak Muslim body, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, I would like to wish all your readers a merry Christmas and a happy new year."

Foreign Minister Bob Carr today announced over $597,700 to support the human rights of indigenous, poor and marginalised people in the Middle East.   
Senator Carr said Australia’s Human Rights Grants Scheme will fund projects to help reduce poverty by protecting and promoting human rights.
“This round of grants includes over $96,000 to the Lebanese Association for Civil Rights to empower a team of human rights defenders to educate victims in Lebanon,” Senator Carr said.
“This project aims to educate high risk youth and women victims about rights violations and to raise awareness of human rights in Lebanese communities.
“Another grant of $100,000 will go to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights to address human rights violations being perpetrated by police in Egypt
“This project will advocate for a comprehensive police sector reform strategy and against the reinstatement of the emergency law under any form.
“It also aims to end the use of firearms in dispersing demonstrations and provide torture victims with legal assistance.”
Other grants include:
$100,000 to St Andrews Refugee Services for a resettlement legal aid project in Egypt.
$99,971 to Medical Aid for Palestinians for monitoring and reporting mechanisms for human rights violations of marginalised Bedouin communities in the Palestinian Territories.
$97,888 to Jordan Media Institute for media training to expose human rights abuses in Jordan.
$73,848 to Development Iraq to collect data and produce a report on child labour issues in Iraq.
$30,000 to The Human Rights and Democracy Media Centre to promote concepts and principles of human rights within Sharia ’a college students in the Palestinian Territories.
Senator Carr said Australia is proud to be advancing human rights in the Middle East.
“The Human Rights Grants Scheme was established in 1997 and has proven to be an effective way for Australia to support human rights activities in all regions of the world,” Senator Carr said.
“In 2011-12, the scheme supported NGOs and human rights institutions to implement 41 projects across the Pacific, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
“We’ll build on these successes in 2012-13 with 42 projects scheduled to begin in 32 countries.”
Organisations selected for funding under the Human Rights Grants Scheme face a rigorous selection process.

Once shortlisted by Australia’s diplomatic missions overseas, organisations are selected by a committee which includes an independent panel of human rights experts.

The expert panel plays an invaluable role in identifying high quality projects which will support our goal of enhancing human rights for poor people through the aid program.
Further information is available at the Human Rights Grants Scheme website: www.ausaid.gov.au/business/other_opps/Pages/humanrights_scheme.aspx
Media contact: (02) 6277 7500

Recently, I interviewed the Honourable Chris Bowen, Minister for Immigration and Member for McMahon. We spoke about immigration policy decisions and his recent trip to Lebanon.
I asked about the recent comment by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, that called conditions in Nauru unbearable. Minister Bowen said that the Commissioner’s comments did not reflect the true circumstances in Nauru. He emphasised that the overwhelming moral obligation on the current government is to save lives and that is what current policies strive to achieve.
There was a recent government decision to allow refugees to settle in Australia on bridging visas as they waited for the processing of their Australian residency applications. Mr Bowen believed that the Malaysian Arrangement would have prevented this outcome. He also said that the people on these bridging visas would not jump the queue and would have to wait up to five years for their application to be heard in accordance with international waiting times. These refugees will not be granted temporary working visas. “People smugglers are selling the right to work in Australia and granting temporary working visas would further encourage them to continue this practice,” he said.
I also mentioned the recent reopening of the detention centre in Tasmania. Mr Bowen said that it would relieve some of the pressure in other detention centres and that it was a positive decision, supported by the Tasmanian Government who wanted it reopen because of the financial wealth it generates for the local economy.
Mr Bowen said that he had a fantastic time in Lebanon and met with the President, the Prime Minister, the Speaker and various other officials. He said he was glad he made the decision to go despite the assassination of the late Mr Wissam Al-Hassa right before his departure. “Friends are there in times of need. I was glad to go to Lebanon, express my condolences and offer my support,” he said.
Mr Bowen met with religious leaders from the Shiite and Sunni faiths and, although the Maronite Patriach and Melkite Bishop were not in Lebanon at the time, he enjoyed his visit to Our Lady of Lebanon Church. He payed respects at the grave of the late Mr Rafiq Al-Harriri and was one of the first Western officials to visit the grave of the late Mr Wissam Al-Hassa.
The Minister visited a Palestinian refugee camp just outside Beirut. He said that the conditions were very devastating and that the refugee situation in Lebanon was very difficult. “Almost 30,000 people in half a kilometre is clearly indicative of the difficult situation Lebanese authorities are facing,” he said. When asked what could be done to assist he replied, “The Australian Government, and other western countries, need to assist to resettle Lebanon’s refugees in Western countries.”
“I was pleased to have an opportunity to express to the Lebanese President the positive contribution Lebanese Australians have made to Australia”, Mr Bowen said. He was also grateful to have had the opportunity to express his thanks to Lebanon for supporting Australia’s bid for a United Nations Security Council seat from the very beginning.
Mr Bowen also visited Lebanese villages. “During my stay I was fortunate enough to visit Becharre, Hadshit, Al-Minia and Kfersghab. The villages were very beautiful and I enjoyed my time in Lebanon very much,” he said.