About
In the Quran, Allah (swt) tells us that He has created all things upon a perfect measure, order and disposition. This remarkable phenomena is known as the fitrah, and almost all of creation – from the vast planets in the cosmos to the tiniest member of the animal kingdom – follow their natural fitraic state which allows them to function and co-exist in perfect harmony with one another, thereby maintaining balance within the created world. The only exception to this is, of course, the human being.
Unlike the rest of creation, by virtue of possessing a free will, we can choose our way of life. Living in accordance with our natural fitraic state aligns us with the created order, actualises our higher status as Allah’s (swt) khulafah (representatives) on earth, and completes balance and harmony in the world. Working against this fitrah however, creates imbalances everywhere…
Diseases of all kinds begin to spread – not just physical, but also spiritual and societal.
Basic ethics start to erode, indecencies become normalised, and the family unit falls.
Aspects of our identity – from our status as finite beings created by Allah (swt) to our sexual orientations – become unclear.
Meaning and purpose become lost, often replaced with pursuits driven by vanity, ego and desire.
Injustice and oppression becomes rife, including that done to fellow human beings and that done to the natural world of Allah’s (swt) creation.
Understanding the fitrah however, can offer us a way back to balance and harmony, on all levels of existence including the physical, psychological, spiritual, social, cultural, political and economic. There is a way in which we were created to live, both as individuals and societies, which gives us clear guidance on how to structure ourselves. This can serve as a pathway to healing ourselves, our communities, and ultimately the world.
Join us on Sunday 30 June as we unpack this and more with 6 lectures and 2 moderated panels.
Details
- Date: Sunday 30 June, 2024
- Time: 10am to 5:30pm
- Venue: Bryan Brown Theatre & Function Centre, Bankstown
- Standard Ticket: $20
- Early Bird Ticket: $10 (only 50 tickets available)
Morning Tea & Lunch Provided Introductory Talk: Returning to the Fitrah
By Dr Samir Mahmoud
Many of us have never heard the term “Fitrah”, and from those of us who have, we normally equate it with “natural disposition” or “primordial nature”. But what exactly does this mean? Join us for an eye-opening lecture as Dr Samir Mahmoud dives deep into the Fitrah, exploring the rich insights it offers into understanding the bizarre events of contemporary society, and in turn, how it can offer a pathway to healing ourselves, our communities, and ultimately the world.
Family, Marriage & Love: Foundations to Flourish in the Dunya & Akhira
By Sh Mohamed Acharki (Melb)
As Muslims, we can be quick to point out the prevalence of divorce and extramarital affairs in the circles of our non-Muslim counterparts. However, families in our own communities are riddled with problems too. Toxic marriages. Generational gaps. Misogyny. Domestic violence. Disrespect to parents. The list goes on. The breakdown of the family unit is going against the natural relationships Allah (swt) has intended for between husband and wife, parents and children, and is turning us further away from actualising the full potentialities of the fitrah.
Join us as Sh Mohamed Acharki unpacks the cosmic role of family and marriage, and its place in a much larger fitraic order within which human beings either flourish or perish.
Masculinity & Femininity: Reviving the Quranic Paradigm on Gender & Sexuality
By Ust Sahar Dandan
A world without gender would be a scary place to live in, yet, for a society in which objective values and orientations are thrown out the window, this seems to be a reality awfully close at hand. The disintegration of the longheld views on gender and sexuality is stripping a fundamental part of our human identity, which is causing all sorts of disturbances in our society, homes and psychological states. The vast majority of us are unsure on what to do as we face a problem that has never existed before. While some have jumped on ‘extreme’ views on gender and others are considering making hijrah to another country.
Join us as Ust Sahar Dandan explores the Quranic view on masculinity and femininity, and how the broader question of gender and sexuality is rooted in the archetypal reality that Allah (swt) has created in the order of the cosmos.
A Modern Crisis of Meaning: Rethinking Our Careers, Hobbies & Extracurricular
By Sh Haisam Farache
In an age of consumption and desire, our careers, hobbies and extracurricular preoccupations are increasingly becoming nothing but tools to increase our ego. While some are engulfed in the rat race of career or pursuit of wealth without restraint, others are stuck in a life where they’ve confused hustle as the purpose of life, and where success and meaning is tied to personal achievements. Not only do these distractions make us forget how to connect with others including our family and friends as well as our Creator, but also produces imbalances within our being, which severely stunt our growth to actualising the full potentialities of the fitrah.
Join us as Sh Haisam Farache examines the role of career, hobbies and extracurricular in relation to our natural fitraic state, and how we can reconfigure our preoccupations to achieve felicity in this world and the next.
Justice as Balance: Prophetic Response to Global Injustices
By Sh Ahmed Abdo
In the grand scheme of creation, it is only mankind that has stepped out of place. The recent events in Palestine, Sudan and so on, seem to be nothing but iterations of corruption and bloodshed that have existed since the start of our species till the current day. Yet when we look and learn about the vast cosmos, we notice a brilliant balance and harmony that “returns our vision humbled and fatigued” (Quran 67:4). The one and only difference between us and the cosmos: alignment with the fitrah. While all of creation remains on the natural fitraic states they were created upon, mankind seems to be moving further away from it, thereby increasing the oppression and injustices around the world.
Join us as Sh Ahmed Abdo explores the Quranic perspective of justice, and how to respond to global events in the footsteps of the Prophet (saw).
Nations Like Yourselves: Listening to the Pleas of God’s Creatures
By Sh Anthony Andrist
Have you ever realised the peace you feel when you hear the waves at the beach, or the breeze on your skin or as you walk through a green field? Our souls heal in nature without conscious effort because we were created to live in harmony with the natural world of Allah’s (swt) creation. Since the start of human history, mankind has lived as one with nature, however, in modern times, our life has lost sync with the rhythm of nature and in turn, we find ourselves transgressing against the natural world even if it seems to spell our own destruction.
Join us as Sh Anthony Andrist unpacks how we can learn to live in harmony with nature and align ourselves with the created order, and what this can mean for the wellbeing of ourselves and society.
Panels TBC
Sh Anthony Andrist
Brother Anthony has studied Islamic sciences abroad under some of the most prominent Maliki scholars of our time. He pursued Islamic knowledge in Mauritania and studied with Murabit al Hajj bin Fahfou as his head teacher along with Murabit Muhammad Al-Amin bin al-Shaykh, Murabit Ahmed Fal bin Ahmedna, Shaykh Abdullah bin Ahmedna, Shaykh Al-Sharif Muhammad Zain bin Al-Qasim, and Shaykh Saleck bin Sidine among others. May Allah have mercy on them all. He is currently studying the Mukhtasar Khalil with Sheikh Zohair Qazzan of Algeria. He currently teaches Maliki texts privately in Sydney.
In Australia, his passion for beekeeping led him to complete the Pests and Diseases of the Honey Bee course with the NSW DPI and the Natural Beekeeping course with Tim Malfroy. He has written about and taught courses in natural and responsible beekeeping.
In 2009, he completed his Permaculture Design Course with the late Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton of the Permaculture Research Institute (PRI), and also completed an internship at PRI. He continues to practice and teach permaculture. His work includes permaculture projects across Sydney and collaborations with Penny Pyett, the leading director of the Permaculture Sydney Institute in St Albans, NSW.
He holds a Masters of Research in Anthropology from Macquarie University (2018), focusing on the abolition movement in Mauritania.
He is passionate about finding solutions to modern challenges through the integration of traditional knowledge and sustainable practices that make a positive impact on both the community and environment.
Sh Ahmed Abdo
Shaykh Ahmed Abdo is a Sydney born Imam, a scholar and respected teacher of Islam. After nearly ten years studying Islam in the blessed city of Tarim in Yemen he returned to give back to the people of Australia, his country. He studied in Dar al-Mustafa, an Islamic Seminary in Tarim, Hadramawt, under the tutelage of its Founder and Dean, Habib Umar bin Hafiz, a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and worldwide authority on Islamic Jurisprudence, Theology, and Spirituality.
During his course of studies in Dar al-Mustafa, Ahmed studied the core Islamic sciences including Arabic grammar, jurisprudence, theology, prophetic traditions and spiritual wayfaring, with a particular interest in the area of Islamic Jurisprudence.
He currently serves as an Honorary Chaplain, teaches Islamic Law and Spirituality courses through Shifa Institute which he founded to better inform people regarding the principles and teachings of Islam and how they apply in modern day society, particularly Australia. He has taught the “Foundations of Islamic Law”, and “Marvels of the Heart”, on spiritual excellence. His students are located in Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane as well as Sydney. They access his courses through an online learning platform currently being refined through Shifa Institute.
He has taught Arabic, Quran, and Islamic Studies at various schools in Sydney including Rissalah College and Australian International Academy.
Ahmed is also an accomplished Interpreter. He enjoys the challenge of listening to a message, absorbing it, then immediately communicating in a way that is appropriate and relevant to the target audience. He is actively involved in interfaith work, as well as within the Muslim community. He has conducted lessons at Auburn Gallipoli Mosque Youth Centre and Lakemba Mosque in the past.
He delivers Friday sermons in various Islamic centres and mosques.
Sh Haisam Farache
Shaykh Haisam Farache grew up on Sydney’s North Shore. He commenced his undergraduate studies in the USA, before completing a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Western Sydney, after which he completed his Masters in Applied Family Law from the College of Law, Sydney. The Shaykh has practiced in the law industry for two decades, and is currently the principal solicitor at Garrison Lawyers. Alongside this, the Shaykh has spent years pursuing Islamic learning, earning ijazas from scholars around the Muslim world, including Yemen, Syria, Tunisia, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. He also completed a Diploma in Sharia (Hons) at Dar al Mustafa in Yemen. He is a Minister of Religion (Islam) and also an accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner.
Ust Sahar Dandan
Sahar has a unique blend of expertise in Islamic sciences, engineering, and organisational development. Beginning her Shariah studies in Lebanon, Sahar furthered her education under the guidance of prominent Maliki scholars abroad, studying in Mauritania with esteemed figures such as Murabit al Hajj bin Fahfou, Shaykha Maryam bint Bwayba, and Murabit Muhammad Al-Amin bin al-Shaykh May God have mercy on all of them.
Sahar holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (Hons) and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Sydney. Sahar’s engineering background includes over a decade of experience in leading engineering teams in sectors such as industrial gases and food manufacturing. In her professional journey, she brought her experience in project management and organisational development to various sectors, including corporate, community, and not-for-profit organisations.
Her commitment to environmental sustainability led her to complete a Permaculture Design Course with Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton, and she has actively contributed to permaculture projects within the Sydney community. Her philanthropic efforts include founding Foundations for Tomorrow, which provided humanitarian aid to West Africa with a focus on sustainable initiatives, and GoActive, a pioneering sports, health, and education program for diverse women.
Currently, Sahar teaches Islamic texts privately and works as a project specialist, leveraging her experience in organisational development and project management to support companies in establishing effective governance and policy frameworks, systems, processes, and strategic plans.
Sh Mohamed Acharki
Mohamed memorised the Quran and learned Arabic in his early teens in Morocco. In Melbourne, he studied beginners and intermediate texts in Arabic with local scholars before returning to Morocco. He then studied a traditional curriculum in Morocco finishing intermediate and advanced texts (along with commentaries and supercommentaries) in the different Shariah sciences, as well as completing a degree in a local university in the Islamic sciences.
He has also completed undergraduate degrees in education and arts (politics and philosophy) and a masters in International Relations. He currently works for two schools in the area of curriculum development, as well as delivering lessons and programs in the local Melbournian community.
Dr Samir Mahmoud
Dr. Samir Mahmoud is currently Academic Director of Usul Academy (
www.usul.academy). He is also Program Manager of the Diploma in Islamic Psychology at the Cambridge Muslim College.
Recently he was Assistant Professor at the Lebanese American University. He has a BA (Hons) in Anthropology & Politics with a focus on multicultural theory and comparative religion, and an MA in Architectural History, Theory & Urban Design with a focus on the traditional townscape from the University of New South Wales, Sydney Australia. He also holds an MPhil in Theology & Religious Studies with a focus on comparative philosophy and aesthetics. He completed a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Dr. Timothy Winter (Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad).
Will we need to bring or buy lunch?
We will serve morning tea and lunch to all of our attendees. However, you are welcome to leave the venue during the break to purchase your own lunch, if you wish.
Can I purchase a ticket at the door?
You may purchase a ticket on the day at the door, however, the price will be $35. Please note that if we sell out before the conference days, then you will not be able to purchase at the door. Hint: Make a purchase and book your spot early to avoid disappointment.
Can I get a refund for my ticket?
We are not offering refunds for any ticket purchases at this stage.
Is there a nearby station? Is there free parking available?
Yes and yes. The venue is only a 5 minute walk from Bankstown Railway Station & Bus Interchange. There is limited parking (55 spaces) underneath the venue, which is free for 4 hours, and can be accessed via Richard Road, opposite the Medical Centre. There is also a large car park (502 spaces, multi story) at 40 Marion Street which is a 7-8 minute walk from the venue.
If you have other questions, feel free to email admin@mya.org.au
