The Islamic Museum of Australia

Thank you everyone for visiting us and participating in our first ever fun filled Community Week! Also our biggest thank you to the volunteers and staff who contributed to making these events successful - your passion and enthusiasm fueled these events and made them spectacular. Community Week was made possible and was a great success thanks also to the support of our partners: ICV - Islamic Council of Victoria, the Board of Imams Victoria and National Zakat Foundation Australia. Families and friends came from all around Victoria - near and far - to participate in a series of workshops, events and activities which ran from Friday 29 June to Friday 6 July. The events are highlighted below:

Hijab Styling

The Community Week kicked off in style with Hijab Styling Workshop.

Run in conjunction with Hijab Styling By D, this scarf styling workshop kicked off with so many participants to create looks that are minimal and classy. The workshop was designed to help boost their confidence so they can walk out with new styles in their repertoire that are easy, fuss free, and perfect for everyday use. Thank you to everyone who participated; we hope you enjoyed this experience and are sharing these techniques with your loved ones (or even using these styles right now!).

Build Your Own Mosque

This was a free activity for children to come and build their very own mosque. Participants were guided through decorating and constructing a paper model mosque to take home.

Where did the rest of the young artists go off to?

Our very popular Mosque Building Workshop was filled with young artists (before they vacated their seats as evident in this photo). Look at those colourful mosque designs!

Richmond Football Club Clinic

Participants joined representatives from the Richmond Footy Club for three hours of fun filled AFL activities!

Look at them go!

Young ones working hard, playing hard.

Jacob Simkin’s Photography

Jacob Simkin was an aspiring cinematographer whose path lead him to a servitude of working in development across conflict countries in the Islamic world. Working mainly in Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria, Jacob takes on roles including photojournalist and aid worker and holds a firm belief that humans can overcome the greatest of hardships when given a chance. Jacob presented his photos and videos and shared experiences of these hard places and his journey to discover what it means to be human.

Azhan Workshop

Run by the Islamic Council of Victoria and Board of Imams Victoria, this unique workshop investigated the azhan’s (the call to prayer) history, along with providing practical instruction for participants to build confidence and advance in their call to prayer.

Thank you to Sheikh Alaa el Zokm for such a valuable lesson on call to prayer!

Healthy Dessert Workshop

Participants joined Samira in a morning activity for parents and children to learn how easy and delicious it is to make healthy desserts. Our young chefs got to try a range of dishes including chocolate/zucchini brownies, chocolate/avocado mousse and date balls then learn about healthy ingredients and their benefits.

Ibrahim - Father of Prophets

This lecture was run by the Islamic Council of Victoria and Board of Imams Victoria which uncovered some of the history behind the ‘Father of the Prophets’ - Ibrahim - and taught the audience about his famous pilgrimage that was the first hajj.

DIY Tasbih Workshop

Participants came and learned special techniques to make their unique beads with synthetic polymer clay which was fired in the IMA ovens before stringing them into a gorgeous tasbih.

The Shariah of Food Etiquette in Islam

So many participants joined the ever informative Muslim Naturopath - Julide Turker - for a fascinating talk about the importance of food and diet in Islam.

Terracotta Painting Workshop

In conjunction with Australian Federal Police (AFP), this workshop for adults was taught by AFP Community Liaison Team Artist, Anisa Sharif. Participants learned to paint beautiful designs on a terracotta platter; a therapeutic and fun experience it was!

Those symmetrical designs are amazing! I wonder how they did that?

Thank you Anisa and our friends at Bunnings Northland for hosting an amazing terracotta workshop at the Islamic Museum of Australia.

Beautiful terracotta platters made by our participants of all ages and experiences.

Young artists planning together to paint and design a beautiful terracotta platter.

...and that’s a wrap up of our Community Week for this year! Thank you again to everyone for visiting us. We’ll be back with more events to come this year, so be sure to keep an eye out and sign up to receive our e-newsletter.