.

Chairman's Message

Serving Brisbane’s rapidly growing Muslim community is the Australian International Islamic College (AIIC) at Durack.

Formerly the Brisbane Muslim School, the College’s change of name reflects the growth of the school and its extension to cover all year levels from Prep to Year 12 as well as vocational education, such as hospitality and automotive studies.

Former principal Shahid Khan – now educational adviser to the college – said the AIIC was first and foremost a place for quality education, teaching the recognised Queensland syllabus to Muslim and non-Muslim students alike.

AIIC provides basic Islamic education and also teaches Arabic as a LOTE (Language Other Than English) subject. Only seven of the 14 teachers currently on staff are Muslim, with all staff strictly selected on merit.“We believe the parent should be the primary religious education provider, with the school the place for educational excellence in the secular subjects,” Shahid said. The school provides a bus service across Brisbane for its 265 students, who represent 33 countries of origin.

As one of only two Muslim schools in Brisbane, Shahid said AIIC was regarded as a sanctuary for families wanting to preserve their Muslim culture. “In the current climate, it is hard to be proud to be Muslim,” he said. “In some schools, our children – especially girls – have received rough treatment and many families are changing their names as a consequence.

“The college provides a safe and caring environment for all of its students.”

Vocal about the need for excellence in education is the college founder and current Chairman, Imam Abdul Quddoos Al-Azhari. an Islamic leader, well-known for his strong views on peaceful coexistence of religions, Imam is highly educated, with degrees from Egypt, Australia and New Zealand. His fluency in Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, English, Malay and Tamil keeps him in strong demand as an international lecturer and he also serves as a multi-faith adviser at Griffith University and as a chaplain at the University of Queensland. He is active in the Brisbane community, as shown by his support of a trade mission to Dubai in February this year. He travelled with Lord Mayor Campbell Newman and representatives of Brisbane businesses, introducing them to Dubai companies and promoting the strength of Australian education and safety as incentives for Australian trade. As Chairman of the Board of Imams in Queensland, Imam came to national attention after the World Trade Centre collapse in 2001 with his eloquent pleas for peaceful coexistence and his denouncement of terrorism as a crime. “We should live in a peaceful and harmonious relationship with all inhabitants of this continent,” Imam told the ABC Radio ‘Encounter’ program at the time. “Australia has provided us with a peaceful atmosphere to come and settle here and we are really grateful for that.” He was recognised for his multicultural and multi faith work with an Australian Centenary Medal. With many Muslim migrants coming from countries with very limited education, Shahid said the Australian International Islamic College took seriously the need to provide and promote high quality education among students and their families. “We cater for refugees and recent arrivals and skilled migrants alike,” he said. Despite a limited budget, the school offers as many services to the Muslim community as it can, including ESL (English as a Second Language) services. “We provide a lot of services – for women, for elderly people,” he said. “When people settle here, we offer them financial help and physical support to settle in. “For most of the migrant people, we try to find sponsorship and also give tuition fee concessions to second and third children in families, just to allow them to settle in.”

“The college provides a safe and caring environment for all of its students.” Promoting quality education"