Following on from a long tradition of hosting community ifthaar dinners in Melbourne and Sydney, the Commonwealth Bank put on its first Ifthaar dinner in Queensland.
The function was held in the Premier’s Hall of the Queensland Parliament where some 200 invited community and corporate leaders were welcomed by Mr Huss Mustafa OAM, the bank’s General Manager of Multicultural Community Banking, who initiated the annual dinners 10 years ago.
In his address Mr Mustafa emphasized the need to maintain and enhance the rich cultural diversity of a multicultural Australia. He spoke of his personal journey coming to the country as a young Muslim Cypriot migrant and then working his way to becoming executive of the bank where he has been for the past 43 years.
These dinners, he went on to explain, were the bank’s recognition of the role the Muslim community has played in building the economy and social fabric of the country and a way of creating cultural awareness.
Other speakers on the night included Mr Turgut Manli, the Honorary Consul General of Turkey, the Minister for Local Government, Minister for Racing and Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Mr Stirling Hinchliffe, and Mr Fatih Sulakyurt who explained the five pillars of Islam and the purpose behind Ramadan.
A panel discussion and musical interlude concluded the evening’s proceedings.
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