While it is home to many brilliant artists, Ottawa is mostly known as a working city and not necessarily for its art scene. Hoping to change the future of art in her city, and perhaps the world, one Muslim woman has a few initiatives up her sleeve.

Anyone who has ever sought out post-secondary education knows it can be a struggle to find the perfect program. One team of young Muslims from Ottawa is changing the scene with a new website aimed at helping students find the Canadian university that’s right for them. 

Apportal.ca is the brainchild of Abdul Amoud. A Merivale High School graduate currently enrolled at the University of Ottawa, he recalls how his own path to post-secondary education was not so smooth. 

For many people, the first thought that comes to mind about Palestine is tragic conflict not intricate embroidery. It is an unfortunate reality, but one budding Canadian business is slowly changing that.

Motarrazat is an Ottawa based clothing company started by Palestinian Canadian Manal Abusheikha. Having immigrated to Canada from Jordan with her husband and children in 2001, she left behind most of her extended family and friends. In the beginning, the couple started a small business and sought to finish school. Manal’s husband, Waleed, soon graduated in project management and she enjoyed looking through his textbooks which prompted her to also get her masters in the same field. Her interest in business led her to open her own day care and later on, her very own clothing company.

Being a mom can often be a daunting task, and even more so when confronted with the challenges of raising children Islamically in the West. A group of Muslim moms rose to the task of creating a website where other Muslim mothers (especially Canadian Muslim moms) can come for support and information. The site also offers special information for new-comers to Canada. The site's contributors range across the Greater Toronto Area and from other cities in Canada.
Here is a brief interview we conducted with the project manager of MuslimMoms.ca Erum Zehra, a website consultant by profession.

“It takes a village to raise a child.” – Old African Proverb

Had a rough time last night because your baby wasn’t sleeping? No problem! Just give him to your well rested mother in the morning while you catch up. Not able to eat because your baby is being too clingy? No problem! Toss him over to your niece while you eat breakfast. Can’t go take a shower in peace because your baby won’t stop crying? No problem! Call your brother over to entertain him for a few minutes.

How amazing would that be, right?

Would you apply for a job that asked for the following qualifications?

Young people are often regarded as irresponsible, immature agents of chaos. Full of passion and wild ideas, people in their late teens or early twenties are often seen by society as a group of people who are generally unequipped to make any big life decisions.

As young adults, we feel like we have the green light to behave this way as it is what society seems to expect from us. Growing up in the West, we are taught that it’s okay to delay any major life decision and to “have fun while we still can.”

This is why it comes as quite a shock when I tell people that I was married at 18 and had my first child at 20. At first, some people tend to assume that I am the victim of the “oppressed Muslim woman forced into marriage young” stereotype.

We live in a society that holds negative views regarding labour and birth. Through mass media, we are taught that it is a process filled with a sense of urgency, fear and pain. But it really doesn't have to be that way.

Before I became a mother, the word “labour” gave me so many mixed feelings. Anticipation, curiosity, fear and nervousness were all things I experienced in the months leading up to the big day.

One thing that reassured me was remembering that giving birth is something all women were built to do, by God's design. Yes, labor is painful but it's amazing how a positive outlook can truly help us manage.

When first finding out that they are pregnant, most expectant mothers head straight for their family doctor who then refers them to an obstetrician without a second thought, but did you know that there is another type of caregiver?

Midwives have been around pretty much ever since women have been going into labour.

Modern midwives are certified professionals who have at least a bachelor’s degree, completed nursing and midwifery training and who have also passed exams in order to obtain a license to practice.

As a Muslim woman, I found that there were several benefits to having a midwife:

Becoming a parent is one of those things that you just don't know until you know. We all grow up hearing how challenging parenthood really is, but we just don't realize it until it actually happens to us.

No amount of reading or pep talks can really prepare you for the challenge that is life with a baby, but that doesn't mean you can't try. At 20 years old, one thing that comforted me the most when I learned I was going to be a mother was the fact that my older sister also had her first child at that age.