On May 16, 2019, the United Muslim Organizations of Ottawa-Gatineau (UMO-OG), which includes mosques such as the Assunnah Muslim Association and the Ottawa Muslim Association, received a United Way Ottawa Community Builder of the Year Award.

Assunnah Muslim Association's Masjid ar Rahmah in Ottawa will be hosting a Sisters Eid Party on Saturday, September 9th.

Muslim Link interviewed Assunnah staff and volunteers about what people could look forward to at this events.

Sheikh Ismail Albatnuni was born in 1964 in Tripoli, Libya. From an early age, he sought out Islamic knowledge, memorizing the Quran, and eventually studying Maliki fiqh (a school of Islamic jurisprudence) from local scholars. However, he knew if he ever wanted to take his studies further it would mean having to leave his homeland.

"In Libya at that time, it was very difficult. Qaddafi shut down all of the Islamic universities," Sheikh Albatnuni explained. Instead, Albatnuni made the practical choice to study engineering and computer systems. However, in 1992, he left Libya to study at a branch of Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) because he was "very eager to study sharia." After graduating, he went on to teach Islamic Studies at Khalifa bin Zayed Air College.

Friday morning I found out that an Ottawa mosque was vandalized. Someone had broken a couple of windows and the double-paneled glass door at the sisters' entrance. How do I know that this was the sisters' entrance? Because this is my mosque. I would know that bench and shoe rack anywhere.

Local Artist Nagat Bahumaid was recently invited to teach a session on Islamic calligraphy at Assunnah Muslim Association's Iqraa Saturday School in Barrhaven, by school principal Dr. Aliaa Dakroury. Muslim Link asked her to reflect on the experience for our readers.

Ottawa's first-ever outdoors Eid prayer and Khutbah (sermon), held at Greenboro Park, was by most accounts a smashing success as a large number of families chose to remain at the park for what turned out to be a fun-filled day of games, activities and entertainment. 

Where can you make the yummiest treats, go on the most amazing field trips, make creative crafts, listen to exciting Islamic lessons, prepare for the most entertaining talent show and meet the coolest friends?

The correct answer is Assunnah Muslim Association's Summer Day Camp. The AMA's first ever day camp took place from July 1-5 at the AMA Mosque on Hunt Club Road. The camp provided a place for kids aged 6-12 to have fun, prepare for Ramadan, and share in exciting adventures with Muslim friends in an Islamic environment. The theme of the camp was “Pray and Play at AMA” so the campers participated in sports and activities, arts and  crafts and learned a lot about prayer and its importance in Islam throughout the week. Campers began each day with supplications and Quran recitation, played games together, attended their daily Islamic lesson and made crafts. They also played outdoor sports, learned about gardening by planting flowers, made fruit kebabs and “dirt cup” snacks and enjoyed presentations from different community members.

A full house stood for ”˜Asr (mid-afternoon prayer) Saturday, Mar. 31,  after 17 long years of waiting, in the finished lower level of the Assunah Muslim Association (AMA) Mosque. At first glance the mosque hides in the corner behind the trees which line Sawmill Creek, but when you enter the parking lot driveway, the design and height of the mosque dominates the view. A shining sun graced the afternoon as worshippers from all areas of the city arrived, filling the large tiled hall with Muslim men, women and children anxious to be the first to pray in the long-awaited building.