Undeterred by what is arguably a significant hurdle to the pleasures and experiences of daily life, Arshina Kassam, a twenty-six year old Muslim of African background wakes each morning charged with her faith in God and confidence in her own ability to navigate the logistics of living life virtually blind.

Arshina, a second year Masters student in the School of Social Work at Carleton University, was born in Tanzania with a congenital cataract in her left eye that was not diagnosed till she was a year old. Her family then moved to Toronto where she embarked upon a series of surgeries to extract the diseased lens but following a detachment of her retina, she was left completely blind in her left eye by age two.

The Canadian Association of Muslims with Disabilities launched their fourth annual khutbah (Firday sermon)awareness campaign at the beginning of December.

Disabled Muslims in Ottawa say they get no help from the Muslim community.

They were speaking at a meet-and-greet event to launch the Ottawa chapter of the Canadian Association of Muslims with Disabilities (CAM-D).

Only thirty-five people showed up at the Sept. 25 event held at Carleton University.

The Muslim community still lacks a model of support and care, which every other denomination in Ontario has established, Rabia Khedr, CAM-D's Executive Director said at the meeting.