Advocating for affordable housing in Ottawa, faith groups from the Jewish, Christian, Unitarian, and Muslim communities took on the pouring rain to participate in this year’s Tulipathon walk.

Hosted by the Multifaith Housing Initiative (MHI), a non-profit coalition in Ottawa, the Tulipathon brings people of all faiths together to walk among tulips and raise awareness and funds for affordable housing in Ottawa.

With a new Liberal government in Quebec, the controversy around the proposed “Charter of Values” has abated. And while the new Premier has expressed his intent to address issues of reasonable accommodation, the divisiveness that marked the Parti Quebecois’ time in office has all but disappeared from the political discourse.

Muslim Link spoke to Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz of the Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem congregation in Montreal for his reaction to the election results.

Transplant: Patient and Donors Stories took place on April 1st to mark the beginning of Ontario’s Organ Donation Month. During this month, the Trillium Gift of Life Network, (a non-profit agency of the Government of Ontario) responsible for facilitating organ and tissue donation and transplantation across Ontario, tries to raise public awareness about the urgent need for people to register to be organ donors. The event was spearheaded by Erica Bregman, a volunteer with the Trillium Gift of Life Network and supported by the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA), whose VP, Maher Jebara, hosted the event. Several religious leaders such as Reverend Anthony Bailey, Imam Mohamad Jebara, and Rabbi Reuben Bulka, as well as leaders within Ottawa’s Sikh community, spoke out in order to dispel myths that might exist within their respective faith communities that organ donation is not religiously permitted. But those in attendance were most moved by the presentations of organ donors and transplant recipients like Somali-Canadian Hiba Yusuf.

On Sunday, March 30th, the Thaqalayn Muslim Association (TMA) and the Ahlul Bayt Student Association (ABSA) hosted an interfaith event at the University of Ottawa.

Fostering dialogue between the Christian and Muslim communities, the event, titled Celebrating the life of Jesus, featured keynote addresses from local religion professor and Evangelist Reverend Bassma Dabbour Jaballah and Sheikh Hanif Mohamed of Atlanta, Georgia.

What made the two talks and the ensuing question and answer session even more interesting was the fact that each speaker was a convert from the other's religion.

It is because people have turned away from religion that the world is beset by so many conflicts. If Jews followed the teachings of Prophet Moses, peace be upon him, Christians followed the guidance of the Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him and Muslims obeyed the commands of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and followers of other religions did the same, there would be harmony and cooperation in the world. So stated Hujjatul Islam Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi, the Imam of the Jaffari Islamic Centre in Toronto.  He emphasized that the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, told his followers to always obey the Quran and be just in all their dealings with others ”“ family, neighbors, fellow Muslims and followers of other faiths.

For the last seven months, the students in Mr. Mascoe's grade six class at Charles H. Hulse Public School have been exchanging letters with grade six students at Hillel Academy.

What's the big deal, you ask?

Well there are two things that make this event special: for one, we, the students at Charles H. Hulse are predominantly Muslim and the students at Hillel Academy are almost all Jewish.Secondly, this cultural exchange program has been going on at our school for six years.