Muslim Link attended this year’sI.LEAD Conference and asked participants to reflect on what community means to them. Here is a response from Pakistani Canadian Yumna Rashid, a recent teacher’s college grad and mother of three, who regularly volunteers with the Islam Care Centre.

Muslim Family Services of Ottawa (MFSO) is working with the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa (CAS) to implement the Shared Journeys project which aims to improve communication and collaboration between CAS and Ottawa's Muslim communities.

The impetus for the project arises from the work of the Muslim Resource Centre for Social Support and Integration (MRCSSI) of London, Ontario which has worked with that city's CAS to dramatically reduce the number of Muslim children who are taken into care. MRCSSI received $285,000 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and another $70,000 from the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General in order to expand the project to York, Kingston, and Ottawa.

“Does anyone know why the eagle is so important in Aboriginal culture?” Jason Mullins, dressed in full Cherokee regalia, asked a riveted audience of mostly Muslim community members at Knox Presbyterian Church on April 13.

Mullins, an American-born First Nations cultural interpreter who works with the Ottawa organization Aboriginal Experiences, was one of many Aboriginal artists to offer his time and talent to support the Islam Care Centre's fundraising efforts.

Sensitivity training for care workers and providers was one of the issues raised at the third annual Conference on Spirituality and Aging on Feb. 23.

The one-day event organized by the Council on Aging of Ottawa at Saint Paul University also tackled topics of mental health, support and relief for care workers and family members, discrimination, and spiritual wellbeing.

One of Ottawa's most popular Muslim prayer spaces has turned to the community for help.

Islam Care Centre, commonly referred to as the Da'wah Centre, is appealing for funding to demolish its present, dilapidated premises and build a modern structure to meet the community's growing needs.

The ICC is unique among Muslim organizations in Ottawa because of its location in the heart of the city.  Situated at 312 Lisgar St., the centre offers a prayer area and a library that serves Muslim men and women working or living in the downtown core, visitors to Ottawa, diplomats and non-Muslims wishing to learn about Islam.