Gord Downie, the lead singer of the Canadian band The Tragically Hip, passed away on October 17, 2017 due to cancer. The Tragically Hip are one of the most beloved music groups in Canada's history. Gord Downie sang and wrote most of The Hip's songs. Through tears Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke about Gord Downie by stating: “Gord was my friend, but Gord was everyone’s friend. He knew, as great as [Canadians] were, we needed to be better than we are. Our buddy Gord, who loved this country with everything he had, and not just loved it in a nebulous ‘oh, I love Canada way,’ he loved every hidden corner, every story, every aspect of this country that he celebrated his whole life.”

Somali Canadian writer Rowda Mohamud shared the following reflection on the impact a lyric from The Tragically Hip's song Bobcaygeon, written by Gord Downie, had on her as a newcomer to Canada, after having arrived as a refugee with her family in the 1990s. The song is named after the town of Bobcaygeon, Ontario in the Kawartha Lakes region.

On October 6, Ontario’s New Democratic Party celebrated Ontario’s second annual Islamic Heritage Month by hosting an education and discussion day for Muslim youth at Queen’s Park. Nearly 70 high school students from two GTA schools came to learn more about how provincial politics work, and to have a chance to discuss current issues with NDP politicians and staff, including Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

As the online hub for Muslims in Canada, we strive to be inclusive of the diversity of Muslim experience and practice in this country. But as our team currently all identifies as Sunni Muslim, there are certain traditions we do not partake in, and therefore do not know much about.

This year, we did our best to make sure we posted the Muharram and Ashura events organized by the Twelver Shia community in the ten cities Muslim Link currently has event listings for. This was definitely a learning curve for us, but as these events got many hits, we assume our readers appreciated it.

To better understand what Muharram means for our Twelver Shia readers, we decided to publish a personal reflection by a young Ottawa-based university student about what the experience of attending her mosque for Muharram and Ashura is like.

On October 19th, a vigil was organized by Somali community members in partnership with the office of the Minister for Citizenship, Immigration, and Refugees, Somali Canadian Ahmed Hussen, to mourn the victims of the recent terrorist attack in Mogadishu which has killed over 500 people, leaving hundreds more injured.

Somali Canadian students across Canada, in Ottawa, Hamilton, Scarborough, Toronto, and Calgary, have been coming together to mourn the victims of the Mogadishu terrorist attack and to raise funds to support those directly impacted, particularly through LaunchGood’s crowdfunding page to support Aamin Ambulance which is helping people on the ground.

As the Somali community holds fundraisers in cities like Ottawa, Toronto, and Calgary this weekend to raise funds for the victims and their families, others are asking why their fellow Muslims and Canadians seem silent despite the magnitude of this terrorist attack.

On Saturday, October 21, folks in Toronto had an opportunity to hear from some emerging artists from Canada’s vibrant Black Muslim community. The Stars Within Us: A Black Muslimah Poetry & Theatre Showcase will debut original works developed in the Stellar (R)evolution (cycle 1) workshop series, a SPARK Cultural Hotspot program created and facilitated by Timaj Garad in partnership with the City of Toronto, also supported by I-Insight and the Children's Peace Theatre.

Muslim Link interviewed Spoken word poet Timaj Garad and two workshop participants, Shukria D. and Hafsa Ali,  who performed on Saturday, about why it is important to create spaces for young Black Muslim Canadian women to share their stories through art.

For Canadian Muslims who want to invest in the stock market but don't have the confidence to pick halal stock investments on their own, the choices have always been limited. If you're looking to invest more than a few hundred thousand dollars, you can hire a financial advisor knowledgeable in Shariah compliant investments. If you're investing less than that, you can invest in a halal mutual fund, which charges management fees of 2.5% or more. That's it. So when Wealthsimple announced their Canadian Halal Investing portfolio in August of this year, it was reason to celebrate.

A group of Bangladeshi Canadian women living in Ottawa came together in 2015 to raise funds for maternal and newborn health in Bangladesh. They have started holding annual Bangladeshi cultural celebrations in Ottawa in order to raise funds and awareness about the health issues facing poor mothers in Bangladesh. The group, called Cure for Women and Children works in collaboration with Human Concern International. Their most recent event was their second annual Sheether Mela on October 15, 2017 held at SNMC mosque in Ottawa.

Muslim Link interviewed them about their work.

Founded through a partnership between Muslim Family Services of Ottawa (MFSO), the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa (CASO), The Friends of CAS and the Children’s Aid Foundation of Ottawa (CAFO), the second annual Lamb Project was held. This project aims to provide the Muslim youth living in Foster Care in the Ottawa and surrounding regions the opportunity to stay connected to their religion and participate in the celebration of Eid Al Adha. This year’s project received overwhelming support from both community members and organizations surpassing the set goal of $2880. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to making this event a success. A special thank you The Ottawa Muslim Association (OMA), As-Sunnah Muslim Association (AMA), CAS Friends, the Children’s Aid Foundation, CAS Staff and the Pinecrest Queensway Community Health Centre for their generous donations.

On Sunday, October 1st, the Black Muslim Initiative-Ottawa will be having its first gathering. This will create a space for Black Muslims to discuss the challenges of life at the intersection of anti-Black racism and Islamophobia in Canada, as well as the strength that comes from having both the Black and Muslim traditions of resistance and resilience to draw from when facing these challenges.

It will also be an opportunity to meet award-winning Somali Canadian journalist Eman Idil Bare, who has recently moved to Ottawa to work as a producer on CBC's Power and Politics. Eman has been outspoken in calling attention to the issue of anti-Black racism within Muslim communties. Read Eman's CBC article about what self-identifying as Black means for young Torontonians here.