Fresh from securing four medals at this summer’s International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) World Championship in Rome, Ottawa’s Samah Syed is set for a bright future both on the mat and off it.

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.

To celebrate the birth anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him - pbuh), Ottawa's Ajyal Al Mahdi group held a unique thee-day exhibition aimed at giving people a better understanding of Islam and its final prophet.

The Birth of Light exhibition, which was open to the public from Jan. 30 ”“ Feb. 1, 2014, documented the life of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) from his birth to his death through a series of scenes illustrated by life-sized models. The exhibition also included a real-life depiction of the Prophet's (pbuh) house along with other visual displays.

Inspired by the highly successful White Ribbon Campaign, Muslim communities around Canada have kicked off the third annual Muslims for White Ribbon Campaign, a similar initiative that aims to put an end to violence against women.

The White Ribbon campaign is the largest organized movement of men in the world taking a stand and working to end violence against women.

It's late on a Saturday evening at the 313 Clubhouse. A couple of youths are huddled around the billiards table, weighing up their next shots. Two brothers are having an intense game of ping-pong at the table nearby. Others sit on the floor couches that line the wide room, watching the Sens game on the projector.

After almost a year and a half of holding weekly Saturday night religious lectures and discussions at people's homes, Ottawa's 313 group finally have a place to call their own. 

In April the group secured a small plot on the corner of St. Laurent and Walkley. By May, they had turned it into a fully functioning clubhouse complete with majlises (traditional Arabian sofas), billiards and table-tennis tables, a mini library, and a projector to watch things like last season's Stanley Cup playoffs.  

Following a successful campaign last year, the Who is Hussain Ottawa team is gearing up for their Muharram 2013 campaign. In its second year, Who is Hussain is a worldwide initiative that aims to familiarise the public with Hussain (pbuh), grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). For standing up against injustice and oppression, Hussain (pbuh) was killed alongside his companions and family on Ashura (tenth day of the Islamic month Muharram) in the year 680 AD.

The Muslim Students' Association (MSA) at Carleton University has unveiled a useful new online service that allows people to find and invite suitable roommates to live with.

For the last two months, a group of youth in the city have been hard at work trying to get advertisements on bus shelters and preparing gift bags to hand out to the public. Their goal ”“ to spread the noble message of Hussain, the blessed grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.

“Who is Hussain” is an initiative that began in the UK that has spread across the world; arriving in Canada's capital. The campaign aims to familiarise the public with Hussain, may Allah be pleased with him, who alongside his closest companions and members of his young family, was killed for standing up against injustice and oppression.