Islamic History Month (Canada) and Islamic Heritage Month (Ontario) starts on October 1st.

Minarets on the Horizon is a ground-breaking work on the Muslim pioneers who helped to build Canadian Muslim communities.

Islamic History Month Canada (IHMC) in October aims to celebrate, inform, educate, and share with fellow Canadians the rich Muslim heritage and contributions to society: Contributions in sciences, humanities, medicine, astronomy, and other disciplines that have greatly benefited human progress. IHMC believes that through education and sharing positive stories, all Canadians can grow and connect in the best way possible.

I was recently introduced to Zeelaf Fatima, a young Muslim woman in Mississauga, who is working on a passion project that documents the histories and stories of Canada’s earliest South Asian Muslim immigrants.

This year, Islamic History Month Canada (IHMC) invited you to learn, share and celebrate Islamic History Month in Canada throughout the month of October.

Islamic History Month Canada (IHMC) invites you to learn, share and celebrate Islamic History Month in Canada throughout the month of October — this year with a special focus on the resilience and achievements of Black Muslims.

Islamic History Month (Canada) and Islamic Heritage Month (Ontario) starts on October 1st.

Pakistani Canadian Daood Hamdani is a pioneer in the study of Muslims in Canada. A retired statistician, his most recent publication, "Canadian Muslims: A Statistical Review", has been used to highlight key statistics about Muslim demographics in Canada, including the ridings with the largest Muslim populations in the lead up to the 2015 Federal Election.

Islamic History Month was first recognized in the province of Manitoba. It has been recognized federally since 2007 and on October 6, 2016 it was recognized in Ontario, the province with Canada's largest Muslim population. The bill to recognize Islamic History Month in Ontario was introduced by the Provincial NDP. Below are two press releases, one from the Liberal Party of Ontario and one from the NDP of Ontario discussing Islamic History Month in Ontario.

Update (September 29, 2016) Despite setbacks this week, Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and MPP Teresa Armstrong will not give up the fight to designate October as Islamic Heritage Month in Ontario. 

“We have to take action on rising Islamophobia and hate-motivated crime in our Province,” noted Horwath. “Celebrating Islamic culture, history and the contributions of people of Islamic heritage to our society is an important step that the Ontario NDP will continue to fight for, despite the Liberal government this week not allowing Unanimous Consent on Bill 23.”