Today We Lost the Father of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) Dr. Ahmet Fuad Sahin

Written by Canadian Council of Muslim Women

Published in News

Dr. Sahin left his home in Libya for Canada in 1958. Originally from Turkey, he landed in Kingston, Ontario to train as a surgeon and later practiced medicine across northern Ontario before eventually settling in the Niagara region.

At that time in 1966, his family members were one of the first Muslims in Niagara. He assumed a leadership position at the Dundas St. Mosque due to his fluency in Arabic and having studied Islam in Syria. Since then, he served as President of the Council of Muslim Communities of Canada and later founded IDRF-International Development and Relief Foundation.

In 2008, Dr. Sahin was honoured with the Order of Ontario in recognition of his service to our communities. Among his proudest achievements was being awarded the Order of Canada on December 29, 2017.

Dr. Sahin was the husband of Solmaz—a pioneer in her own right as one of the founding members of Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW), the father of Selma, Hulya, Leyla and Mustafa, and the grandfather of Meryem, Ahmet, and Zehra.

[CCMW] would not be here today without Dr. Sahin's vision and encouragement.

CCMW extends our deepest condolences to the family and friends of our dear and beloved Dr. Ahmet Fuad Sahin.

Here is an interview with Dr. Sahin by the Tessellate Institute where he discusses coming to Canada.

Canadian Council of Muslim Women

The story of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) begins in 1982 when a group of dynamic and devoted Muslim women from across the country congregated in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Led by the late founder of CCMW, Dr. Lila Fahlman, these women sought to mobilize their passion for social justice and faith in order to enrich their communities and work towards the common good of Canadian society.

This inaugural meeting led to the establishment of CCMW, a not-for-profit organization that works to provide equity, equality and empowerment for all Canadian Muslim women. For the past 30 years, its proud and accomplished roster of members have achieved and continue to achieve great milestones for Muslim women and Canada’s multicultural landscape. As a highly diverse organization, CCMW is firmly committed to the overarching vision of improving the status of Muslim women to remain true to their Islamic heritage and Canadian identity.