News

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.”

In 2015, Palestinian Canadian Habib Khoury founded the Ottawa Run for Palestine (ORFP).

The run is back again after last year’s success. This year, the run will be taking place on Sunday, September 25th at the Aviation Museum, followed by a BBQ featuring Palestinian cuisine.

The run raises funds for UNRWA’s Community Mental Health Program in Gaza and is part of an international movement aimed at supporting the people of Gaza.

Muslim Link interviewed Habib about this year’s run.

On September 12th, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited the Ottawa Muslim Association (OMA) for Eid al Adha prayers. This isn't the first time Ottawa's main mosque has hosted a Prime Minister. Shortly after September 11th, Prime Minister Jean Chrietien visited this mosque offering reassurances to Muslim Canadians in the wake of a dramatic rise in violent Islamophobic incidents in Canada and the US. So, it was fitting that just a day after the 15th Anniversary of September 11th, Prime Minister Trudeau should visit this same mosque. 

On Saturday, August 20th, community members are encouraged to attend the Run for the Horn Marathon and BBQ at Britannia Beach to raise awareness about mental health issues in Ottawa and to raise funds to support the Habeeb Mental Health Foundation in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Muslim Link interviewed the team behind this event.

Update: Homa Hoodfar has been released from prison. Read Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's statement in response to her release here

Canadian Iranian Professor Homa Hoodfar teaches in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Concordia University. She has been in the notorious Evin prison in Iran for over three months without charge supposedly under investigation for "dabbling in feminism and security matters". Her students and fellow academics, as well as friends and human rights activists have been rallying to see her set free. To learn more about Hoodfar's situation and how you can help, please visit the website Free Homa here

The Justice for Abdirahman Coalition is asking that members of the community contact their elected representatives at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels by September 5th to demand justice for Abdirahman Abdi.

The following is the statement released by the Justice for Abdirahman Abdi Coalition on August 14th at the City of Ottaa where several reccommendations were made to various government institutions in relation to this case.  

To learn more about the Justice for Abdirahman Coalition visit their website here.

This is the Canadian Somali Mothers’ Association’s official statement regarding the vicious killing of Abdirahman Abdi by Ottawa Police Officers on Sunday, July 24 th , 2016, and the impact of the killing on the Ottawa Black Community.

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatulaahi wa Barakatuhu
To our valued Somali Community of Ottawa,

On this most difficult time in our community, the Ottawa Police Service would like to express our sincere condolences first to Abdirahman Abdi’s family ( inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'oon) and to the entire Somali Community in Ottawa.

Hundreds gathered on Tuesday for a vigil in memory of Abdirahman Abdi in front of his home on Hilda Street.

Muslim Link interviewed Rayanne Bendaoud about how her encounter with a Syrian refugee in Ottawa inspired her to organize the United for Syria Soccer Tournament this Saturday, July 23rd to raise money for refugees supported by the United Nations’ Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

(If you would like to register as a team or individual for this all ages tournament click here for details.)

On June 15, members of Ottawa’s Muslim communities were invited for an iftar (meal to break the Ramadan fast) on Parliament Hill sponsored by 19 Members of Parliament (MPs) including Ahmed Hussen, Alexandra Mendes, Ali Ehsassi, Arif Virani, Bill Blair, Chandra Arya, Fayçal El-Khoury, Greg Fergus, Iqra Khalid, Majid Jowhari, Marwan Tabbara, Maryam Monsef, Omar Alghabra, Rob Oliphant, Salma Zahid, Shaun Chen, Terry Duguid, Yasmin Ratansi, and Ziad Aboultaif.

The event was co-sponsored by the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) and Paramount Fine Foods.

Muslim Link’s Publisher Mohammad Dourou and Editor in Chief Chelby Marie Daigle were honoured to be among the over 600 invited guests who gathered at the Sir John A. Macdonald Building.

The Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) is holding its annual Eid al Fitr prayer and hallmark Muslim Summer Festival together on July 6th from 8am to 8pm at the Ernst & Young Centre.

Participants will also have an opportunity to make their Zakat donations to Islamic Relief Canada, one of the event's sponsors, who have secured a private donor to match all the donations given at the event. 

Muslim Summer Festival (MSF) is recognized by the City of Ottawa as an important city wide event and is a recipient of the Celebrate Ontario grant.

This year's Eid will be the first Eid celebrated by a very large number of Syrian refugees in Ottawa and MAC is working to ensure many of them will attend this Festival.

Muslim Link spoke to the festival organizers about what participants have to look forward to this year.

Serenity Islamic Mental Health Awareness held its first conference from May 20th to 22nd at the Ahlul Bayt Centre and the Carleton University Campus.

Along with tackling an important but often taboo subject within Ottawa’s Muslim communities, mental illness, the conference also marked an unprecedented collaboration between members of Ottawa’s Sunni and Shia communities.

Sisters Madeha and Fariha Irshad are collaborating again for this year’s Eid Bazaar at Jami Omar, taking place from 12pm to 6pm Saturday, June 25th. Muslim Link interviewed the sisters about how they are trying to build the Bazaar into an annual community event.

University of Ottawa students Nora Abdalaal, Tuba Yousuf, Jawdat Saleh, and Nour Khalaf, have raised enough funds to provide meals for a number of people at the Ottawa Mission this Friday, June 24th.  Volunteers are still welcome to get involved to help with preparation and distribution.

Muslim Link interviewed the students about their “Break Your Fast with Charity : Feed the Mission” Ramadan initiative.

The University of Ottawa’s Social Wellness Club has joined a Group of Five to privately sponsor a Syrian family. They are crowdfunding $5,000 over Ramadan as their contribution to this joint effort. Financial contributions can be made online here.

Muslim Link interviewed the club members about their initiative.

The United Muslim Organizations of Ottawa Gatineau (UMO-OG) strongly condemn the mass shooting in Orlando on Sunday, June 12, 2016. We extend our sincerest condolences to the victims and their families.

We believe that human life is sacred in Islam and protecting it is one of the main objectives of our religion. Such horrible acts of hatred and violence are forbidden in Islam and we firmly stand against any and all attempts to link these crimes to our faith.

Naheed Khan wants Ottawa’s Muslim community to contact their city councillors and ask that the Ottawa Transit Commission agree to provide a low-income transit pass for Ottawa’s low-income residents.

Muslim Link interviewed to Ottawa-based entrepreneur and university student Nayaelah Siddiqui, founder of EIDY, a product aimed at helping children celebrate Ramadan who live in non-Muslim majority countries.

The Council of Imams of Ottawa-Gatineau and the United Muslim Organizations of Ottawa-Gatineau are raising funds to present to CHEO on behalf of the Muslim community, live during their annual Telethon on CTV Ottawa this weekend, June 4-5.