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Muslim Link caught up with the coordinators of this year’s Islam Awareness Week (IAW) at Carleton University. Carleton University Muslim Students' Association (MSA) members, Bangladeshi Canadian journalism student Radiyah Chowdhury and graduate student Arab Canadian Amr Daouk, ran the MSA's annual IAW from March 16th to the 20th in Carleton’s Atrium.

On March 14th, thousands of Canadians gathered across the country in over 70 communities to show their outrage over the Conservative government’s proposed Anti-Terrorism Act, Bill C-51. Everyone from Canada’s Privacy Commissioner, to NDP Party Leader Tom Mulcair and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, to former Prime Ministers Paul Martin, Jean Chretien , and Joe Clark, have spoken out against this Bill, stating that it will needlessly infringe on the civil liberties of Canadians and also will probably not increase national security. Despite this, the Conservative and Liberal Parties have stated that they will vote in favour of the Bill.

The annual Milad un Nabi (Birthday of the Prophet pbuh) returned to Parliament Hill on February 11th, after more than a decade of being hosted at other locations. Given the recent attack on the Hill on October 22nd, this was quite timely as a gesture of trust between Parliament and Ottawa’s Muslim communities. Conservative Member of Parliament and Chief Government Whip John Duncan hosted the event in Parliament’s Historic Railway Committee Room where the iconic “The Fathers of Confederation” painting hangs.

Several Iraqi Canadian youth have come together to organize a fundraiser for Displaced Iraqis. The funds raised will be contributed to Human Concern International (HCI)’s “Iraq” Fund. The event takes place on February 27th at the St. Elias Banquet Hall with tickets selling for $30 (Students) and $35 (General Admission).

As it snowed on the evening of February 11th, students gathered in front of the Human Rights Monument in downtown Ottawa to recognize the victims of the Chapel Hill Shooting in the US. Syrian American Deah Barakat, 23, his Palestinian American wife Yusor Abu Salha, 21, and her sister Razan Abu Salha, 19, were shot at gunpoint by Craig Stephen Hicks reportedly over a parking dispute, but many allege that the motives run far deeper and that this is a hate crime against Muslims.

The Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) invites Muslim families to take part in their Canadian Family Day program on Monday, February 16th, from 1pm to 5pm, at the new MAC Youth Centre.

This event is an opportunity for families to experience the new facility including its programs, its lounge and its athletic spaces.

On January 30th, a group of West African students and their supporters gathered at the Nigerian High Commission on Metcalfe Street. They were there to pay tribute to the victims of Boko Haram’s latest attack on civilians in the town of Baga and in neighbouring towns in Northern Nigeria in early January. Despite the cold, they set flowers out in front of the Commission in memory of those who had died.

At the Jami Omar fundraising dinner on January 24th, Muslim leaders focused on the need for youth to have opportunities to get involved at local mosques. About five hundred guests filled the Jami Omar gymnasium at the fundraiser and Anver Malam, imam at the Jami Omar mosque, said the event would not have been possible without the help of youth volunteers.

January 27th marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Each year in Ottawa, local survivors of the Holocaust are honoured. This year, the Turkish Ambassador to Canada, Selcuk Unal, spoke at the International Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremonies at the City of Ottawa along with Mayor Jim Watson, Minister Jason Kenney, and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau.

In the wake of the shooting at Tanger Outlets on Boxing Day 2014 in Kanata, Imam Sikander Hashmi reached out to Muslim Link for help in organizing an information session about gangs in Ottawa. For many in the Kanata Muslim Association (KMA), this event brought home the reality of gangs in Ottawa for the first time. It also disturbed them because both the perpetrator and the victim were from Muslim backgrounds. However, for Muslims in other parts of Ottawa, in particular Ottawa-West, Ottawa-East, and Ottawa-South, the presence of gangs, and the disproportionate number of young Muslim men involved in them, has been a serious concern for years.

In a joint effort by KMA and Muslim Link, the Stop It: Gangs, Guns, and Drugs Information Session took place on January 16th 2015. Staff Sergeant Andrew Buchan from the Ottawa Police Service's Youth Section and Sharmaarke Abdullahi from Crime Prevention Ottawa (CPO) were invited to speak about their organization's efforts to address Ottawa's gang issue.

Muslims in Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, and London will be coming together on January 31st to celebrate peace and community spirit.

Organized by a group Calling themselves "Canadian Muslims for Peace", long-time community activists Saleha Khan, in London, Ontario, and Sheema Khan (no relation), in Ottawa, developed the idea of having a peace gathering for Muslims. They felt that it was important for Canadian Muslims to hold an event that would help reclaim the narrative about Islam and Muslims in the wake of the Paris attacks and threats from ISIS. Shahzad Mustafa from Toronto joined in to complete the core coordinating committee.

The Ahlul-Bayt Student Association and the University of Ottawa Thaqalayn Muslim Association spent the past week teaching students about the life of the Muhammed (PBUH), one of Islam's revered prophets.

From January 12th to January 16th, the student groups used a giveaway and information station at the University of Ottawa's central campus to spread knowledge about the prophet. Student volunteers distributed free hot chocolate and held a bake sale to support "Charity: Water," a non-profit organization. Students also distributed information pamphlets about the Prophet and offered passers-by quotes by the Prophet attached to roses.

This year's Awakening: Reviving the Spirit of Somali Youth focused on Education.

Muslim Link is one of several sponsors of the Arabian Canadian Bazaar taking place Sunday, January 18th at St. Elias Banquet Hall. This a charity event organized by the Syrian Association of Ottawa in collaboration with Human Concern International in the hopes of raising over $25,000 for humanitarian aid for Syrians. Other sponsors of the event include Autorebex International, Iraqi Student Association of Carleton University, Muslim Student Association of Carleton University, Bab Elhara Cafe, Youth Gentler and Softer Hearts, H&M Photography, and Sweet Castle.

Following the tragic killing of two Canadian soldiers in late October, flags at the Edmonton Islamic Academy (EIA) were flown at half-mast. Students joined fellow citizens in mourning the loss and the school principal offered special assemblies to discuss the Islamic perspective on such a tragedy.
"We started from the Quranic verse which says that whoever kills one human being, [it is] as if they have killed all of mankind. This was a crime equivalent to the killing of the whole of mankind," recalled Principal Moussa Ouarou, who was formerly the principal at Ottawa's Abraar School.

Currently, Dr. Scott Flower from the University of Melbourne in Australia is looking for Canadian converts to Islam to particpate in his study of the Canadian Muslim Convert experience. His Canadian-based research collaborator Megan Ryder Burbidge contacted Muslim Link so we could promote the study within our networks. We wanted to know more about the study's objectives and funding first. Here is what we learned.

On December 18th members of Ottawa's Pakistani community gathered in front of City Hall to pay their respects to the victims of the attack on the Army Public School for Boys in Peshawar in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Over 140 lives were lost, most of them children.

In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent and Merciful

Ottawa-Gatineau Imams Reject ISIS Message Advocating Violence

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(December 10, 2014) As Canadian Muslims who have been entrusted with religious leadership in our communities, we the undersigned imams, are deeply troubled by the latest ISIS propaganda video featuring a Muslim from our city, Ottawa.

Condemn video message as "abhorrent and un-Islamic"

(Ottawa – December 8, 2014) Following the release of a video message attributed to ISIS, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), a prominent Muslim civil liberties & advocacy organization, reiterates that Canadian Muslims categorically condemn the terror group's calls for violence against Canada and other nations.

This fall, Ottawa residents are busy planning their dream weddings and more than 1,500 people experienced the latest South Asian wedding trends at this year's Suhaag show on November 23rd.