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With the academic year getting back in full swing, many families across Canada spent the last few weeks of their summer vacation preparing their children to go back to school. At the Sadaqa Food Bank, similar preparations were underway this month, as the organisation ran its annual Back to School campaign to help families in need.

“We have many needy families in the community and they don't just need food,” Yacoub Abu-al-Hawa, coordinator of the Sadaqa Food Bank explains. “One of the things that many families need help with is back to school preparations. If you need to buy just one item, it's not expensive, but when you have a whole list of things you need and especially when you have a lot of children, then it quickly becomes very expensive. And this cost comes all at once; it isn't distributed over the year. It is very difficult for many families to afford. So we are just trying to help them and provide what we can.”

Thinking of throwing out your old mobile phone? Think again.

Your electronics junk could help save lives in Syria.

The Canadian Syrian Relief, a local organization, is collecting unwanted electronics (including: cell phones, printers, digital cameras, DVD players, hand-held devices, laptops, monitors, copiers and video recorders) which it will exchange for money to benefit Syrian refugees.

When was the last time you heard about a potential hate crime or incident targeting Ottawa's Muslim community?

Think now, it wasn't long ago.

In high school, Ayan Ismail would get constant questions about why she wasn't eating or drinking during the month of Ramadan. The questions persisted right through university.

“I wanted to answer them,” she explained in an interview, “but I also wanted to do something.”

University students and recent graduates of Egyptian heritage successfully teamed up with local community organizations and individuals last month to raise over sixty thousand dollars for micro financing and education projects in Egypt.

Heba Eid, one of the July 28 fundraising dinner's energetic organizers, wrote in an email interview that the team of young people was originally just hoping to be able to raise forty thousand dollars to kick start an ambitious program that would help finance 25 projects in a Cairo slum.

Starting this school year, all school boards will be required to implement strict policies to prevent bullying

On June 5th, the Ontario Legislature passed Bill 13, the Accepting Schools Act, which will allow schools to expel bullies. The bill states that every student has the right to a positive school climate that is inclusive and accepting, regardless of “race, ancestry, place of origin, color, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender entity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status or disability”.

Mississauga resident Dr. Farhan M. Asrar has been recognized by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada for his leadership skills.

Dr. Asrar, the chief resident medical doctor with McMaster University's Public Health and Preventive Medicine and Family Medicine program, has been announced as the winner of the college's 2012 Leadership Award.

The national award is given to a resident medical doctor that “has demonstrated outstanding leadership skills during their residency training, has encouraged the development of future leaders in medicine and has shown strong role modeling and mentorship ability among his peers.”

The Canadian government has announced that it will match donations made by Canadians to eligible charities responding to the crisis in Sahel, a sub-Saharan region of West Africa where more than 18 million people are facing food shortages.

Do you have a “bucket list”?  A list of things you'd like to do or accomplish before you die?  At the top of my list would likely be travel.  Meeting new people and hearing their stories inspires me.  Seeing how people live and trying new cuisines intrigues me.  There is just something so fulfilling about experiencing something new.

To mark the Queen of England's sixty years on the throne, a commemorative medal is being bestowed on deserving Canadians across the country.

Among those who have already received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal is Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan, a retired civil servant and refugee judge who is also a journalist and founder of the Muslim Coordinating Council of the National Capital Region (MCC-NCR).

Sheema Khan, whose monthly columns appear in the Globe and Mail, and who is the founder of the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations, was also bestowed with the honour.

Pleasant weather, a cool spot beside the Rideau Canal, delicious food, and lively games for the kids made for a memorable celebration of Canada's 145th birthday.

According to organizers, the July 1 celebration at Strathcona Park, organized jointly by the Muslim Coordinating Council (MCC-NCR) and the Indonesian Canadian Congress was a smashing success.

The sun shone down on my family and me as we entered Brewer Park June 30, joining Ottawa Muslims and members of the greater community as they ate, shopped, and played at the Sadaqah Food Bank Food Festival, an innovative fundraising event.

People streamed in from the park's entrance and parking lot off Bronson Avenue, across from Carleton University. Large bouncy rides seen from the street invited children to come in and play while adults were lured in by the long line of tents offering food for sale.

Canada reluctantly bade farewell to a loving daughter with sorrow, admiration, respect and warmth.

In a poignant memorial ceremony on June 11, the country and the Muslim community said good-bye to Lieutenant-Commander Wafa Dabbagh after she succumbed to her long battle with cancer.

Wafa made history when she joined the Canadian armed forces in 1996 wearing the hijab. Officers were baffled by why a practicing Muslim woman wanted to join, and wondered how her recruitment would work out. She won that battle easily -- everyone she met loved her friendliness. They not only accepted her, they embraced her.

The profile of Muslim women in Canada received a boost with the nomination of one of their own for the Order of Canada, the country's highest award.

Alia Hogben, the Executive Director of the Canadian Council for Muslim Women is among 70 Canadians who have been selected for the prize this year.

The Order of Canada, created in 1967, recognizes brilliant accomplishments that honour Canada. This will be the second time in history that a Muslim woman has received the award.

The late Lila Fahlman of Edmonton, who founded the CCMW in 1982 was the first female Muslim winner of the award.

Delicate hand-embroidered scarves, mats, and a variety of other useful household items sewn by women in Gaza will be on sale soon in Ottawa.

The items were created under one of the International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy (IRFAN) -Canada's assistance projects in Palestine. Every month, Palestinian women living in conditions of poverty and hardship, are paid a small amount of money for the elegant embroidered items they were trained to create.

The project is an attempt to offer women needed skills to help them sustain households where men are missing, unemployed or disabled.

Canada has traditionally supported the United Nations as the best vehicle, however imperfect, for promoting world peace, justice, human rights and prosperity. The UN, for its part, ranks Canada as among the finest countries -- currently the sixth.  But now the two are arguing over poverty and hunger in Canada.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food recently visited Canada, the first developed country on his tour of inspection. His 11-day investigation into food security in this country produced a scathing report that expressed “extremely severe” concerns about the ability of aboriginal people and families on social assistance to afford the food they need to stay healthy.

A United Nations report says Canada owes an apology and compensation to Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati and Muayyed Nureddin.

The report by the UN Committee Against Torture accuses the federal government of being “complicit” in human rights violations committed against the three Arab-Canadian men who were held and tortured in Egypt and Syria after 9-11.

"The committee is seriously concerned at the apparent reluctance on (the) part of the (government) to protect rights of all Canadians detained in other countries," the report reads.

As it is the custom every year in early July, Abraar School will be welcoming the Muslim Association of Canada's Summer Camp and its young guests. This year, MAC Summer Camp staff are already gearing up for what they hope will be the best camp to date, full of fun activities, lasting memories, and unique and special friendships.

MAC strives to build a lasting bond among Muslim children who will in turn build a stronger community in the future. The association believes that the primary means of achieving its vision is by investing in Muslims and developing Muslim individuals who are spiritually connected, strongly grounded in their own faith, and motivated and enthusiastic through interactive educational activities.

Looking around the Atrium at Ben Franklin Place on Apr. 10, Mashooda Lubna Syed was moved at seeing so many young women being honoured for showing leadership in their communities.

“It is wonderful to be able to connect with such amazing young women and to hear their inspiring stories! It really does encourage one to push forward and take out that extra bit of time to do a community service,” she said.

For the fourth year in a row, a group of Muslim women and children participated in the annual walk for Multiple Sclerosis. Blossoms IV raised over $1600 for the MS Society. The money goes towards research and support to those living with the illness.