News

Heroes Saleh Moujally and Ibrahim Zreick were among six taxi drivers who received special awards from the City of Ottawa during its annual Taxi Driver Appreciation Celebration held at City Hall on June 14.

The awards acknowledge and celebrate great service provided by Ottawa taxi drivers. Customers and members of Ottawa's taxi industry nominated candidates for five award categories: Excellent Customer Service, Access for All, Driver Role Model, Heroism and Lifetime Achievement.

Saleh Moujally and Ibrahim Zreick each received the Heroism Award.

For Mohamed Sofa, helping and serving others is simply second nature.

So it came as no surprise to his friends and family when the Somali-born community activist and community builder was awarded the Mayor's City Builder Award.

In the 15 years since he arrived in Ottawa as a refugee, Mr. Sofa, now 29 years old, has helped initiate and implement dozens of community projects, including homework clubs, soccer teams, basketball leagues, sports nights, and celebrations for youth.

Eleven women and girls from the community of the Islamic Foundation of Toronto were recently honoured by the Government of Ontario.

On Wednesday, April 27, 2011 a ceremony was held at the Islamic Foundation of Toronto to present the women and girls with the province's Leading Women/Girls, Building Communities Recognition Award.

The award recognizes women and girls, who through their extraordinary volunteerism in their community work and leadership, have helped improve the lives of other women and girls in Ontario.

Canadian Muslims, used to frequent distortion in the media, were invited to have their say in a recent meeting arranged by CBC Radio.

“Bias and Belonging: Being Muslim in Ottawa” Town Hall filled the hall on March 15 but enabled only a few Muslims to express their thoughts. While other Muslims had been invited to speak of experiences on the radio prior to the meeting, the town hall on the whole served to underscore the difficulties and biases that Muslims encounter with the media.

It is because people have turned away from religion that the world is beset by so many conflicts. If Jews followed the teachings of Prophet Moses, peace be upon him, Christians followed the guidance of the Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him and Muslims obeyed the commands of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and followers of other religions did the same, there would be harmony and cooperation in the world. So stated Hujjatul Islam Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi, the Imam of the Jaffari Islamic Centre in Toronto.  He emphasized that the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, told his followers to always obey the Quran and be just in all their dealings with others ”“ family, neighbors, fellow Muslims and followers of other faiths.

The Coquitlam RCMP and the B.C. hate-crime team are investigating the March 10 vandalism at the Port Coquitlam's Masjid Al Hidayah as a potential hate crime. 

The vandalism included graffiti with a racial slur.

“This is extremely disturbing ”¦ and psychologically jarring, as the masjid represents a place of sanctuary and peace,” a local member of the Muslim community said.

Muslim civil rights groups are condemning the incident and applauding the decision of law enforcement officials to investigate the incident as a potential hate crime.

When Waris Malik and his team of volunteers from the Islamic Foundation of Toronto set out to form a community soup kitchen back in 2005, they had little idea that their efforts would lead to the establishment of the first free restaurant-style soup kitchen in Canada.

It was during his involvement with relief efforts for the Indian Ocean Tsunami disaster when Mr. Malik realized that in addition to what was being done overseas, there was need at home as well, right in his own community: “We thought, if we have done so much for overseas efforts, why don't we do something for our own city and our own country?” And thus Hot Soup Day was developed.

Five o'clock in the afternoon on Sat. Nov. 6th, 2010 and I'm late. Krystal calls me on my cell, “Where are you?” I tell her I'm on my way. There are two hours left until the show starts, and yet, we still have to meet to practice the finale. I wonder if everyone practiced their own parts yet? Then there's the mic checks, the lighting check, the signs to post up, the easels to put together, the tables to place, the artwork to get up, coordinating the different volunteers”¦ do the performers know their order? Where's a program? Take a break for Maghrib prayer!

How can we prevent our youth from becoming vulnerable to radicalization and violent extremism?  That was the question on everyone's minds at a recent conference organised by the Canadian Friends of Somalia.

The conference held at the National Arts Centre on 6th and 7th December was titled, “Promoting Peace and Preventing Youth Radicalization” and focused primarily on Somali youth who are at risk of being recruited to fight in their home country.

The following is an open letter to the community from outgoing Muslim Coordinating Council president, Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan.

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful

With Allah's help and the efforts of many brothers and sisters the Muslim Coordinating Council of the National Capital Region has built a solid foundation. Insha Allah (God willing) a new team of dedicated, wise, patient and visionary people will carry on the task and serve our community and our country. As my term ends, I pray to Allah to bless you for your support.

Hanan Awneh, who left the United Arab Emirates with her mother and two brothers for Ottawa about four years ago, received this year's Marion Dewar Scholarship for immigrant and refugee youth.

It's not easy to be a top student in your class when you are new to the country and don't speak much English, explains Hanan, in an interview with Canadian Newcomer. “Back in United Arab Emirates it [the education] was based on memorizing books and stuff, and here it's about understanding what you are learning.”

Sometimes a slow start leads up to a surprising finish. Look to the west of Ottawa, to the site of the Jami Omar Mosque, where after years of what looked like little or no progress, there now stands an almost fully completed mosque.

In truth, major construction on the Jami Omar Mosque had been completed much earlier, but as with the other mosque projects, most of it occurred underground, noticeable only to careful observers. Now, that the basic structure of the mosque is complete, it is easier more those of us driving by the site to connect it with the beautiful artists' rendition of the finished building found on the Jami Omar fundraising webpage.

On 21 October 2010, the government introduced Bill C-49 titled “Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act”. Despite its name, the bill has attracted strong criticism from human rights groups who say that most of its provisions appear to target refugees, not smugglers. This is what a few lawyers and refugee rights activists have had to say:    

“Measures keeping some refugees longer in detention, denying them family reunification and restricting their freedom of movement are likely in violation of the Canadian Charter and of international human rights obligations. People who are forced to flee for their lives need to be offered asylum and a warm welcome, not punished.”                  

- Wanda Yamamoto, President, Canadian Council for Refugees   

For 57 years, Capital Memorial Gardens has been a fixture of Ottawa life. Tens of thousands of people from all faiths and backgrounds have found their final resting place there. You may have driven by the property at 3700 Prince of Wales Dr. (near Woodroffe Ave. in Barrhaven) and not even realized it to be a cemetery. With its 90-acres of rolling grass, water features and stately trees, it looks more like a golf course or botanical garden.

Capital Memorial has just opened the Garden of Paradise, a new section of their cemetery set aside specifically for the Muslim community. James Gregory, the Family Counsellor responsible, answers questions about this new service.

The mood was sombre inside the University of Ottawa's Marion Auditorium on Nov. 7 as speakers frequently tossed about words such as “fear”, “blame”, “solution” and “involvement”.

The hall held Muslims and non-Muslims who had gathered to hear the opinions of a panel of community members at the event entitled: "The Rise of Islamophobia: A Rational Approach to Irrational Fears".

The world's third most northerly mosque has found its home in Inuvik at the end of its three-week journey from Winnipeg. The unassuming prefab structure arrived by barge from Hay River just before 5 p.m. on Sept. 22.

Facing an early snow, a crowd of about 40 Muslims greeted their long-awaited mosque at the Inuvik shipyard. There were prayers, group photos, hugs and applause.

"It was joyful," Abdalla Mohamed, who owns a business in the town in the Mackenzie Delta, said. "Some people were crying. But it was a feeling of achievement. We have something we were looking for all our lives."

Two Ottawa-area residents, Shaykh Muhammad AlShareef and Imam Dr. Zijad Delic, are included in this year's listing of the world's 500 most influential Muslims.

Imam Zijad, 45, executive director of the Canadian Islamic Congress, appears for the second year in a row in the 500 Most Influential Muslims study published by the independent Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Amman, Jordan.

Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit Christian housing organisation, recently welcomed members of other faiths to join together in the construction of a home for a low income family.

As MuslimFest, Canada's largest Muslim summer festival, gets ready to kick off on July 31st at the Mississauga Living Arts Centre, the Muslim Link sat down with Taha Ghayyur, one of the founders and organizers of the two-day art and cultural festival, to get his thoughts on the need for such event and his hopes for the future of Muslim artistes in North America.

If you happen to be visit Scarborough this summer, you may want to check out Major Abbas Ali Park. The McLevin Community Park in Scarborough was recently renamed as a tribute to a man who reflected Islamic values throughout his life, earning him the respect of many Canadians.

The late Muhammad Abbas Ali, a British Indian Army veteran of the Second World War and who served in the Pakistan army, spent almost three decades working tirelessly for the community around McLevin Avenue where he had founded the Muslim Welfare Centre of Toronto.