For the second year in a row, a Muslim woman has been awarded a special scholarship from the Ottawa Police Service in order to pursue a career in policing.

Urge Ibrahim was presented with the Thomas G. Flanagan S.C. Scholarship by Chief Charles Bordeleau at the Ottawa Police Service's annual Community/Police Awards on June 18.

Haneen Alhassoun recently won second place this month at the Ottawa Youth Poetry Slam. At 16, the Brookfield High School student is both humbled and excited about her win as she has been working towards it for the past two and a half years.

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was commemorated worldwide last month on March 21, with the theme for this year being Racism and Sport, focusing on the importance of using universal activities such as sport to affirm fundamental human rights and help combat racism.

According to Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, racism remains a serious problem around the world today and is even prevalent in professional sports. He called on using this day to highlight the positive values of sports and promoting the values of equality and non-discrimination to combat racism.

“We must join forces to end racism and sport can help reach this goal,” he said in a UN released statement. “On this International Day, let us recommit to ending racial discrimination and realizing our vision of justice, equality and freedom from fear for all.”

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.

After taking the Montreal Muslim community by storm, women's clothing store Boutique N-Ti opened its first Ontario location in Mississauga early this month.

“We've been discussing the opening of a store for more than two years,” says Fatma Nurmohamed, CEO of the Toronto branch. “We've been planning, researching, marketing and selling through our mobile store until we were finally able to find the perfect location.”

Weightlifter Kulsoom Abdullah was on the brink of qualifying for the American Open tournament last year when she was eliminated. It was not her training regimen, muscle strength or weight that kept her from competing. It was her clothes.

After qualifying for a national tournament, the computer engineer with a Ph.D. from Georgia Tech and a black belt in taekwondo was told she could not compete because the modest athletic attire she wears might be dangerous or give her an unfair advantage because the long-sleeved garment would prevent judges from seeing if her elbows were locked.

With help from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Ms. Abdullah waged a personal crusade with both the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Weighlifting to push reform of the uniform law. As a result, on July 15, 2011, Ms. Abdullah became the first Muslim woman to compete in America's most prestigious weightlifting competition -- the USA National Weightlifting Championships -- while wearing clothing that covered her legs, arms and head.

Expressions of Muslim Women held their 4th annual show called Winds of Change at Centrepointe Studio Theatre on Dec. 10, 2011. The show exhibited artwork and performances by local Muslim women to a female audience. The new venue provided a professional space for this group of talented women to share their art with a full house of over 200 people. Proceeds went to local charities, including the Sadaqa Food Bank. The following are some of the items presented and the reactions from audience members: