Ottawa’s Muslim community is full of uncommon mixed race identities, but Shady Hafez, 25, might be an original. Born in Ottawa, the son of an Algonquin mother from the Kitigan Zibi reservation and a Muslim father from Syria, Shady was raised in two worlds, each misunderstanding of the other, and both misunderstood by mainstream Western culture.

As the author of the recent BuzzFeed article 12 Easy Steps For Canadians To Follow If They’re Serious About Reconciliation, Shady's writing aims to help bridge the gaps between his communities.

Muslim Link interviewed Shady Hafez back in 2014, about how he navigates his identities.