In 1999, United Nations proclaimed February 21st as International Mother Language Day as a way to promote linguistic and cultural diversity. This date was chosen in recognition of the 1952 Bengali Language Movement in what is now Bangladesh.

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My “Abbu” (father) came from a Bangla-speaking family while my Ammu (mother) hailed from a Urdu-speaking family. It’s a common phenomenon in Bangladesh because before the 1971 war, we used to be East Pakistan and families that spoke both languages lived in both East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and West Pakistan (now Pakistan). Growing up, my brother and I spoke both languages, at home we spoke Bangla and in my maternal grandparents' house we spoke Urdu/Hindi mixed. 

Muslim Link would love to know what your Muslim organization is doing for Black History Month. Be it your MSA, your mosque, your women's group, your Islamic school, your civic engagement group, your anti-Islamophobia group?

What are you doing?

Muslim Link partnered with Inspirit Foundation, a national, grant-making organization that supports young people aged 18 to 30 in building a more inclusive and pluralist Canada, to commemorate the first anniversary of the Quebec Mosque attack by bringing together young Muslims from across Canada to share short reflections on Muslim idenity in Canada and/or how they are working to resist Islamophobia.

Listen to what they have to say.

On January 29th, 2017, six Muslims were murdered and nineteen injured at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City, a mosque in the Sainte-Foy neighbourhood of Quebec City, Canada.

A year later, Canadians found a variety of ways to commemorate this tragedy.

Each week Dr. Yusra Ahmad, a psychiatrist and clinical lecturer at University of Toronto, meets six to eight women with a range of mental health disorders at a mosque in the city’s west end. She leads them through a program that combines mindful meditation with concrete skills to manage negative thoughts and regulate emotions.

However, this is not your typical mindfulness therapy. Each session began with prayers from the Qur’an and incorporates teachings from Islamic scholars.

Liberal MPP Dr. Shafiq Qaadri (Etobicoke North) intends to file a motion on the first day of the Legislature’s spring sitting on February 20th, 2018, to proclaim January 29th a Day of Remembrance and Action against Islamophobia in the province of Ontario.

Jan. 29, 2017 must be remembered as the date of the worst mass murder to take place in a house of worship in Canadian history. This was the day when six Muslim men were shot dead after evening prayers in a Québec City mosque.

On Jan. 29, 2017, a man entered a Québec mosque during evening prayer and opened fire on the backs of 53 congregants. Six died immediately.

Hamilton City Council has officially recognized January 29th as the Day of Remembrance and Action on Islamophobia, commemorating the attack on the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec in Quebec City in 2017 that left six men dead and several injured. This follows a call from the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) to have this day recognized at the national level.

The motion to recognize the day was put forward by City Councillor Matthew Green at the January 24th council meeting and was passed unanimously. 

Update: Muslim Link was informed on November 4, 2019 that Dr. Fuad Sahin has passed away.

Dr. Fuad Sahin was named to the Order of Canada by Governor General Julie Payette on December 29, 2017.