Stories

Muslim Link received this letter to the editor from Hailey DeJong in Ottawa. Hailey wears niqab (face veil) and wanted to find a way to thank the OC Transpo bus driver who stood up to a fellow passenger who was harassing Hailey by making Islamophobic remarks. 

Montreal-based Syrian Canadian journalist Oussayma Canbarieh has made multiple documentaries exploring the challenges faced by Muslims navigating their identity within North American societies. In particular, her ground-breaking web series for Radio Canada International, “Me, The Muslim Next Door”, follows the lives of seven young Muslim Canadians in Montreal and Toronto. Oussayma was awarded the Lys de la Diversité Prize for web-journalism in 2013.

Inspired by a recent Letter to the Editor, I have decided to share some reflections on why we need to make it easier to talk about suicide in our communities.

May 2 to 8th is Mental Health Week in Canada. In recognition of this week, Muslim Link is publishing a Letter to the Editor from one of our readers, a Muslim woman in Ottawa who was recently diagnosed with depression. She shares her journey in the hopes that it helps other Muslims inshallah.

Muslim Link ran into popular comedian Baba Ali at this year’s I.LEAD Conference. Although well known for his comedy and children’s programming, Baba Ali also works on the very serious issue of Muslims and Marriage. He runs the matrimonial site “Half our Deen” aimed at helping Muslims find the right match. We interviewed him about why he set up the website and the challenges he is seeing among Muslims when it comes to having healthy marriages.

One Muslim woman is devoting much of her time to raise awareness about Islam across small town Ontario through a series of presentations and interfaith dialogue.

Barbara Helms was born in Saskatchewan to American parents, who were both accomplished classical musicians teaching in Canada. Shortly after she was born the family moved back to the United States, where Helms was raised with her older sister in Princeton, NJ. She returned to Canada in her 20s to study at McGill University.

On April 4th, a flag raising ceremony to celebrate World Autism Awareness Day was held at Ottawa City Hall. Sara Siddiqi, a grade twelve student at Sir Wilfred Laurier Secondary School, delivered a speech at the event. Sarah’s brother, Nasir, was diagnosed with autism when he was three and a half years old and Sarah was seven. It was then that her journey to raise awareness about autism began.

This article is a first in a series of interviews Muslim Link is conducting with Muslim children in Ottawa. Ottawa’s Muslim community is quite young but we often do not get an opportunity to hear the thoughts and opinions of this significant demographic on social problems in our society.

Sheikh Daood Butt will be speaking at the I.LEAD Conference on April 16th. Sheikh Butt received his B.A. in Da'wah and Usool ad-Deen from the Islamic University of Madinah in Saudi Arabia. In 2015, he received the Imam of the Year Award at MuslimFest from DawaNet. Born and raised in Montreal to a Pakistani father and Portuguese mother, the married father of two currently lives and teaches in Mississauga, but often travels internationally to speak on Islam.

Muslim Link received this letter from an Arab Canadian young man in Ottawa in response to the article "Ottawa Students’ Film Highlights Experiences of Racism in the Ummah".

Palestine Canadian Nour Ahram is a creative juggernaut. She is a professional animator and photographer who also dabbles in graphic design and Islamic calligraphy.

“Racism in the Ummah”, a short film by a group of students from the University of Ottawa, received an Honourable Mention at the University of Ottawa Muslim Students’ Association (UOMSA) Film Festival in February.

Vancouver-based writer Rahat Kurd has recently published a collection of poetry entitled Cosmophilia. Her collection explores her personal journey as a Kashmiri Muslim Canadian woman grappling with faith, identity, history, family and the traumatic and ever present legacy of the partition of India and Pakistan. She will be in Ottawa on March 29th and in Toronto on April 9th reading from her collection. Muslim Link interviewed her about her writing.

When it comes to making modest fashionwear available at the click of a button, Salgai Tooryalai is on the case with SANAA Women’s Fashion, an online store based in Ottawa.

Pakistani Canadian entrepreneur Obaid Ahmed was a recipient of the 2015 Top 40 under 40 Award for local business professionals by the Ottawa Business Journal. He has recently been nominated for MAX Gala’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, for outstanding Muslim Canadian entrepreneurs. (Vote Here Deadline March 5th)

Muslim Link interviewed Obaid about the rewards and challenges he experiences as an entrepreneur. 

Somali Canadian Abdirizak Mohamud has been a foster parent with the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa for over 10 years, during which time he has fostered over 15 children. The majority of these children have been from Muslim backgrounds. Muslim Link interviewed Abdirizak about his experience as a foster parent and why more Muslim foster parents are needed in Ottawa.

Jamaal Jackson Rogers is a Black Muslim Canadian Spoken Word poet in Ottawa. He has coached and supported several of the city’s up and coming Spoken Word poets. Muslim Link interviewed him about his personal journey as an artist.

University student Rowda Ismail reflects on a strange experience she and her friends had recently in Ottawa's Nordstrom. 

Serenity Islamic Mental Health Awareness was founded last year as a way to address the stigma and common myths associated with mental illness in Ottawa’s Muslim Communities. It is led by Berak Hussain, a practicing counsellor and graduate of the University of Ottawa’s Masters’ in Counselling Program, and a number of university students. At present they have organized a few presentations on mental health by qualified mental health service providers who come from Muslim and non-Muslim backgrounds.

Muslim Link interviewed Berak Hussain about the initiative.

Amal Fertility is a Mississauga-based support group for Muslim women struggling with infertility. The group offers monthly meetings and information sessions on topics such as adoption and foster care. Muslim Link connected with the group’s founders, Sarah Hussain and Fatima Shaikh, to explore the need to initiate more discussion on the realities of Muslim women struggling with infertility and childlessness in our communities. Hussain and Shaikh shared their individual journeys that brought them to forming the Amal Fertility Support Group and then responded to the rest of our questions collaboratively.