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1. Our Common Voice: Protecting the Life Sustaining Gift of Water

The Muslim organization, ICNA Canada (Peel Chapter), along with Mississauga’s Muslim Community will be holding the 2nd Annual Save Family Values Family Day Walkathon at Mississauga City Centre, 300 City Centre Dr., near Square One.

“We have got almost every major Masjid and Islamic Center on board for the event,” A. Qayyum Mufti, Walkathon Coordinator, told IQRA.ca. “We have got support from all walks of life and age group.”

Family Day is observed as a public holiday on the third Monday of February in Ontario as well as in the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Last year’s inaugural walkathon raised $50,000 for the hospital.

The goal of the organizers is, once again, to raise $50K towards the Muslim community’s pledge of $250,000 to help fund medical equipment and hospital expansion.

The Family Day Walkathon is endorsed by The Credit Valley Hospital Foundation and is part of its Lifetime of Care $45 million campaign.

According to the event organizers, “The purpose of the walkathon, besides raising funds for the charity, is to raise awareness of the unfortunate deteriorating situation of our family structure.”

Following the Walkathon, around the City Hall, starting at 10:00 am, there will be presentations by children and dignitaries focusing on family values and on this year’s theme, ‘Our Seniors.’

“Our slogan for the Walkathon is ‘Seniors have Silver in their hair and Gold in their heart’ which reflects our purpose to honour and respect our seniors,” said A. Qayyum Mufti.

“During the program we are going to recognize outstanding service of seniors with certificates of appreciation,” he added.

For further information on the event or to join the Walkathon, visit www.savefamilyvalues.com

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The discussion-focused event brought together speakers who gave short 5-10 minute talks followed by a 10-15 minute dialogue with the audience.

The event was organized by the Ryerson White Ribbon Campaign which works to end violence against women by inspiring men to be a part of change that affects the lives of men and women.

According to Jeff Perrera, Co-Chairperson of the Ryerson White Ribbon Campaign, the event ‘s purpose was to ‘share and reflect on how gender, gender constructs and pressures affect various aspects of our everyday life.’

There was keynote performance by world renowned spoken word poet Shihan (star of Def Jam poetry).

Afaun Mandol, Co-Chair of the White Ribbon Campaign spearheaded by Muslim Presence Toronto, was one of the presenters at the conference.

Muslim Presence Toronto launched the White Ribbon Campaign in the Muslim community at the Islamic Institute of Toronto on December 10.

The White Ribbon campaign comes on the heels of the “Call to Action to Eradicate Domestic Violence” statement that was recently issued by Canadian Islamic organizations and leaders and which saw Imams and Khateebs deliver sermons (khutbas) on domestic violence on December 9 in mosques across the country.

“The White Ribbon Campaign is a means to start the conversation in our community to challenge everyone to speak out, and think about their own personal beliefs, language and actions,” said Mandol.

Below is a transcript Afaun Mandol’s talk at the ‘What Makes A Man. Higher Unlearning: The 2012 White Ribbon Conference.’

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First of all I would like to thank Jeff Perera for inviting Muslim Presence to attend this great event and also for giving us the opportunity to meet and learn from all of you. 

I think this is very beneficial to us and hopefully to you.

In the next few minutes I am going to touch on 3 main points:

1 – I’m going to touch on the diversity challenge within the Muslim community.

2 – I’ll speak on the “Call to Eradicate Domestic Violence” Campaign that is currently underway and how it was sparked from the Shafia murder trial.

3 – What are plans are for the future, and how we plan to move the message forward.

My family immigrated to Canada from Guyana, South America when I was just a year old.  So I am Canadian. I’ve been saying that much longer than Molsons.

Growing up in Canada, I’ve learned that culture and religion are two different things.

But I don’t think this is common knowledge to most people; many people can’t differentiate between culture and religion, and this, in my opinion, can be dangerous.

I think for those who follow any faith need to ask themselves: Is what I am doing part of my cultural practice or my religious practice?

I have had people tell me the two cannot be separated; I think they need to be.

I think the Shafia case is a prime example of this.  People are confused, even some who are Muslim.  This needs to be addressed.

And I think the media makes the same mistake; when the media speaks of Muslims, there is a feeling that we are all the same or they try to separate us out as progressive and traditional, but it’s not that simple.

Are Americans and Canadians culturally the same?  Canadians and Russians, the Chinese? The French?  Africans?

Yet, all of these places have large numbers of Muslims.

So addressing the needs of the Muslim Community when it comes to domestic violence and violence against women is really about addressing the needs of the entire world, especially in a multicultural city like Toronto.  This is not easy.

We want to show that the teachings and principles of Islam, which transcend culture, are completely in line with ending domestic violence and eradicating violence against women.

Let me give you some examples.

If we look at the pledge of the White Ribbon Campaign, to never commit, condone, or remain silent about violence against women and look at this verse from the Quran we start to see a correlation

In Chapter 4 verse 135 of the Qur’an, Almighty God says:

“O ye who believe! stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for God can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily God is well- acquainted with all that ye do.” – basically saying you will be held accountable.

Never remain silent… here is a saying of the Prophet, peace be upon him: “Whoever among you sees an evil action, then let him change it with his hand [by taking action]; if he cannot, then with his tongue [by speaking out]; and if he cannot, then with his heart (by hating it) – and that is the weakest of faith.”

The Shafia case for the Muslim community was our Marc Lepine moment – we feel it has been a tipping point and galvanized the community.

Honor based killings have nothing to do with Islam.

But as I mentioned, some are confused between misogynistic cultural practices and their faith.

This event triggered an awareness campaign to empower men and women to take up their responsibility and step forward and be proactive in helping society as a whole stamp out this problem.

This brings us to the second point: The Eradication of Domestic Violence Campaign which was launched in early December strongly condemning all forms of domestic violence. 

The declaration was sent to Mosques and Islamic organizations right across Canada and, as a result, a number of initiatives were kicked off after the recipients signed the declaration:

• December 9th – Sermon by Imams at Friday prayer. 
• December 10 – White Ribbon Campaign was launched by the Muslim Presence Toronto Network at the Islamic Institute of Toronto in Scarborough and was a call out to the men of the community to stand up and speak out.
• December 23rd to 25th – White Ribbon Days Awareness Program at RIS
• Other programs include the Family Honor Project by The Muslim Resource Center for Social Support and Integration in London, ON.
• February 5 – Fatwa against honor killings by a Calgary Imam.

Future initiatives of the Muslim Presence Network: we want to work with other groups in this arena to learn from them as well as help them.

We are working with our Ottawa chapter and a group in Montreal in planning more White Ribbon Days to move this message along.

We are also currently in the initial phases of putting together a nation-wide website on domestic violence that would bring community resources from across the country together and become the premier  place for information on where to get help for yourself, how to help others, and remind us how our Islamic faith denounces domestic violence as a whole. 

We will challenge cultural norms from a religious perspective and work to expose cultural practices that contradict Islamic principles.

In closing, from thinking back about the Muslim community’s diversity challenge, the Eradication Campaign, and our future goals – you can see there is much to do.

Thank you for your time today.

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During the course of six years as a federal prosecutor and investigator I interviewed at great length more than 100 radicals and terrorists who fought in the name of Islam. I chronicled the stories of many of these extremists leaving the path of violence when exposed to the corruption of the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Ahmad al-Shayea, a 19-year-old Saudi, went to Iraq to fight Americans partly because he saw photos online of tortured prisoners at Abu Ghraib. His is a story of disenchantment – one that many other young Muslim men told me.

When arriving in Iraq with some 45 would-be fighters from all over the Arab world, an Al Qaeda leader exhorted Ahmad and his fellow recruits to undertake suicide missions, but no one volunteered. As Ahmad later explained, he came to Iraq to defend the honour of Islam against Abu Ghraib and American torture, “not die right away in a suicide bombing before I could even help a single soul.” But Al Qaeda had other ideas. After four months in virtual isolation and no training, Al Qaeda leaders deceived Ahmad into driving a truck loaded with explosives which they remotely detonated in Baghdad.

Miraculously, Ahmad survived, but woke to – in his words – “the lie that is Al Qaeda.” He now wanted nothing more than to expose how “Al Qaeda is not for Islam and humanity. I am a living example of Al Qaeda’s hellfire…I want everyone to see how Al Qaeda tricked me into killing innocent people.”

Ahmad is not alone. Another young Saudi, Abdullah, fought in Iraq because he saw it as the only way to marry his sweetheart in heaven, as he could not afford the dowry to marry her on earth. Yet when Abdullah witnessed firsthand the duplicity, corruption and sectarian power grab of Al Qaeda’s leaders, he realised their struggle was anything but a “holy war”. Similarly, Malik – an Afghan refugee who grew up in Pakistan, joined the Taliban and even became a seer, interpreting dreams for Taliban leader Mullah Omar – over time personally saw the theft of oil and other commodities by Taliban leaders.

These stories and others bear telling witness to how Al Qaeda and the Taliban manipulate idealistic young Muslim men to follow a hateful ideology that kills untold innocents, largely other Muslims. Indeed, perhaps the most influential weapon against Osama bin Laden would have been to frequently re-broadcast an impromptu December 2001 taping in which bin Laden laughed when recounting that some of the foot soldiers from Asir in the south of Saudi Arabia – who participated in the 9/11 hijackings – were never told they had embarked on a suicide mission until the very end. Likewise, Anwar al-Awlaki, the Al Qaeda leader killed by an American drone strike in Yemen in September 2011, had been arrested three times for soliciting prostitutes in San Diego and the Washington, DC area. Disseminating the detailed records of these arrests would have accomplished more to discredit his cause than the drone strike that killed him.

Bearing witness to the reality of Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders is a far more constructive and effective way to weaken them than reducing this struggle to assassination by American drone attacks. Our ultimate danger lies less in particular men, but their message of extremism. Our ultimate hope lies in the courageous Muslims who have led the path away from radical hatred. Through a policy that emphasises killing alone, current US actions may in the end serve to harden the resolve of the most recalcitrant, rather than help peel away the potentially disillusioned. Exposing the truth could prove the most powerful deterrent.

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* Ken Ballen is the author of Terrorists in Love: The Real Lives of Islamic Radicals and President of Terror Free Tomorrow, a non-profit organisation that researches attitudes toward extremism. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews). 

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By Imraan Assim

Ustadh Haniff Bagh Khan was among the city’s most respected, loved, and widely acclaimed teachers.

He was a teacher of teachers and a celebrated hero in the Muslim community.

He promoted the learning of the Arabic language, the recitation of the Qur’an and most importantly that loving the holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) was the bedrock of one’s faith.

He always stood his ground even when his views and teachings weren’t popular.

He was the most energetic elder I ever knew whose heart was attached to the masjid.

Everyone knew that when you came into the Imdadul Islamic Centre in Toronto and looked to your right, Ustadh would be sitting in the corner imparting wisdom and good company to others.

He was always in a state of remembrance of God.

His advice to me when I brought both of my kids to him as newborns was to teach them “la” as the first thing to say. He was telling me to teach them the key to everlasting joy and happiness beyond this temporal world: “la ilaha illa Allah” (there is no God but Allah).

In September 2011, when news of his passing had spread, the Imdadul Islamic Centre along with the home of his daughter was packed with people for weeks to come – each coming to pay their respects, offer prayers, and console the family that lost not only a father or grandfather, but an icon of the Muslim community.

This was in addition to the outpouring of condolences and sadness from communities throughout Guyana, Trinidad, the United States, and other parts of Canada.

In fact, when Ustadh passed on a Wednesday afternoon, a gathering (largely comprised of people from Leguan, Guyana – his hometown) undertook a complete reading of the Qur’an (khatm) on Ustadh’s behalf that same evening!

Why, you might ask, is it that we are remembering Ustadh now?

Well, the truth is there are two reasons. First, we never stopped remembering him and miss him dearly.

Secondly, as Muslims around the world are commemorating the birth of the holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) – many of us remember the man who called us towards the love of Allah’s Messenger (upon whom be peace), Ustadh.

My father would always tell my brother, sister, and I stories of the great men of Guyana who worked tirelessly for Muslims both back home and here in Canada.

The late Mohamed Nasir (who he endearingly referred to as “Twins”), Imam Naseer Khan (Islamic Missionary Guild) and Ustadh would always be mentioned – may God have mercy upon them all.

He would tell us about how Ustadh studied and became a pharmacist but gave it all up to teach Qur’an, where he would be spotted on his famous big blue bicycle riding from home to home of his students.

As Guyanese Muslims embrace the cherished tradition of Milad-un-Nabi this season, it is essential to remember and pay homage to the very people who kept Qur’anic learning and the Prophetic traditions alive in order to pass them down.

He stood in your honour and veneration

Seeking your intercession through your most perfect station.

Let him drink from your blessed hands that Day,

And accompany him in the highest of gardens

Where only the most elite shall stay.

[Ustadh Bagh Khan’s Simplified System of Learning to Read Arabic in 21 Days continue to be held privately at Imdadul Islamic Centre every Sunday by his daughter and son-in-law.  Also a special Salaat and Salaam booklet along with CD is being distributed in memory of Ustadh for this during this Mawlid period. Please contact 416-638-7021 for further information.]

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Five years ago, her family’s home was destroyed in a fire. Soon after, they set off to start a new life in Canada. After rebuilding their lives in Pickering, Atiyya often felt isolated in her unfamiliar surroundings, and began losing herself in books once again. She checked out 48 books at the Pickering Public Library, and breezed through them in two weeks. “I have an affinity for libraries,” she admits.

Her passion led her to become involved in a reading circle, and the development of a special friendship with a six-year-old girl with whom she works on a continual basis. Thus began a crusade to empower as many girls and women as should could, in her community and beyond, making many new friends along the way.

No event is too small or big for Atiyya to tackle. Locally, she has organized a car wash to raise funds for the Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation, and she started a crocheting circle for young mothers. Through the Women’s Multicultural Resource and Counselling Centre of Durham, she has provided support and advice to other teenage girls who have recently immigrated to Canada, and she volunteered at an event bringing awareness to the issue of violence against women.

On the international front, Atiyya has volunteered in an AIDS clinic in Guyana, a nation with the second highest rate of HIV/AIDS prevalence in Latin America and the Caribbean. She has also raised funds for community development projects in Sierra Leone, after reading about the plight of its people.

Through the YMCA of Greater Toronto’s Youth Leader Corps (YLC) group in Pickering, she led a group in making paper lanterns containing peace messages, which were sent to Hiroshima, Japan, as part of a Global Peace Lantern project. Her efforts earned her the YMCA Peace Medallion for all of the Durham Region.
Atiyya says, “Empowering women and girls means providing them with the opportunity to find acceptance and peace within. We each have the potential to achieve something great. There is nothing to hold you back and to stop you from pursuing what you believe in.”

As part of International Development Week, the Ontario Council for International Cooperation (OCIC) is honouring five young women from across the province — including Atiyya Bacchus — for empowering and making a difference in the lives of women and girls in their communities and around the globe.

International Development Week 2012 is February 5-11, 2012. During that time, OCIC, an expanding community of Ontario-based international development and global education organizations and individual associate members working globally for social justice, will honour five young “Global Changemakers” for their work to promote gender equality in their communities and around the world.

Source: Ontario Council for International Cooperation (OCIC)

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And it is He who sends down rain from the sky, and We produce thereby the growth of all things. We produce from it greenery from which We produce grains arranged in layers. And from the palm trees – of its emerging fruit are clusters hanging low. And [We produce] gardens of grapevines and olives and pomegranates, similar yet varied. Look at [each of] its fruit when it yields and [at] its ripening. Indeed in that are signs for a people who believe. (Quran, 6:99)

We may be in the depth of winter across Canada, but to many gardeners, this is the time of year to plan for the upcoming season. Local community groups are also preparing for the advent of spring and are putting final touches on proposals for gardening projects on open roofs, parking lots and empty fields within their neighborhoods.

Community gardens have begun to flourish in recent years, especially within urban centres. While collective gardening is not a new phenomenon, it has taken root and evolved beyond local parks, schools and recreation centres to include underutilized regions of the city such as vacant lots and hydro corridors.

The emerging movement towards growing and purchasing local, organic produce has generated interest in community gardens, especially in cities where residents lack access to arable land. There have also been several health scares over the last few years over contaminated produce which has fueled the drive for organic products. Aside from the health benefits of eating naturally grown produce, the movement as a whole has created several positive impacts in the communities they serve, including revitalizing neighborhoods and fostering a new generation to make  more conscious food choices.

Places of worship have also been looking at developing community gardens to serve both their congregations and the general public. Generally their facilities are situated on large open lots that are able to be easily converted into small-scale gardens or into larger agricultural plots. The congregations they serve also possess a diverse range of skills that are able to build, create and maintain an ongoing garden.

After the garden is established, it becomes a beacon for the community by providing educational and recreational opportunities for children and seniors, raises awareness about how our food is grown and physically connects the spiritual teachings with the natural word. The produce that is cultivated can be donated as a fresh alternative to local food banks or used in soup kitchens to feed those less fortunate.

While the initial push has mainly been from churches, community gardens are now beginning to become established within mosques as well.

The Winnipeg Central Mosque teamed up with the Daniel McIntyre / St. Matthews Community Association to start an urban community garden in 2011. The project was constructed within the parking lot and now contains eleven raised beds and three decorative planter beds. The goal of the program is to “encourage environmentalism and to create a safe and welcoming space where families and individuals can enjoy community connectivity through organic urban gardening.”

The Islamic Society of Kingston also launched their own community garden initiative called Gardens of Mercy. The mandate of the project was to encourage “a more efficient and sustainable way of providing healthy food to those in need.” There were several goals of the program which include:

• Helping our hungry neighbors in Kingston by providing them with fresh, local produce;
• Learning about gardening, which can help us in starting a garden at home;
• Appreciation of nature, the environment and Allah’s blessings upon us;
• Opportunity to welcome other faith and cultural groups to take part in this project and work together for a good cause.
• Gaining the pleasure and mercy of Allah by being merciful to others.

While there are many benefits to community gardening, there is also a lot of preparation that goes into developing and planning before the first shovel hits the ground. This includes forming a dedicated team to take ownership of the garden, developing and designing the site, taking an inventory of the materials needed, securing the necessary funding and ensuring continued support for the garden in future years.

There are many resources available for those looking at creating a community garden at their mosque. Recently, the Noor Cultural Centre held a workshop entitled A Beginners Guide to Urban Farming, presented by Young Urban Farmers. Their organizations website provides a wealth of information on edible gardens, plants ideal for urban environments, soil management and pest control.

The Toronto Region and Conservation Authority also held a workshop this past fall entitled Creating a Community Garden at your Place of Worship. There they presented resources from the David Suzuki Foundation which includes information on planting native species and attracting pollinators to your garden. They also went through a workshop module from Food Share, which guides you through the steps in recruiting and securing funding for the development of a community garden.

Whether your mosque plans to develop a small rooftop garden with a couple of planters or a large area with several dozen plots, there are key elements that should be considered in the planning phases. The Halifax Garden Network effectively summarizes these steps which include:

1. Organize a meeting of interested people
2. Form a planning committee
3. Identify all your resources
4. Find Financial Support
5. Choose a site
6. Design the garden
7. Prepare and develop the site
8. Make the Garden Accessible
9. Create membership guidelines and put them in writing
10. Keep in touch with each other

Community gardening is a rich and rewarding experience that allows you to share the joys of the outdoors while meditating over the signs of Allah’s creation. The initial investment multiplies in the following years and creates a lasting legacy that can be enjoyed by all in the community. For more information, please visit the following resources below:

Young Urban Farmers

Food Share

Halifax Garden Network

Photo Credit from: Torontoist

[Source: www.Khaleafa.com]

* Muaz Nasir is a Muslim Canadian environmentalist and Publisher of the online environmental website, www.Khaleafa.com. He holds a Masters degree in Environmental Studies specializing in Business and Environmental Relations from York University and the Schulich School of Business; he aims to raise the profile of environmental issues within the Canadian Muslim community.

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“We accept and respect the justice system and we believe that the indicted were given a fair trial.

Our thoughts, today, are with the victims of this heinous crime; may they rest in peace. We are also concerned  for the remaining children and their future. We hope and pray that  all stakeholders will come together to provide these children a safe, secure and spiritually compatible home.

Many lessons have been learned and many strategies have been put in place  within the Canadian Muslim communities to address domestic violence and to establish and/or support  social services and providers with the right skills, know-how and training to deal with gender based violence.

We are hopeful that Canadian Muslims and the Islamic faith will not be stigmatized, as a whole, for this crime.

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