IQRA

Canada’s Largest Muslim Convention a Success

By Muneeb Nasir

Canada’s largest Muslim convention concluded on a high note Sunday evening in Toronto with praise for the group of youths who organized the event.

“I congratulate you for the highest attended RIS (Reviving the Islamic Spirit Convention) in history,” Dr. Tareq Al-Suwaidan, a popular educator and TV personality in the Arab countries, told the delegates.

The event, which was started seven years ago by youths after 9/11, has grown to be the largest Muslim gathering in Canada and has the unique distinction of being run entirely by youth volunteers.

“Over 15,000 people attended and this number exceeded our expectations,” Nadir Shirazi, the event’s Press Secretary, told IQRA.

“There was a real sense of purpose and energy this year due to the high caliber of speakers and presentations,” Shirazi said.

Toronto Hosts Canada's Largest Muslim Convention

By Muneeb Nasir, IOL Correspondent 
  
TORONTO — Canadian Muslims are charging their batteries for the "Reviving the Islamic Spirit," a landmark annual convention that draws distinguished Muslim speakers from across the world.

"With an average annual attendance of 15,000 participants, the convention draws a very diverse group of attendees," Nadir Shirazi, the convention's press secretary, told IslamOnline.net.

Thousands of people from all over North America will flock to Toronto on Friday, December 26, for the opening of the three-day annual conference.

The event is organized by a group of young, active Canadian Muslims and is considered the largest Muslim gathering in Canada, echoing the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) convention in the US.

This year's convention, the seventh, is themed "Answering the Call of God’s Messenger – Setting Prophetic Priorities for Muslims in the West." (READ MORE)

Humble Beginnings – The Islamic Foundation of Toronto

BY MUNEEB NASIR

Openness and inclusiveness can be empowering.

This is the lesson from the early history of one of Toronto’s oldest Islamic Centers, the Islamic Foundation of Toronto.

The founding years, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, were marked by a striking diversity in the group of Muslims who came together to form the organization and by the openness of their consultations.

This coming together of Muslims in Toronto of various ethnicities, nationalities, professions, and religious orientations gave the group a certain strength that results from such interactions.

The willingness to interact, ‘to know each other’, and to engage in open deliberations for the collective good of the community propelled the organization to become a leading Center for Muslims in Canada.

The organization had humble beginnings.  
 
On Sunday, 5th of May, 1968 a group of Muslims, who were congregating for weekly Sunday prayers at a hall in the city of Toronto, met in the apartment of Mr. Saeed Zafar.

A Great Loss to the Muslim Art Community

BY TAHA GHAYYUR

I write this message with a heavy heart.

I can recall his beautiful smile and extraordinary energy in lifting people's spirits.
 
He was a performing artist of remarkable calibre.

He was the leader of the Fletcher Valve Drummers, who were first introduced to the Muslim community at MuslimFest 2004.
 
Dale (Jamaluddin) Marcell, who embraced Islam about 3 years ago, has passed away at his home in Kitchener, ON, last night (Dec. 10, 2008).

He was in his mid-50's. 

Scholar calls Muslims to action

After years of research and writing, Tariq Ramadan recently felt like he had hit a wall.

Ramadan, a professor of Islamic studies at Oxford University in England and arguably the leading advocate of Muslim reform in Europe, had been lecturing and writing books for years.

He had urged the re-reading of Islamic texts in an effort to figure out which Islamic legal rulings can be changed and which cannot. His stated goal was to help Muslims living in secular western countries to face modern challenges while remaining faithful Muslims.

But after two decades, Ramadan felt he had reached a limit. Re-reading and re-interpreting religious texts, he concluded, isn't sufficient given the new and complex issues popping up in the world at a dizzying pace.

So Ramadan did what he has done so often in the past -- he wrote another manifesto and is again calling Muslims to action. (READ MORE)

Dedication and Persistence Can Make Real Change Happen

BY MUNEEB NASIR

They wanted to make real change happen.

This idealism expressed in kitchen table conversations in 1997 among a group of Muslim women, soon resulted in the formation of an organization.

In 1998, the Federation of Muslim Women came into existence to fulfill the need for a women’s group that would discuss growing community needs and strategize about ways to bring about change.

The group soon attracted women of various ethnic and national backgrounds and from a wide range of professions and ages.

From students to professors, and homemakers to grandmothers, and all identities in between, they joined together to work on pressing issues in the diverse Muslim community.   

Food bank need crosses cultural, religious boundaries

Food banks across the GTA continue to look for donations as the holiday season approaches.

But donations are dropping in at least one specialized area — and that has implications for Muslims who use the food bank and who also have special dietary requirements.

"With the recent immigration — and a lot of refugees and recent immigrants from Muslim countries — many of them, because of their economic conditions, are facing some difficult circumstances," said Muneeb Nasir. (READ MORE)

Yes You Can!

Little Mosque on the Prairie's cast and crew, in association with the CBC, Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN), Muslim Association of Canada (MAC), Islamic Institute of Toronto (IIT) and MuslimServ, are asking YOU to join us in the fight against hunger.

DECEMBER 8 | EID-AL-ADHA CELEBRATIONS
In the Muslim Community, the food drive swings into gear with Eid-al-Adha celebrations. Attendees are encouraged to drop off non-perishable food items at various Eid gatherings including MAC's Eid prayer and festivities at the Exhibition Place in Toronto, IIT's prayers in Scarborough, and prayers in Mississauga.

Donations can be dropped off at Exhibition Place on Eid Day, December 8, 10am - 6pm
Complete program listing, locations and details at www.gtaeid.com