Canada


“Reviving the Islamic Spirit” convention opens in Toronto

News Agencies - December 23, 2008

Canadian Muslims are meeting from December 26-28 in Toronto for the seventh annual “Reviving the Islamic Spirit” convention. Its press secretary Nadir Shirazi says, “with an average annual attendance of 15,000 participants, the convention draws a diverse group of attendees.”
The gathering echoes the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) convention in the U.S. The [...]

British Columbia academic named Governor of Kandahar, Afghanistan

News Agencies - December 18, 2008

Tooryalai Wesa, a University of British Columbia associate researcher has been named the new governor of the province of Kandahar. 58-year-old Wesa is an agricultural expert based in Coquitlam, B.C. He will replace outgoing governor Rahmutullah Raufi, who was fired after three months on the job.
Wesa has worked with both Canadian military and civilian [...]

Hope and Despair: My Struggle to Free my Husband Maher Arar now published

The Globe and Mail - December 13, 2008


Ottawa citizen Monia Mazigh has published a book about her struggle to free her husband Maher Arar from a security prison in Syria in 2002.
Arar disappeared while on a return flight to Canada in September 2002, was detained by U.S. authorities while in transit in New York and then falsely accused on being an [...]

Fisher-Price doll said to say “Islam is the light”

News Agencies - December 8, 2008


While Fisher-Price insists that its Little Mommy Cuddle & Coo doll does not deliver hidden messages, many claim it includes the phrase “Islam is the light.”
Fisher-Price spokesperson Juliette Reashor noted, “There is a sound that may resemble something close to the word ‘night, right, or light.’ To avoid any potential misinterpretation, we have eliminated that [...]

Canadian mounties play exhibition soccer game with Muslim youths in Toronto

The Globe and Mail - December 3, 2008


Canadian Mounties and young Torontonian Muslims played a soccer match in the BMO Field, home of Toronto’s FC soccer club. The score: a 4-4 tie. Following the match, the soccer adversaries sat down for a question-and-answer session.
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Canadian Islamic Congress President: “We’ve been victimized”

The National Post - November 22, 2008


Mohamed Elmasry, a professor of microchip design and national president of the Canadian Islamic Congress, takes issue with the treatment of Islam in Canada’s weekly news magazine publication, Maclean’s Magazine.
After considering how to best respond, whether with a criminal complaint or a civil case, Elmasry and the CIC decided on a quasi-judicial compromise by [...]

Ismaili leader praises the Canadian example

News Agencies - November 20, 2008


At the end of his Canadian tour in Vancouver, the hereditary leader of the world’s 15 million Shi’a Ismaili Muslims, Aga Khan, described Canada as a model for diversity. Khan has often visited the country and has maintained a close relationship during his 50-year reign. Khan added that the absence of pluralism has led to [...]

Popular Canadian linebacker often refers to the Qur’an

The Globe and Mail - November 18, 2008


Saleem Rasheed, a middle backer for the Calgary Stampeder’s of the Canadian Football League, often speaks about the importance of his Muslim faith in his first turbulent year in the CFL. Despite a grueling game schedule, he fasted while playing full-time during the month of Ramadan. Rasheed explains that “People who are deeply religious are [...]

Debate Surrounding “Honour” Killings

The National Post - November 14, 2008


The term “honour” killing is under debate in many Western countries, including in Mississauga, Ontario, where the father and brother of teenager Aqsa Parvez will soon appear in court charged with her killing last December. The term itself, claims Craig Offman in this National Post article, is already on trial and remains a sensitive topic [...]

Canadian Muslim Journalist Kidnapped in Pakistan

News Agencies - November 12, 2008


Khadija Abdul Qahaar, a Web magazine publisher in British Colombia, along with her translator and guide, were seized at gunpoint while traveling in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan. Ms. Qahaar was known as Beverly Giesbrecht prior to her conversion to Islam, and publishes the website jihadunspun.com. Mark Federman, an expert [...]

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