Asim Sheikh,  a member of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) at Ryerson University (www.ryersonmsa.com) is the Orphan Sponsorship Coordinator. As a team, we felt it is our responsibility as Muslims to alleviate the pain and suffering of millions of children across the globe who have lost their parents, and are now forced to live without the security, care and love that we are so blessed to have.

1 in every 13 children in developing nations are orphaned. These children are often from countries ravaged by war, corruption, disease, and economic disparity. We feel it is our duty as Muslims and Citizens of humanity to attempt to abolish the cruel cycle of poverty and abuse that continues in our world.

The Ryerson MSA is collaborating with Human Concern International (HCI) to assist in the sponsorship of orphans and needy children, providing education and training, and providing healthcare to children in need. HCI is a federally registered Canadian charity dedicated in helping to alleviate human suffering through sustainable development and emergency relief projects. Since its founding in 1980, HCI has invested over $110 million in global initiatives.

All donations will go towards the following projects supported by the Ryerson MSA:

1) Orphan Sponsorship
The program links sponsors with needy children up to the age of 18 and sponsors become responsible for the child’s monthly assistance. For many sponsors, the children become integral members of their extended family, and sponsors become a pillar of strength and support in the lives of the children.

Below are images of few of the orphans Ryerson MSA sponsored last year:

2) Education and Training
Education is key to future generations being able to lift themselves from poverty; which is why we decided to support schools and education programs in developing countries. Our funds will reach hundreds of children and give them the chance to dream about and work toward a future with higher education, with a career, with the ability to care for their families and no longer have to rely on others for support.

3) Healthcare
The healthcare systems in many developing countries contain critical gaps and we are seeking to fill those gaps through providing materials and equipment, as well as funding examinations, surgeries, and laboratories in collaboration with HCI.

Any amount you donate will make a significant impact on the lives of orphans and needy children. Please donate and help us achieve our goal of $25,000.

Statistics Canada estimated in 2011 that around a million Muslims live within Canadian borders [Reuters]

On January 14, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) issued an open letter to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The letter urges the prime minister to disinvite Rabbi Daniel Korobkin as a member of the delegation accompanying him on his first trip to Israel.

NCCM’s Executive Director Ihsaan Ghardee pointed out that Korobkin introduced and praised Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer last September at a lecture sponsored by the Jewish Defense League (JDL). Both Geller and Spencer are part of Stop the Islamization of America (SIOA), a hate-group according to the Anti Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In response to NCCM, the Harper’s Director of Communications Jason MacDdonald recently brushed aside the group’s recommendation with the following statement made on behalf of the Prime Minister’s Office: “We will not take seriously criticism from an organisation with documented ties to a terrorist organisation such as Hamas.”

NCCM is now suing Harper for libel.

This exchange is just the latest episode in a battle that Canadian Muslims have fought since 9/11 – the battle to shape Canadian public opinion on issues related to Muslims and Islam.

READ FULL ARTICLE ON ALJAZEERA.COM

Posted by: Umm Zakiyyah January 17, 2014

So naturally, in my world, a kaafir didn’t exist. People who believed a kaafir did exist—and who had the audacity to use the term in connection to an actual human being—were shunned, whispered about, and referred to as “misguided” and their thinking reprehensible.

As for how my friends and I dealt with Muslims who used the word, we didn’t associate with “those” Muslims. We didn’t go to the masjid with “those” Muslims. We were better than “those” Muslims…

Because we didn’t use profanity.

They did.

We didn’t say horrible words like kaafir.

They did.

As I grew older and eventually befriended some of “those” Muslims, I was surprised that they weren’t revolting or evil, as I’d once thought. And I was even more surprised that they didn’t seem angry or spiteful when they used the word kaafir. In fact, if anything, my friends and I were more obviously spiteful when we talked about “those” Muslims for using the word at all.

Nevertheless, like my jolt upon hearing for the first time a dog groomer use the word bitch in its appropriate context, I was a bit taken aback when I first heard the word kaafir used in the Islamic context by some of my new friends. And as was the case with my understanding bitch as simply meaning “a female dog”, I began to understand that—at least to these Muslims—the word kaafir simply meant non-Muslim.

READ FULL ARTICLE ON MUSLIMMATTERS.ORG

Female police officers in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada will now be allowed to wear a hijab headscarf as part of their uniform.

While the Edmonton Police Service says it does not have any requests for the hijab uniform, which covers the head and neck, the new design is part of the police unit’s attempt to better reflect “the changing diversity in the community, and to facilitate the growing interest in policing careers from Edmonton’s Muslim community,” according to a police press release.

City councilor Scott McKeen told The National Post the new uniform’s approval represents a “gesture of inclusion” for females, who wear the headscarf as an expression of their faith. Male officers in Edmonton can already wear turbans, the Edmonton Journal notes.

“This makes Muslim women part and parcel of that community,” Soraya Zaki Hafez, president of the Edmonton chapter of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, told the outlet. “I think we are a pioneer.”

A division of the EPS worked with a hijab tailor to develop the prototype (below), which fits under the standard police cap. Unlike the traditional headscarf, the police version was designed to be simple and easy to remove with tear-away snaps, the National Post reported.

“After rigorous testing, it was determined that the headscarf did not pose any risk to the officer wearing it, or reduce officer effectiveness, nor interfere with police duties or public interactions,” the press release explains.

FULL STORY ON HUFFINGTONPOST.COM