Asalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah,

I pray that each of you, your families and communities are well and healthy, inshaAllah.

This year the Canadian Muslim community saw our biggest ongoing challenge, Islamophobia, come to light in a horrendously frightening way. The London attack on the Afzaal family left us all scarred and scared for our children, elderly, and the community. Yet, this challenge also allowed us to come together and solidly raise our voice to make a change for our future generations to come. As a community, we have seen the blessings of the generosity, the resilience, and the strength in our bonds, Alhamdulillah. We combined our stories and voices to tell a powerful reality which exists within our systemic government and communities. 

From the Islamophobia summit in July to the grant we received from the Ontario Ministry of Education to the tireless efforts of our staff in creating various contents and messages, Allah(swt) has generously allowed us to help make a difference for our communities across the country by trying to eliminate Islamophobia through education. I am pleased to announce by the mercy of Allah(swt) our Islam Awareness platform to combat Islamophobia within the education system has officially launched. I urge everyone to share it with your colleagues, peers, and neighbours to get the word across and help make a small difference now to lead to a bigger change in the future.

As another year comes to an end, it is time for us to reflect on our deeds for the year, and our spiritual and personal growth. Have we reached the goals we set for ourselves this year? What are we lacking and how can we improve in the new year approaching? Remember, the Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) said,: “Whosoever knows himself knows his Lord.” Developing a habit of reflection is a good way to know yourself better, inshaAllah we all can attain this. 

I also want to remind you to stay tuned for a winter holiday that is going to be packed with MAC programs for the entire family, across the country, inshaAllah.  We are excited to engage with all of you and hope to share more details soon, inshaAllah.  

Wa Salamu Alaikum,

Sharaf Sharafeldin

Executive Director

Muslim Association of Canada