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Ontario Muslim Parent Bridges Gap, Educates Students on Islam

As Canada marks the annual Islamic History Month in October, a London Muslim school-board member is using the opportunity to educate students about Islam and bring down barriers in the community.

“There’s a huge gap in knowledge about Muslims and their rich history in the world, and I think this can help close that and normalize Islam,” Nosheen Ahmad, a parent in the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) in London, ON, told CBC News. 

Canada annually celebrates Islamic History Month in the whole month of October, and the focus this year is on sharing and healing from anti-indigenous racism and Islamophobia.

📚 Read Also: Islamic History Month Canada: Sharing & Healing

Throughout the country, communities organize information sessions, joint healing circles, inviting Indigenous people to mosques, hosting art exhibits, highlighting artists and hosting any other relevant, COVID-safe gatherings.

The events aim to celebrate, inform, educate, and share with fellow Canadians the rich Muslim heritage and contributions to society.

  • A sign board of October labelled as Islamic Heritage Month at a TVDSB school (Provided by Nosheen Ahmad)

Ahmad is a member of the Equity and Inclusion Education Team at the TVDSB, which was formed to increase the involvement of different communities across the board. 

Sharing her Islamic heritage with students, Ahmad prepared a guidebook that highlights everyday objects, which were invented by Muslims throughout history, including coffee, perfume, and cars, along with many more.

“This will give a perspective to students and teachers of ‘where do these items come from, and why have we never realized this as part of our history?'” said Ahmad.

“One of the things I keep hearing is ‘we had no idea that this stuff has come through Islamic civilization,’ just having a quick conversation about it can be so helpful”. 

  • A print out of resources highlighting ‘Muslim inventions’ in a TVDSB school (Provided by Nosheen Ahmad )

Countering Hate

For many Muslims, this year’s event is significant, coming four months after the death of four members of the Afzaal family in a hate crime.

Ahmad believes the events should honor the Afzaal family legacy and counter rising Islamophobia.

“I feel like it was a failure on the school community that someone who left public school so recently didn’t have enough love and acceptance in their heart for that to not have taken root, and for Islam to not be normalized enough that he [the accused] felt Muslims were so different, that it was something to attack.”

“We’re losing this kindness in society, and it’s sad that we have to teach empathy in schools,” she added.

  • A display of all the resources highlighting Muslim inventions in a school (Provided by Nosheen Ahmad)

She hopes these events can bring people together, break down barriers, and cut racism in its roots.

“There’s no ‘other’ anymore, everyone is connected somehow…. It’s so beautiful when people realize they have connections to something that might seem so different and far from them,” said Ahmad.

“The fact that there can be so much hate is mind-blowing to me, but it’s there, and we see it all the time”. 

Muslims are the fastest-growing religious community in Canada, according to the country’s statistical agency, Statistics Canada.

Historically, Canada’s Muslim population increased by 82 percent over the past decade – from about 579,000 in 2001 to more than 1 million in 2011.

Muslims represent 3.2 percent of Canada’s total population.

The post Ontario Muslim Parent Bridges Gap, Educates Students on Islam appeared first on About Islam.



source https://aboutislam.net/muslim-issues/n-america/ontario-muslim-parent-bridges-gap-educates-students-on-islam/
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