Until then, enjoy some of these pictures from One Ummah, One Love!

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A FREE summer event!

Come to an evening program and lecture to inspire HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS and UNITY in the COMMUNITY.

Listen and converse with inspiring speakers. Ask your long awaited questions or pose ideas about how the Muslim community can regenerate and progress…

DATE: Friday, July 16, 2010 (Juma evening)
TIME: 6:30 PM (ASR) to 11:30 PM (ISHA)
COST: FREE! Refreshments too!
VENUE: SW Masjid – 5615 14 Ave. SW, Calgary, Alberta

Scholar Biographies

Sh. Islam Ali | Guyana, Caribbean Islands, South America

Sheikh Islam Ali has been active in Islamic work for approximately 30 years. During the course of his dawah work, he has placed great emphasis on educating Muslim youth and is keen on their achievements in the field of dawah. Prior to coming to Canada, Sheikh Islam was a part of the Islamic revival movement in the Caribbean and South America. With much of his work in Guyana, he held the position of ameer in the county of Berbice for seven years and served as an Imam for two mosques for seven years in addition. During his educational ventures, he has studied under various scholars from the Islamic University of Madina, in addition to scholars from the Alimiya Institute in Pakistan. He has studied the science of tajweed with Sheikh Saeed Gharsuddeen of Egypt.

Dr. Iqbal Nadvi | Toronto, ON

Dr. Iqbal Nadvi is one of the few Muslim scholars in Canada authorized to deliver an Islamic legal ruling (fatwa). He’s currently the Imam of Al-Falah Islamic Centre in Oakville, Ontario and is among the leadership of ICNA Canada. Previously, he was an Imam in Calgary, Alberta. He holds a Ph.D. in Islamic Shariah (law), with specialization in jurisprudence (Fiqh) and taught in King Saud University for 6 years, dealing with subjects such as principles of jurisprudence (Usool Al-Fiqh), Islamic Culture, Islamic Political Thought, Islamic movements and Fiqh of Organization. He has memorized the Qur’an and was the recipient of a recommendation letter signed by the well-known scholar, Sheikh Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Baaz (rahimullah).

Sh. Mohammed Yaffa | Halifax / Sierra Leone, Africa

Sheikh Mohammad Khalil Yaffa is the Imam and Khatib at the Centre for Islamic Development, a Dawah and educational centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He also acts as the Arabic and Islamic Studies curricullum developer at the Ihasan Educational Centre in Halifax. Some of his duties include organizing communty events, retreats and workshops, as well as providing leadership training and education for youths and organizations.

Sh. Yaffa has an M.A. in Arabic Language and Islamic Studies and currently works as the Coordinator of Diversity and Social Equity Initiative for the Capital District Health Authority in Nova Scotia.

The stunning backdrop is the well-known Burnaby B.C. Masjid Al-Salaam.

The workshop took place in a university lecture hall—but it was transformed through the energy of the speaker and the unified intentions of the participants. The training addressed common pitfalls in dawah head on—from: Do I know enough to do dawah to how? to How to answer someone who asks impossible questions? I was given the tools, inspiration, and the confidence to take what I learned in the training and put it into practice right away (in fact, a group of the sisters did while taking the bus home together).

I think the most effective part of the workshop was how the presenter integrated examples from the life of the Prophet (SAW) and the Companions and applied these to our time. In this way, the tools that we were given were not just simply best practices from the secular world, but they were directly from the best examples ever to live. No longer were the excuses of different styles or levels of knowledge sufficient when confronted with the similarities between their circumstances and ours.

I have been to dawah training workshops in the past and they have taken different approaches and suffice it to say, I came out with only a superficial level of understanding of dawah at best. This workshop was totally different—it approached dawah holistically and imparted one central message on participants—a sense of Tawheed upon those who are receiving dawah.  We were also given the tools to better present ourselves when presenting dawah and to be clear and direct in our dawah, instead of sinking into comparison and clouding over the message of Islam.

Overall, the workshop was interactive, engaging and impactful. It transformed my perceptions of dawah and my dawah presentation and gave me the confidence step up the dawah efforts within my MSA. Alhumdulliah, I am glad I was able to make it and will continue to be engaged with NYMink through their activities and events.

Sana Siddiqui

To see pictures from Training Day Vancouver 2009, please click here…

So when over 400 young Muslims gathered on a Saturday afternoon, you knew something special was happening.

Youth of all ages descended upon the University of Alberta for Generation Muslim, Edmonton’s largest Islamic conference this year. The two-day conference explored a variety of topics, all centered on themes young Muslims face today such as identity and pop culture.

As diverse as the topics were, the speakers invited to talk at the conference were equally as diverse. William “Abdullah” Chappelle (brother of comedian Dave Chappelle) gave a unique perspective of becoming Muslim under the backdrop of the entertainment industry and Hollywood culture. Dr. Reda Bedeir gave inspiring talks on youth leadership in Canadian society, as well as society’s fixation with chasing materialism at the expense of the afterlife. And Sheikh Islam Ali brought over 30 years of dawah experience to bear as he expounded on unity in the face of contradictory cultural identities.

The mood was energetic and lively throughout the two-days, as the Conference also played host to a bazaar with clothing stalls, food booths and informational displays. NYM Clothing made an appearance with their unique brand of Islam-inspired, modern clothing, and other stalls featured a plethora of hijabs, perfumes and miscellaneous Islamic Gifts. Some of the most popular stalls were the NYM iNK informational booths, as attendees flocked to find out more information on upcoming events (such as Camp Sunnah) and check out some of the dawah material NYM iNK produces and supplies to many dawah organizations and student groups across Western Canada.

One of the highlights of the conference was the Adam’s (AS) Family Poetry Contest, an event designed to encourage the creativity of Muslim children. Boys and girls aged 7 to 12 competed for over $450 in cash prizes, with Mahmoud Ammar (1st) and Timiro Mohamed (2nd) winning the age 10-12 category and Nadia Ammar (1st), Ayan Said (2nd) and Aminah Kadry (3rd) winning the ages 7-9 category. Thanks go to the Sara Folard Gift store, the El-Jabel Food and Gift store, Edmonton Islamic School and various other donors for donating the prizes.

Other highlights included spoken-word poetry by Abdullah Chappelle, highlight videos from the previous Camp Sunnah, sneak previews to upcoming workshops, an interview with Mutah Beale (formerly Napoleon of Tupac Shakur’s Outlawz) and the Chappelle Show, a Late Show style interview with Abdullah Chappelle.

Generation Muslim Highlight Reel

The volunteers, youth from across Western Canada, worked hard to put on this unique event for Edmonton, and through their efforts Edmonton saw one of its most successful Islamic events of the year – good job volunteers!

Be sure to check out the gallery pictures and highlight reel if you missed the Conference. You’ll definitely agree that it was the experience of a life time!