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Earlier this year, I wrote about the importance of reading and made some
book recommendations. For people not exactly willing to tackle 300 pages at a
time, leafing through a magazine is a solid alternative. While newsstands are
usually stocked with American or British publications, there are some impressive
Canadian magazines that don’t get their due share of the spotlight, perhaps
because of a shrinking industry.
Here, I’ll briefly review two publications that I think make for worthy reads.

The Walrus: In many ways, The Walrus is Canada’s highest quality magazine.
It provides the type of long-form, narrative journalism found in American
publications like The New Yorker and Harper’s, while still maintaining a balance
of Canadian sensibilities. It has a comfortable distribution of fact and fiction;
each issue contains at least a few short stories and poems. The topics discussed
are usually rather weighty and thoroughly researched. The only downside? It
publishes infrequently, only 10 issues per year. http://walrusmagazine.ca

This Magazine: A staple on the Canadian political scene, This Magazine has
proven to be an excellent breeding ground for up and coming young journalists.
The writing is simple and to the point, the stories are relevant and topical. It is
very clearly a left-leaning publication, but takes great pains to be representative
of the broader Canadian electorate, as its diverse roster of contributors suggests.

  As many Torontonians know, this fall we will be heading to the polling stations to elect a new mayor. Incumbent David Miller, a left-leaning, accomplished former city councilman, has decided not to seek reelection, and as a result, the city looks to a new batch of candidates for his successor.  


Though the mayoral race has been going on for some six months now, it has only recently intensified, due in large part to the televised debates receiving a lot of wrap-up coverage in print and broadcast media. While there may not appear to be a clear favourite just yet, a small pool of candidates have emerged as the forerunners. 


Joe Pantalone: The Italian-born Ward 19 city councilman is a twenty-five year veteran of City Hall, and the lone immigrant among the leading candidates. He served these last few years as one of the City’s three Deputy Mayors, as appointed by David Miller. Among his campaign platforms are a promise to build Transit City, money allotted for greening the city’s landscapes, and to keep Toronto Hydro under municipal control. 


Rocco Rossi: As the former director of the Liberal Party of Canada, Rossi made some important contacts, which led to positions as manager of John Tory’s 2003 mayoral bid and advisor to Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff. His career has mostly been carved out in the non-profit sector, so questions about his political qualifications have been abound. If elected, Rossi promises to resolve the City’s budgetary problems via long-term planning and shrewd management of services like the Toronto Hydro and the TTC. 


George Smitherman: The former provincial cabinet minister is atop the polls for now, though only by a slim margin. He spent some years in Dalton McGuinty’s provincial cabinet as Minister of Health, making him the only member of the race to have been an elected official in another setting. Smitherman’s campaign promises include to review the municipal budget line by line and to protect city assets from privatization. 


Rob Ford: The veteran Etobicoke councilor joined the race fairly late, and as a result has the least comprehensive platform. His available platform consists mostly of calls to decrease unnecessary city spending, such as councilor expense accounts and civil servant perks. 


A few other contenders, most notably Sarah Thompson and Giorgio Mammoliti, have received some mainstream media coverage, though its likely the race will be decided when one of the aforementioned four candidates pulls away from the pack.

My last “Culture and Life” article was about reading, which may seem like a fairly solitary activity. With that said, I’ve decided to switch up the message for this week and encourage everyone to get out of the house and EXPLORE YOUR CITY. 

Toronto is not called Canada’s culture capital for nothing. Though the phrases “bustling metropolis” and “cosmopolitan hotbed” might as well be spelled f-i-t-n-a, there are a ton of things young Muslims can do around town to really feel engaged with their city. 

In keeping with my standard hokey theme formula, I’ve decided to offer readers what I call the “three E’s” – Eating, Education, and Entertainment. 

Eating: Do NOT even think about trying something you’re used to. Be  adventurous. Next time your friend says “I know a great little place…” GO!  Toronto is never short on Halal restaurants, nor is it short on people that “know a  great little place.” 

Education: Summer isn’t to be thought of as a time to let your brain be dormant.  An empty mind, as they say, is the devil’s playground. Alhamdullilah, we live in a  city that is full of intellectually engaging activities. The King Tut exhibit at the  AGO, the Toronto Public Library’s book talk series, and regular lectures at U of  T’s own Munk Centre are all worth attending. 

Entertainment: Seeing a play, a poetry reading, or going to one of Toronto’s  numerous cultural festivals can never be a bad idea. Unless, of course, you’ve  completely internalized my last article and want to stay at home reading all day.  In that case, don’t let me dissuade you. 

When Woodrow Wilson proposed a permanent forum for international negotiation and cooperation at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, detractors immediately pointed out that, when world powers get together, they tend to get nothing done. The irony of such a statement being made at a conference of governments aside, the criticism has proven to be right for the most part.  

With the G20 poised to arrive in Toronto in a few weeks, the finance ministers, heads of state, and bank governors of the world’s 19 most developed economies (plus the European Union) will deliberate at the Metro Convention Centre. In theory, they’ll discuss the most prescient issues in international governance, including climate change, child mortality, economic regulation and resource conservation. What they’ll accomplish has been the at the centre of much public scrutiny in recent months, with critics going as far as to say the entire event smells of a state-sponsored dinner party. What can possibly get done in a fifteen hour meeting, anyway? The estimated $1 billion security tab doesn’t exactly help matters, either.  

The coverage of the debates in mainstream media has been extensive, though not exhaustive. Lost in the discussion about logistics, security costs, and effectiveness is the intended purpose of such meetings.  

In a modest attempt to fill said void, I offer a resolutely objective (SIKE! …objectivity is a myth) discussion of the other side of the proverbial coin. 

Pro-summit activists counter that, though the model might be imperfect, it offers sophisticated economies a chance to deliberate on important issues. Dialogue can only be constructive. The world’s most successful economies cooperating in the interest of stability is a fairly admirable goal. Say what you would like to about what they ultimately accomplish, but if you were to design a miracle solution to all the world’s ills, chances are it would start with world powers talking to each other.  
  

We’ve all heard our parents repeatedly tell us the benefit of keeping good company. As annoyed as we may be by this sometimes, most of us know that our character is inevitably shaped by our friends and the people we associate with. We often take such advice to heart when it offers us some worldly benefit: we stick by the smart kids when its exam season and talk of “networking” when discussing our career ambitions.
 
In the midst of all of that, we too often forget what friendship means to our religious goals. In the same way a friend can remind you about a test, they can remind you about an opportunity to seek reward from Allah (SWT). Perhaps more importantly, simply associating with someone that is upon the path of Allah in itself commands reward.

In the Islamic tradition, we understand that friendship plays an especially pivotal role; the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is perhaps best understood in the relationships he had with his sahaba or companions. The hadith of the Messenger (pbuh), which Muslims understand to be divinely-inspired guiding principles, often took the form of friendly advice. From the following three hadiths we can derive a few basic lessons about friendship, specifically how to choose, treat, and benefit from their company:
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The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “A man is upon the religion of his friend, and there is no good in friendship with one who does not see for you what he sees for himself.” From this, we gain

“Help your brother whether he is a wrong-doer or is wronged. A man enquired: 'O Messenger of Allah (pbuh), I may help him when he is wronged, but how can I help him when he is a wrong-doer? ' The Prophet (pbuh) said 'You can prevent him from wrong-doing. That will be your help to him.’”

“A good and a bad companion are like the bearer of musk and the one who pumps out filth respectively. As for the bearer of musk, he will either give you a share, you will smell perfumed air, or you will purchase something from him as for one who pumps out filth, he will either burn your clothes or you will smell something filthy from him.”