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.

For my last article at kih, I thought it  fitting to write about Somalia, as its Independence Day was this past week, (though the validity of an Independence Day for any country is debatable).

July 1st was Somali independence Day. The country has been free from physical imperial occupation for 50 years. However, it's been mired in war and opposing international interests since.

The state of Somalia is unique in Africa. The population is the most homogeneous on the continent. It shares the same religion (the same madhab, even), the same language, and the same basic features. With the exceptions of Ogaden and Djibouti, the large part of the Somali population is actual within the borders, thereby making Somalia the only true nation state in Africa.

Despite that fact, Somalia is still in a constant state of war. Why? Despite all the common ground, clans are the main cause of division. Clans are groups of people that can trace their ancestry to a common patriarch.

Not to bash the values of Somalis, because Allah created diversity so that we learn to appreciate each other. Allah says in the Qur'an (translation): “O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another." [al-Hujuraat 49:13]

However, it's a curious thing that in a continent of artificial states that the one legitimate nation state is tearing itself apart from what, on the outside anyway, seems like really minor differences. Although, it might just be that clan relations are used for political leverage so that existing hostility is exacerbated.

May Allah unite the people of Somalia and this Deen. And may He (swt) bring peace to Somalia, and victory to this Deen.

I've heard it said about Arabia that Allah purified it with the blood of martyrs. May He (swt) grant the same to Somalia, and hasten the coming of peace.

Scene 1:  You’re walking down the street, trying to keep track of how many subhanAllahs you’ve said since you left Sid Smith when sub-han-ALLAH, is that Maryam standing on the street corner talking to that foreign brother who just joined the MSA? What is agwan…  You were going to say salaam, but maybe you should just keep walking.

Scene 2: You’ve just entered Bahen and you head to the bathroom to make wudu. As you walk out, you see Aisha standing by the doors next to the prayer space, clearly done praying, and now just chatting up the whole jamaat. You tut, tut and head in to make your nawafil before this young lady engages you in conversation.

Scene 3: You’re scanning the premises to see if you can find a brother around to go grab a bite with when suddenly- Hey! Anas! And who? Halima? What the ham! Maybe you should eat alone today.

Scene 4: You walk in late to class – as per usual. You look for your best bro, Musa, and discover he’s settled for a seat next to Amina – as per usual. Man, it’s time to find some new friends.

Scene 5: You had a really late night and while waking up for Fajr is second nature to you, staying up is not your forte. So you collapse into a deep rest and mama, feeling sorry for your long day yesterday, decides to let you sleep in a bit. At 11:32 your cat begins to caress your face with his 4 inch nails and you jerk out of bed realizing you’ve got class at 12. Of course the TTC fails you, and now you’ve missed another lecture. But lucky you! That girl Maryam, who has Stats with you, is approaching. She’s more than happy to stop and let you know that the prof said your assignment deadline has been extended until next week. Thank goodness you saw her!

Now it’s Dhuhr time so you go to Bahen to pray and alhamdulilah, you find all your buddies ready to do the same. After prayer, you guys are heading out when a younger sister, Aisha, calls out to your group. As you all turn obediently, you learn that your friend Zain – her older brother- forgot his dinner at home that morning. He’s fasting, so she asks if one of you has class with him that night and if you could please pass on this container of palow, jazakAllah.

Smelling that rice makes you super hungry but your friends all depart because they have a soccer game to play – soccer’s not your thing. You walk into Robarts’ food court and spot Halima, who is a family friend and whose father you heard recently passed away. You head over to give your condolences and see how the family’s doing before grabbing food.

Wanting to seize the first opportunity for change, you decide to get to your next class early. Apparently everyone else has done the same, too, and there are only two seats left. Seeing that one of these seats is next to sister Amina you decide to sit over there because you realize that your friend Salman hasn’t arrived yet and since he’s allergic to curry powder and Amina always smells like curry powder, you decide to take one for the team and let him have the other seat. Okay, okay this one was for comic relief – forgive me.

Inter-gender relations – the topic of this article- have been the topic of my life for the past year or so. Islamic rules on the matter are very plain and indisputable, but I often find myself in a mess of hypocrisy because while I really don’t believe that boys and girls can ever be friends, I’m time and again in a position where we’ll behave as such. This is frustrating enough for the sole reason that it’s not what Allah SWT has ordained for us and His pleasure is what we aim for in everything we do. To add to it, it is uber awkward. And why shouldn’t it be; we’re supposed to be able to feel shame and remorse innately. So it comes as no great surprise, then, that being in a ‘hanging out with my friend’-type atmosphere with a member of the opposite sex might lead to thinking “what the heck am I doing here…”

But I’m not one to see negativity as an impediment to growth; I’d much rather utilize it as fertilizer. As the old saying goes, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

So here’s my solution, and it may seem outlandish but I think it’ll work. First and most crucially, I make du’a that Allah SWT give me and all of us the tawfiq to be ever-conscious of our conversations and our selves, ameen. If we, as brothers and sisters, don’t absolutely need to talk to each other, let’s not. Vain speech is undesirable no matter who you’re talking to, anyway, so this should be good practice.

Next, I will try to remember that while Allah SWT is watching us all the time and although His opinion of us is most important, He has the ability to judge our intentions – others don’t. So I intend to bear in mind as much as possible how unnatural and out of place it really looks to the outside eye when I’m, oh, I don’t know,  standing on a street corner laughing with a group of brothers. Not because I have a fear of my reputation catching up with me but because the mu’min is a mirror for another mu’min. We must do good to encourage others to do good. Upholding a noble character outwardly is as important as doing so inwardly.  In doing this, inshAllah, my feelings of being absurdly misplaced when spending unnecessary time in the company of brothers will become a productive motivation to just, stop.

As an aside note, I also refuse to judge anyone, brothers and sisters alike, for their apparent engagement in this fitnah. Reason being that today it’s Maryam and tomorrow it may be me. As the various scenarios show, we shouldn’t play judge and assume the worst of our people. If you can have a valid explanation, why can’t he? Seriously, wouldn’t it blow to have people think all the awful things that you think about them, about you? Think about it. Or actually- don’t.

WAllahu Alim.
Some awesome relevant videos:

Italy is an officially secular country. However, with an 80% majority identifying itself as Catholic, and as the site of much of the history of the Catholic Church, of course Catholicism plays an integral part in the sociopolitical stance of the nation. Prior to secularization, legislation said that there should be crucifixes in every school. In 2003, a Muslim family in Ofena, Italy asked that crosses be taken down out of respect for their Muslim children who attended a local school in the city. They won, but of course it caused a lot of commotion.

Islam is the second largest religion in Italy, this being due to their large influx of immigrants from Muslim countries each year.  However, Muslims haven’t received the same recognition as followers of smaller groups, including those of Judaism, Assemblies of God and the Seventh-Day Adventists. In fact, earlier this year Italy passed a law against the niqab despite its relatively large Muslim population. Also, in 2009, a group of thousands of Muslims were condemned for holding congregational prayers outdoors during a protest for Palestine. Mind you, this happened multiple times and once it was outside of a cathedral.

Personally, I think there wouldn't be so much of a revolt if Muslims did get rights equal to other minorities in the land, but then I also can’t prove that this is the case. Many Muslims have voiced their neutrality over the situation, stating that things like a cross in a classroom are not the concern and fighting over those issues is actually impeding integration. However, even in these cries one can assume that they do feel ostracized – hence their desire for leniency on the matter. 

Overall, I don’t know where I stand on this one. It is unfair that Muslims aren’t a recognized religious group, but it’s also not right to break laws and offend the other citizens of the country you live in. I guess the question is, which came first?

  Грибы , (pronounced greeb-i) or mushrooms, are a popular food worldwide. Some like them in salad, some in pasta. I personally love them on pizza. But in Russia, these neat little fungi really are fun guys; in Russia, mushroom hunting is a common recreational activity and pastime! In fact, many cities have entire trains that run specifically for mushroom hunters to be taken to various hunting grounds early in the morning. In the late summer-fall season, when mushrooms first arrive, some organizations plan bus trips to the best of these grounds to collect for trading purposes. Hunters are provided with a knife and a basket and set off to do their thing.

As a result of this activity being so widespread, it is said that the average Russian can identify more mushrooms than an actual mushroom-hunting hobbyist from the States. There are around 250 varieties of mushroom that grow in Russia and of them, most Russians can recognize at least a quarter.  Anything they can’t recognize or that might be poisonous is flagged поганка (paganka), or the “foul”/ “filthy” one. Some of the extremely poisonous ones have unique names, like мухомор (mukhamor) or “fly killer”, which usually refers to something the likes of the mushrooms from Mario.

There are wild mushrooms available at public marketplaces for non-hunting folk but buying these is not recommended because you can’t verify how carefully they were selected. Also interesting to note is the ways these mushrooms are consumed. They are usually dried сушёные (sushyoniye), marinated маринованные (mareenovanniye), or salted солёные (salyoniye). How it’s prepared is decided based on what sort of mushroom it is. Whatever you do, don’t eat ‘em raw, and do not put them in dessert.

 While not every Russian person does hunt mushrooms, there is a general consensus with regards to which are best. Actually, there’s a kind of cast system for mushrooms discerning which are most desirable, the most common of which I’ve listed below.


1.белый гриб, боровик (byeliye greeb, baraveek) –Sometimes eaten fresh, though it’s said to taste better dry. "If you're gonna learn one name, learn this one!" - Russian textbook

2. груздь (gruzd) – Requires presoaking; eaten salted only.

3. рыжик (rijheek) – Eaten marinated, salted or fried.

4. подберёзовик (padbyeryozaveek) – Mostly eaten fresh or dried; can be marinated.

5. подосиновик (padaseenaveek  )- Prepared all ways!

6. маслёнок (maslyonak) –Slimy cap needs to be removed before preparing. Eaten all ways but best are young, marinated ones.

7. опёнок (apyonak) – Eaten fresh, marinated and salted.

8. сыроежка (sirayeshka) – You can eat these guys raw without dying! It’s best to boil all mushrooms before eating, though.

9. лисичка (leeseechka) – Called the “humble” mushroom; pick if you can’t find anything else

10. моховик (makhaveek) – Eaten fresh, dried, marinated or salted but if it’s worse than the humble mushroom, maybe these should be avoided

The infamous case of the 2007 murder of Mississauga teen, Aqsa Parvez, has made headlines yet again. Last week the father and brother of Aqsa pleaded guilty to second degree murder. The sentence they received was life in prison with no chance of parole for 18 years.

It is debatable whether the sentencing is reasonable for the charge they plead guilty to, but that is not the point of focus of my analysis. What strikes me most about this case is the media attention and the interpretation of the case by the greater community.

There is no doubt that the death of Aqsa Parvez was one that shocked the entire community, and I can speak for myself and say it hit really close to home, literally. She went to a neighboring high school and was a Muslim girl of Pakistani descent (like myself). I would say that we had enough factors in common for me to take the case to heart – and I’m sure that is the case for many other girls a similar position as mine. She was a teen, like many others, who was having problems at home and was uncooperative with her parents. There could have been many reasons for the disagreements and arguments, but teen trouble is not a new story.

The angle that the case has taken through the media is the one that has been largely portrayed to the public over the past few years. All headlines surrounding the case never failed mention Aqsa’s religious or ethnic background. In the eyes of many, she was a Muslim, Pakistani teen who was murdered by her father and brother who took her life to protect their ‘honour’. This somehow was affiliated with their family being Muslim, and the media rolled the whole ball into immigrant families having the adjust to the culture and life of Canada. Where this case makes me uneasy is that the media repeatedly put out there how her being Muslim or Pakistani played a role in the male members of her family killing her. This was simply a case of a troubled family, like many other non-Muslim or non-South Asian families, but the media found it necessary to link her death with her religious and ethnic background.

I feel that this is all a part of the process of tainting and stereotyping certain groups. To prove this, there are many cases of family abuse, and even murder which may make their way into the news, but it is never mentioned whether they are Caucasian or African, Christian or Jew. With this case, the affiliation that is most often linked with Aqsa was Islam, and this is where I have a great level of concern.

As multi-cultural as Canada is, and as tolerant and accepting as it seems, there are still many areas that need work and still a lot of minds that need to be broadened.

Asalamulikum (Peace be upon you) Dearest Reader,

In light of the recent incident with the Gaza Flotilla Aid convey, we at KIH wish to remind you, as well as ourselves of a principle goal of humanity;the goal of peace. We in the modern time claim to have moved on from what we refer to as 'barbarism' to 'civilized society' and proclaim that human life is priceless whether it be an American, Israeli or Arab.

Our hearts go out to those worldwide who have been innocently slaughtered by war and hate. We pray that that no one has to go through the grief of losing a brother, sister, mother, father, daughter, son or friend.

We call upon our leaders- political and communal- to take a stance against all injustices and citizens of the globe to not remain silent. 

We would also like to remind everyone that protests are not a solution but rather a form of awareness. This is only a starting step. Therefore, we recommend taking further actions through other mediums such a political involvement, artistic expression and social interactions to be a cause for change. 

We urge also our readers to aim to secure peace through pushing for non-violent resorts for the benefit of Palestinians and Israelis alike so, that one day we can hold hands together and live in bliss not having to worry about crossing the street. We believe success lies in compromise and unity, not forceful isolation. We must remember that this world has space enough for us all and that it is only through embracing our differences and looking for commonalities that we can expect to live in harmony.

The Qur'an states: “On that account We ordained for the Children of Isra`il that if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole humanity: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the whole humanity” (5:32).

Signed,
 
Anas Ingar,     Aisha Chaudhry      Fareedah Abdulqadir,                 Sara Butt,       
President           Secretary                     Promotions & Public Relations        Artistic Scout  

Sajid Malgi,
Graphic Designer

In April 2010, Masjid Toronto began offering a class on Islamic Studies for deaf Muslims. This class, held for the first time in 15 years, aims to teach these Muslims, who are usually cut off from accessing religious information, the basics of the faith.

The students, translators and teachers face special challenges. For example, because the student body is so diverse, many are used to having different symbols for the same word. Students who learned Pakistani, Turkish or Arabic sign language have to develop new symbols as a group to accommodate each others knowledge. Moreover, the class is taught in American Sign Language, a medium that is itself limited because it has no symbols for Islamic terms.

Despite those challenges, the attitude of those involved seems to be optimistic. An attendee of the class even states “in a way, with every class, we are kind of making up a new language on the spot.” That spirit of innovation combined with the thirst for religious knowledge seems to be what drives the class.

May Allah (swt) accept their efforts and give them increase.

Source: The Toronto Star
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Here is an unrelated video of the Qur’an in sign language. 

The Bata Shoe Museum is one tourist attraction that not many people visit. It is located near St. George station in Toronto, Ontario and displays a wide variety of historical footwear. It is highly interesting to see where current fashion originates from. If you are into knowing little details and just looking at interesting displays than you will enjoy this place. It has a quiet environment and is suited for families and visits with small groups.

The one thing that took me back the most were chopines which are basically historical high heels the size of stilts! And I thought heels these days were too long.

There is nothing there that will make you shout and scream but you can learn a lot. Tickets prices are $12 for adults and $6 for students.  On Thursday evening between 5-8pm the admission is pay what you can with a suggested donation of $5. So, go check it out!

Exact Address: 327 Bloor St. West, in downtown Toronto