2020 Retrospective. Pandemic, challenges and opportunities
- munafsolaiman
- Feb 7, 2021
- 9 min read
Updated: Feb 19, 2021
2020 will be defined by generations to come as the year when the COVID-19 pandemic shook the world. This global disaster so far has taken the lives of 2.2 million people worldwide and as the virus continues to mutate into more potent forms the pandemic will probably continue to spread at an alarming rate despite the fact that RNA vaccines have been developed in record time. Equally distressing is the fact that the lives of hundreds of millions of people have been impacted economically causing hardship for millions of families in both developed and third world countries. It is expected that the worldwide economy will shrink by 7% leaving millions of businesses bankrupt. This pandemic has been dubbed the 'great leveler' since it has revealed so many inequalities of our system especially how vividly it has exposed the socio-economic disparities in 'richer' countries.
Synergy and Collaboration Despite the COVID-19 reality in which we found ourselves; that is lockdowns and the limited use of our mosques and Islamic centers for the most part of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, somehow Canadian Council of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah (CCAS), by finding synergies and collaborating with a number of community partners, has been able to turn the challenges thrown at us into opportunities to serve those in need of help and to offer relief in one way or another. The direction to serve can be seen as the realization of CCAS' vision, "Illuminate - Engage - Serve". Not only was CCAS involved in making a difference to those affected here in Canada but also elsewhere in the world with its international partners.
Human Rights Crisis in Kashmir and India
In fall 2019 we all learnt of the illegal abrogation of Kashmir's sovereignty when the Indian Government of Modi revoked the special status of autonomy, granted under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir. The effect of this turn of event was an ongoing heightening of atrocities against the people of Jammu and Kashmir. To this end the leadership of CCAS decided to join the people of Kashmir in their struggle to address these human rights violations. As a result and in consultation with local Kashmiri Canadians the human rights organization "Canadians Against Oppression and Persecution (CAOP)" was formed.
Since then CAOP has been engaged not only in the Kashmir crisis, but under the thoughtful leadership of Yousuf Syed, Jilani Wani and others, has been in the forefront of addressing the marginalization of religious minorities (Muslims, Christians and Dalits) in India by what has become a fascist non-secular authoritarian regime. CAOP has been active in social media in warning political and religious leaders, and the public of the irreparable damage being done to India's democracy by organizing global Twitter storms to raise awareness of this troubling situation for India's minorities. In Feb 2020 it organized a seminar to address the issues of Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 which has caused widespread protests across India. CAA violates the secular identity of the country while others fear that it will endanger their linguistic and cultural identity. It was seen that CAA combined with the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC), that ran into controversy in Assam, has become a tool to exclude the Muslim population of the country by the non-secular BJP government.
Speakers at CAOP CAA seminar: Shama Naqshbandi (Kashmiri lawyer and author) Dr. Chinnaiah Jangam (Associate Prof. Dept of History, Carleton University), Dr. Aparna Sundar (Senior Lecturer, Contemporary Asian Studies, University of Toronto) and Dr. Faizan Mustafa (Indian Academic and legal scholar, Vice-chancellor NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, India)
CAOP is equally engaged and vocal on local human rights issues including the heavy-handed approach of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) police against BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of colour) communities. Police brutality has taken a deadly toll on innocent citizens in the last few years in Canada. The watchdog body dubbed the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is supposed to be an independent entity. However, it has defended 95% of all such violent incidents in favor of the police which is highly dubious and can be seen as prejudicial. In short, this has given license to the police in Ontario, Canada to kill unarmed people without any kind of accountability. CAOP sees this as a form of systemic racism and the time has come for reforms in the way police are trained and the need for more police accountability by new legislation. The brutal killing of Ejaz Choudary, a father of 4 young children with a known history of mental illness in his own home in June 2020 was a reminder of the unjustified use of force by the police once again. This incident was close to home for many and has raised awareness of the problem of police brutality particularly amongst Canadian Muslims.
CAOP also remained focused in its fight against Islamophobia in Canada. This work has been effective in identifying and exposing hate being spread by certain groups, particularly the assault on Muslims by a growing extremist Hindutva contingent within Canada. This imported form of hate goes against the grain of Canada's tradition for religious tolerance. It must be addressed sooner than later by the authority before another fatal hate crime against Muslims, like that of Mohamed Zafis at the IMO mosque, occurs again.
Crescent Food Bank
Due to increased demand by Canadians affected by the COVID-19 pandemic for assistance, the federal government offered grants to local charities to support vulnerable members of our community. CCAS was awarded a grant to make an impact in our community. To meet this demand it moved from a weekend operation to a full-time (Mon-Fir) service under the newly founded Crescent Food Bank and assisted 500+ people living in Mississauga by delivering food hampers to their homes.
'Ilm Un Nur (Knowledge is Light)
CCAS strives to inspire the next generation to play a positive role in all aspects of life in Canada. The key to this is to empower young people with knowledge; both secular and religious. To this end the 'Ilm Un Nur knowledge platform was launched in 2018. It is a collaborative youth platform run by youths for youths in order to gather, enlighten and empower young people to pursue excellence (ihsan) in all walks of life, whether it is education, sport, career, spiritual, community, etc.
Ilm Un Nur (IUN) is a knowledge-based empowerment platform encouraging youths to embark on a holistic approach to life. This involves developing body, mind and soul by studying and implementing the Divine knowledge and ideas in the Holy Quran and the wisdom and the beauty of the Sunnah of our Beloved Prophet (PBUH).
We at IUN believe that “True knowledge” illuminates our path in attaining success in one’s life. Success attained via this means provides you with eternal contentment, happiness, and prosperity. It leaves the individual with the intangible feeling of fulfillment and a deeper understanding of his/her purpose in life.
IUN areas of focus is to provide the knowledge and tools to enable empowerment at individual, family, and community levels, which we believe is the need of the hour to bring harmony in society. To build such a society we need to work on young individuals who are the key building blocks of society. The goal of our IUN is to empower and equip the young individual with the right tools needed to achieve his or hear goals in life.
We are a group of young professionals from various disciplines and ethnicities striving hard to achieve the common goal of being the best in din and duniya.
Join the IUN platform and let us embark on a journey together to seek true knowledge which will empower us to understand Islam and get us to the deeper purpose of our existence. For more information about IUN and to connect with us please click this link at iunconnect.com.
Family and Wellness
CCAS' commitment to the preservation of the Muslim family is one of its most important focus especially in this time when there are some many distractions pulling couples and families apart. This topic was dealt with in a two day webinar in Dec 2020. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental wellness of many of our citizens. To address this issue, particularly amongst our youths CCAS has partnered with Naseeha, a well-known youth wellness organization, to deal with this growing concern.
Based on the therapeutic sunnah of our Beloved Prophet Salalaahu 'alahi wa Sallam to always have a cheerful disposition, smiling face and a good sense of humor - the "SmileZone" program was launched and incorporated into all of our initiatives (out reach, webinars, etc) when dealing with the vulnerable in our community like lonely seniors and adolescents in their stage of life when they have so many unanswered questions.
COVID-19 Relief in rural India
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, millions of families in India were left without an income under the national lockdown. CCAS partnered with one of its international partners 'The Quran Foundation' TQF to supply ration kits to families in rural
areas in Telegana, Andhrapadesh, Maharastra, Gujrat and Kanpur (UP). Initially, this project was targeted to touch 1000 families but with the generosity of Canadians we were able to assist 6000+ families, al hamdulilaah (Thank God).
TQF and its leader Dr. Aleem Ashraf Jaisi Saheb gave a warm welcome to CCAS member Br. Yousuf Syed who visited India at the end of 2020. CCAS and its humanitarian arm - "Crescent Relief" looks forward to working with TQF and other organizations in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean sharing similar ideas and goals.
IMO Mortuary / Ghusl Khanna
CCAS made a commitment to see its completion of the Morgue - Ghusl Khanna project at IMO mosque in Rexdale, Ontario. We see this as a much needed facility for our community. The need to have a professionally run Muslim funeral home with a morgue and a place for washing of the mayyah is long overdue. CCAS has made a pledge to donate $20,000.00 towards this worthwhile cause. It is also committed to ensure that the facility serves the Muslim community in a dignified and professional manner adhering to the Sunnah of our Beloved Prophet Salalaahu alaihi wa Sallam, Insha Allah.
Check donations from CCAS being handed over to Br. Omar Farouk and Shaykh Junaid Bayat of IMO for the morgue/ghusl khanna project. Above we see Qari Hossein Auckbarali, of Noor-e-Islam Muslim Funeral Society joining hands with IMO and CCAS to ensure the success of this project Insha Allah.
Halal Standards Project
Please join our Facebook group - Canada Halal Advocacy to the bring more awareness of the Halal Standards project. This initiative brings together scientists, Muslims scholars and Halal product manufacturers to work towards a national halal standards for Canada that satisfies the needs and concerns of all Muslims.
Dr. Bashar al-Sabagh, Animal Scientist and Syed N. Hashmi meeting at CCAS office
United Muslim Action Group (UMAG)
CCAS at the end of of 2019 and early 2020 played an active role in introducing Steven Del Duca to the Muslim community. Del Duca was elected as the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party in Feb 2020. We wish him the best.
UMAG is a grass roots organization which is actively involved in encouraging Muslims to become involved in the political process in Canada. The idea is to organize ourselves to elect political representatives at all three levels; municipal, provincial and federal.
UMAG wishes Liberal candidates Imran Mian (Miss - Erin Mills), Mazhar Shafiq (Scarborough C), Safdar Hussain (Brampton C), Sameera Ali (Milton) and Sumira Malik (Miss. C) all the best in the upcoming 2022 elections. Sumira, a Harvard student is the youngest amongst the nominees and the daughter of CCAS member Salim Malik (left below) with Qazi Bashiruddin Farooqui Rahimiullah and Munaf Solaiman.
Community Events
Annual Mawlid an-Nabi (s) at Malton Community Centre - Nov 16, 2019 organized by Naqshbandi Silsila.
Shaykh Zahir Bacchus Syed Najmul-Hassan Hashmi
Shaykh Tariq Ghori, Dr. Khalid Ansari, Dr. Masood Ahmed, Qari Atta Ullah, Syed Sabihuddin Rehmani - Poet / Naat Khwaan (L-R)
Obituaries / Isaal-e-Sawab
Shaykh Muhammad Kabeer Touray - 7 May, 2020
Shaykh Muhammad Kabeer Touray, famous Sufi Shaykh of the Tijanniyya Tariqah. Shaykh Kabeer Rahimullah is of a noble family from Gambia and was settled in Toronto. His presence amongst us was always a blessing. His humility, love for the Prophet Salalaahu alahi wa Sallam and always his lips and heart engaged in sending Salawaat (durud) on him remains a good example for us all.
al-Haj Malik Rashid Ahmed - Jul 5, 2020
Al-Haj Rashid Malik was well known member of the Muslim community. He was a board member of CCAS. He came to Canada in the mid-70's and is responsible for many Islamic and humanitarian projects in his home country Pakistan and in Canada.
Tahir Baig Mahmood - Sep 15, 2020 (Calgary) We are thankful to have met this pious soul (brother in red hat below) from Calgary, AB. He was a true believer and an ardent lover of The Holy Prophet Salalaahu alahi wa Sallam. He came to us like a fresh breeze, we got to know his pure soul, then The Lord called him to Himself. He is the father-in-law of Br. Abdullah Shaikh (second from left) an active member who volunteers for the CAOP Social Media group.
We request everyone to send isaal-e-sawaab (transfer of blessings) to the souls of all our brothers and sisters who passed on to the Merciful One during this trying year. May Allah Forgive them for all of their shortcomings, have Mercy on their souls and Grant them the highest place in heaven. Al Fatiha.
CCAS' Community Partners
Your 2020 Donations
We wish to thank all members and supporters who made donations to the CCAS projects mentioned in this article. Jazakumullah khair.
For comments, inquiries and e-transfer donations please e-mail: ccas.ont@gmail.com
Canadian Council of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah (CCAS)
1450 Meyerside Dr. Suite #200 Mississauga, ON L5T 2N5
Canada
21 January, 2021 - 7 Jumada al-Akhirah 1442
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