The History of Storytelling in Islam       Stories are important to everyone, especially us as Muslims. If we didn’t have stories, it would be harder for us to learn about our Religion. But to understand the History of Storytelling, we will have to go back in time to when North America was populated only by the Indigenous Peoples. Back then, all stories were oral stories. The way the stories were compiled is explained by Stephen J. Augustine, The Hereditary Chief and Keptin of Mi’kmaq Grand Council. Stephen says:     “The Elders would serve as mnemonic pegs to each oth ..read more

More than Just a Story: Honoring Depth in Indigenous Oral Storytelling     Indigenous communities are known for using story-telling as a method of transferring knowledge and information sharing. These oral traditions passed on from generation to generation connected the past to the present, preserving culture, history, and languages. They hold a deep significance and value amongst surviving communities.      After British colonizers vanquished masses of Indigenous tribes and communities, they forced survivors to assimilate into their own culture and definition of “corr ..read more

The Importance of Art in Education     From a young age, we are taught to explore, create, and express our feelings and passions, even if they were monster trucks or Disney princesses. Through various mediums, our creative side would emerge in the most entertaining and insightful ways. This would include arranging our carrots in the shape of a crown, finger-painting a self portrait, or dressing up in silly pirate costumes. Evidently, we are taught to have fun and not be ashamed of our passions. In expressing our creativity, we are encouraged to create stories from our masterpieces an ..read more

Lack Of Mainstream Muslim Representation     There are many minority groups that can be found in Canada. There is the east asian community, black community, the LGBTQ+ community, and especially the muslim community. But one of these things is not like the others; majority of the minorities have their own identifying features, that often find themselves in mainstream media.     For example, the east asian community are known due to the growing popularity of their entertainment such as music, dramas, and cartoons. The black community has had growing media attention since the ..read more

Islam and 21st Century; answering of a    historiographical criticism   The cherished culture of ‘Traditionalism’, in this epoch of uncurbed avalanche of criticism and  cynicism fraught with uncouth arguments intended against Islam, has to be justified with much  evidence through ‘Rationalistic approach’, analytical system with which there is an allegation  has been started to rise that which is not considered by Muslim scholars. What is Islamic  epistemology and how will it be perceived or how should be? These are the questions common  people are totall ..read more

Today Uyghurs, Tomorrow the World     Can you believe that there are Nazi-style concentrations camps in a 21st century superpower?     In the north-west regions of China is a large province by the name of Xinjiang. It is mineral-rich, generating more than ⅓ of China’s total natural resources. It is also under heavy military occupation, although this was not always the case.     Before Chinese occupation in 1949, Xinjiang was known as East Turkistan, a land home to people called Uyghurs. Uyghurs are an indigenous Turkic minority and the ancestors to the Turkic peop ..read more

New Homes: Islam and Immigration     Migration is a form of change, and not many people cope well with change. Often times it can be heartbreaking- leaving their home countries is a choice many families make not out of want or desire, but out of necessity and regard for the future. They may be refugees escaping from persecution, workers in search of employment, or families in unstable political climates.     Migration is almost never easy. It means giving up the connections and comfort associated with their homes in search of a better but unfamiliar place to live. The journ ..read more

Tayybeh: A Celebration of Syrian Cuisine     Tayybeh is a Vancouver food company sells authentic Syrian food and employs women chefs who are Syrian immigrants and refugees. Tayybeh, which means “delicious” in Arabic, connects consumers with Syrian food products while employing newcomers who may have barriers to employment.     This unique social enterprise began as a pop-up dinner in Vancouver in October 2016 — the initiative was a one-time volunteer effort, and its intent was to break some barriers and introduce the community to Syrian cuisine. Though the group did not run ..read more

The Health Benefits of Salah     The act of prayer or “salah” is performed 5 times a day by over by over 1.8 billion muslims every single day. It is one of the five major components of Islam, and while its purpose is to devote oneself to god in worship, it has enormous health benefits as well.       To begin, before performing salah, one must perform ablution- the act of washing oneself- or “wudhu”. This promotes good and regular cleanliness and hygiene and provides regular sanitation for our bodies as it may be done multiple times a day. It can also release stress and ..read more

The Amazon Empire     From shoes to sushi cushions, there’s only one place you could buy it all, amazon.com. But it wasn’t always a retail rainforest. It started as an online bookstore. After getting $130,000 from his parents and first investors, Bezos began his new endeavor. To his surprise, it was a success, but not everyone was happy. Because Amazon had made an online bookstore with cheaper books, the brick and mortar bookstores were soon tossed out of the picture. Bezos was not ready to stop there, he decided to start creating his own tablets that would allow people to read on th ..read more