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Muslim employee network celebrates Islamic Heritage Month

Group acts as support and community resource for faculty and staff
By: Antoinette Mercurio
October 18, 2018
From left: Sarah Bukhari and a community member at the network’s launch

Photo: From left: Sarah Bukhari, Muslim Faculty and Staff Community Network co-chair, with a community member at the network’s launch.

There’s strength in numbers and positive things can happen when like-minded people work together.

The Muslim Faculty and Staff Community Network (MFSCN) is one example of people joining together to create a community of belonging and mutual respect. Founded by Sakeena Mihar, web content strategist, Administration and Operations Communications, and Sarah Bukhari, administrative co-ordinator, Office of the Dean, Faculty of Community Services, MFSCN was formed to combat the rise of Islamophobia in Canada and provide self-identified Muslims on campus a safe space to discuss issues and experiences.

“The network is a great way to give back and help the community uplift itself,” said Mihar, co-chair. “We hope to raise awareness around these issues to the community and advocate where possible.”

In 2007 the Government of Canada declared October as Canadian Islamic History Month and since 2016, the province of Ontario has recognized October as Islamic Heritage Month to affirm the important contributions Muslims make in Ontario. In celebration of Islamic Heritage Month, the network has organized a healing circle, facilitated by Ryerson Chaplain Imam Yasin Dwyer. Self-identified Muslims are invited to register for the circle by submitting their information on the following  (google form) Google form (external link) .

“We invite Muslim members of the Ryerson community to come listen to each other in a safe space and dialogue about the ways in which we can best support each other, understanding that people who are healing have different needs,” Mihar said.

The Muslim Faculty and Staff Community Network was organized in response to the 2017 Quebec City mosque terrorist attack. While Muslims are not a homogenous group, Mihar says, there is a sense of safety and security in connecting with others who share similar experiences of microaggressions and Islamophobia. Since its launch, the group has celebrated the Islamic holiday Eid together and Mihar co-hosted a workshop at the White Privilege Conference Global – Toronto in May on Islamophobia, White Privilege and its Effects.

Ryerson champions itself as a leader in equity, diversity and inclusion and the university continues to raise awareness of and educate about Islam. For example:

  • The sociology department offers a degree credit course on Women and Islam through The Chang School (CSOC 885) that explores the position of women and gender relations in contemporary Muslim and North American Muslim communities. In 2017, Faculty of Arts students collaborated on projects exploring ideas and topics in contemporary Muslim life.
  • Ryerson Library has curated books for Islamic Heritage Month as well as a top 10 list of films on Muslim culture, history and faith.
  • Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Studies Centre is a research centre at Ryerson devoted to studying the culture, history, literature, politics and societies in the region of the Middle East and North Africa. Check out the MENA news and events page for upcoming events on campus focused on Islamic and Middle Eastern heritage.

Although the network is meant for self-identified Muslims, reading one of the books listed on the Library’s website or checking out a film are a couple of ways non-Muslims at Ryerson can participate and learn during Islamic Heritage Month. There’s also the work of Alia Youssef (external link) , a documentary media graduate student, who created The Sisters Project (external link) . Recently exhibited at the Ryerson Image Centre, The Sisters Project combats negative stereotypes of Muslim women by showcasing the diverse stories of inspirational women.

For self-identified Muslims interested in learning more about the network and wanting to attend future events, please visit its website and join the  (google form) network list (external link) .

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