Blogging about Muslims in Canada and Canadian things. Writing poetry and things Guyanese.
Sunday, 4 August 2019
Arif and Samantha: Love in the Six
Sunday, 28 July 2019
Eid by the Lake media release 2019
Friday, 26 July 2019
Tribute to Hodan Nalayeh
Aleesha and Kesevan: A Love story of two cultures
July 26th 2019
Aleesha and Kesevan: A
Love story of two cultures
He would not give up
A boy from a single mom
A man inspired by the beautiful girl
A graduate who paid off his loan
Kesevan inspires youths out of the Six
He managed to up himself
With a condo, a passion and the love of his life
Never mind the Tamil curry burns your lips purple
The girl sitting by his side has burnt his heart red
The Princess from Oakville
Knows what she wants
Never traded her roots, traditions and aching heart
This union is blessed
Because one family lifted their hands
And held Kesevan and Aleesha
And tied the knot of cultures and faiths in one
Aisha was in love with the Prophet
Like when the snowstorm comes, you need your jacket
One cannot dismiss love
Because of the man-made barriers of the world
And so the determined, beautiful, educated daughter of Ally
Will sing to her children in Arabic and Tamil
The sweetness of her two mother’s love- Farina and Chandra
And by God will they taste some kothi roti, dhalpuri and mutton curry poutine
in that
And so forever One Love!
Friday, 12 July 2019
Tribute to Aaron and Arianna: Father and Daughter slain
Wednesday, 19 June 2019
Farah and Chris: Cherish This Night
Sunday, 16 June 2019
Wudu Unit for Ablution installed in Canadian Prison for the first time!
Wudu Unit for Ablution installed in Canadian Prison for the first time!
Habeeb Alli
June 09 2019 Last Friday, June 7th 2019, which happens to be
both the Day of Juma and the day the Muslim inmates were celebrating Eid at
Warkworth Institution, will be marked in Canadian prison history as the first
time a wudu unit has been made operational. This is for ablution before
prayers.
Muslims wash five times a day, called ablution, before
prayers. This washing of the hands, face, and feet; and wiping the head necessitates
dignity and grace- something all faiths warrant. However, having to make wudu
inside one’s cell, where the toilet sits as well, and lifting one’s feet inside
the sink to wash them in the presence of other cellmates, do not augur well for
inmates relations nor dignity of religion to say the least.
At the One Love Gala 2017, an event aimed at celebrating the
successful reintegration of inmates, proceeds of the gala were earmarked for
the purchase of the wudu units and its installation within the Chapel of this particular
Institution.
Thanks to the donors and well wishers as well as Correction
Services Canada, their capable staff was able to see to the plumbing and
building a base to mount the two units within the required standards.
The unit was purchased in the UK, thanks to the capable
spearheading of the project by Site Base Chaplain Dr. Desmond Khanoo. He worked
on this diligently for the past two years and was present at the opening on Friday.
Present at the official launch was Regional Chaplain Imam
AbdurRasheed Michael Taylor, who shared his own experienced as the former
Muslim Chaplain and the how far the journey has been that today such an accomplishment
could be achieved. He emphasised Corrections’ commitment towards diversity.
Special gratitude is extended by the inmates for this facility
and the fact that this can happen at one institution it can happen anywhere
else.
This mobile type wudu units are common in the prisons and
hospitals in the UK.
Like Jesus and Moses, Muhammad was ordered to wash up before
prayer- Quran 5:6 “O you who believe! When you rise up for
prayer, wash you faces, and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe your heads
and wash your feet up to the ankles.”
Imam Habeeb Alli is thankful to being part of this history,
from the beginning, as the Muslim Chaplain.
My father: My first boss!
Happy Father's Day!
My father: My first boss!
I remember
The apprenticeship
A gig that was short and telling
To hand him the pliers and then to run the wires
I was like 10
He was a big set guy
I was quick to quiver at his voice
I was paid enough for a Sunday matinee show at Gem
But many weekends and most evenings
I would learn to be an electrician whilst studying
From the country’s best, Rabbi, was Guysuco’s and DDL’s best
He taught refrigeration, generator repairs and wiring houses
To put a smile, God rest his soul!
I did run some wedding houses’ lights, like Aunty Inese’s
I did crawl in some ceilings to hide wires in Uncle Hydrali’s
I did not heed his venting or hammering
I wanted to be an engineer after leaving Queens
To follow the footsteps of my Granpa Wajid Ali
Who engineered the electrical wires from sugar factory to the
seawall
But I turned my back and became an itinerant scholar from
Enmore!
I learnt from my dad
To work hard and honest
To help someone in distress
And to be passionate, that would make life worth living to its best!
Sunday, 9 June 2019
whispersofkaieteur: Bibi Sanderson: a legacy of love and generosity
Sunday, 2 June 2019
Bibi Sanderson: a legacy of love and generosity
Sunday, 5 May 2019
Ramadan Mubarak:4th Annual Interfaith Iftar Gala 2019
Ramadan Mubarak!
Greetings!
I would like to profusely thank you for your continuous contributions and generous support towards our programs in the past year. We sincerely hope your Ramadan would be joyous and blessed!
As an extention of the annual One Love Gala we are continuing our mission in Ramadan by hosting our fourth Interfaith Iftar dinner. This is a continuation of the Canada Day Iftar that we started a few years ago!
See last year's event in the media here. https://torontocaribbean.com/ramadan-interfaith-gala-raising-funds-for-guyana-youth/
Sponsor Skeldon feeding of 250 children per day for $220.00 through Service to Humanity feeding the children program.
Sponsor the printing and distribution of educational brochures for $100.00 per 10000 every Juma/Friday in Georgetown by Shamal
Sponsor the eye surgery for one man in Guyana- 2000.00
Sponsor a child school books scholarship in Jamaica for one year for 300.00 through Albaster Gate Children Charity-http://alabastergatechildrenscharity.com/
Support the prison program to help youths at risk -Think Twice founded by Ziya Brown- http://think2.org/
DOORS OPEN AT 7:00 PM
PROGRAM: 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Welcome by Co-Chairs- Habeeb Alli
National Anthem of Canada- Steel pan
National Anthem of Guyana
Quran Recital and Recitation Qari Sameer
MC Introduction- Firaz Azeez
Interfaith service- Rev Earl Smith and Rabbi Yossi Sapirman
Think Twice- Ziya Brown- Award and Check http://think2.org/
Dr Nadine Wong - Alabaster Children Charity in Jamaica
Videos Presentation- Habeeb Alli- Service to Humanity in Skeldon and Shamal Islamic Brochures in Georgetown
Fundraising- Dr Munir Elkassem
Iftar- 8:42 pm
Magrib Salat- 8:45 pm
Dinner 9 pm
Entertainment- Munir Mohamed
Door prizes
Main Sponsor:
Human Concern International- a registered charity in Canada helping orphans in Yemen this Ramadan for 30.00 per month with your zakat, fitra and fidya - all tax deductible. www.humanconcern.org
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
One Love: An answer to New Zealand's terrorist attack.
Habeeb Alli Bio
Habeeb Alli studied
at Queen's College, Guyana, before he graduated with a Masters in Islamic
Theology and Arabic Language from Deoband Islamic University in India.
Habeeb is the author of twenty-six publications on Canadian Muslims, Interfaith
and Poetry including the recent Scaling Heights.
He is a member of the Canadian Council of Imams and Canadian Association of Spiritual Care.
Imam Alli has presented on Islam in many conferences over the past twenty-five
years globally and is active on social media. The Junctian Network for
Community Service recognized him in April 2017 and Vigor Humanitarian Award in
2020 and the Queen Jubilee Award and Humanitarian Award by MP Chaun Chen in
2022.
He presently serves as Executive Director of the One Love Family Services in
Toronto- dedicated towards humanitarian efforts in Canada and as a
Federal Chaplain in Ontario with Correctional Services Canada and Sinai Health, Toronto. He has been instrumental in the deradicalisation of many Incarcerated Muslim Youths.
Habeeb has cofounded One Love Table food hampers program and the Golden Series for seniors.
The Chaplain is the founder of the annual One Love Gala- in recognition of successful reintegration of multi faith inmates.
He sits on a number of community boards and speaks several languages including Arabic and Urdu.
He currently resides in Toronto.