One Love Gala 2018

One Love Gala 2019: Inmates Rehabilitation

Media Release

2019-01-06

Re: Apex Consulting presents the 7th One Love Gala

One Love Gala 2019: Rehab

The One Love gala was inspired by Bob Marley’s song one love!

Some seven years ago, when diversity chaplaincy was under threat, thanks to a Minister who thought otherwise, I was sitting distraught and this song was playing. I thought to myself that we must have an event that both celebrates our work with those incarcerated and advocates for the continuation of this crucial service. The name suited it so much as interfaith leaders and people from all walks of life joined us for an evening of much love! This year’s 7^th anniversary will be held on Sat Feb. 2nd at Elite Banquet Hall 1850 Albion Rd Toronto with Keynote by the American University female Chaplain Tahera Ahmed discussing the indispensable nature of diversity chaplains prisons!

A number of inmates and chaplains as well as entertainers are in the line up.

Awards Presentations include:

Malcolm X- the late-for fighting for freedom- Warren Gambino- freed after 11 years on wrongful expert witness

Tayyibah Taylor, the late, Chaplain’s award for Social Justice- Chaplain Orev Katz- Jewish Chaplain and inclusion and diversity advocate

Ghulam Sajan-the late, humanitarian award- successful inmate reintegration- Joseph Grmovsek-after charged for financial crime

Lyla Ali – the late, single mother award - Joey Twins- innocent Cree woman freed after 27 years

Carl Jadunandan- the late, baseball youth who inspires- for successful reintegration- Motiar Mohamed- charged whilst young

Charity of choice this year is Looking at the Stars foundation that take classical music into prisons for free.

Co Chairs-

Chaplains Habeeb Alli and Julianne Martin

Contact Habeeb at 416 823 1738 or onelovegala.org

Valentine

Valentine

They say Happy Valentine

The heart of a martyr of love

Is not of blood and roses

But the sacrifice to love even in death

They say only God is love

We forget Mother’s love is the greatest

Didn’t Muhammad, on whom be peace, love besides God?

Even the flowers and ants he protected

They say there should be chocolates and flowers for each day

But how can you forget your birthday?

They why not celebrate Eid everyday?

And stop having national holidays

This love that smiles over the moon

The widow alone in her tent too

Is on fire

Full of passion, waiting to hear I love you!

Life is a mystery

The fuel of life is love

Can’t you see the Divineness

When a man meets a woman after decades of desires?

How could a child not send greetings?

Or a student writes his favorite teacher a card?

And an orphan makes a heartfelt prayer?

On the Day of Love, all and however!

Winter poem

The winter

In its beauty of snow art

This solstice reminds me 

Of the longest night like the first night in prison

Hope you enjoy whatever you are celebrating!

The new year brings with it rebirth

Like the new born baby

When she first arrived in her mother’s arms

Reminds me of baby powder lingering

The birthday of Christ

The Santa jingles

Sweet gingerbread out of the oven

Reminds of the warmth of my first childhood gift

The coming of the next One Love

The excitement of who gets on stage

Who wears the best

Reminds me the tears of freedom so unique!

The strength in our diversity

Like each snowflake so different

Reminds me this wonderful idea called service

Like the Light it never asks for anything; but Megwich!

whispersofkaieteur: Taste of Essequibo River

whispersofkaieteur: Taste of Essequibo River: Taste of Essequibo River Habeeb Alli Dec 09 2018 So late I called your name in dreams Laid bare on caskets of memories T...

Taste of Essequibo River

Taste of Essequibo River

Habeeb Alli

Dec 09 2018

So late

I called your name in dreams

Laid bare on caskets of memories

The lavender rush at Christmas

Such lavish thoughts sought

Like wine drunk behind bars

By men who served country

The gates of the Lighthouse left half open

I see your smiles have not diminished

Only aged by sweet laughter kneaded with ginger and rum

Once you talked like a child in love

Now isn’t that Santa with a donkey cart out of Leguan?

People in Essequibo I visited

The thought of Cinderella country reminded me of you

How come Amerindians suffer suicide and the Indians have rice?

Where is the Blacks of Queenstown buried after Damon died?

This episode of togetherness

The once celebrated ride on open speedboats

Taken away by curtains and cellphones

I wish the openness of the lavender on rough Atlantic!

Season greetings they wish silently

Like an imprisoned murderer on death row

I shout Merry Christmas because my mother taught me so

I get the worse Trump that you could get- you don’t believe in Jesus Christ!

Yesterday I stayed in the Garden City

I wander from pillar to post wishing your sight again

Under the Peepal tree with a book logged between your lips

But the seawall broke down and a century and half of six races went frenzy

When will this craziness of shopping and gifting end? Giftland so North!

The dance to parang and sweet pepper pot should be the calendar year

End the hatred of who not to invite to the masquerade band- its free

Let mad bull and Mother Sally sell us sweet lies till morning come!

In Toronto, I stand on snow banks looking for Northern lights

The sleigh filled with forgiveness, mercy for humanity and end of wars

I strained myself lifting mounds of snow so I can see clearly the skies

I was told by First Nation elders- the ocean and animals are my family!

Masjid Khalid- The Golden Grove Odyssey, Guyana

Masjid Khalid- The Golden Grove Odyssey, Guyana

Habeeb Alli

Nov 23rd 2018

Toronto

I was walking down Water Street near vendors Arcade in Georgetown in 1992. I had just returned from India, with a Masters in Islamic Theology but working in Advertising. A young man in his kufi shouted out Salam alaikum greetings only to share with me the astonishing fact that where he lives in golden Grove ECD is a mosque that was defunct and a pig sty and party house!

That began my odyssey with the rebuilding of the Golden Grove mosque in Guyana.

This was AbdurRaheem Douglas, still a practicing Muslim and current leader of the Muslim community of the predominantly Afro Guyanese village of Golden.

Presently rebuilt by the concerted efforts of many generous Muslims locally and abroad. That started last year 2017 and miraculously, given the lesser known fact of its existence, has completed and now the opening is on Sunday Dec 2^nd 2018. Thanks to Imam Zahir Hussain of London fir his extreme kindness.

However, it was the late contractor Khalid Khan from the Georgetown who took up the initiative to rebuild the mosque in 1992 using materials and man power from Queenstown mosque. The discovery of the mosque sitting idle in the midst of the seawall side in North Golden Grove on the market goes to former Police Commander Omar Glasgow, who had his officers remove cows and animals from the premises then. He was looking for a place to pray Fajr and couldn’t bear the shameful discovery!

We named the mosque Masjid Khalid after he passed away in an accident on his way to build Lethem mosque in 2000.

But how did this place of worship for over fifteen percent of Guyanese ended up in such rut, unnoticed and unsolicited?

The late Imam Hyderali from Logwood mosque relates that this beautiful House of God was built in 1962 and habituated by Muslims in Golden Grove, Cove and John and Clonbrook East Coast Demerara. However, during the 1964 racial riots, before Independence, the East Indians were forced to leave behind their properties and seek safety in places like Enmore, Annandale, Mackenzie, etc. Note that while majority Africans came as Muslims during slavery, the roots of Islam were lost and the indentured Muslims of India that followed were allowed to keep their faith, hence the term Fullaman!

The mosque was fire bombed during the riots and remained roofless during all these years! It was every man's island!

When AbdurRaheem and myself, I lived in nearby Enmore, first visited the august edifice on a Sunday afternoon, we had to fetch water from the nearby trench, with the help of the ever kind neighbor next door, and wash the Azan stand and a spot inside to pray Magrib. The rest of the following nine months was between continuously washing a spot to pray, inviting the people to the awareness of Islam and soliciting assistance from far and wide in the reconstruction of the Mosque. A beautiful community was born!

It was such an awe-inspiring moment when I returned this year during Eid ul Adha to see familiar faces who either took shahada on my hands or whose nikah was conducted by me in the most austere circumstances.

Today the mosque has been rebuilt with equally decent quarters for the sisters, a huge outdoors tent, an Imam’s home, and a beautiful architecture that suits the environment and the friendliness of the community.

Thanks to the newly arrived scholar Imam Luqman, the son of the Musa, a formidable pioneer in the early Dawah, the generosity and knowledge of the community has grown exponentially. Special thanks to our founder AbdurRaheem Douglas and his family Karen who have kept the Faith among the sisters and families alive, despite the remarkable challenges. This family was specially taught by Imam Hyderali before he migrated to Canada.

As the late Haji Hyderali would say during handing over the trusteeship to the late Shafi Foreman that this legacy is meant for Golden Grove and will always be Golden because love and faith were the seeds this mosque was founded on in 1962, watered with blood, sweat and tears!

Salam alaikum! An example of peace building in the Jonestown famous and election frenzy country in South America called Guyana!