Speakers

Amira Elghawaby is a journalist and human rights advocate. She is currently a contributing columnist for the Toronto Star and Press Progress.

Amira is a frequent media commentator on equity and inclusion and delivers keynote presentations and tailored workshops for a variety of audiences. 

She recently joined the Canadian Race Relations Foundation where she is leading its programming and outreach. Prior to that, Amira worked in Canada's labour movement in communications and human rights. She also previously spent five years promoting the civil liberties of Canadian Muslims at the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) between 2012 to the fall of 2017. 

Aasiyah Khan is the Manager of Education Programs at The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM). The NCCM is a human rights and civil liberties organization that works to challenge Islamophobia and hate across Canada. Aasiyah has an extensive community development and research background that is grounded in inclusion and anti-oppressive practice principles. Aasiyah has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Toronto and has a Master's in Social Work (MSW) from York University. Aasiyah has led training programs on anti-Islamophobia, allyship and intervention and human rights to organizations and school boards nationally. Aasiyah believes in dynamic approaches to learning and strives to create transformational shifts across sectors. Follow @nccmeducate .

Katherine Bullock received her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Toronto (1999). She is a writer, lecturer, publisher, and mother. Her books include: Muslim Women Activists in North America: Speaking for Ourselves, and Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil: Challenging Historical and Modern Stereotypes which has been translated into Arabic, French, Malayalam, and Turkish. Over the last few decades, she has co-founded and sat on the boards of several grassroots and academic organizations. Originally from Australia, she embraced Islam in 1994.

David Paul Alexanderson is of Indigenous, Cree First Nation heritage. He was born and raised in Saskatchewan. David converted to Islam approximately 9 years ago. Before embracing Islam, David suffered from drug and alcohol addiction but was able to overcome great adversity through his faith and community. Along with a small group of volunteers, David has helped a growing number of Muslims and Indigenous people who identify as new Muslims, with addictions issues through addiction faith-based counselling. 

Presently, David is the Executive Manager of Volunteer Services at Dawah to the North. David resides in Brampton and is the proud father of five children. 

Khalil Center is a psychological and spiritual community wellness center advancing the professional practice of psychology rooted in Islamic principles. An initiative designed to address the widespread prevalence of social, psychological, familial, relational and spiritual issues of Muslim communities. Khalil Center utilizes faith-based approaches rooted in Islamic theological concepts while integrating the science of psychology towards addressing psychological, spiritual and communal health. 

Eman Idil Bare is an award-winning journalist with bylines in Teen Vogue, Allure, Muslim Girl and Flare. She currently works for CBC News in Toronto as a reporter and associate producer. As a journalist, she tries to tell stories that make people think and question the world around them. Eman also designs clothing for her company Eman Idil.

In addition to volunteering at the Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC), Haniya actively participates as a School Council member for seven years, and served as Chair from 2013-2015. In November 2016, Haniyah Sheikh and Nazerah Shaikh initiated work on the IHM Resource Guide, leading a team of 50 parents and educators across Toronto, primarily over social media and digital communication. They recruited parent volunteers and experts to complete the IHM Resource Guidebook, poster and numerous events held during Islamic Heritage Month. Haniya has spoken on issues relating to parent engagement in the school system and also engagement in the Muslim community. Haniya is currently a lawyer, working in the area of civil litigation (including regulatory and commercial law) in Toronto.

Hassam Munir is a journalist and an independent researcher of Islamic history. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of iHistory (www.ihistory.co), a multimedia project that aims to engage Muslims and non-Muslims with the history of Islamic civilization through rigorous academic research and creative forms of presentation. His work has been published in a variety of outlets, including the Ottawa Citizen, Excalibur, Mvslim, Egypt Today, The Muslim Vibe, and more. Since 2015, he has done extensive research into the history of Muslim communities in Canada and has presented about this topic on various occasions. 

Senator Mobina Jaffer represents the province of British Columbia in the Senate of Canada, where she is deputy-chair of the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence. Appointed to the Senate on June 13, 2001 by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, she is the first Muslim senator, the first African-born senator, and the first senator of South Asian descent.  

Naseeha is a Muslim Youth Helpline which provides counselling for youth and young Muslims to receive immediate, anonymous, and confidential support over the phone from 6 - 9 pm, Monday to Friday (Eastern Standard Time). Launched in 2006, Naseeha is a telephone support line for young Muslims in North America, to talk about, and work through their issues with trained counsellors. If you want to talk, you can call Naseeha, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at 1-866-627-3342.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) is an independent, non-partisan and non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the human rights & civil liberties of Canadian Muslims, and by extension, all Canadians, promoting their public interests and challenging Islamophobia and other forms of xenophobia. The NCCM delivers workshops for educators and students on a variety of issues including: Islamophobia, racism & stereotypes, cyberbullying, and online hate. A full list is available on the website www.nccm.ca , and in Appedix C.

Nazerah has been an active parent volunteer with the TDSB since 2008. She has consistently served on several school councils, including Gateway Public School (Chair: 2010-2016), Valley Park Middle School and Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute (Chair: 2020-present). In 2016, she was elected as a parent representative in Don Valley East for the Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC) at the TDSB. Nazerah is a founding member and director of the Toronto Hifz Academy, a federally registered charity. She holds a Masters in Public Health from Emory University and a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Florida.

Omar Zia is currently a Secondary Vice=Principal in Peel and a part-time instructor with Queen's U. He is on the council for Muslim Educators Network of Ontario and is the Chair of the Muslim Employees Association of Peel. Omar has an avid interest in equity and inclusion work as it pertains to disrupting and dismantling racism and colonial practices which hinder students' success. Omar is a member of the clergy and supports several community-based programs for Muslim-identifying youth.

Qaiser Ahmad is a Vice-Principal in the secondary panel with the Toronto District School Board. He began his career in an Islamic school before pursuing an M.Ed. at the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education, University of Toronto. He joined the Toronto District School Board in 2005 as a Math and Science teacher, then worked in leadership positions as a Curriculum Leader of Student Success and Guidance/Student Service in two secondary schools prior to becoming a Vice-Principal. Qaiser has been conducting workshops and presentations on Muslims and Islam to a wide variety of audiences since 1998, most notably to educators and school administrators in the Greater Toronto Area. He has presented on the topic of Faith and Inclusivity at a number of Conferences for the TDSB, OISE/UT, the Ontario Ministry of Education, and at the Parliament of World Religions. Qaiser is the co-chair of the TDSB Islamic Heritage Month Committee which has produced resources that have been used in school boards across Canada.

Ryhana Dawood is a strong advocate for female empowerment through self-defence. She has worked with hundreds of women across the GTA and overseas leading self-defence workshops for many underprivileged groups, schools and universities. Ryhana created Martial Smarts, a non-profit organization based out of Toronto, that aims to teach proactive and reactive self-defence and situational awareness based on the principles of Karate and Taekwondo.

Samiya Abdi is currently a Health Promotion Consultant & Program Planning and Evaluation Specialist. She has over 10 years of experience in program development, management, implementation and evaluation working within the non-profit, corporate and government sectors. Within the past 6 years, Samiya has delivered large scale, complex projects involving internal and external teams across Canada with budgets of over $8 million. Samiya is a mother, teacher, community advocate, youth councillor, avid public speaker and a change agent. She is passionate about creating safe, nonjudgemental spaces that foster growth, failure, and transformative learning. Through her community work, Samiya engages in critical thinking and reflexivity to build equitable and collaborative working relationships that promote empowerment and self-determination. Samiya holds a Master's degree in Public Health and a Graduate Diploma in Social Innovation and Systems Thinking from the University of Waterloo.

Shelina Kassam is a lecturer at the University of Toronto, on the Mississauga campus with the Department of Historical Studies. This critical race scholar received her PhD from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), at the University of Toronto in January 2018. Her research focuses on Muslims in contemporary Western multicultural nation-states, using postcolonial, critical race and feminist theories in her analysis. She has taught at the University of Toronto at the Mississauga Campus (Division of Women and Gender Studies) since 2007 specializing in race, ethnicity, representation, media and Muslims, identity-formation for Muslims in the post 9/11 world, post-colonial studies and popular culture. Shelina has a long history of professional and volunteer work with educational, not-for-profit, and social justice organizations, in Canada and internationally. She was a member of the Canadian Non-Governmental Organization Election Observer Delegation to monitor the first all-race elections in South Africa in 1994.

Shireen Ahmed is a writer, public speaker and sports activist focusing on Muslim women in sports. She is an athlete, advocate, community organizer, and works with youth of colour on empowerment projects and is an avid sports coach and mentor. Her work has been featured and discussed in various media outlets including the CBC.

Taha Ghayyur is a writer, public speaker, community organizer, and leadership trainer in Toronto, Canada. Director of Communications, and Producer of Adam's World Videos at Sound Vision, Leadership and Communication Traner for World Matters Institute, Board Member of Dawanet, Board Member of MuslimFest, and an Advisory Committee Member of the Muslim Studies Program at Emmanuel College.

The Canadian Muslim Vote is a national, non-profit, non-partisan organization with the aim of increasing the participation of Canadian Muslims within the democratic process. Please contact Ms. Muneeza Sheikh (Director of Communications and Board Member at The Canadian Muslim Vote) at muneeza@canadianmuslimvote.ca and Mr. Turab Ibrahim (Board Member, The Canadian Muslim Vote) at turab@canadianmuslimvote.ca

Timothy Gianotti is an Associate Professor of Studies in Islam at Renison College, University of Waterloo. Timohy is a Catholic-educated Muslim scholar of Islamic intellectual and spiritual traditions. He has written two books, an array of publications and has over two decades of teaching experience in Canada and the U.S. Timothy is a socially-engaged theologian who promotes interfaith understanding and engagement. He speaks English, Arabic, French and Cantonese. 

Imam Yasin Dwyer was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba to parents of Jamaican heritage. Before joining the Muslim Chaplaincy at Ryerson University, Imam Yasin was a part of the multi-faith chaplaincy team at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. He was lectured extensively on topics such as interfaith dialogue, Black Canadian culture and the history of Muslims in the West.

Mohammed Hashim is the Executive Director of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and a founding advisor of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network. He also sits on the Board of Trustees of the United Way of Greater Toronto. Mr. Hashim has worked as a labour organizer and human rights advocate for over a decade, dedicating his career to supporting equity, inclusion, and empowering communities. As a senior organizer with the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, Mr. Hashim advocated many anti-racism initiatives, as well as other issues. He is dedicated to developing public policy that addresses systemic discrimination, and has created opportunities for marginalized communities through fellowships and community benefits agreements.