ISLAM IN CANADA
An Overview of Social Services for Muslim Canadians Traditional attitudes are very hard to change BY SHAHINA SIDDIQUI
M
uslim Canadians are projected to top 2 million by 2030 from their present 1.2 million. Considering this growth, they need to reexamine their priorities: What are and will be the needs of their families, youth and newcomers? Answering this question will enable us to establish sustainable, professional and integrated social services; provide mental health support independent of mosques; and to maintain the users’ confidentiality and dignity. Mosques can refer people to these services, as well as promote counseling and advising Muslims to use these services when necessary. Of course, these service providers will have to work within Canada’s legal framework and the paradigm of integrated Canadian and Islamic core values, and be equipped with multicultural literacy, to best serve their diverse clientele. During the 1950s and 1960s, the influx of Muslim immigrants necessitated the organization and establishment of mosques and community centers. In the following decades the building of mosques and Islamic schools was prioritized. The common myths were that Muslims did not have social or family issues like the general Canadian population, and that when they did, imams and family friends could deal with “social issues” regardless of their training and expertise.
A SNAPSHOT OF MUSLIM-TO-MUSLIM SOCIAL SERVICES ■ In 1990, the nonprofit Islamic Social Services and Resources Association (ISSRA; https://www.issra.ca) developed out of the Metro Toronto and area Muslims’ practical needs. During the 1980s, the Jami Mosque evolved from a small local house of worship into an all-purpose Islamic center serving thousands. Imam Abdullah Hakim Quick,
along with a core of dedicated Muslim professionals, offered to help serve vulnerable individuals and families. ■ The Islamic Family Social Services Association (IFSSA; https://www.ifssa.ca), incorporated in 1992 in Edmonton, Alberta, by a small visionary and dedicated group, is the first Muslim social services organization not affiliated with any mosque or established Muslim organization. Its steady expansion into various offices that serve the city’s geographically diverse Muslims and the steady support it receives from the Alberta government for newcomers’ settlement services represents a success model for Muslim social services. ■ In 1993, Major (retd.) Abbas and Sarwar Jahan Begum (“Uncle” and “Aunty”) established a small Halal Food Bank in Scarborough, Ontario. Under the banner of Toronto’s Muslim Welfare Canada (MWC; https://www.muslimwelfarecentre.com), its motto was “Service to humanity is service to Allah.” Its existence was made possible through a loan from a good friend and well-wisher. The staff devoted their time, money and energy to developing this charity so that it could benefit the needy far into the future. This food bank, located in a 10×10 foot room, provided groceries and other essential household items to anyone in need, irrespective of religion, nationality or ethnicity. Within just a few years, its supporters’ generosity and volunteers enabled the center to enhance its services. It embraced a new goal — providing a safe haven for needy women and their children — to meet a critical need. With their tireless efforts and zeal, the duo realized this goal in 1996 and named this facility, located in Whitby, Ont., the Muslim Welfare Home for Needy Women and Children. Other pioneering services were gradually
42 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
introduced, among them international programs (e.g., supporting a child, free clinics, water exploration and disaster relief) in 2000, local programs (e.g., halal meals on wheels and halal food banks in Montreal and Mississauga) in 2005 and a free medical clinic for Scarborough’s uninsured residents in 2009. The planning and effective operation of these services kept the revered couple busy until the very end. Aged 87, Major Muhammad Abbas Ali breathed his last on April 17, 2009, after a brief illness while in Pakistan to monitor MWC’s international projects. In honor of his exemplary service to humanity, the City of Toronto renamed a Scarborough park as Major Abbas Ali Park. Appropriately, it is located very close to MWC’s head office — the same place where they began the charity in 1993. ■ The Muslim Family Network Society (MFNS; https://www.muslimfamilynetwork. org), established in Calgary in 2003, joins other Muslim community organization in holding clothes and food distribution drives that serve thousands each year. It also provides counseling and mediation services for individuals and families in crisis. Founder Idrees Khan has been recognized for her devotion to volunteerism and community services. ■ The nonprofit Muslim Resource Center for Social Support and Integration (http:// mrcssi.com), founded in 2009 in London, Ont., helps families and individuals overcome the realities that impact their family safety.
