Golden Times – An Event of Social connection and Activities for Our Seniors
Burnaby March 8 – Our thriving communities which we call home; are indeed the result of hard work and sacrifices made by our seniors. These brothers and sisters are backbone of our society but it is a sad reality that we do not recognize and thank them. In order to address this issue; on March 8th, Masjid Al-Salaam & Education Centre has organized an event – Golden Time exclusively for the seniors.
The event commenced with Qur’an recitation delivered by Br. El Mehdi Berra; which is followed by message from Br. Jalil Khan – Chairperson of Masjid Al-Salaam. The message was delivered by Br. Daud Ismail as Br. Jalil was not able to attend the event due to health reasons. May Allah grant complete health to him, Ameen. Segment 1 - Video Message – Diabetes; the Perfect Treatment - Dr. Jason Fung is a Canadian nephrologist. He’s a world-leading expert on intermittent fasting and low carb, especially for treating people with type 2 diabetes. He has written three best-selling health books and he co-founded the Intensive Dietary Management program.
Dr. Fung works with Team Diet Doctor. He has conducted extensive research about fasting as per Islam and stated that “Fasting allows people to reverse type 2 diabetes and lose weight, for good without medication..”. More than 125 brothers and sisters attended the event and benefited from Dr. Jason video talk and technique for reversing diabetes. Segment 2 - Infectious Disease & Elderly– How Vulnerable We Are? Dr. Mohammad Morshed is a clinical microbiologist and Program head of Zoonotic Diseases and Emerging Pathogens at the BC Public Health Microbiology and Reference Laboratory, Provincial Health Services Authority Laboratories; and clinical professor, Faculty of Medicine, UBC.
His laboratory is responsible for specialized serology testing, molecular testing and microbial fingerprinting, program evaluation and research. He is member of many provincial, national, and international working groups and networks in the area of zoonotic and emerging pathogens.
He delivered a presentation on infectious diseases and its impact on the elderly. In particular he enlightened the audience with following topics:
•Top 10 causes of death – changing trend from 2000 to 2016
•Leading causes of death in Canada •Five most common infections in elderly •Pneumonia and how to reduce its risk •COVID 19 – Its background, timeline •Sign and symptoms of COVID 19 •Practical tips for prevention
Dr. Morshid emphasized the fact that Islam is the only religion which promote hygiene and cleanliness. By performing 5 times ablution we are able to prevent many ailments. Segment 3 Br. Daud Ali – presented segment Lest We Forget; where he recalled our elders who are not with us today; but left a lasting legacy in the form of this masjid and their services. These are Br. Saleem Baksh, Br. Janif Barkah, Sr. Zuleka and Br. Nizam Dean. These legends have knocked door to door for the fundraising, invested their time and resources from concept, design and completion of this Masjid. We pray that May Allah grant them Janatual Firdous, Ameen.
Br. Daud Ali recognized the support of Qari Abdul Wahab for Burnaby community and Masjid Al Salaam; and delivered an appreciation award.
Segment 4 - Qari Abdul Wahab stated that he is part of Burnaby community since the groundbreaking of Masjid construction; no one could have imagined that a vacant plot of land where there were no Muslim community; will become a thriving Mosque where hundreds of people will pray and education events will be held. This is blessings of Allah and vision of our seniors who are not with us today.
He mentioned that both presentation on Diabetes, Infectious Disease and its cure correlates with Sunnah of Prophet Muhammd (PBUH) and teaching of our deen.
The event was followed by a healthy lunch and Dhuhr Salah. Br. Daud Ismail thanked the audiences, seniors and speakers for their participation in this event .