Education can see us through trying times

Investing in youth must be our No. 1 priority, Khalid Tarabain writes.

When I started this piece, I meant it as a love letter to the city I love for the incredible way in which diverse communities came together to support our mosque given recent attacks against it.

But as the president of the Al Rashid Mosque, which is Canada’s oldest mosque and having seen so much love, laughter and prayer at the beautiful centre that I grew up in, I thought I would share a question being asked of me — and being asked of all of us.

Last month, our mosque was vandalized with white supremacist insignias. And this has not been the first time our community has been targeted by neo-nazis and Islamophobes. Whether it was when far-right extremist groups the Wolves of Odin and the Clann came to surveil our mosque, or when earlier this summer an individual talking about a “Ramadan Bombathon” drove to our centre, I am consistently asked by premiers, mayors, members of the media, and my own congregants, “What is the solution to the problems ahead of us?”

When things seem so uncertain in this beautiful province — with COVID-19 threatening many of our families, with oil prices so low, with our province becoming a have-not province and with fears that many face relating to the impact of racism — I always find and believe that the answer is the same.

The answer is education. Investing in our young people through education that meets their needs and where they are at must be our No. 1 priority as a country, as a province and as a city. If we want to imagine a world where we solve problems of systemic racism, discrimination and economic inequality while ensuring scientific literacy, we must look to education.

The Al Rashid was established as Canada’s first mosque. Keep in mind this was a historic moment.

While you can go and check out the original building at Fort Edmonton Park, you’re looking at a place that wasn’t just built for Edmonton’s Muslims. Rather, members of Edmonton’s Jewish and Christian communities helped the Muslim community a century ago gather up the resources to build the Al Rashid.

Why did we come together then?

The reason for that is simple. Edmontonians, and Albertans, believe strongly in education, and in the communities we build when we stand together to build centres of learning.

Our patrons, our thought leaders — Al Rashid pioneers like previous Conservative minister Larry Shaben and educators like Dr. Lila Fahlman, Hilwie Hamdon, and Soraya Hafez (who have Edmonton public schools named after them) and so many others, weren’t just concerned about education for those who could afford it. They were highly invested in creating a system where all Albertans could have access to quality education.

They understood that the long-term success of our province must be just that: education. It’s why, when the Clann came to our mosque to try to intimidate us, we invited them in to sit down, have tea with us over Timbits and learn about who we are and what we believe.

It’s why, at a time when many raise concerns around systemic and institutional racism, we look to creating diverse spaces where everyone has a fair chance at learning about the origins of inequality, and how we can solve those problems.

It’s why, when oil prices are down, it’s time to make sure that our youngsters get a world-class education, so they can make sure that the next generation, and the ones after that, are able to create a new future for themselves.

It’s why, when we are targeted by white supremacists today, and the archbishop sends a letter of support, and members of Edmonton’s Jewish community stand in solidarity with us, we know that the path forward is the same path set forward by our founding members. It’s a path of light, love, community, in building places where we learn, laugh and are open to talking to each other.

But I know as we sit down and talk about online classes, and the way forward, that the path forward cannot be one of division, of talking heads and plugged ears, where we race to the bottom of polar-opposite radical positions.

To move beyond a world of deepening divides, of ignorance and hate, we must focus on education.