5th Annual Baabul Ilm Scholarship Awards

Baabul Ilm Education Society, a registered non-profit CHARITY, organized its 5th annual Baabul Ilm scholarship awards ceremony at the conference centre of Kwantlen Polytechnic University. The ceremony was very well attended by more than 125 people from all walks of life. Dr. Majid Hussain of UBC was the keynote speaker while Jinny Sims, Minister for Citizen Services was the chief guest. Also present in the ceremony were members of parliament (John Aldag, Ken Hardie, Sukh Dhaliwal), Counsel General of Pakistan, people from Academia, students and their families, people from business community, doctors, lawyers, and other professionals. During the past four years the Society has given away more than C$40,000 worth of scholarships and awards to the youth of our community. This year again Society gave away another C$13000 worth of scholarships and awards. Dr. Majid Hussain, the keynote speaker was the

MY

Voice Vancouver will be holding a panel event on the topic of reclaiming the narrative through exploring issues of representation, identity, and the Canadian Muslim youth experience. It will be held on Sat. Sept 30 from 2-5 p.m at the Burnaby Neighbourhood House (5024 Rumble St., Burnaby B.C). Early bird tickets are $10 and $15 after Sept 15. We are tired of being told what a Muslim is by the news and the internet. We are ready to broadcast our own voices and share our own stories. In this panel discussion, hear from young Muslim community leaders who, in various interesting and creative ways, are sharing with the world what the real Muslim experience is, and are creating dialogue on important issues we face. We want to dive deep into what it means to be a young Muslim in Canada, and how we can bridge the gap between the image and reality of the Muslim experience. Our goals are to address the question of what it means to be a young Muslim in Canada, to facilitate a discussion around issues that young Muslims face today, and to empower star of the ceremony. He made an excellent presentation full of motivation and encouragement for the youth of the community. His talk focused on vision, dedication, resilience, and hope. He shared his story of life which was full of challenges, how he overcame all the odds and managed to get to where he is today. The audience was pleasantly surprised to know that Dr. Majid was Canada’s table tennis champion and has represented Canada in many countries. Wayne Tebb, dean School of Business, KPU talked about his own experience and shared with the youth of the community and their parents what it takes to enter a good post-secondary institution. He also emphasized on the importance of acquiring good quality knowledge and education. He quoted one of the sayings of Imam Ali (AS) “Knowledge is better than wealth. Knowledge guards you while you have to guard wealth. Wealth decreases by spending while knowledge an audience of high school and university students to become young Muslim leaders and reclaim their narrative. This event is going to be fun, informative, and intellectually invigorating, and it will force you to challenge your assumptions and to embrace new ideas. You will also get a chance to meet new people during our interactive audience engagement workshop, as well as during the refreshments and networking session towards the end. We will also have lots of prizes and giveaways Our speakers for the event are Nidha Yaqub, organizer of the Breathing Room and volunteer at the Muslim Food Bank; Nora Fadel, activist and organizer of the anti-Islamophobia rally after Trump’s inauguration; Hamza Ahmad, founder of How to Be a Bully, the Journal for Muslims, and motivational speaker; and Abu Bakar Khan, a YouTuber, and also known as The Chosen Khan. Find our Facebook event page here: https://goo.gl/E74rRD Purchase tickets here: https://goo.gl/cVozKP (Eventbrite page) For more information, or if you’d like to get involved in MY Voice, email us at myvoicevancouver gmail.com increases by spending.” Jinny Sims in her talk advised the parents that education is about the kids and not about their parents. She emphasized on the fact that if a child want to become a musician than parents should not force him to become a doctor. She said that kids should have a free hand in exploiting their true potential and excel in what they want to become. She also shared her story with the youth. Jinny said that none of you can come to her and say that he or she is facing greater challenges than she did. She said that despite difficult circumstances she managed to succeed in her life. She also highlighted few important points of her government’s education policy. John Aldag, Member of Parliament from Cloverdale-Langley city in his speech outlinefederal government’s approach towards higher education. Citing few examples from his personal life he told the audience that he left education after completing high school but went back to school after 25 years and completed high higher education. He said that age should not be a hurdle if you want to acquire knowledge and get educated. Dr. Mohammad Tariq, Counsel General of Pakistan, Ken Hardie, Member of Parliament from Fleetwood-Port Kellis, also spoke on the occasion. Earlier, Dr. Mohammad Akbar in his opening remarks mention that the criteria to award the scholarships are very transparent. The scholarship Committee comprises of five highly respected, reputed, and educated members of the community. He said “in fact, we want this humble effort to help build harmony within the community by recognizing and celebrating the achievements of all our youth. The Society’s record over the past 5 years is a testament of its truly indiscriminate approach in awarding scholarships.” He pointed out that the history of the followers of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and his family is full of such people who left their mark on this world through their hard work and seeking and spreading knowledge. In doing so not only did they bring glory to themselves, but also to the communities, societies, and the world in which we live in today. He further said that in our times, it is our responsibility not just to preserve the heritage and the traditional thirst for knowledge but also try and make our own contributions and efforts in gaining knowledge in every branch of learning accessible to us. Dr. Akbar said that at Baabul Ilm Education Society, we seek the advancement of our community by supporting these academic pursuits and channeling the resources in this direction. He finished his talk by quoting a very interesting sayings of Imam Ali (AS). Imam Ali says: “You Do Good Things and People Think That You Are a Bad Person Is Better Than You Do Bad Things And People Think That You Are A Good Person”. After the presentations by the learned Speakers, scholarship awards and cash prizes of worth C$13000 were distributed among the youth of the community. The award and cash prize winners belonged to all sects of Muslim faith. This scholarship program is not directed to any particular sect or belief. It is open for all Muslims. All Muslim students are encouraged to apply for this scholarship in the future. For details please visit: baabulilm.org. Mr. Zaheer Manki, chairman of the scholarship selection committee presented gifts as a token of appreciation to the honourable guest speakers. In the end Dr. Zareen Naqvi in her note of thank thanked the learned speakers, the donors, and the volunteers who worked tirelessly to make this ceremony a success. Dr. Naqvi especially praised the performance and hard work done by Zoha Abbas, Mehak Merchant, Shaina Dhalla, and Khadija Akbar who conducted the whole ceremony in most impressive. The program ended with some refreshments and snacks.