Muslim Link interviewed Zainab Hussain about choosing her non-traditional major, unveiling her show Unseen/Seen, and the challenges and joys of being a Muslim Fine Arts student and artist.

Rehab Nazzal recently returned to Ottawa to install her latest multimedia exhibition Invisible at the Karsh-Masson Gallery as part of the City of Ottawa's Public Art Program. She left Ottawa a few years ago to pursue her Masters of Fine Arts at Ryerson University in Documentary Media and is now pursuing a PhD in Fine Arts at the University of Western Ontario.

According to the American Mosque Study of 2011, co-commissioned by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), in a little over 30 years, Muslims have established over 2,000 mosques across the US, but only 10% of all American Muslims attend these mosques. Something isn't adding up...

Screened to sold-out audiences across North America, Unmosqued explores why more and more Muslims feel unwelcome at their mosques. On Saturday, May 10th at Carleton University, local Muslims will get a chance to watch and discuss this thought-provoking documentary.

A local non-profit organization established to support the education of underprivileged children overseas is marking its first anniversary.

Founded by a group of youth and students, Forward Knowledge is a social enterprise intended to raise money for children's education through the sale of an original clothing line.  Tarun Rahman, a recent graduate of the University of Toronto's Master of Public Health, is a co-founder of the organization.

Early this month, Rebiya Kadeer, Chinese Uyghur human rights activist and President of the World Uyghur Congress, visited Ottawa to testify before the Parliament Sub-Committee on Human Rights on the situation of Uyghur Muslims in China. While in the city, she also spoke at Carleton University's Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (EURUS) and met with staff at the Canadian Office of Religious Freedom and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Despite her hectic schedule, the Washington D.C. based activist made time to meet with Muslim Link as she hopes that Canadian Muslims will become more aware and more vocal about the plight of the Uyghur. In particular, she hopes to gain more support to address the situation of Huseyin Celil, a Canadian citizen of Uyghur origin who is currently in prison in China.

Each year the Simon Fraser Institute ranks Ontario schools based on their performance on the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) standardized tests for reading, writing and math. Ottawa's Ahlul Bayt Islamic School came in as the second best elementary school in Ottawa and among the top 100 in the province for its Grade 3 and Grade 6 scores from 2012 to 2013. This comes as no surprise to Ahlul Bayt's principal Leila Rahal. “Every year we receive very good results but the Institute only ranks schools that have classes of over 15 students. We don't always have that,” she explained. Mrs. Rahal credits the school's success to strictly following the Canadian curriculum and having the majority of its teachers being graduates of Ontario Teachers' Colleges.

Students with the University of Ottawa's Muslim Students' Association (MSA) organized this year's annual Islam Awareness Week (IAW), from March 3rd to March 7th around the theme of the sustainability of Islam.

Shahad Khalladi, a second year student studying biomedical science, developed this year's logo in collaboration with other IAW volunteers. The logo demonstrates the various intersecting gears which have helped to sustain Islam over the centuries.

Ayan Yusuf is coping with paranoid schizophrenia and depression and she wants you to know all about it. The 26 year-old spoke at the 3rdAnnual Awakening: Reviving the Spirit of Somali Youth event in January about her struggle and why it is important for the community to challenge the stigma faced by those living with mental illness. She hopes that by sharing her story, other Muslims living with mental illness will feel less alone in their struggle.

George Karkour, 23, posted his documentary Quebec 60 on YouTube in January. Within a week it got over 18,000 hits.  In the documentary, Karkour interviews several hijab-wearing Muslim women about how they feel about Quebec's proposed Bill 60. The bill would forbid public service workers from wearing religious symbols, like hijabs.

As World Hijab Day is wrapping up, many of us who are advocates of religious freedom in Canada are grappling with outrage at how the tragic death of Naima Rharouity has been covered in some media.

Certainly, the hijab has come under increased scrutiny, thanks to the highly controversial values charter, proposed by the PQ government. The charter, which aims to enforce a rigid form of secularism within the province, has already been blamed for mounting abuse and harassment of Muslim women. Whether or not this law is passed, the coverage and subsequent reactions to Naima Rharouity's death further indicate that the floodgates of hatred towards Muslim women have already been opened. Every Muslim woman in the province, and possibly beyond, will be affected negatively by the racist and patriarchal discourses playing out during hearings on the charter at Quebec's national assembly.