Muslims In Your Backyard

Today's episode will focus on specific goals that I created for the last 15 days of Ramadan so that we can maximize the most out of this blessed month. These are goals that I feel are attainable but also worthwhile because they are impactful things to do in Ramadan. I will go over them and provide some details but for the most part the goals that I discuss in this episode are flexible and definitely something that you can change as you wish!

Imam Al-Bukhari is one of the most influential and well known scholars in Muslim history. His accomplishments include numerous books and hadith collections, the most famous being Sahih Al-Bukhari. Although many Muslims are familiar with his name and know who he is, very few really know the story of his background or where he came from. In today's Past and Present Heroes episode, I will go into depth about the life and times of Imam-Al-Bukhari and some pivotal moments in his life. Understanding his significance to the ummah will only give us a greater amount of respect for his accomplishments.

My main source for this episode was a lecture by Omar Suleiman which is linked here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2vmBXCsr80

For today's episode I will be looking into some parts of the rich history of Islam in China and how it represents both Chinese Muslims and Muslims that are in China (I'll explain the difference in the episode). In doing so I hope to bring a greater understanding of how Islam has been influential in China as well as its interactions with previous Chinese governments.

It has been two years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and a lot has changed in the world. There have been many negative and positive things that have happened throughout the world. In today's episode I will take a second to reflect on my own experiences and events that happened during these two years. In many ways COVID-19 has exposed many ugly truths about our current world and in many ways continues to do so. At the same time there are many things as Muslims that I feel we should reflect on that I will also cover.

Today's episode will discuss and breakdown the proposed Online Harms Bill by the Federal Liberal government that seeks to regulate the use of social media and the internet to prevent the spread online hate and dangerous content. This is a controversial piece of legislation that has many ramifications for Canadians in their day to day lives. There are some benefits and drawbacks to the law which are important for us to know and understand. Ultimately, this conversation rests on the balance of our individual freedoms while using the internet and the prevention of harm to others through the use of the internet.

Welcome back to the Muslims in Your Backyard podcast! For today's episode I examined what the Hate Crime laws within Canada actually say and where our perception of what the Criminal Code of Canada covers may actually be incorrect. Reforms or changes to hate crime laws have been a hot topic in Canada (and for food reason!) and deserve our attention. To truly change these laws, however, we really do need to understand them first.

Ep#2 of the Past and Present Heroes will focus on the Greatest of All Time, Muhammad Ali and his life as a Muslim and his activism throughout his life. Today's episode will go into detail on some aspects that truly demonstrate why Muhammad Ali is not only a respected but honoured man in so many parts of the world. In understanding who he was we can really begin to understand his beliefs and more importantly, how Islam shaped his activism. Muhammad Ali truly was one of the Greatest for many reasons and this episode will outline a few.

**Also as mentioned in today's episode, I will be taking a break from making episodes till the first week of February, so there will be no episode in two weeks**

What do we perceive as success and what do we see as a "failure"? For todays episode I dive into discussing how the 21st Century (more specifically the Capitalist Society) has impacted what we perceive as "success" or "failure". In trying to understand these two notions, I think its important for us to take a step back and really reflect on how we perceive the world and our place in it. On top of this, how do we understand this role within our beliefs as Muslims and the impact that these 21st Century values have had on our faith.

Canadian students study at some of the finest, well established and distinguished universities in the world and yet the greatest danger to many students may have very little to do with the opportunities that they are given but rather the systematic problems within the Canadian post-secondary system.

For today's episode I will focus on the issues of Mental Health within Canadian universities. This episode will focus on examining the concerning statistics involving student mental health, anxiety, stress and depression. These issues will be covered by also looking at the issues within the institutions behind our educational system and my own experiences as a student in Canada. I hope to provide some insight and analysis that can shed some more light and bring awareness to the problems that have severely impacted many Canadian students.

If you seek Mental Health support or need support here are a few sources, but I urge you to seek the support that you need:

Center for Addiction and Mental Health: https://www.camh.ca/

Canadian Mental Health Association: https://cmha.ca/

Naseeha Health (toll free Mental Health line focused on Muslims): 1-866-627-3342 OR https://naseeha.org/

Khalil Center: https://khalilcenter.com/ (based on Islamic Practices)

Useful article by The Walrus: https://thewalrus.ca/inside-the-mental-health-crisis-facing-college-and-university-students/

For today's episode I'll continue the discussion from the last episode and will shift the focus to the historical conceptions and formulations of the ummah. This includes looking at the empires/rulers/sultanates that were influential in both the political and religious spheres as well as the differences between what the "ummah" was historically and what it is now. This will include looking at some of the political formations within the ummah in the past and how they differ to what exists today.