As 1997 ended and we started the new year, peace was visibly in the air.  Christmas, brought us nuances of peace and goodwill towards all, followed closely by the echo of Shalom at Hanukkah.  Hindus celebrated the light of Diwali as Sikhs enjoyed the colours of Besakhi and then, peace and prayer followed for Ramadhan.

Yes, Peace is the buzz word  of the new Millennium.  I believe many of you must be familiar with the internet site promoting an international day of peace in January 1, 2000.  The idea is that every warring faction, anywhere in the world, should lay down their arms for one day, and more importantly, we should empower the media not to air or publish any news that relates to violence or war for 24 hours. 

Theoretically, this is an inspiring and impressive thought but I can't see the media being motivated to comply.  It doesn't exactly suit the needs of the media to have world peace.  If there is world peace, newspapers and television stations might have to close down.

I experience this irony constantly as I'm involved in an ongoing discussion on the air, with journalists from other faiths.  Mostly we concur on key social and human issues. We find that whether we are Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Jews or indeed have a faith at all, we are bound by similar values.  However, our audience doesn't care for the harmony between us because when there's no heated debate, no passionate discussion and little controversy, there's not much of a story.  So we have to agree to differ and continue the arguments.  Incidentally, there is a north American resurgence back to faith and spirituality as mentioned in the Macleans year end poll and in the December 7 special edition of the New York Times magazine.

Fact is that those who wield power (and this is meant with no disrespect to present company), would love to see us in continual conflict with each other.  I use peace as the key to our presence here today because peace, to me is not just abandoning of weapons - It's a state of mind well echoed in the Unesco Constitution which makes note that "Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that defense of peace must be constructed."

Just across the border from us, you have to be melted down in the pot to be American otherwise you may as well be an Asian, a European or a Martian - it's all Alien to them.  We are fortunate to become Canadian in name since the day we land, and Canadian in spirit soon after, when we start calling this country, home.  You know what they say of home - it's the only place that when you go there, they have to take you in.  Well, this is Canada - home to the world where we can say thanks by offering our allegiance and standing on guard, to ensure that this amazing land remains glorious and free. 

In the past two decades, Muslims have increased in numbers in the West economically and geographically we are slowly becoming an essential and major part of the North American infrastructure with numbers close to 500,000 and growing - (not I might add, due to lack of birth control as you may have been lead to believe, but because we place great value on family ties).  We are no longer out there, we have arrived and we are here to stay.  Therefore we require a new frame of reference and need to preserve, protect and promote our heritage for the future of our most precious commodity - our future generations.

Russell Baker, a New York Times journalist points out that North America no longer boasts only Judeo-Christian majority - North Americans should now be correctly referred to as people following a Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition.  This is specially true in Canada and can become one of the key factors in building the Canada of our dreams - the peacemaking Canada that the world talks about.

Having said this, a key thought comes to mind.  What can Muslims do to improve their chances for peaceful co-existence in the West?  Larry Poston, a Christian scholar writes in the American Journal of Islamic Social Science, that there are some key actions crucial to the well being of Islam and Muslims in North America.  Briefly, we need to develop and indigenous North American Islamic leadership, we need proper use of the media with avoidance of anti-Christian and anti-Jewish polemics; more co-operation among Muslims as one community, one faith and an increase in Muslim social welfare activities. 

I think this is a fair assumption but I would like to take the liberty of adding two more requirements, essential in ;my mind - loads of tolerance and a large dose of humour, then we are well on our way towards a harmonious future in Canada.

When we attend occasions like this one today, it's proof of positive participation.  It's at venues like this that we learn from and are educated about each other. When Mark Twain said "Oh East is East, West is West and ne'er the twain shall meet", he obviously had no idea what Canada will be about.

Islam places great stress on promoting peace, harmony and caring for each other.  There is a prophetic statement that if we wake in the morning without being aware that our neighbour is hungry, then we are fulfilling our duty as caring human beings and as Muslims.  This awareness comes when we respect each other, minimizing and accepting differences because we believe that we are all from the same source and that Canadian values are at par with our key values.

Muslims believe in Prophets Abraham, Moses and Jesus just as surely and truly as they believe in Prophet Mohammed as the Last Messenger - may peace be upon all of them.  We understand that the essence of all humanity is the same and this beautiful anti-racist sentiment is echoed in the Qur'an more than 25 times when it refers to "humankind" and not specifically to one race, nation or people.

There is an interesting parable in our faith in relation to Moses who we believe, had the miraculous ability to converse with God.  This parable reflects the human nature of man.  Moses asked God to grant him only one  wish of ensuring  that after he is gone, people will not talk about him negatively.  God replied, "Oh Moses, how can I grant you something that I have no guarantee of myself?"

In  Islam, dialogue is given great importance.  The Prophet of  Islam (pbuh) encouraged intelligent discourse and discussion specially between  Muslims and non-Muslims as a way of education. it's unfortunate that there are some Muslim countries where - due to authoritarian regimes supported by vested interests,   such a dialogue would not be possible today.  in Canada however, we enjoy  liberty, equality and freedom of speech at it's best.   

I know that many of you have been here before and have heard  distinguished speakers in the years before me as they talked about the history of Muslims, how and when they came to Canada, about their  assimilation, trials and tribulations and more importantly,  their contributions. This exercise is key to our survival, because it removes the myths and mystery from our existence. It tells you who we are, where we come from and what our agenda is for the future.  

Every immigrant undergoes duress  in settling into a new land. We Muslims are only one community in a long line of immigrants that have experienced discrimination and racism and we too, will survive it and come out stronger for having weathered it because we can learn from our peers and those that paved the way for us. 

Right now Muslims are a bit sensitive, because, after the collapse of communism,  we are the newest and latest targets of media hype and negative  propaganda. However, when we share our experiences with each other,  we gain strength in solidarity.  So the tales of our travails are an essential link in the process of assimilation and settlement which involves every 
member of society.

There is one important sphere in the history of Muslim settlement into Canada, that the public may not aware of. This is the contribution of Muslim women. Progress and harmony is only achieved when everyone is equally involved in the process of growth and development. I know Canada  prides itself on being gender inclusive, so it=s important to understand how our women have in the past, and continue presently,  to contribute positively to the assimilation of the community into mainstream Canadian life

We obviously can' depend on western media to  remove the specter of negative stereotyping that surrounds the existence of Muslim women.   The media  can't seem to remove  their veil of ignorance - literally.  They don't seem to comprehend that a head covering doesn't make anyone brain damaged and that Muslim women aren't the only ones covering their heads out of respect for their faith. 

There are many reasons for the exclusion of women from mainstream media.  One explanation given at an international Unesco symposium on women and the media held in Canada, was that  "the causes are deeply rooted in social, economic and political structures, as well as in culturally determined attitudes.."  This doesn't come as a surprise because my gender has had the distinct  honor of being at the blunt end of media bashing many times.   It's unfortunate that the achievements of many Muslim women today are buried under an avalanche of misinformation by media in projecting them as third class citizens or non contributing members of society. 

Ladies and gentlemen, I don't have to remind you how the media dominates our lives and what clout it wields.  We are in the midst of the Clinton scandal and in the end, it will be the media who will make or break the story. This debacle only reinforces what a powerful a tool the media is

It was in the 1940's that Harold Innes, a Canadian pioneer in communication theory spoke of the bias of communication. His idea was that the medium biases the message.   The Muslim community and especially Muslim women have been fighting the battle of the bias since eons.  If we tend to criticize the media,  we have a valid point. However,  Nihad Awad of the council on American Islamic relations, advises, and I agree, that before we criticize, we must educate.

The education which Awad refers to is a simple matter of eliminating  ignorance and learning to be culturally  sensitive to others. In case of the Muslims I'll just pick up a widely misused and misunderstood term, one that you must all be familiar with it. 

Jihad - made synonymous with Muslims, terror, violence and war.  Western media has wrongly translated the word jihad to mean holy war a concept  that is truly at odds with itself.  How can war ever be holy?  Jihad, the Arabic word does not translate, either  literally, or by suggestion to mean holy war.  I've heard of holy cow, holy moly and holy macaroni - I believe there is a forest in California called holy - wood but despite what you may read or hear, war is never holy."

 Ladies and gentlemen, Jihad literally means "to strive for."  Our presence here today is jihad as we strive to clear misunderstandings; our lives are a constant Jihad as we strive for good over evil.

Similarly, the kind of coverage or more correctly, lack of coverage that Muslim women get internationally, is appalling.  Our women are an integral force behind Muslim society. In their varying roles as mothers, wives and daughters, they are revered and respected. In Islam we believe a woman is the nucleus around which all life centers.  She is the centrifugal force of life and when she is firmly anchored, everything around her remains focused and steadfast.  When the woman is  put out of sync, all of society suffers. We put great stress on the nurturing and care giving abilities of women believing that if you educate one woman, you actually educate 
an entire nation.  

With rights to voting, pre-nuptial agreements and inheritance many centuries ago, our women have paved the way for women's rights.  While they can participate in battle, and keep their maiden name, in contrast I believe it was only in the 1900's that Canadian women were actually declared persons.  This is not meant as a comparison, but to point out the injustice of a very biased media.

All over North America Muslim women are making a mark - today, our women proudly take part in everything that is Canadian. Women like dr. Nafees Sadek, executive director of the united nations population fund; Huma Bedin, Hilary Clinton's office manager; dr. Huda al Maraghwi, dean of engineering at Windsor university; madam Fatima Houda Pepin, member of the Quebec assembly are just a few.   They are others working in finance, law, medicine, education and even politics. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that one of our young ladies was part of the Canadian armed forces during the gulf war. These women are fortunate that they are able to follow their passions and achieve personal satisfaction whereas there are millions of Muslim women right now,  who live in abject poverty and terror. These women are the forgotten legacy of the world.

They are the mothers in Bosnia who watched their daughters being brutally raped; they are the daughters in Kashmir who see their entire family slaughtered; they are the wives and children in Iraq living with internal strife and external sanctions against medicine and daily amenities; they are the daughters of Palestine striving for peaceful co-existence and they are  women of Africa who are slowly watching their tribes die of starvation and thirst.

We don't hear about these women because they aren't newsmakers.  Let me share some mind boggling statistics with you. According to undp human development figures,  today there are 37 million people who have been forced from their home, of these approximately 28 million are Muslims and of these 28 million, 22 million are women and children.  Majority of Muslims live in countries where poverty is at its highest.  The Muslim women of these countries have their hands full trying to dodge bullets or finding one square meal and clean drinking water.  They don=t make  world news, so it's up  to those of us who enjoy freedom and peace in a democratic country, to give them some thought and compassion.

I come back to the crux of our co-existence in Canada - peace and I beg your tolerance for one more moment. I don't want to leave you with heavy thoughts, so let me share with you an anecdote I just read.

Khrushev once said that politicians are the same all over - they promise to build bridges even where there is no river. While he may have said this in jest, I believe in all seriousness, that tonight we prove this to be true.

Tonight ladies and gentlemen, thanks to the efforts of Dan mcTeague, your distinguished guests and our esteemed audience, such a bridge has been built.  I hope we have erased some misconceptions and you have gained some knowledge about this amazing Canadian community you see before you who are:  

Steady as a bloc  

Progressively conservative in nature

Reformists at work

Democratic in their dealings

And above all

Liberals at heart.

I leave you in peace - thank you and wasalaam.