LOL, that’s what one of the speakers at the I.LEAD conference said about me when he began his speech. I was asked by the organizers to talk about youth engagement and empowerment. The whole theme of the conference was youth engagement and empowerment. And the weird thing was they contacted me a few weeks ago […]

You know what the hardest thing of all is? It’s to create a presentation outside your comfort zone. And especially to people you’re actually trying to influence. This Saturday I’ve been invited to Ottawa to speak at a Muslim youth conference. Honestly I can’t believe they’re still having them! I am a product of Muslim […]

Okay, so I’m back home, safe and sound, basking in the glow of an amazing adventure and that little refrain keeps running through my mind because it was the translation of a song one of the international storytellers sang at the end of her performance. Ana Sofia Paiva is a petite and delicate Portuguese actress turned storyteller […]

The last time I went to this conference was years ago when they asked me to storytell for the kids. It was so long ago that one of my daughters joined me at the venue and then got annoyed with the audience because they were bouncing around instead of listening. She was only about thirteen […]

That’s what one kid said to me yesterday. She was in the grade five class and they’d actually come into the library to return books, but when their teachers hadn’t opted in for the Roses in my Carpets presentation, I decided to do an impromptu presentation for as many grade fives as I could fit […]

Asthaghfirullah! I can’t believe Arab Muslims would have said that to my hosts, librarians who spent some time in Arabia. My hosts are amazing! They won’t even let me lug my presentation case up the stairs! She insists on carrying it for me. We were having a conversation this afternoon, and the inconsistency of Muslims […]

We went to see the Confuscious Temple. It was in a very touristy district, lots of foreigners and when I stepped off the bus I saw a Chinese woman who was wearing what could only be hijab! She was so cute! And I felt incredibly homesick. And despite all my qualms at being photographed by […]

During my trip, I took along a notebook, like I did during Hajj, and filled it with my thoughts. Here’s the first entry: I’m writing this from the Nanjing Hilton which must mean it’s Tuesday, I think. (Oct.9th) Shanghai has a population of about 23 million. In a city! The whole country of Canada is […]

I was going to write a blog post about how as a Muslim, I try my best to counter all the negative images in the media by trying to uphold an example of what Islam really teaches us to be. I was going to talk about how hard it’s been growing up. How at first I […]

The weight has been gained and regrets and recriminations are slowly making the rounds inside my skull. “If only you’d been less of a glutton! You could have kept the weight  you lost during Ramadan off!” They’re telling me. Having Ramadan in the middle of summer has left me feeling quite disoriented. Feels like I blinked […]