ISNA Canada is a non-profit Muslim religious organization in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It offers a variety of programs and services to the Canadian Muslim community at large, and is associated with the

Islamic Society of North America The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is a non-profit Muslim religious organization based in the United States and serving North America. It provides a number of programs and services to North America's Muslim communities and broader societ ...

, which is based in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The organization has three centres, located in

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, and

Yellowknife Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and the only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of t ...

Services and programs

ISNA Canada states that its goal is to help

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

put their faith into action by offering a variety of volunteer, educational and leadership opportunities. Some of these opportunities include: a monthly food bank that serves 600 families per month; programs that engage youth in community service, such as Walk the Talk; weekend

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

schools;

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

classes; and kids camps. Some of the other services that ISNA Canada provides to support Muslims include marriage services,

funeral services A funeral director, also known as an undertaker or mortician (American English), is a professional who has licenses in funeral arranging and embalming (or preparation of the deceased) involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks o ...

, Islamic

psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

and mental health counselling, halal certification, and Islamic bookstores.

COVID-19 pandemic

ISNA Canada responded to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

by developing four distinct programs and services: the ISNA Canada Foodbank, the frontline workers' meal program, relief kits, and drive-thru

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

meals. In mid-March, ISNA Canada initiated the creation of the Canadian Muslim Response Network with over 40 organization and distributed 1420 hygiene kits, 1527 food kits and 3810 fruits and vegetables to those most vulnerable during the pandemic, such as seniors, single mothers of young children, immuno-compromised individuals, and people with disabilities. On March 21, 2020 ISNA Canada collaborated with local restaurants to provide free meals to healthcare frontline workers. The program started with restaurants in the Halton and Peel regions but eventually reached

, Waterloo, and Windsor. After a month's time, the program was extended to provide meals to essential workers, including police officers, paramedics, and shelters. The program ran for two months and served over 8000 meals.

Controversies

Mishandling of charity funds

An audit of ISNA Canada in 2011 found that only a quarter of the funds donated to the organisation went to help the poor; charity donations were misdirected to private businesses. On September 21, 2013, the

Canada Revenue Agency The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA; ; ) is the revenue service of the Government of Canada, Canadian federal government, and most Provinces and territories of Canada, provincial and territorial governments. The CRA collects Taxation in Canada, taxes, ...

(CRA) revoked the charitable tax-exempt status of the ISNA Development Foundation, a charity that operated out of ISNA Canada's headquarters. ISNA Canada was not affected by the move.

Suspension for terrorism financing

On September 12, 2018, the CRA suspended ISNA Canada for one year and ordered the charity to pay a penalty of CA$550,000 after determining that "the society’s resources may have, directly or indirectly, been used to support the political efforts of

Jamaat-e-Islami Jamaat-e-Islami is an Islamist fundamentalist movement founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamist author and theorist Syed Abul Ala Maududi, who was inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood. It is considered one of the most influential Isla ...

and/or its armed wing

Hizbul Mujahideen Hizbul Mujahideen, also spelled Hizb-ul-Mujahidin (, ), is a Pakistan-based Islamist separatist militant organisation that has been engaged in the Kashmir insurgency since 1989. It aims to separate Kashmir from India and merge it with Pakist ...

." Hizbul Mujahideen, which emerged as a pro-

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

militant faction in the

Kashmir insurgency The insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, also known as the Kashmir insurgency, is an ongoing separatist militant insurgency against the Indian administration in Jammu and Kashmir, a territory constituting the southwestern portion of the larger ...

around 1989, is designated as a terrorist organization by

, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The United States–based

noted association with ISNA Canada but emphasized its complete separation of governance, accounting, and auditing.

References

External links

ISNA Canada Elementary School
{{Islam in Canada 1983 establishments in Ontario Islamic organizations based in Canada Islam in Toronto