freedom to those around her. With psycho logical finesse, this saga depicts a traditional and patriarchal world that is evolving into a new world through the actions and words of the people living it. Monia Mazigh’s flowing and elegant writing captures and holds our attention throughout the individual and col lective journeys she presents and the social and political transformations taking place in both Tunisia and Canada.” Mazigh (Ph.D., financial economics, McGill University) is a French-language instructor at the University of Ottawa. She is best known for her efforts to free her husband Maher Arar from a Syrian prison, to which the George W. Bush ad ministration had “rendered” him in 2002 and where he endured excruciating tor ture. In 2011, she endorsed the Canadian Boat to Gaza, part of the Freedom Flotil la 2 that sought to end Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 1.6 million Palestinian civilians. Dr. Aisha El-Amin took charge as the University of Illi nois Chicago’s (UIC) inaugural associate vice chancellor for equity and belonging (AVCEB) Over the past decade, El-Amin (Ph.D., policy studies of urban education with research focused on Chicago’s African American Muslim community) has been associate dean of student affairs and, more recently, associate provost at the College of Education, where she also co-chaired the Student Success Initiative on African Amer ican Student Success at UIC. As the AVCEB, El-Amin will consult with the UIC community to develop pol icy and practice interventions that ensure an inclusive and supportive environment for Black/African Descent students, faculty and staff. She will also work closely to de velop creative solutions for the UIC Black/ African Descent community’s continuous and emerging needs. Yousef Manor, Fuadaldin Nadi, Yassen B’hat, Talha Murad, Razza Syed and Ab dallah Ahson were awarded Eagle status, scouting’s highest rank and honor. They completed their Eagle projects and board of review (BOR) during 2020-21, despite the Covid pandemic and its many restrictions,
UToledo Celebrates October Muslim Heritage Month
In celebration and recognition of Muslim Heritage Month, which runs through October, the University of To ledo’s Office of Multicultural Student Success and the MSA organized several events. Its “Ask A Muslim” session, held on Oct. 11, let students share their stories, answer questions and address common misconceptions about Islam. On Oct. 22, MSA hosted “Social Justice in the Muslim Community” to discuss the relevance of social justice and activ ism to Islam and how to make an impact. On Oct. 25, religious leaders from vari ous faiths discussed the commonalities challenges and difficulties, said Saffet Abid Catovic, Scout Master of Troop #114. Catovic saluted Ahmed Abdelfattah from the Troop’s leadership, as well as Paul Endler and the other Eagle Advisors from Monmouth Council who advised the Scouts and officiated at their Eagle BOR. Adil Syed from the Troop Committee also attended. They join the ranks of their predecessors and now soar with Troop #114’s Eagles: Ibraheem Catovic, Zain Haq, Atif Sala hudeen, Ismael Cat ovic, Aman Haq, Omer Syed, Noor Rostoum, Ali Tahir, Omar Shaban, Omar Qari, Ali Shamshad, Yousuf AbdelFatah, Zeeshan Chugtai,
and differences between their beliefs and practices. Oct. 29, MSA hosted “Bond”Fire, with a roaring fire as the backdrop. This three-hour event included games, music, pizza and s’mores. “October is a time for us to celebrate Muslim heritage, leadership and our community,” said MSA president Aylia Naqvi, adding, “I am incredibly proud of our team for putting these events together this month and making it accessible to all of our students. After a year of connecting with students solely from home, our events for 2021 allowed our students to meet with one another in person and virtually.” ih Mustafa Maner Khalid Alnadi, Ammaar Ahmed, Baasit Kazi, Faez Rehman, Arafat Ayub, Fawaz Tahir and Saud Tahir as the Eagle Scouts of Troop #114. Eagle Scout, or Eagle, is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its introduction in 1911, more than 2 million young men have earned this rank — an estimated less than 6% of all Scouts. This life-long title gave rise to the phrase “Once an Eagle, always an Eagle.” ih CORRIGENDUM In our “In Memoriam: Dr. AbdulHa mid AbuSulayman” (Nov.-Dec. 2021) article, we misidentified Dr. Fathi Malkawi’s affiliation. He represents the International Institute of Islamic Thought in Jordan.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 15
