Hard working and ambitious, Quadri (‘Abdul-Qaadir) Oshibotu is currently working on obtaining his Bachelor of Business Administration degree (BBA) at the world renowned Schulich School of Business located in Toronto, Ontario. He is learning the theory of business as well as many other subjects including politics, fiqh (jurisprudence) and Arabic so that he may apply the knowledge that he gains to assist others with their problems whether they be social problems or business problems; be a benefit to his community. Since high school he has been put in many leadership positions where he has received good reviews from those he has led and likewise from those he has worked with.

Along with pursuing his BBA degree he is currently working towards obtaining his black belt in Tae-Kwon Do, memorizing the Qur’an, improving his written and oratory skills, and gaining proficiency in speaking Yoruba, French and Arabic.

In the future Quadri hopes to be a business man, a classical Arabic grammar teacher, to help Muslims improve their relationship with the Qur’an, and a Tae-kwon Do instructor.

Besides being the current treasurer of the Muslim Students Association at York University and an active member of the Nigerian Canadian Muslims Association (NCMA), he is currently working on a beverage company that hopes to challenge the status quo of the beverage industry and working with Hygienna Inc. with the launch of their flagship product, the Hygienna Solo; a product that provides an alternative for those who aren’t satisfied with the level of cleaning provided by the exclusive use of toilet paper after using the toilet.

“The best of people are those that bring most benefit to the rest of mankind”
-Prophet Muhammad (May the peace and blessings of God be upon him)

Abdullah Shawky leads a rally in support of the Libyan Revolution in front of Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas.

Born in Los Angeles to Egyptian parents,  27-year-old Abdullah Shawky is the Events Director at the Muslim Legal Fund of America (www.mlfa.org) and an activist in North Texas.  As an active community member, his drive and volunteerism stem from his early days at non profit organizations and the local mosques.  His heart and soul has been to do what he can for those in need,  regardless of nationality, color, or religious affiliation.  The recent Arab Spring and Famine in Africa have only compelled him to want to do more for those incapable of helping themselves.  He continues to utilize his ability to bring people from all walks of life together to champion for a common goal and hopes one day to be able to finally put down his bullhorn when world peace is achieved.

This post was published on December 31, 2011 in recognition of TIME’s Person of the Year: “The Protestor”.

Telisa Roessaptono (playing guitar & singing) and Idil Burale (singing) are performing Redemption Song by Bob Marley for the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fundraising event at T Cafe, Toronto, Canada. Both Telisa and Idil graduated from University of Toronto. Telisa is now continuing her studies in Human Resources Management. Idil is pursuing a career in Public Policy. Both of them are hoping to empower visible minorities in their area of interest.

Lubna was born in the commercial capital of India. She has a great fighting spirit and is always read to face any challenges; character traits which she believes to have inherited from her father. She became more observant of Islam once she read the Quran which she recommends everyone to read. Reading the Quran brought a big change to her life as it motivated her to start praying regularly and also wearing the hijab (headscarf). She also realized that she should do something for Muslim women and with the support of her husband they have managed a small hijab business which originally belonged to sister Nisa. Today Alnisa Hijabs is a household name.

Feel free to check out Alinisa Hijabs Facebook page or contact them at alnisa@alnisahijabs.com.

Maimona khan is a qualified secondary school teacher. Although her specialism is history, she has dabbled and taught religion, mathematics, business studies, ICT and American SATs. She has just returned from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a journey which reinstated her passion for travelling and exploring her Islamic heritage. Whilst being away from home, she found numerous reflections afloating and so decided to start a blog detailing these at http://maimaipoppins.blogspot.com/2011/09/companionship.html

Raa’id Khan, also known by his stage name Silent-K, is a spoken word poet and activist from South Florida. Raa’id graduated from Florida Atlantic Univerisity with a Bachelors in Small Business Managment/Entreprenurship and Marketing. He has been writing poetry for the past ten years and performing for the last five. He has published a collection of his poetry titled Inside My Mind, The Intriguing Ethos of the Muslim Youth. You can also find some of his new and current work on his blog and his performances and interviews on his YouTube channel.

You can follow Raa’id on twitter @raaidkhan or on Facebook.

Photo by SUPhotography

Nadia Janjua is an artist and architect based in Western Maryland, USA, working under the business name NJARTitecture (Nadia Janjua Art + Architecture). Born to Kashmiri-Pakistani parents in the forested mountains of Western Maryland, Nadia has always been strongly influenced by the solitude, beauty and wisdom of her natural surroundings — there’s nothing that makes her smile more than the discoveries of nature (and she smiles a lot! ).

According to a home video from 1983, she apparently started drawing before she could read or write at the age of four, and she began painting when she was sixteen. Over the past fifteen years, she has experimented with various media, currently focusing on exploring how to allow beauty to emerge from the every day object. Her paintings are inspired by the challenge of capturing potential, nuance, nostalgia and beauty in the reflection of God’s creation. Through both her paintings and her architecture, she explores narratives of her past, present, and future in the hopes of not only processing her own life journey, but also striking the viewer to reflect more deeply on their own personal narratives. Her architectural design aims to enhance the multi-sensory experience of space, encouraging the inhabitant to go beyond just the visual sense and become an active participant in creating the experience with all of their abilities.

Nadia has been involved in various architectural relief efforts after the occurrence of natural or man-made disasters, and is committed to selling her art and art-related products to raise funds for relief efforts. She is also passionate about women’s issues, mainly domestic violence and sexual abuse prevention and advocacy, and uses her creativity in every way she can to encourage healing, spiritual awareness and self-empowerment.

You can view Nadia’s body of work on her main site NJARTitecture, and her art for sale at SHOPNJARTitecture; this summer, she just started a unique, new line of jewelry based on her paintings, the “Dangling Canvas Line.” She is also passionate about writing, and you can check out some of her reflections in written word on her site called “Hajj Mabrour, Insha’Allah,” which chronicles her reflection post-Hajj (pilgrimage). Nadia can be contacted at nadiaj@njartitecture.com.

Aalia first started her Youtube channel just over a year ago to share some tips on hijab styling. However the response she received was amazing, and she started to take request from her subscribers. Her videos have expanded to include beauty tips and modest fashion. She later set up an online store, Princess Rockz selling hijabs and accessories and also has a blog discussing the latest trends.

Aalia’s other passions in life are travelling and discovering new places.

Join her on facebook- www.facebook.com/princessrockzuk

Hailing from New Jersey, meet Barry Danielian (http://www.barrydanielian.com/), a renowned trumpeter and instructor in Filipino & Malaysian combat arts. Barry has worked with diverse artists such as Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, KRS One, Billy Joel and Bono to name a few.

Since an early age, Barry has been a spiritual seeker. His Italian and Armenian Christian roots laid a strong foundation for morality and religion. With an interest in martial arts since he was a teenager, he began to explore Asian religions such as Buddhism and Confucianism. Some years later, while attending Berklee College of Music, He met a drummer Nasir and his family who had a profound  impact on his spirit.  A few years later he became awed by the works of Rumi, ibn Arabi and al-Ghazali in a religion class.  Afterwards, Barry once again ran into Muslims, this time from Senegal. He recalls that they had a special warmth and peace about them that could be felt by anyone in their presence. Whatever it was that they had, he wanted it too. Shortly thereafter, Barry accepted Islam.

Barry has encountered many difficulties since becoming Muslim. One of the main difficulties had to deal with many Muslims who are against the usage of musical instruments. When we asked him about this, Barry prefaced his thoughts with a very intriguing question. How is it that many Muslims partake in or easily allow haraam (forbidden) actions such as riba (usury/interest) yet exert so much passion and energy on the topic of music where this is differences of opinion? Barry believes music has a place within the Muslim community for the following reasons:

1) Providing an alternative to negative “pop culture”, especially for the youth. Not only should this be provided, but Muslims should also be telling their story, but currently and historically, through music.

2) Art on a basic level has an entertainment component to it. While this isn’t a foundational aspect, it is a part of it. People need to relax, laugh and have some joy.

3) Most importantly, music can invoke a longing for the Divine. Music can be used to speak about social injustices and hopefully inspire people to action. The music of the 60′s and 70′s had a huge role to play in the civil rights movement and anti-war movement.

Message from the blogger who runs this:

Regardless of our own opinions towards music, we can’t deny that we are all within the community of the Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of God be with him). We must ask critical questions and more importantly provide answers for our context living in the West. For far too long have Muslims and non-Muslims been pushed away which is often a far greater harm than listening to music. Fortunately this conversation has begun, as presented wonderfully in DeenTight by Mustafa Davis. Barry is quoted to have said: “The painful thing for me is I really don’t want to be around certain kinds of Muslims too much because it just creates [problems]. I don’t want to go in there and be fighting with people and scrapping. You know I play music, I’m not an axe murderer.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFrTbTBOkTs