Community News 17-5

Mustafa Ahmed Receives Emerging Young Leaders Award

Photo supplied by Intercultural Dialogue Institute

TORONTO—Spoken word artist Mustafa Ahmed received the Emerging Young Leaders Award from the Intercultural Dialogue Institute last week at a ceremony in Toronto. The awards recognize youth for their leadership and community service.

Tracy McCharles, Ontario’s Minister of Children and Youth Services presented Mustafa Ahmed, 18, with his award.

“Coming from Regent Park, Mustafa has been a witness to the revitalization of his neighborhood,” said Minister McCharles. “He utilizes the powers of the arts to speak and demonstrate his understanding of the intricacies of communities touching on topics such as youth empowerment, mental health, Islam, immigration and youth violence.”

Writing from the young age of 10, Mustafa has utilized the tool of words to help express the different things he witnesses within society.

He has opened up for artists such as Jhene Aiko and Pharaohe Monch and has performed alongside Margaret Atwood and Samantha Nutt.

Mustafa is also the poet laureate of the 2015 Pan Am Games which are being held in Toronto. He is commissioned to write three poems and perform at the games related concerts.

Muslim group offers free specialty care in NJ

TRENTON,NJ–A group of Muslim physicians are offering specialty care to uninsured and under-insured patients from the Henry J.Austin Health Center in Trenton. The Medina Community Clinic, which started last November, now provides dermatology and gastroenterology care and now has ten specialists on board, the Times of Trenton reports. Last week the clinic also presented a check for $15,000 to the center to cover the costs of patient navigator.

The Medina Community Clinic grew out of an idea of entrepreneur Sajid Syed who wanted to give back to the society. There are about 15,000 homeless people and nearly 1.5 million uninsured just within NJ.He pitched the idea to his friends who were enthusiastic and the project was soon launched.

Sadaf Hussain, a pediatric and general dermatologist who is participating in the program,told the Times that she is excited to be a part of the unique partnership.

“As doctors we believe that quality care should be available to all patients regardless of their ability to pay or where they come from and as Muslim doctors we really believe at our core that this is a divine calling for us from our creator to help serve humanity as a whole,” Hussain said. “It is not in spite of our faith that we serve our community that we are a part of but because of our faith that we are strengthened to do that.”

The program is open to all irrespective of their faith. For more information about the Medina Community Clinic visit medinahealthcare.org.

Prof. Mohammad Hussain’s Million Dollar Cyber-Security Training Grant

Mohammad Hussain, a computer science professor at Cal Poly Pomona University, has received a grant for $1.8 million from the National Science Foundation to create a cyber-security training program for students, according to a press release.

His project, “An Interdisciplinary, Learning-by-Doing Approach to Identify and Prepare Cyber Warriors,” will focus on student recruitment, hands-on training, participation in the Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition and National Cyber League, undergraduate research, and professional development for faculty.

The grant will fund the project for five years and will make it possible to providescholarships to students participating in the program. Students will also engage in community service outside of the university by participating in outreach to K-12 students.

Temple University’s Dr.Abou-Gharbia receives international award

Dr.Abou-Gharbia,director of the Moulder Center for Drug Discovery Research at Temple University’s School of Pharmacy, received the Grand Hamdan International Award in Drug Discovery. The award was presented to him last month by Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, deputy ruler of Dubai and minister of finance, at the Dubai International Conference for Medical Sciences, in recognition of Abou-Gharbia’s outstanding contributions and pioneering work in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery.

“I am honored to receive this prestigious award on behalf of the many talented and motivated scientists that I have had the good fortunate to work with over the last few decades,” said Abou-Gharbia in a university press release. “Over the years, I have dedicated my career working in drug discovery to help alleviate patients’ suffering through the identifications of novel therapeutics for treating various diseases.”

Abou-Gharbia joined Temple as director of the Moulder Center in 2008 after spending 26 years as head of drug discovery at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, where he helped create eight marketed drugs. The holder of more than 350 drug discovery patents worldwide, he was also recently named the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Educator/Researcher of the Yearand was the recipient of the American Chemical Society’s 2014 Heroes of Chemistry award for his team’s discovery of the antidepressant Effexor.

Halal meals now available in Notre Dame

NOTRE DAME,IN–Halal meals are now available in Notre Dame’s South Dining Hall, thanks to a cooperative effort between Notre Dame dining staff, Muslim undergraduate students, and Notre Dame International.

“This is a diversity win,” said Rosemary Max, NDI’s director of international programs in a press release. “In this gesture of welcome to undergraduates of all faiths, Notre Dame has likewise extended hospitality to Muslim graduate students and faculty.”

Hind Ourahou, a sophomore from Morocco majoring in management entrepreneurship and industrial design, was one of three students who joined Max during summer 2014 to ask chef Donald Miller and dietitian Jocelyn Antonelli to consider providing halal meat. According to Max, everyone involved approached the situation with great openness and flexibility and emerged with a mutually agreeable solution.

Ourahou was pleasantly surprised when the chef soon sourced halal food and committed to offering it twice a day, every day. “I went into the meeting thinking of a small-scale solution,” Ourahou said, “but the chef had a bigger plan for us.” She acknowledged that Muslim students are a small minority on campus, but that “Now more of us are looking forward to going to the dining hall—not just because our food is available, but also because the meat came with a feeling of recognition.”

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