Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Abd-Al-Karim Mosque of Greater Toronto, Province of Ontario. This place of worship has become the rallying symbol of the Muslim community of Greater Toronto after much social and political unrest. Our new Imam the quietly legendary Ahmad Almas is dedicated to leading it into the twenty-first century. Membership has increased by forty percent since he took the helm. And we at the Mosque of Abd-Al-Karim are beyond thankful for that. At long last we have a leader we can all be proud of. Better times await us all. Our former leader had to leave office because of controversial comments he made about the Israeli community of Ontario.
We have complete faith in our new leadership. Imam Ahmad Almas is a progressive leader who has been photographed with the new Mayor of Toronto as well as the City's Chief of Police, both of whom he counts among his friends. He has done what many felt was impossible by uniting the Somalians, Libyans, Egyptians, Saudi Arabians and other Muslim communities of Greater Toronto under a single banner. The banner of Progressive Muslims of the Province of Ontario. The Muslim community of North America is growing by leaps and bounds. As devoted as we are to our Muslim faith and culture, we must not forget that we live in a continent whose leadership answers to the tenets of the Judeo-Christian faith which dominates the United States of America, the Confederation of Canada and the Republic of Mexico. Adaptation and occasional compromise are key to our continued prosperity and survival.
My name is Anisa Anwar Almas. The devoted wife and partner of the Honourable Ahmad Almas. Anyone looking at me would see a five-foot-ten, curvy young Arab woman with dark bronze skin, long black hair and pale brown eyes. I met my future husband on a blind date last year and fell in love. In spite of our age difference, I soon discovered that we were kindred souls. I am thirty two years old and my husband is forty seven. I work for the Department of Social Services of the City of Toronto as a Special Cases Counsellor and Community Outreach Agent. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from York University and a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Toronto. I love my job. Combining my knowledge of business to my love of helping a diverse bunch of people. I love helping people tap into their potential by finding employment, starting their own businesses and generally move on up after reaching rock bottom. Like they say, there is no way to go but up.
A lot of people have preconceived notions about us North American Muslims. They seem surprised that a woman who looks like me is the wife of an Imam. I dress like any regular woman. Stylishly and beautifully. Sometimes I wear the hijab, sometimes I don't. Always by my own choice. I have never worn a niqab in my life and there is no force on the planet Earth which can compel me to wear one. I was born and raised in the City of Toronto, Province of Ontario, to parents hailing from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. My husband Imam Ahmad Almas is a native of the City of Misrata, Libya, who has lived in Canada for the past thirty years. He holds a Master's degree in Public Administration from Queen's University and has worked for the City of Toronto's Urban Development Authority. He is also the owner of New Wave Bookstore, which has five locations in the Greater Toronto Area.
Folks, surprising as it may seem, I love my husband and I love my life. I don't feel oppressed or mistreated. My husband consults me before making any decisions regarding our life as a couple, or the ruling of the Mosque which means so much to the both of us. Ask anyone who has been married for any length of time. Marriage is a partnership. Anyone who disagrees won't stay married for long. Trust me on that one. Tonight, my husband and I are having a Special Night with our Inner Circle. The Special Nights are designed to improve the lives of couples within the Abd-Al-Karim Mosque of Greater Toronto. One cannot be a good Muslim and have trouble within one's household. We believe that husband and wife must be in harmony. We believe in sacrifice and balance, and we believe in devotion and passion as well. Yes, we are practicing Muslims who believe that sensual passions and sexual expression plays an important role in the life of married Muslim men and married Muslim women. That's why my husband and I instituted the special nights. They're designed to bring us all closer together.
I sit beside my husband Ahmad in the deserted Mosque on this quiet night. The members of the Inner Circle start to arrive. First comes my good friend Atifah Abrar and her husband Malik Rauf. Atifah is five feet nine inches tall and kind of curvy, with long black hair, pale brown eyes and dark bronze skin. She was born and raised in the City of Al Bayda in Libya. She's been living in the Confederation of Canada for most of her life. This lovely woman grew up in the City of Ottawa, Ontario. She holds a master's degree in Sociology from Carleton University and works with me at the Department of Social Services of the City of Toronto. Three years ago she married Malik Rauf. He's tall and slender, with medium brown skin, short curly black hair and dark eyes. Malik was born and raised in the City of Bandar Beyla in Somaliland. His parents moved to Ontario, Canada, shortly after his birth. He's Canadian through and true, just like me, and a devoted Muslim.
Malik is a graduate of the University of Ottawa's Telfer MBA program, he works for Masterson Enterprises Limited right here in downtown Toronto. This handsome young Black man is utterly devoted to his wife Libyan-born wife Atifah, though they've been having some problems. A lot of people frown upon seeing pale-skinned Muslim women from the Arab world marrying dark-skinned Muslim men from tropical Africa. We at the Adb-Al-Karim Mosque firmly oppose these racists. We believe that Allah created men and women of all races, from the bronze-skinned Arab, the yellow-skinned Chinese and the Black-skinned African to the whitest European. Malik and Atifah are both practicing Muslims and they love each other. Why shouldn't they be together?