Jaffari Centre Funds Scholarships for Muslim Focus at Emmanuel
Emmanuel College Principal HyeRan Kim-Cragg and Louise Yearwood, executive director of Alumni Affairs & Advancement, watch as Rizwan Khalfan, president of the Board of Directors of the Islamic Shia Ithna-Asheri Jamaat of Toronto, and treasurer Amin Kermali, check an app developed by the ISIJ to advise Muslims when the sun has set and they can break the Ramadan fast.
By Leslie Shepherd
The Islamic Shia Ithna-Asheri Jamaat of Toronto is giving Emmanuel College $100,000 to create scholarships for students in the school’s Muslim focus.
The Jaffari Community Centre Scholarships for outstanding students with financial need will be worth $20,000 a year, or $5,000 for each of four students working toward a Master of Psychospiritual Studies (MPS) or Master of Theological Studies (MTS) degree. They will be awarded annually for the next five years.
“Thanks to their generous support, both of our programs (MPS and MTS) will continue to grow and our students will make a difference in the world,” Emmanuel College Principal Dr. HyeRan Kim-Cragg said at an iftar dinner on March 26 breaking the Ramadan fast. “In our scarcity-driven world, it is an amazing gift to receive such blessings from the Jaffari Community Centre.”
Rizwan Khalfan Vic 9T5, president of the ISIJ Board of Directors, reflected on the “surreal” world in which we live, where we have made enormous economic progress since World War II, yet inequities have never been wider and resources are concentrated in the hands of a few.
In these times, when we can Facetime anywhere in the world on our mobile devices, yet people feel more isolated than ever, we are all looking for hope, said Khalfan, a member of Victoria University’s Defy Gravity campaign cabinet.
Emmanuel College, he said, is a place where people can come together and “not just recognize differences but also celebrate our differences... celebrate the moments we have together, with blessings, then walk away with hope.”
The first four students to receive the scholarships are Madeeha Shabhaz, Abeer Anees and Samatar Ali of the MPS program, and Ahmed Mohamed of the MTS program. All expressed their gratitude for the awards. Mohamed, who was unable to attend the announcement, sent a message saying, “this support couldn’t have come at a better time, as my wife and I welcomed our fourth child, a beautiful daughter, four weeks ago. This scholarship is a tremendous help, and I am sincerely thankful for the Centre’s commitment to supporting students at Emmanuel College.”
Madeeha Shabhaz, a student in the Master of Psychospiritual Studies program, received one of the first Jaffari Community Centre Scholarships.
Shabhaz told the dinner guests that she immigrated to Canada alone after being born and raised in Pakistan, where she earned a BA and MA in business administration and worked in digital marketing in Dubai. She felt the corporate world was not aligned with what she was supposed to do in life. She said she was excited to be studying at Emmanuel where she could learn about other faiths. “Growing up, you get to just learn about your own faith,” she said. “This school really means a lot to me.”