CAIR-CAN Dinner on Saturday

CAIR-CAN'S THIRD ANNUAL TORONTO FUNDRAISING DINNER:
"Investing in a Better Tomorrow - Celebrating Five Years of Service"

DATE: Saturday, April 30, 2005
WHEN: Registration at 5:30 p.m., dinner begins at 6 p.m.
WHERE: Toronto Congress Centre, 650 Dixon Rd.
See our flyer: http://www.caircan.ca/downloads/TD05P.pdf

Tickets: $40 in advance, $60 at the door.
(To get your tickets please call 416-732-2965 or email toronto@caircan.ca.
Limited childcare available with advance registration.)

SPEAKERS:

SENATOR MOBINA JAFFER
Born in Uganda, Mobina Jaffer was educated in both England and Canada,
earning her bachelor of laws degree (LL.B.) from London University in
England and then completing the Executive Development Program at Simon
Fraser University in B.C. She is the first East Indian woman lawyer in
British Columbia and served as the Vice-President of the Liberal Party of
Canada. She was elected to Parliament in both 1993 and 1997, and in 2001 she
became the first Muslim, East-Indian and African person to be appointed to
Canada’s Senate where she continues to bring issues of human rights to the
attention of her colleagues in the Parliament of Canada. Senator Jaffer is
Chair of the Canadian Committee of Women Peace & Security and she has held
roundtables on racial profiling, finding peaceful solutions to middle-east
warring, and the plight of Afghani and Iraqi women. She is also involved in
the International community under her purview as Canada’s Special Envoy to
the Peace Process in Sudan.

LLOYD AXWORTHY, FORMER MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
As Canada’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lloyd Axworthy held one of
the most important jobs in the Cabinet and has been instrumental in
expanding the role of human rights in international affairs. Well known for
his innovative ideas on foreign policy, Mr. Axworthy promoted a "human
security" agenda that focused on humanitarian crises around the world. He
worked to achieve cooperation between governmental agencies and
non-governmental organizations, called for an international criminal court,
brokered a ban on landmines and drew international attention to the plight
of war-affected children. He left the Canadian cabinet to accept a position
with the University of British Columbia's Liu Centre for the Study of Global
Issues, and was recently appointed President of the University of Winnipeg.
In his current position as Director and CEO of the Liu Centre, Mr. Axworthy
promises to enliven our community with his insights on human rights, human
security, Canadian values in a global society, social and economic
development and worldwide societal and governmental challenges.

MAHER ARAR, HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATE
Maher Arar, a telecommunications engineer who immigrated to Canada when he
was a teenager, first came into the media spotlight in September 2002 when
he was detained in the U.S. during a stopover flight after Canada shared
faulty intelligence on him. What followed was a harrowing ordeal of
“extraordinary rendition,” the process under which Arar was secretly
deported to Syria for torture and imprisoned for a year. He was freed only
after his wife, Monia Mazigh, lead a public campaign to secure his release,
and Arar has now also bravely taken up the fight for justice to expose the
truth about whether or not Canada allows its citizens to be tortured in
foreign countries. He has succeeded in pressuring the federal government to
call a public commission of inquiry into his case, which has revealed many
shocking things about Canada’s national security agencies and the Foreign
Affairs Department. Arar was also named Time Canada’s 2004 Newsmaker of the
Year and was hailed by the magazine as a Canadian human rights proponent.

AZHAR USMAN, COMEDIAN
Azhar Usman is one of the world's few American Muslim standup comedians.
Writing and performing comedy for nearly five years, he has developed a
unique act based on transethnic and intercultural issues, keen and witty
insights, and general observational humor. In 2004, he co-founded "Allah
Made Me Funny-The Official Muslim Comedy Tour" with fellow Muslim comedian
Preacher Moss, a 21-year veteran of the comedy industry and a former writer
for George Lopez, Darrell Hammond, and Damon Wayans. Beyond comedy, Azhar is
also an experienced and much-demanded lecturer, presenting around the
country on a variety of subjects in which he draws on his insights as a
successful entrepreneur, lawyer, and community activist. Azhar also serves
as a co-founding Board Member of The Nawawi Foundation, an educational
non-profit foundation created to foster research and development of an
American Muslim intelligentsia to support American Muslim social and
cultural creativity. He also serves on the Strategic Advisory Board of The
Starlatch Press, a publisher and purveyor of translated classical and
traditional Muslim texts.

DR. SHEEMA KHAN, GLOBE AND MAIL COLUMNIST AND CHAIR OF CAIR-CAN'S ADVISORY
BOARD
Sheema Khan completed her undergraduate studies at McGill University prior
to obtaining her Ph.D in Chemical Physics from Harvard University. Residing
in Ottawa with her husband and three children, Sheema works as a patent
agent and is an inventor of patents with pharmaceutical technology. She is
also a longtime activist and speaker, has been the Chair of CAIR-CAN since
its inception and is a regular columnist for the Globe and Mail.

RIAD SALOOJEE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CAIR-CAN
Riad Saloojee, a lawyer by profession, was called to the Ontario bar in
2001. As the Executive Director of CAIR-CAN, he writes regular opinion
pieces for Canadian daily newspapers and provides media commentary on issues
of importance to Canadian Muslims. He also conducts workshops on legal
literacy and media relations, and has testified before Parliamentary and
Senate committees on such issues as the Canadian media and anti-terrorism
law.

[Riad Saloojee is one of my fave speakers! Mash'Allah he is really captivating and knowledgeable.]

Anyone going?
And if anyone is interested in helping out with the children's program, lemme know :)They really are in need of volunteers.

See ya there, insh'Allah!