FAITH AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
By Imam Dr. Zijad Delic

In some parts of the world social responsibility is a way of life. In other parts, people just talk about it; while others do not even mention social responsibility.
Social responsibility should be the trademark of civil society. The essence of social responsibility is to widen the circle of one’s responsibilities and duties. The size of the circle determines how socially responsible one is.
The circle is very narrow when it includes only the self, family, people of a specific city, or a country. It …

BUILDING CHARACTER
By Father John Walsh

Success in life is grasped when we realize that the process to build a strong character is a life-long process. We must never tire or give up especially when we meet failure, even monumental failures. Failure is only the measure of how much harder we must work to become more human. There is more than trial and error needed, it is a profound commitment to not allow anything to stand in the way of our goal of being true to ourselves. That’s character: being true to …

THE OPPOSITE TO WELCOME IS VIOLENCE
By Father John Walsh

I have heard it said, over and over, that when an immigrant comes to Canada or to Quebec the newly arrived has to adapt and conform to who Canadians are or who Québecois are. There is no alternative, it is the host culture that defines how the immigrant is to be welcomed. In Quebec as a result of the Bouchard-Taylor Commission the term “reasonable accommodation” is applied in Quebec society to explain to immigrants how La Culture Quebcoise welcomes new immigrants and …

GETTING BACK TO BASICS
By Father John Walsh

In the study of language people are given the impression that when we get to the original language it will be a simple structure and everyone will understand how it developed and how we got to where we are today. However, the great discovery is that the original language is as complicated as the language we speak today. Getting back to the basics is not a sure fire guarantee that it will lead to simplicity. We can take religion for one example. Religious traditions …

QUEBEC PQ PARTY LOOSING ITS WAY…BECOMING REGRESSIVE
By Imam Zijad Delic and Saif Alnuweiri

The Quebec government is currently flirting with the idea of forbidding religious attire, a possibility has been decried as backwards by faith groups, constitutional lawyers and prominent intellectuals.
The passing of Bill 60 rather than furthering ‘freedom of religion and values’ would create its opposite, a ‘freedom from religion.’ In its wake a sterile and insipid society would be devoid of all sympathy, empathy and care, and thus, the loss of the glue of a flourishing society.
In the final …