University of Toronto gets its first full-time Muslim chaplain.

University of Toronto gets its first full-time Muslim chaplain.(TS).He’s a 28-year-old almost lawyer, with a passion for photography and travelling. Not exactly the profile that comes to mind when you think of a Muslim chaplain. But Amjad Tarsin, recently hired to be the country’s first full-time Muslim chaplain at the University of Toronto is meant to be someone students can relate to. “When I told my parents I was quitting law school to pursue chaplaincy, it was a really tense time,” said Tarsin, who was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Mich. “I had to sit down with them, and they said: ‘What are you doing? You are ruining your life,’” he says, laughing. “But to my parents’ credit, they were unexpectedly understanding.” Tarsin’s passion has landed him on the campus of Canada’s biggest university, with an estimated 5,000 Muslim students. He officially starts the job in October, with the goal of supporting the spiritual needs of Muslim students, faculty and staff. The university has long had Christian and Jewish chaplains funded by their respective communities. Until now, the Muslim chaplaincy has been filled by volunteer imams from the city. But the local Muslim community stepped in earlier this year to create a full-time paid position and raised more than $70,000, said Ruqayyah Ahdab, chair of the board for the chaplaincy program.
“Muslim youth want someone who has been there and can understand what it is like to be in their shoes,” said Tarsin. “It is important to understand the people that you are serving.” As chaplain, Tarsin plans to set up religious study circles, will lead Friday prayers, encourage interfaith work with other campus groups, and hold office hours at Emmanuel College to provide counseling and guidance to students on campus. “There is no subject that is taboo,” said Ahdab. “We want people to feel comfortable talking about things, and asking about things they might normally not feel comfortable talking about.” Ahdab says there have been many instances in the past where a campus chaplain would have been ideal. Muslim students who were dealing with parental conflicts, mental health issues and even basic questions about their faith weren’t always able to get the spiritual guidance they sought on campus. That help will extend to people from all walks of life, including Muslims from various sects and diverse cultural backgrounds. “The goal is to serve all Muslims, and beyond. This is not a call to a particular way. This is to serve as many people as possible and inspire them in whatever makes them a better person.” Tarsin’s path to chaplaincy started at the University of Michigan, where he pursued an undergraduate degree in Islamic studies and English literature. Halfway through his law degree at the University of Michigan, he quit and — to his parents’ dismay — decided to pursue chaplaincy studies, at the inter-religious Hartford Seminary in Connecticut. He worked for a short time at Fairfield University, a Jesuit campus in Connecticut. Tarsin was selected for an initial year-long contract from 20 candidates, both male and female, whose background ranged from community leader to imam to prison chaplain. For the first semester, the program will focus primarily on the downtown St. George Campus, expanding to the sister campuses in Mississauga and Scarborough over time. Meanwhile, the chaplain’s door will always be open to anyone who just needs to talk. “Because there is such new territory,” Ahdab says, “there is so much room for growth and room to shape it into something that works for this group of people, these students, and benefits this campus overall.” Hmmmm.....I wonder why they left out the VISITS to Lybia ?Read the full story here.


From  Amjad Tarsin: "My father gave up his entire world for Libya. In the years fighting against the monstrous regime he lost his father, his mother, his two brothers, and even his land. I would think to myself, “Why does he still care about Libya? Nothing’s even there for him.” I never understood why he fought so hard. Now I understand. I remember the look on my mother’s face when I went to Libya for the first time. She said to me, “Take my heart with you.” She would pray night and day to return to her country and see her elderly parents again. She would write articles against Gaddafi and poetry about her love for Libya. She would post her writings, as many others of those in opposition to Gaddafi would, on a Libyan blog. I would think to myself, “What good is this ever going to do?” In a way, I felt sorry for her. That was then. Now, I am inspired by her undying hope. Her resolve to never give up. Her fight to the very end. She would fight for her people with whatever she had, even if it meant that she would never feel the sweet ocean breeze of Tripoli kiss her face again. Now I understand. So many times I did not understand that struggle of my parents. I did not understand their obsession with Libya’s politics. I did not respect their sacrifices. But now I understand. Now I understand that they would give every drop of blood in their bodies for the freedom and dignity of the Libyan people. My parents make my heart swell. In them, I see the dignity of my ancestors. In them, I see the courage of the youth supporting this new uprising. In them, I see the warrior saints. They are my heroes, and I am honored to be their son.Read the full story here.


Amjad Tarsin writes also at 'capturing light': You can read a post of him on the Hijab here, he starts with the following quote from the Koran:

“There are men among the believers who honored their pledge to God: some of them have fulfilled it by death, and some are still waiting. They have not changed in the least.” (Qur’an 33:23).

Also at 'capturing light': Muslim youth need accessible Islamic leadership. They need someone to empower their Muslim identity, someone to turn to for answers, someone to aid their spiritual development. This is why we are starting Canada’s first full-time Muslim Chaplaincy organization.