ISNA Canada

ISNA Canada is a non-profit organization in Canada that offers many programs and services and operates an Islamic elementary school, the ISNA Elementary School, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The school is one of the oldest Islamic schools in the Greater Toronto Area. ISNA has 3 centers in Canada, located in Mississauga, Toronto and Yellowknife.

ISNA Elementary School
ISNA Elementary School
Address
1525 Sherway Drive

Mississauga
,
Ontario

Canada
Coordinates43.6036°N 79.5687°W / 43.6036; -79.5687
Information
School typePrivate
Religious affiliation(s)Islamic
PrincipalVaseema Arrifuddin
GradesK-8
Websitewww.isnacanada.com/ElementarySchool/index.html

The ISNA Elementary School is an Islamic elementary school in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. ISNA Elementary School was founded in 1983, and moved to its current location in 1985; it is one of the oldest Islamic schools in the Greater Toronto Area. ISNA Elementary School offers all subjects required by the Ontario Ministry of Education: English, Math, Science, French (grades 4-8), Social Studies, Gym and Computer Studies. Additionally it also offers Arabic, Quran and Islamic Studies as part of the school's Islamic curriculum.

The school building's exterior underwent a facelift during the summer of 2005. The facelift added a cream-yellow insulation to the brick building and archways to the design, embodying Islamic architecture. ISNA Elementary School was also covered by the media as part of the faith-based school funding debate proposed by the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario if they won the 2007 general election.[1] ISNA Elementary School regularly faces other Islamic schools in the Greater Toronto Area in a yearly basketball tournament.

ISNA Services and Programs

ISNA Canada strives to help Muslims put their faith into action by offering a variety of volunteer, educational and leadership opportunities[2]. Some of these opportunities include: a monthly food bank that serves 600 families per month, programs like Walk the Talk that engage youth in community service, weekend Islamic and Arabic schools, Quran classes, kids camps and much more[3][4]. With ISNA Canada's vision for a community powered by youth, they are always looking for new ways to empower and energize young people to be catalysts for positive changes in the community.

Some of the other services that ISNA Canada provides to support Muslims include marriage services, funeral services, Islamically-integrated psychotherapy and mental health counselling, Halal certification and Islamic bookstore[5].

Controversy

An audit of ISNA Canada in 2011 found that only a quarter of the funds donated to the organisation went to help the poor. Charity donations were misdirected to private businesses.[6]

On September 21, 2013, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) revoked the tax-exempt registration of ISNA Development Foundation,[7] a defunct-charity that operated out of ISNA Canada's headquarters.[8] ISNA Canada was not affected by the move.[9]

On September 12, 2018, CRA suspended the organization for one year and ordered the charity to pay a penalty of $550,000. The CRA determined that "the society’s resources may have, directly or indirectly, been used the support the political efforts of Jamaat-e-Islami and/or its armed wing Hizbul Mujahideen." [10]

The U.S.-based Islamic Society of North America, a distinct organization, noted association with ISNA Canada but emphasized its complete separation of governance, accounting, and auditing.[11]

References
  1. TheStar.com - Ontario Election - Schoolgirls 'equal' yet segregated
  2. "Our Direction". ISNA Canada. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  3. "Foodbank". ISNA Canada. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  4. "Knowledge". ISNA Canada. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  5. "ISNA Canada". ISNA Canada. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  6. McLean, Jesse (January 20, 2011). "Muslim charity squandered money for poor". The Star. Toronto.
  7. Canada Revenue Agency (press release distributed by MarketWired) (September 20, 2013). "The Canada Revenue Agency Revokes the Registration of the ISNA Development Foundation as a Charity".
  8. "Star Investigation: Federal audit raises concern that Canadian charity funded terror".
  9. "ISNA Canada Release 27 September, 2013, Re: ISNA Development Foundation". ISNA Canada. September 27, 2013. Archived from the original on July 8, 2017.
  10. Stewart Bell (2018-10-01). "CRA suspends, fines major Islamic charity over concerns it may have 'provided resources' to armed militants". Global News. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  11. "ISNA Clarifies Its Position on ISNA Canada". Islamic Society of North America. Archived from the original on 2014-11-28. Retrieved 2014-11-17.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.