Home > ISNA HQ > About > Board of Directors > Khadija Haffajee
Khadija Haffajee, originally from South Africa, has
resided in Ottawa for more than three decades. She is an educator and
community activist in the Ottawa -Carleton region in general and the
Muslim community in particular. She has given lectures on Islam in many
schools, churches and universities locally, nationally and
internationally.
For more than 30 years Khadija has held various
positions in local and international Muslim Associations. In 1997 she
was elected to the decision -making body of the largest Muslim
organization in North America, the Islamic Society of North America(
ISNA )- the first female to hold this position. She was re-elected in
2001 and 2004 .
Internationally
In 1985,she was sent on a
lecture tour of Malawi and Zimbabwe by the Islamic Federation of
Student Organizations ( IFSO ) In 1987 ,during the Soviet War in
Afghanistan ,Khadija worked with refugees in Peshawar and Quetta
,Pakistan. In 1995 she attended the United Nations Conference on Women
held in Beijing, China as a member of an International Muslim Women's
NGO. She was invited and attended the World Conference on Religion and
Peace (WCRP ) held in Amaan ,Jordan as a Canadian Muslim women's
representative and in 2003 she went to Afghanistan as a member of a
team of women to work on a Canadian International Development Agency
(CIDA) funded project.
Locally
Khadija is a founding member of
Women for Peace and is the Muslim representative on the Co-ordinating
Committee for Pastoral Care in Secondary Schools since 2001. Khadija is
and has been a Board member of the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa
since 2000 and a member of the Multicultural Community Advisory
Committee of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO ) since
1996. She has contributed to the Ottawa Citizen column ,Ask The
Religion Experts ( 1999 - 2001 ) and chaired the Muslim -Christian
Dialogue of Ottawa ( 2001- 2002) during which time she was asked to
speak at the Ottawa Mayor's Leadership initiative post 9/11
Awards
In 2001 she received an award from
the Canadian Islamic Congress for Excellence in Community Service and
in 2004 she received an award from the Council of Islamic Relations
(Cair-Can) for Community Leadership. On March 21st ,2006 Khadija was
recognized by the Mayor of Ottawa for promoting interfaith dialogue and
understanding among various communities and in April 2006 she received
an award form the Ottawa Muslim Association for her contribution to
interfaith Dialogue.
Khadija Haffajee is a highly respected leader in
the Muslim community. She is a retired teacher who brings her skills in
education to developing an accurate understanding of Islam in our city.
She is frequently called upon to offer a clear description of Islam and
the Muslim way of living.