Sohail and Raheel Raza, a husband-and-wife team who work to eradicate extremism and promote human rights, may be the first Muslim couple to be honoured by a Canadian Jewish organization.

On Dec. 5, the Razas, leaders of Muslims Facing Tomorrow, a non-profit “think-tank for all Muslims to be an integral part of Canada’s liberal democracy,” will be honoured by Hasbara Fellowships Canada at its annual gala dinner in Vaughan.

Robert Walker, director of Hasbara Fellowships Canada, an Aish Toronto project that provides Israel advocacy programming to university and college campuses, said he’s proud his organization is recognizing the Muslim Zionist couple.

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“Israel is not just a Jewish issue, and if pro-Israel advocates are to be successful, we must cultivate relationships with leaders of non-Jewish communities. This may be the first time a Muslim couple is recognized in such a way by a Jewish organization in Canada, but we hope this is the first of many honours for the Razas and other Muslims just like them.”

Raheel Raza, the author of Their Jihad… Not My Jihad, as well as a public speaker, journalist, advocate for gender equality and an activist for women’s rights, said it’s an honour to be recognized by an organization she and her husband deeply respect.

“We try to help wherever we can, speaking out against [the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement], and speaking about Israel advocacy. Both my husband and I are great lovers of Israel. I have been there seven times and my husband has been there five times… openly and clearly as Muslims, as practising and observing Muslims, supporting the right of Israel to exist,” she said.

She spoke about fellow honorees, John and Kerry Carmichael who are receiving the Flame of Israel award.

She recalled a speech John Carmichael, a former Conservative MP, gave at the Toronto screening of a documentary about women’s rights in the Middle East called Honour Diaries, in which she was featured.

She said Carmichael experienced a backlash in his Don Valley West riding for his involvement in the event.

“He was such a great support for us. I guess this idea of supporting each other beyond politics and religious and ethnic and cultural boundaries, working together on causes of human rights, women’s rights, peace in the world, is something that is very powerful.”

Commenting on the recent reports of anti-Semitic vandalism across the country, she said, “it seems like all the worms have come out of the box and this, unfortunately, is one of the side effects of something like what has just happened in the United States. We have to give it some time to settle down… I think it is important for us to show that we can work with each other on common causes. We can work with each other to remove hate and racism and bigotry.”

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Raza said that “a lot of what we see happening in the world today is because of a lack of dialogue and communication because of political correctness… we have muzzled honest dialogue. And honest dialogue means that we should be able to ask each other hard questions.”

She added: “Yes, we’ve progressed from what I used to call ‘fluff stuff’ in interfaith dialogue – talking about my Eid and your Chanukah – but that didn’t have enough depth… In our tradition as Muslims, we believe very strongly that the mandate of our prophet was that it is not your dogma, it’s not your religion, it’s how you deal with people that impacts and makes a difference. It’s your direct relationship with human beings. Our faith is between us and the Creator, but our relationships with people on the ground are so important.”

Canada’s former ambassador to Israel Vivian Bercovici will be among the other honorees at the gala, and Bret Stephens, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist at the Wall Street Journal will give a keynote address.

For more information, visit www.aishgaladinner.com.

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