Brantford Muslim association has honored local residents who made the community a better place to live, Brantford Expositor reported. 

The event, hosted by the Muslim Association of Brantford on Saturday, Feb 3, honored Justice James C. Kent, Mustapha Benhabib, Paula Thomlison, Colleen E. Miller, Walter Gretzky, and Imtiaz Kurd.

“Each year, we take this opportunity to say thank you to our leaders, our heroes,” Imam Shaykh Abu Noman Tarek said of the event.

“Each one of us can do something every day to make this community more welcoming, vibrant and prosperous.

“I hope this event will encourage and inspire our youth to serve others in meaningful ways.”

The association’s visionary leader award was presented to Miller who has volunteered on numerous local boards and committees.

“Each segment of this event is a way of giving back to our community,” said Naser Hamed, president of the Muslim association.

“This year we presented certificates of appreciation to three valuable community partners – Freedom House, Grand River Council on Aging and the community strategies department of the City of Brantford.”

Similar event, though for Muslim role models, was held last week in UK as the 8th British Muslim Awards announced the winners for its 2020 edition.

The event took place in the city of Manchester to recognize Muslim contributions to the British community.

Muslims in Canada today number more than 750,000.

Canada’s 2011 National Household Survey found that Islam is adhered to by 3.2% of the total population. This makes Islam the second-largest religion in the country after Christianity.