Re-Ignite Your Purpose: Conversations With Munira, Part 4 – The Wheel of Life: What Will You Focus On? November 26, 2020 – Posted in: Inspiration

When was the last time you thought about your life – your whole life? What areas would you like to focus on more? Are you doing the things that matter the most to you? Join this session to complete your personal wheel of life and think about how you create a life of meaning for you. Join Munira Premji (author of Choosing Hope) and The Ismaili Canada for the fourth session in a six-part series…

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Re-Ignite Your Purpose: Conversations with Munira, Part 3 – Change and Resilience November 19, 2020 – Posted in: Inspiration

Have you encountered a situation or event where it has been difficult for you to cope? Resilience is the ability to manage challenges and setbacks when things don’t go as planned. This week, we will discuss how we can draw on different skills to build resilience. Join Munira Premji (author of Choosing Hope) and The Ismaili Canada for the third session in a six-part series on maximizing your potential. Watch the video below, and then…

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Four Days Before November 17, 2020 – Posted in: Guest Post, Poetry

I don’t need roses or chocolates. What would I do with buds when they fade, the cracked frieze of a once living leaf. As for chocolates I suffer the bane of middle age, a slight protuberance that needs no additional support. So I will go now for my morning walk but I have something to share before I do, news of a poetry channel on YouTube that grows and grows in viewers. I am close…

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Re-Ignite Your Purpose: Conversations with Munira, Part 2 – Perception: How You See the World November 12, 2020 – Posted in: Inspiration

We see the world differently from one another. What impacts how you see the world? How do you decide what you believe to be true? Our perceptions are based on our experiences, our culture, our community. This week, we will examine the role that perception plays in how we view the world. Join Munira Premji (author of Choosing Hope) and The Ismaili Canada for the second session in a six-part series on maximizing your potential.…

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Re-Ignite Your Purpose: Conversations with Munira, Part 1 – Self Awareness: Re-connecting With Your Values November 5, 2020 – Posted in: Inspiration

What drives you to live a life that is satisfying and meaningful? Do others see you the way you see yourself? This session focuses on the process of self-discovery and bringing your best self forward. Join Munira Premji (author of Choosing Hope) and The Ismaili Canada for the first session in a six-part series on maximizing your potential. Watch the video below, and then visit The Ismaili Canada for resources and other information, here. Other…

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The Publisher’s Speech on Receiving Ivy Award November 4, 2020 – Posted in: From the Publisher

The following speech was read by Mawenzi House publisher Nurjehan Aziz upon being presented with the Ivy Award at the 2020 Toronto International Festival of Authors. Thank you, The Toronto International Festival of Authors, the International Visitors Programme Committee, and the Ivy Award jury for honouring me with the Ivy Award this year. To say that I was blown away when I was informed of the award would be an understatement. Over the days since…

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Reflections on Keepers of the Faith by Sumaiya Hamdani May 14, 2020 – Posted in: Guest Post, Reviews

Sumaiya Hamdani, an Associate Professor of History at George Mason University, comes from a long line of Islamic scholars and academics from the Hamdani family. From their origins in Yemen they have over the generations made important contributions to Ismaili thought and literature. Sumaiya’s father, the late Abbas Hamdani, was a scholar of Ismaili history and in particular of a volume of the philosophical work the Rasa’il-e-Ikhwan al-Safa(Epistles of Brethren of Purity). The Hamdani family had…

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What We’re Reading May 8, 2020 – Posted in: Book Recs, From the Publisher

There’s no doubt that this pandemic has either broken your reading stride, or encouraged you to read more than ever before. Here’s what us here at Mawenzi House have been reading lately. See anything you’d want to read? Nurjehan Aziz, Publisher The lockdown due to Covid-19 has afforded me a chance to catch up on reading books that have long sat on my bookshelf, a collection that I would look at everyday and shake my…

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Keepers of the Faith by Shaukat Ajmeri April 11, 2020 – Posted in: Readings & Excerpts

Keepers of the Faith is set within a small Muslim sect of India, ruled by an avaricious priesthood that demands absolute submission while enforcing archaic social customs. When a section of the community rebels, it is summarily excommunicated, shunned by friends and family and denied religious rites. The peaceful community is split into two. The novel follows the fates of two blissful young lovers, Akbar and Rukhsana, in the historic city of Udaipur. When the communal…

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Lien Chao’s Salt in My Life Reading April 7, 2020 – Posted in: Readings & Excerpts

Lien Chao’s latest collection contains seven chapters of bilingual poetry created in the past decade, covering a wide terrain of subjects, art forms, and poetic styles, including a reflective travelogue, lyrics inspired by situations, concise vocal lyrics for symphony orchestra, and finally, a multimedia-poetic stage production. By challenging the genre of poetry and its terrain, this new collection continues to build a cultural bridge across the boundaries between two totally different languages. In the audio readings…