The Moscars: A Muslim Arts Festival
1280 Main Street West L8P 1H6 Hamilton, ON, Canada

Assalamu Alaikum MacMSA! What if we were to say that an incredible opportunity is on the way: sign up to deliver a speech on the quality of grass (okay, but why grass? we don't know) found on McMaster campus, while standing in front of University Hall and speaking into a megaphone? You might say, say no more. Literally! You may turn down the chance due to cold feet, stuttering, getting tongue-tied, or lacking enthusiasm on the subject. We may not be able to help fix your gras...s aversion, but what if you got a chance to sharpen your skills and confidence in public speaking? Well, MOSCARS has a workshop for that: The Art of Public Speaking, with guest speaker Hassan Wadi. Hassan Wadi is a speech competition award winning speaker with experience emceeing events with tens of thousands in attendance. He is the founder of Youth Speaker Academy and is the official spokesperson of Human Concern International. Hassan services a worldwide community through raising funds for people in need and providing coaching services and speeches to empower others. Join us virtually on Monday January 24th at 6pm EST for an interactive session providing expert advice on honing the valuable skill of speech. Join at: https://tinyurl.com/MoscarsAPS. Oh my Lord, expand for me my chest, and ease for me my task, and untie the knot from my tongue so that they may understand my speech. [Al-Qur’an, 20:25-28]

Do you ink you need a break? Or just one evening to brush your work aside? Maybe settle between your friends, fair and square, who's the best artist among you? It doesn’t matter what’s the excuse, because Moscars has something to introduce: Calligraphy: Strokes of Islam, a Thuluth/Square Kufic calligraphy paint night! All proceeds are going to MSA’s Orphan Sponsorship Program. This workshop will present an introduction to the basics of calligraphy and provide the opportunity ...to create your own artwork using Islamic elements of design. The event will be taking place Friday, November 26th from 6:30-8:00 pm. You can choose to attend in person (sign up is limited to 25 people) at T13 room 127 attend online through zoom (registration unlimited). In-person participants will be provided with painting supplies, free food & snacks. Both online and in-person participants will be given a word stencil of their choosing for the event. By making a minimum $5 donation to OSP’s LaunchGood campaign, you can register to attend a night of Islamic inspired, artistic fun with friends and community members while supporting a good cause. REGISTER NOW! tinyurl.com/StrokesOfIslam

Salaam Moscars Family! Subdirector Applications deadline has been extended. Apply now to join an AMAZING team.

Today's the day! We hope you are as excited for The Moscars as we are and we cannot wait to see you all this evening inshaAllah. Here is our itinerary for the day. If you registered for the event but have not received an email with all the details for joining the virtual festival, please email [email protected] and we'd be happy to help you out!

Aaaand the final speaker for Moscars 2021 - Khaled Siddiq! Khaled Siddiq is a British nasheed artist, YouTuber and influencer of Jamaican, English and Irish descent. He has performed in dozens of countries and combines an array of skills into his portfolio, making him one of the most diverse and talented Muslims of today. His global fanbase has gained him international acclaim for his nasheeds. He believes that providing others with ethical entertainment and dispelling stereotypes about his faith has always been his calling. Don’t miss out! Register now: tinyurl.com/TheMoscars21

Presenting our next PHENOMENAL speaker for this year's Moscars Festival - Siedd! Siedd is a Canadian-Muslim nasheed artist and producer based in Thunder Bay. His interest in sound and poetry began at the age of 14 and ever since, he has written and produced numerous beautiful nasheeds. In July 2016, he began his own YouTube channel which features his acapella arrangements created using layered vocalizations and hand claps. His faith-based music videos have garnered millions of views on YouTube. Who’s excited to hear him perform LIVE?! Register now: tinyurl.com/TheMoscars21

Next up on our speaker list is Boonaa Mohammed! A Canadian-Ethiopian spoken-word artist and poet, Boona Mohammed is the founder of Safina Media and has been dubbed the voice of a generation. He is the recipient of many prestigious, slam-poetry titles and awards, and completed a playwright residency at Theatre Passe Muraille. In 2015, he starred in the breakthrough film, Tug of War. Through his gift for storytelling, he has shared numerous tales that touch upon racism, Islamophobia, and stigmatization. Don’t miss his inspirational words at Moscars 2021! Register now: tinyurl.com/TheMoscars21

Assalamu alaykum everyone! Over the next few days, we’ll be revealing our incredible line-up of speakers for Moscars 2021! Kicking it off today with Amal Ahmed Albaz. Amal is a spoken word poet and speaker who uses her words as a weapon to ignite change from within. Her journey in poetry began at the age of 11 and continued ever since. Striving to make a true difference in the world, she has performed at many places, from RIS to TedX to Rab’a Square, hoping that her words are loud enough to be heard by all. Come out next Saturday to hear her powerful and passionate poetry! Register now: tinyurl.com/TheMoscars21

IT'S FINALLY HERE! The Moscars Arts Festival 2021 will be held on Saturday, March 20th from 5-10PM, inshaAllah. Mark your calendars for an incredible day with performances from your favourite nasheed artists and some powerful talks from spoken word poets. Come out to enjoy an inspirational and exciting evening with prizes, a virtual art gallery, and more! Spots are limited so sign-up now: tinyurl.com/TheMoscars21

Are you ready to win some amazing prizes? All you have to do is submit your artwork to The Moscars Festival. Photography, writing, speaking, visual arts - whatever it is, share your talent! Deadline to submit is March 10th. Submission Form: tinyurl.com/Moscars-2021 Competition Details: tinyurl.com/Moscars-Guidelines

Assalamu alaykum everyone, Art submissions are NOW OPEN for The Moscars: A Muslim Arts Festival 2021! The Moscars provides aspiring artists with a huge platform to showcase their creative talents on. Not to mention we've got some AMAZING prizes for each competition. For this year's virtual art exhibit we're accepting submissions from all MSA's across Ontario! So whether you attend Mac or not, we encourage you to get creative and submit your artwork for the 2021 festival! Submission guidelines: tinyurl.com/Moscars-Guidelines Submission form: tinyurl.com/Moscars-2021

Today's the day! We hope you are as excited for The Moscars as we are and we cannot wait to see you all this evening inshaAllah. Here is our itinerary for the day. If you registered for the event but have not received an email with all the details for joining the virtual festival, please email [email protected] and we'd be happy to help you out!

Aaaand the final speaker for Moscars 2021 - Khaled Siddiq! Khaled Siddiq is a British nasheed artist, YouTuber and influencer of Jamaican, English and Irish descent. He has performed in dozens of countries and combines an array of skills into his portfolio, making him one of the most diverse and talented Muslims of today. His global fanbase has gained him international acclaim for his nasheeds. He believes that providing others with ethical entertainment and dispelling stereotypes about his faith has always been his calling. Don’t miss out! Register now: tinyurl.com/TheMoscars21

Presenting our next PHENOMENAL speaker for this year's Moscars Festival - Siedd! Siedd is a Canadian-Muslim nasheed artist and producer based in Thunder Bay. His interest in sound and poetry began at the age of 14 and ever since, he has written and produced numerous beautiful nasheeds. In July 2016, he began his own YouTube channel which features his acapella arrangements created using layered vocalizations and hand claps. His faith-based music videos have garnered millions of views on YouTube. Who’s excited to hear him perform LIVE?! Register now: tinyurl.com/TheMoscars21

Next up on our speaker list is Boonaa Mohammed! A Canadian-Ethiopian spoken-word artist and poet, Boona Mohammed is the founder of Safina Media and has been dubbed the voice of a generation. He is the recipient of many prestigious, slam-poetry titles and awards, and completed a playwright residency at Theatre Passe Muraille. In 2015, he starred in the breakthrough film, Tug of War. Through his gift for storytelling, he has shared numerous tales that touch upon racism, Islamophobia, and stigmatization. Don’t miss his inspirational words at Moscars 2021! Register now: tinyurl.com/TheMoscars21

Assalamu alaykum everyone! Over the next few days, we’ll be revealing our incredible line-up of speakers for Moscars 2021! Kicking it off today with Amal Ahmed Albaz. Amal is a spoken word poet and speaker who uses her words as a weapon to ignite change from within. Her journey in poetry began at the age of 11 and continued ever since. Striving to make a true difference in the world, she has performed at many places, from RIS to TedX to Rab’a Square, hoping that her words are loud enough to be heard by all. Come out next Saturday to hear her powerful and passionate poetry! Register now: tinyurl.com/TheMoscars21

IT'S FINALLY HERE! The Moscars Arts Festival 2021 will be held on Saturday, March 20th from 5-10PM, inshaAllah. Mark your calendars for an incredible day with performances from your favourite nasheed artists and some powerful talks from spoken word poets. Come out to enjoy an inspirational and exciting evening with prizes, a virtual art gallery, and more! Spots are limited so sign-up now: tinyurl.com/TheMoscars21

Are you ready to win some amazing prizes? All you have to do is submit your artwork to The Moscars Festival. Photography, writing, speaking, visual arts - whatever it is, share your talent! Deadline to submit is March 10th. Submission Form: tinyurl.com/Moscars-2021 Competition Details: tinyurl.com/Moscars-Guidelines

Assalamu alaykum everyone, Art submissions are NOW OPEN for The Moscars: A Muslim Arts Festival 2021! The Moscars provides aspiring artists with a huge platform to showcase their creative talents on. Not to mention we've got some AMAZING prizes for each competition. For this year's virtual art exhibit we're accepting submissions from all MSA's across Ontario! So whether you attend Mac or not, we encourage you to get creative and submit your artwork for the 2021 festival! Submission guidelines: tinyurl.com/Moscars-Guidelines Submission form: tinyurl.com/Moscars-2021

We'll be ending off our cultural cooking series with an absolutely beautiful Mauritian caramel flan recipe by Br. Zayaan! This creamy dessert from Mauritius is made with a custard-like mixture, then baked to perfection in a water bath. Classic and elegant We hope you enjoyed the cooking series and learnt some delicious recipes originating from various parts of the world. A HUGE shoutout to our talented guest chefs for sharing their beautiful heritage with us all, and to Br. Tarek for helping us edit the video series!

Moscars presents an Islamic geometry workshop led by none other than the highly acclaimed London, UK based artist, Sr. Samira Mian Islamic Geometry! Join us on March 1st from 4-6PM EST (9-11PM GMT) to learn how to make intricate geometric designs. Islamic geometric designs are found in Muslim architecture all over the world such as in Al-Andalus and the Mughal Empire. Bring your drawing supplies and creativity to this fun and exciting workshop that is absolutely FREE! tinyurl.com/MoscarsIslamicGeometry

We are BACK with another episode of Cultural Cooking. This week's episode stars everyone's favourite DIY artist . . . Sr. Hira Irfan! Follow along as Sr. Hira shares the perfect biryani recipe with us, an intricate rice dish made with layers of curried meat and rice - one of the most popular dishes from South Asia! Recipe card below! Chicken Biryani (Memon style) A Pakistani meat & rice dish ... Ingredients: 1 whole chicken (~34lbs), cut into small pieces 4 cups sela basmati rice 4-5 medium sized onions, thinly sliced 2 tsp ginger/garlic paste 1 packet of Biryani mix 2 potatoes, peeled and cut into medium sized pieces (eighths) Salt to taste 4-6 dried plums (optional) Chilli powder (laal mirch) to taste 1/4 tsp turmeric (haldi) 1 tsp coriander powder (dhaniya) 6-8 small green chillis, stems removed (hari mirchis) 1/2-3/4 cup yogurt, stirred smooth 2-3 small tomatoes, thinly sliced 1 small lemon, thinly sliced Handful of coriander, chopped finely Handful of mint leaves 1/4 cup of fried onions Pinch of saffron Powdered food colouring (orange or yellow) 1 tsp screwpine essence (kewra, optional) Oil as needed Method: Thoroughly wash and soak your rice. Begin with a few tablespoons of oil in a large pot on medium high heat and sauté your onions until translucent and golden brown Add your ginger & garlic paste, biryani masala, all spices, plums, chicken, and salt to taste. Mix well to ensure all chicken is coated in spices and getting evenly browned. Add in your green chillies, potatoes, and yogurt and mix through again. Reduce heat to medium and cover with a lid. Let cook for 5-10 mins, until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are fork tender. Mix periodically. Meanwhile bring water to a boil in a large pot. Generously salt the water and add a few mint leaves. Boil rice until 80% cooked, or until rice is soft but still has a firm texture. Drain rice and set aside. Transfer your chicken mixture to your large pot and cover bottom in an even layer. Layer on your tomato slices, lemon slices, fried onions, and chopped coriander. Add rice on top. In a small bowl, mix crushed saffron, food colouring, screwpine essence (kewra) and some warm water. Mix until dissolved. Layer fried onions on top of rice, and pour saffron mixture over top. Add ~1/4 cup of oil drizzled on top of rice and cover with a tight fitting lid. If the lid of your pot is loose, add foil or a tea towel around the edges to ensure steam stays inside. Place sealed pot on stove on medium-high heat for 5 minutes, then lower to medium low heat and let cook for 10-15 mins. To serve, mix up masala/meat mixture from bottom with plain rice on top and serve with raita or kachumbar. Kachumbar (yogurt dip with veggies, usually served with biryani) Ingredients 1 small onion, diced 1 small cucumber, diced 1 small tomato, diced Small bunch of coriander, finely chopped Salt & pepper to taste 1 cup of plain yogurt Mix all ingredients together and serve with biryani.

The Moscars team is very excited to announce the launch of our very own cooking series! Welcome to our cultural cooking show, where guest chefs from the MacMSA community will be sharing recipes from around the world to highlight the diversity within our MSA! We hope that you'll enjoy the series and maybe even follow along and try out a couple of recipes yourself! Our first episode features the very talented. . . *drumrollll* Br. Haerain Yu! Enjoy as he shows you how to make the perfect Chinese dumplings. This delicious dish consists of flavourful meat and vegetables wrapped in thin pieces of dough. Let's get cooking! #FoodieFridays

Moscars is collaborating with McMaster's Orphan Sponsorship Program to bring an amazing Turkish paper marbling workshop to you! Traditionally known as Ebru art in Turkey, this ancient art form consists of creating colourful and elegant patterns by sprinkling colour pigments on a pan of water and transferring the designs onto paper to decorate books, imperial decrees, and official documents. On February 17th you will have the opportunity to learn all about the art of paper marbling with Water Marbling Toronto. For just $15 you will get paints, powder, treated paper, a stylus, and droppers along with free delivery to your home! Spots are limited so sign up today, and come experience the art of painting on water with us! All proceeds will go towards McMaster's Orphan Sponsorship Program. Sign-up: tinyurl.com/TurkishMarbling

Assalamu alaykum everyone! Are you an aspiring artist? Got a talent you want to share? Well, submissions for the Moscars 2021 Arts Festival are now OPEN! Whether it's poetry or painting, short film or graphic design - we've got a competition for you! Get inspired by the Moscars 2021 theme and show us your creativity through your art. Check out the art competitions for this year and submission guidelines below: ... https://drive.google.com//1Ci9ZP7L0i26UEUvRepJlBXY-S/view See more

Even though university looks different this year, you can still reconnect with your Muslim community by coming out to the MSA fair. If you didn’t get a chance to join last semester, it’s never too late to get involved in the MSA. Join us February 4th at 7:00 pm to learn how to become a part of the MSA family. You also could be the lucky winner of a surprise gift card (among other fun prizes)!

Salam everyone! Moscars has teamed up with Sisters Socials to host a Sisters Storytelling Night this Saturday! Come out to hear some scary jinn stories and hilarious anecdotes from your McMaster sisters. Be sure to bring some snacks and get comfy with a blanket at our virtual bonfire!

The first ever International Day of Islamic Art!

We’ll be ending off our IHM series with British-Pakistani artist, Naziyah Mahmood. Featured in the 30 Under 30 group of 2016, Mahmood is truly superwoman personified. With a background in aerospace engineering and astrophysics, she is also (get ready for this long list) a short story writer, poet, blogger, model, martial artist specialized in Korean sword arts, and a licensed swords and weapons collector. I know! Is there anything this girl doesn’t do? She has also worked as ...an analyst for the European Space Agency missions, contributed to the Particle Physics Experimental Project at CERN, and researches martial arts. Currently, she works as the STEM ambassador for City of Glasgow College in Scotland. Shattering stereotypes left, right, and center! Read about her and some of her beautiful pieces of writing on her website: https://naziyahmahmood.wordpress.com/about/

Our list would undoubtedly be left incomplete without the world-renowned nasheed artist, Maher Zain. Maher Zain is a Swedish nasheed artist, originally from Lebanon. Some of his popular albums include Thank you Allah and Forgive Me, produced by Awakening Records. He spreads the message of Islam through his tracks and was chosen as Muslim Star of the Year in 2011. Maher Zain’s nasheeds are not only in English and Arabic, but also a diverse number of other languages, including ...Turkish, Malay, Urdu, and Indonesian. He doesn’t just limit himself to his art though - his philanthropic activities include fundraising for typhoon victims in the Philippines, building wells in Africa, and holding tours to raise money for Syrian victims of war. He also participates in pro-Palestinian rallies, and in 2014, took part in the Great Wall of China Trek to bring clean water to the children of Gaza. An inspiration for us all! See more

Next up we have Boona Mohammed! A Canadian-Ethiopian spoken-word artist and poet, Boona Mohammed is the founder of Safina Media and has been dubbed the voice of a generation. He is the recipient of many prestigious, slam-poetry titles and awards, and completed a playwright residency at Theatre Passe Muraille. In 2015, he starred in the breakthrough film, Tug of War. Through his gift for storytelling, he has shared numerous tales that touch upon racism, Islamophobia, and stigmatization. At a recent TedTalk, he shared some powerful words: Racism is a disease, and it flows like the sea. Some of you is in denial trying to paddle up this creek. Why you looking down on me when we all came from tin? Arrogance is the sunnah that you learned from Iblis. We are so proud of this icon!

Remember that time when everyone went crazy because Gordon Ramsay followed a Muslim chef on TikTok? That’s right, this is him. More popularly known by his IG and TikTok handle @thegoldenbalance (https://tinyurl.com/thegoldenbalance), Ahmad Alzahabi is a chef, business-owner, and influencer of Syrian descent. A recent graduate of the University of Michigan, Ahmad recently started sharing his nutritional recipes and fitness journey online through humorous videos. He strives to inspire and educate others, while promoting healthy cooking for his viewers. With millions of fans across his social media accounts, he has now become a household name, famous for his slogans Now Bismillah and Final Product. Check out his website below! https://www.thegoldenbalance.com/