Olive Tree Foundation Awards grant to Black Muslim Initiative for the project, “Black Muslims: A Study into Our Lived Experiences”

The Olive Tree Foundation has announced that a grant has been awarded to Urban Alliance on Race Relations and Black Muslim Initiative for the project, “Black Muslims: A study into our lived experiences.”

The project will obtain critical survey data from members of the Black Muslim community with respect to their experiences and encounters within Muslim institutions as well as obtain information concerning the socio-economic status of Black Muslims in the GTHA in order to prepare to address the most critical issues that impact their quality of socio-economic and spiritual life.

“The Black Muslim Initiative is grateful for this grant from the Olive Tree Foundation,” says Dr. Siham Rayale of Black Muslim Initiative. “We anticipate that this report and the findings it will offer us, will be critical to understanding the experiences of Black Muslims within traditional non-Black Muslim spaces and will provide important insight that can be utilized by various individuals and groups already providing services and advocating on behalf of the Black Muslim community.”

“We are excited to partner with BMI on this critical work” says Naeem Siddiqi, Vice-Chair of the Olive Tree Foundation, in announcing the grant. “This research will not only help us become better informed on the experiences of Black Muslims, I hope it will also guide our institutions and individuals to do better.”

The Olive Tree Foundation is a philanthropic foundation that promotes community development through the collection of endowed funds and charitable contributions to fund services for the long-term benefit of the community.

The Black Muslim Initiative is a grass-roots advocacy and social support organisation dedicated to understanding and addressing issues pertaining to both anti-Black racism/prejudice and Islamophobia.

The Urban Alliance on Race Relations is a non-profit charitable organization that works primarily and proactively with the community, public and private sectors to provide educational programs and research, which are critical in addressing racism in society.