Student Exchange Programme 2012 - Islamic Institute of Toronto (IIT) & International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) 1. AMIR SYAFIQ NOORDIN 2. NUSAIBAH HAMIZAN 3. IZZAH ZAHIN ALIMAN 4. NURFARAHIN ZULKIFLI 5. AMIR QAYYUM CHE NORDDIN 6. QURRATU AINI ZAINI 7. RAAED OMAR MOHAMMAD SAMAE 8. NOR KATRINA ANIS BINTI AHMAD GHANI 9. MUHAMMAD FARIS BIN ZAIDI

1. Raed omar mohamad samae
“ A Moment to Remember”
It was a very beneficial experience for me. Having a great time in Canada for more than one
week really open up my mind about this world. Living with a Canadian family, discussing with
Canadian scholars, enjoying the views and having different types of Canadian meals teach me
how beautiful Allah has created this world.
As a musafir, I’ve been treated like family by the Muslim community in Toronto. They provide
me foods, shelter and transportation even they do not have to do so. The discussions with the
scholars taught me about the challenges of living as minority Muslims in a western country.
Living in the western country requires them to really careful when growing up their children.
My foster mother shared with me how she manages to take care in growing up her children so
that they have a good basic understanding about Islam. Her daughter is the only student in her
school that wear hijab and she is so proud of it. The best part is that all my foster sister’s
classmates respect her and love to be friend with her. Another two sons are very good in
reciting Quran. She mentioned that, the children need to be taught about Islam since they are

2. small. She quit her job just because she want to make sure that her children were well taught
about Islam and got a good care from her. After they all reach puberty, then she decided to
continue her job. This is a very good example for us to follow.
If we see nowadays, a lot of children being affected by western culture because they don’t get
enough guidance from their parents. Therefore, guidance from the beginning of their life is
really important to make sure they can be good Muslims. The journey had really open up my
mind about the value of being a better Muslim.
We also went to many beautiful places such as Parliament House of Canada, Canadian Museum
of Civilisation in Quebec,Rideau Hall, University of Toronto,Chinatown, DowntownToronto and
Niagara Falls (feel like screaming). At Niagara Falls, I could see how beautiful Allah created the
big falls that is flowing without stop (even during winter). To me, the weather was very cold
approximately abpout 8oC – 14 oC. However, I enjoyed the cold weather because I would not get
that in Malaysia. The maple leaves make me feel like screaming as they are so beautiful. Many
leaves were falling and I felt so peace and calm. I really hope that I can be there for the second
time... perhaps bring my wife and kids in the future hehe !