Suad

Suad explains why she decided to wear the hijab, and how her mother’s passing has influenced her life choices. She introduces us to her husband Karim, and we visit Suad’s Arabic Saturday school class. While raising money for a humanitarian organization, Suad tells us how she experienced discrimination as a visible Muslim in Montreal.

1 - Why I Wear Hijab
Suad talks about the impact of her mother’s death on her spirituality.

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2 - Suad’s Duet
Suad introduces her husband Karim and talks about how they met and got married.

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3 - Teaching Social Justice
Suad teaches Arabic and the Muslim religion to teenage girls at a Saturday school. She also teaches them principles of social justice and encourages them to be active citizens.

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4 - Fourty Insults in Ten Months
Suad describes her experience as a fundraiser for different social causes. She works on the street of Montreal, soliciting people’s donations. In this episode, she talks about how she would sometimes experience verbal attacks from the public.

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Suad Saher Bushnaq

Suad Saher Bushnaq is an Arab-Canadian of mixed heritage. She was born and grew up in Amman, Jordan, to a Syrian mother, and a Palestinian-Bosnian father. Suad started playing the piano at a very young age and when she moved to Syria at the age of 18, she continued her studies in music at the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus. She spent three and a half years in Syria, before immigrating to Canada with her family in 2004. Suad continued her music studies, this time specializing in Music Composition at McGill University after receiving an entrance scholarship, and graduated in 2009.

She is currently a piano teacher and freelance composer, an Arabic language teacher at a Saturday school in Montreal, and is pursuing a degree in Education in order to get her certification as a school teacher.

Suad’s hobbies include photography, biking, swimming, writing, and interior design. She is passionate about composing, playing the piano, teaching social justice, and media literacy. She speaks four languages and adores conversation. Her favorite time of the year is Ramadan.

As an assignment for her Media Technology and Education class, Suad recently produced a website called Unveiling Islamophobia with ten lesson plans to teach and reflect about Islamophobia in the classroom.