Wpg Free Press: U of M to honour non-profit founder

As the Winnipeg Free Press reports:

The first time Shahina Siddiqui visited Winnipeg, she fell in love with the city.

“I felt it was a city with a soul,” the founder and director of the Islamic Social Services Association said. “I felt at home here.”

Originally from Pakistan, Siddiqui and her husband, Iqbal, were living in New York City in the mid-1970s when they paid a visit to Winnipeg. In 1976, they immigrated to Canada, moving to the city.

Forty-three years later, she is being honoured on Tuesday with an honorary degree from the University of Manitoba.

It’s been an unexpected journey for Siddiqui. When the family arrived in Winnipeg, it was home to only a few dozen Muslim families. With only one mosque, people had to “learn to live with diversity,” she said.

For Siddiqui, this was a new experience.

Read the full Free Press story here.