Help Omar Negm Defend Himself
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Assalamu Alaikum W Rahmat Allah W Barakatouh,
Dear Community Members,
I am launching this campaign today to seek your support in a situation that has caused a significant financial and psychological strain on me and my family. On February 19th, 2021 I received a statement of claim from the lawyer of the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) informing me that they have launched a lawsuit against me. This came only months after my parents received a similar legal notice of a lawsuit against them also by MAC. Some of you may be aware of this and the attempted efforts taken by several community parties to mediate in my parent’s situation. Unfortunately, all of these efforts were unsuccessful due to MAC’s limited active engagement. I am now facing a large amount in legal fees to see this matter to its end.
In May of 2018, I started the weekly MAC Youth Program (Grades 5-8) along with a team of volunteers. Between May 2018 and June 2019, I recruited many volunteers from our community, and we built a program that served our youth. I spent my evenings and weekends working on the youth program without pay. During my involvement in the youth program, my team and I experienced ongoing difficulties with MAC’s management that led to a halt in the program for 3 months from January 2019 to March 2019. Unfortunately, these difficulties were not resolved or addressed and accumulated over time. After multiple efforts by our youth team to resolve the issues, to our surprise, on July 7th, 2019, MAC suspended my involvement in the youth work and any other leadership roles within the organization. I was informed that I was welcome to pursue any youth work outside of MAC.
Although I was very hurt by this, I wanted to continue my mission to serve the Muslim youth. Alhamdulillah, by Allah’s grace, I was able to do this through Misk Islamic Society of Canada (Misk). Through our hard work and collaboration with other Muslim organizations, Misk is now a role model for youth work in the Muslim community and it continues to grow and serve our youth daily.
In September 2019, shortly after the establishment of Misk, my team and I received letters from MAC’s lawyer threatening to take legal action against us and Misk. They claimed that we had some of their proprietary information and were using it to build our programs and solicit the youth. We responded to MAC’s claims through a lawyer informing them that we do not have any of their materials nor have we used any to build our programs or solicit participants. After multiple follow-ups, our lawyer did not receive a response from MAC’s lawyer and this issue ended here. No further communication was received from MAC past this point.
This past summer, I resigned from my role in Misk to continue my education. I have moved on with my life and I was only looking towards my future. Now, after almost two years since MAC suspended me, they have decided to file a lawsuit against me, adding more to my family’s ordeal. This is why my family and I were in shock when first MAC filed a lawsuit against my parents, and we were especially surprised last month to see that MAC has decided to do the same with me.
Since many in our community are not privy to the details, here are some highlights of MAC’s claim against me:
• First, they are claiming that I posted defamatory statements against MAC on my social media platforms. This is completely not true.
• Second, they are claiming that I established Misk and solicited students and volunteers using the confidential information belonging to MAC. This is simply not true and as described above was already communicated to MAC through a lawyer in September 2019.
• Third, they are claiming that I conspired with my parents against MAC’s interests for my own personal or financial gain. I would like to clearly state to our community that neither myself nor my parents had access to or have used any of MAC’s proprietary information for personal or financial gain. On the contrary, over the last few years, my parents and I have invested our time, effort and money in the service of our community for the sake of Allah SWT.
During the peak of the pandemic in 2020, by the grace of Allah SWT, I was able to serve my community through Misk and ISNA Canada. At Misk we delivered 11 programs and initiatives that benefited more than 2000 youth across Canada. In the summer, Misk and ISNA were among the few organizations that managed to establish summer camps during the pandemic. I have dedicated endless hours every day for the sake of Allah SWT just to serve our youth. I was privileged to be able to do so and will continue to serve when given the opportunity. It put so much barakah in my life and I am forever grateful for your continuous support and help.
Today, I am reaching out for my community’s support to help me defend myself against this claim. In light of the failure of all attempts of mediation with other parties, I am left with no choice but to proceed with the legal route. Though this remains my least preferred choice, I am ready to go to court to defend myself if required. However, I need your support to be able to defend myself.
Currently, I am a full-time student. My wife and I are a young couple in the early stages of our careers. This puts us in a vulnerable and difficult situation. My parents have their own legal fees to pay and these legal fees are creating a financial burden on me, and my parents.
Serving the Muslim community is a lifelong purpose of mine. I need your help to defend myself so that I am able to continue giving back.
Can I count on your support today like I always have before?
Jazakom Allah Khairain
Omar Negm
Dear Community Members,
I am launching this campaign today to seek your support in a situation that has caused a significant financial and psychological strain on me and my family. On February 19th, 2021 I received a statement of claim from the lawyer of the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) informing me that they have launched a lawsuit against me. This came only months after my parents received a similar legal notice of a lawsuit against them also by MAC. Some of you may be aware of this and the attempted efforts taken by several community parties to mediate in my parent’s situation. Unfortunately, all of these efforts were unsuccessful due to MAC’s limited active engagement. I am now facing a large amount in legal fees to see this matter to its end.
In May of 2018, I started the weekly MAC Youth Program (Grades 5-8) along with a team of volunteers. Between May 2018 and June 2019, I recruited many volunteers from our community, and we built a program that served our youth. I spent my evenings and weekends working on the youth program without pay. During my involvement in the youth program, my team and I experienced ongoing difficulties with MAC’s management that led to a halt in the program for 3 months from January 2019 to March 2019. Unfortunately, these difficulties were not resolved or addressed and accumulated over time. After multiple efforts by our youth team to resolve the issues, to our surprise, on July 7th, 2019, MAC suspended my involvement in the youth work and any other leadership roles within the organization. I was informed that I was welcome to pursue any youth work outside of MAC.
Although I was very hurt by this, I wanted to continue my mission to serve the Muslim youth. Alhamdulillah, by Allah’s grace, I was able to do this through Misk Islamic Society of Canada (Misk). Through our hard work and collaboration with other Muslim organizations, Misk is now a role model for youth work in the Muslim community and it continues to grow and serve our youth daily.
In September 2019, shortly after the establishment of Misk, my team and I received letters from MAC’s lawyer threatening to take legal action against us and Misk. They claimed that we had some of their proprietary information and were using it to build our programs and solicit the youth. We responded to MAC’s claims through a lawyer informing them that we do not have any of their materials nor have we used any to build our programs or solicit participants. After multiple follow-ups, our lawyer did not receive a response from MAC’s lawyer and this issue ended here. No further communication was received from MAC past this point.
This past summer, I resigned from my role in Misk to continue my education. I have moved on with my life and I was only looking towards my future. Now, after almost two years since MAC suspended me, they have decided to file a lawsuit against me, adding more to my family’s ordeal. This is why my family and I were in shock when first MAC filed a lawsuit against my parents, and we were especially surprised last month to see that MAC has decided to do the same with me.
Since many in our community are not privy to the details, here are some highlights of MAC’s claim against me:
• First, they are claiming that I posted defamatory statements against MAC on my social media platforms. This is completely not true.
• Second, they are claiming that I established Misk and solicited students and volunteers using the confidential information belonging to MAC. This is simply not true and as described above was already communicated to MAC through a lawyer in September 2019.
• Third, they are claiming that I conspired with my parents against MAC’s interests for my own personal or financial gain. I would like to clearly state to our community that neither myself nor my parents had access to or have used any of MAC’s proprietary information for personal or financial gain. On the contrary, over the last few years, my parents and I have invested our time, effort and money in the service of our community for the sake of Allah SWT.
During the peak of the pandemic in 2020, by the grace of Allah SWT, I was able to serve my community through Misk and ISNA Canada. At Misk we delivered 11 programs and initiatives that benefited more than 2000 youth across Canada. In the summer, Misk and ISNA were among the few organizations that managed to establish summer camps during the pandemic. I have dedicated endless hours every day for the sake of Allah SWT just to serve our youth. I was privileged to be able to do so and will continue to serve when given the opportunity. It put so much barakah in my life and I am forever grateful for your continuous support and help.
Today, I am reaching out for my community’s support to help me defend myself against this claim. In light of the failure of all attempts of mediation with other parties, I am left with no choice but to proceed with the legal route. Though this remains my least preferred choice, I am ready to go to court to defend myself if required. However, I need your support to be able to defend myself.
Currently, I am a full-time student. My wife and I are a young couple in the early stages of our careers. This puts us in a vulnerable and difficult situation. My parents have their own legal fees to pay and these legal fees are creating a financial burden on me, and my parents.
Serving the Muslim community is a lifelong purpose of mine. I need your help to defend myself so that I am able to continue giving back.
Can I count on your support today like I always have before?
Jazakom Allah Khairain
Omar Negm
Organizer
Omar Negm
Organizer
Surrey, BC