DINNER WITH YVONNE RIDLEY

DINNER WITH YVONNE RIDLEY

-- AUTHOR, SOCIAL ACTIVIST & WAR-ZONE JOURNALIST WILL SPEAK AT THE CIC
FUNDRAISING DINNER IN TORONTO ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8

TICKETS: $40 regular, $20 reduced for students, seniors, etc , $100 for
family

-- GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY --

PLEASE CALL For Toronto tickets:
1. Dr. Mohamed Shokr: (905) 629-7608
2. Br. Ayub Hamid: (905) 813-3046
3. St. Wahida Wahida: (647) 802-8024
4. Br. Alaa Elsayed: (905) 966-3013
5. Br. Ahmad N. Baksh: (416) 665-5716
6. St. Uzma Ashraf: (416) 917-8962
7. Br. Daniel Simard: (647) 293-2350
8. Br. Khurrum Awan: (416) 712-5209
9. Br. Mostafa & Sister Wafa: (905) 479-1738
10. Br. Zafar Bangash: (905) 887-8913
11. Imam Dr. Zijad Delic: (613) 698-8469
12. CIC office: (519) 746-1242
13. Dr. Mohamed Elmasry: (519) 746-4107


For more information and to order tickets on line:
http://www.canadianislamiccongress.com/dinner/index.php

ABOUT SISTER YVONNE:
British-born journalist Yvonne Ridley made international headlines in
September 2001 when she was captured in Afghanistan while working under
cover for the Sunday Express and interrogated for ten days by the
Taliban on suspicion of being a spy. After her release and return to
Britain she fulfilled a promise to her captors to read and study the
Qur'an.

As Sr Yvonne has related since then, in numerous articles, media
interviews, speaking engagements, and her controversial book, "In the
Hands of the Taleban," what she read in the holy scripture of Islam both
surprised and inspired her -- so much so, that she reverted to Islam
from Anglican (Church of England) Christianity two-and-a-half-years later.

Her much-publicized adoption of a faith known for its modest female
dress code and abstinence from the many excesses of Western lifestyle
did not come without negative criticism at home and abroad. But the now
40- something practicing Muslim believer and social activist is known
for looking detractors and supporters alike straight in the eye and
challenging the stereotypes she herself once held about Islam. A
colourful and often witty raconteur, she is also known for her tenacity
in upholding truth and attacking hypocrisy on "both sides of the veil."

A native of north-east England -- an area she once wryly described to
her Taliban captors as Britain's "tribal" region -- Sr Yvonne found her
vocation in journalism early in life. From local newspapers, she forged
a respected career at some of the best addresses in British media,
including The Sunday Times, The Observer, Daily Mirror, The Independent,
Sunday Express, and BBC television and radio. She has also worked for
CNN, ITN and Al-Jazeera, among others.

Through media activism (she is a founding member of Women in
Journalism), she became a prominent promoter of women’s rights and an
outspoken anti-war activist, who has run for political office as a
RESPECT Party candidate.

Sr Yvonne is a member of the Friends of Islam, the National Union of
Journalists and the Society of Authors, as well as being actively
involved as patron, representative or supporter of many activist
pressure groups and humanitarian charitable organizations.

She travels widely and is in constant demand as a speaker and peace
campaigner, having shared the platform with such high profile
personalities as the Rev. Jesse Jackson, British politicians George
Galloway and Tony Benn, Palestinian activist Leila Khaled, and former
Algerian President and revolutionary leader Ahmed Ben Bella.