Remarks by Imam Hikma Sherzad delivered at Rotary World Peace Day in Thunder Bay.
I want to begin by thanking the Rotary Club for asking me to speak today.
You know, 2024 marks 10 years since I first came to Thunder Bay from Toronto.
Over this decade, I’ve come to realize just how much this community has shaped my life and experiences here.
Over the past ten years, as a community and of course, I’m talking about the muslim community, we’ve shared both joyful and challenging moments with the wider community.
We’ve celebrated good times together, We’ve shared in the Eid celebration, broken bread during the fasting month and welcomed one another into our places of worship for open houses. We’ve also stood united in times of grief, like how the community gathered to mourn the loss of our fellow Muslim Canadians who tragically lost their lives in the Quebec mosque shooting, and the overwhelming support we received after the shooting in New Zealand.
It’s this sense of connection and solidarity that makes Thunder Bay feel like home—not just for me, but for so many others who have come here. This bond, this spirit of togetherness, is what has compelled myself and many like me to stay in Thunder Bay.
I want to share two points. First, is the importance of focusing on what is within our reach and the second is the importance of proximity in understanding one another in order to foster peace .
As we strive for peace, it’s important to focus on what’s within our reach—peace begins with what is closest to us.
In our tradition, we are taught the importance of prioritizing our resources—whether it’s our time, energy, or wealth. There’s a natural triage that guides us to address what is within our direct influence, ensuring we temper the inclination to avoid immediate challenges while working on broader goals.
We all want global peace, but we are first responsible for what is within our locus of control: peace in our homes, peace with our neighbors, peace within our neighborhoods, and peace in our wider community.
This doesn’t mean abandoning efforts toward global peace; rather, it means having a clear perspective on priorities—priorities built on the triage of what is within our locus of control.
By addressing local concerns and supporting those around us, we lay the foundation for broader change.
I now will suggest one of the many ways this can happen here at home.
One of the most profound ways to foster peace is through proximity—being close to those we may not understand. Often, we live in echo chambers, surrounded by like-minded people, which limits our ability to truly understand others’ perspectives.
By stepping outside these spaces and building relationships with those who are different from us, we can break down barriers, foster empathy, and create the foundation for lasting peace.
In the Islamic tradition, there is a powerful reminder of this in the verse from the Qur’an: “Oh people, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another.” (Qur’an 49:13). This verse calls us to bridge gaps and foster connection.
The Prophetic tradition emphasizes the importance of physically being present with those we might not typically engage with.
The Prophet Muhammad said: “If you want to soften your heart, then feed the poor and place your hand on the head of an orphan.”
This highlights the importance of bridging the gap between different groups in society to foster peace. In social psychology, theories like the Empathy Gap and Social Contact Theory also support the idea that proximity fosters understanding.
So, perhaps the Our task, then, is to think about how we can create opportunities for us to close the gap between ourselves and others.
How can we break down barriers, foster connection, and create spaces where people feel seen, understood, and valued?
When we increase proximity, we increase understanding. And when we increase understanding, we create the foundation for peace.
I leave you with this thought: peace begins with the connections we build close to home.
