Ayaan Ismail
Ayaan is a dedicated community organizer, dialogue convener, and researcher living on the occupied Coast Salish territories, colonially known as Vancouver. She grew up in Kenya and immigrated to Canada through the World University Services of Canada Student Refugee Program. She is a co-founder of Black Youth Initiative, a Black youth-led initiative that creates intentional spaces that center the joy, leadership, and expertise of Black and Indigenous youth in BC. She is also a founding member of the Black in BC Mutual Aid Fund team which raised funds to support Black community members in BC during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ayaan holds a Master’s degree in Migration and Diaspora Studies and a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies.
What are the most meaningful aspects of this person's work and life?
Ayaan is an Allah-loving young person who has dedicated so much of her work and life to community organizing, creating safer spaces for Black women and refugees, and building meaningful solidarities among marginalized communities. She is a supportive friend, accountable leader, and a beautiful mama. Ayaan is very knowledgeable, experienced, emotionally intelligent, and talented, with sharp critical analysis, strong listening and communication skills, and expertise in effectively working across various sectors to impact transformative change in service of beloveds most impacted by colonial and white supremacist violence. Ayaan takes her community commitments seriously, showing-up with devotion and integrity. Much of her labour often goes unrecognized, especially since she does her work without expectation of external rewards. So I'm very excited to nominate her and to see her impactful leadership celebrated inshAllah!
How has this individual overcome the challenges they face?
As a Black Muslimah and refugee who came to these lands alone at a young age for her studies, Ayaan has faced many systemic barriers, including anti-Black racism, anti-Muslim racism, and misogynoir. With these lived experiences, organizing and solidarity-building are an important lifeline through which she asserts her agency and empowers herself as well as others to resist, lead, and live with dignity in service of collective liberation. Her lived experiences are reflected in the insights, intention, and care she pours into how she organizes and the communities she holds herself accountable to.
How has this individual empowered you and/or our communities?
I have known Ayaan for a decade now. We met during undergrad, and our bond grew over time. I always admired Ayaan's integrity and truth-telling, and the way she honours herself, her ancestors, her faith, and her space. For instance, I loved watching her organize the Afrocentrism Conference in 2019; the first time such a student-led conference happened in the lower mainland! Ayaan also co-created the Black Youth Initiative (BYI), which is a mutual aid and resource redistribution effort that supports grassroots projects led by and for Black and Indigenous communities across BC. I was an Executive Director of a nonprofit youth organization when BYI emerged, and I worked alongside Ayaan and her co-creators to facilitate their access to our organization's charitable status in order to apply for a grant. I witnessed Ayaan's commitment, rigor, care, and visionary leadership. Year's later, I'm so proud to see all the work BYI continues to do to uplift Black and Indigenous youths' leadership by supporting them with the resources they need on their own terms. On a personal note, I have witnessed Ayaan graduate from undergrad while navigating a racist institution, earn her master's degree, become a beautiful mama, raise her babies with so much intentional love and care, and support her family and friends on various fronts. Over the years, she has shared many gems and words of wisdom that anchor me in my relationship with Allah. The one I always return to is, "we are here to impress Allah." I believe Ayaan lives her life and practices Islam with such ikhlas to Allah, mashAllah. Her faith radiates through her commitment to justice, solidarity, and liberation for all, and inspires me to sharpen my own sense of faith and justice.
Name a Black Muslim woman who has been an inspiration to you and why.
A Black Muslim woman who is an inspiration to me is my beloved hooyo, who has recently returned to her creator - Inna lillahi waina ilayhi raji'un. She moved through this world with grace, care, kindness, and a gentleness forged by hardships that she never allowed to define her. She embodied unshakeable Iman, which guided her as she raised her children under the most difficult circumstances through displacement, uncertainty, and the confines of a refugee camp.
My mother believed fiercely in the liberatory power of knowledge, both Islamic and non-Islamic, and that belief continues to shape who I am becoming. She taught me the importance of standing firmly in my principles, even when it means standing alone. Her teachings are rooted in Islam, informed by anti-colonial, anti-imperial frameworks, and a commitment to collective liberation. She introduced me to Malcolm X, her favourite writer and activist, grounding me and my siblings in a legacy of courage, truth-telling, and solidarity. Even after leaving this dunya, my hooyo remains a constant source of inspiration in my life. A Black Somali Muslim woman icon, may Allah bless her abundantly and grant her Jannatul Firdaws.