Khaki

El-Farouk is a Tanzanian -born Shia Canadian of Indian origin who is a refugee and immigration lawyer, and human rights activist on issues including gender equality , sexual orientation , and progressive Islam . He was the New Democratic Party 's candidate for the House of Commons in the riding of Toronto Centre in a March 17, 2008 by-election . Kh... aki came in second with 13.8% of the vote. He was born in Tanzania , which his family fled in 1971 escaping political persecution. His parents arrived in Canada in 1974 and settled in Vancouver where Khaki grew up. He earned a law degree from the University of British Columbia before moving to Ottawa in 1988 and has lived and worked in Toronto since 1989. He worked as a political staffer at Queen's Park until 1993 when he left to establish his legal practice. Khaki is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada and has been in private practice since 1993. On June 26, 2014, he married his longtime partner Troy Jackson . Khaki founded Salaam in 1991, a support group for gay Muslims. In 2003, he helped organize the first female-led, mixed-gender Muslim congregational prayers in Canada for the Salaam/Al-Fateha International Conference, and in 2005, organized the first such prayers anywhere to be held in a mosque. He has served on the Toronto Mayor's Committee on Community & Race Relations, on the board of The 519 Community Centre, and is now elected chair of Africans in Partnership Against AIDS. Khaki regularly speaks publicly at events and in news media on issues ranging from refugee protection, to the global AIDS crisis, Canadian multiculturalism , racism, persecution of sexual minorities around the world, and religious and racial profiling in the war on terror, among other topics. His appearances include CTV 's morning television program Canada AM , CBC Radio One 's The Current , and others. On April 30, 2007, Khaki won the New Democratic Party 's nomination in Toronto Centre . Incumbent Bill Graham resigned necessitating a by-election held on March 17, 2008. The ...Read More