Meet our counsellors
The Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto provides a space for Muslim Youth to access beneficial counselling and build meaningful relationships within their community. Our Chaplains provide counselling in areas of: spiritual care and sustenance, academic and career counselling, coping with stress and anxiety, mitigating relationships, and dealing with religious doubt and uncertainty. Our services are free of cost, and available for students across Canada. The Muslim Chaplaincy is a registered charity, fully funded by community.
Imam Yasin Dwyer
Imam Yasin Dwyer was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba to Jamaican parents. He is the Executive Director and Lead Chaplain of the Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto. Before joining Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto, Imam Yasin was part of the multi-faith chaplaincy team at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. He has lectured extensively on topics such as religion and the arts, Black Canadian culture and the history of Muslims in the West. While working alongside many non-profit organizations in Canada, Imam Yasin was the first full-time Muslim chaplain to work with the Correctional Service of Canada, a position he held for 12 years. As well, Imam Yasin is a long time board member of the Montreal based Institut Route de la Soie/Silk Road Institute, which is dedicated to expressing Canadian Muslim narratives through the visual, auditory and performing arts.
Available on: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays
Imam Omar Patel
Imam Omar Patel was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. His interest in the Arabic language and Islamic studies took him to study internationally enrolling in the rigorous 7-year Alim program consisting of advanced Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic theology and early Hadith studies. He completed his program in South Africa where he graduated with a BA in Arabic and Islamic Studies, and achieved numerous authorizations in the Islamic sciences. After returning home to Canada, Imam Omar felt a calling to bridge his knowledge of Islamic Sciences with modern spiritual care and psychotherapy – and so began his Masters in Pastoral Studies l at the University of Toronto to become a trained chaplain and psychotherapist. Imam Omar complemented his studies in psychotherapy with certification from the Toronto Centre for Psychotherapy and Counselling. In 2016, Imam Omar was selected as the Muslim Chaplain at University of Toronto Scarborough Campus where he caters to the needs of Muslim students by holding counselling sessions and weekly programs.
Available on: Mondays, and Tuesdays
Sister Rumia Owaisi
Rumia Owaisi was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. She is a registered Social Worker and
Psychotherapist licensed through the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service
Workers (OCSWSSW). She earned her Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto
and is currently a PhD student at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. Her main
research and clinical interest are in Muslim Mental Health. To provide spiritually informed care, she has studied and trained in Islamic Psychology and Islamically-Integrated Psychotherapy through Cambridge Muslim College and Khalil Center.
Her goals are to provide Muslim students and staff with a space where they feel comfortable and safe, as well as to support them in becoming more authentic, confident, and sincere versions of themselves. Navigating academic and professional life can be difficult, Rumia believes in exploring the role of faith as source of grounding and purpose through our ever-changing lives.
Available on: Wednesdays