Over 500 young Canadian Muslims are expected to compete in this year’s Muslim Interscholastic Tournament (MIST) between 21^st and 24^th May at University of Toronto.

MIST is a fun, educational, interactive program of competitions and workshops that brings together high school students from the Golden Horseshoe Area of Ontario.

The 2008 tournament had 80 competitors and 30 volunteers and judges. In 2009 the tournament had almost 300 competitors and 60 volunteers and judges. Hamza Moin, Regional Director of MIST Toronto, says this year organizers are expecting 500 competitors and 100 volunteers and judges.

According to the organizers of the event, the mission is to bring high school students from all over the region under one roof to “foster their creativity, promote communication and motivate them to become leaders in their respective communities.”

MIST was founded in 2001 by a freshman at the University of Houston in the US who saw a need to provide Muslim high school students with a venue where they could display their accomplishments in the fields of arts, sciences and humanities and develop leadership, communication, and other creative skills, all while gaining a deeper understanding of Islam.

The first MIST tournament took place in 2002 with about 150 students from Houston, Austin, and Dallas. Today, the tournament has since spread to several other cities in North America, drawing thousands of participants.

This year’s MIST theme is “Lantern of Modesty: Reflecting the Light from Within.” Over the last three years, MIST Toronto has become the fastest growing MIST program in North America and is one the largest Muslim youth initiatives in the West. 

To learn more about MIST, visit www.misttoronto.ca