Western Newfoundland’s First Mosque Opens in Corner Brook, Fulfilling a Community’s Dream
In the years since he came to Corner Brook, a city in Newfoundland, Canada, Akm Shahidullah has prayed in a lot of places — from a hospital chapel to local businesses.
But now, standing next to prayer mats inside what has long been known as the Corner Brook Citadel, he’s found a new home.
"It's meant a lot for all of us, I cannot express the emotions,” Shahidullah, often called Shahid, told CBC News. "It feels wonderful. We are really happy, we are so delighted to have this place."
Shahid, president of the Corner Brook Islamic Center, leads the group that purchased the former Salvation Army church in the Humber Heights area of the city. Earlier this year, the church's small congregation joined members at the Salvation Army's other temple.
The Islamic Center partnered with the Sabeel Center in Halifax to help fundraise to buy the building, for the full listed price of $380,000 in September. The group raised around $400,000 in just under a month, Shahid said, raising money from philanthropy and the Muslim community all over the world.
The mosque, which will also be used as a community and youth center, is a sign of a rapidly growing Muslim population in western Newfoundland. What was around 70 people four years ago, it has now grown to over 500.
Abdul Latif Al Hassan, the center’s general secretary and a PhD candidate at Memorial University’s Grenfell campus, hopes opening the mosque can strengthen a sense of belonging.
He cried tears of joy when he first turned the keys in the building's lock, he said.
“We used to be very scattered … but now we all have one space [we can] call a haven, and all of us can come together in unity and practice, you know, in a better, beautiful way," Al Hassan said. "I just cannot wait for this place to be open."
“Wherever you are coming from in the world, and you're coming to Corner Brook, know that you have a space to call home as a Muslim. Even if you aren't a Muslim, just come have a look at it. And you can learn one or two [things] from Muslims who are here."
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Shahid hopes the mosque — the first in western Newfoundland — can also attract people to the region. Whether or not a town has a mosque can often be a deal breaker for Muslims looking to move into a community, he said.
People from Deer Lake, Stephenville and as far as Port aux Basques are eager to travel for prayer, with Shahid saying the connection will be especially important for Eid al-Fitr festivities.
“We deserve such a place for so long, and it has been such a wonderful solution for us in Corner Brook. We cannot imagine a better place than this here in Corner Brook,” he said.
The group will use the surplus from the fundraising for things like renovations, maintenance and snow clearing. The mosque has already been used for prayer, but will have a public opening in November.
Source: cbc.ca
