Praying to Allah in the north of the 63rd parallel

The mosque of Iqaluit

Caroline G. Murphy

Monday, 31 July, 2017 07:27

UPDATE
Monday, 31 July, 2017 07:27

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Party of Montreal there are barely two years old, Ahmad Abdul now lives in Iqaluit, capital of Nunavut, where he sings the call to the noon prayer a voice in the mosque in the north of the country.

This important task, he has learned by himself. “We are going to the Mosque since it is small, then it just comes to me, it’s natural.”

View from the outside, the mosque looks like any building Iqaluit (photo above). Blue-turquoise, on stilts, not too high; only the little minaret white which stands on the side of the building reminds us that it is a place of worship. Nothing to do with the huge anglican church in the shape of the igloo is located near.

Courtesy

An anglican church in Iqaluit

“I came here just to try to live for a few months. And then months went by… and today, it’s been two years.” Ahmad was heard to say that life was quiet in the corner, and that the money was easier to win than Montreal.

Caroline G. Murphy

Ahmad Abdul

“I all the same at least two jobs here. I work at the federal prison, and I warm a taxi part-time.” But life is actually more quiet. No traffic, no noise, less stress. He does not regret having left the Saint-Michel district.

Will return there one day to live in the south? Because for the people here, the valley of the St. Lawrence river, it is the south. “Who knows?” he replies with a smile. The time will tell.

A community is appreciated by all

On his side, when Sidakha Ali left Pakistan to settle in Iqaluit for more than 20 years, he was the only muslim in town. With the years, and particularly with the arrival of several “non-Inuit” since the early 2000s, the community has grown up, and they were more than a hundred wish to have a place of worship where people could gather.

Caroline G. Murphy

Sidakha Ali

The arrival of this space of recollection does not cause any problem in the city. “The people here are very welcoming. They make us feel like at home”, says Mr. Ali. What confirms Jason, a resident of Iqaluit met at the exit of the Mosque: “muslims are very active in our community and they are very much appreciated by all. They give a lot to food banks in the city and helps several people in need.”

The mosque of Iqaluit has opened its doors in February 2016 and serves both as a place of worship and community centre.