| Al-Rashid Mosque | |
|---|---|
French: Mosquée Al-Rashid | |
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Sunni Islam |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Mosque |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | Fort Edmonton Park, Edmonton, Alberta |
| Country | Canada |
Location in Alberta | |
| Coordinates | 53°30′06″N 113°34′41″W / 53.50167°N 113.57806°W / 53.50167; -113.57806 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Mosque |
| Style | Eastern Orthodox |
| Completed |
|
| Minaret | 2 |
| Website | |
| alrashidmosque | |
The Al-Rashid Mosque (French: Mosquée Al-Rashid) was the first mosque built in Canada. It was constructed in 1938 in Edmonton, Alberta, and relocated to its current site in Fort Edmonton Park, in 1992. The mosque serves the Sunni Muslim community.
History
Al-Rashid Mosque was expected to be the first mosque in North America but was built in 1938 just after the Mother Mosque of America in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and several years after the 1929 mosque built in Ross, North Dakota.12 At the time, there were about 700 Muslims in Canada. Members of Edmonton's Muslim community approached Edmonton Mayor John Fry about purchasing land to construct the mosque. A group of dedicated individuals travelled the province to raise money from Muslims in small communities. They also held bakes sales and collected funds from Jews, Christians and Muslims to construct the mosque.3
The mosque was built by Ukrainian-Canadian contractor Mike Drewoth in a style resembling the Eastern Christian (Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox) immigrant churches and opened on December 12, 1938. In the 1940s, the building was relocated from its original site to a location a few blocks away to make room for a school expansion.4
By the 1980s, the mosque had been outgrown by the booming Muslim community, and had fallen into disrepair. The city, which owned the land on which it was located, was contemplating demolition of the site to expand a hospital. But in 1991, it was decided that the mosque was to be moved to Fort Edmonton Park at a cost of $75,000. About a year later on May 28, 1992, it was reopened in the park.3
Muhammad Abdul Aleem Siddiqi was instrumental in the development of the mosque.5
References
References
- Day 22: Ross, North Dakota – A Leap in Time
- "The Al Rashid Mosque, Edmonton, Canada". h2g2. BBC. Archived from the original on April 8, 2011. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
- Lorenz, Andrea. "Canada's Pioneer Mosque". Saudi Aramco World. Archived from the original on 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
- Herzog, Lawrence (June 26, 2008). "The Al Rashid Mosque". It's Our Heritage. Real Estate Weekly. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - "Al-Rashid Mosque". Canadian Islamic Congress.