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Missing the barge not an option
Mosque races to Hay River
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Mosque was delayed in Alberta due to road work.
DID you hear the one about the little mosque crossing the Prairie?
Well, it almost missed the boat.
Literally.
The prefab place of worship built in Winnipeg and bound for Inuvik, 4,300 kilometres away, is being trucked to Hay River, N.W.T. There, it was to be put on the last barge of the season Friday for Inuvik, said Hussain Guisti, spokesman for the Winnipeg charity funding the project, the Zubaidah Tallab Foundation.
The mosque, which takes up two lanes of highway and half the shoulder on either side, nearly got sidelined, said Guisti, because of construction outside of Edmonton.
"This is a puzzle and it all has to fit together before the last barge leaves Sept. 10," said Guisti. The extra-wide load could only travel on busy highways at certain times.
"In Alberta, it was allowed to travel Saturday but not Sunday." He said they expected to be halfway between Edmonton and Hay River by Sunday.
But, when the shipper got to Edmonton, Alberta Highways said that because of road work, the mosque couldn’t head north during the busy weekend and had to slip through between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. Tuesday.
"I’ve lost a few hairs," said Guisti. "We lost 600 kilometres." The mosque was expected to arrive today so it could be loaded onto the barge leaving Hay River Friday. From there, it would be shipped another 1,850 kilometres on the Hay and Mackenzie rivers to Inuvik, making deliveries of supplies such as fuel oil at remote communities en route.
If the last barge leaves without the 1,554-square-foot mosque, Inuvik’s growing Muslim community will have to endure another winter of prayer in a miniscule mosque, a revamped utility trailer.
The town of 3,500 people that includes 100 Muslims is located two degrees above the Arctic Circle along the east channel of the Mackenzie River Delta.
"There are only three barges all year," said Guisti. "If we miss this one, it’s (not moving until) June 30."
With all the media attention the mosque on the move is receiving, the barge operators are aware of the situation and have agreed not to leave until it arrives, Guisti said. But they better make it snappy.
"They said, ‘The minute it arrives, we take off,’ " he said.
The one good thing about the incredible journey and its challenges is the publicity it’s generated, said Guisti.
"So far we are short about $76,000," he said.
"I have had some great response from people all over the country for pledges and hopefully we will come up with it in the next few weeks."
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