Muslims celebrate new mosque opening
St. James location draws 150 people on inaugural day
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/02/2024 (958 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
St. James is home to the newest little mosque on the Prairie.
Masjid Beit Naballa is celebrating its opening weekend at 325 Wallasey St.
The place of worship will serve an ever-growing Muslim population — there are roughly 25,000 Muslims in Manitoba, the overwhelmingly majority of whom live in Winnipeg — and serve as the headquarters for the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba.
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Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba president Ramsey Zeid says it has been his parents’ dream to open a mosque in Winnipeg.
“My parents’ dream was always to open up a mosque and have a legacy,” said CPAM president Ramsey Zeid, who has been helping his mother Suad Zeid and father Wajih (Moe) Zeid open the doors of the mosque.
The name is a tribute to the Palestinian village where his parents grew up and his family’s roots date back seven generations.
Bayt Nabala was destroyed during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. His parents were displaced as a result and came to Canada as refugees.
“It’s one way for us to make sure that the Palestinian name, the Bayt Nabala name, lives on forever. Whatever happens in Palestine, in Canada, in Winnipeg, Palestine and the village of Bayt Nabala will live on,” Zeid said.
He noted the symbolism of opening a mosque on the other side of the world following the destruction of hundreds of masjids (mosques in arabic) in Gaza in recent months.
Community members will gather to continue praying for their relatives abroad at the new site, the first of its kind in St. James, Zeid added.
The mosque’s inaugural day drew about 150 people.
The building, formerly the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, will be open throughout the week for all five daily prayer times.
It is anticipated to host Quran lessons and community events.
The Manitoba Islamic Association indicated more than 10,000 Muslims have settled in the province over the last decade.
“There’s a very tight-knit Muslim community in Manitoba… It’s very welcoming and it allows community members to feel at home,” said Ruheen Aziz, vice-chairwoman of the association’s governing board.
While noting immigrants often experience isolation upon arrival, Aziz said the newest mosque is worth celebrating as both a place for worship and gathering at-large.
“Any Muslim that wants to come and pray and worship and use this as a safe space for them to worship Allah, the creator, is welcome to come,” Zeid said, echoing those comments.
Canada’s latest census data show about 53 per cent of Manitobans identify as Christian and 12 per cent practise another religion.
Almost 35 per cent of local residents hold secular beliefs, per the 2021 findings.
maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca
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Maggie Macintosh
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The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba through our Religion in the News project. This reporting continues because readers like you step forward to fund it.
Donate now to support our reporting on religion.
Your donation is eligible for a charitable tax receipt.
BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER
Maggie Macintosh
Education reporter
Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie.
Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.
Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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