Muslims celebrate new mosque opening

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This article was published 17/02/2024 (971 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.

“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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