‘A divine feeling’: Mosque becomes a reality for Morden’s Muslim families

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This article was published 14/01/2025 (630 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s a new place of worship in Morden — the city’s first mosque.

Operated by the Pembina Valley Islamic Society, the mosque is located in an 1,800-square-foot former commercial space in a downtown strip mall on North Railway Street.

Approval for the mosque, called a masjid in Arabic, was granted by Morden city council on Dec. 23.

The mosque, which will serve about 150 Muslim families in the area, joins 17 other places of worship, all of them Christian, in the city of nearly 10,000 people.

“It’s a divine feeling to see the mosque become a reality,” said Rubaiyat Zaman, who worked with his friend, Syed Faizan Nasir, to establish the non-profit society and create the mosque. “It feels really good.”

The two found and rented the space for the mosque, then co-ordinated the renovations to turn it into a place of worship.

“There had been a lot of talk about starting a mosque in Morden, but nothing came of it,” said Zaman, 45, who came to Canada four years ago from Bangladesh and owns an information technology business in the city.

The presence of the mosque means Muslims in Morden no longer have to drive to the mosque in Winkler, about 15 minutes away.

Not only was the distance inconvenient for those who wanted to go there for daily prayers, it also was problematic in winter with icy roads and bad weather.

“We no longer need to make that drive,” said Nasir, 39, who came to southern Manitoba from Pakistan in 2019 and runs a pest control business in Morden.

Now, Muslims in Morden can stop by the mosque during the day for one or more of the five daily prayers and then make it back to work, he said.

That’s especially important for the main Friday prayer service, which is held at 1 p.m. and lasts only 30 minutes, so people can attend during their lunch break. About 70 to 80 men attend the service each Friday, while women pray at home.

Although already in use, the mosque is not quite complete; they are awaiting the arrival of a special prayer carpet that will be installed later this month.

The carpet, which is custom made in China, features lines to help worshippers pray in the direction of Mecca and has a grid to mark off spaces for each person to stand and kneel to pray.

“It’s very soft,” said Nasir, adding that there will be a grand opening for the mosque after the carpet is laid.

The mosque is also used on Saturdays to teach about the Islamic religion to children, Nasir said.

“They can learn about Islamic history and the Qur’an,” he said, adding that the mosque is a place where the whole Muslim community in the area can connect.

Zaman and Nasir also want to see the mosque provide other services, such as a food program and programming for youth and women. It could also serve as a shelter for those needing a place to go during the winter.

Morden Mayor Nancy Penner is “delighted” to see the opening of the new mosque. “We were very pleased to assist in helping them get that space,” she said.

The presence of so many Muslims in the community “enriches the diversity of our city,” she said.

Currently, there are 17 mosques or Islamic prayer locations in the province, in Winnipeg, Steinbach, Morden, Winkler, Brandon and Thompson. Muslims in Selkirk and Portage la Prairie are discussing plans to establish places of worship in those communities.

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