#1Aug 30th, 2011
Al Rashid Mosque was built in Edmonton in 1938. In 1991, it was moved to Fort Edmonton Park to become a permanent part of the historical buildings there. It was officially restored and reopened in 1992.
From--
Lila Fahlman, founder of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) in 1982 and now in her 70's, was a teenager in the early 30's, when the Muslim families began to discuss the idea of constructing a mosque. She explains that it was Hilwi Hamdon, a woman whose vibrant personality "could win anyone over," who catalyzed the effort. Hilwi and her friends approached the city's mayor, John Fry, for a plot of land. "You don't have any money to build a mosque," he pointed out. "We'll get the money," they replied.
Fry agreed to give them the land if they could come up with construction money. They needed $5000, a hefty sum to raise in the depths of the Depression. They went from shop to shop along Jasper Avenue, Edmonton's main street. Whether the shop owners were Jewish, Christian or Muslim, the women asked for support from them all. "It was a very cooperative community then," recalls Lila, and so Canada's first mosque came to be built with contributions from members of all three monotheistic faiths.
