Contemporary Challenges of Islamic Identity in Canada Saadman Ahmed

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Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada Le Journal de la Société pour l'étude de l'architecture au Canada

Chercheurs en émergence Emerging Scholars Volume 45, Number 2, 2020

URI: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1076509ar DOI: https://doi.org/10.7202/1076509ar

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Cite this article Ahmed, S. (2020). Contemporary Challenges of Islamic Identity in Canada. Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada / Le Journal de la Société pour l'étude de l'architecture au Canada, 45(2), 4–14. https://doi.org/10.7202/1076509ar

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2020 CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES OF ISLAMIC IDENTITY IN CANADA

SAADMAN AHMED is currently pursuing his > SAADMAN AHMED Master’s in Architecture at the University of Waterloo (School of Architecture). Since immigrating from Bangladesh to Toronto, over ten years ago, he has been very passionate about art and culture, which eventually led him to pursue A PROBLEM OF FORM architecture as a career. He had the opportunity AND FUNCTION to travel and work in several different countries, new mosque would not only lead and to be exposed to diverse styles of architecture Ato traffic and noise issues but it and people from many different cultures. Having would also lead to “rape, villainy, and lived as both a Bengali-Muslim and a Canadian- destruction of Canadian values”—these Muslim, he started to understand the depth of were the types of claims which Mayor his own religion from a unique perspective and Bonnie Crombie of Mississauga had its influence on architecture, and therefore, he to fight against at a 2015 City Council dedicated himself to study and explore the Islamic meeting for a new mosque proposal.1 world in Canada as part of his master’s research. Several mosques in recent times have also encountered bruising opposition from the public, where cultural and political resistance are often disguised as potential increase in traffic volume and parking requirements.2 Since the early twentieth century, the mosque has been one of the most visible markers of Islam in the West. As a distinct and historic structure, the mosque is central to Muslim religious and cultural life in Canada and occupies a critical place in the practice and propagation of Islam. It has long served the Muslims as an important religious institution, a place for worship, solace, and religious instruction. Canadian mosques have also become places where Muslims can gather and engage in non-religious services and activities such as daycare, job networking, gym, and Friday school for youth. However, considering that many of these mosques exist within hostile environments, along with the economic and sociocultural struggles of the Muslim diaspora, the mosque is becoming a difficult platform for Muslims to represent their culture and religion both architecturally and socially.

Purpose-built mosques with their overtly traditional Islamic architecture FIG. 1. AL RASHID MOSQUE, EDMONTON, 1938. | COURTESY OF AL RASHID MOSQUE, [HTTPS://ALRASHIDMOSQUE.CA/OUR-STORY/], ACCESSED MARCH 31, 2020.

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induce angry sentiments from those men with physical architectural barriers.4 culture? How can architectural design who are unaccustomed to their aesthe- Muslim youth, converts, and multicultu- encourage inclusivity instead of segre- tics, historical and religious significance. ral worshippers also eschew traditional gation? How can a mosque be designed Furthermore, their architectural forms Islamic institutions, because most of the to demonstrate a sense of identity and attempt to directly replicate historical mosques are dominated by one specific belonging? models, such as implementing domes, ethnic group who focuses their teachings minarets and arabesque, for the sake of and programs toward a certain traditional ISLAM IN CANADIAN HISTORY identity. Although meanings linked to culture or a particular age group—usually such architectural forms evoke memo- the elder generation.5 In his 2004 essay, “Islamic Architecture ries, they also have the potential to dis- as a Field of Historical Enquiry,” Nasser courage architectural innovation as well The objective of this essay is to examine Rabbat points out that until recently, as become exotic or foreign within the and document how primarily contempo- Islamic architecture has been “among Canadian urban landscape. The fore- rary mosques straddle notions of tradi- the least theoretically developed areas going instances of conflicts at the city tional architectural forms, and how the of enquiry in the field of architecture.”6 council meetings are, however, not the architecture of the mosque is shaped by Many of the pioneering historians, archi- only struggles that Muslims experience; the internal sociopolitical structure of the tects, artists, and draftsmen in the field repurposed mosques adapted in existing communities within the realities of urban, were of European descent whose histo- buildings also reflect the deprived socioe- non-Islamic, and often antagonistic envi- rical research and studies were woven conomic realities of the current diaspo- ronments. This essay will investigate the into the fabric of European knowledge ric Muslim communities and they come use, interpretation, and changing nature of Islam.7 As for Islam in Canada, very to represent the bulk of Islamic sacred of both purpose-built and repurposed little has been documented in the history spaces in Canada.3 Repurposed mosques mosques in the Greater Toronto Area of Muslim diaspora and construction of are properties such as former offices, (GTA). It will examine two fundamen- mosques affecting the growth of urban grocery stores, and warehouses, that are tal issues revolving around the current and suburban cities and neighbourhoods.8 acquired cheaply at auctions as the result state of the Islamic institutions: first, the of bank foreclosures or estate sales. These growing struggle of Muslims to find a Established in 1938, the Al-Rashid mosque mosques show the ways in which immi- contemporary aesthetic expression for in Edmonton, AB, was the very first Islamic grant Muslims must adapt and integrate purpose-built and repurposed mosques marker in Canada, serving about seven their ritual and communal spaces given that embody a Canadian identity—one hundred Muslims in its neighbourhood.9 their underprivileged financial situation. that represents and respects the culture As the Muslim population started growing While the growth of repurposed mosques and built environment of Canada’s urban, and spreading across the country, several arises from the desperate needs of suburban, and natural settings; second, other major cities saw the growth of both Muslims for functional and cost-effective investigating the sociopolitical system purpose-built and repurposed mosques spaces, their exterior identity is camou- within the Muslim communities them- in their urban areas, including Toronto’s flaged behind the façades of their for- selves—one that dictates the increa- first mosque which was built in 1961 in mer structures, and their interior spaces sing alienation of women, youth, and a renovated storefront at 3047 Dundas are chaotic and unsuitable for sacred and converts, in the implied and promulgated Street West. Serving a small community secular functions due to their temporal conventions of sex and ethnic segregation around the neighbourhood, the store- and grassroots nature. Moreover, ano- in mosques. This essay will also investigate front mosque was used by members from ther important underlying issue in both specific examples of mosques in the GTA various cultures ranging from Pakistan, types of mosques is the need for refor- and raise key questions such as: How can India, Bosnia, Albania, Turkey, and Egypt. mation in the degrading social structure a religious institution, for example the Named as Mosque One by some of the of the Muslim communities themselves. Islamic mosque, communicate its mission early pioneers who established the ins- Movements such as the first Women’s and values to an increasingly secular and titution, the members of the mosque Mosque of Canada and documentary antagonistic society? What is the value represented a culture where diversity was films such as Unmosqued illustrate the of architectural beauty and memory in tolerated, moderation was promoted, segregation methods used by mosque purpose-built and repurposed mosques and women played a key role in fundrai- authorities to isolate Muslim women from and how can it be represented in today’s sing, managing operations, and praying

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stands to deliver sermons. The use of a minbar is especially important before and after prayers and it usually is the most heavily decorated piece of furniture in a mosque.12 Although Muslims find more liberty in constructing the interior prayer spaces to their liking, it is primarily through the exteriors of these mosques that visual distinctions from other religious institutions are evoked. However, they are more challenging to construct within the context of an urban environment in the GTA.

INCOMPATIBILITY OF PURPOSE-BUILT MOSQUES

A 2017 Angus Reid study revealed that fifty-four percent of Canadians hold an unfavorable view of Islam and only fifty- six percent would accept the construction of mosques.13 With such prejudice, it is becoming increasingly difficult and challenging for Canadian Muslims to uphold a Muslim identity. Certain exterior architectural features on purpose-built mosques become incompatible within their contexts, such as: the onion dome built on top of the prayer spaces, minarets towe- FIG. 2. MOSQUE ONE, 3047 DUNDAS ST W, TORONTO. | GOOGLE STREET VIEW, 2019, ACCESSED MARCH 3, 2020. ring over the roofs, and Arabic texts and ornaments wrapped around the façades and entrances. Although first generation in the same space with the men. Besides a and the minbar. Originally derived from Muslims feel connected to these symbolic prayer area, the mosque included a small a non-religious meaning denoting a spe- elements of Islamic architecture, many of library and a Sunday school, designed to cial room in a house or a throne room them have often been distilled, catego- help children to preserve their cultural in a palace, the mihrab during the reign rized, and repeated, either as direct repli- and religious identity.10 of the Caliph Uthman Ibn Affan (r. 644- cas or in association with an identifiable 656) was merely an Arabic sign on the “Middle-Eastern” style. Although domes Mosque One’s interior was humble but qibla wall so that pilgrims could pray in and minarets perform a symbolic role in a efficient. It obeyed the rules of a traditio- the right direction. Eventually, the mihrab mosque’s Islamic identity, neither of these nal mosque, where the carpet on the floor evolved to be a niche on the wall with architectural forms are found universally and the sitting arrangement of the wor- Uthman’s sign placed in it, and this came across regions with Muslim majorities.14 shippers were oriented toward the qibla to be universally understood as an archi- Muslims simply appropriate these visual wall, that is the wall facing Mecca. Being tectural focal point on the wall that marks tropes to assume their “Islamicness.” the most important wall in any mosque, the direction to Mecca.11 The niche usually Moreover, this practice makes the rela- the qibla is usually heavily decorated with includes a minbar (either placed on the tionship between the global and the local religious ornaments and includes two right or inside of the mihrab), which is a recurrent tension for Muslim communi- important symbolic elements: the mihrab a pulpit where the imam (prayer leader) ties.15 Their overtly expressive forms often

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FIG. 3. NUGGET MOSQUE, 441 NUGGET AVE, SCARBOROUGH. | GOOGLE STREET VIEW, 2019, ACCESSED FIG. 4. BAITUL ISLAM MOSQUE, 10610 JANE ST, VAUGHAN. | SAADMAN AHMED, 2020. MARCH 15, 2020. attract prejudice from local non-Muslim or those who do not necessarily associate many Muslim communities can trace their citizens. One such case occurred in 1995 with the particular memory? What is the own cultural ancestries to the symbolic in an Ontario Municipal Board meeting, architectural image communicated to elements of traditional mosques such when a Toronto resident representing non-Muslims? How does a mosque affect as domes and minarets, these elements his supporters spoke out angrily against its immediate context and broader urban have often been itemized, categorized, a mosque proposal, arguing: “There is environment when it imitates history or and objectified by the nineteenth-century no comparison to that kind of building an extant model? European colonial approaches to Islamic in Canada. It is going to be a foreign, exo- architectural and cultural historiography tic building . . . If they put up this minaret Concurrently, “a foreign, exotic building” in the Near East and South Asia.22 There and dome, it will act like a calling card is also what local Muslims themselves are also practical reasons why these for the whole community.”16 The visible are concerned about as the aesthetics structures are not intrinsic or necessary character of mosques commonly attracts of traditional prayer spaces are evolving for the practice or propagation of Islam. vandalism, such as the anti-Arabic graf- to suit the needs of worshippers in an Minarets were traditionally used for ele- fiti on a York region mosque,17 urination increasingly densified GTA. Mohammed vated platforms on towers to broadcast on a Markham mosque,18 food thrown at Qadeer, professor emeritus of urban and the call to prayer, a rarity in many cities an Owen Sound mosque,19 and countless regional planning at Queen’s University, where people can use alarm clocks or other cases across North America. Apart argues that a detail such as a minaret smartphone apps. As for domes, they from the social discrimination against should not be considered a touchstone have served some temperature control- Muslims, these conflicts occur due to of Islamic culture, but instead he believes ling functions in the interior; however, citizens not being accustomed to the tra- that, “In North America, there will be a they are not very cost effective for under- ditional Islamic architectural languages new type of mosque . . . There will be privileged Muslim communities who are that are being created as symbolic markers other architectural solutions that harmo- already struggling financially. for a minority group. With the expressive nize the structure into the landscape.”20 mosques, although immigrant Muslims Others such as Nazir Khan (owner of a GRASSROOTS ADAPTATION essentially create an appearance which former warehouse Islamic Centre) and IN REPURPOSED MOSQUES satisfies an emotional condition that has Zak Ghanim (architect of Madinah Masjid historical efficacy, some key questions on Toronto’s Danforth Avenue) agree Because of their experiences that purpose- must be asked as part of the discourse: that an Islamic prayer space only needs built mosques can fuel antagonistic envi- How is the image of the mosque affec- “a basic structure,” and “a pure simple ronments, coupled with the modernist ting the future generations of Muslims cube can perform that function.”21 While focus on function over form, Muslim

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communities have resorted to using and women) are separated into two dif- straddle notions of traditional Islamic repurposed buildings to construct their ferent rooms at the end of this hallway. symbolism in their contemporary built worshipping spaces. With over one hun- The floor area of the men’s space being environment. They often resort to kitsch dred and twenty repurposed mosques in almost double that of the women’s prayer expressions of Islamic architecture, for the GTA, diasporic Muslims use grassroots space, it can accommodate more worship- instance the spray-painted entrance door efforts to adapt their prayer spaces in pers, accessible chairs, bookshelves, and of the Sheikh Deedat Centre marked available buildings that often turn out larger furniture, including the minbar. with a cartoonish image of a traditional to be unsuitable to practice their sacred In addition to the minbar, the qibla wall mosque (one with dome and minarets) rituals and secular programs. The fact that in the men’s prayer space is filled with and painted waves of a tropical beach many of them are concealed behind the distractions: out-of-place notice boards, as its background symbolizing paradise. façade of their former buildings, blen- wall-mounted fans with irritating noise, Other mosques, such as the Fatih Mosque, ding with the rest of their neighbouring bookshelves are often filled with unne- literally retrofitted a miniature version of postwar structures, shows that diasporic cessary non-religious objects, and a dif- a dome and two minarets as its entrance Muslims are more concerned about adjus- ficult-to-read clock. With the five prayer while keeping the repurposed façade as ting to their conditions than upholding an times a day and Friday prayers being the its background. Even though the primary image with their mosques. Unlike their busiest of them all, the prayer spaces purpose of these mosques is to serve purpose-built counterpart, in which the and the elements on the wall constantly the immediate functional needs of the appearance is clearly an imitation of change through time. Programs such as worshippers, it is nonetheless obvious history or an extant model, renovated Friday classes and lectures all take place that the communities yearn to represent mosques express their existence through in the prayer space, while meetings are their culture through such aesthetics and kitsch aesthetic nuances. The interior held at a separate room adjacent to the architectural tropes, whether beautiful of these former offices, warehouses, prayer space. Divided with only a curtain or ugly. The debate concerning aesthe- and storefronts are also often dark and from the prayer space, this meeting room tics in repurposed mosques raises several grungy with poor spatial layouts, crea- can be expanded to include more wor- questions: Are the features and elements ting unpleasant environments for worshippers if needed. The tax office and the used by the community in the interior shipping. While purpose-built mosques travel agency occupying the front half of and exterior spaces sensible or valid? are blatantly expressive for the sake of the building along with the grocery store What is the motivation behind the use distinctiveness in their architectural lan- underneath are all owned and operated of various aesthetic nuances? What do guage, repurposed mosques remain “hid- by the mosque community. These com- these nuances mean? And how does the den” within the urban fabric, bearing mercial businesses attract Muslim cus- subjective or objective interpretation of little or no Islamic identity. tomers and contribute to the economic beauty affect the outcome of a vernacular structure of the mosque congregation, mosque design? Danforth Islamic Centre, for instance, is and the mosque itself holds cultural adapted behind the ground floor store- events and lectures to help retain their In terms of examining the physical cha- front façade of a grocery store located businesses. Although the building seeks racteristics of repurposed mosques and in the heart of a predominantly Bengali to become a functional and temporal their context, we can understand that the neighbourhood in East York, ON. The cultural hub for the Muslim communi- notion of identity might not always take big red and yellow sign indicates the ties, an Islamic identity, however, cannot its shape or form in the intense symbolism name of the grocery store in the front, be established through such grassroots of domes and minarets, but the expres- while a tiny washed-out sign with the methods of creating community pro- sion can be subtle. For instance, many name of the mosque is placed on top grams and neither can the chaotic spaces repurposed mosques blend in amongst of the door at the centre of the store- enhance the phenomenological expe- halal restaurants and various cultural front façade. This marks the entrance to rience of an Islamic sacred space. shops, apartment buildings, and rows the mosque, following a narrow flight of fruit markets. Arabic calligraphy and of stairs leading the worshippers to the While storefront mosques, such as the other multicultural languages can also be second-floor hallway, which is poorly lit Danforth Islamic Centre, are built as seen or heard spoken everywhere. Other with fluorescent lights and often filled cost-efficient functional worshipping than prayers, these spaces also include with shoes. Two prayer spaces (for men spaces, other repurposed mosques various programs such as Friday schools,

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FIG. 5. DANFORTH ISLAMIC CENTRE (EXTERIOR), 3018 DANFORTH AVE, EAST YORK. | SAADMAN FIG. 6. DANFORTH ISLAMIC CENTRE (INTERIOR), 3018 DANFORTH AVE, EAST YORK. | SAADMAN AHMED, 2019. AHMED, 2019.

FIG. 7. SHEIKH DEEDAT CENTRE, 100 BOND ST, TORONTO. | GOOGLE STREET VIEW, 2019, ACCESSED FIG. 8. FATIH MOSQUE, 182 RHODES AVE, TORONTO. | GOOGLE STREET VIEW, 2017, ACCESSED MARCH 15, MARCH 8, 2020. 2020.

religious lectures, community centres, and storefronts and warehouses sufficient Muslims talking about the unfairness often become cultural hubs for various to uphold an Islamic identity within the that exists within our own communities,” events. Although repurposed mosques do diverse urban society of Canada? What is said Zarqa Nawaz in a 2005 National not always express their culture through the role of design when it comes to adap- Film Board documentary, Me and the design, they nonetheless use parts of the ting in repurposed buildings? And how Mosque.24 Although many continue to idioms and ideas of traditional Islamic can architects and the Muslim communi- push for better representation of all architecture and values, whether pro- ties use architectural design as a tool for levels of mosque governance and parti- grammatically or contextually. Yet, this representing their culture? cipation, growing alienation within the duality of repurposed mosques raises sociopolitical system of various mosque several questions: Do the repurposed DEGRADING SOCIOPOLITICAL congregations in Canada urges the need mosques simply convey “an essentialized STRUCTURE to reform. The system of segregation version of mosque architecture or do they in both purpose-built and repurposed successfully claim a sense of architectural “Muslims always seem to be talking mosques is twofold: first, sex and gen- authenticity?”23 Are the subtle represen- about the injustices done to them by der are used to define the architecture of tations of culture behind the façades of the outside world, but I rarely hear the mosque with Muslim women playing

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extremely limited roles in the congrega- authentic Sunnah (prophet’s teachings) Women are not the only ones who suf- tions; second, from the leadership of the ever mention any gender or race divi- fer the consequences of segregation in congregation to the symbolic elements sion, but they clearly state that forbid- the contemporary mosques. Most of of its architecture, almost every mosque ding anyone from entering the mosque the mosques in the GTA are dominated in the GTA is built to provide for groups is disgraceful. It is written in the Quran by one particular ethnic group, which of people from specific culture, age, or that all believers have the right to go includes either South Asian, Arab, or ethnicity, and lacks the sense of a welco- to the mosque for prayer27 and there is African American. As Muslims in our ming environment for youth worshippers great punishment for those who forbid contemporary society become integrated and converts. any believer to worship in the mosque.28 within the multiracial Canadian environments, it feels increasingly uncomfortable Physical separation of women’s prayer In the contemporary era, the desperate and unwelcoming to enter a mosque that spaces from the men’s through archi- need for women to find inclusive places is conspicuously dominated by a cer- tectural barriers such as walls, separate of worship produced controversial gathe- tain culture. Especially for the youth of rooms, and even basements are a com- rings such as Canada’s first Women’s today who, growing up in a multicultural mon sight in the majority of the mosques Mosque launching inside Trinity-St. Paul’s society, do not have a strong connection in the GTA and Canada. Nawaz added: “I United Church in Toronto. The mosque with their parents’ country of origin— have prayed in a room where there was received major backlash from other which aggravates their discomfort when a one-way mirror so men cannot see me. communities with people writing com- entering an ethnically based space in I am told we are a distraction. I look out ments in an online discussion (group of which they feel like outsiders. and I see them, but they just see a mir- three hundred Toronto Muslim activists, ror. Presence of women in my mosque has leaders, scholars): “There is nothing in Architecturally, these types of exclusio- been erased.”25 Historically, this gender Islamic tradition to support the notion of nary means do not come in the form division practice emerged only in certain a women only mosque” and the “effort of physical barriers but with subtle regions of the world. Possibly the most would only divide people and reinforce elements highlighting the social and influential on this development was the harmful stereotypes about the oppression cultural background that a mosque Ottoman proliferation of a new mosque of women.”29 Deeply tied to the traditio- symbolizes. For instance, the massive typology heavily related to the Byzantine nal mosque environment, the co-founder dome and minaret along with the win- Hagia Sophia. In addition to absorbing of the mosque, Farheen Khan, was hoping dow patterns of Madinah Masjid, on the use of domes and minarets, sub- to avoid any backlash as she simply aimed Danforth Avenue, represent an Arabic sequent Ottoman design of mosques to provide an opportunity for women and aesthetics that becomes uninviting to also included the Byzantine gynaeceum, girls to regularly gather for Friday prayers Muslims from other cultures who do which was a place designated for use by and together reclaim their religious inhe- not necessarily associate with such an women. However, the gynaeceum quickly ritance. It is obvious from these events exotic ideal. Other mosques boast their became the norm for designating gende- that many of these actions have directly specific culture by literally naming their red usage of mosque spaces and was an arisen as the result of the longstanding institutions, for example: the Bosnian element that architects freely modified to patriarchal nature of gender segrega- Islamic Centre of Toronto, the Afghan suit the compositional needs regardless of tion and leadership in mosques. In some Canadian Islamic Community, and the the impact that it would have on the act mosques, congregants have lifted the Albanian Muslim Society of Toronto. of prayer, such as reduced areas, visibi- separation barrier and afforded autho- The Turkish Islamic Heritage Association lity, and access.26 Throughout the Islamic ritative roles to a few Muslim women even implements the half-moon symbol World, the norm of gendered mosque due to divergent cultural, educative, of their flag as the point of entrance spaces spread and other methods of and economic shifts in the Muslim dias- to the mosque. The programs and lan- segregation such as walls and mezza- pora. However, these cases are rare, and guages used in these mosques are also nines were implemented by governing the reality is that Muslim Women in the structured in a way so that they serve bodies—even in mosques that originally West, like many Muslim women across the Muslims only from one certain ethnicity. did not have separate spaces for men globe, continue to “directly experience Granted, these mosques have been for- and women. However, not only does the consequences of oppressive misrea- med in order to provide community and the Quran (the holy book of Islam) and ding of religious texts.”30 comfort to the large influx of Muslims

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that have come from diverse parts of the world to Canada, but the problem still exists; such comfort will not remain with future generations and multicultural Muslims while on Canadian soil.

As illustrated in the 2014 documentary Unmosqued, implementing these segre- gating notions within purpose-built and repurposed mosques has created a large amount of confusion in the minds of Millennials, Generation Xers, and women, between what is cultural practice and what is essential in Islam.31 Growing alienation has also sparked movements in which women, young people, and converts avoid traditional institutions, FIG. 9. ISMAILI CENTRE (EXTERIOR), 49 WYNFORD DRIVE, NORTH YORK. | BILL ONASILL, 2018, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, WWW.FLICKR.COM, ACCESSED including multimillion-dollar mosques, in MARCH 31, 2020. search for alternatives or “third spaces.” Third spaces are different from a traditional mosque where the communities focus on inclusivity practices, including formal and informal gatherings without barriers and an authentic embrace of diversity.32 However, these spaces are rare in Canada and most of them struggle financially to expand as community centres. The phenomenon of young Muslims “unmosquing”—avoiding participation in mosques because they began to feel marginalized or alienated by their Muslim community—and the continued struggle for women in mosques raise significant questions about the roles these “minority groups within a minority group” play in FIG. 10. ISMAILI CENTRE (ENTRANCE), 49 WYNFORD DRIVE, NORTH YORK. | JOHN OYSTON, 2014, CC BY-SA 4.0, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, ACCESSED religious and civic life in the West. For MARCH 31, 2020. example, how can the Muslim community alter the physical and aesthetic makeup of mosques to include women, youth, and RETHINKING ISLAMIC SPACE or markers demarcated by architectural converts? How can programs be designed elements. The spaces in these mosques for inclusivity while respecting different The first mosques of Islam, such as the incorporated a type of fluidity which cultural traditions, social practices, and house of Prophet in Medina, the Fustat, allowed for a singular and unified space gender? What are the challenges and Basra, and Kufa mosques, along with for the community. Also learning from implications of a mosque representing the historic mosques of Canada such the few contemporary precedents exis- a contemporary Canadian culture? And as Edmonton’s Al Rashid Mosque and ting in Canada, such as the Ismaili Centre how can architects and Muslim communi- Toronto’s Mosque One, can teach us the of Toronto, Prince George Islamic Centre ties work together within these parame- importance of cultural identity and gen- (Prince George, BC), or the modernist ters to design a mosque for all? der inclusivity without explicit divisions Noor Cultural Centre mosque in North

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FIG. 11. NOOR CULTURAL CENTRE (EXTERIOR), 123 WYNFORD DRIVE, NORTH YORK. | THOMAS FIG. 12. NOOR CULTURAL CENTRE (INTERIOR), 123 WYNFORD DRIVE, NORTH YORK. | SOI GUIGNARD, 2017, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, WWW.FLICKR.COM, ACCESSED MARCH 20, 2020. TORONTO CENTRES, 2015, CC BY-NC 2.0, WWW.FLICKR.COM, ACCESSED MARCH 31, 2020.

York, ON, we can begin to understand coming through the frosted glass, the reaffirming formal stylistic descriptions the need to create a Canadian identity for prayer space underneath the dome not and grand narratives, reveal the interre- Muslims living and practicing their faith only remains the most striking feature of lated colonial origins of their architectural in Canada. the mosque but it is also designed to be histories, and as a site for showing how contemplative, cultural, educational, and Islam has been “condensed into a sym- For instance, the mihrab of Prince George most importantly inclusive of all races, bolic construction with enormous psycho- Islamic Centre, rather than including ages, and genders. All three mosques logical power.”35 Conversely, repurposed floral patterns like those in traditional incorporate the contemporary use of epi- mosques being unidentifiable pieces of Middle Eastern mosques, unveils the graphy, geometry, and arabesque—three cultural pockets within the urban fabric of actual natural vegetation on its site by motifs used historically in the embellish- the GTA, reveal the socioeconomic reality framing it with a transparent wall, thus ment of mosques—in a manner which of Muslims in a North American country. creating a space where one can contem- grounds the mosques appropriately As the identity exists apart from the form plate nature as a creation of God.33 The to their geographic location, framing of the structure or appearance of the repurposed building of Noor Cultural Muslim identity in a Canadian context. mosque, repurposed Islamic institutions Centre implements a shading screen Such examples of mosques can be consi- emphasize the “separation of architec- composed of abstracted arabesque which dered essential to realize that Islamic ture’s cultural content from its spiritual lets in soft natural light to the interior architecture can go beyond the existing and community function” and arguably prayer space. The gendered delineation norm set by Muslims, and the importance that “such cultural visual forms are unrela- in the prayer space is at its most subtle of reimagining a novel understanding of ted to the spiritual or religious practice.”36 and radical, an equal horizontal division mosques in Canada. In addition, the overarching problem in of space marked only by two separate both of these types of mosques is the rugs, with the space in between running CONCLUSION degraded sociopolitical structure within perpendicular to the minimal minbar on the congregations themselves—one that the centre. Ismaili Centre includes a large Although they are vastly different in terms has had trouble addressing the concerns multifaceted angular glass dome—which of their architectural language, arguably and interests of young Muslims, women, is a contemporary reconstruction of the both purpose-built and repurposed and other multiethnic groups. symbolic eight-pointed Islamic star— mosques offer a complicated version of rising above the roof to mark the pres- Islam—one that shows how styles and The study of purpose-built and ence of the community. A sliver of glass built forms influenced by and originating repurposed mosques in the GTA raises cuts one of the faces of the dome marking from a variety of Muslim cultures have several questions regarding the parame- the direction to Mecca and serves as the taken root and flourished in Canada.34 ters of Islamic architectural and Canadian mihrab. With the diffused natural light Purpose-built mosques, in addition to history. For example, what constitutes a

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mosque outside of countries with long inclusive and appropriate mosque design 10. Bradburn, Jamie, 2015, “Historicist: Toronto’s and historic traditions of Islam? Do either must be “based on understanding the First Mosques,” Torontoist, November 21, [https://torontoist.com/2015/11/historicist- of these types of mosque buildings fit relationship between the eternal idea of torontos-first-mosques/], accessed March 30, with the chronology of Islam? What are the mosque and the needs of the pres- 2020. 38 the motivations behind the uses of Islamic ent Muslim society.” A mosque that is 11. Gorlinski, Virginia, 2018, “Mihrab,” architectural expressions in Canada and rooted in its time and place and one that Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., June 5, [https:// the United States? How do mosques spa- represents all Canadian Muslims. www.britannica.com/topic/mihrab], accessed tially construct gender? Do these types April 22, 2020. of mosques racialize Muslim identity, NOTES 12. Lewis, Robert, 2017, “Minbar,” Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., June 30, p. 1, [www.britannica. and what is at stake in such identity com/topic/minbar], accessed April 22, 2020. constructs? I would argue that architects 1. James, Royson, 2015, “Crombie and Council Spurn Prejudice in Fight over Mississauga 13. Kurl, Shachi, 2017, “Canadians View Non- need to be able to construct mosques that Mosque,” The Star, October 14, [https://www. Christian Religions with Uncertainty,” Angus are reflective of contemporary culture thestar.com/news/city_hall/2015/10/14/crom- Reid Global, p. 1-8. and worshippers’ needs while respecting bie-and-council-spurn-prejudice-in-fight-over- 14. Kurd, Competing Visions, Common Forms, mississauga-mosque-james.html], accessed Islamic traditions and memory. It is also op. cit. p. 62. March 30, 2020. our duty to raise awareness of the count- 15. Nederveen Pieterse, Jan, 1977, “Travelling 2. Qadeer, Mohammad and Maghfoor less discriminatory and hostile situations Islam: Mosques without Minarets,” in Oncu, Chaudhry, 2000, “The Planning System and occurring against mosques and Muslims. Ayse and Petra Weyland (eds.), Space, Culture the Development of Mosques in the Greater and Power: New identities in Globalising As Nadia Kurd argues in her doctoral Toronto Area,” Plan Canada, vol. 40, no. 2, Cities, London and New Jersey, Zed Books p. 17. dissertation, Ltd., p. 177-200. 3. Syed, Fatima, 2017, “No Minaret, No Dome. 16. Engin, Isin and Myer Siemiatycki, 2002, A Closer Look at the Modern Mosque,” The Without an analysis of how spaces formu- “Making Space for Mosques: Claiming Urban Globe and Mail, June 5, [https://www.theglo- late and convey notions of Islam in built-form Citizenship,” in Sherene H. Razack (ed.), Race, beandmail.com/news/toronto/no-minaret-no- in Canada and the US, the practices and Space, and the Law: Unmapping a White dome-a-closer-look-at-the-modern-mosque/ Settler Society, Toronto, Between the Lines, identities that are utilized by Muslim com- article25271318/], accessed April 15, 2020; p. 185-209 at p. 205. munities become further stigmatized, while Nasser, Shanifa and Amara McLaughlin, 2017, 17. Shefa, Sheri, 2014, “Vandals Spray Anti-Arab their built forms are seen as being either “Protesters Outside Toronto Mosque Call for Ban on Islam as Muslims Pray Inside,” CBC Graffiti Outside Toronto-area Mosque,” The pastiche expressions or as being incompat- News, February 18, [https://www.cbc.ca/ Canadian Jewish News, November 30, [https:// ible with the North American architectural news/canada/toronto/anti-muslim-protest- www.cjnews.com/news/canada/vandals- landscape. Or at worst, mosques in par- masjid-toronto-1.3988906], accessed April 17, spray-anti-arab-graffiti-outside-toronto-area- mosque], accessed April 2, 2020. ticular are seen as sites of hostility and 2020. the unknown (and for example, a potential 4. Khan, Farheen, 2019, “First Women’s Mosque 18. Ngabo, Gilbert, 2020, “Vandals Recently of Canada Opens in Toronto,” Now Toronto, Urinated on a Markham Mosque. Muslim place for the recruitment and training of April 24. Leaders Responded by Opening Their Doors 37 extremists). to Everyone,” The Star, February 25, [https:// 5. Eid, Ahmed, 2014, UnMosqued, documentary www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/02/25/ film, [www.unmosquedfilm.com/], accessed vandals-recently-urinated-on-this-markham- The way of life in Islam is based partly April 22, 2020. mosque-muslim-leaders-responded-by-ope- on the direct imitation of the Prophet’s 6. Rabbat, Nasser, 2004, “Islamic Architecture ning-their-doors-to-everyone.html/], accessed Sunnah and partly on the independent as a Field of Historical Enquiry,” Architectural April 5, 2020. judgement of its followers concerning Design, vol. 74, no. 6, p. 18 -23. 19. Dunn, Scott, 2019, “Judge Sentencing in matters of personal, social, and cultural 7. Id., p. 19. Mosque Vandalism Case Dec. 18,” Owen lifestyles of Muslims in various social, poli- Sound Sun Times, November 28, [https:// 8. Kurd, Nadia, 2014, Competing Visions, www.owensoundsuntimes.com/news/local- tical, and economic contexts. Therefore, Common Forms: The Construction of Mosque news/judge-sentencing-in-mosque-vanda- both in purpose-built mosques and in Architecture in Canada and the US, Ph.D. lism-case-dec-18], accessed April 22, 2020. adaptive reuse of existing fabric, archi- dissertation, Department of Art History and Communication Studies, McGill University, 20. Quoted in Syed, “No Minaret, No Dome,” tects need to approach the design of the Montreal. op. cit. contemporary mosque in the context of 9. Lorenz, Andrea W., 1998, “Canada’s Pioneer 21. Id. Canada. While there is no simple formula, Mosque,” Saudi Aramco World, July-August, the precedents discussed suggest how an p. 28-31.

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22. Kurd, Competing Visions, Common Forms, 32. Mahmood, Faiqa, 2007, “Understanding op. cit. p. 26. Inclusivity Practices at ‘Third Spaces,’” Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, 23. Id. p. 19. September 17, [https://www.ispu.org/unders- 24. Nawaz, Zarqa (ed.), 2005, Me and the Mosque, tanding-inclusivity-practices-at-third-spaces- Reel Diversity Competition, [https://www.nfb. makespace-a-case-study/], accessed April 15, ca/film/me_and_mosque/], accessed April 1, 2020. 2020. 33. Gaber, Tammy, Safira Lakhani and Jessica 25. Id. Lam, 2017, “An Argument of Craft for 26. Gaber, Tammy, 2015, “Gendered Mosque Prayer – A Contemporary Mosque Design in Spaces,” Faith and Form, vol. 48, no. 1, Northern Canada,” Architecture, Culture and [https://faithandform.com/feature/gendered- Spirituality Symposium (ACS9), p. 1-7. mosque-spaces/], accessed April 22, 2020. 34. Rosenblatt, Naomi, 2009, “Orientalism in 27. Khan, M. Muhsin and Muhamed Al-Hilali American Popular Culture,” Penn History (trans.), 1999, The Qur’an. Interpretation of Review, vol. 16, no. 2, p. 53, [https:// the Meanings in the English Language, Riyadh, repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent. Durussalam Publishers and Distributors, chap- cgi?article=1005&context=phr], accessed ter 7, verse 29; chapter 7, verse 31. April 3, 2020.

28. Id., chapter 2, verse 114; chapter 8, verse 34; 35. Moghissi, Haideh, Saeed Rahnema, and chapter 22, verse 25; chapter 48, verse 25. Mark J. Goodman, 2009, Diaspora by Design: Muslim Immigrants in Canada and Beyond, 29. Elghawaby, Amira, 2019, “Backlash over the Toronto, University of Toronto Press, p. 13. Women’s Mosque of Canada Is Predictable – and Misplaced,” The Globe and Mail, May 20, 36. Kurd, Competing Visions, Common Forms, [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/ op. cit. p. 57. article-backlash-over-the-womens-mosque- 37. Id., p. 37 of-canada-is-predictable-and/], accessed 38. Rasdi, Mohamad T.H.M., 2014, Rethinking April 15, 2020. the Mosque in the Modern Muslim Society, 30. Barlas, Asma, 2002, Believing Women in Islam: Kuala Lumpur, Institut Terjemahan and Buku Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Malaysia, p. 31. Qur’an, Austin, University of Texas Press, p. 3.

31. Eid, UnMosqued, op. cit.

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