About Us

TESTIMONIALS ABOUT WCM

Since it opened in 2004, WCM has been blessed to be a place where so many people have gathered together to worship, learn and share. Below are lovely words from some of the many people who have visited WCM over the years.

Manitoba Legislative Assembly
Excerpt from Andrew Swan’s Private Member’s Statement
Thursday, September 27, 2007

Mr. Speaker…

Manitoba is one of the most diverse provinces in Canada and is home to a variety of cultures, races and faiths. The Winnipeg Central Mosque on Ellice Avenue is an important pillar of our vibrant multicultural society and enriches the community through its continual cultivation of peace and respect. The mosque was officially opened in October of 2004 and is now attended by over 500 Muslims from throughout Winnipeg and the surrounding area. It is a religious centre for Muslims from over 40 countries, from recent immigrants to those who have resided here for several generations.

The mosque opens its doors to community events, schools, other religious groups, social organizations, media and political leaders. The mosque is managed by a council of dedicated volunteers who, with the support of community members, work to contribute positively to the cultural and spiritual fabric of the urban community.

I’m proud to be the representative in this House for such a culturally rich area of the city of Winnipeg. We should all be proud to live in a province where everyone is free to celebrate their beliefs and holidays. Manitoba’s Islamic community remains true to the core tenets of Islam while also becoming a key part of our cultural mosaic.

Andrew Swan, MLA Minto

I am pleased to write a letter of commendation for the important interfaith and intercultural contributions which the Winnipeg Central Mosque offers to the wider community.

I have personally been a recipient of such services, upon invitation to attend the Mosque for different events. The Mosque has also invited Augustine United Church to visit as part of a series on interfaith dialogue. In addition, the Mosque has offered itself as a venue, free of charge, for the Interfaith Council of Women’s series of prayer gatherings.

The Winnipeg Central Mosque has proven itself to be not only a place of worship for the Muslim community, but a place of healing and education in its service to intercultural relations for the city of Winnipeg.

Sincerely,

The Rev. Dr. Loraine MacKenzie Shepherd

Minister, Augustine United Church

What I remember most clearly is a warm and receptive audience, and having a really fun time. I also seem to recall that your members worked hard to prepare a delicious feast, and while they were involved in evening prayers, all the non-Muslim guests ate most of the food!

I hope you’ll be pleased to know that I mention your mosque every time I perform! My show often ends like this:

I travel frequently. One time, and Orthodox Jewish man sat next to me on a plane. Very nice man. We started talking, and I just knew that at some point he would ask, “So, what do you do?”

And I began to think: 
Do I tell him I’m a Reform rabbi?
 From rural Vermont?
 On my way to Manitoba?
 To meet my friend Azhar Usman?
 And do stand-up comedy?
 At the Winnipeg Central Mosque?
 Sure enough, at one point he said, “So. What do you do?” And I replied, “Ummm. I...ah... I’m a consultant.” Congratulations on your anniversary.

Best wishes,

Bob Alper
Rabbi and Stand-up comic, performed with Azhar Usman at WCM in 2011 for the Winnipeg Comedy Festival

“I went to the mosque here over on Ellice Avenue, in fact I live very close to it. It was the first time I’d ever been in a mosque…it was for mayoralty campaign speeches of different candidates, but it was the first time I’d been in a mosque. I’ve seen it on TV, but to experience it in real life, and then to have some other opportunities to eat some of your food and that kind of thing, you know what I mean, it’s real, it makes it real.  An then to engage with people in their own setting is also very powerful because the experience is really different…some of the ceremonies and traditional values…learning those things first hand is really great, and we have some of those same things in our community, so we have a lot in common.”

Damon Johnston

President of the Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg

On Sunday, April 6, 2014, we were welcomed to the Winnipeg Central Mosque as a small delegation from the Centre for Christian Studies.

Our host, building manager, Idris Knapp, graciously extended hospitality and engaged us in story-telling.

We sat on the carpeted floor as he shared about his Islamic faith and culture.

Some children quietly played, kicked soccer balls, or talked in groups.

Others offered prayers moving about the expansive space.

All the while, knowledgeable and patient teachers were guiding students with memorization and recitation of the Qur’an.

We were very impressed by the level of devotion that is required in the Muslim practice of praying five times a day.

So we asked Idris about this.

He told us a paraphrased story from the Qu’ran about the prophets Mohammed and Moses.

Mohammed was instructed by Allah to tell the people to pray 50 times a day.

He reported this to Moses.

Moses said, “That’s not going to be doable.  Go back to Allah and negotiate for less.”

Mohammed did that and returned to Moses, “Allah says 25.”

Moses exclaimed, “Still too many.”

Mohammed went again and received the answer, “Ten.”

Moses insisted that this was not going to work.

Mohammed proceeded to the Holy One and came back with the direction for five times a day.

Moses suggested that Mohammed try one more time,

But Mohammed felt too shy to attempt another compromise so five was agreed upon.

For us this was a delightful narrative about the grace of the divine, the richness of our relationship with God, and the importance of prayer.

It encouraged us as Christians to examine our own spiritual practices and the lack of discipline they sometimes represent.

We deeply appreciated the connection with the mosque and the teaching that was offered.

You model an important community development in the heart of the city that resonates out of your powerful, prayerful witness.

We were touched by your faith and your devotion.

With gratitude and respect,

Ted Dodd

Centre for Christian Studies

On behalf of P/Sgt Rob Tighe and myself, I would like to thank you most sincerely for what we were allowed to experience this afternoon. To be invited into this most holy location to bear witness to the Friday afternoon prayer service was an honour. We will hold this memory and the wisdom we gained close to our heart.

We were warmly greeted by everyone in attendance and were left humbled by the sense of unity we felt. After the service, a gentleman approached us and presented each of us with a copy of the Qur’an and thanked us for attending. Words cannot describe the value of this gift. If anything, it is us that need to express our thanks. I assure you our copies will be handled with tender care and protection.

With best wishes and warm regards,

Andy Golebioski

Staff Sergeant, Winnipeg Police Community Relations Unit

We have been home-owners on the 500 block of Toronto Street since 2007 and have been greatly impressed by the dedication of Winnipeg Central Mosque members to improve the appearance and utility of their property at the corner of Toronto Street and Ellice Avenue for the betterment of the neighbourhood. Some of these improvements include:

-        the development and maintenance of community garden boxes in the parking lots behind and across the street from the mosque;

-        the construction and maintenance of flower beds and benches at the #14 bus stop between the streets of Toronto and Victor;

-        reconstructed fencing and improved lighting to the parking lot across the street;

-        successfully lobbying for a much needed pedestrian cross-walk at the corner of Ellice Avenue and Toronto Street;

-        provision of space to host outdoor bazaars and community activities in the parking lots adjacent to and across the street from the mosque.

We very much appreciate these efforts as they go a long way toward establishing safe community spaces for all residents of this neighbourhood.

Sincerely yours,

Garth Hardy and Natalie Asselin

Mosque neighbours

On behalf of St. Thomas Aquinas High School, and the World Religions classes, I would like to thank you for opening the doors of the Mosque and welcoming us in. You provide us with information and insight that cannot be found in most texts. The students are impressed with your presentation and leave with a greater understanding and much more tolerance. Hopefully they enter the world much more accepting of the world’s faiths. I know that you have helped in doing this. Again, thank you so very much.

Assalamu alaikum

Student from St. Thomas Aquinas High School

The West End BIZ is very happy to have the Winnipeg Central Mosque as an honourary member of the organization.

The Winnipeg Central Mosque is a valued non-profit religious organization that contributes much to our community. Aside from purchasing a long empty building and renovating it to be an attractive addition to our community, the Mosque offers many additional benefits to our neighbourhood. The Mosque brings together people from many different ethnicities and ages in a meaningful way and has opened its doors to many groups, schools and organizations to educate them about Islam.

Trudy Turner

Executive Director, West End BIZ (2006)

The Mosque has become more than just a place for prayer. It functions as a community center as well.  Most of the people living in that area are newcomers to Winnipeg and they gather at the Mosque as a place to get information from others who have been here a while as to how to get their bearings in a new country.  The Mosque provides programs such as dinners, educational classes and works together with different organizations to plan events such as summer barbeques and outings to the parks. This strengthens the downtown community giving them a feeling of belonging in a new country. It breaks the isolation newcomers feel and makes it easier for them to integrate in the community at large. 

Sincerely,

Yasmin Ali

President, Canadian Muslim Women’s Institute

As a local business owner and member of the mosque’s community, I have seen the parking lot change from a place that was overgrown, dark and an eyesore, to a space that feels like almost being in a park. It makes us feel more secure when we are going to pray early in the morning and leaving late at night. It has helped the community to feel like people care about themselves and how we look in the neighbourhood.

Sincerely,

Abdirizak Barud

Makkah Halal Meats and Grocery

As a friend of the diverse Muslim community, and as the co-creator of the Canadian Muslim Leadership Institute I grew to appreciate the role WCM plays within the community.

WCM, even as small as it is, is a strong symbol of how diversity strengthens community. WCM is not only a mosque; it is a centre where people from many countries and traditions have come together. This is a place where people of other faiths and traditions have come to learn from one another.

I believe that WCM broke new ground many years ago in building and sustaining relationships of trust, respect, and dignity between all cultures and all communities.

Bravo in celebration 10 years of service to Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada.

Martin Itzkow

Professional Coach and Community Change and Leadership Facilitator

Google Maps helped me find the Winnipeg Central Mosque in 2008. I had just started teaching at the University of Winnipeg and was in search of a place where I could go for Friday prayers and hopefully bring my Contemporary Islam classes as well. All I knew at that point about WCM is that it is a mosque which is centrally located in the city of Winnipeg. After five years of serving on the council and attending prayers and events there, I realized that WCM is so much more.

When I moved to Winnipeg, I had no idea what to expect in khutba department: decontextualized fire-and-brimstone sermons or relevant topics to help us be positive contributors to society? Al-Hamdulillah, I am thankful to have found the latter at WCM. And on the handful of occasions in which I had some constructive criticism to offer to the khateebs, they were receptive or willing to engage in a conversation. In all of the places I have lived, Winnipeg was the only place where I heard a khutba in honour of Manitoba Access Awareness Week, which drew connections between the Canadian national conversation and examples of people with disabilities in our Prophetic tradition. On that day, I realized the significance of the W in WCM. It is not just a place of prayer for the Muslim community in Winnipeg; it also a community centre that seeks to build bridges with the greater Winnipeg community for the common good. This realization left me hopeful that the next generation would never be made to feel they are any less Canadian because they are Muslim.

Ludmila Zamah

Professor of Arabic and Religious Studies, WCM Council Member

As part of the Great Canadian Mosque Trip, I traveled across Canada visiting the various mosques and Muslim communities in our home and native land. I had the great pleasure and honour of visiting the Winnipeg Central Mosque.

The mosque promotes inclusiveness and allows men and women from various backgrounds, ethnicities and classes to come together in congregation. Located in downtown Winnipeg it helps bridge the gap between Canadian Muslims and their Canadian brothers and sisters in the community at large by being part of the community and visible to the neighbourhood it belongs to.

The architecture of the building is quite unique and the bold pillars inside of the mosque are quite notable almost symbolizing and reinforcing the pillars of Islam.

I highly recommend visitors and residents of Winnipeg to see the Mosque for themselves and experience the warm friendly and inclusive environment.

Adnan Mirza

Great Canadian Mosque Trip

"One Canadian, one country, one mosque at a time"

The WCM community gardens bring beauty to an otherwise non-descript parking lot. The sight and scent of the flowers in the boxes adjacent to the benches at the #14 bus stop at Ellice and Toronto offer a sense of joy and hope to residents of our neighbourhood which is disproportionately affected by poverty, violence, and helicopter surveillance.

Ian Whetter

WCM neighbour

“DMSCA and the mosque have partnered up in the past with the vegetable boxes that are around the mosque and also when Food Share Coop was looking to identify an ideal spot for the market, it really made sense; it’s so central in the neighbourhood and it already had such a big strong community focus.

The mosque has been amazing to work with. They always are. Especially Idris. He comes by our office all the time; he’s always booming with happiness and energy when he walks in, and it’s just been wonderful because offering the parking lot to us has been great, it’s the ideal location. It borders right between Spence and Daniel Mac so it kind of lets everyone in and is welcoming. I love having the mosque in the community. I also live in the neighbourhood as well; it’s great seeing another organization that really gets out into the community and welcomes people.”

Bren Dixon

Greening and Environment Coordinator

Daniel McIntyre / St. Matthew’s Community Association

What does the Winnipeg Central Mosque mean to us? 

That is a simple question that has a simple answer: everything. The Mosque means everything to us. 

When we first moved in to the neighbourhood was the first time we entered the Mosque. Right when we stepped in there, we were amazed at the wave of happiness throughout it. The smiles and laughter that came out of everyone there was astonishing, too. And that is when he realized that this mosque was a very special place for Muslims in Winnipeg. 

The Winnipeg Central Mosque is not only a place of worship, but for us it is a place we go every Sunday to learn Quran and Arabic. It is a place where we see our friends and meet new people. We learn from other people. Being there is a gift itself, and we are glad we live next to it.  

Hafsa Abdullahi (age 14) and Aisha Abdullahi (age 12)

The Winnipeg Central Mosque will always carry a special place in my heart. The year it opened was the same year that I moved to Canada after leaving my home in Cardiff, Wales.  One of my earliest memories from that summer of 2004, was helping clear out the newly converted mosque, and through that experience meeting and making new friends. And so, as I celebrate a decade of living in Winnipeg- my home away from home- I come to realize what an important role the WCM has played in making me and family feel so connected to our community.

There is one word that describes WCM and that is “welcoming”. It’s with great pleasure and pride that I show off WCM when hosting visiting high schools, who come to this mosque to learn more about Islam and Muslims. WCM’s graceful simplicity and peaceful serenity makes for a wonderful environment where teenagers from other faiths feel free enough and comfortable to ask questions about our deen. WCM has hosted Eid open houses, mayoral town halls, comedy nights and interfaith meetings and therefore been a location that has fostered dialogue, understanding and bridge building with other communities. It is truly living up to the ideals of what a mosque was envisioned as during the time of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him: a place of worship, a hub of the community, and open and welcoming to everyone. Alhamdulillah.

But what makes WCM so very special to me personally? The openness. Literally and figuratively. That there is no wall or barrier dividing the congregation is a blessing few Muslim communities in the world can enjoy.

But most importantly, there is only one indicator of success for a mother when it comes to masjid, and that is how much my two sons enjoy coming. Admittedly, they love running around in circles when the hall is empty, but there is also that sense of pride and belonging they feel each time they step into the WCM for Jummah or a Qur’an class.

For all of this, I am so grateful to Allah for granting this community a mosque such as WCM.

May Allah bless those who run it and reward them in this life and in the Hereafter, Ameen.

Nadia Kidwai

Journalist