Source/Credit: Vaughan Today
By Dan Hoddinott | September 12, 2011
Our desire to tell the story of Peace Village, which begins on page 4 of this issue, did not begin with references to 9-11 in mind, but the chronicle of human triumph embedded therein becomes particularly poignant now on the 10th anniversary of that fateful day.
As writer Omar Mosleh describes it, Peace Village is an Ahmadiyya Muslim community that sits off Jane Street in the north end of Maple. It has a mosque at its centre. Streets bear culture-specific names like Bashir Street, Tahir Street, Mahmood Crescent and Mosque Gate. Homes have been designed with a maximized view of the mosque being a desired attribute. Incoming homebuyers are expected to sign a declaration indicating they understand the mosque to be a pre-existing central figure in the neighbourhood.
But a private enclave where ultra-religionists shut themselves off from the world it is not.
It is important to consider Ahmadiyya Village today in the context of “10 years later” because the events of Sept. 11, 2001 thrust them perilously close to once again becoming the unfavoured in the land they called home.
Having fled Islamic lands (primarily Pakistan) where they were persecuted by mainstream Muslims, it was bitterly ironic that an act of war by a group of Muslim extremists placed in jeopardy the freedom they had found here, and only a year after their remarkable achievement — Peace Village — had been realized.
The Ahmadis have no connection to those who hijacked U.S. passenger planes and slammed them into the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington and, ultimately, an empty field in Shanksville, Pa. Yet when the backlash came, they found themselves, in some quarters at least, fingered as culprits. It must have felt like the very freedoms they thought they had won here were suddenly snatched away.
That Peace Village thrives in Vaughan today is testament to the resiliency, if not tenacity, of its builders and its residents.
They have endured — not to fight another day, but to celebrate life and peace. And what they have done here with that peace is as telling (and as flattering) as anything Mosleh could have described about the characteristics of their unique village.
The story for us began with an invitation from the resident Muslims for Peace group to join them at a friendship dinner in Maple. It was the gesture of goodwill — not so much to us as to other groups — that caused us to want to take a closer look at this community-within-a-community.
They were reaching out in peace. Inviting us (and others) to share a friendship meal at the mosque. Seeking fellowship with other Vaughan citizens. Wanting to share their good fortune with those around them. Asking mainstream Muslims to celebrate with them the common ground they share, rather than allowing their differences to continue to divide them. Inviting Christians and Jews to break bread with them.
Asking people of other faiths to get to know them.
Or, as Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua might put it, building bridges.
Speaking of the mayor, he will be on hand this month as Vaughan Today salutes the best of local businesses in our first annual “Best of Vaughan” gala. (See the special section in this issue for details.)
There are lots of interesting things for you in this issue. One of my favourites is Tristan Carter’s great story on Sorbara.
No, not that Sorbara. He’s busy campaigning in preparation for the Oct. 6 provincial election. Hello!
Read original post here: Peace Village a credit to city’s global ideals
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