Canada: Calgary's Baitun Nur mosque was inaugurated on this day in 2008

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Praise for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community came from attendees, including Harper, who said "Calgarians, Albertans and Canadians will see the moderate, benevolent face of Islam in this mosque and the people who worship here." 

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The Canadian Press / Wikipedia
Compiled by Imran Jattala | July 5, 2013

In 2008, hailing it as an "architectural treasure," Prime Minister Stephen Harper joined hundreds of guests as the biggest mosque ever built in Canada opened its doors in northeast Calgary.

His Holiness, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the supreme head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, oversaw the opening of Baitan Nur mosque with 5000 people in attendance, including dignitaries such as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Opposition Leader Stéphane Dion, and Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier.

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Calgary, Fred Henry, attended as well.

The $15-million mosque in northeast Calgary covers 4,500 square metres, or 48,000 square feet, and was constructed largely through donations from the city's small but rapidly growing Ahmadiyya Muslim community.

The cornerstone of the mosque was laid in 2005.

Construction was completed in 2008 for an estimated cost of C$ 15 million, with roughly C$8 million of that coming from local Calgarians.

Praise for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community came from attendees, including Harper, who said "Calgarians, Albertans and Canadians will see the moderate, benevolent face of Islam in this mosque and the people who worship here."

According to Embassy magazine, regarding Harper's remarks, a governing party insider said "It's an important signal the prime minister is sending, not just to militant Islamists abroad, but to their sympathizers here at home, that he's perfectly prepared to ignore them and side with persecuted minorities within the faith."


  --  Canada: On this day in 2008 Calgary's Baitan Nur mosque was inaugurated
  --  With excerpts from The Canadian Press, My SASK, Wikipedia, Ahmadiyya Times
  --  Photos: Wikipedia


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