The entire Cumberland community was invited to the mosque for Eid, and have been invited in the past, including for the mosque's Canada Day Celebration earlier in July.
Source/Credit: Orleans News
By Brier Dodge | August 6, 2014
Several hundred people were at the Baitun Naseer Mosque in Cumberland on July 29 to celebrate Eid, the end of Ramadan. The morning featured prayers, a sermon, and a celebration with food and inflatable rides for children at the Market Street mosque for people from all over the city and Ottawa
Valley. "We make a lot of sacrifices (during Ramadan). This is a specific month where we give (those sacrifices) full attention," said Aleemuddin Ahmed, president of the local chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'a. "This is an event to all come together, at one place at one time."
During Ramadan, Muslims fast and refrain from drinking liquids from sunrise to sundown. On weekends through Ramadan, the mosque hosted large events at sunset to break the daily fast.
The celebrations used to be held annually at a property on Dunning Road, but the purchase of the former Riverview elementary school has allowed the Ottawa group to expand the mosque.
The building used to be an elementary school, until it was sold to the Ottawa chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at in 2010. The building had to undergo some renovations before it was suitable for use, and can now accommodate large groups.
"It's not only the prayer rooms here, but the library, the gym, a kitchen facility," said Ahmed.
"There are so many things, we can organize many community gatherings."
The former gym is used as the main prayer room, while audio-visual equipment connects the prayer service to classrooms in a women's only section of the building.
The mosque is used as a community centre, and hosts practices for the Ahmadiyya basketball and track teams, women's yoga and other events. The purchase included the entire property and parking lot, and a cricket field was built for the Ahmadiyya cricket team.
The chapter purchased the former school with donations from the families who form the Ottawa chapter. The chapter has also invited members of the Cumberland community, such as the Cumberland Community Association to, use the space for meetings, said outreach secretary Muneer Khan.
They are still committed to renovating the building further; ideas include building a weight room in a former classroom for athletic training.
The entire Cumberland community was invited to the mosque for Eid, and have been invited in the past, including for the mosque's Canada Day Celebration earlier in July.
The local residents have always been "open-minded and good," Khan said. In the future, he hopes more community groups will be able to make use of the site.
Read original post here: Canada: Eid celebrated in Cumberland at school turned mosque
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