Muslims, a respected community in Canada

Hundreds of Muslims joined together at the Vancouver Art Gallery Friday afternoon, August 14, 2009 to pray as part of the Cultural Expo.

Hundreds of Muslims joined together at the Vancouver Art Gallery Friday afternoon, August 14, 2009 to pray as part of the Cultural Expo.


VANCOUVER - The roughly 1,000 Muslims who prayed together outdoors in downtown Vancouver Friday were told it was a sign they are tolerated and respected by most Canadians.

Speaking to a small sea of Muslim men and women kneeling on mats in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Imam Ali Meheri said, “Being allowed to pray in the heart of downtown … shows we are accepted in the West, as long as we follow the rules of the land.”

Meheri, who is based at the Islamic Information Centre in east Vancouver, urged the Muslims of multiple nationalities who gathered at the two-day Canadian Islamic Cultural Expo to “not listen to extremists” who teach that Muslims are locked in unavoidable conflict with the West.

As non-Muslim pedestrians wandered by the art gallery courtyard to see what all the chanting, praying and tents were about, the imam preached that Islam is a religion of “no compulsion, a religion of choice that can never be forced on people.”

Headscarved women were divided from men during the service.

In addition to the Islamic Cultural Expo meeting with its goal of having 1,000 Metro Vancouver Muslims gather for public prayer, the lively event featured food, dance, performances and displays.

Some information tents were devoted to educating the public about the status of Muslim women, to highlighting Islamic science, to handing out free Korans, to explaining the basics of the faith and to emphasizing Muslim approaches to the environment.

In a booth devoted to Muslim women, Catherine Young, a Canadian-raised convert to Islam, said the biggest stereotypes Canadians have about Muslim females is that their headscarves are oppressive, marriage is forced on Muslim women and the prophet Muhammad abused his wives.

While emphasizing that none of the stereotypes were true, Young and her colleagues also displayed posters and pamphlets highlighting the Top 10 Misconceptions about Muslim Women.

The published material countered what it said are widespread falsehoods that “honour killings” are allowed in Islam, that polygamy is strongly recommended, that “genital mutilation” is a Muslim tradition and that women cannot have a career outside the home or be in leadership positions.

In addition, dozens of young and old Muslims gathered around a tent devoted to Islamic ecology, which allowed people to touch snakes and lizards. Volunteers collected donations for the protection of such exotic animals.

The ecology booth, which was devoted to explaining Islamic approaches to the natural environment, said the Koran teaches that suffering of animals should always be minimized, natural resources should not be wasted, recycling should be supported, the gap between the rich and poor should be narrow and Allah’s natural creation should not be exploited for selfish ends.

University of B.C. astrophysicist Redouane Al Fakir stood at a nearby booth that contained computers, telescopes and drawings of famous Muslim scientists from history.

As director of the Muhammad Institute for Space Science on the UBC campus, Al Fakir said his organization is dedicated to developing advanced astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology and space exploration throughout the Islamic world.

Since the Muhammad Institute is working globally to restore “the glory” of Islamic science and technology, particularly space science, Al Fakir said a key goal of the network of scholars he has developed is to help Muslim-majority countries send a rocket into space by 2015.