Mayor of Inuvik, site of Canada's first mosque above the Arctic Circle, says the new place of worship will help attract qualified professionals to the Northwest Territories. Keywords: aboriginal and Muslim cultures, Above & Beyond Canada's Arctic Journal, Ahmad Alkhalaf, Amier Sulliman, Arabic language, Arctic construction, Arctic Muslims, Arctic shipping, Arctic visitors, attracting professional immigrants, attracting skilled immigrants, Canadian Arctic, Canadian immigrants, Canadian multiculturalism, Denny Rodgers, Dr. Hussain Guisti, Edward Atkinson, Fateh Allah, Gwich'in communities, Hay River, Igloo Church, Inuvik, Inuvialuit communities, Islamic community centres, Islam, Islamic libraries, Islamic Society of Nunavut, Islamic women, Iqaluit, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Mackenzie River, Midnight Sun Mosque, masjid, mosques, moving buildings, Muslim communities, Muslim immigrants, Muslim places of worship, Muslim practices, Muslim prayers, Muslims, Muslim transients, Muslim women, Nilufer Rahman, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, prefabricated buildings, PrintAction, Saira Rahman, shipping by barge, Syed Ali, Thompson Manitoba, Victoria Gaitskell, Zubaidah Tallab Foundation

1. May/June 2011 above & beyond 49
New polar mosque
Canada’s Arctic Muslims establish roots
N
orthern Canada’s growing Muslim
communities recently completed an
ambitious construction project in order
to build the first mosque, (masjid) above the
Arctic Circle. The plan entailed the purchase
and transport of a 473-square metre structure
(delivered in two sections and prefabricated
inWinnipeg,Manitoba) across western Canada
and the North by tractor-trailer truck and
barge.
Last September, the new pre-fabricated
structure began its long journey; first hauled
2,400 kilometres by road (Winnipeg to
Hay River) and then floated another 1,800
kilometres by river barge all the way down the
Mackenzie River to Inuvik, in the Northwest
Territories,accomplishing what is believed to
be the world’s longest-ever move of any
building structure. It wasn’t always easy, and
occasionally problems were encountered such
as bridges too narrow for the load and
highway restrictions on the movement of
oversized loads; even weather became a
factor at times. Still, the two-piece structure
did arrive safely in Hay River, fortunately just
in time to make the last barge of the 2010
shipping season.
Funds for the now named, Midnight
Sun Mosque, came from the Zubaidah Tallab
Foundation, representing the Muslim
A R T S , C U LT U R E & E D U C AT I O N
©DARELENEBURDEN
By Victoria Gaitskell and Edward Atkinson

2. 50 arcticjournal.ca May/June 2011
community of Thompson, in Manitoba’s far
North. Inuvik community member, Amier
Suliman, says that, owing to the high cost of
northern labour and material, the initial bids
from contractors amounted to close to a
half million dollars. When Zubaidah Tallab
Foundation’s Dr.Hussain Guisti calculated the
costsassociatedwithpurchasingaprefabricated
structure from a Winnipeg manufacturer
instead, he found it would, in total, still be
cheaper, even after adding all long-distance
shipping charges.
Shortly after the structure’s arrival at
Inuvik’s port on October 22, local engineer
and project manager, Ahmad Alkhalaf,
oversaw its permanent installation on a dou-
ble-sized lot,which the local Muslim commu-
nity had pre-purchased for $90,000.A 30-foot
minaret tower, constructed entirely in Inuvik,
was attached to its right front corner. Fateh
Allah,aToronto carpenter,volunteered to stay
on in Inuvik for another two months to help
finish the building.
For many reasons, including the unique-
ness of the entire project and its obvious
allure as a proud new symbol in support of
the Canadian multiculturalism concept, the
Inuvik Muslim community mosque project
attracted considerable attention from inter-
nationalmedia,alongwithendlesscomparisons
to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s
television’s long-running show, Little Mosque
on the Prairie.
A R T S , C U LT U R E & E D U C AT I O N
©AMIERSULIMAN©NILUFERRAHMAN
Top: (L-R)Amar Alawad, Khalid Alkhateb and
Amier Suliman inside Inuvik’s new place of worship.
Bottom: The local Muslim community’s happiness is
evident at the Inuvik waterfront after the transfer of
their new building from barge to shore.

3. May/June 2011 above & beyond 51
Suliman is of Sudanese extraction and
moved to the Arctic seeking employment.
Now, 14 years later, he has married there and
runs his own security company. He says
before the mosque’s arrival, Inuvik Muslims
worshipped communally for the previous 10
years in a 50-year-old rented trailer,measuring
9 by 14 feet and holding 25 occupants at best.
Their new mosque is spacious by comparison,
consisting of a main prayer hall for men
and another for women that doubles as a
community centre, a library donated by a list
of sponsoring organizations, a full kitchen,
and small dining area.
On November 10, Inuvik Muslims held an
inaugural all-day open house at their new
mosque, followed by a dinner at the local
arena to which they invited the entire town.
“It’s a small place where people know each
other and see each other a lot,and the Muslim
cab drivers especially get to know everybody
because of their job.Lebanese and Palestinian
family members of one of the town’s restau-
rateurs brought supplies from Edmonton and
arranged a Middle Eastern dinner that 500 or
600 people attended,”recalls Nilufer Rahman.
“The day was filled with a lot of emotion. It
was refreshing to see so many grown men
cry,” she later wrote. One visitor travelled
to the opening from as far away as Dubai,
bringing with him a luxurious carpet for the
mosque.
Muslims traditionally pray five times a
day, including before sunrise (iftar) and after
sunset (maghrib).But the prayer schedules of
Arctic Muslims involve different lighting con-
ditions, since 24 hours of sunlight accompany
Arctic summers and only a sliver of sun
appears briefly around noon in Arctic winters.
Because their community is linguistically and
culturally diverse, they hold services in both
Arabic and English.In total,they have some 80
members with origins in such diverse places
as Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Somalia,
Croatia, Pakistan, and Burma. Their future
plans include summer religion and Arabic
classes for the approximately 14 children of
families.
Nilufer and her sister, Saira Rahman, are
Winnipeg filmmakers and the hijab-wearing
daughters of Bangladeshi parents. After
Dr. Guisti asked the sisters to produce a
documentary film about Inuvik’s Midnight
Sun Mosque,the two young women travelled
twicetothecommunitytofilmcriticalepisodes
and people connected to the building over a
five-week period.
A R T S , C U LT U R E & E D U C AT I O N
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4. 52 arcticjournal.ca May/June 2011
“In Inuvik we’re very much like a microcosm
of Canada, very diverse and multicultural,”
saysInuvik’sNewfoundland-bornmayor,Denny
Rodgers.“We’re an Aboriginal community first,
one-third Inuvialuit and one-third Gwich’in,
but we also have a large community of people
from different regions of Canada and around
the world.”
While in Inuvik, the Rahman sisters report
observing similarities between aboriginal and
Muslim culture, including respect for the
environment, elders, extended family, and
sharing.“We also found that Inuvik’s Muslims
were quite a mixed bag in terms of culture,
language, religious practices, and livelihood,”
says Nilufer Rahman. “Quite a few are
originally from Sudan, but one gentleman of
Albanian descent has been in Inuvik for
almost 40 years and is likely one of the area’s
first Muslims.
Syed Ali belongs to the Muslim community
in Iqaluit,Nunavut’s capital (population 6184).
Trained as a mechanical engineer, Ali retired
early from his commission as a Colonel in the
Pakistani army to immigrate to Canada. He
is Chief Boiler Inspector for the Nunavut
Government.
“Our community in Iqaluit has about seven
families with children whose parents work for
government, but most of the other Muslims
are transients,”he explains.“At any given time
there are maybe 50 or60 additionalindividuals
from different countries, but it’s hard for us
to get together. Ali continues: “One of my
passions is to do something to help the
Muslim community,so in 2009,I incorporated
the Islamic Society of Nunavut as a non-profit
organization. Its goal is to establish prayers
among Muslims living in Nunavut.
SairaRahmanconcludes:“TheInuvikmosque
provides an opportunity to examine questions
of how people view their place in the world
and how home communities are formed. Its
Muslim community is so small and diverse.
They all share the same space and same
fundamental beliefs, yet differ in language,
culture and practice.”
“The new mosque is a nice addition to the
community,” enthuses Rodgers.“Except for a
symbol on top, the old trailer had nothing to
distinguish it.But now the minaret tower is lit
up all the time. At night it’s quite spectacular.
We’re already known for the Igloo [Roman
Catholic]Church,butnowthemosqueprovides
another feature to help us attract quality pro-
fessionals to move here, bring their families,
and become part of the community.”
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