Canada opens its largest mosque
Monday, 7 July 2008
OTTAWA, Jul 6 (AFP): Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Saturday opened "Baitun nur" (House of Light, in Urdu), the country's largest Muslim mosque built in western Calgary by the Ahmadiyya Muslim community of Pakistan.
The 4,500-square-meter (48,500-square-foot), 15-million dollar structure shows "the true and benevolent face of Islam," Harper said at the inauguration.
The building bearing the 99 names of Allah in Arabic on one of its facades, with a 1,500-capacity prayer hall was also opened by the group's global spiritual leader, Mirza Masroor Ahmad.
The Ahmadiyya community in Canada has almost 50,000 members.
The 4,500-square-meter (48,500-square-foot), 15-million dollar structure shows "the true and benevolent face of Islam," Harper said at the inauguration.
The building bearing the 99 names of Allah in Arabic on one of its facades, with a 1,500-capacity prayer hall was also opened by the group's global spiritual leader, Mirza Masroor Ahmad.
The Ahmadiyya community in Canada has almost 50,000 members.