A few years back, while waiting at a local medical clinic in Orleans, my wife Nicole and I started talking to the couple beside us.
He was the new Imam of the Orléans growing Muslim community, Mohammed Bin Salim Badat.
We had heard that a new Mosque was planned for Orleans and that a building permit had just recently been approved by the city of Ottawa. He filled us in on the progress and the need of a mosque in East Ottawa.
It’s been three years of building but it has been worth the wait. They chose not to go the route of a mortgage but to raise the funds themselves and build as money permitted.
I attended the grand opening this past Saturday along with many of Ottawa’s civic leaders and many happy members of the Muslim community.
What a beautiful building!
When the guests arrive they will be immediately struck by the plush carpeting which was imported from Turkey and donated by a local member of the mosque. The carpet is made to last 100 years.
The doors, pulpit and book cases were all hand-carved in Syria and should be installed by the end of October. The finishing touch will be a central chandelier which is being made in China using Egyptian crystal. Mini-replica chandeliers will grace the walls.
The total cost of the new mosque is about $3 million, $2.4 million of which has already been raised. The remaining $600,000 will be raised through continued fundraising efforts.
More information can be found here: http://www.masjidbilal.org/index.html
