Brandon Islamic Centre seeks help finding larger space

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This article was published 17/07/2018 (2818 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Brandon Islamic Centre is in critical need of a larger space, and mosque leaders are calling on the City of Brandon to help.

Brandon Islamic Centre president Faiz Ahmad said they are bursting at the seams due to a recent increase in the local Muslim population.

“It’s putting more and more restraint on the capacity of the place,” he said.

Brandon has seen an influx of Syrian refugees in recent years through the federal government program, as well as immigration through the provincial nominee program.

“We are always working with limited resources, but we accepted them, welcomed them, and help them in all kinds of ways,” Ahmad said, adding they responded to the needs without getting any assistance from either level of government.

The centre hosts five prayers every day, but where space becomes an issue is often during Friday prayers when there is a larger congregation. The biggest problem comes when they celebrate major festivals, such as Eid — which marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Over the last few years, the centre had to rent a space to accommodate the celebration, such as a school gym or curling club.

“The Islamic centre is not simply a place of worship. It has got multiple roles,” Ahmad said. “One of them is that it’s also a community centre as well and a place of gathering.”

The centre has grown to provide support services to immigrants and refugees, offers scholarships to graduating high school students, and recently sponsored four families who were displaced after the May 19 downtown fires.

The main floor of the centre, located at 834 10th St., can hold 89 people, according to their permit.

“When you got people wanting to be inside there for prayers, and you have more than 89 people, you cannot turn someone away, yet at the same time you’re running a risk, of number one, violating the permit, and second the safety,”Ahmad said. “So it’s a very huge dilemma for us as to what to do, and the only solution is for us to at least try to find another place.”

The Brandon Islamic Centre’s roots go back to 2000 when there were a handful of Muslim families in Brandon. There is now an estimated 400 Muslim people in the area. Four years ago, the centre completed renovations to allow for a larger worship area.

The Brandon Sun first ran an article about the need for a larger space in May 2017, and Ahmad said they have had several meetings with city representatives. They looked into real estate options, but they soon found the prices were too high.

Ahmad and Muhammad Abidullah appeared before city council Monday night, where they requested the city assist the centre in finding a bigger lot for them to build on, and also discussed the idea of city council asking developers to allocate lots for places of worship in future developments.

“We have come to a point where we want to keep people safe, we want to function within allowable permit … We need to do prayers five times a day, preferably at a common place of worship,” Ahmad said. “With all these things, we’ve got no option but to plead to the city council, plead to the people who run and plan the city to help us somehow.”

Ahmad noted that the existence of the Islamic centre has been a “critical selling point” to attract some highly educated and qualified professionals to the area, such as professors, surgeons, engineers and doctors.

“It is helping in the building of our community … and making our city even more competitive,” Ahmad said.

Mayor Rick Chrest said they have had a number of meetings on this issue, most recently last week.

There are some potential sites being looked into, and Chrest said it was important for the delegation to present to council and the greater public so people can learn more about their quest.

“It might bring some opportunities out of the woodwork,” Chrest said.

City administration will continue to look into this request, and Chrest noted it is a “significant priority.”

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