Islamic association settles into Southeast

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This article was published 15/09/2018 (2020 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The head of a Winnipeg Islamic association that has relocated near Ile des Chenes says the tight-knit community is enjoying its spacious new home and plans to hold interfaith events in the coming months.

The Husaini Association of Manitoba hosts prayer meetings, religious services and celebrations, educational lectures, and youth recreation activities in its green-roofed centre along Highway 59 just north of Leblanc Road.

“It’s like a big family,” said president Imran Pirmohamed.

JORDAN ROSS | THE CARILLON
Husaini Association of Manitoba president Imran Pirmohamed is seen inside the centre’s large multipurpose room in its green-roofed building along Highway 59 near Leblanc Road. An informal meet and greet will take place Saturday, Sept. 22 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
JORDAN ROSS | THE CARILLON Husaini Association of Manitoba president Imran Pirmohamed is seen inside the centre’s large multipurpose room in its green-roofed building along Highway 59 near Leblanc Road. An informal meet and greet will take place Saturday, Sept. 22 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Many of the 40 to 60 families that attend the Husaini Centre have roots in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and live in Winnipeg’s south end, Pirmohamed said. A few needed a little coaxing when the association moved beyond the Perimeter two years ago.

“I tell them, ‘We’re just 10 minutes south of Sage Creek,’” Pirmohamed said.

The community counts itself among the 10 percent of Muslims worldwide who follow the Shiite branch of Islam.

The association itself is named after Hussain ibn Ali, grandson of the prophet Muhammad.

The community is too small to support its own imam, so it screens lectures and sermons on a large video screen. Guest speakers are brought in periodically, often for holy days. Preparations were underway this week to host a special guest speaker from Brampton, Ont. to mark the start of Muharram, the first and holiest month of the Islamic calendar, observed this year from Sept. 11 to Oct. 9.

The association purchased its current building, a former church, in July 2016. Leadership’s search for a large but affordable space was made difficult by a hot Winnipeg housing market, he said, but the rural setting has proven to be a good fit.

The quieter surroundings lend a peaceful air to outdoor events, such as the annual picnic to mark Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan.

This year the picnic fell in mid-June, but the lunar calendar means the holiday will slowly migrate into winter. Pirmohamed joked the picnic may be less enjoyable in January.

Moving to the country has had its learning curves, too. Pirmohamed said the group initially wasn’t familiar with septic tanks having grown used to city sewer systems.

While the building lacks exterior signage, Pirmohamed said the low profile isn’t intentional, just the result of a busy first couple years.

He said the community hasn’t experienced any discrimination since its move.

“Honestly speaking, we have not had any issues.”

Years ago, the Husaini Association began meeting in homes, achieving non-profit status in 1983. Instability stemming from the Gulf War in the early 1990s brought a wave of Iraqis to Winnipeg and grew the congregation’s numbers, prompting a search for a more suitable meeting space.

“With the influx of people, the needs changed,” Pirmohamed explained.

In 1996, the group began renting a hall in St Paul’s College at the University of Manitoba. More recently, it shared space at Churchill Park United Church in Winnipeg, where Pirmohamed said clergy forged a good working relationship.

Pirmohamed recounted how the two congregations helped support privately sponsored Syrian refugees. The Husaini Association provided halal food and translation services, while the United Church arranged clothing and linens.

“It was actually very beautiful,” he said.

Caring for newcomers is important to Pirmohamed, who earlier this year joined the board of directors at the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council, the province’s largest settlement agency.

Pirmohamed himself arrived in Canada a dozen years ago from Tanzania, where he said he worshipped at a mosque that had 12,000 members.

Now that the association is settled comfortably in a building of its own, it hopes to restart a tradition of organizing interfaith events, which Pirmohamed said have been successful in the past.

One in particular, on the topic of the messiah in Abrahamic faiths, proved especially popular.

“It was quite a diverse crowd,” Pirmohamed recalled.

Others have tackled topics like spirituality in the 21st century.

The success of the events reaffirmed Pirmohamed’s conviction that common ground isn’t hard to find if agenda-free dialog and “approachability” are upheld.

“At the end of the day, we’re all fellow Canadians,” he said. “We watch the same TV shows.”

Plans for a fall interfaith event are in the works, and an informal meet and greet event, open to the public, will take place Saturday, Sept. 22 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Formal services are held once a week, but the Husaini Association’s multipurpose room is often busy. Carpets are rolled out for worship, then rolled up for youth badminton nights.

Last Thursday, a Jeopardy!-style trivia game was planned, with the men squaring off against the women.

The association places a special emphasis on education. During Muharram, the association arranges 12 evenings of themed lectures, such as “deep thinking and religion,” a series Pirmohamed said promoted critical inquiry and cautioned against hasty conclusions.

Question and answer sessions are sometimes held after sermons.

“Islam goes hand in hand with intellect,” Pirmohamed said.

Youth programming is another priority. The association’s sisterhood mentorship program pairs young women with six and seven-year-old girls. They bake treats, play games, watch movies, and discuss religious questions.

Pirmohamed was quick to note the association faces challenges familiar to many churches, such as how to engage youth in a world filled with distractions.

“We all have the same issues.”

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