Yellowknife Muslims seek new home for Islamic Centre
Current building too cramped, centre wants to expand offerings to non-Muslims
The Islamic Centre of Yellowknife hopes to start building a new and bigger home for itself starting this fall.
Nazim Awan, the president of the centre, says its current, cramped building off Yellowknife's main drag, near the Old Town area, is too small.
"If we can sell this property and find another suitable piece of land, then we'll move forward," he said.
Awan says the centre would like additional space in order to hold more than just prayer meetings. The centre would like to house a library, hold educational seminars, host open houses and offer Arabic language courses for non-Muslims.
The ultimate goal, said Awan, is to "to increase the harmony and remove some of the misconceptions about Islam."
He said he wants to "show them Islam in modern Canada, and how we are integrating with the community."
The centre is talking to the City of Yellowknife about purchasing a lot at a separate location, though Awan was hesitant to reveal the location until the lot is secured.
He's hopeful construction on the new building can begin in September, with the building being framed in before the onset of winter.
The building housing the current centre has previously been home to a store and a daycare, said Awan.