Wow, we have come a long way :)
Muslims in Canada
The Muslim community in Canada has its foundation in the West, where Al-Rashid, the
first mosque in North America, was built in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1938.
The first Muslim who immigrated to Canada came from a village in Lebanon called Kfarmishky. The Wahab family, consisting of two parents and six children, settled in Ottawa, with the father immigrating to Canada in
1903. In September 1914, Eva Wahab was the first Muslim born in Ottawa. In the 1920's about twenty-five Muslims related to the Wahab family were living in Ottawa. Today, there are approximately 60,000 Muslims in the Ottawa area, including the cities Aylmer and Hull across the Ottawa River in Quebec.
The Muslim population in Ottawa is on average highly educated, and their presence is visible in educational, governmental, and research institutions; the Information Technology (IT) sector; and small businesses.
Statistics Canada Report (2001)
Canadian Muslims 579,640 (2% of Canadian Pop.)
·Increased by 128.9% since 1991 :omg: :thumbs_up
·Ontario Muslims more than doubled: 352,500 (I am one of them who helped this happen) :D
·Muslims in Quebec up by 141.8% :applaud:
·Median age of Muslims in Canada: 28.1yrs.
Muslims in France
Muslim immigrants to France came mainly from Algeria until the early sixties, which was still a French colony at that time.
Statistics show Muslims in France count between about
5 and 6 million, which is about
10 to 12% of the French population. That is the
highest percentage of Muslims in a Western European country.
The Muslim Community in Spain
The
resurgence of Spain’s Muslim community began in
1976 in Cordoba, when five young men became Muslims through the da`wah of Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi and followed his instructions to spread Islam among their people. They were the first known Spaniards to enter Islam since the time of al-Andalus. Their efforts resulted in many people embracing Islam and the establishment of a Muslim community in
Granada.
After
500 Years, a New Mosque Opens in Granada :applaud:
The opening of a new mosque in Europe should not necessarily make the news. After all, with over
15 million Muslims scattered throughout Europe, mosques are nothing new. But the opening of this mosque has a special symbolic value for Spanish Muslims, and has struck a nerve with some Spaniards who fear that this is the beginning of an Islamic reconquista of al-Andalus. “This is the first mosque to be opened by Spanish Muslims in over 500 years,” said Abdul Haqq Salaberria, a spokesman for the Islamic community in Spain.
“We hope that Spaniards will understand ... that we do not want to re-conquer al-Andalus, but we do want recognition.”
The mosque is opening amid much fanfare and after many years of struggle. The Granada Muslim community consists mainly of North African immigrants and European converts. Some local people have greeted this mosque project with fierce opposition, such as by painting "Moros Fuera" (Moors Out!) in the old Muslim quarter. And last year, when Muslims tried to pray the Friday prayer in the ancient Cordoba Mezquita Cathedral, there was another uproar. But now, on Fridays the adhan (call to prayer) will sound in this historic Islamic city for the first time in 500 years.
“The mosque is to show [that] it is not so strange to have Muslims in Spain,” said Abdul Haqq, a Basque convert. “We want to say [that] we are as much Spanish as you are.”
Friday Prayer in a Madrid Mosque
Insallah we will keep on growing (all the articles were written in 2004).
http://www.masnet.org/prof_community.asp?id=1937
http://www.masnet.org/prof_community.asp?id=1585
http://www.masnet.org/prof_community.asp?id=1566