It’s Saturday night and the Istiqlal Islamic Centre of Toronto - located in Ballinafad - is having its weekly dinner that accompanies Sunday school-like lectures called halaqas.
As the largest group of worshippers is from the Indonesian community, their particular recipes are served up for all to enjoy.
The small-town mosque’s head, Imam Umar Farooq, says he and his flock often share food from their gatherings with their neighbours. This relationship may be set to grow. Farooq and the other heads of the mosque are mulling over several community initiatives.
“I envision a community food bank,” Farooq told HaltonHillsToday. “I envision the Istiqlal Islamic Centre being a hub where anyone can feel very comfortable to walk in and pick up any food items that they may otherwise be lacking for any reason.”
The hope is to one day have a dedicated room for the cause.
While the congregation will certainly be encouraged to donate food, they won’t be the only ones. Anyone from the community, regardless of faith or walk of life, will be welcome to donate.
The potential hub will also be a place for open discussions and not just for worship.
“We are planning an interfaith dialogue for the month of June, and that's going to be the beginning of that initiative for Muslims to learn about Christians and Christians to learn about Muslims,” Farooq said.
He continued: “Both of us can learn about our fellows from the Jewish community, and we can also learn about members of the Hindu community.”
It’s not currently known when the food bank will launch. Farooq says the centre is “in a state of infancy as an organization. So there's a process of figuring things out and learning the logistics.”
So far, they've partnered with the Mississauga-based Canadian Islamic Union to raise money and buy food for Peel Region’s food bank clients.
“That was a nice initiative for us to at least get our feet wet in the field of serving others and providing aid to those who are most in need,” Farooq said.
They have also tested the waters with other initiatives, such as partnering with charitable organizations to deliver relief abroad for the earthquake in Turkey and the floods in Pakistan, among others.
Istiqlal has been open to the public since Ramadan 2022 in the former United Church of Ballinafad building, on the south side of the municipal border with Wellington County. The building was completed in 1878, making it one of the oldest heritage properties in Halton Hills.
Chair of the board, Subhan Bumi, said a number of signs convinced him this was the right place. After losing the bid to another investor, Bumi began looking elsewhere. But then a year later, the property came back on the market at a lower price.
The building’s orientation was the second sign. Muslims pray while facing their holy city of Mecca, and the former church makes this easy.
More information – like prayer times, events and volunteer opportunities – can be found at Istiqlal.ca.
