New mosque extends hand to local churches
TORONTO, ON—The downtown Toronto skyline is about to be punctuated by its first minaret.
Madina Masjid Islamic Centre on Danforth Street—which recently joined the local Christian and Jewish communities in the inaugural Danforth Multi-faith Peacewalk—will unveil its new 25,000 square-foot building in 2009. It will have seven domes—six of them glass skylights—and a worship hall for thousands.
Architect Zak Ghanim says the mosque will make a dramatic visual impact in a derelict area characterized by older, nondescript box-likebuildings.
"It is a combination of traditional Islamic architecture with modern functionality," says Ghanim. "My hope is that it will remind the Muslim community of their homes with Middle Eastern and Islamic characteristics that they can relate to."
Ghanim, whose designs were influenced by his Middle Eastern childhood, hopes it will be welcomed by the wider community as well. A member of the local Muslim community who preferred to remain anonymous, stressed the mosque had reached out a hand of friendship to the Christian community and hoped local Christians would respond positively in return.
"We absolutely welcome it. I hope that we can have any partnership with them that we can," says Douglas du Charme, pastor of nearby Hope United and Glen Rhodes United who took part in the multi-faith event with Madina Masjid.
"One of the interesting things with our recent peace walk was that the initiative was not from the churches, it was from the mosque and the synagogue," says du Charme. "We were invited in to a process that had already begun. There were people in other faith communities saying, 'would the churches like to be involved?' and we said 'yes.' And the end result was wonderful."
He added that a highlight for him was a joint worship event in Eastminster United Church. "We all just started dancing—Muslims, Christians and Jews together—down one aisle and up the other. It was really quite unexpected and absolutely delightful. Singing: 'Draw the circle wide, draw it wider still. Let this be our song. No one stands alone. Standing side by side.'"
But Joe Boot, pastor of Westminster Chapel, a new evangelical church plant which was launched in the area this fall, has concerns about welcoming the Islamic centre's heightened profile. Boot says he hopes it won't lead to "philosophical multiculturalism" and a failure to acknowledge the biblical Christ as the true path to salvation.
Boot notes the mosque stands on the site of a former church. "In terms of where Canada is right now, this is to be expected," he says. "If you look around the city of Toronto you see churches that have become mosques, Hare Krishna centres, condominiums and restaurants. This is simply another indicator of the de- Christianization of Canada.
"Our response is not inter-faith service. To me that is just a flagrant compromise of the Gospel. When we see a mosque like that, our hearts need to be moved to compassion for people who are prisoners to a false religion. We need to be in prayer for them. We need to be those who are reaching out to our Muslim friends and neighbours with gentleness, with kindness, with respect and a commitment to share the Gospel of hope in Christ. The mission field has come to us."
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