From its founding in 1938 to its preservation as a historic building in 1992,
the Al Rashid Mosque has been a source of pride for Canada's Muslim community
and a place where tradition could be nurtured and celebrated. The story begins
with the arrival of the first Muslim immigrants to Canada's shores.
Among the first Muslims to move west was Ali Hamdon. He arrived in Canada from
Lebanon at the turn of century. Scraping together a living as a fur trader was
not easy. Fifteen years later, at age 42, he finally had the means to travel
back to his village in the Beka'a Valley to find a bride. He chose a vivacious
16-year-old named Hilwie and brought her back with him. In the tiny northern
outpost of Fort Chipewyan, surrounded by the great boreal forest, he opened a
fur trading store.
Salim "Big Sam" Sh'aban made his way to Canada about 1912. Two years
later, he too decided to return to Lebanon to find a bride, but soon realized
that his future lay in Canada. He returned, leaving his wife and child behind
until he could build a home for them.
Around 1920, when these families moved west, agricultural settlement had spread
only 30 miles on either side of the single railway line. Winters in the land of
the Cree and Assiniboine could hardly have been less welcoming. Blizzards
regularly swept the prairies, dropping the mercury 50 degrees below zero. A
young immigrant could be forgiven for her longing for her family's sunny orchard in
the Beka'a Valley. Yet Hilwie Hamdon had little time for regret. She was too
busy bringing up six children in a community where most people were Cree.
Eventually a Jewish family moved to Fort McMurray and the two families became
friendly. The women would visit and compare notes about the challenges of
keeping hallal and kosher and of bringing up their children in their respective
faiths.
Although no other Muslim families lived in Fort Chipewyan, by the late 1920s a
few had moved to other posts in the province. They were fur traders, mink
ranchers and shopkeepers. The Sha'abans, for example, had settled in Endiang,
where Salim opened a fur trading store. Sha'aban's grandson, Larry Shaben, now
in his sixties and a leader of Alberta's Muslim community recalls, "At the
time, my grandparents knew every Muslim in Alberta."
Heritage Community Foundation Presents
)
