Marking Ramadan at Canada's 'Little Mosque on the Tundra' / Photo: © AFP
Marking Ramadan at Canada's 'Little Mosque on the Tundra'
Muslims who gathered at the Midnight Sun Mosque in the Canadian Artic to break the Ramadan fast this week enjoyed home-cooked Sudanese food in a tranquil setting with breathtaking surroundings.
But it wasn't for everyone.
"I'm stuck. Every year I go, 'This is my last year in Inuvik,'" said Abadallah El-Bekai, a Lebanese-born Palestinian, who chuckled as he reflected on his efforts to leave the community in Canada's Northwest Territories, where he has lived for 25 years.
"God didn't agree for me to go. Maybe I made bad in my life, God sent me here!" the 75-year-old said.
The Midnight Sun Mosque, widely referred to as the "Little Mosque on the Tundra," opened its doors in August 2010 to serve a growing number of Muslim Canadians who were migrating north for work.
The structure was built in Winnipeg, in the province of Manitoba, and driven 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) north on a truck.
It is now the northern-most mosque in the Western Hemisphere.
The imam, Saleh Hasabelnabi, has lived in Inuvik for 16 years. He told AFP the congregation is no longer growing, but has remained stable at roughly 100 to 120 members.
Muslims who live around the Arctic Circle face challenges adhering to their faith, notably when trying to follow a prayer schedule linked to the position of the sun.
Inuvik gets 24 hours of sunlight more than 50 days a year and sees polar nights -- or no direct sunlight -- about 30 days each year.
"The first time was like a shock. I can't believe. The first time in my life I pray five times, the sun is still up," Hasabelnabi said, recalling his first summer in Inuvik.
The community has implemented a rule that it adheres to the local time in Mecca, Islam's holiest city.
Mohamed Asad Behrawar, who works in accounting and recently moved to Inuvik, said adjusting to the white nights wasn't difficult because he had previously lived in Edmonton, the capital of Alberta, which also has long summer days.
"But it's still hard to adjust to this environment. It's kind of harsh," the 36-year-old told AFP.
Braving frigid weather, members gathered at the Midnight Sun on Sunday to break the fast on the third day of Ramadan.
They brought multiple chicken dishes, rice and other fare packed in containers and sat together, including El-Bekai, who despite his eagerness to live elsewhere, happily chatted as he ate.
Inuvik's population is about 3,400 people and the Midnight Sun's congregation includes those who came to Canada as refugees, ultimately moving north seeking higher incomes.
Several work as taxi drivers in the community just south of the tree line.
Abdul Wahab Saleem, a 37-year-old Islamic scholar visiting from Edmonton, described the Muslim's in Inuvik as a "visible minority."
"You walk around outside you will see Muslims all the time, every time you get a cab, more than likely it's going to be a Muslim," he said.
D.Cook--TNT
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