I've been thinking about this for a long time;where is the best city in CANADA for Muslims. I always think its Toronto or its environs but some think differently. So here's your chance to rate your city. Feel free to answer anonymously with your town or city name.
Please give yourself one point for each positive feature of your area.
1. We have a mosque.
2. Our mosque has an imam.
3. Our mosque has learning activities for all ages ie Quran lessons, arabic, halaqua etc
4. Our mosque has convert classes.
5. We have a halal meat store or access to halal meat.
6. We have an islamic bookstore.
7. We have an islamic clothing store.
8. We have muslim social workers.
9. Islamic conferences take place here.
10. We have islamic charities to help local muslims ie food bank.
11. Muslims here are friends for the sake of Allah and not based on race or ethnicity.
12. Our mosque allows me to volunteer and make recommendations and changes.
13. Our mosque does dawah.
14. Our city has halal restaurants.
15. NEW. Our city has an islamic school.
As for where we live(actually 45 minutes away) there is only one thing; a mosque. How sad is that? So the rating is 1/13. Oh and a tiny selection of halal meat ie boxed meat. We also have 1 or 2 halal restaurants..this is very new. I forgot to add that soon a nearby town will be opening an islamic school. Looks expensive though.
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oh wow..Ma'am u think a lotttt..exactly the reason why i dont prefer living abroad..the youngsters don't even know the sound of Azaan... ;-(((
ReplyDeleteYes I miss the azan ( I heard it in Malaysia for 4 months). My mosque is building a minaret but the azan will never be called from it. Waste of money in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI know you are asking about Canada, but... : )
ReplyDeleteWell, down here in California. We score a 2--for a small halal store and a mosque with few amenities, and no Imam. I think the MSA must be more active than the mosque, when it comes to functions they are the life blood. I am not sure of the rest of the people.
If I drive over to the big town 13 miles away, let's see... I would say and 8 or 9 to the best of my knowledge. But that includes a network of many mosques, and groups. I'd still prefer to be in a more urban and diverse area though, even more than Sacramento. Or quite opposite--way out in the woods on a farm.
You've got to move, inshallah!
On the other hand, perhaps you are being protected from fitna.
Oh! Good news, our library has Butterfly Mosque, so I am good to go for the next few books clubs. You should have posted about 10 things right away, not waiting. IF you post in the comment section, you can put a spoiler alert in the bottom of your post. It's hard to recall a book several weeks later...
ASA
ReplyDeleteI'm really shocked that your mosque is so -- unmosque-like.
Our community scores a 13 -- maybe even a 14 as we are starting to have more Muslim conferences out here (but nothing too major) -- I also have to admit that the Islamic Bookstore is barely a year old, and that our clothing stores are highly overpriced for such low quality.
But, Alhamdulillah, all the rest is right there!
Asalaamu Alaikum UmmMalaak
ReplyDeleteOh I forgot to even ask about an MSA. The closest city to us also doesn't have an MSA.
Good that you could get the book from the library. Mine doesn't have it but maybe through interlibrary loan.
I guess I should have posted right away when I remembered and I was pumped after discussing it with my daughter. I'll get to it insha Allah.
Asalaamu Alaikum Hethr
ReplyDeleteMasha Allah your city sounds almost as good as Toronto! Maybe I should start packing. I think its probably too expensive for us though. Yeah our mosque is like a culture club (no boy george though). Its really hard on your iman to live without the support of a community.
Alhamdulillah, our community has a perfect 14.
ReplyDeleteAsalaamu Alaikum
ReplyDeleteFalling Up are you in Canada?
Oh dear only on Canadian city rated! Anyone else? I really do need to know where the best cities are and then convince dh to apply there. This means a lot to me! Thanks for the replies so far :)
ReplyDeleteDid you try islamicfinder.com at least you would know what there is...?
ReplyDelete...though a personal recommendation is even better, I know.
Aischa
For some strange reason I forgot to add; my city has an islamic school.
ReplyDeleteAsalaamu Alaikum Aischa
I didn't think about islamicfinder ( I always think of it as a place to find prayer times). I do prefer a personal recommendation so you can learn about the nitty gritty things that a website will never tell you. A city could have everything but if they treat converts like dirt then I don't want to live in it.
I was surprised to find Calgary has so many things going on, Edmonton too. I think Alberta is really booming islamically because of all the jobs there.
ReplyDeleteI live in the GTA, my city scores 11/15 .. it would probably be lower than that but I go to nearby cities for the things I'm missing in mine ie: bookstores, clothing, conferences, etc.
ReplyDeleteAsalaamu alaikum
ReplyDeleteIts great when you are close enough to somewhere to make up for what you are missing. I'd have to travel for hours to do that.