The city of Gatineau is located in the western part of the province of Quebec in Canada. It is on the other side of the Ottawa River, across from the federal capital city of Ottawa. The two cities have close social and economical ties due to this proximity. Gatineau has approximately 240 000 inhabitants, including around 4000 Muslims according to some preliminary statistics, but this number is believed to be much higher. Most of the members of the Muslim community have high education degrees, and most of them speak fluent English, French and Arabic. It should also be noted that the Gatineau region is a destination for an increasing number of immigrants, and particularly Muslim immigrants. The University of Quebec in Outaouais is located in the center of the city and has a large number of Muslim faculty professors and students.

Needless to say that Muslims enjoy an excellent reputation in the city whereby they are well integrated and hold a good relationship within the society.

Seven years ago, a place was rented to be used as a prayer hall for the daily regular prayers, and soon after, Friday prayers were offered on a regular basis. This place is far from being sufficient to accommodate all the Muslims in the city. A large number still head for Ottawa despite the distance, due to lack of space in Gatineau for some and, for others, because they are longing for praying in a real mosque. Meanwhile, the more the number of Muslims keep increasing, the larger their needs, and responsibilities grow.

It soon became a priority to start thinking of establishing a mosque where Muslims can pray, bring their children; and get into spiritual and moral unison with their faith. What is needed is a place which will represent Muslims and Islam in the best possible manner. Notwithstanding, one simply wonders how these noble goals can be achieved in a small space which, in the first place, was a commercial or a residential hall. When the prophet, peace be upon him, migrated to Medina, wasn’t establishing the mosque the first act he performed? Likewise, it is high time we had a symbol of our own that will bring the community together insha’ Allah.