|
On Aug. 31, on
the eve of Ramadan, Gatineau and Hull area Muslims
assembled for the first time in their very own mosque
for asr, the late afternoon prayer.
Since then, the mosque has held regular congregational
prayers as well as taraweeh (special evening prayers)
during Ramadan.
For those living across the river, the opening of the
spacious new mosque couldn’t have come at a better time.
Previously, the only prayer area that was available
locally to the 4,000 Muslims living in the Gatineau/Hull
area was a small musallah just large enough for 75
worshippers.
In the month before Ramadan, there had been doubt as to
whether the mosque would open at all. In mid-July, with
just a few weeks left to the completion of the project,
the Outaouais Islamic Centre, the organisation
overseeing the construction, was given an ultimatum by
the contractor. He asked the OIC to pay up part of its
debt or work would come to a halt.
According to the Gatineau mosque blog, the contractor
had been using his own funds to pay the subcontractors
and workers while the OIC paid him in regular
installments of $50,000. Having fallen short of cash, he
had asked the OIC to pay him $200,000 instead, before
Aug. 15, or construction on the mosque would have to
stop.
Dr. Abdellah Sebbar the president of the OIC, sent out
an urgent plea to local Muslims for funds. And they
responded. The OIC received over $120,000 in direct
donations through paypal, by mail and direct deposit
from the generous donors. Another $50,000 was obtained
as an interest-free loan (qard hassan) from an Ottawa
Muslim organisation and about $29,000 came in as a GST
tax rebate.
Although the OIC was able to meet its deadline and open
the mosque, the project is incomplete. The OIC has
managed to pay just half of the total cost of the
project and there remains an outstanding debt of over
$900,000. And so, while the Muslims in the capital
region enjoy the atmosphere of the new mosque, the OIC
asks that they remember that the next deadline for
payment is Oct. 15. If the organisation does not come up
with $250,000 by then, the building could be put in
lien.
To donate to the Gatineau Mosque project, visit http://gmosque.wordpress.com/donate/
|