My Favorite Mosque Isn't In Mecca: The Noor Cultural Centre Of Toronto

by HijabMan :: posted 7 August 08

“Only a house of worship founded, from the very first day, upon God-consciousness is worthy of thy setting foot therein…” Qur’an, 9:108

I’ve been to mosques in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, Canada, Argentina, and the United States. And I’ve never felt comfortable in any of them except the Noor Cultural Centre in Toronto.

Growing up in upper/middle-class white-suburbia without a mode of transportation, much of my life has been spent looking for a Muslim community I felt comfortable in. In fact, that was the primary purpose of HijabMan when I started it twelve years ago. For the last twelve years (!!!) I have been part of such a community on-line, but its members are spread throughout the world. And in 2004, I finally found them all in one place at the Noor Cultural Centre.

Back then, while planning a trip to Toronto, Itrath Syed, an on-line acquaintance passed along the contact information of a woman who offered me a place to crash.

Weeks later I showed up at her door with a box of chocolates and absolutely no expectations. Before I knew it, I was introduced to her family and friends. I ended up staying with her family for two weeks, installing a garage door opener, playing Scrabble, and hanging out with her three-year-old. They also introduced me to Friday prayers at the Noor Cultural Centre.

The prayer hall in the Noor Cultural Centre (seen above) is set up so that men and women pray on either side of a three-foot-wide aisle that separates them. While it was quite refreshing praying in a mosque without a physical barrier, even more significant was the fact that there wasn’t an invisible barrier either. By that, I mean that men and women could approach each other with smiles, greet each other, and have completely normal conversations without any sense of judgment or the fear of being condemned. This is not the case in other mosques I’ve attended— especially in the West. There is always a tension in the air.*

You think that’s exciting? There was a separate room for women who wanted some privacy to nurse their kids. A child’s play room with various toys. There doesn’t seem to be any specific dress code either, or random uncles and aunties chiding you or glaring at you if you aren’t covering your head. It really is my favorite mosque in the world, and I plan to visit as often as I can.

Okay, your title got us, HijabBoy, now tell us what you don’t like about The Holy Mosque In Mecca?”

God often talks about what a great sin it is to forbid people to come to the mosque. I’d argue that many mosques, by way of divisive architecture (think separating the sexes), unpleasant social atmosphere, and lack of cleanliness (among other things) discourage and even prevent people from coming to the mosque to remember God.

The Mosque that holds the Kaaba is no exception. It is tainted. There is this oft-quoted myth about how men and women pray together near the Kaaba and everything is shiny-happy-people-holding-hands, and as soon as you see the Kaaba, tears flow from your eyes and and and….

That just isn’t the case…

I made a solo trip to Mecca in 2003 (See part 1, 2, 3, 4 forthcoming), and though I found my own purpose while in Mecca, the extravagance, the sexual harassment, the violence, the hysteria associated with the black stone, and the guards standing in front of women while they were praying and hitting them with plastic cups- herding them into women-only sections can make for a pretty stifling experience. Not to mention the overarching stench of the Saudi Royal Family and Wahhabi-Style-Islam that has come to us in the form of free copies of a Qur’an translation that can only be described as trash. (Read: The Qur’an I Hate By Ali Eteraz Also Read: The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam From The Extremists)

Oh, and the Kentucky Fried Chicken right next to the Mosque doesn’t help either.

Unless you can divorce yourself from all of that (and more), remembering God through all of the distractions, you’ll find yourself not with an uplifting pilgrimage, but a strong sense of disillusionment. You can read about how God helped me out in Mecca here.

So, if you are ever in the Toronto area, check out the Noor Cultural Centre and sign up for their newsletter. They are always having events! If you meet Andreea, the Program Manager, tell her HijabMan sent you! If you want to get on her good side, bring her some organic fruit juice, and smile really big. Click here some photos from the Noor Cultural Centre.

——————-

Muhammad Asad’s commentary on verse 114 of Chapter 2 is relevant (best translation of the Qur’an, btw):

It is one of the fundamental principles of Islam that every religion which has belief in God as its focal point must be accorded full respect, however much one may disagree with its particular tenets. Thus, the Muslims are under an obligation to honour and protect any house of worship dedicated to God, whether it be a mosque or a church or a synagogue (cf. the second paragraph of 22: 40); and any attempt to prevent the followers of another faith from worshipping God according to their own lights is condemned by the Qur’an as a sacrilege. A striking illustration of this principle is forthcoming from the Prophet’s treatment of the deputation from Christians in the year 10 H. They were given free access to the Prophet’s mosque, and with his full consent celebrated their religious rites there, although their adoration of Jesus as “the son of God” and of Mary as “the mother of God” was fundamentally at variance with Islamic beliefs (see Ibn Sad Ill, ’84 f.)

*The only other mosque community where I felt fairly laid back was (funnily enough) also called “Noor” and it was located in Mendoza, Argentina. Men and women gave each other kisses on each cheek after Friday prayer, and the imam was Egyptian. A distinct Argentine Islam was present there. They made me hot chocolate from a bar of chocolate and warm milk, welcomed my balloon animals, and gave me besitos, on each cheek too. Maha inspired me to throw together a little video that summarizes my experience there:

K at 7 August 08 :: #

Funny story: Tonight I prayed Maghrib at the Terminal 3 prayer space at Pearson Int’l airport in Toronto. It’s a simple and clean room, with layered comfy carpets (the kind where your forehead sinks just a little). But there’s just enough space for 6 men and 3 women — no barrier, but people were praying with men in front and women behind. A traveller who prayed outside of jamaat finished his prayer while I was just entering the first rakat. There was plenty of space to my right for him to pray his sunnah, and to remain a fair distance away from me. Instead, he went behind me.

I can’t speak for his intention, but I couldn’t help wondering if he actually felt more comfortable praying behind a woman, than praying next to her…!
Aaisha Shaikh at 11 August 08 :: #

What beautiful spirit! I love the children’s play area and how it’s so tidy :) There’s a feeling that someone cares enough to keep it that way.
Saira at 11 August 08 :: #

I’m saddened to read that you had such a bad time at the mosque in Makkah. I’ve been there many times, and although I do agree that the shurtahs (security) are pretty strict, I don’t think it taints the actual sanctity of the Mosque itself or of the ‘umrah – the Prophet (pbuh) loved the mosque even when it was filled with pagans who shouted insults at him as he did the tawaf – it didn’t detract from the fact that it is the house of God towards which every Muslim prays and that Abraham and Ishmail built – it’s on a different level altogether to any other mosque. Please don’t let one visit take that away from your opinion of Makkah.

Also, men and women needn’t have a physical barrier between them, as you saw in Makkah, but there is a trusted Hadith that (in short) says that the best of men are those in the front rows, and the best of women are those in the back rows – because mixing creates distraction in the prayer. If you think about the Prophet (pbuh), who taught us to respect the opposite sex but not to casually socialise with them, did he ever kiss a woman who wasn’t of his family in his life, let alone after each prayer?

Finally, please be careful when you speak about the Qur’an. I realise that you do not agree with some of the things in a particular translation, and it’s possible they’re not correct, but to call a whole translation ‘trash’ is going too far, brother. There are undoubtedly many, many beautiful verses correctly translated even in that version, so please think about that.

I’m not saying any of this to argue and I hope I don’t offend you. These are just my beliefs and I felt I should share them.
Amir at 13 August 08 :: #

Subhanallah, reading things like this makes me want to check my own personal state with Allah. Imagine the rank a person must have with Allah to have had the opportunity to visit his sacred house and then Allah causes his heart turn away from it; the very house that was built by the hands of Ibrahim and Ishaq (as), the house that was beloved to the Prophet (s)?

May Allah save us all from such a calamity.
Amir at 13 August 08 :: #

I meant Ibrahim and Ismail (as)
Sarah at 13 August 08 :: #

It’s nice to hear that there are established mosques that don’t put up a barrier, physical or otherwise. I just hope that more like that continue emerging. Did you get a chance to speak with the imam or founder of this mosque? Do a lot of Muslims attend this mosque compared to how many are actually in the area? I’m just curious about how this arrangement was received by the larger Toronto community, and whether the mosque has managed to draw more Muslims or whether it continues to be in a niche.
Adnan Yusuf at 14 August 08 :: #

This was my first read of this guys blog and I am really feeling sorry for him. He actually things men kissing women and women kissing men at the end of prayer is a “spiritual” or “emotional” or “islamic” goodie. May Allah guide him. Never heard of such mosques before and I wish I never hear of them again. People should enjoy outside Mosques if they want to like normal people do. I don’t get the idea of people turning Mosques into recreation centers.
HijabMan at 14 August 08 :: #

Adnan,

Cultural norms are different in different places :)
HijabMan at 15 August 08 :: #

Amir, Saira, Adnan…

Nothing wrong with the Kaaba itself. I still enjoyed my time there. But the mosque and the environment surrounding it is definitely not the most comfortable environment for me, thats all.

:-)
ammena at 17 August 08 :: #

masha’allah :) sounds nice.. might have to look it up before moving back to uk. Hmm, the mecca experience you had doesnt sound too good which in turn makes me nervous for hajj :( Allahu alim
SK at 25 August 08 :: #

A person’s intentions and expectations make a person’s experience…

and so, if you go to the Ka’bah expecting to find Allah, forgiveness, mercy and the beautiful experience of umrah/hajj then that is all you’ll need to make your trip worth the while and a beautiful one!

if you go there expecting to have the same conditions as some mosque that can hold a couple hundred ppl (if even that) then of course you’re only setting yourself up to be disappointed…

I have been to the Ka’bah since way back in 1994… pretty much every yr and every week for the next 10 yrs after that as well and it amazes me how the Saudi security does such a wonderful job of caring for the millions of ppl who go through the Haram. SubhaanAllah!

But, alas, there are different kinds of ppl in the world…
there are ppl who go to hajj and once there complain about having to sleep on the floor on some mattress… while there are others who, even at an advanced age, are willing to even offer their mattress to just have the chance to go for hajj…

SubhaanAllah… what beautiful memories I have…

May Allah give everyone a chance to visit the Haramein in Saudi Arabia and to perform their Hajj! Ameen
inal at 27 August 08 :: #

Masha’Allah very nice- now I know where to go for prayers when visiting family in Toronto! thanks

Welcome! This site serves two main purposes: to entertain and educate the Believing and curious community, and to generate a bit of cash—God willing. But there’s a lot more about HijabMan.

My Favorite Mosque Isn't In Mecca: The Noor Cultural Centre Of Toronto

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