Bible Hill Muslim Cemetery, Canada’s First Muslim Cemetery

Bible Hill Muslim Cemetery, Canada’s First Muslim Cemetery: A Talk by Waleed Kadray

October 20 | 6:00 PM

SFU Downtown Campus, Harbour Centre Room 7000

The subject of Islam in Canada has been severely underrepresented in many aspects of history. This presentation is an attempt to remedy this lack of representation by shedding light on the history of the first Muslim cemetery in Canada. Waleed Kadray has undergone research over the last five years on this cemetery by scouring census documents, newspapers, and conducted audio and video interviews with members of the early Muslim community in Nova Scotia. This presentation is a culmination of five years of research and interviews with the early Muslim community of Nova Scotia.

This presentation would focus on presenting the history of the cemetery in a succinct lecture-style fashion to an audience. The presentation will be divided into several parts:

1. Welcome and Opening Remarks
2. Early History of Islam in Canada, with specific focus on the history of enslaved African Muslims in Canada
3. Systemic Discrimination of Ottoman Muslims
4. Establishment of the Muslim cemetery in NS
5. Immigration and Growth
6. Discussion of Notable Characters
7. Interview Clips

Waleed Kadray's Bio:

Waleed is 3rd generation Muslim-Canadian from Nova Scotia, who currently lives on the unceded, traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. He is an educator and historian who completed his Bachelor's degree in History from Dalhousie University, his Master's degree in Global Studies from the University of Ottawa and his Bachelor's in Education from UBC. Waleed has also spent the last 5 years researching on the little known subject of Canada's first Muslim cemetery, which was established in 1935. This subject is also personal to him, as many members of his family were a part of the early pioneer Muslim community in Nova Scotia.