Algonquin Students praying in new Spiritual Centre
Nov
Algonquin College opens worship facility and spiritual centre
Written by Chelby DaigleAlgonquin College has opened a spiritual centre for its students in the brand new Robert C. Gillett Student Commons Building. The centre has a large prayer room, two rooms for ablutions, and three offices for each of the major faiths represented at the school: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
The centre officially opened on Nov. 1, 2012 with an interfaith prayer service and lunch which brought together students, school administration, and religious leaders from outside the campus, to celebrate.
It's Nov. 17, and as Somali-Canadian student Sharmake Abdulkarim delivers the khutbah (sermon) at the jummah (Friday) prayer, he encourages his fellow Muslim students not to gossip or backbite, and to help each other through the stressful time of exams and midterms.
“I have to admit, I was nervous,” Mr. Sharmake says, but he welcomes the encouragement he receives from Adel ElMaghrabi, the centre's full-time volunteer Imam, to write khutbahs that will be relevant to the lives of his fellow students.
“When the students come to jummah, they need to hear something that will help them in their daily lives,” Imam ElMaghrabi says.
The imam also insists that the prayer space be as open for men as for women. “Even if we have many brothers we always keep a space for prayer for sisters. Sisters need the opportunity to come to jummah prayer as much as brothers, if not more, because they are the future mothers of our community.”
Imam ElMaghrabi says he is grateful to Algonquin College for providing this space. A former Algonquin student himself, he was consulted on the development of the space, and through his interventions, the two ablution rooms were included so that Muslim students could make wudu.
However, there is still a need for resources for Imam ElMaghrabi's office such as a computer, printer, and fax machine in order for him to properly support the students. The hope is that Ottawa's Muslim community could donate some of these items.
“Students come to me to discuss spiritual matters. But they also come to me for advice on personal matters. The majority of the students are not from Canada. They need information about resources available in the city, particularly for Arabic speakers.”
The majority of the students who attend jummah prayer at the Centre are from Saudi Arabia. However, there are also many students who are Canadian-born. Bringing together Muslims from such diverse backgrounds is one of the benefits of the new Spiritual Centre.
When explaining the potential of the Centre, Imam ElMaghrabi quotes from the Quran: “O mankind, We have created you male and female, and appointed you races and tribes, that you may know one another.” (Ch.49, v.13)
“We have a space here for Muslims from around the world to meet each other and learn from each other. We also have the opportunity to meet and discuss with our Christian and Jewish brothers and sisters. We can discover that our differences do not need to divide us and actually we have a great deal in common,” he says.
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