Islamic Society of the Niagara Peninsula
6768 Lyons Creek Road, Niagara Falls, ON
The Niagara region saw its first Muslim inhabitants in the late 1950s. By the mid 1960s, an informal community had began to form where a small number of individuals would gather at each other's homes for congregational daily and Friday prayers and partake in Ramadan meals together. The first major step for the Niagara Muslim community came when a plot of land was purchased in Niagara Falls on Lions Creek Road. This building, although modest, served the needs of the growing Muslim community at that time. From there, the Masjid expanded its capabilities by adding a weekend Islamic school and subsidizing an Imam from the prestigious Al-Azhar University to lead religious observances. In 1992, with the help of the Canadian government, the Niagara Falls masjid was expanded to include a lecture hal /gym and classrooms. In 1998, a full-time school sanctioned under the Ontario teaching curriculum was established and functions until this day with licensed teachers and a growing student body.
Photos
Hours
Location
6768 Lyons Creek Road, Niagara Falls, ON
Mohammed Monabber Ahmed
Bilal Abdullah
The Islamic Society of Niagara is located on the fringes of Niagara Falls just off the QEW on the way to Fort Erie/Buffalo (please see map). It's congregation is an eclectic mix of Arab, Pakistani, Turkish and other ethnic groups. Like all mosques, this one is a house of Allah and I respect it as such. However, I personally don't like the "feel" of the place. Men and women tend to mix feely at the weekly fund raising lunch after Juma prayer and the front row of the 'women's section' can literally touch the feet of the men in the back row. There is a very liberal interpretation of what constitutes hibab and the khutbas don't tend to use a lot of referances to Quran and Sunnah. With that said, what I do like aobut this mosque is that it's close to the QEW highway (the road from Toronto to Fort Erie/Buffalo - kind of a last chance masjid on the way to the good old U.S. of A.. A better alternative for those who prefer a more 'traditional' set up is Masjid Noor in St. Catherines.
