Islamic Society of Willowdale

Thameen Kitchener, ON They made a Single Cottage type house into a Masjid. I spent the weekend over there in Jamath. Access to sister area doesn't look that practical. Fos sure they need a more parking. Removal of Garage may help to use the Backyard to add parking. Washroom to be totally rearranged to be a user friendly. Kitchen is the Plus point for the Masjid. Masjid is clean and cozy.

Mosque is in an office townhouse, so the space is cut up into rooms (offices). Because of this it was difficult to get a sense of how the spaces are used - where the main prayer space is, etc. Mosque appears to occupy 3 levels of the townhouse. Women pray on the second floor, in what would have been a large office. Room is bare except for a few storage boxes. When I was there I heard but did not see men praying further down the hall on this floor. The 1st floor - entrance has a bulletin board filled with community messages and cubbies for shoes. There also seems to be a small prayer room off the entrance - but I did not actually go into this so I can't say for sure. The only person I saw when there was a 30 something South Asian man who directed me to the women's prayer room. Also saw an elderly South Asian man in salwar kameez leaving the mosque when I arrived. I had the feeling that I was being watched by the younger man while I was in the mosque - I couldn't tell if this was because they don't get many strangers, because I am not from the congregation's ethnic group or because I am a woman and they don't get many women attending the mosque. I certainly didn't feel like lingering. That said, the mosque is clean and well-appointed - for that alone it was above average.