Baitun nur

Baitunnur

Baitunnur (also spelled Baitun Nur or Baitun Noor) (Urdu for "House of Light") is a mosque of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the Castleridge community of Calgary, Alberta. It is known for being the largest mosque in Canada. It is estimated that there about 3,000 members of the Ahmadiyya community in Calgary.

Public opening

The cornerstone of the mosque was laid in 2005. Construction was completed in 2008 for an estimated cost of C$15 million, with roughly C$8 million of that coming from local Calgarians.

Baitunnur had its grand opening to the public on July 5, 2008, with 5000 people in attendance, including dignitaries such as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Opposition Leader Stéphane Dion, and Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier. As well the Roman Catholic Bishop of Calgary, Fred Henry, attended. Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the supreme head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, oversaw the opening.

While members of various faiths were invited, according Kaufman of the Edmonton Sun, the Sunni Muslim group Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, led by Syed Soharwardy, was pointedly not invited, due to its belief that Ahmadiyya Muslims are not "real" muslims, and did not consider Baitunnur a "mosque".

Praise for the Ahmadiyya community came from attendees, including Harper, who said, amongst other things, "In this mosque, we see the love and benevolent faith of Islam". According to Embassy magazine, regarding Harper's praise of the Ahmadiyya community, a governing party insider said "It's an important signal the prime minister is sending, not just to militant Islamists abroad, but to their sympathizers here at home, that he's perfectly prepared to ignore them and side with persecuted minorities within the faith."

Structure

The mosque complex is in size. A tall steel-capped minaret tower and large steel dome are the most noticeably externally visible features of the mosque. Around the exterior of the building are written 99 Arabic words, each an attribute of Allah's character as stated in the Qur'an. In addition to a place for worship, the mosque complex includes classrooms, office space, a children's area, a kitchen and a community centre. In the prayer hall of the mosque hangs a 400-kilogram chandelier that cost $50,000. Baitunnur is the seventh Ahmadiyya mosque by Naseer Ahmad, the chief designer. Manu Chugh Architects served as the local architects for the project.