Islamic Association opens facility for learning, connection and growth

It was a celebration focused on faith, community and the future.

On Saturday morning, more than 100 members of the city’s Islamic community gathered for the grand opening of the Manitoba Islamic Association’s Institute of Knowledge and Community Centre.

The $7 million facility in Waverley West is being hailed as a miracle by community leaders.

“This is more than a building, it is a place where our children will learn, grow, build friendships, strengthen their faith and create memories,” Institute of Knowledge chair of the board Delvinder Zameer told the crowd.

“It is also a space for our wider community to come together, connect and grow.”

In what some people present thought would be an impossible feat, the community took just 35 days to raise the millions needed to purchase the building at 67 Scurfield Blvd., formerly part of the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology.

The celebration, which included a ceremonial triple-ribbon cutting — ribbons cut by children, dignitaries and elders in the community — was also spiritual. During the event, readings from the Quran by a young community member in melodic prayer washed over the crowd.

For Jesse Reitberger, an education rooted in such prayer is important for his family.

“I’ve got two kids,” said the father in between handshakes and hellos, a little one by his side.

“He’s in Grade 1 currently and my other one’s in Grade 3, and once we move closer to this end of the city, then the plan is to bring them here.”

He said seeing the opening is “super meaningful” and allows him the freedom to give his children an education based in their faith.

“I love public education for what it is, but we have a set of values and way we live our lives and it just makes that transition a lot easier,” Reitberger said.

“When the kids go to school, they’re just there to learn, and there’s not all these conflicting opinions and different ways for people to live their lives,” he said. “And there’s nothing wrong with how people live their life, but it’s just one less thing the kids have to worry about. They can just focus on learning.”

The facility will house an elementary school, accommodating Arabic, English and French speakers, a community centre and a daycare.

Throughout the course of the event, speakers detailed how members of the Islamic community worked with municipal stakeholders to make the dream a reality.

Community scholar and leader Sheikh Ismail said the successful campaign to purchase the building shows the strength of the community. He called for larger projects in the future.

“As Muslim citizens of Manitoba, as Muslim citizens of Canada, we have to go to the next level,” Ismail said to the crowd.

“To reach the larger community, to make our province one where everybody will have a home. A place where everybody would be treated equally.”

Education Minister Tracy Schmidt said she was thrilled to be a part of the celebration.

“It made me so happy to be here today to see all the smiling faces and to see, as the (leaders) spoke about, how this was such a community effort.”

With such a strong focus on children and the future, she said the establishment of the new school, which will receive some provincial funding but operate independently, is symbolic of Manitoba’s education system as a whole.

“What I’ve learned about education here in Manitoba, is it’s about community and it’s about relationships,” Schmidt said. “That’s what we saw here today; we saw the community coming together.”

Winnipeg’s Mayor Scott Gillingham also offered his kudos to the Islamic Association for its work to get the facility open, which “speaks to the growth of Winnipeg and the diversity of our community.”

“As mayor when I’m with different ethnic communities, I always encourage them to pass on to the next generation; language, culture, faith — recipes — dance. Values,” he said.

“That’s one of the beautiful things about Canada; we’re a diverse community, but we live together,” Gillingham said. “The motto of Winnipeg is: ‘one with the strength of many’ and as we see Winnipeg growing, we continue to foster and pursue the ideals of that motto.”

morgan.modjeski@winnipegfreepress.mb.ca