Muslims break ground on major Islamic center in Toronto

TORONTO (RNS) The Aga Khan, leader of the world’s 15 million Ismaili Muslims, on Friday (May 28) joined Prime Minister Stephen Harper to break ground on a planned $300-million Islamic center that will include the first museum of Islamic art and culture in North America. More than a decade in planning and design, the complex […]

TORONTO (RNS) The Aga Khan, leader of the world’s 15 million Ismaili Muslims, on Friday (May 28) joined Prime Minister Stephen Harper to break ground on a planned $300-million Islamic center that will include the first museum of Islamic art and culture in North America.

More than a decade in planning and design, the complex will be home to the 100,000-square-foot Aga Khan Museum, designed by acclaimed Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki. Nearby, the larger Ismaili Centre Toronto will contain meeting and multi-purpose rooms, a prayer room, youth lounge and library.

Linking the two buildings in north Toronto will be a network of ponds, fountains, gardens and pathways.


According to the Aga Khan Foundation, the museum will house and exhibit “some of the most important works of Islamic art in the world.” Some 200 pieces from the Aga Khan’s personal 1,000-piece collection will be on display in a permanent gallery. Some artifacts date back 1,000 years.

Temporary exhibitions will also take place, in addition to educational programs. The museum will host workshops and classes for the general public.

The complex “will introduce people of different backgrounds to the compelling history of Islam,” said Harper, who presented the Aga Kahn with honorary Canadian citizenship.

Born in Geneva in 1936, the Aga Khan is known as the 49th hereditary imam and a direct descendent of the Prophet Muhammad through the prophet’s daughter and son-in-law, Ali. Ismailism is a branch of Shia Islam and its second-largest sect. There are an estimated 30,000 Ismaili Muslims in Toronto.

The Aga Khan, who helps funds dozens of humanitarian projects around the world, has a soft spot for Canada, which he has called “the most pluralistic country on the face of the Earth” and “a beacon to the world.”

The Toronto project, scheduled to be completed in 2013, will complete a trio of edifices in Canada, including the Ismaili Centre in British Columbia, and the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat in Ottawa.


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