Our Herstory

Founded in spring of 2019, the Women’s Mosque of Canada has been a conversation amongst leaders in the community for several years. Yet no one decided to take the project on until early 2019.

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The vision of the Women’s Mosque first came to be in early 2012. At that time, Imama & Co-Founder Farheen Khan, conducted a series of surveys and in person interviews with local community leaders and scholars which yielded mixed reviews.

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The concern for the traditionalists was the lack of precedence for such a space to exist for women only. For the progressives, the need for a sacred space was more of a question versus, the need for an inclusive Islam which involved a deeper dive into the sacred scriptures from a lens of diversity and inclusion more broadly.

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The Women’s Mosque of Canada is founded primarily to ensure that women within Islam and in broader society have equal rights.  We stand against all forms of violence and oppression against women including Sexual Assault, Trafficking, Domestic Violence, Gendered Islamophobia, Forced Marriage, Polygamy, FGM and more.

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The mosque was founded initially in April of 2019 and Friday prayer congregations began being held at the Trinity St. Paul’s United Church in Toronto. In July 2019, the mosque found the neighbourhood in which it would reside – being Regent Park further East in Toronto.

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To date the Women’s Mosque gatherings have been attended by a number of community leaders and dignitaries including the Honourable Governor General of Ontario Elizabeth Dowdeswell.