Join us during Historic Places Days as we trace back to the inspiring history of the oldest mosque in Canada and its impact on both local and national history. Built in 1938, the Al-Rashid Mosque was the first official Mosque in Canada. Now located at Fort Edmonton Park in Edmonton, Alberta, the historic site helps tell the story of one of the earliest Muslims communities in Canada.
Don’t miss this opportunity to share an open discussion about a multiculturalism and faith, learn about a pivotal point in Canadian history, and bring awareness to the stories of Muslims in Edmonton and Canada. Owais Siddiqui, Multicultural Narratives Supervisor at Fort Edmonton Park, will guide this discussion and will be available for a Q&A period.
This event will be hosted on Instagram @nationaltrsutca and does not require registration. Bring your questions to the event or email them to us ahead of time at historicplacesdays@nationaltrustcanada.ca
Owais Siddiqui is a born and raised Edmontonian who has been involved with culturally diverse and historical programming at Fort Edmonton Park (Canada’s largest living history museum) for over 12 years. Owais first began supporting culturally diverse programming at Fort Edmonton Park in 2011, after being recruited as a volunteer to help enhance the Park’s representation of the Al-Rashid Mosque, Canada’s first purposefully built Mosque, which is now preserved as a historic site at the Park by the City of Edmonton. Through his commitment and efforts Owais was eventually invited to apply for the position of ‘(costumed) Historical Interpreter’ in 2016; and as of 2022, Owais was specifically recruited to become Fort Edmonton Park’s very first ‘Multicultural Narratives Supervisor’. Owais’ academic background includes studying Anthropology (focussing on the history of linguistic development) and Theology (comparative religious studies) at the University of Alberta, combined with a successfully completed a Journalism internship at Grande Prarie’s ‘Daily Herald Tribune’, through Grant MacEwan University. Aside from his work at Fort Edmonton Park, Owais also mentors Special Needs/Neurodivergent students; and still actively volunteers as Vice President of Shadow Theatre, one of Edomton’s oldest independent theatre companies.
