Al-Rashid Mosque, First mosque in Edmonton, Canada

Al-Rashid Mosque is a red brick building with a gabled front and two tall, narrow, light-gray towers at the front corners, each topped with a white, dome-like finial above a small arched window. The central entrance has a dark brown double door recessed under a green fanlight with curved white trim, reached by concrete steps with metal railings. Three arched windows with white frames and green panes sit on the front wall, and the long side wall has five tall arched windows above a light-gray foundation.

Edmonton's Muslim community, about 700 people in Canada at the time, raised funds through bake sales and donations from Jews, Christians and Muslims, and Mayor John Fry was approached about buying land. Ukrainian-Canadian contractor Mike Drewoth built the mosque, which opened on December 12, 1938. In the 1940s it was moved a few blocks to clear space for a school expansion; in 1991 the city approved a $75,000 move to Fort Edmonton Park, where it reopened on May 28, 1992.

The mosque became a gathering place for Edmonton's early Muslim community and symbolized their commitment to establishing permanent roots in the city. It reflects how people of different backgrounds came together to build something meaningful for their shared faith.

The mosque was moved to Fort Edmonton Park in 1992, not 1991, at a cost of $75,000, and reopened there on May 28, 1992. It stands among other heritage buildings in the park. Look for the red brick exterior, two light-gray corner towers with white finials, and green-paned arched windows.

The contractor Mike Drewoth, a Ukrainian-Canadian, built the mosque in 1938 in a style resembling the Eastern Christian immigrant churches of the region. Its two front towers with white dome finials and arched, green-paned windows echo those church façades rather than typical mosque forms.