Canada’s first all-female mosque opened in Toronto, giving women a safe space to practice their faith. John Vennavally-Rao reports. The Women’s Mosque of Canada says it will be offering bi-weekly Friday prayers for women that are also led by women.

In the face of increasing Islamophobia, a group of Muslims in Toronto is vowing to reclaim the mosque as a sacred and safe space for women. The Women’s Mosque of Canada marked its first prayer meeting in Toronto Friday, in an effort to build an inclusive space for Muslim women to practice their faith, and heal from Islamophobic attacks that organizers say plague the community daily.

“There are women, including myself, that have experienced gender islamophobia and been attacked,” Farheen Khan, co-founder of the Women’s Mosque of Canada, told CTV News by phone shortly before the organization’s first prayer began at Trinity-St.

By offering bi-weekly Friday prayers—for women, by women —Khan says organizers hope to create a community that not only supports its members’ faith, but breaks down social barriers that fuel anti-Muslim sentimentsas well.

Source: CTV News