| Midnight Sun Mosque | |
|---|---|
 Mosque in the midnight sun, July 2015 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Islam |
| Year consecrated | 2010 |
| Location | |
| Location | 29 Wolverine Road, Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada |
  Location in Northwest Territories  Location in Canada | |
| Geographic coordinates | 68°22′06″N 133°44′15″W / 68.3684°N 133.7375°W |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Fathallah Farjat (dome and minaret) |
| Style | Islamic original architecture |
| Founder | Zubaidah Tallab Foundation |
| Groundbreaking | 2010 |
| Completed | November 10, 2010 |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | NNE |
| Capacity | ~100 |
| Minaret(s) | 1 |
| Minaret height | 10 m (33 ft) |
The Midnight Sun Mosque, also known as the Inuvik Mosque or Little Mosque on the Tundra,[1] is a non-denominational Islamic house of worship located in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada.[2] The mosque was built in 2010 for the town's small Muslim community. It is the northernmost mosque in the Western Hemisphere[3] and the only one in North America above the Arctic Circle.[a]
Inuvik's Muslim community outgrew its original worship centre, a truck trailer, by the late 2000s. They had bought land for a mosque, but construction costs were too great. A Winnipeg-based Islamic charity funded a prefabricated mosque that was taken by truck to Hay River, twice nearly falling into a creek. From Hay River, it was floated via barge across Great Slave Lake and down the Mackenzie River to Inuvik,[7] where it was moved to its permanent location on the northern edge of the town.
Religious observances at the mosque, held per Sunni tradition although they are open to all Muslims, have made some adjustments to the Arctic. In some years Ramadan, with its daily fasts required during the day for a full month, falls during either midnight sun or polar night. Since it is impossible to fast between sunrise and sunset, worshippers use the corresponding times on that day in Mecca, but at their local time. During midnight sun this means that the traditional evening iftar meal is consumed while the sun is still out. Biryani served is made from reindeer meat instead of beef.[4]
The mosque operates Inuvik's food bank, most of which is stocked with halal food donated from elsewhere in Canada. It is available to all regardless of faith, and serves hundreds of families in the area. Muslims elsewhere also contribute qurbani foods for Eid al-Adha.
- ^ "'Little mosque on the tundra' opens". CBC News. 10 November 2010. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
- ^ "Midnight Sun Mosque". www.inuvik.ca. 2019-08-19. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
- ^ Martin, Andrew (July 10, 2015). "Celebrating Ramadan in the Arctic". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
- ^ a b "Arctic Ramadan: fasting in land of midnight sun comes with a challenge". The Guardian. July 3, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2021. This article is cited both for its text and for its image of the Midnight Sun Mosque.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ "Yukon's 1st mosque a milestone for Canada, founders say". CBC News. September 29, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ Julia O'Malley (December 5, 2014). "Alaskan Muslims raising the roof of state's first mosque". Aljazeera.com. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ Guisti, Hussain (2 February 2012). "Western Hemisphere's most northern mosque sent to Canadian Arctic". Manitoba Islamic Association. Manitoba Islamic Association. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
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