Name of Religious Site: |
Centre Soufi Naqshbandi – Masjid Al-Iman |
Tradition: |
Sunni Tariqah Naqshbandi |
Address: |
138 rue Fairmount Montreal, Quebec, H2T 2M5 |
E-Mail Address: |
centresoufi@yahoo.com |
Website: |
http://www.naqshbandi.ca |
Contact Name and Title |
Shaykh Omar Koné |
Phone Number: |
(514) 270-9437 |
Date Center was Founded: |
1984 |
Religious Leader and Title: |
Moqaddam and Imam – Shaykh Farhat Jouini |
Membership/Community Size : |
300 to 400. About 50 men and women, equally divided, attend Dhikre regularly. |
Ethnic Composition : |
Arabs, Pakistani, Mali, Morocco, Congo, Rwanda, Quebec, and Mauritania. |
Date: |
December 9, 2004 |
Affiliation with Other Communities/Organizations: None locally but linked with central Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order (Tariqah), headed by Shaykh Nazim. |
Activities and Schedule: Salatul Jum’ah in congregation with Khutba every Friday. Dhikre twice a week, Thursday and Sunday at 7.30 PM.
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Demographics: Languages spoken: French, English and Arabic. Persons of all ages attend. |
Other Activities: Monday night – Pot luck dinner and Soufi night with the neighbourhood. Saturday night – Hadra night with Dhikre of Allah (God).
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Researcher Notes: I participated in dhikre one Thursday evening in December 2004. Shaykh Omar led the dhikre. Men and women sat in two separate circles in the main carpeted hall. There was a strong sense of brotherhood in the group. During the dhikre as described below and halfway through, first one person and later a second person, with the permission of the Shaykh stood up and started to whirl around as if in complete enchantment At the completion of the dhikre, the Shaykh and all persons started to go round and round in a circle, (men and women in separate circles), chanting Salam to the Prophet. This was the dance of the Whirling Dervishes. The spell of dhikre, remembrance of Allah and the Prophetmakes you forget where you are. |
Researcher: Mumtaz Rehman |