Copyright Date:
2022
Edition Date:
2022
Release Date:
03/15/22
Illustrator:
Ghare, Aliya,
Pages:
1 volume (unpaged)
ISBN:
Publisher: 1-459-82760-0 Perma-Bound: 0-8000-1481-2
ISBN 13:
Publisher: 978-1-459-82760-8 Perma-Bound: 978-0-8000-1481-0
Dewey:
297.3
Dimensions:
23 x 28 cm.
Language:
English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews
In Inuvik, a town 200 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, a makeshift trailer mosque is no longer adequate for the growing Muslim community.The cost of building "a bigger one so far north" is prohibitive, so the Winnipeg-based Zubaidah Tallab Foundation steps in to help. Based on a true story, this picture book describes the remarkable project, from fundraising and building the mosque in Winnipeg to transporting it to Inuvik more than 4,000 kilometers away. The mosque's long-distance journey is fraught with perils and challenges that require the efforts of many people to overcome. Road signs and power lines have to be moved to accommodate the oversized semitrailer conveying The Midnight Sun Mosque over back roads and country highways as it struggles to make it to the last Hay River barge crossing of the season before the winter freeze. Ghare's scenic, digital illustrations do the heavy lifting in this intriguing story narrated in straightforward, spare text. The artwork depicts racially and ethnically diverse communities of Muslims and non-Muslims in both locales. Roman Catholic clerics and Gwich'in First Nations elders are present at the official opening of the new mosque. A short introduction and author's note provide additional details for consideration and discussion.A simple, celebratory story of community collaboration and religious tolerance. (Picture book. 3-6)
This is the true story of the journey of the Midnight Sun Mosque.
In 2010 a Winnipeg-based charity raised funds to build and ship a mosque to Inuvik, one of the most northern towns in Canadas Arctic. A small but growing Muslim community there had been using a cramped trailer for their services, but there just wasn't enough space. The mosque travelled over 4,000 kilometers on a journey fraught with poor weather, incomplete bridges, narrow roads, low traffic wires and a deadline to get on the last barge heading up the Mackenzie River before the first winter freeze. But it made it just in time and is now one of the most northern mosques in the world.
This beautiful picture book reminds us that the collective dream of fostering a multicultural and tolerant Canada exists and that people of all backgrounds will come together to build bridges and overcome obstacles for the greater good of their neighbors.