Baitun Nur Mosque

Prime Minister Stephen Harper (left) seated with Mirza Masroor Ahmad (right) at the grand opening of Baitun Nur

Masroor Ahmad (left) and Liberal Opposition Leader Stephane Dion at the inauguration of Baitan Nur

The cornerstone of the mosque was laid in 2005.[2] Construction was completed in 2008 at an estimated self-funded cost of C$15 million,[1] with roughly C$8 million coming from the approximately 3,000 local Ahmadi Muslims.[4][6]

5,000 people attended Baitun Nur's grand opening on July 5, 2008, including dignitaries such as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Opposition Leader Stéphane Dion, and Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier.[2] The Roman Catholic Bishop of Calgary, Fred Henry, also attended.[7] Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the supreme head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, oversaw the opening.[2]

While members of various faiths were invited, the Sunni Muslim group Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, led by Syed Soharwardy, was not invited, due to its belief that Ahmadiyya Muslims are not real Muslims,[8] and because it did not consider Baitun Nur a mosque.[7]

At the opening, Prime Minister Harper said "Calgarians, Albertans and Canadians will see the moderate, benevolent face of Islam in this mosque and the people who worship here."[2] Afterward, a governing party insider said "It's an important signal the prime minister is sending, not just to militant Islamists abroad, but to their sympathizers here at home, that he's perfectly prepared to ignore them and side with persecuted minorities within the faith."[8]

Baitun Nur's steel dome and steel-capped minaret tower

Baitun Nur is located in the Castleridge community of Calgary.

The mosque complex is 4,500 m² (48,000 sq ft) in size.[1] A 97-foot-tall (30 m) [9] steel-capped minaret tower and large steel dome are its most prominent external features.[4]

Around the exterior of the building are written 99 Arabic words, each an attribute of Allah's character as stated in the Qur'an.[10]

In addition to serving as a place of worship, the mosque complex includes classrooms, office space, a children's area, a kitchen and a community centre.[2] In the prayer hall of the mosque hangs a 400-kilogram chandelier[2] that cost $50,000.[9]

Baitun Nur was designed by Naseer Ahmad and Manu Chugh Architects; it was the seventh Ahmadiyya mosque designed by Ahmad.[9][11]

• List of mosques in Canada
• List of mosques in the Americas
• Lists of mosques

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Baitunnur.

• Official site of Baitunnur Mosque