Edmonton mosque joins over 100 across Canada for ‘Get Out the Vote’ campaign ANNA JUNKER Updated: October 12, 2019
ANNA JUNKER Updated: October 12, 2019
An Edmonton mosque is among 100 across Canada that are launching a campaign to mobilize Muslim voters this Thanksgiving weekend to get out and vote during advance polls.
The Rahma Mosque, home of the Muslim Association of Canada and located at 6104 172 St., is part of 100 mosques in six provinces and territories that will encourage Muslim voters to get out during the advance polls.
“As the Muslim Association of Canada, we believe in our responsibility for encouraging people to be active in the community as well as take their role at being active citizens and participating in making this country a better place to live in and choosing the best leadership for our nation,” said Tamir Ali, an imam at the Rahma Mosque.
Ali said since the inception of the mosque, they have held gatherings with candidates to engage with the community.
“We have encouraged our community to participate and ask them difficult questions and give the platform for everybody to say his own opinion or present himself or herself as a true leader for the community,” said Ali.
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“We let the community be involved in these discussions because these discussions affect us all.”
Ali added it is their religious obligation as Muslims to work for the betterment of their future and their community.
“In the Qur’an, it says, ‘You have been raised as the best community, raised for mankind. You enjoy what is good and you forbid what is evil.’ It is part of our mandate to work for the best and of course, there’s nothing better than working for the best of Canada,” he said.
The “Get Out the Vote” weekend is organized by the Canadian-Muslim Vote (TCMV), an organization founded in 2015 with the goal to educate and mobilize Muslim voters across Canada at all levels of government in a non-partisan way.
According to TCMV, as of Oct. 9, there were 138 ridings in Canada where the number of Muslim voters was within 1,000 votes of the expected margin of victory at some point in the federal campaign.
It is estimated there are more than 767,000 Muslim voters across Canada.
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