Shia Islam in Canada is a part of the global Shia community that continues to bond with Shias elsewhere. Shia Muslims have been a featuring segment of the Canadian Muslim society that became more conspicuous from the 1970s and onwards.[1]
Shia Islam in Canada is a part of the global Shia community that continues to bond with Shias elsewhere. Shia Muslims have been a featuring segment of the Canadian Muslim society that became more conspicuous from the 1970s and onwards.[1]
The Shia Muslim community (jamaat) manifests itself in two main forms in Canada. One is through the Twelver (Ithnaasheri) rite and the other is through the Ismaili (Sevener) rite. However, due to the lack of census questions that go into specific details in Canada, it remains unknown which community is larger between the two.[2] However, both have established community centres encompassing spiritual congregational halls and attached leisure centres. The Shia Ithnaasheris have Masjids (Mosques) and the Shia Ismailis have Jamatkhanas in the country. The two most prominent Ismaili centre is the Ismaili Centre, Toronto (ICT) at the Charbagh Gardens and Ismaili Centre, Burnaby (ICV), while the most prominent Ithna Ashari centre is the Jaffari Community Centre (JCC) in Vaughan, Ontario.[3]
The Shiite population in Canada is estimated to be approximately 300,000 people. The arrival of Shiite Muslims in this country is because of the migration of Shiites from countries such as Iran/Pakistan/Lebanon, and other countries that have settled there, and most of the mentioned population lives in cities such as Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.[4]
Reza Hosseini Nassab is a Canadian Grand Ayatollah of the Twelver rite. Anisa Mehdi, a film director and journalist, who although a Shia, reports on her faith from a Pan-Islamic viewpoint.[5]