Kurds have been coming to Canada from Turkey, Iraq and Iran for decades. Over 90% of the Kurds in Hamilton are from a Muslim background. Today, many of the Kurds in Canada have shed their identity as Muslims.

Amazingly, there is no definitive estimate for the number of Muslims in the United States of America. There are many estimates, ranging from about two million to possibly seven million (1 or 2 per cent of the US population), but there is little reliable data.

Immigrants to Canada in the past were predominantly from Europe while the majority of today’s immigrants including many Muslims come from Asia and Africa. Muslims coming to Canada face many hardships. Muslim women often find themselves isolated in a society which does not understand nor accept them.

Mosques and Islamic Centres play an important role in the life of American Muslims. They are places of refuge and of rest; places where a Muslim can experience the Islamic community. Ford, Muslims and mosques in Dearborn, Michigan.

The first official mosque was built in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1934. Today, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) based in Washington DC, there are more than 1,209 known mosques throughout America.