About Masjid Toronto
About the Facility
Masjid Toronto is a mosque in the heart of downtown Toronto, serving a large and diverse Muslim community. Its unique location near universities, downtown businesses, and the Greyhound Bus Station makes it a sanctuary for Muslim students, professionals, and travelers alike. Today, hundreds of people each week make use of Masjid Toronto to perform the five daily prayers and the congregational Friday prayer. The mosque also hosts community events, a weekend children’s school, and various classes. It is located at 168 Dundas St. West, at the corner of Dundas and Chestnut. It is accessible by public transit via the 505 Dundas Street car. The masjid is also a short walk from St. Patrick Subway station and Dundas Subway station.
History
Masjid Toronto, became a mosque in January 2002. Prior to that date, the building was a commercial bank – a branch of the Royal Bank of Canada.
The history of the building goes back several decades. Since the 1940s, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) operated a branch on 168 Dundas street west. In February 1987 RBC leased the adjacent lot, 160 Dundas street west in order to expand its operations. Shortly afterward, RBC started rebuilding its location over the two lots. The existing building represents the construction done by RBC on both land lots.
For many years, Muslims working in downtown Toronto have rented various spaces to perform the congregational Friday prayer. As the Muslim population grew, it became more challenging to find a space every week to accommodate the growing congregation. By the late 90’s, efforts began to acquire a building to serve as a permanent prayer space for the Muslim community.
In early 2000 the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) started negotiations to acquire the bank building on 168 Dundas St West. By January 2002, MAC was able to finalize a lease agreement with RBC and open the building to the public as a mosque (a Muslim place of worship). The mosque was called Masjid Toronto, which means Toronto Mosque in Arabic. Payments for the building were completed in 2008.
Today, Masjid Toronto is one of the busiest mosques in the city. Large numbers of worshippers attend the mosque as it is strategically located in the downtown core, in close proximity to the Toronto financial district (Bay Street), the Discovery district, four local hospitals (Princess Margaret, Mount Sinai, Sick Kids, Toronto General), U of T and Ryerson University.