Edmonton’s Muslim Heritage Day Festival returns for a second year | CBC News

The Muslim Heritage Day Festival is coming back to Edmonton for its second year this weekend.

Taking place at Sir Winston Churchill Square on Saturday, the event is meant for Muslims and non-Muslims to come out and learn about Islamic cultural practices.

A member of the marketing team for the festival, Fawwaz Hameed says there’s a need for the festival in Edmonton to bridge connections between community members of all backgrounds.

“There’s a lot of misconceptions about Islam that we need to eliminate,” Hameed said. “And hopefully by having an event like this, people will come out.

“They’ll see the culture, they’ll see the history. And then they’ll realize that maybe these people aren’t as bad as we thought.”

About 7,000 people are expected to attend the festival.

The number of Muslims in Alberta has nearly doubled since 2011, growing by about 89,000 to over 202,500 people in 2021, according to Statistics Canada.

In Edmonton, the Muslim population is around 84,635 people, according to the 2021 national census.

As the Muslim population continues to grow, Hameed says he has noticed more people outside of the faith know the basics of the religion such as fasting during Ramadan and the five daily prayers.

For example, he said, it could be beneficial for an employer to know when their Muslim employees are fasting or when they tend to go for Friday prayers.

“It’s important for an employer to know that so that they can give the proper time off for their employees if they’re Muslim to fulfil their religious responsibility,” said Hameed.

To attract more non-Muslim attendees this year, Hameed says the festival has been putting up posters on Jasper and Whyte Avenues. Whereas last year, they primarily went to Muslim-owned businesses to advertise the festival.

“It’s more important to have non-Muslims attend this kind of event because it’s designed to be a resource for them and for them to reach out to,” said Hameed.

On the same day as the festival, an anti-Islamophobia awareness campaign will be launched at city hall. The campaign is being run by Sisters Dialogue, a non-profit organization working to address issues that affect Muslim women in Edmonton.

Wati Rahmat is the founder of Sisters Dialogue. She says multicultural events help to create awareness and dispel their assumptions about certain groups.

“People’s Islamophobic or negative views of Muslims are reduced when they know, have friends, or have Muslims within their circles,” Rahmat said.

An exhibit at the event will showcase images of diverse Muslim women taken by Faisa Omer, a photographer and mental health professional based in Ottawa. The images will also be advertised on ETS buses and in LRT stations across the city for eight weeks starting next week.

While Islamic Heritage Month falls in October, the festival is happening now so it can be enjoyed outdoors.

Festival attendees will have the opportunity to check out food stalls from Arab- and Pakistani-owned restaurants. There will also be information booths and posters, and cultural goods for sale.