Frequently Asked Questions

Over the past two decades MAC has grown to be the largest grass-roots Muslim organization with a national reach rooted in strong local chapters in 13 cities across Canada. With 18 community centers, 9 full-time schools, 20 weekend schools, 4 child care centers, MAC serves over 55,000 community members weekly across Canada. As an Islamic organization we understand Islam as outlined in the Quran, the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (Sunnah) and our understanding of Islam is one of balance and moderation, constructive engagement in society, focus on personal and communal empowerment, and establishing value-based organizations. To learn more about MAC visit <https://www.macnet.ca/about-mac> and visit the national FAQ page for questions related to the MAC organization as a whole <https://www.macnet.ca/faq-2/>.

MAC London chapter was started in 2001 by a group of young sisters and brothers. Many of these sisters and brother were active members of Muslim Students Associations during their education and the London Chapter allowed these brothers and sisters continue work focused on youth. Initially, the group of sisters and brothers would meet to plan activities at the London Muslim Mosque, Western University campus, and each others’ homes, till they eventually were able to purchase the MAC Youth Centre. Alhamdulillah the chapter has grown substantially since then with many more centres and a continued effort to cater to the needs of our youth, pre-teens, sisters, young professionals, and the community as a whole to build and establish the women and men who will lead our community in the future inshallah. For more information about the MAC London Chapter please visit <www.maclondon.ca>.

MAC London for the past 20 years has focused on our youth by providing a wide spectrum of programs that cater especially to their evolving needs. We work closely with the high school MSAs and Western/Fanshawe to support programming even at their schools and campuses. Below are some key focus areas for the Chapter:

A) MAC Junior Department (Elementary school grades) – The focus of this team is to provide quality and regular programming that establishes the fundamentals of their islamic identity. Through topics such as Names of Allah, Stories of the Prophets, and Heroes in Islamic History, children develop a sense of familiarity and appreciation for their faith (see full list below). The sessions include practical learning such as Islamic mannerisms and respect for relationships with those around us. The team also supports the summer, winter, and March break day camps to ensure quality and consistent programs throughout the year for our children at MAC centres in the city.

1. Names of Allah – 8 week program
2. Names of Allah and Muslim manners – 6 week program
3. Mighty Muslim heroes program – 12 week program
4. Story of Prophet Esa – Dec 25th Weekend
5. Love in Islam – Family Day Weekend

Please feel free to contact us via email (youth.jr@london.macnet.ca) or join our MAC Junior whatsapp group (http://tiny.cc/macjr) for the latest news.

B) MAC Youth Department (High School to 25 years) – This team aims to address the needs of our youth at the critical age where they are developing their sense of identity. A balanced approach is maintained through all activities to address their social needs, their need to develop into a responsible adult, and their spiritual needs to ensure they develop strong brotherhood/sisterhood bonds as well as give due attention to their relationship with Allah (swt). Examples of programming include the following:

1. Brothers and Sisters Youth Groups (BYG/SYG) – Weekly session allowing Muslim youth to socialize in an Islamic environment with islamic reminders and discussions.
2. Workshops & Halaqas: Training sessions to cover various Islamic and life skills topics through interactive and bonding sessions.
3. Summer Camps: Fun filled program composed of interactive lectures, worship, and bonding activities to strengthen the identity of high school students.
4. Retreats: Advanced programs and interactive sessions targeting post secondary youth.
5. Field Trips/Sleepovers: Combine spiritual and social activities to strengthen identity.
6. Qiyams/Iftars: Facilitates spirituality, learning and bonding of youth at the masajid and centres of our city.

C) Community Engagement – This team’s goal is to engage the muslim community with the wider community with the wider community and strengthen relationships with other organizations, especially in relation to our youth. Examples include:

1. Food drive campaign to support the local food bank
2. Blood Donor Clinics
3. Toy drive campaign for those in need
4. Disaster relief efforts
5. Joint Eid celebrations with local organizations

D) Usar and Membership – This team focuses on building future leaders for our community to ensure our dawa work moves forward in a sustainable fashion. It entails a mentorship program for youth with experienced MAC members whereby they usually meet weekly to discuss various Islamic topics and practical concepts.

E) After school programming, halaqas and Al-Furqan Quran School –

1. After school Quran Classes: Daily classes available from Nooraniya level to learn basic Arabic reading as well as Hifz for memorizing the holy Quran. MAC London is home to two Part-Time evening schools for religious studies and Quran (with a third one starting soon at Masonville Centre inshaAllah). Each evening school hosts between 50 to 80 students.
2. Weekend Quran Program: This program supplements public school education with Islamic and Arabic studies. We currently have two Weekend Schools with 100+ students each. So that’s about 300 students at least weekly and growing! This is a great opportunity for students to utilize their free time after school and on weekends to strengthen their identity, learn and excel.
3. Al -Furqan Quran School: See section below discussing this unique full time school.

MAC London envisions accessible and active spaces for our youth and community members to grow and develop spiritually, socially, emotionally, and intellectually. MAC London has been involved with various institutional projects in London as listed below:

1. MAC Youth Centre: This location was purchased and opened in 2006 and sold in 2020. The space allowed our youth to gather in a comfortable space for building bonds and spiritual identity, however it did not have a dedicated masjid space and was not accessible, and so our new centres were established to better serve our community alhamdulillah.
2. MAC Noor Gardens Community Centre: The community purchased this 13-acre land in 2012 and has been working towards developing the land and building a multipurpose facility.
3. MAC Westmount Masjid: In early 2019, this site was leased to build a congregation and team that would operate until the Noor Gardens location was constructed and ready. For more information please visit <www.macwestmount.ca>.
4. MAC Hyde Park Masjid: In 2020, community consultations were carried out for a possible site in the Northwest part of the city. This venue includes a gymnasium, prayer space, and a youth space similar to the Youth Centre, and alhamdulillah the space has become a hub for our community since opening. For more information please visit <www.machydepark.ca>.
5. MAC Masonville Centre: MAC London’s goal is to support meeting qualified needs of the community in a financially prudent manner with the allocation of appropriate human resources. MAC London opened a temporary location in the north part of the city just before April 2021 until September 2021 for Ramadan to help develop Hyde Park congregation and programming. However, the community at the temporary location showed strong support for a permanent location around Masonville, which was also supported by the strong attendance of regular prayers at the temporary location. In 2022 MAC London held community consultations for this opportunity by Masonville Mall and over 90% of respondents supported the centre and deemed that it was needed. Subsequently, the teams opened the centre on a trial basis for Ramadan 2022, and again there was substantial support and request to keep it open. Hence, it was agreed to reopen the centre as a longer term centre for the community, subject to sufficient financial support from the community.
6. MAC Al-Furqan Quran School: MAC has a great reputation for esteemed Islamic Schools across the country. In 2022 we have been blessed to open the doors of MAC London’s first Full-time school: MAC Al-Furqan Quran School. Al-Furqan School is a private, not-for-profit Islamic School, licensed by the Ministry of Education. The school strives to graduate students who demonstrate impeccable Islamic character along with advanced academic skills. The goal is to help students memorize and review the entire Quran from Grades 4 to 8, as well as provide them with strong academic training in Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Geography, History, Art and Physical Education. Students are taught to gain independence and a sense of responsibility in their own success to become our future Muslim leaders. While Al Furqan London was established in 2022, Al Furqan Ottawa has been successfully running for over a decade and its program has been implemented in multiple MAC schools around the country. Classes are capped at 10 students. This allows us to get to know each student really well and focus on their education and character development. For more info check tiny.cc/alfurqan23 or email admin@londonalfurqanschool.ca

MAC London prioritizes building people and as such started its efforts without any institutional spaces at all. The various projects the team has been involved in are directly connected to the needs and consultations with the community. A key part of its strategy is built on the appreciation that large community centres are a heavy investment and not always practical or needed. Where opportunities present for smaller multifunction spaces that can be obtained at an effective lease, they are more manageable and practical for the community. Large ‘anchor’ centres are still needed as we need schools and larger facilities that act as hubs especially in areas highly concentrated with muslim population. We hope Noor Gardens will be one such facility that will be developed in phases over time inshallah. Finally, the MAC London team works closely with local community leaders and muslim institutions to ensure all institutions compliment one another for the benefit of the overall community and ensure resources are utilized in an efficient manner.

We thought we were stretching the community when we opened MYC in 2006, and also Westmount in 2019, and then with Hyde Park temporary locations in 2021. However, these projects were quickly owned by the community through attendance, funding, and volunteering. We are observing that our community is growing and so are its needs and the potential to support multiple projects. Alhamdulillah, we have had very good feedback and the community is very thankful of investments we have made together so far. Nevertheless, our resources are limited and we seek to ensure there is appropriate consultation, engagement and collaboration for every major decision as we move forward inshallah.

The youth department had plans to have youth camps in 2021 but instead they were only able to host BBQs and some social events due to Covid restrictions. There are active plans to have a camp in summer 2022, as well as other social/spiritual events. Inshallah the new space at Hyde Park Masjid also allows the team more flexibility in terms of programming.

There are many active programs that you can participate in and we need more volunteers to help plan and establish youth programs. You can reach us at programs@london.macnet.ca while specifying that you would like to work with youth.