École Ibn Batouta

A beautiful moment of learning and faith as our students experienced the spirit of Hajj by wearing the ihram and chanting “Labbayka Allahumma Labbayk."

Through these activities, our children connect with the pillars of Islam in a meaningful and memorable way, nurturing love for their faith from a young age. May Allah bless them with knowledge, sincerity, and the opportunity to one day perform Hajj

A community project

Donate to Help Us Protect Our School – A Place Where Faith and Future, organized by Abdillahi Ahmed For over twenty years, École Ibn Batouta has been much more t… Abdillahi Ahmed needs your support for Help Us Protect Our School – A Place Where Faith and Future

Suleiman Khan: A Pioneer’s Tale of Ottawa’s Muslim Community.

Introduction Abdillahi A. Ahmed, principal of Ecole Ibn Batouta
I often visit my friend, Suleiman Khan and get the opportunity to ask questions about the past. A true pioneer of the muslim identity here in Ottawa.. He arrived in Ottawa in 1964, a high school graduate who worked as a parking lot attendant. Over nearly six decades, he helped build a Muslim community from almost nothing – one school, one camp, one place of prayer at a time, and was part of almost all of Muslim projects and institutions in the city. He is the founder of Islam Care and other major islamic institutions in the city.

I want to share a short story before we begin. Years ago, a dear friend of mine in Minnesota – a quiet, kind man who dedicated his life to youth – told me something that stuck. He said: “If I knew then what I know now, I would have focused everything on Islamic identity, because everything else fades.” I’ve carried those words with me. And when I sat down with Suleiman, I realized he had been living that vision long before I ever heard it. So I asked him about it. His answer is the heart of this interview.
Here is Suleiman Khan.

The Interview
Abdillahi. A. Ahmed: Suleiman, when did you first arrive in Ottawa?
Suleiman Khan: 1964. I was 30 years old.
Abdillahi. A. Ahmed: Your education level at that time?
Suleiman Khan: High school graduate. .
Abdillahi. A. Ahmed: First job?
Suleiman Khan: Parking lot attendant. Honest work. It gave me a view of the city – watching people come and go, never knowing I’d help build a community.

A Tiny Seed of Muslims

Abdillahi. A. Ahmed: What was the Muslim population like in 1964?
Suleiman Khan: Very small. Mostly Lebanese, then some Pakistanis. That was it. Not the hundred nationalities you see today.
Abdillahi. A. Ahmed: Only those two?
Suleiman Khan: Yes mainly. But no rivalry. Everyone had one cause, one vehicle – to build a Muslim community. Otherwise, what was the point?
Abdillahi. A. Ahmed: Who was the biggest name then?
Suleiman Khan: Dr. Farid Ahmed – an Egyptian nationalist, may Allah bless him. He could gather people, make them feel part of something bigger.

The Dream of an Islamic School
Abdillahi. A. Ahmed: You were a pioneer for Ottawa’s first Islamic school. How did that idea come about?
Suleiman Khan: The community grew. Toronto had Islamic schools. We thought – why not here? I dreamed of an Ontario Islamic school board. We never got that far, but we started one school.
Abdillahi. A. Ahmed: Who stood with you?
Suleiman Khan: Sister Khadijah Hafaji and Qamar Masood, my long time friend, May Allah have mercy, Qamar dedicates his time to his kid. That’s the kind of people we had.

Ottawa in the 1970s
Abdillahi. A. Ahmed: How would you describe Ottawa in the 1970s? Today it’s over a million.
Suleiman Khan: Maybe 100,000. Quiet streets. Very few faces like mine. Then immigration opened up. Different nationalities started joining us.
Abdillahi. A. Ahmed: Which group came first?
Suleiman Khan: The Somalis. Big influence, masha’Allah. Many worked in education. They brought their children to our school right away. The mothers were determined to raise children in an Islamic environment.
Abdillahi. A. Ahmed: And after that?
Suleiman Khan: It became multicultural – people from every corner of the Muslim world. The population just grew.

From not a single Mosque to Ten
Abdillahi. A. Ahmed: You came to a city with no mosque. Now we have nearly ten. Within 50 years, we’ve gone from a few thousand Muslims to over 100,000. Your take?
Suleiman Khan: Canada opened its doors. People came from Muslim countries. That’s simple. But growth without direction is just numbers. The real question is: what are we growing into?

A Vision Tested by Time

Abdillahi. A. Ahmed: I once had a friend in Minnesota who told me: “If I knew then what I know now, I would have focused everything on Islamic schools. Because over time, the only identity that remains constant is the Muslim identity. Somali, Pakistani, Arab – those fade. The children will only hold onto their Muslim identity. So start with that as the end goal, not an add-on.” When you hear that, Suleiman – does it match what you lived?
Suleiman Khan: (nods) That brother saw what I saw. When I arrived in 1964, we had Lebanese and Pakistanis. We got along because we had one cause – Islam. But as the community grew, people started forming their own groups. Each proud of their culture. That’s fine – culture is beautiful. But culture without Islam at the center becomes a prison for the children.
Abdillahi. A. Ahmed: How so?
Suleiman Khan: Look at the third generation. A Somali child raised only on Somali culture – what happens when they don’t speak the language? They feel lost. A Pakistani child who only knows biryani – that’s not enough to hold their heart. But a child raised on prayer, on Quran, on the stories of the prophets – that child has an identity that doesn’t depend on a passport. That child can walk into any mosque in the world and feel at home.
Abdillahi. A. Ahmed: So the Islamic school was never just about academics?
Suleiman Khan: Never. The school is the fortress. When you make Islamic studies an “add-on” – one hour on Sunday – you teach the child that Islam is secondary. When you build a full-time Islamic school, you teach them that Islam is primary. That’s what I learned over 60 years. That Minnesota brother was right
Abdillahi. A. Ahmed: What would you say to parents today who are still unsure?
Suleiman Khan: Don’t make Islam a side class. Make it the foundation. The boat, not the paddle. I came here with nothing but a high school diploma. My children became highly educated while keeping their Islamic values — something that, by the grace of Allah, was made possible through a community that quietly but firmly prioritized Islamic identity alongside excellence.

Camps and Schools – Building Identity

Abdillahi. A. Ahmed: You also started the Muslim Youth Camp. Why camps?
Suleiman Khan: Camping is a big part of Canadian life. But back then, nothing among Muslims promoted this idea. So we started the camp. A school teaches the mind. A camp builds the soul. You need both.

Final Words
Abdillahi. A. Ahmed: Looking back at nearly six decades – what’s your message to young Muslims today?
Suleiman Khan: Don’t lose your center. When I arrived, we had nothing – no mosque, no school, no community. But we had one cause. Today you have ten mosques, a hundred nationalities, and a million distractions. The question is: do you still have that one cause? Build the Muslim identity. Everything else will follow.
Abdillahi. A. Ahmed: Suleiman Khan, thank you.
Suleiman Khan: Alhamdulillah. It was never just my story – it’s ours. And that brother from Minnesota? His words were good. But I lived this. And I’m still here.

https://gofund.me/a9d8d668b

Donate to Help Us Protect Our School – A Place Where Faith and Future, organized by Abdillahi Ahmed For over twenty years, École Ibn Batouta has been much more t… Abdillahi Ahmed needs your support for Help Us Protect Our School – A Place Where Faith and Future