Toronto architect Zak Ghanim designed the upgraded 25,000 square-foot mosque to accommodate the tremendous growth of the central Toronto Muslim community and to give the location a traditional Islamic look with minaret, domes, and adorning crescents. The new mosque will feature a large prayer hall for thousands of worshippers, an upper mezzanine for segregated women’s prayer, and seven domes on the roof — six of them glass skylights. Thus far, Hanif Shaikh, president of the Madina Mosque, notes the changes have been readily accepted within the broader community. There has been no community protest over its renovations, no rejection by the city, no contentious appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board, and no vandalism. The remodelling is expected to take two years.
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