Environmental Stewardship and Muslim Engagement in Canada

Environmental issues may serve as a platform for interactions between people from diverse religious and nonreligious backgrounds. I explore how individuals collaborate, navigate challenges, bridge differences, and work towards solutions in the context of environmental concerns. Islam, like many other religious traditions, encompasses worldviews and guiding principles related to the environment and nonhuman animals. This exploration focuses on whether Muslim engagement with environmental issues is driven by religious principles, or by factors beyond religion.

Hinna Hussain is a PhD candidate in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies, University of Ottawa. Her doctoral research explores the role of environmental issues in fostering interaction and engagement between Muslims and individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Prayer rug celebrating ties between Indigenous and Muslim peoples adorns new Eid stamp

Canada Post is proud to mark two festivals celebrated by Muslim Canadians with a stamp featuring the Canadian Prayer Rug

OTTAWA, ON, March 10, 2025 /CNW/ - Canada Post issued a new stamp today to mark two of the most important religious holidays in Islam: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The commemorative stamp features a prayer rug celebrating the connection between Indigenous and Muslim peoples – and the multi-faith collaboration that built Canada's first mosque.

The Canadian Prayer Rug was created in 2016 as a project of The Green Room, a youth-support program run by the Edmonton-based charity IslamicFamily, which provides spiritually and culturally sensitive services to the local community.

The rug was designed by local Métis artist Kit Craven and Muslim weaver Noor Iqbal, based on research and interviews carried out by youth with Indigenous Elders and descendants of early Muslim settlers.

Prayer rug commemorates relationship that resulted in Canada's first mosque

The rug's design depicts Alberta's diverse landscapes and distinct seasons. At its centre are an archway and a lodgepole pine – a tree that supports teepees and lodges and is reminiscent of the cypress of settler homelands.

Weaved with locally sourced wool, dyes and other materials, the prayer rug reflects the rich cultural and geographical history of the region, bringing together elements that honour the community's heritage.

More than a work of art, the rug symbolizes unity and multiculturalism within Treaty 6 Territory, which includes Edmonton. It celebrates the deep, enduring connection between Indigenous and Muslim communities, which helped to open the country's first mosque in Edmonton in 1938.

Celebrating Canada's culturally diverse population

This is Canada Post's seventh stamp issue commemorating the Islamic holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Celebrated by Muslim Canadians, both events can last several days and include communal prayers and feasts, visits with family, gift-giving and acts of charity.

The Eid stamp is one of several stamps Canada Post issues each year to mark annual celebrations that are important to Canada's culturally diverse population – others include Diwali, Hanukkah and Christmas.

About the stamp

The stamp issue was designed by Kristine Do with illustration by Kit Craven and photography by Maya Visnyei. Printed by Colour Innovations, the issue includes booklets of six Permanent™ domestic rate stamps and an Official First Day Cover cancelled in Edmonton, Alberta.