Shia Islam in Canada



Shia Islam in Canada is a part of the global Shia community that continues to bond with Shias elsewhere. Shia Muslims have been a featuring segment of the Canadian Muslim society that became more conspicuous from the 1970s and onwards.

Community
The Shia Muslim community (jamaat) manifests itself in two main forms in Canada. One is through the Twelver (Ithnaasheri) rite and the other is through the Ismaili (Sevener) rite. However, due to the lack of census questions that go into specific details in Canada, it remains unknown which community is larger between the two. However, both have established community centres encompassing spiritual congregational halls and attached leisure centres. The Shia Ithnaasheris have Masjids (Mosques) and the Shia Ismailis have Jamatkhanas in the country. The two most prominent Ismaili centre is the Ismaili Centre, Toronto (ICT) at the Charbagh Gardens and Ismaili Centre, Burnaby (ICV), while the most prominent Ithna Ashari centre is the Jaffari Community Centre (JCC) in Vaughan, Ontario.

Population
The Shiite population in Canada is estimated to be approximately 300,000 people. The arrival of Shiite Muslims in this country is because of the migration of Shiites from countries such as Iran/Pakistan/Lebanon, and other countries that have settled there, and most of the mentioned population lives in cities such as Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

Adherents
Reza Hosseini Nassab is a Canadian Grand Ayatollah of the Twelver rite. Anisa Mehdi, a film director and journalist, who although a Shia, reports on her faith from a Pan-Islamic viewpoint.

Some Notable Canadian Shia Muslims

 * Amir Attaran - lawyer, immunologist and law professor
 * Maziar Bahari - journalist, filmmaker and human rights activist
 * Farid Haerinejad - documentary maker and blogger
 * Salma Lakhani - Lieutenant Governor of Alberta
 * Mobina Jaffer - lawyer, British Columbia senator
 * Rahim Jaffer - former Alberta Member of Parliament
 * Amir Khadir - National Assembly member and former Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson
 * Hassan Khosrowshahi - founder of electronics retailer Future Shop
 * Rizwan Manji - television and film actor
 * Anisa Mehdi - Emmy Award-winning film director and journalist
 * Reza Hosseini Nassab - Grand Ayatollah
 * Naheed Nenshi - non-profit sector consultant, mayor of Calgary
 * Yasmin Ratansi - accountant, MP; first Muslim woman elected to the House of Commons of Canada
 * Omar Sachedina - television journalist and newsreader
 * Aliza Vellani - television actress (Little Mosque on the Prairie)
 * Ali Velshi - television journalist now working in the US
 * Alykhan Velshi - lawyer and former political advisor to Stephen Harper
 * Murad Velshi - former member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly, father of Ali Velshi
 * Rana Bokhari- Lawyer, Former Leader of Manitoba Liberal Party, Anti-Racism Activist.