Muslims Pray for Rain as Raging Alberta Wildfire Forces More People to Flee
"Whenever there's a drought, our religion has a prayer to make the rain come. And that's what's needed right now for Fort McMurray," said Issam Saleh from the Muslim Association of Canada. "And we will keep praying until it happens."
Earlier on Wednesday, the province of Alberta declared a state of emergency after a massive wildfire destroyed 1,600 homes and buildings in Fort McMurray and forced more than 80,000 residents to evacuate to surrounding towns and cities.
That night, many were forced to flee again after changing weather patterns threatened the safety of their evacuation centers in nearby communities.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police when went door to door in Anzac, Gregoire Lake Estates, and Fort McMurray First Nation, which had all been accommodating evacuees, after a mandatory evacuation order was issued for them.
The regional emergency operations center had just relocated to Anzac, located about 50 kilometers south of Fort McMurray, from the Fort McMurray airport. It planned to move further south to Lac La Biche.
So far, there have been no injuries or fatalities reported, but it will be a huge struggle for the community — already grappling economic hardship tied to plummeting oil prices — to fully recover.
Saleh came to Edmonton 26 years ago from Lebanon. "But my parents are from Palestine, where they had to flee violence in the 1940s," he said. "So I can relate a little to what Fort Mac people are feeling right now, leaving everything."
Ali Jomha, a prominent leader in Fort McMurray's Muslim community, which has grown to nearly 10 percent of the city at several thousand, became emotional as he told the group that the local Islamic school there has burned down. "How will we ever rebuild?" he asked. Another man, Ibrahaim Elladen, recalled how he worked with a construction company in Fort McMurray and was involved with building many of the structures that have been turned to ash.
"I have to believe that the community will rise again," he said. "It's a place that has so much resilience and has been through economic hardship, so I know things will look up again really soon."
Imam El Sayed Amin spoke to the crowd from the building's step before he began the call to prayer. A group of young girls waved Canadian flags, while joggers paused. "May Allah make us emerge from this human crisis and environmental disaster," the Imam said. His mosque has taken in six families from Fort McMurray, and it is bracing for hundreds more over the next week.
Source: news.vice.com
