Sohail Hashmi (second from left) stands with supporters outside the Charlottetown Mosque. Muslims using a basement in downtown Charlottetown for a mosque are upset that a local doctor is saying it's not good enough.
Sefau told CBC News last week he and a group of Muslims had asked the government for help to build an "official" mosque for followers of Islam on P.E.I.
Sohail Hashmi has offered a basement room on Queen Street for Islamic worship for about five years. About 80 people use the mosque regularly.
"If you go back to the time of the Prophet Muhammad, the real mosque at that time was the four walls made of mud, basically, and the branches put as the roof," said Hashmi.
'Stop begging people, let's do this thing first, make this mosque a successful mosque, then look for something with our own resources.'— Sohail Hashmi
Dr. Suleiman Hashmi said the Muslim population on P.E.I. numbers only about 250, and is not large enough to warrant a bigger place. He said the Muslims using his mosque were bothered by Sefau's remarks.
"They really are kind of upset that this Sefau fellow goes and tells people that there's no mosque on P.E.I., 'We need to build a No. 1 mosque.' We have No. 1 mosque," said Hashmi.
"Stop begging people, let's do this thing first, make this mosque a successful mosque, then look for something with our own resources."
Sefau is not alone in his call for a new mosque. Najmul Chisti, the president of the P.E.I. Muslim Society, said that he appreciates Hashmi letting people use his basement, but it would be much better for Muslims to have their own place to worship.
