On Christmas Eve, the Islamic Community Centre of Brossard in Montreal sponsored and served a holiday dinner to local homeless people.
The holiday season is intended to be a time for people to come together with friends and family, regardless of their views or cultural differences. And at the Old Brewery Mission in Montreal, that’s exactly what happened on Christmas Eve.
Members of Montreal’s Islamic Community Centre of Brossard chipped in $2,000—double the minimum requirement—to sponsor Christmas Eve dinner at a local mission, then spent the evening serving plates of chicken, rice, and steamed carrots to the poor and homeless.
Even though the Muslims don’t celebrate Christmas themselves, they were happy to take part in the holiday by helping those less fortunate within their local community. “I feel happy when I make other people happy, one of the Muslims, Monique Khan, told the Montreal Gazette. “It’s a time for sharing and we give what we can.”
Many of the group members had arrived in Canada as refugees, and had been able to rise above their circumstances to become successful. Now, they’re eager to provide the same support that they had received in their early years.
“When we came here, we didn’t have anything,” said Monique’s husband, Irfan Khan. “We worked hard and we did well. This society has given us so much, and now we have to give back.”