Canada’s first muslim cemetery

Muslims had established communities in Nova Scotia decades before the postwar immigration era.

By the early twentieth century, Muslim families of Syrian and Lebanese origin were living in communities including Truro, Westville, Pictou/New Glasgow and Sydney. In 1935, John Harris, Joseph Moorby, A.R. Joseph, M.S. Awad and George Harris purchased land at Bible Hill near Truro for a dedicated Muslim cemetery. Murray Harris of Truro became its first recorded burial that year, while Mrs. Joseph Abraham donated the cemetery gate.

The cemetery served Muslims scattered throughout Nova Scotia and occasionally Muslim sailors who died in Nova Scotian waters or ports. It survives as one of the earliest physical landmarks of Muslim life in Canada.

Images courtesy of Nova Scotia Archives
Photographer: Nova Scotia Information Service
Reference: Nova Scotia Information Service Nova Scotia Archives 7101