Ottawa mosque has charity status restored
Mosque appealed a 2018 decision and won
An Ottawa mosque that had its charitable status revoked in 2018 by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has been reinstated as a charity.
The Ottawa Islamic Centre and Assalam Mosque on St. Laurent Boulevard said the CRA restored its status in June of 2023 after going through an appeals process.
Abdulhakim Moalimishak, president of the mosque, said it was a "long and protracted process" to get the charitable status back.
"Initially we came in feeling very upset at losing our charitable status and very hurt. And the congregation was very hurt as well," he said.
"But it was a learning experience and we are very appreciative today of the CRA in looking at our case, examining our case and coming to the decision to give us a chance to continue the good work that we're doing in our society."
Moalimishak said the mosque immediately appealed the CRA's decision in 2018 and since then, there has been a lot of back and forth between the agency and the mosque's lawyer.
"We wanted to go through the appeals process and it was successful. But it was a time consuming, emotionally, financially draining process," he said. "We feel it was worth it."
Status revoked for promoting 'hate and intolerance': CRA
In 2018, the CRA told CBC News it revoked the mosque's charitable status because the organization failed to devote all its resources to charity and "allowed its resources to be used for activities that promote hate and intolerance," causing it to fail the CRA's public benefit test.
At the time, the CRA said its decision rested in part on the fact that four controversial speakers, some of whom had made derogatory comments about women, Jewish and LGBTQ people had appeared at the mosque multiple times between 2009 and 2014.
In 2018, a spokesperson for the mosque said they felt the CRA's decision to revoke its status was unfair given it was based on things someone had said somewhere other than the mosque.
When asked if any of those speakers had appeared at the mosque since, Moalimishak wouldn't elaborate but said the mosque has and will continue to reject divisive speakers and its values reflect the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
"We condemn any type of hate, political, religious or otherwise. We condemn any type of judgmental or biased understanding of theology," he said.
The CRA wouldn't elaborate on why it had reversed its decision about the mosque due to confidentiality provisions in the Income Tax Act.
But in an emailed statement, a spokesperson said the agency "is dedicated to diversity, inclusion and anti-racism, in alignment with its values of professionalism, integrity, respect and collaboration, and assesses all concerns about charities against a clear regulatory and risk framework."
"Where those assessments give rise to further concerns, the CRA will look into them in line with its standard processes."
Looking ahead to the future
Moalimishak characterized the years without charitable status and the appeals process as a "roller-coaster."
He said the mosque relies on its charitable status to fundraise and it was hard not to be able to give charitable receipts to its congregation.
"Words cannot describe the amount of, you know, difficulty that we encountered not having a charitable status," he said.
Now the mosque is once again considered a charity, Moalimishak is hopeful it will continue to have a positive relationship with the CRA and he's excited about the possibilities moving forward.
"I would say that the relationship with the CRA today is what inspires me to keep going and not to look back on all the suffering and negativity."
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