INTRODUCTION
Peace Village is one-of-a-kind unique housing project in the Western world. It’s a dream come true for many Ahmadis in Canada. It is comprised of 260 homes built on a 50-acre parcel of land at a walking distance from one of the most beautiful Mosques in the world. Almost all the homes in Peace Village are now occupied by Ahmadis.
The uniqueness of the Peace Village also extends to the street names. All the nine streets within the sub-division are named after our Khulafa’s names and other prominent Ahmadi scholars. The main street is called Ahmadiyya Ave and there is also a public park named as “Ahmadiyya Park”. By the Grace of Allah, because of the Peace Village, attendance in the daily prayers has increased many folds. At the Maghrib prayer, our normal attendance is between 300 to 400. In the summer months, soon after the children come home from school, they go to the playgrounds close to the Mosque, and at the prayer times they all rush to the Mosque.
Our seniors, who previously were getting bored staying at home all the times now have friends living at walking distances from their homes. They are not dependent on their children to drive them to the Mosque. Our ladies now can take their children to the educational classes being regularly held every weekend at the Mosque, without any fear or intimidation.
Peace Village is a unique success story that other communities are now trying to duplicate. There has been a lot of media publicity on this project that you can see some of it under Press Coverage on this site. Many TV channels also have produced documentaries on Peace Village that we will post on the site shortly.
BACK GROUND
The basic idea to have Ahmadis living in the neighborhood of our Baitul Islam Mosque in the City of Vaughan ( a neighboring city on the North side of Toronto) was developed soon after the construction of the Mosque in 1992. However, the area surrounding the Mosque was zoned and used as agricultural and the municipal services to develop the area were also non-existent. In fact, the city administration had anticipated that it would take about 20 to 25 years for the development to reach in this area. The city was leaning toward zoning the area for future “industrial and commercial” purposes. However, God's plan was different than the City's officials.
By 1994, two years after the completion of the Mosque, the government officials reconsidered the master plan of area and approved it for the residential purposes. Soon after, some land development companies started purchasing land in the area. Since our Mosque land was included in the residential development zone, we had to make sure that the development around the Mosque did not negatively impact on the Mosque property. For this purpose we had to attend various meetings of the Land Owners Group.
Our goal was to protect the interest of the community the in such a way that the future development plans of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community were not hindered. For example, we advocated that the proposed park land and proposed school sites for the new development should be brought closer to the Mosque lands so that it conformed to “compatible use” principle. By the Grace of Allah, we were able to achieve all of our objectives.
By 1996, all the builders had completed their plans and submitted to the city for approval. There was a parcel of land, about 50 acres, just north of our Mosque property that was purchased by an Italian builder who initially became a bit concerned if a housing project next to a Mosque would be successful. We approached the builder and negotiated an agreement under which we would promote the site exclusively within the Ahmadiyya Community and look after the sales of the homes.
The builder in turn would invest all the money and build the homes as per directions from the sales office, which was staffed by me personally. We also guided the builder in terms of making some changes in the house designs so that they conformed to our lifestyle as much as possible. We also negotiated the prices, sizes of the houses and the packages of what would be included in the new houses.
CONSTRUCTION START
After a great deal of careful planning, the project was launched on the Eid ul Azha in April 1998, and our Ameer Sahib delivered a khutba outlining the benefits of living closer to a Mosque. People responded very positively and a great number of them expressed the desire to purchase a house near the Mosque. Actual construction started in October 1998 and the first phase of 260 houses was completed by the fall of 2000.
Peace Village has been an excellent experience for our Jamaat in Canada. We have now thousands of Ahmadis living walking distance from our Mosque. Because of the benefits of Peace Village, a lot of Ahmadis are now buying homes in the City of Vaughan.
NEW SCHOOL AND PARK
Elementary school students from the Peace Village were attending Michael Cranny Elementary School in Maple. The Board had provided school bus service for the past seven years. The York Region District School Board is now building a new elementary school next to our Mosque and Peace Village so that our children can walk to the school and also be able to come to the Mosque at prayer times. Plans are also underway to build a High School walking distance to our Mosque. Similarly a new park named Ahmadiyya Park is being developed by the city near the Mosque.
LANDSCAPED SUBDIVISION
Peace Village is beautifully landscaped with trees, shrubs and walkways. Every house has its own driveway, car garage, and lush green front and backyard. Some have planted beautiful flowers in the front yard, and while others have converted part of the backyard into a gardening hobby. Strolling along Ahmadiyya Ave with kids on the sides is a sight to be seen every evening. Fazia Mahdi Park provides recreational facilities for evening walk for families. There is also a full size Basket Ball court and mini Soccer field for kids to play. This area is also used to host Canada Day celebrations by the community.
BEST OF THE BOTH WORLDS
Living in Peace Village in Canada, one of the most advanced Western countries, under the shadow of a Mosque, is like enjoying the benefits of the best of the both worlds – the spiritual and the material. Peace Village is a special blessing of Allah for Ahmadis living in Canada. We welcome all Ahmadis in the world to visit our Jamaat here. It will be our honor to be the host of all the Ahmadis. We wish and pray that all other Jamaats can also develop their own “Peace Villages” all around the world.
GOOD INVESTMENT
All those who have bought houses in the Peace Village have also benefited from the purchase economically. The value of houses have increased tremendously. There has not been a single buyer, as of yet, who has lost money, no matter what price was paid. Whereas, some people who bought in the neighboring areas have lost money or have made wrong decisions. The value of the property in Peace Village will most likely continue to increase as there are not going to be any new houses built in this area and the demand, with the growth of the community, will continue to rise.
PEACE VILLAGE IN PAINTINGS
In the Spring of 2006, Martha Eleen, an artist from Toronto, lived for two months in Peace Village and produced 55 beautiful paintings on Peace Village. She was inspired by the unique nature of Ahmadi Muslims living peacefully in Canada whereas the post 9/11 world is torn apart with tensions between Muslims and the rest of the world. The paintings describe the unique landscape of Peace Village where God's house is among the ordinary hard working people as if God also lives here in Peace Village. The Globe and Mail wrote a very impressive review on the Painting and the Peace Village.
There has never been a builder sub-division elevated to art form in Canada. This is the unique honor of the Peace Village project.
The paintings were displayed in LOOP Gallery in Toronto on January 6th 2007, and again in the Mississauga Art Gallery. We are working to publish the painting in a coffee table style book.
For those of you who want to look at the painting you can visit the website http://www.marthaeleen.com
ACADEMIC RESEARCH
Some professors in Universities and colleges are asking students to study the Peace Village development and analyze its long term impact on the planning process in Canada as more cultural and ethnic communities are being developed on the pattern of Peace Village. (See the article published in the Globe and Mail May 16, 2003)
I was approached by students doing their graduate, post graduate and even PhD degrees from the University of Toronto, York University who wanted to learn more about the project and how it was put together. Very recently, a very interesting piece on Peace Village was published in the Ontario Planning Journal in Canada.
PEACE VILLAGE AND MEDIA
There has been tremendous media interest in the Peace Village concept. For details please go to the Press Coverage section.
HISTORICAL ROLE
The Peace Village is destined to play an historical role in the development and establishment of Ahmadiyya community in Canada. The Master development plan for the Mosque property of 25 acres, which is undergoing planning approval process at this time, will make this sub-division like no other in the whole world. Only future will tell the real story.
|
