Most worked as farmers. In 1941, they began to build this mosque, which wasn't finished until 1947, the same year as British partition and Pakistan independence. Today, the Downtown Mosque is reputed to be the oldest mosque in North America. They think they were the first. Whatever the claim, the Downtown Mosque is an enduring sentinel.
People love to come here.
But it is not a Pakistani mosque. It is a mosque for everyone. It belongs to the faith. Qasmi is not Pakistani, either. He was born in southern India.