In the 1980s there were approximately 200 Muslim families in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This changed in 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait and there was a large migration of Muslim families to Halifax.
There were only a few mosques in Halifax at the time of the migration and the community soon realized that they were going to need something bigger and more elaborate to accommodate not only the amount of people, but also the growing needs of the community. Not only did they need a place to pray, but they needed a place to preserve their religion and teach their children about Islam. Out of this need, the idea for the Ummah Masjid was born.
