According to 2001 census, there were 579,640 Muslims in Canada, just under 2% of the population. In 2006, Muslim population is estimated to be 783,700 or about 2.5%.The Muslim community in Canada is almost as old as the nation itself. Four years after Canada's founding in 1867, the 1871 Canadian Census found 13 Muslims among the population The first Canadian mosque was constructed in Edmonton in 1938, when there were approximately 700 Muslims in the country.This building is now part of the museum at Fort Edmonton Park. The years after World War II saw a small increase in the Muslim population. However Muslims were still a distinct minority. It was only with the removal of European immigration preferences in the late 1960s that Muslims began to arrive in significant numbers.According to the Canadian Census of 1971 there were 33,000 Muslims in Canada.In the 1970s large-scale non-European immigration to Canada beganThis was reflected in the growth of the Muslim community in Canada. In 1981, the Census listed 98,000 Muslims.The 1991 Census indicated 253,265 Muslims.By 2001, the Islamic community in Canada had grown to more than 579,000.Preliminary estimates for Census 2006 point to a figure of almost 800,000.The community is expected to grow to 1.1 million by 2011 and 1.4 million by 2017.Compared to Muslims in Europe, Canadian Muslims have not faced the same set of problems.The Muslim community in Canada is just one among many ethnic, religious, racial and cultural communities that together make up Canada. At the same time, it must be noted that although Canadian Muslims may be classified as Muslims for official governmental statistical and policy-making purposes, that does not necessarily mean that all who are identified as such are practicing Muslims. In other words, they may be culturally Muslim, while at the same leading secular lives.