Soraya Hafez was passionate about preserving Edmonton’s Muslim heritage. Originally from Egypt, Hafez was the first teacher of Edmonton Public Schools' first Arabic bilingual class at Glengarry School in 1983. Hafez and her husband, Awid, were part of the group that raised money to restore the Al Rashid Mosque, and move it to Fort Edmonton Park.

Named after Hilwie Hamdon who was one of Edmonton’s first Lebanese Muslim immigrants and was instrumental in raising money to build the first mosque in Canada—one of the first in North America.