get to know your local mosque

[Eileen]

On Sunday 7th February over 80 mosques across the country are open to visitors for tea and refreshments and to find out what happens in their local mosque. We have three in Southwark taking part, so here is a great chance to visit. Just drop in:

* Peckham Islamic Centre, Choumert Road SE15 (1pm-3pm).

* Manuk Old Kent Road Mosque, 365 Old Kent Road, London, SE1 5JH

* Baitul Aziz, 1 Dickens Square, off Harper Road, London SE1 4JL (12pm-

5.30pm)

More info here: http://www.mcb.org.uk/visitmymosque It would be good to share some thoughts if anyone does manage to visit.

[Lowlander]

Recommended, it's refreshing to take 20 minutes of our time to see how others live.

[Grok]

Agree. Such a shame the NorthX Rd one didnt feel it should join in, especially with all the CGS money it has received from DCC over the years.

[Alex K]

Apologies. I'd say -- I had second thoughts. But that would let people infer that I'd had first ones.

[Otta]

The mosque off Penge High Street unfortunately wasn't taking part either. I'd have popped in if they were.

[Otta]

Perhaps understandable as a couple of women have been harassed or attacked for wearing the hijab. But if that had anything to do with the decision it would be sad that a chance to engage had been ruined by local pond life creating fear.

[Eileen]

This year some 80 mosques and counting will be participating in the Visit My Mosque day. This is more than triple the number of mosques that took part last year. So this is a young and growing movement. People who live near a mosque that hasn't opened this year could see if they can visit it and say hello at some time when it is open, and make friends. They may open next year. You can also see if you have a local interfaith or multifaith forum, and ask them how to make contact with your local mosque.

#VisitMyMosque Day is a national initiative facilitated by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB). The MCB is the UK's largest Muslim umbrella body with over 500 affiliated national, regional and local organisations, mosques, charities and schools.

[Grok]

Are women allowed in?

Eileen Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> This year some 80 mosques and counting will be

> participating in the Visit My Mosque day. This is

> more than triple the number of mosques that took

> part last year.

[????]

Otta Wrote:

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> The mosque off Penge High Street unfortunately

> wasn't taking part either. I'd have popped in if

> they were.

Why Otta? You're always moaning about indoctrination at your girls school...this particularly fairy tale stuff OK or something?

[Otta]

On the bigger picture of religion, no.

But in terms of community, I think it's positive.

[Jeremy]

Yeah what Otta said.. I'm no fan of organised religion, and Islam has as many problems as any of them. But any step to improve their relationship/integration with the community has to be positive.

[DulwichFox]

Visiting the Mosque is of little significance.. It's a private place of prayer..

Getting to know its people is more relevant..

I know many people from our local Mosque.. Some of them I have known for over 35 years..

Themselves, fathers and children in some cases..

Just talk to people..

DulwichFox..

[Otta]

Well the mosque on an open day is as good a place as any to chat surely.

[Eileen]

Otta Wrote:

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> Well the mosque on an open day is as good a place

> as any to chat surely.

Sure this is the main point of the open day. Get to know other people in the neighbourhood. With the increasing number of people in our neighbourhoods who follow Islam, the more important it is to get to know what it is about and get to know more of our neighbours for whom that is important. I am active in multi faith and inter faith work so visiting other religious places is not new to me. But today I went for half an hour to my local mosque and met some new people and strengthened my relationship with people I already know. It is just a new practise to open the mosques annually to visitors. This year there were three times the number as last year. So hopefully it will spread and become the norm everywhere.

[Eileen]

Grok Wrote:

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> Are women allowed in?

>

Women are allowed into all mosques. Women Muslims usually have their own prayer spaces and entrances. But for all the mosques I have visited women visitors can go into the main prayer halls at all times. There may be some very fundamentalist mosques where women are totally segregated but I haven't come across them.

[Grok]

Unfortunately I didnt manage to visit any mosque due to previous plans/distance of participating mosques. However I would be very keen to visit the Northcross Rd mosque because it is the local ED mosque where muslim neighbours and business people go, and because it has been given lots of CGS money over the years for 'community' projects. Eileen, with your connections could you not ask/arrange for another open day specifically for Northcross Rd mosque, maybe on a Saturday so that we can all engage and get to know eachother?

[Nigello]

.."because it has been given lots of CGS money over the years for 'community' projects." <<< Is this the real/main reason you want to visit the mosque - to find out which rojects it has been spent on? It's not an unreasonable request.

[robbin]

I don't understand. Why would the Contemporary Glass Society want to give money to a religious group?

[danielson00]

Only larger Mosques was open, as I am guessing the one in Dulwich is too small to potentially house such an event?

I went to East London mosque in Whitechapel yesterday.

There was a tour, short film, presentation by the Immam and a Q&A session. Refreshments were also provided, nice cupcakes.

Women had to wear a headscarf in the main prayer hall, but everybody was welcome.

[Earl Aelfheah]

I missed this, but presumably mosques are open to the public at any time, should people be interested in looking around, meeting people and discussing matters of faith / belief (if that's your bag)?

[robbin]

I think I'll stick to Father Christmas and The Tooth Fairy. Each to their own.

[alice]

I went to the Peckham one - informal no headscarves - refreshments -a tour and local people and iman were there to answer questions/ discuss anything.

on cgs spending all info is available on line

[uncleglen]

(Iman- out of mourning already and in Peckham alice?)

'faith/belief..'rahrahrah...aka ritual and indoctrination...

[alice]

yeah surprised me too! she looked pretty good