Leeds Makkah MasjidServing the Leeds Muslim Communities

Islamic Exhibition & Connecting Cultures Event

Administrator on June 16th, 2008

Click here to view all the images from the Islamic Exhibition and Open Days at Leeds Makkah Masjid

Click here to view all the images from the Connecting Cultures event

Leeds Makkah Mosque recently opened its doors and invited members of the wider community to learn about the Muslim faith and culture, with a view to spreading and celebrating the city’s diverse and multi-faith spiritual heritage. This was in keeping with the Mosque’s longstanding aim of promoting and encouraging understanding and mutual respect within the wider community. The management of the Mosque, Leeds Muslim Council, has historically been committed to helping achieve harmony within the local community by planning initiatives that actively engage with different community organisations, with the aim of providing opportunities for visitors to explore and share the beauty of Islam.

Makkah Mosque hoped that by developing a better understanding of the message of peace propagated by Islam within the wider community, the barriers created by underlying suspicion between different communities could be broken down and the message that Islam truly does equal “Peace” could be spread. With these objectives in mind, Leeds Muslim Council got involved in the Leeds wide ‘Treasures Revealed’ initiative and opened the doors of the Mosque to the general public, both Muslim and non-Muslim alike.

With Yorkshire’s largest ever Islamic exhibition on display, information about the miracles of the Qur’an, comprehensiveness and applicability of Islam to our modern society, as well as the tremendous contribution Muslims have historically made in the fields of mathematics, medical science, geography and astronomy, was displayed. Highlights included a tour of the Mosque, a detailed description and explanation of the calligraphy and Islamic artwork inside the dome. The centre piece of the display was, without doubt, the spectacular calligraphy on the inside of the Mosque’s dome, which was produced by the Gold-medalist, renowned Pakistani calligrapher, Naveed Bhatti, in 2006.

The calligraphy work comprises of the ninty-nine names of Allah and His beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the names of the famous companions, various verses from the holy Quran and a complete chapter of the holy Quran (surah Ar-Rahman). The calligraphy has been produced in a combination of breathtaking colours, the result of which is truly magnificent, inspiring and spiritually uplifting. The art form developed by Muslim artists, namely the art of arabesque, is also used inside the dome. Multiple coloured leaf patterns fill the inside of the dome to create a sense of a heavenly garden overlooking the congregation in prayer and meditation. There is more calligraphy work done to the inner dome of the mosque than any other mosque in the UK.

Guests at the Connecting Cultures event at Leeds Makkah Mosque

As well as the Islamic exhibition which was opened to the general public, a special ‘Connecting Cultures’ session was held for senior members of local statutory bodies: the education, voluntary, community and faith sectors. The guests included Hilary Benn, Minister for Environment and Rural Affairs, John Battle MP, former faith advisor, Greg Mulholland MP, Lord Mayor of Leeds, Leader of Leeds City Council, Chief Executive of Leeds City Council, Divisional Commander for North West Leeds, Pro-Vice-Chancellors of Leeds University and Leeds Metropolitan University, Rev Canon McCreadie (Leeds Cathedral Dean), Rev John Packer, Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, Rev Dr Elizabeth Smith, Chair of Methodist Church, lectures from Universities and representatives from local council, the education, voluntary, community and faith sectors also attended the event.

Former faith advisor MP John Battle said “[Makkah Mosque] is a place of prayer and community that is not locked inside these four walls but radiate out into the neighbourhood and into our city to show and demonstrate that in the 21st century we can be a place of hospitality, stability and real enjoyable community.”

Pro Vice-Chancellor of Leeds Met University, Professor Anne Gregory

Pro Vice-Chancellor of Leeds University, Professor Stephen Scott noted that multi-faith initiatives help promote peace in our communities. Pro Vice-Chancellor of Leeds Met University, Professor Anne Gregory remarked that “peace does not happen. It is to be worked at and happens when communities understand each other.” Professor Gregory then went on to highlight some of the peace initiatives that the students of Leeds Met University were invloved in locally and in the Middle East. Following the same theme, Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police Sir Norman Bettison, praised Leeds Muslim Council’s efforts and commented that “it is impossible to know anything about another community unless you try to understand your neighbourhood, your community and inviting people to the Mosque is a step towards that.”

Rev Canon McCreadie (Cathedral Dean) said: “Diversity in our city gives rise to new challenges to reflect on the core principles of a democratic society which must have in its heart the recognising of religious liberty as a basic human rights. [The annual Connecting Cultures event is] very important event in our city to discover the core values that we all share and how we can promote mutual understanding.”

MP Greg Mullholand

MP Greg Mullholand said that “There is nothing more powerful in terms of breaking down barriers than opening doors and saying ‘come in to meet us, talk to us and learn a little built more about who we are’. Once we have more understanding we are more accepting and tolerant, which then leads to friendship. Makkah Masjid symbolises the 21st century Leeds.”

MP Hilary Benn

Hilary Benn, Minister for Environment and Rural Affairs said: “I applaud the community for the initiative to open the doors and invite the community of Leeds inside this magnificent place. This gives us hope and encouragement that as a world we will live to learn alongside each other. I thank you for the step that you have taken and I wish you every success in the coming months and years”.

Chief Superintendent Whitehouse said: “I was delighted to be able to attend this opening event at the Mosque which offered me the opportunity to meet representatives from all communities who were present. I am very much looking forward to working with the Muslim community in North West Leeds and building on the excellent relationship that already exists between them and the local police.”
A key aim of the event was to create a platform for organisations from a wide spectrum of sectors to get together to experience and understand the message of peace and harmony that forms the cornerstone of the Islamic faith. The intention was to demonstrate not only the positive contribution Muslims have made to civilisations throughout history through the historic artefacts on display as part of the exhibition, but also to highlight the positive contribution Muslims make in today’s society. The underlying message of the event was that a partnership based approach is a key to maintaining harmonious relations between different sections of society and promoting community cohesion.

Imam Hafiz Asim speaking at the event.

During the course of the open days around 3,000 people visited the Mosque. For some of the visitors, this was their first ever visit to a mosque and many found the experience over-whelming, whilst others found it so spiritually-uplifting that they returned for a second visit! In brief, the event was immensely successful in bringing the diverse communities of Leeds together under one roof. Commenting on the success of the event, Imam of Makkah Masjid, Hafiz Asim said: “The event was an eye-opener for many. The general consensus amongst those who attended the Mosque was that the experience was informative, enjoyable and spiritually uplifting. It is hoped that by providing an opportunity for people of other faiths to explore the beauty of Islam within the setting of the Mosque’s traditional architectural designs and contemporary styles, the whole community has benefited from greater respect and mutual understanding. God-willing, the event will further help in bringing the different communities of Leeds together and in harmonising relations between communities.”

Audience at the Connecting Cultures event

The feedback received on the Open Days has, without exception, been positive. The comments of one visitor, who found the Open Days to be “very insightful and a great opportunity to see the beautiful [Mosque]” summed up the general consensus amongst the visitors that the experience has been a positive one. A representative from Leeds Initiative found the event to be “superb” and commented that “everyone should come to events like this.” Some of the other comments included: “very professional”, “brilliant presentation”, “Fantastic opportunity. Thank you for being such welcoming hosts. I have learnt a lot.” “Really interesting to see what goes on in here. Thanks for your hospitality.”

Finally, we would like to thank all the volunteers who helped in making this a successful event. May Allah Almighty give them reward in abundance for their sincere work in this world and in the Hereafter.

Click here to view all the images from the Islamic Exhibition and Open Days at Leeds Makkah Masjid

Click here to view all the images from the Connecting Cultures event

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