Leeds Makkah Masjid » Blog Archive » Connecting Cultures & Exhibition 2009

Connecting Cultures & Exhibition 2009

Author Administrator on June 15th, 2009

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

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..

As well as holding the Yorkshire’s largest Islamic exhibition which was opened to the general public, a special ‘Connecting Cultures’ session was held for senior members of local statutory bodies: the public, private, education, voluntary, community and faith sectors. The guest speakers included Hilary Benn (Minister for Environment and Rural Affairs), Baroness Sayeeda Warsi (Shadow Secretary for Community Cohesion), Greg Mulholland MP, Councillor Richard Brett (joint Leader of Leeds City Council), Terry Hodgkinson (Chair of Yorkshire Forward), Tim Field (Partner of DLA Piper) Graham Taylor (author of best-selling Shadowmancer), Chief Inspector Mark Busley, lectures from Universities and representatives from local council, the education, voluntary, community and faith sectors also attended the event.

Hilary Benn MP

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”.

Greg Mullholand MP

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 bit more about who we are. I am very proud that Makkah Masjid is in my constituency and the nationwide award, 2009 Model Mosque was well-deserved.”

“You’ve not only opened your doors but by doing so you’ve opened your hearts to the community. Today, the main problem is that there’s a lack of knowledge. When we have a lack of knowledge, we have misunderstanding. When we have misunderstanding, we have mistrust. Today, you’ve given all of us more knowledge, knowledge of Islam, about the beliefs of Islam and what it means to be a Muslim and it’s so important for all of us to understand this. Of course, when we get understanding, we get tolerance, when we get tolerance, we get friendship.”

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi

“There’s a famous Islamic teaching which I’m sure you all know that if you’re going to do some good, start from your own home.”

“Where there are qualities within the British Muslim community, huge values and morals and ethics and community spirit, I still feel that we have so much more to learn in terms of where we stand in Britain. And how we say we are the religion, and indeed we are the religion, that empowers women and gives them respect and reveres them 1400 years ago, but somehow maybe we still haven’t learnt that 1400 years on.”

Charles Dobbins, Archbishop of Canterbury’s Adviser on Interfaith Relations
“I’m honoured to be in this beautiful mosque once again. I’m here to congratulate you on holding this exhibition, on winning the Model Mosque award and on your Imam’s interview on BBC which puts unequivocally the Muslim commitment to peace. We’re neighbours to each other and we need to work together so that the secular world gets the message that we’re united in bringing good to the world.”

Rev Philip Moger (Cathedral Dean) said: “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”.

Tim Field - Partner at DLA Piper

“The Mosque is an absolutely wonderful building and I’m delighted that I was invited to join the platform of speakers in this Islamic Exhibition event. Well done for putting on the event. Excellent Exhibition. The ‘Model Mosque’ was a very well deserved award. Many congratulations.“

Chief Inspector Mark Busley, came as representative of chief constable of West Yorkshire Police. He said that he was delighted to come to the leading Mosque in the UK, Makkah Masjid and the Connecting Cultures event was “about networking and partnerships. It is around different agencies and groups working together helping to deliver and make a difference to the people’s lives.”

Graham Taylor – best selling author of Shadowmancer

“It’s a real honour for me to be here. I’d say that as an Anglican, as an author and as a priest and as one who is amongst the “People of the Book”, our country which we all adore lacks a moral compass. Let’s as Children of the Book be that moral compass and together we can change our society that the Creator of the Universe will be proud of. Let’s celebrate the fact that we adhere to the teachings of Allah and let’s be blessed in the fact. “

Terry Hodgkinson – Chairman of Yorkshire Forward

“Having a regional faiths form is so wonderful…..makes sure that faith issues remain high on our agenda and that faith helps to shape not only our cultural landscape, but the physical future of our region.”

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.

During the course of the open days, over one thousand 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! Commenting on the success of the event, Imam of Makkah Masjid, Qari 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.”

He continued: “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.”

The event was a resounding success and received local and national media coverage.

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