Administrator on September 5th, 2012
Makkah Masjid is once again opening its doors as part of the national Heritage Open Days initiative.
Over 4,500 free events will be taking place across England’s regions for this year’s Heritage Open Days, between 6th-9th September.
Opening Times
For further details, please visit: http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/directory/laa/leeds
Administrator on July 28th, 2012
Fasting is one of the pillars of Islam and every year Muslims fast for a month to detox their bodies and to re-direct their hearts and souls. It is an act of worship which is designed to bring believers closer to Allah and to rediscover and re-direct themselves and teach self-discipline.
Ramadan is also a time of giving, of charity, of sharing, of remembering those in need and reaching out. In the spirit of the month of Ramadan Makkah Masjid cordially invites everyone –people of faiths and no faith- to share a meal with them. This meal, called Iftar, is eaten after sunset and breaks the Muslims’ day long fast.
The purpose of this community dinner is to dine together and celebrate shared common values.
This year’s annual Community Iftar will be held on Sunday 5 August 2012 at Makkah Masjid, 36 Thornville Road Leeds LS6 1JY.
The program shall start at 7:30pm with a short welcome, brief introduction about Ramadan, with an opportunity to ask questions about fasting, and brief talks by representaitves of various faiths.
There will then be a tour of the Mosque and a brief explanation of the stunning calligraphy and art work inside the Mosque.
The Iftar dinner will be served at 8:45pm.
During the day on Sunday 5th August, young volunteers from Makkah Masjid will be distributing hampers to their neighbours, the elderly and refugees.
Administrator on April 21st, 2012
Open Days: 28th & 29th April 2012, 12pm-7pm
Venue: Makkah Masjid 36 Thornville Road Leeds LS6 1JY
Leeds Makkah Mosque welcomes all, regardless of gender, faith or cultural background. Makkah Masjid holds various Open Days throughout the year.
The Open Days offer a fantastic opportunity to gain an insight into Islam, Muslim Culture and interact with British Muslims.
In Spring, the Open Days & Islamic Exhibition are held as part of Leeds Treasures Revealed. This is 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.
Please see the links below for more information about previous years exhibitions:
http://www.leedsliveitloveit.com/visitors/places-to-go~page/leeds-makkah-mosque
http://www.leedsliveitloveit.com/visitors/whats-on~page/islamic-exhibition2010
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7388868.stm
EVERYONE IS WELCOME
Administrator on April 28th, 2011
Exhibition Dates: Saturday 30 April to Monday 2 May 2011 between 11am-7pm
The Exhibition held at award winning Makkah Mosque is open to all, regardless of faith or cultural background. This event offers a fantastic opportunity to gain an insight into Islam, Muslim Culture and interact with British Muslims. The Open Days & Islamic Exhibition, held as part of Leeds Treasures Revealed, is 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.
The exhibits will include artefacts from the early Islamic period, as well as extracts from copies of the Holy Qur’an. There will also be information on display highlighting the vital role Islam and Muslims have played throughout the ages in the development of a variety of fields, including science, maths, medicine and art.Refreshments will be provided throughout the event
Please see the links below for more information about previous years exhibitions:
http://www.leedsliveitloveit.com/visitors/places-to-go~page/leeds-makkah-mosque
http://www.leedsliveitloveit.com/visitors/whats-on~page/islamic-exhibition2010
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/leeds/hi/people_and_places/religion and_ethics/newsid_8651000/8651409.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7388868.stm
The feedback received on the previous Open Days has been very positive , .. The comments of one visitor, who found the Open Days to be “very insightful and interesting” 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.” For those who had visited a Muslim place of worship for the first time found the mosque “beautiful and peaceful”.
Some of the other comments included: “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.” “I found the people in the mosque very welcoming.”
Administrator on November 17th, 2010
The Mosques & Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) is holding an event on Saturday 27th November 2010 with the theme “Enabling Faith communities to make a big impact on Society” at Leeds Makkah Masjid. We would like to invite you to this event.
This event is planned as part of the National Inter Faith Week and open to people of all faiths and no faiths, who are interested in the role and contribution of faith in society. The event would be a contribution to the series of events taking place across the country.
This initiatives is lead by MINAB with local communities in Northern England and other partners such as DEMOS, with the aim to highlight the role of faith communities on the Big Society Programme.
Faith communities have a long history of contributing to social action. They are able to impact on areas of high social needs, respond to local priorities, increase volunteering and have a history of working in the spirit of localism.
With the challenges facing Britain today, faith communities have huge potentials to make positive contributions to develop the “Big Society” Programme.
The event will bring together communities, partners of civil and civic society, to share ideas and learning involving local partners from policy makers to service providers.
Workshops will be on the following topics:
There will be key note speeches from prominent faith leaders, directors of inter-faith organisations and government officials.
Venue: Makkah Mosque, 36 Thornville Road Leeds LS6 1JY
Date & Time: Saturday 27th November 2010 at 12:30pm
The invitation is open to All.
The Programme is as follows:
| 12:30 pm | Network & Lunch |
| First Session | |
| 1:15pm | Opening Remarks Welcome: Imam Qari Asim |
| 1.25pm | Inter faith action building stronger integration and cohesive societies
Harriet Crabtree, Director, Inter Faith Network |
| 1:45 pm | Strengtheing Citizenship through Multi Faith Engagement
Irfan Chisti, Principle, Light of Islam Academy
|
| 2:05 am | Faith communities contributing in areas of high social needs, to local priorities, to increasingvolunteering and building local action
Canon Charles Dobbin, Interfaith Relations Officer |
| 2.25 pm | Faith awareness & ActionJulie Siddiqi, Executive Director, Islamic Society of Britain |
| 2:45 | Workshops Addressing youth disengagement Dawud Hendy, Urban FlavourEnvironment, Samia Shafqat, Faith 4 Change Community organising, Mustafa Field, MINAB
Social Enterprises, Doreen Finneron, Faith Based Regeneration Network |
| 3:30pm | Launch of DEMOS Toolkit on Youth EngagementJamie Bartlett & Qari Asim |
| 4.00 pm | Prayer & Break |
| Second Session | |
| 4:20pm | Mosque & Young People,Muslim Belal, former rapper
|
| 4:50pm | Panel Chair: Jamie Bartlett, DEMOS Qari Asim, MINABJulie Siddiqui, Islamic Society of Britain Ikram Butt, Leeds Rugby Foundation Irfan Chisti, Light of Islamic Academy
|
| 5.30 | Dinner |
| 6:00pm | Close |
Administrator on May 5th, 2010
On 3 May 2010 Makkah Masjid was delighted to host a visit by Home Secretary Alan Johnson. The Home Secretary took time out of his busy campaign schedule to visit the Mosque during its annual Islamic Exhibition, for which the Mosque is open to the whole community: people of faith and no faith.
During his visit, the Home Secretary enjoyed a tour of the Mosque during which he looked at the items on display as part of the Exhibition. He was extremely impressed with the Mosque’s award winning dome, which features more calligraphy work than any other mosque in the UK. Mr Johnson also took the opportunity to speak to members of the Mosque’s congregation about a wide spectrum of issues pertaining to the forthcoming election, including immigration, social cohesion, anti-social behaviour, policing and the economy.
The Home Secretary commented that he was impressed with the Makkah Masjid’s architecture, as well as with its long standing commitment to opening its doors to non-Muslims in an attempt to improve community cohesion.
Administrator on April 22nd, 2010
May 1st @3pm Connecting Cultures event / Dignitaries session
May 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th (10am-6pm)- All welcome
May 3rd Ladies Only (10am-6pm)– Sisters only exhibition, talks and nasheeds (3pm-6pm)
Makkah Mosque will be holding the annual Islamic Exhibition in the month of May, insha Allah. The Exhibition is open to all, regardless of faith or cultural background. This event offers a fantastic opportunity to gain an insight into a Muslim faith organisation working hard to connect cultures and foster real community cohesion. The Open Days & Islamic Exhibition is 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.
The exhibits will include artefacts from the early Islamic period, as well as extracts from copies of the Holy Qur’an from an early Islamic period. There will also be information on display highlighting the vital role Islam and Muslims have played throughout the ages in the development of a variety of fields, including science, maths, medicine and art.
The event will include calligraphy workshops. There will be an opportunity for attendees to have their names written in Arabic calligraphy.
In addition to the general Exhibition, there will be a special session for dignitaries and community leaders on Saturday 1st May 2010 at 3:00pm. Guests at previous occasions have included: Hilary Benn (Minister for the Environment and Rural Affairs), Baroness Sayeeda Warsi (Shadow Secretary for Community Cohesion), John Battle MP (former faith advisor), US Ambassador to the UK, Cabinet Ministers, Terry Hodgkinson (Chair of Yorkshire Forward), Tim Field (Partner of DLA Piper) Graham Taylor (author of best-selling Shadowmancer), local MPs, the Lord Mayors of Leeds, the Leader and Chief Executive of Leeds City Council, the Pro-Vice-Chancellors of Leeds University and Leeds Metropolitan University, lecturers from Universities and representatives from local council, the education, voluntary, community and faith sectors. This year’s session will be attended by similar dignitaries.
This year’s chief guest will be Greg Roberts, CEO of Muhammad Ali Center, Louisville USA, who will shed light on the vision of the Muhammad Ali Center.
A key aim of the event is 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 is 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 is that a partnership based approach is a key to maintaining harmonious relations between different sections of society and promoting community cohesion.
There will be a Ladies’ only Islamic Exhibition, talks and nasheed artists on 3rd May when the Mosque will be solely managed by ladies and only ladies will be allowed in the Mosque except at prayer times.
Refreshments will be provided throughout the event.
Please see the links below for more information:
http://www.leedsliveitloveit.com/visitors/places-to-go~page/leeds-makkah-mosque
http://www.leedsliveitloveit.com/visitors/whats-on~page/islamic-exhibition2010
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7388868.stm
The feedback received on the previous Open Days has been very 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.”
Also, on Saturday May 1st 2010 Concord Walk of Friendship in the Hyde Park area of Leeds shall shall start at 10:45am at All Hallows and shall end at Makkah Masjid at 2:30pm. For further details, please visit, www.concord-leeds.org.uk
Administrator on September 8th, 2009
In the month of Ramadan Muslims fast, which involves refraining from food, drink, smoking and conjugal relations from dawn until sunset for a whole month. Fasting is one of the pillars of Islam and is an act of worship which is designed to bring believers closer to Allah and to rediscover and re-direct themselves and teach self-discipline.
In the spirit of the month of Ramadan during which Muslims fast, Leeds Muslim Council cordially invites the whole community of Leeds to share a meal with us at Leeds Makkah Mosque. This meal, called Iftar, is eaten after sunset and breaks the Muslims’ day long fast.
The management committee of Makkah 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.
As Leeds is host to over 60,000 students who come to the city at the beginning of each academic year, the community Iftar dinner is also a welcome to students by Makkah Mosque. It provides an opportunity for the student population of Leeds to learn more about the fasting rituals observed by many of their peers, as well as by many people in the communities in which they will live whilst at Universities . Makkah Mosque is at the heart of the community and is conventially located between both the University of Leeds and Leeds Met.
Last year’s event was a tremedous success and was attended by over 700 people, including Muslims, non-Muslims, students, professionals, businesses, law-enforcements agencies, policians and others.
The Community Iftar will be held on Thursday, 17th September 2009. The program starts at 6:30pm with a short welcome and talk, with the opportunity to ask questions about fasting and the month of Ramadan.
There will then be a tour of the Mosque and a brief explanation of the stunning calligraphy and art work inside the Mosque.
Visitors to the Mosque are asked to respect the Muslim code of dressing modestly.
The Iftar dinner will be served at 7:30pm
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
Administrator on April 30th, 2009
May 4th – 6th – Sisters only exhibition, talks and nasheeds
May 7th – 10th – All welcome
May 8th @3pm Dignitaries session
Makkah Mosque will be holding the annual Islamic Exhibition in the month of May, insha Allah. The Exhibition is open to all, regardless of faith or cultural background. This event offers a fantastic opportunity to gain an insight into a Muslim faith organisation working hard to connect cultures and foster real community cohesion. The Open Days & Islamic Exhibition is 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.
The exhibits will include artefacts from the early Islamic period, as well as extracts from copies of the Holy Qur’an from an early Islamic period. There will also be information on display highlighting the vital role Islam and Muslims have played throughout the ages in the development of a variety of fields, including science, maths, medicine and art.
In addition to the general Exhibition, there will be a special session for dignitaries and community leaders on Friday 8th May 2008 at 3:00pm. Attendees at last year’s session included Hilary Benn MP (Secretary of State for Environment), John Battle MP (former faith advisor), local MPs, the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, the Pro-Vice-Chancellors of Leeds University and Leeds Metropolitan University, faith leaders, and representatives from local council, the education, voluntary and community sectors. This year’s session will be attended by similar dignitaries.
There will be a Ladies’ only Islamic Exhibition, talks and nasheed artists on 4th – 6th May when the Mosque will be solely managed by ladies and only ladies will be allowed in the Mosque except at prayer times.
Makkah Mosque recently featured in a BBC Look North programme. Please see the attached link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8023556.stm
