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.

May 1^st, 2^nd, 4^th, 5^th (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/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 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 1^st 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

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

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

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

Please join us for this Iftar on Saturday, 27th September 2008.  The program starts at 6pm 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.

The iftar dinner will be served at 7pm

We look forward to seeing you then.

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

We will be holding the annual islamic exhibition at Makkah Masjid in the month of May this year, insha Allah. 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. Your attendance would be a tremendous boost for the volunteers involved and recognition of the efforts to reach out to all to improve community life.

The exhibits will include coins from the early Islamic period, as well as extracts from copies of the Holy Qur’an from the second and third centuries. 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, medicine and art.

In addition to the general exhibition, we are holding a special session for dignitaries and community leaders on Friday 9th May 2008 at 3:00pm. Our invitees include the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Leader of Leeds City Council, Church leaders, lecturers from Leeds University and Leeds Metropolitan University, representative from West Yorkshire Police and representatives from local primary care trusts. Also represented will be members from the voluntary, community and faith sector, interfaith organisations, local school heads and local councillors. We are also arranging to have local TV and press coverage for the event.

Please note that there will be a Sisters’ Exclusive Islamic Exhibition and lectures on 5th May and 6th May when the mosque will be solely managed by sisters and only sisters will be allowed in the mosque except for prayer times.

We look forward to seeing you at the exhibition!