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Film guides help to open doors to life inside one of town’s mosques
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ABOROUGH mosque opened its doors for a virtual open day, to connect with the local community.
Jalalia Jaame Mosque, on Trafalgar Street in Wardleworth, filmed a guided tour of their mosque with the aim of educating those who had never been inside a mosque before.
The more than twohour video showcased all areas of the Mosque and included a live prayer session.
After the tour there was a question and answer session as well as an online quiz.
Organiser Mohammed Iqbal Hossein, who has been a member of the mosque since he was five years old said he wanted the video to show that the mosque was for everybody, not just Muslims.
He said: “Mosques and Islam have been in this country for a long time, however most of the British public have never actually been to a mosque despite a lot of them knowing a lot of Muslims either as friends or colleagues.
“So we just wanted people to feel what the inside of a mosque looks like, the various rooms, the operations of a mosque and the purpose of a mosque.
“We wanted to show to our local community here in Wardleworth, where we’ve been since 1971, that we’re not just there to serve the Muslim community, this is your local mosque too.”
Mohammed said that the idea for the tour came after a shared Ramadan event a couple of years ago, which featured nonMuslims who took part in fasting to mark the Islamic month.
He also said that he had received lots of positive feedback about the virtual tour.
“In the past some of our congregation took part in a shared Ramadan where they invited colleagues to the mosque who had never been to the mosque,” he said.
“Out of that there was mosque open day.
“It was a fantastic event. We had RE teachers who watched and they requested if they could have some clips that they can use in their classrooms.”
Mohammed added that the mosque has had to adapt due to the pandemic, moving a lot of their teaching and seminars online.
The mosque have also helped out in their local community with food drives and a support line for those in need during the coronavirus lockdowns.
But Mohammed said the move online has had added benefits.
He said: “One of the benefits of doing it online is that you can reach a wider audience.
“Someone watching may not be in Rochdale but they can attend a Rochdale event.
“As Muslims we believe that we should play a positive, active role in our community.
“It doesn’t mean that we keep ourselves to ourselves, we’re here not just to help our own members of faith but all of humanity and all of the community – that’s what our faith teaches us.”
Jalalia Jaame Mosque are now planning another shared Ramadan event on the 25th April where people are encouraged to fast during the day before members of the mosque deliver food for the evening meal, called iftar. »