Mosque starts £300k appeal to fund plans for growth
AMOSQUE has launched a fundraiser to purchase adjacent land to their site in order to expand their facilities.
Jalalia Jaame Mosque on Trafalgar Street, Rochdale, , is aiming to raise £300,000 to purchase the more than 1800m2 site adjacent to the mosque.
They are hoping the land will allow them to build facilities for women, youth groups and deaf people and secure the future of the Mosque for generations to come.
Teacher at the Mosque Dewan Choudhury said £200,000 was needed to purchase the land itself while the extra £100,000 would be to fund building on the land.
He said: “We have raised more than £200,000 so far but we need more to hopefully establish the women’s building, youth club and other ideas we’ve got.
“We’ve done football tournaments and a few other projects to raise that money but most has been pledges from local business and entrepreneurs sometimes £10,000 at a time.
“Myself and other volunteers have made Just Giving pages which have raised £1-2,000.
“Every Friday we are collecting money at Friday prayers which has raised £1,000 every week.”
The adjacent land, which is currently a car park, was first used by the Mosque to expand their Eid prayers service and now the owner has agreed to sell the land to the Mosque.
Dewan said he was keen for the land to be used to expand the services the mosque offers to women.
“I’m very vocal about women being part and parcel of the mosque,” he said.
“At the moment it can’t hold a women’s space, although we do run a few projects here and there, like talking events and coffee mornings but I want women to take ownership as well. I’ve got a sister and mother who I want to be a part of the mosque.
“We need strong women to teach, if we’re not providing for them in the mosque then we’re almost failing our next generation.”
The mosque has also entered this year’s Britain in Bloom competition alongside fellow Rochdale Mosque Jamia Masjid Bilal.
Dewan said it was part of the Mosque’s plan to become more environmentally friendly.
“Away from the beauty it’s good for the climate,” said Dewan.
“At the moment we’ve got hanging baskets.
“It’s hard to have time to look after them but hopefully we’re going to appoint someone as environment manager to look after them full time.
“It’s just going to get bigger and better every year. I don’t think we’ll win this year, Bilal are far ahead of us. The judges said how impressed they were at the start we’d made.”
More information on the land purchase can be found at: givebrite.com/land-purchase