Spiritual month also communal

Maidenhead: Mosque worshippers reach out in Ramadan

People of all backgrounds – religious or otherwise – are joining together this Ramadan to enjoy communal Iftar meals at Maidenhead Mosque.

The holy month of Ramadan started this week and will see millions of Muslims around the globe fast from dawn until dusk for around a month.

Ramadan is one of the

Five Pillars of Islam and takes place in the ninth lunar month of the Islamic calendar.

The period of fasting culminates in the sighting of the new crescent moon which signifies the start of the Eid al-Fitr celebrations.

Each year, the mosque in Holmanleaze welcomes many during the Ramadan period and this year is no different.

Zia Mahiudin, a trustee of Maidenhead Mosque, said attendance to the communal Iftar meals at the mosque each evening has been higher than last year, with an average of 70 to 80 people coming along.

At dusk, people sit down to for an Iftar meal at the mosque, in which the fast is broken with dates and a meal, featuring tasty dishes including curry, is enjoyed.

Zia said: “It’s an amazing time for us. This is an important time for spiritual reflection and self-discipline as well, but it’s also a time [for] community.”

He added that the mosque is specially inviting people who are new to the town or are vulnerable to come and join the communal Iftar meals.

“We are reaching out to them and inviting people of faith and non-faith to come to the mosque and participate in the meal with us.

“That’s a really important opportunity for us to reach out to people during this time.”

Following the meal, each evening hundreds are in attendance at the mosque for the Taraweeh prayer in which the Quran is recited.

Zia added the mosque is also running two campaigns – the Brick n’ Mix campaign and Maidenhead 2 Paris Bike Ride fundraiser campaign.

He added that development of the new community centre next to the mosque is entering another phase, with work starting to build the external walls and people are being asked to buy a brick for the walls as part of the Brick ’n’ Mix campaign.

“The shell is complete and now the bricks are going up so [during] Ramadan we’ve launched the buy a brick campaign so people can sponsor and buy a brick.

“We’re looking at 50,000 bricks and we’ve already had so many sponsored and bought.”

The outside of the new community centre should be complete in the next few months, Zia explained, with work then starting on the inside.

So far more than 30 riders are taking part in a fundraising Maidenhead 2 Paris Bike Ride, which is in aid of the new community centre and will take place in

May.

Maidenhead Mosque is also being invited to participate in the Open Iftar at Windsor Castle, an event being run by the Royal Collection Trust in collaboration with the Ramadan Tent Project which will include people of all faiths and none sharing a communal Iftar meal together.

Discussing the holy month, Zia added: “It’s important to embody the essence of compassion and empathy for people during this month, which is what this month is about.

“One of the main Pillars of Islam is charity as well as fasting and this is about giving to others and sacrificing it for one another as well.

“It’s important for us to remember the struggles of other people and the hardships.”