Author: kmwa

The journey to the new mosque so far

One of the many questions that we receive, is how has the donations been used so far and what has the money been spent on. Sometimes this is from new members to the community or members who can’t regularly attend the mosque. This information has been widely published and distributed, it is also displayed on the Mosque notice board as well. For new and old members that don’t know the history we have decided to do a series, of articles over the next few months, on the build to date.

Kent Muslim Welfare Association was formed in the early – mid 1970s and its primary purpose was to provide worship for the Muslim community of Kent. The members of the organisation acquired an old Irish drinking club in the 1970’s and renovated it to form the Mosque, which we still use today. It has been expanded and renovated over the years to utilize all the existing land space and we have now reached a point where we cannot expand the Mosque anymore.

The Board of Trustees had continually approached the local authorities, requesting relative improvement in the provision of facilities to cater for their social and cultural needs.

A report was commissioned by the late Syed Ikram Ali, which explored the possibility of expanding the existing Masjid or moving, the conclusion was that we had to move and that the building could not be expanded. The council would not for example allow us to build another floor on top.

The first presentation was to the Kent County Council Commissioners for Social Services on 27 September 1994 at the current Mosque. The plan was accepted and referred to the Finance and Scrutiny Committee. The Finance and Scrutiny Committee approved the proposal on 22 October 1995 and the Commissioners gave their final approval. They also allocated emergency funds for hiring an additional premise to supplement the deficient facility while search for a suitable site/building continued. The case had been put to the Mayor and any other dignitaries but this had little impact.

It was the late Ali Sahib that spearheaded this plan. Although it proved unfruitful in the end, it was pivotal in starting the motions and conversations that KMWA needed to have.

In the year 2000 the Medway Council became proactive and the search for an appropriate site/building was vigorously resumed. It remained on the agenda of monthly meetings of the Community Cohesion Committee headed by the Chief Executive of the Council. KMWA served as a full member on the committee.

Read the full article in KMWALTR #004

General Secretary Update

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.

We have had a busy month where we have hosted Kuwati embassy officials, reached out to the community, helped organise a careers event, continued with our usual and volunteer services. Been part of the film ‘We are Med¬way’ showcased in Rochester. Started preparing the New Masjid site for ground works in preparation for building the framework as well as dealing with unexpected storm damage.

We are gearing up for Ramadan and our target is to raise £100,000.00 during this month to take us a step closer to raising enough money to start the next phase of building.

Many people do not realise the extent of the building work carried out so far.

Our aim is to encourage and motivate people by arranging guided tours of the New Masjid site between 10.00am and 12.00pm every Friday in Ramadan. This will give an idea as to what the scale of the building will be. We hope that people will be motivated and encouraged by this.

May Allah guide us and have mercy on us.

Azeem Nader
General Secretary KMWA.

This update was originally featured in KMWALTR #004

Get into Golf with Muslim Golf Association

As soon as the opportunity arose; I and two other friends decided to take up golf to beat the boredom of the home environment, and meet outside for social fun and exercise. Of course, in those days meeting outside was still restricted in large numbers, but we figured the open space of a golf course allowed us total freedom with good social distancing!

Quickly, we got kitted out with golf clubs and a bag each which we bought second-hand off eBay/Gumtree and headed to the nearest golf range to try them out. To our surprise, it didn’t cost a lot and we quickly found convenient golf courses nearby to play at regularly. Locally, there are plenty of nice courses to play; either nine holes or 18 holes, such as the Upchurch River Valley Course near Rainham, the Southern Valley near Rochester, or the Snodhurst Bottom Pitch and Put Course in Chatham. The latter is a Par 3 meaning an easier, shorter course but still challenging. Most of the courses have golf ranges and greens to practice on and are pay and play; meaning open to everyone and not too expensive, but some are more exclusive and members only. They are all family and kids friendly so it’s a very nice environment.

Traditionally, golf has been a bit of an elitist sport but now it is accessible to everyone, and especially more and more people of colour are playing the game. So much so that my friends have even started lessons for their young eight-year-olds to get them into the sport early! Maybe they will become the Asian “Tiger Woods” of the future InSha’Allah !

Read the full article and learn more in KMWALTR #003 (including contact details of the Muslim Golf Association)