Author: kmwa

Equality means equality. Equal rights means that all citizens have equal rights, and everyone has access to national resources without any regional, national, or racial discrimination. To that extent the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah (SWT) be upon him) said in his Farewell Sermon:

All the customs and traditions of the age of ignorance are under my feet today, and no Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab, and a non-Arab has no superiority over an Arab, a white has no superiority over a black, and a black has no superiority over a white.

And if equal rights mean that all human beings are provided with the same salary, the same food, the same clothing, and that men and women are equal in all matters, then there is no place for it in Islam. Neither is this in accordance with the principles of nature, because Allah (SWT) has endowed human beings with different abilities, and each human being differs from the other in his ability to use his knowledge, experience, mental capacity and resources.

Read full Imams Corner in KMWALTR #002

Recently, the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Saudi Arabia, Dr. Abdullatif Al- Ash Sheikh, announced the decision that the government is officially banning the Indian-origin Tablighi Jamaat. He said that the Jamaat is dangerous and false and ‘a gateway to terrorism’.

Who are Tablighi Jamaat?

Tablighi Jamaat is a missionary movement (orthodox). The motive of this movement is to urge fellow Muslims to follow Islam for every aspect of life (primarily, personal behaviour, dressing, and rituals).

Tablighi Jamaat has more than 400 million followers worldwide, and the group strictly stays away from political activities and riots. Instead, it solely focuses on religion.

Since the US government is very much interested in Islam and what Muslims of the world are doing, it has closely monitored the Tablighi Jamaat since 2001. This is because they consider the teachings of a Muslim religious group as a starting point towards radical and terrorist organizations.

The world was made to believe with the collective efforts of the USA and India that Tablighi Jamaat sows the seeds of terrorism in young minds with their teachings. This fact was further made solid when an operation led to catching seven Tablighi members by Russian intelligence in Russia in February 2020. The terrorist cell was entailed in fanaticism

The Indian media is curiously using this news extensively and spreading hate crime. Their point is that since the Tablighi Jamaat is originated from India that is why Saudi Arabia banned it. Muhammad Ilyas Khandhalvi founded the Jamaat in Haryana via a tweet.

But, considering that Saudi Arabia houses the holiest places of Islam; Mecca, the Ka’ba, and Medina, where Islam was born and grew up; where Prophet Muhammad SAWW lived for the last 10 years of his life in exile.

Read the full article in KMWALTR #002

Question: Who is the developer managing the construction of the masjid?

The trustees are in consultation with our architect Umair Waheed – Atelier Architects.
Our technical team: Faheem Anwar (Chartered Building Surveyor), Gulam Nadat(QS), Shahid Khan (Structural Engineer).
Principal contractor : Ruprai Construction Limited.

Question: Has the new mosque ground floor been completed? If so, what would be the chance of moving into the new mosque?

The ground floor slab has been completed but in order to provide a functional masjid the whole framework of the building has to be constructed including all of the floors and the roof and the windows. For this we will need to raise over £1.5 million.

Question: How will it serve women better?

There will be dedicated prayer space for women which will more than meet their present, as well as future needs. They will have improved and dedicated ablution facilities and there will be space for women to meet and hold functions. There will be a rooftop garden in the ladies section. There will be a library whereby ladies’ will have access. The ground floor will house creche / nursery facilities.

The improved classroom facilities will benefit both children and adults, male and female.
There is potential for ladies to use the cafe to meet each other and in shah Allah we would like to offer gym facilities whereby ladies could have dedicated periods of usage if the demand is high enough.

Read the full article in KMWALTR #002

How many additional Standing Orders achieved since the launch of the campaign?

We launched the Standing Order Campaign at the beginning of November 2021. We are in the process of developing a format in which to present the progress of the fundraising to publish in this newsletter.

How are you going to be inclusive of all races?

As Ark’s continuous organisational objective, inclusivity, is at the forefront of organizational discussions.

Ark is trying to understand the lived experiences of marginalized groups and developing activities to produce robust systematic change.

Robust diversity and inclusion organisational objectives, must be leadership-led. They must form part of the operational, as well as systemically focused functions of ARK

We are looking for a diverse team, if you want your voice to be heard and you feel you are under-represented, please get in touch, and climb on the Ark

How can we empower the younger generation to be proud of their religion. How can we put the love of Islam in their hearts?

This question isn’t an immediate objective of Ark our main focus is to fund raise at this stage.

This question can be directed to KMWA who can answer this in more depth.

Read the full article in KMWALTR #002