On Friday 18th February 2022, storm Eunice hit the UK leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
There were many trees, fences and roofs uprooted and displaced. Included in the statistics will be the fencing around the new Masjid site which was an early casualty on Friday morning.
It was a miracle that no cars in the adjacent car park were damaged or no person was hurt.
We were already concerned that this may happen and our worse fears were confirmed.
The conditions over the weekend were difficult and dangerous, yet something had to be done. We were already in the process of improving and repairing the fencing around other parts of the perimeter. We also had delivered about £7000.00 worth of materials to make a scaffolding tower to cover over a large hole forming part of the central structure.
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.
We are happy to announce that tours in Ramadaan of the New Masjid site will take place from:
10am – 12 noon on Fridays in Ramadaan in shah Allah.
If there is enough demand we can organise more visits in shah Allah. The address for the New Masjid is:
71 Railway Street, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 1YF
Please note that this is a construction site at the moment – Please do not think that we have already relocated to the above address.
As previously stated the normal Ramadaan activities – All 5 daily prayers, Sehri, Iftaar, Taraweh etc… will be carried out at Gillingham Masjid – 114 Canterbury Street – as per previous years. The Masjid will be open to both men and Women in shah Allah to carry out their Ibaadat should they wish to use it.
Question:Who is the developermanaging 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 servewomen 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.
