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There
is only one minaret in Gloucester. It towers above the striking
green dome of Jama Al-Karim Mosque in All Saints Road. It
serves an aesthetic function only.
A minaret's
true function, of course, is for the faithful to be called to prayer
and this is how it would be used in any Muslim country.
Mahmood
personally accumulated £100,000 from donations in South Africa
and his Trust colleagues amassed funds nationally and internationally
from Canada, USA, Panama, and Barbados.  |
| Our
Untold Stories |
Mahmood
Moolla, the honorary secretary of the Gloucestershire Islamic Trust,
values the harmonious relationship with the surrounding non-Muslim
residents as a far more important goal.
Councillor
Hugh Goodwin, at a meeting of council planners, was quoted as saying:
"If the Church of England can have midnight mass with organs blasting
forth and bells being rung at all hours of the day and night, I
can't see why there would be any problem with this."
Local
residents who were consulted articulated noise pollution as their
chief concern. They needn't have worried. As well as the minaret's
non-use, the walls are soundproofed.
Today
most Muslim households have a radio, and calls to prayer and lectures
are broadcast this way.
Mahmood
arrived in England in 1968 with little more than the clothes he
wore. Three generations of his family had lived in Myanmar (formerly
Burma) as entrepreneurs with scattered business interests and Mahmood
presided as manager of a shoe factory.
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| Jama
al Karim Mosque in All Saints Road |
The
government nationalised all industry and businesses in 1962. The
resulting hardship to the family saw his wife and children relocate
to India for several years. They were not permanently reunited until
1971.
Mahmood
heard the many calls for a second mosque as early as 1975, when
the Gloucestershire Islamic Trust was formed. A derelict warehouse
in All Saints Road, purchased for £9,500, served as the prayer hall
and a school for children.
The
building was demolished in 1984 and the new mosque sporting a dome
and minaret emerged in 1985.
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| Inside
the Jama al Karim Mosque |
During
construction the prayer hall and school temporarily transferred
to a new property on Barton Street, formerly a TV rental shop.
Construction
on the building stalled during the two-year assembly for a simple
reason: mounting inflation.
Mahmood
personally accumulated £100,000 from donations in South Africa and
his Trust colleagues amassed funds nationally and internationally
from Canada, USA, Panama, and Barbados.
Learning is a prized commodity in Islamic society and the Madressah
School tutors 150 children under the guidance of six teachers. |
| Our
Untold Stories |
A philanthropist,
promising to pay full financial costing until work completion, averted
the crisis. The gentleman's total contribution amounted to £370,000
and the final total for the entire project was £660,000. Mahmood
believes a similar project today would easily treble this figure.
The
king of Saudi Arabia posted the Chief Imam of the Grand Mosque in
Mecca, Sheik Abdullah Subaiyel, for the Jama Al-Karim grand opening
on Good Friday 28th March 1986.
One
Labour councillor declared the polished new Jama Al-Karim Mosque
as Gloucester's "Jewel in the Crown".
Mahmood
likes to cultivate learning and smiles when he says that he can
count an engineer, a doctor and a biochemist among his grandchildren.
Learning
is a prized commodity in Islamic society and the Madressah School
tutors 150 children under the guidance of six teachers.
Incredibly,
no fees are charged for Islamic activities. There are occasional
lectures from eminent international speakers and Mahmood believes
the way to integrate with the local community peaceably is the most
prized and valuable lesson.
»
See 'The Gujarati Muslim Community'
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