Shropshire Islamic Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Shropshire Islamic Foundation (SIF) is located in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
.
The Foundation owns, operates from, and manages the 'Telford Islamic Academy', at 88-90 King Street, Wellington, Telford and the 'Telford Central Mosque' at 41 Tan Bank, Wellington, Telford.
The Mosque, as a majority, operates under the Hanafi
Hanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
school of law
Fiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
and is a Sunni mosque providing Islamic education to children of all ages. This is the main mosque in Shropshire and has a community consisting of Pakistani, Afghanis, Bangladeshi, Indian, Turkish, African and Middle Eastern all praying together.
The Foundation is a registered charity - registration number 1112127, with the trustees being Dr. Mohammed Mujahid Hussain Qureshi - Chairman of trustees, Mr. Shah Sawar Bhatti and Dr. Shaukat Ali
Shropshire has only one other far smaller Mosques, the Jamia Masjid Gousia, aka the 'Regent Street
Regent Street (disambiguation)
Several cities have notable streets called Regent Street. The original and most famous is in London, England.Other notable Regent Streets include:*Regent Street, Cambridge, England*Regent Street, Nottingham, England*Regent Street...
Mosque', a Sufi - Bareilvi/Barelwi
Barelwi
Barelvi is a term used for the movement of Sufi , Sunni Islam originating in the Indian subcontinent.The Movement is known as Ahle Sunnat movement to its followers....
themed Mosque in Wellington
Wellington, Shropshire
Wellington is a town in the unitary authority of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England and now forms part of the new town of Telford. The population of the parish of Wellington was recorded as 20,430 in the 2001 census, making it the third largest town in Shropshire if...
.
History
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
in Telford
Telford
Telford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
, Shropshire, located at 41 Tanbank, Wellington
Wellington, Shropshire
Wellington is a town in the unitary authority of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England and now forms part of the new town of Telford. The population of the parish of Wellington was recorded as 20,430 in the 2001 census, making it the third largest town in Shropshire if...
, operating since 1980.
In 2005, the foundation bought the disused Territorial Army building in Wellington, Telford, located at 88-90 King Street and in 2007 made a planning application (W2007/0667) to convert it to a mosque, operating as the new headquarters of the Shropshire Islamic Foundation.
Dr Abdul Bari
Muhammad Abdul Bari
Muhammad Abdul Bari, MBE FRSA , is the Chairman of the East London Mosque, and was the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain from 2006 until 2010.-Life and career:...
is the Leader of the Muslim Council of Britain
Muslim Council of Britain
The Muslim Council of Britain is a self-appointed umbrella body for national, regional, local and specialist organisations and institutions from different ethnic and sectarian backgrounds within British Islamic society. It was established in 1997 to help Muslims, to increase education about the...
(MCB) whom gave the reason for the need for converting a much larger Mosque when stating: "In Shropshire the Muslim population is growing: it is quickly outgrowing the county's two Mosques and there are plans a-foot to transform Wellington's old Territorial Army centre into a new Mosque that would house 800 worshippers."
Community views sought over TA mosque plan and the Mosque leaders, through the local media, kept the community updated of their plans.
On August 10, 2007, the Shropshire Islamic Foundation were informed that their application was accepted by Telford & Wrekin Council
Telford and Wrekin
Telford and Wrekin is a unitary district with borough status in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. The district was created in 1974 as The...
. but will cost £1.5m to convert.
The foundation is led by the trustees who are chaired by Dr. Mohammed Mujahid Hussain Qureshi.
Telford Central Masjid
The £1.2 million refurbishment will take the building back to its former state when it opened in 1953. Mr.Saleh Laher the previous Chairman of the Trustees had said that it will be "redesigned so the 1953 fascia would be seen and the 'beautiful' courtyard with wooden beams would be the central prayer room" and would be restored "to its original condition."
It has been agreed that the new mosque "would not have a dome or a minaret
Minaret
A minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....
" and that it would look "like a Northern African
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
mosque with a castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
frontage" and would "be created out of the four existing buildings in the complex."
Facilities
With the new premises the Shropshire Islamic Foundation hope to cater for occasions attracting approximately 1000 people. It will be the only mosque in Shropshire where women can pray and it will be the biggest in the county.The Shropshire Star
Shropshire Star
The Shropshire Star is a regional newspaper covering the whole of Shropshire, plus parts of Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Cheshire, the Llangollen area and northern Powys in the United Kingdom.-About:The editor is Keith Harrison....
newspaper reported that "The plans also include a flat for the imam, two shops for religious goods and community rooms, and converting part of the building into a mortuary to facilitate the traditional preparation of bodies for an Islamic burial."
There will be separate prayer facilities for women, a room for funerals, a community hall and classes for children to learn Arabic and Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
reading.