Shahin-ur Rahman
Once again, Muslims from all over Britain opened the doors to the mosques for men, women and children of all ages, cultures and faiths. A total of 150 mosques took part in this initiative in an attempt to call to cohesion, harmony and mutual love. In other words, ‘to build bridges and not walls’.
The sincerity of the call can be noticed from the fact that a Muslim woman in Northampton stayed awake until 3am preparing hundreds of sandwiches for the guests!
The non-Muslim guests took to Twitter to share their experiences and thoughts under the hashtag #VisitMyMosque.This is what they had to say
Kevin Chesters thought it was a wonderful initiative:
#VisitMyMosque was brilliant. A wonderful and much needed initiative. Thanks to everyone at @LewishamMosque for a great welcome.
— kevinchesters (@hairychesters) February 5, 2017
Leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, visited his local mosque posted the following message:
A gentle message to Trump: Drinking tea together is far better than building walls to keep us apart #VisitMyMosque pic.twitter.com/emPmxLSqUJ
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) February 5, 2017
Police officer Sam Dobbs also shared his thoughts:
Asked at #VisitMyMosque what msg I should take back to police station? Answer: pls get your take on Islam from real Muslims, not media/news
— Sam Dobbs (@sgtsamdobbs) February 5, 2017
Simba DeRozen made an interesting observation:
Bigots: "Muslims dnt integrate into society"
Muslims: "okay come #VisitMyMosque then"
Bigots: *slate them for intergarting into society*
— Simba Turgut Alp (@DeRozenDntCare) February 5, 2017
George Aylett said that he learnt a lot and thought it was an excellent idea:
Lovely day at @HullMosque today – I learned a lot from many excellent people. #VisitMyMosque is an excellent idea.
— George Aylett (@GeorgeAylett) February 5, 2017
Hayley used the opportunity to try on the Hijab:
https://twitter.com/HayleyMuirhead/status/828301188823121925
Kevin thought it was a brilliant idea:
#VisitMyMosque was brilliant. A wonderful and much needed initiative. Thanks to everyone at @LewishamMosque for a great welcome.
— kevinchesters (@hairychesters) February 5, 2017
Trude visited the York Mosque and said she’d love to come back and learn more:
Thank you for having us today @YorkMosque We'd love to come back some time and learn more! #VisitMyMosque
— Trudelutt (@trudeO1982) February 5, 2017
Emily enjoyed listening to the call to prayer at the East London Mosque:
Really enjoyed having a look round #eastlondonmosque today, listening to a call to prayer & recitation of the Qur'an #VisitMyMosque
— Emily Harris (@EmilyBronwynH) February 7, 2016
The Bishop of Salford had the following message to share:
"I believe in building bridges not walls" says Bishop of Salford, John Arnold speakin @khizramasjid for @MuslimCouncil #VisitMyMosque pic.twitter.com/fBj5no4MBy
— Harun Khan (@harakha) February 5, 2017
Belinda Lewis was inspired all the way from Pakistan:
Visited local mosque today in Karachi. Inspired by #VisitMyMosque thoughtful initiative by @MuslimCouncil pic.twitter.com/VAGIQQzOKi
— Belinda Lewis (@Belinda_Lewis1) February 5, 2017
We live broadcasted events from a few Mosques on our Facebook page.
Watch a tour of Britain’s first Mosque in Liverpool by Adam Kelwick below:
About the author: Shaykh Shahin-ur Rahman is a graduate of the Islamic Da’wah Academy and frequently authors articles on various topics on his website Al-Rahma.
