On Sunday (June 12), the grand opening of a new extension to the Husaini Islamic Centre on Burton Street was held.
The opening marked the end of a 14-year long community effort to get it built. After the contractors originally supposed to carry out the work went bankrupt, the community took over the project and spent the following years raising the £4m required to complete the extension.
The extension will provide the site with a new auditorium, ladies hall, mother and toddler room, classrooms, multi-purpose hall and toilet block.
The centre will serve the community worldwide and was established by the Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri community of East African Muslims, many of whom came themselves or are descended from Ugandan refugees who came over to Peterborough in the 1970s after Idi Amin came to power in Uganda and expelled Asians from the country.
The community, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in Peterborough this year, founded the very first Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri Mosque in Europe in the city in 1974. This was then expanded in 1992 and again this year, for a place that will also offer support to all residents of the city. The mosque has around 1500 worshippers, made up of roughly 20 nationalities.
President Riz Rahemtulla said: “This project has really brought people together and I’m so glad to see it completed. It can be a celebration for the whole community. We have had so many generous donations and even had children donating their pocket money.
"The centre provides a vital space to hold interfaith and intrafaith meetings, school visits and a variety of other events, a real place for all communities - as well as a dedicated place of worship for our internal community.
"Our aim is to help the vulnerable people and make Peterborough a safer and more appealing place to live.”
Attention will now turn to a £100,000 refurbishment to the original mosque. Once completed, the building will offer a safe community space for anyone facing difficulties in life that needs a safe, quiet space to talk.
Riz added: “Our motto for what we do it, from cradle to the grave. We need to cater for the whole community. That is what our religion teaches us”
1. Opening of the new extension at the Husaini Islamic Centre
The ribbon was cut by Sheihh Safder Jaffer. Photo: David Lowndes
2. Opening of the new extension at the Husaini Islamic Centr
The new dome. Photo: David Lowndes
3. Opening of the new extension at the Husaini Islamic Centre
Inside one of the new rooms. Photo: David Lowndes
4. Opening of the new extension at the Husaini Islamic Centre
Exteriors of the new extension. Photo: David Lowndes