“Aylesbury” now has a new Islamic Center

For the Muslims of Aylesbury who had only one place of worship till recently, the New Islamic Center is surely the hope of relief for them. This Muslim community center which had faced a lot of hitches and protests earlier is now heartily welcomed by all the locals of the area. Though the center will be in the former Skinny Dog Pub in Churchill Avenue, South court, the building has been renovated to meet the religious needs and requirements of the people.

The pub which was bought by Toheed-Ul-Islam Association, a registered charity, for £600,000 two years ago has also got the approved car parking plan from the Aylesbury Vale District Council recently. The Association which will be running the organization also aims to maintain mutual interpersonal relations with its neighbors so that any concerns regarding their problems or grievances will be looked into amicably.

It has been reported that Javed Farooqui, who spoke on behalf of the association’s trustees, has expressed that there had been no problems where planning was concerned but the committee wants to make it sure that everything goes smoothly before the actual opening of the center. He said that they are really hopeful that the center will start functioning soon within two months, and that this is a first step towards providing quality Islamic education to the locals of the area as there had been only one mosque in Aylesbury all these years.

Mr. Farooqui has also expressed his enthusiasm towards the incorporation of this Islamic center and stressed on how this center will not only provide the Muslims a place to worship but would also serve as a place to hold the community functions in the area. The other social groups or organizations in Aylesbury cannot deny how the Muslim population in the area has been rapidly increasing for the past few years and according to Mr. Farooqui, this rapid growth of the Muslim population really require a center which not only provides good Islamic orientation but also a fine education system that allows them to mutually cooperate with the rest of the communities in the society.

The new Islamic centre is opened to all the Muslims and the non-Muslims alike and will not be a restrictive place, as there are already plans up the sleeves regarding the inclusion of the junior football leagues for all and also the homework classes for everyone, out there. But of late, there had been regular prayer sessions in the center for the past one month.

Post arson attack in August 2008 on the building premises, the Toheed-Ul-Islam Association had to extensively work for the renovation of the building since then. The fire which engulfed the building from its rear had actually caused a lot of damage to the building’s overall structure and the inventory inside. Therefore, a lot of space in the building had to be reutilized for this purpose.

Mr. Farooqui also exclaimed how this place as a pub earlier, posed hazardous effects to the surroundings of the place where the pub visitors used to throw the used beer bottles and cans all over the place and also urinated on the doorsteps and the walls of the houses of the people dwelling there. With this in mind, the locals there really feel relieved and have no issues with the inception of the new centre.

Though the South court Residents Action Group had initial inhibitions regarding the traffic flow in the area due to this new center, but today, many association members have admitted that there have been no problems or disturbances because of the set up of the new center in Aylesbury. They have rather witnessed how things have been running smoothly in the area since the time the new center has come up in that area.