The city of Leeds and the surrounding district of West Yorkshire have a significantly sized Muslim population, some of whom have been residents of the area for over 40 years. The composition of this population is very cosmopolitan with individuals originating from places as diverse as; The Middle East, North Africa, South East Asia, Europe and a large number of British Born Muslims and converts to Islam. It is estimated that approximately 20-25,000 Muslims reside in the city and this figure includes a significant international student population who would benefit considerably from the proposed services.
The economic progress made by some sections of the community has led to a number of purpose built Mosques in the region which cater mainly for worship (prayer) needs and congregational prayers such as Jummah and Eid. (Although many of these mosques are also deemed to belong to specific ethnic groups and are therefore not a good representation of diverse Islam)
However, there are a growing number of issues and problems faced by the Muslim community and these are exacerbated by the increasing levels of anti Muslim sentiment within certain sections of British society. A summary of (some) of the issues faced by the community include:
- Low levels of educational attainment by Muslim pupils
- High rates of crime committed by Muslim youth
- No suitable facilities for females to access social, recreational and learning opportunities
- Virtually no provision for ‘New Muslims’ / Converts to Islam
- A lack of guidance and support for young Muslims coupled with a lack of leisure facilities
- No structured Dawah activities to promote the true meaning of Islam within the non-Muslim community
- A shortage of worship space for large congregational prayers (e.g. Jummah)
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| St Michaels College |
The property is situated only half a mile from Leeds City Centre and the main University’s thus ensuring a central location providing easy access to users from across the city and from other parts of Yorkshire.
The property is available on a freehold basis and provides opportunity for commercial, office and residential use, thereby enhancing the potential income streams available to assist the running and sustainability of the project.
Physically the building has approximate floor space of approximately 6,200 square metres and is considered to be ideal for further extension and development. The grounds consist of hard and soft play space and are located within an overall area of 3.24 acres.
The Proposal / Services - Activities (proposed)
The central objective in developing the scheme is to tackle the issues highlighted within section 1 of this document. In essence we would like to develop ‘A One Stop Centre’ for the Muslim community where parents, children and families can access a wide range of services. In many ways what we are attempting to replicate is the role of a Mosque as the beloved prophet (may be peace be upon him) intended – i.e. to become a focal point of the local community.
No such centre exists anywhere within Yorkshire and we are confident that once developed the Centre would become a ‘beacon’ and act as a role model for other sections of the Muslim comity in the country.
An informal survey of potential services and activities which could be provided from the building include:
- Enhanced worship space to accommodate approximately 1500 people including a separate worship area for sisters.
- Women’s Activities
- Youth Centre
- Facilities for new Muslims
- Dawah activities
- Gym and Sports Facilities
- Islamic Library / Internet
- Nursery / Creche Facilities
- Meeting and Training Rooms
- Funeral and Ghusl Service
- Primary School
- Support services for International Muslim students
- Shop and Restaurant
- Offices and Commercial Space
- Main hall to host weddings, conferences etc
- Residential accommodation for overseas students
The outcomes we would like to see emerge from this project (insha'Allah) are:
- An improved understanding of Islam by the non-Muslim community and better relations between Muslims and non-Muslims
- A place where Muslim youth are made to feel welcome and can learn about their faith while accessing social and leisure type services
- An improvement in the services and activities provided for our families and sisters as currently they tend to be totally neglected which leads to a breakdown in family values
- Enhanced level of support and services for New Muslims who currently tend to find it difficult to integrate into the Mainstream Muslim community.
- The development of a centre which can be used to provide adequate worship space, improve the teaching and learning of Islam to the community.
- To improve the educational standards of our Muslim youth and divert them away from anti-social behaviour towards participating in more positive activities.
The project will be developed and overseen by a Charity formed specifically for this scheme. The charity will be registered with the Charity Commission in the UK and trustees will be elected by the community.
We will ensure that representation of the trustees and respective committee’s is cross representative and includes individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds including women and young people.
An open and transparent system will be used to elect members and Insha’allah the aim is to employ individuals from the community to run the activities and services.
Costs – Finance
The current asking price of the complex is in the region of £2.5 million (UK Sterling) but we anticipate that it may be possible to purchase the site for approximately £1.9 million. However the complex would require a significant level of development resulting in an overall project cost of approximately £5 million.
The aim is to raise this amount from a range of sources including; private donations, Muslim charities and support from The Middle East.
We intend to develop a full scale financial plan which would include details of a repayment plan, what income we can realistically expect to raise from providing services and a self sustainability model.
Our immediate priority is to secure the site following which we will consider a phased redevelopment of the complex.
A Fund-raising strategy will also be compiled to ascertain the possibility of raising the funds needed within the specified timescales.
