Al Mahdi Mosque - Bradford

On Monday I went along to a barbecue and family fun day in celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee at the Al Mahdi Mosque in Rees Way Bradford.  My original intention was to take pictures of the Jubilee festivities but I was invited into the mosque and given a full tour of the building by Ahmadiyya Muslim Community member Ruhan.  I must confess that I knew nothing about the Ahmadiyya Community and was grateful for the information given to me by Ruhan.  Briefly the Ahmadiyya Community has members in 197 countries around the world and believes in non violence, racial equality and respect for all religions. It was the first Muslim Ccommunity to be established in the UK in 1913, and it has its own global satellite TV station.  The Community raises money for charities both in the UK and abroad and has also translated the Qur'an into 67 different languages.  The mosque itself is built into a hillside overlooking the city and has extensive views over Bradford to the hills beyond.  The picture shows Ruhan greeting visitors to the mosque.

Two White Horses

Following on from yesterdays post, two white horses and carriage at the head of the Naqshbandia parade as it leaves Tile Street.

Naqshbandia Mosque Parade 2012

A parade took place through the streets of Manningham on Sunday organised by the Naqshbandia Mosque in Tile Street.  The procession is an annual event and can be seen here turning into Victor Road with Manningham Mills in the background.  The Mosque is very keen on community relations and is also the base of a charity which supports activities such as Intercultural Football Tournaments and a deaf youth club.

Keighley

The town of Keighley lies in the Aire valley, roughly nine miles northwest of Bradford and in some ways mirrors Bradford in that it was built largely on the wealth of the textile industry, an industry which has now sadly all but disappeared. The town also has a large Muslim community, arriving mainly from Bangladesh and the Mirpur region of Pakistan in the 1960's and working in the textile industry, a very similar story to that of Bradford.
I went along to the Markazi Jamia Mosque today for a parade, a celebration of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, which took place in the streets of Keighley. The picture above shows a typical side street and the mosque in the distance.
(There are some pictures of the parade on my Flickr stream).