WALTHAM FOREST: Leyton mosque among best in the country

4:00pm Saturday 20th October 2007

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LEYTON'S Noor-ul-Islam has won through to the final stages of a TV show aimed at finding the best mosque in the country.

Model Mosque, co-produced by Adid Mahi, 26, from Walthamstow, is currently featured in a prime-time Saturday night slot on the Islam Channel.

The show is based on reality TV principles, with two mosques each week going head-to-head and winners selected by the audience.

Noor-ul-Islam, in the High Road, was one of eight mosques chosen from over 400 to take part in the show, which sees representatives grilled on criteria including youth education, facilities for women and ties with the local community.

Mr Mahi says Noor-ul-Islam's reputation for quality youth education and attempts to encourage greater participation of women impressed the judges.

He said: "A lot of mosques are run by men and they don't necessarily make provision for women.

"Noor-ul-Islam created a space where women could make garments which would be sold to raise money for the mosque and other charities.

"Many women did not work and had a limited grasp of English and this gave them the opportunity to make a positive contribution.

"We want to create a model of best practice that other mosques can look to. A part of this is focusing on getting more women into prominent positions in mosques.

"We want to demystify mosques and get a more positive image of Islam into the media, but it is not easy.

"Religion is very important to me. I'm doing this to help build bridges. Some people don't understand the religion and get the wrong idea."

As a Muslim resident of Waltham Forest, Mr Mahi experienced at first hand the fallout from the anti-terrorism raids last year.

He said: "This is a good community, but there are always elements who are not part of the mainstream, who try to say they represent Muslims, but they do not.

"Things have improved since August 2006, but there is a long way to go."