Harehills’ new mosque welcomes over 1,000 worshippers
The opening of Leeds’ newest mosque finally arrived this week with around 1,100 people turning out for the first call to prayer.
The Masjid-e-Quba was built in just seven months and brings a new state-of-the-art place of worship to the Harehills area.
Located on the corner of Hares Avenue and Shepherds Lane, worshippers prayed outside in the sunshine on Friday 12th June as the two prayer halls were packed full for a memorable launch.
Followed by the serving of food, the day was a big success and highlighted the ‘need’ for the new development in the area.
Chairman of the Masjid, Rana Akram, and secretary, Akhlaq Mir, said they were delighted to see the doors open for the first time after watching the development in recent months.
Mr Mir continued: “It’s overwhelming to see the construction finished. I am speechless.
“On behalf of the committee at the Masjid-e-Quba, we would like to thank the community for their generosity in helping to fund the development of this site.
“To now be open before Ramadan is a great feeling.”
Treasurer of the Masjid, Muhammad Farooq, added that the generosity of the local public had been unimaginable.
“It is very moving to see the public get behind this project,” he said. “This community has really come together to make this possible.”
Construction of the building was carried out by Ontime Constructions with the latest technological equipment installed.
Notably the place of worship is one of only two mosques in the country to have been fitted with the latest VRF air conditioning systems.
Contractor and developer, Aihtsham Rashid, said: “Usually a mosque in the UK will take between one and two years to construct but we were able to complete this within just a fraction of that time.
“We have beaten all our targets and managed to open in time for the holy month of Ramadan.
“No other mosque in England or Europe has been built at the same speed of this one.
“A big thank you goes to all the people who helped make this possible and the committee for their continuous support.”
Back in November 2014, the foundation stone for the new Masjid was laid by honourable guest scholar, Hanif Jalandhari, general secretary of the largest federation of Islamic Seminaries, Wafaq ul Madaris Al-Arabia.
