A SCOTTISH Episcopal parish has offered space in its church hall
for prayers by the local Muslim community, to ease overcrowding in
their mosque.
The Rector of St John's, Aberdeen, Canon Isaac Poobalan, said:
"My job is to encourage people to pray. The mosque was so full at
times that there would be people outside in the wind and rain,
praying."
The Syed Shah Mustafa Jame Masjid mosque was built in the
grounds of St John's, in the 1980s, to accommodate about 60
worshippers, but today that number has more than doubled. Canon
Poobalan said: "One day, when I was walking past, I found 20 or 30
people outside on the pavements with their hands and feet exposed.
. . I knew I couldn't let this happen, because I would be
abandoning what the Bible teaches us about how we should treat our
neighbours."
Initially, some parishioners declared that it was not their
problem. "But I had seen it with my own eyes, so it was a problem,"
Canon Poobalan said. "When I spoke to the imam, there was some
hesitation on their part, too, because this has never been done
before. But they took us up on the offer, and it has been a
positive relationship."
Up to 100 Muslims now pray in the church hall five times every
Friday.
The Chief Imam, Amed Magghabri, said: "What happens here is
special, and there should be no problem repeating this across the
country. The relationship is friendly and respectful."
The move was praised by the Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney, Dr
Robert Gillies.
He said: "Internationally, the news speaks of tension and
struggles between Islam and Christianity. Yet here, in Aberdeen, a
mosque and a church have built bonds of affection and
friendship."