Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

Top Menu

  • About US
  • Join US
  • Videos
  • Infographics
  • Comment
  • Question and Answer
  • Watch us Live

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Viewpoint
  • Islamic Culture
  • Da’wah
  • Media
  • People
    • Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabahani (Founder)
    • Sheikh Abdul Qadeem Zallum (Successor)
    • Sheikh Ata Abu Rashta (Ameer)
    • Abdul Wahid
    • Abu Yusuf
    • Jamal Harwood
    • Taji Mustafa
  • Books
  • Youth
  • Covid-19
  • About US
  • Join US
  • Videos
  • Infographics
  • Comment
  • Question and Answer
  • Watch us Live

logo

Header Banner

Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

  • Home
  • Viewpoint
    • Making Sense of Pakistan

      April 16, 2022
      0
    • How Should We View the War in Ukraine?

      March 30, 2022
      0
    • The India Hijab Issue from an Islamic Perspective

      March 24, 2022
      0
    • DEEP DIVE: The Weaponisation and Politicisation of British Citizenship Laws

      March 12, 2022
      0
    • Our Role in the Ukraine war is to Expose the Propaganda

      March 2, 2022
      0
    • Muslims Should Rejoice Over the Islamic Ruling System

      January 21, 2022
      0
    • Another Warmonger Honoured for Serving the British Elite

      January 2, 2022
      0
    • The Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh Victory Day (Bijoy Dibos): a cause for ...

      December 13, 2021
      0
    • Playing Politics with the Uygher Muslims

      December 2, 2021
      0
  • Islamic Culture
    • Reading Quran

      The story of the man who was told to “Enter Paradise” and ...

      January 24, 2022
      0
    • Significance of Rabi’ul-Awwal

      October 10, 2021
      0
    • Virtues of the Month of Muharram

      August 10, 2021
      0
    • The significance of first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah

      July 10, 2021
      0
    • The Honour of the Prophets

      April 30, 2021
      0
    • A to Z of Ramadan

      April 19, 2021
      0
    • The Dawah to Allah (swt)

      December 29, 2020
      0
    • Miracle of the Quran

      Q & A - Compilation of The Holy Quran During the Reign ...

      December 27, 2020
      0
    • Imam Bukhari: A Role Model for the ‘Ulema and Da’wah Carriers to ...

      November 17, 2020
      0
  • Da’wah
    • Public Demonstration - Independence Not Intervention

      April 22, 2022
      0
    • VIDEO : [LIVESTREAMED] Pakistan in Crisis: The Players, Politics, and People

      April 20, 2022
      0
    • Ramadan Message: The World Needs Islam - We Must Work for the ...

      April 1, 2022
      0
    • The India Hijab Issue from an Islamic Perspective

      March 24, 2022
      0
    • Ramadhan event: Kyiv to Kabul: The World Needs Islam

      March 20, 2022
      0
    • Obituary of a Dawah Carrier Dr. Youssef Haj Youssef

      December 30, 2021
      0
    • Open Letter to Imams and Muslim Leaders

      September 28, 2021
      0
    • Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain Sends Delegation to Chinese Embassy Condemning the Inhumane Treatment ...

      June 30, 2021
      0
    • Jahangir Raja: Obituary of a Da’wah Carrier

      June 28, 2021
      0
  • Media
  • People
    • Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabahani (Founder)
    • Sheikh Abdul Qadeem Zallum (Successor)
    • Sheikh Ata Abu Rashta (Ameer)
    • Abdul Wahid
    • Abu Yusuf
    • Jamal Harwood
    • Taji Mustafa
  • Books
  • Youth
  • Covid-19
News Watch
Home›News Watch›Sandhurst mosque plans prompt public inquiry

Sandhurst mosque plans prompt public inquiry

By Press Editor
April 4, 2011
835
0
Share:

Army chiefs are worried about the 100ft minarets but local Muslims say they need more space for worshippers

Islamic centre in Camberley Muslims running the Islamic centre in Camberley, have applied for permission to demolish the building and build a mosque. Photograph: Frank Baron for the Guardian

Plans to erect a mosque next to Sandhurst that have divided locals and prompted interventions from a Tory minister and the Ministry of Defence are to be considered at a public inquiry this week.

The proposals – to demolish a locally listed Victorian schoolbuilding in a conservation area in Camberley, Surrey, and replace it with a £3m domed mosque – have pitted members of the Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey Bengali Welfare Association against thousands of residents, army chiefs and the constituency MP and education secretary, Michael Gove.

The residents say the mosque would be out of keeping with the town’s architecture; army chiefs dislike the idea of 100ft-high minarets overlooking the parade ground of Sandhurst Military Academy; and Gove wants the application withdrawn for the sake of community harmony.

Camberley mosque The proposed mosque for Camberley to be built on the site of the Victorian school, see top picture, now being used as an Islamic centre.

The mosque is also described as a “supremacist statement” by a collective comprising local churches.

The inquiry, to be held at Camberley Theatre, is scheduled to last six days and is the culmination of a year-long struggle between the association and its equally doughty opponents over the fate of the former Roman Catholic school sitting on an unsightly stretch of the A30. Alan Kirkland, from Save Our School, was among those who gathered 7,000 signatures opposing the radical redevelopment of the site.

“There is nothing in the Qur’an that says you should have domes and minarets,” he said. “It doesn’t even have to face the qibla [direction of Mecca]. It doesn’t matter what the mosque looks like if you’re only going to pray there. They need a mezzanine floor that is for women only. To most people, that’s objectionable.

“They are trying to target us as racist. I’m slightly offended by that. My ex-brother in law is Muslim, so are my niece and nephew.”

The Bengalis say the existing building, designed by Charles Buckeridge, does not suit their needs. Camberley Muslims have used the old school as a mosque since 1996, purchasing it for £300,000 following a generous contribution from a Kuwaiti billionaire.

But it is dilapidated, inside and out, and lies empty for much of the week except Friday, when Muslims pour into every available space, including the kitchen, for prayer. The capacity is 350, which the association estimates is a fraction of the Muslim community within a 10-mile radius.

The new mosque would accommodate classrooms, segrated facilities for men and women, a morgue, a community centre and thousands of people.

The Bengalis agreed to restrict access to the minarets – making them ornamental and partially solid – but only after the Ministry of Defence raised concerns over them.

The compromise – the only one to date – has failed to appease to Save Our Schools, which has raised £10,000 to ensure it has legal representation at the inquiry.

Ivar Hellberg, also from Save Our School, is outraged at the BWA’s perceived indifference to Camberley’s heritage. “They are bad stewards,” he said. “Why haven’t they looked after the house of Allah?”

Abdul Wasay Chowdhury, from the association, said: “It is hard to collect money to renovate the school. It is not a religious building, it is not a mosque. We don’t want to extend from the back because then it won’t be a school or a mosque. It will be neither. If people were so concerned about heritage, why didn’t they buy the building? If we hadn’t bought it, it would have been empty for the last 15 years. That would have been worse.”

“The local church is out of keeping with the area. The steeple will be taller than our minarets – why don’t they complain about that?”

He points to Robins Cinema, a building with art-deco frontage, and the boarded-up Duke of York Hotel, built in 1816, opposite. Both face demolition. “The problem is, if you try to save everything, you end up saving nothing.”

Guardian

Previous Article

Syrian mourners say government snipers carried out ...

Next Article

Weekly Circle: Tricks of the Shayatin

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0

Related articles More from author

  • News Watch

    Employers discriminate against Muslims, study finds

    November 23, 2010
    By Editor
  • News Watch

    Syrian forces kill at least 34 protesters at anti-government protest

    June 4, 2011
    By Editor
  • News Watch

    “Bolton Muslims voice concern over Military in Mosque”

    April 6, 2012
    By Press Editor
  • News Watch

    U.S. Seeks Billions in India Deals

    October 19, 2010
    By Press Editor
  • News Watch

    Pakistan expels British trainers, UK says it is temporary

    June 27, 2011
    By Editor
  • News Watch

    Syrian security forces set off Damascus bombs blamed on al-Qaida – defectors

    May 19, 2012
    By Editor

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Liberate Al Aqsa

Join US on Telegram

Podcast

Latest Posts

Press Releases

Protest in London Says No To More Democracy, Yes to the Khilafah

Members of Hizb ut Tahrir in Britain, alongside supporters from the Muslim community, gathered on Saturday 7th May 2022 at the Pakistan High Commission in London to protest against US ...
  • Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain to Protest American Interference in Pakistan’s Politics

    By Yahya Nisbet
    May 1, 2022
  • Public Demonstration – Independence Not Intervention

    By Editor
    April 22, 2022
  • VIDEO : [LIVESTREAMED] Pakistan in Crisis: The Players, Politics, and People

    By Editor
    April 20, 2022
  • The Geopolitics of Badr

    By Editor
    April 17, 2022
  • Making Sense of Pakistan

    By Editor
    April 16, 2022
  • Muslims in Britain Should Speak Out Against the Pakistani Leadership’s Surrender of Kashmir

    By Yahya Nisbet
    April 15, 2022
  • Muslims in Britain should support the call for the Khilafah in Pakistan

    By Yahya Nisbet
    April 12, 2022
  • Press Centre