On Saturday 6 September, MCB’s affiliate, the Shia Ithna’ashari Community of Middlesex (SICM) jointly organised a day-trip to Greenwich with St. Alban’s Church and North Harrow Methodist Church. The 40 individuals consisted of families, young children and older people from the Muslim and Christian faith – all united in wanting to get to know their neighbours better.
The jointly organised trip is a culmination of ongoing interfaith collaboration at the grassroots-level between SICM and the two churches, which has built up over several years.
The local MP for Harrow West, Gareth Thomas was “delighted” to hear about the event; adding “In Harrow we have a proud tradition of showing respect and understanding to others, and it is excellent to see people of different faith come together to enjoy a family day out.”
Richard Reid, a local solicitor from North Harrow Methodist Church and former Chair of the North Harrow Community Partnership said: “Everyone was relaxed and friendly and it seemed to take no time before we were talking to each other and sharing the many things we have in common as well as learning about what is different”
SICM Executive Committee member Miqdaad Versi emphasised how this interfaith engagement has developed in the area: “Several years ago around 50 of us attended Christmas Mass at St. Alban’s Church and since then our communities have grown closer, starting with mutual invites to each others’ centres, including Sunday lunch and Friday evenings, and more recently have also consisted of regular meetings to get to know each other better.”
Reverend John Swarbrick added: “It was a great day out, but more importantly it was a time for people to meet and to get to one another a little better; and with the conversation comes greater understanding. What do we do next?”
Notes to Editors:
1. For photos, please see https://www.facebook.com/sicm.mahfil.ali/posts/538020552997159
The Shia Ithna’ashari Community of Middlesex (SICM) is a local Muslim organisation based at Mahfil Ali in Harrow, which is heavily involved in the local community. Further to its deep and long-standing inter- and intrafaith work, it is a founder of a local food bank, Sufra, leads health awareness sessions, provides volunteers to help the homeless and supports the development of sustainable mental health resources in communities with MIND in Harrow. It is currently in the process of building a multi-purpose community centre (the Salaam Centre), which encapsulates its vision of building a more open, accepting and engaged community. To find out more about the Salaam Centre, visit www.thesalaamcentre.com.
Contact us:
E-mail: info@sicm.org.uk
Follow SICM:
Twitter: @sicm_mahfil_ali
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sicm.mahfil.ali ;
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