Times Newspaper Article

At Your Service by Daniel Crewe, 24th August 2002

"NO translation can give the full meaning of the Koran - the comprehensive meaning, the wisdom and the facts, the harmony and the music of the words," says Dr Hassan Alkatib, vice-chairman of Leeds Grand Mosque, after a typical Friday lunchtime service there.  But he continues: "The Koran is a divine book of guidance, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in Arabic. So it has to be translated into English for non-Arabic people to understand it."

The Mosque is rare in having a formal service in which the sermon is translated into English and is notable, too, for being one of the largest of more than ten mosques in the city, which serve around 30,000 Muslims.

The mosque (the word comes from the Arabic masjid, meaning the place of prostration) is also unusual in that it was converted from a modern church in 1994, having been established with funds from His Highness Sheikh Saif bin Muhammad al-Nehayyan, of Abu Dhabi.

Sheikh Saif had founded mosques around the world, but this was the first in Britain, letting the community take over after he had refurbished the building; this was made easier by the fact that one wall already faced Mecca.

The congregation is predominantly from Asia and the Middle East, but also includes Afro-Caribbean's, converts of British origin, and a large and ever-changing group of international students who live near by.  The mosque provides lectures and seminars, sporting activities, weekly study circles, and an annual exhibition about Islam that is attended by up to 30 schools.

Males and females coming to pray use different entrance and wudu facilities (washing rooms).  They also pray separately; there is a women's gallery on the extended mezzanine floor, and more than 50 women attend the jumma prayers.  Attendance is compulsory for male Muslims, and the men number around 500 - so many that the 15 suffs (rows of men praying) reach into the corridor.  They are of all ages and wearing everything from thawbs (long robe) to jeans.  The sajud (prayer area) has just been refitted with a carpet of deep green, said to be the Prophet's favourite colour.

Unlike other services, the jumma prayers are preceded by a sermon, which the imam, Sheikh Mohammed Tahir, following the azan (the call for prayer), given in Arabic from the halfway up the minbar (the pulpit).  He is known for his ability to recite the Koran and people come from afar to hear him.  This is followed by Dr Alkatib's translation from the floor - the theme is the school holidays, the message that children should not waste the time that they have - before the congregation stand and follow the Imam in prayer.

Dr Alkatib, who is also chairman of Leeds Muslim Forum, which was formed after September 11 to demonstrate the peaceful nature of Islam, hopes eventually to carry summaries of sermons on the mosque's website.  He also hopes to provide a translation system that would allow a simultaneous sermon in Arabic and English, perhaps through sets of headphones, though the cost would be considerable.

Planning permission has already been granted, meanwhile, for a light glass fibre dome, to give the mosque an Islamic appearance.  But above all, says Dr Alkatib, he wishes "for all members of the community to be good servants of God and good citizens of the country they live in".