{"id":7447,"date":"2018-02-18T23:21:27","date_gmt":"2018-02-18T23:21:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=7447"},"modified":"2018-02-18T23:35:21","modified_gmt":"2018-02-18T23:35:21","slug":"prime-minister-and-london-mayor-take-part-in-visit-my-mosque-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/prime-minister-and-london-mayor-take-part-in-visit-my-mosque-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Prime Minister and London Mayor Take Part in Visit My Mosque day"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SadikPrime Minister Theresa May, Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London and Andy Street joined tens of thousands of visitors at over 200 open mosques today.
\nOver 200 mosques across the UK opened their doors to their neighbours of all faiths and none on 18 February as part of Visit My Mosque day, facilitated by the Muslim Council of Britain for the fourth consecutive year.
\nKey figures from British public life and across the political spectrum also took part in visiting a Mosque today. Maidenhead Mosque welcomed in Prime Minister, Theresa May, whilst the mosque at the centre of the Grenfell Tower response, Al-Manaar, today welcomed London Mayor Sadiq Khan today on national #VisitMyMosque day. Jeremy Corbyn MP, the leader of the opposition took part at his local Finsbury Park Mosque.
\n\"Teresa\"Speaking from Al Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: \u201cI\u2019m delighted to be back at Al Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre as it opens its doors to the local community on Visit My Mosque Day. London is a place where we don\u2019t just tolerate diversity, we celebrate, cherish and embrace it \u2013 that\u2019s why I\u2019m so pleased to support this great initiative to help us build a more open and inclusive society. Today is a day to increase understanding, celebrate the important role mosques play in bringing the local community together, and in particular, to highlight the major part everybody at this mosque has played in responding to last summer\u2019s devastating Grenfell Tower fire.\u201d
\nEmma Dent Coad, MP for Kensington said, \u201cWe must counter hate with love and this is exactly what this initiative is doing\u201d while local Councillor Gerald Hargreaves said \u201cVisit My Mosque Day is a day to celebrate and a strong way to counter Islamophobia.\u201d
\nHarun Khan, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain said, \u201cMosques are part and parcel of the fabric of British society with many positively contributing to their local communities. This was illustrated so well by Al-Manaar in West London last summer as their volunteers and their local community pulled together to support the survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire\u201d
\n\u201cVisit My Mosque is a grassroots initiative organised by hundreds of Muslim volunteers across the UK, young and old, male and female, of all ethnic backgrounds. We are pleased to see more mosques than ever before taking part in 2018 and we hope it will help local communities build long-lasting relationships for years to come.\u201d
\nMessages of support have poured in on social media with Ben & Jerry\u2019s Ice Cream encouraging their viewers to \u201ctry a different flavour and head over to your local mosque\u201d and Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain tweeting \u201cOpen up those doors!\u201d
\nEarlier this week, the Bishop of Bradford, Rt Rev Toby Howarth said: \u2018Crossing the threshold of a different place of worship can be an important step in learning about and getting to know our neighbours,\u2019 he said. \u2018I plan to visit mosques in Bradford on 18th February with local clergy and congregation members, and I warmly encourage others to do the same where they are.\u2019
\nA YouGov Poll commissioned by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has found that almost 70% of Britons hadn\u2019t seen the inside of another faith\u2019s place of worship, and almost 90% hadn\u2019t been inside a mosque, in recent years.
\nFor visitors that couldn\u2019t take part today, many mosques have open door policies and welcome visitors all year round. You can type in your post code to find and contact your nearest mosque online at www.visitmymosque.org\/find<\/a><\/p>\n

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