Rahman Al-Sudais, the Imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, led prayers at Al-Tawheed Mosque in this large industrial town in Lancashire, England, on Friday. The mosque was opened by Dr. Al-Sudais and Lord Adam Bataille at a solemn ceremony earlier in the day. Dr. Al-Sudais is Addressing the large gathering at the mosque, Dr. Al-Sudais said Islam advocates mercy and tolerance as well as respect for human rights and human dignity. He urged Muslims to be advocates of virtues, peace, safety and respect of law and order as well as to behave as constructive members of society and to refrain from any act that undermines stability. Dr. Al-Sudais urged Muslims to cooperate with each other and to maintain good relations with non-Muslims. “We want to tell the world: Don't fear Islam and Muslims and don't get worried about the presence of mosques because they advocate peace and tolerance even with non-Muslims,” he said. “My advice to Muslims residing in the West is to remain good models and good ambassadors of their religion, nation and values,” he added. Dr. Al-Sudais reiterated that Islam advocates co-existence and establishing contacts with other civilizations and said Islam does not tolerate isolation, but it urges Muslims to become influential persons in society. Lord Bataille said the opening of Al-Tawheed Mosque is an important event and will be remembered forever. He noted that the building of the mosque took about six years, adding that the construction of the mosque was aimed at teaching children the principles of Islam and graduating scholars who spread the message of Islam all over the world. Meanwhile, Shu'eib Adam, the Imam of Al-Tawheed Mosque, said “when pilgrims returned from Makkah carrying cassettes of the Holy Qur'an, people started to send their sons to mosques for memorization of the Holy Qur'an.” “I will not exaggerate if I say that children in Britain learn by heart the Holy Qur'an through your cassettes,” he said addressing Dr. Al-Sudais. He also said that Prince Turki Al-Faisal visited the city three weeks ago and “we were happy to meet with him.” The function was attended by Abdul-Aziz Al-Harbi, the director of the Islamic Call office in Britain, and a number of officials as well as worshipers. Dr. Al-Sudais also visited the Al-Tawheed Mosque school for girls in Blackburn. Speaking on the occasion, he highlighted the great attention given by Islam to women because a woman is a mother, a sister, a wife and a daughter and she constitutes half of society. Addressing girl students at the school, he said “you are behind the success of men and their noble achievements.” A female student described Dr. Al-Sudais as a model for hundreds of millions of people by virtue of his leading prayers at Al-Haram and reciting the Holy Qur'an as well as serving charitable societies. She noted that the school, established 25 years ago, includes 430 girl students.
