Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd April saw Tooting Islamic Centre throw its doors open to the public in a free exhibition on Islam. Hosted by Sheikh Suliman Gani and featuring guests including IERA’s Hamza Tzortzis, attendees included MP Sadiq Khan and representatives from the Police and local council. There were live nasheeds, talks on Islam and also on the role of education in Islam as exemplified by the success of the local Islamic schools that Balham and Tooting mosques are connected to.
Exhibits were set up professionally and there was food and drink, ushers available to answer questions and free copies of the Qur’an. The event was well attended and although Non-Muslims were a minority initially street stewards did an excellent job of welcoming people in and directing them through.
Overall, the open day was an excellent idea that demonstrates TIC’s open culture and readiness to welcome people in. This was rewarded by a sister taking her Shahadah at the event. What I might hope to see more of in the future is the self-confidence to represent Islam through beautiful Qur’an recitation in preference to nasheed performance and ingenious initiatives to encourage Non-Muslim attendance – then an event like this could really have maximum impact.
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