By Rebecca Maer
The carpet is deeply plush, the tables are laden with home-made food and the welcome is the warmest you will find in Eastbourne.
The town’s mosque opened its doors at the weekend for the first time to invite the town to meet the community and see at first hand prayers taking place.
Both the mosque community and the residents who called in were clearly delighted to be there, talking, asking and answering questions – and sharing food.
I joined the visitors to explore the building, in Ashford Square next to the rail tracks near the station, and talk to some of the people who use the mosque.
Why did the mosque hold an open day?
Abdel Rahim, the imam or community leader, told the Eastbourne Reporter: “It is about the community coming together and nurturing relations. We live side by side and we don’t know enough about one another.
“The only way to get to know anyone is to open the door – it is good for the Muslim community to open up, and for the wider community to know what we do in the mosque.
“We had amazing support from Eastbourne during the riots,” he said, referring to violence in August in major cities across the UK.
The public disorder followed a knife attack in Southport on July 29 in which three young girls died. Around 400 people were arrested in riots, fuelled by misinformation on social media that the suspect was an ‘illegal migrant’.
The history of Eastbourne mosque
The softly-spoken imam has been working in the Islamic community in the town for 20 years. The current white, two-storey building was completed in 2018 on the site of an old social club where the Muslim community had met previously.
“We can get suspicious about one another simply because we don’t know one another.”
IMAM Abdel Rahim
It is officially called the Eastbourne Islamic Cultural Centre and its roots go back more than 50 years to 1968 when the first Muslim professionals moved to Eastbourne and wanted to find somewhere for worship and gatherings.
Initially, they travelled to Brighton or London to fulfil their religious obligations. In 1984, a restaurant owner offered them space for Friday prayers and by 1990, they had established a cultural centre with charitable status.
In 1995, they acquired the old social club and, eventually, raised enough funds to build the modern centre (above), completed six years ago.
Time for prayer
Men stay downstairs for prayer while women are on the large mezzanine floor above: the separation is based on mutual respect and children are allowed on either floor.
Some 300 men attend Friday prayers: more come during Eid, the festival which marks the end of Ramadan, the month-long dawn-to-dusk fast by Muslims.
The five main daily prayers are based on the cycle of the sun: in ancient times, Muslims only had to judge where the sun was to determine the times for prayer. Now there are printed prayer schedules – and, of course, smartphone apps.
| Prayer name | Sun position | Time in early November |
| Fajr | Before sunrise | 05.45 |
| Zuhr | After the sun’s high point | 13.15 |
| Asr | Halfway through the cycle | 14.15 |
| Maghrib | Sunset | 16.30 |
| Isha | When the stars are seen | 20.00 |
Visitors to the open day could see two of the prayers taking place.
Before the haunting call to prayer, the imam explained to the visitors that praying involved standing, bowing, prostrating or sitting in a sequence while reciting verses from the Koran which praised God and asked for guidance.
The people always face Mecca, the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad in Saudi Arabia, wherever they are in the world: in Eastbourne, that means facing south east.
Abdel Rahmin explained to visitors: “The best way to get rid of barriers and misconceptions is to explain things. We can get suspicious about one another simply because we don’t know one another.
“The mosque is about education and is a social hub as well as being a spiritual centre.”
The view from upstairs
On the mezzanine women’s area, long tables were laden with food: home-made pastries, honey-drenched baklava and vine-wrapped rice.
Men and women visitors mingled with the regular mosque users, talking and laughing over plates of food as trains could be glimpsed through windows overlooking the railway.
Anisa Bengellil, cradling her four-week-old baby, the youngest of her six children, is the administrator for the education section.
This involves 150 children regularly attending sessions which teach them about Islam and how to read Arabic. They come from about 20 different countries from regions such as North Africa, the Gulf and south-east Asia.
“Everyone is welcomed here like a family – we are the same as everybody else. There can be misinterpretation and a lack of knowledge about Islam,” she said.
Looking around at the visitors, she added: “It’s unusual to see men up here but we live in Britain and are able to adapt.”
The youth view
Further along the upper level, a group of polite, respectful teenagers tell me how proud they are of their community and how they support each other.
There is a youth talk every Saturday, touching on issues such as adolescence and mental health awareness.
“We are taught from a very young age to be the best representation of Islam as a person in everything we do – it is a way of living,” said one.
“It’s important to bring people in and show them what happens here, give them a clear picture.”
As I left, another Eastbourne resident was putting her shoes back on to leave. She was enthusiastic in her praise of the open day, adding: “You should have this more than once a year – how about one in the summer too?”
Great idea!
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