South Auckland mosque opens doors to public

A South Auckland mosque has opened itself to the public during Islam Awareness Week.

The South Auckland Muslim Association will host an open day on Saturday, August 27 at the Al-Mustafa Jamia Masjid in Otahuhu.

Abdul Shakeel Ahmed, acting president of the association, said the programme will feature a variety of activities, including a tea party, food stalls and a bouncy castle for children.

The mosque’s programme of events is a part of the Federation of Islam Awareness New Zealand’s series of events promoting Islam Awareness Week which runs until Sunday.

One of the mosque’s imams, Mohammed Shafeez said the purpose of the event is to improve the public’s understanding of Islam and “what a Muslim is supposed to be”.

“If you see what is being portrayed in the media it’s war, war, war,” Mr Shafeez said.

Mr Shafeez said the open day will act as a “two-way bridge”.

While one purpose is to inform the broader, non-Muslim community, they also want to inform Muslims about “what the rules and regulations are, what they are supposed to be as a Muslim”.

Wasim Malik, another imam from the mosque, said the open day will include lectures on various topics relating to Islam.

Other events will include children reciting from the Koran, and reading poetry about the Prophet Muhammad.

“Basically open day started from Monday to Saturday, but Saturday is the main events we have,” Mr Malik said.

The tea party will include speeches from local politicians and representatives of various religious groups.

During the week, visitors can take tours of the mosque and learn about Islam from the imams.

The mosque had also invited local schools to visit.

Visits can be made between 10am to noon and 1pm to 3pm, Monday to Thursday, as well as the same hours on Sunday. The mosque will be closed on Friday.

More information can be found here.