There has been an uproar over a proposal to convert an old pub into a mosque in the historic city of Norwich, England. Local people say that many mosques already exist in the city. In such a situation, there is no point in making a new one.
There has been an uproar over the proposal to convert a decades-old pub (meeting place) into a mosque in the historic city of Norwich, England. The whole matter started when the Norwich Muslim Center (NMC) proposed to Norwich City Hall (the law-making and decision-making body for the city) to convert a listed pub in the city into a mosque. After this, resentment spread among the local people. Local people say that the Muslim share in the city’s population is only 4 percent. Apart from this, many mosques already exist. In such a situation, there is no point in converting an old pub of the city into a mosque.
According to the Times of India report, NMC proposed that till now there is shortage of space in all the mosques in the city. In such a situation, the pub (guest house) on Dereham Road should be converted into a mosque. Since it has big rooms, there will be separate rooms for both men and women. Apart from this, there is also a plan to run Madrasa and Islamic classes in it.
NMC has bought the pub
NMC said that it has already purchased it by giving 10 percent deposit to the owner of the pub. Now he is raising about one million US dollars to complete this work.
When this proposal came forward, not only the City Hall but also other local residents have opposed it. Commenting on this protest, NMC trustee Sirajul Islam termed it wrong. He said, “We have four to five mosques in Norwich. But they are small. They lack space. Our dream is to create a place in Norwich that testifies to our strong Islamic heritage and empowers the Islamic identity of our future generations.
What did the people protesting say?
After the proposal to build a mosque in Norwich, people are continuously opposing it. Many people in the area also expressed concern over the increasing number of mosques. He said that there are already many mosques here, so there is no need to build a new mosque.
Some people said that the pub was used by many people to socialize, while others argued that the construction of the mosque would be unfair to other communities. Another resident emphasized that Muslims constitute just 4 percent of Norwich’s population, and the development would hardly benefit the rest of the community. “Muslims constitute only 4% of the community in Norwich, which means that 96% of the population will hardly benefit from the facility, but will have to bear the brunt of the increase in traffic, movement of people and other things,” he wrote.
Some people also came out in support
Commenting on the City Hall portal, a local resident wrote: “The proposed building will be completely segregated for both sexes when using it. Is this segregation within UK law?” However, one supporter supported the proposal, saying that the mosque would bring peace to the area and its surroundings. “The mosque brings peace, not trouble, whereas weekend nights are sometimes the scene of pub-related disorder.”
Let us tell you, many right wing people keep talking about the increase in Muslim population in Britain. Statistics also testify to this. According to many reports, Mohammed has been the most commonly used name for children in Britain in the last two years. Due to increasing population, discrimination against Muslims is also seen among the local people. Muslims are viewed in a negative light in Britain due to inflammatory posts on social media and Pakistani rape gangs.
