Community Hub

The CMA Community Hub once established will be a multi-use space that will serve the needs of the Muslim community as well as provide access to a range of services for the wider community of Caversham. These services have been identified through community consultation and local surveys. We pride ourselves in being inclusive in respect of gender, faith and non-faith, age etc. Consequently, services will be tailored as needs are identified. The community hub will be run predominantly by volunteers and will provide a localised service base which is easily accessible to users. This should improve the uptake of services, improve wellbeing, impact the environment, improve health, remove isolation and support those in need.

Reading is located approximately 35 miles west of London and is a large town with a Muslim population of over 10,000. The river Thames cuts through the town and Caversham is to the north of the river. At last count, there were approximately 1200 Muslims and this population continues to grow in number. The Muslims are challenged by not having a local facility in the area for prayers, for children to learn about Islam and for community activities. All mosques and Muslim centres are located in the south of the town.

For the past 13 years, the Caversham Muslim Association has been providing these services to the community from a local community centre. We currently run over 50 activities a month, operating a madrasah with qualified teachers, daily evening and Jummuah prayers, youth clubs for children and Islam classes for adults and reverts. We also organise social events for the community and taraweeh prayers and other activities are delivered during Ramadan. Our gatherings and congregations can attract up to 250 people. Alhumdulillah, and amazingly, over the past 12 months 6 persons have taken shahadah at our centre and there is growing interest in the surrounding community about Islam and our activities.

Our recent community survey overwhelmingly supported a local facility that provides more services to the Muslims of Caversham.

Our organisation has now outgrown the community centre we use and what it can provide us. Our ambition is to secure our own premises. This will enable us to increase our madrasah numbers, hold more daily congregational prayers, Jummuah prayers, and organise more Islamic events at one central location We are also keen to expand our dawah activities to our non-Muslim communities. A centre in Caversham will achieve all this and more with your support. Establishing an Islamic and community hub in Caversham will be the first and only facility in the north of Reading. It will enable easy local access to religious and community services and will be the first-ever Islamic facility in Caversham to be established.

The Caversham Muslim Association is a registered charity and a limited company. Although land and buildings are at a premium, the CMA has identified an ideal land site to initially lease and then purchase from the local council. This land was previously used as a temporary school. It is a central location in Caversham with good public transport links.

The starting plan is to purchase a temporary structure and start our services as we gather more funds to then build a permanent structure. Many of the services and utilities are already connected at the site, which means that costs are reduced.

 

By establishing the first-ever Islamic and community hub in Caversham, we aim to provide a central location for religious and community services, fostering unity and understanding among diverse communities.

We’ve identified an ideal land site previously used as a temporary school, strategically located in central Caversham with excellent public transport links. Our plan is to start with temporary structures while working towards constructing a permanent facility.

 

We call upon you to support our efforts by donating generously to this important cause. We are actively seeking your support to raise £90,000 for Phase 1 of the project. This will allow us to:

• Secure the site
• Fund Planning and Building
• Purchase Materials and Resources
• Construction Activities

Please play your part in this and donate what you can by:

• Regular standing orders
• One-off payments

Bank Details:

Name: Caversham Muslim Association
Sort Code: 089299
Account: 65564565
Reference: CIC

If you are a UK taxpayer, we can claim 25p on every £1 donated from the Government at no extra cost to you. Click here to find out more.

Qarz-e-Hasna

If you like to help us with Qarz-e-Hasna please reach out to us via email at [email protected] or contact us at +44 7830 150019.

📜 Sunan Ibn Majah 738

عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللہِ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ، مَنْ بَنَى مَسْجِدًا لِلهِ كَمَفْحَصِ قَطَاةٍ أَوْ أَصْغَرَ بَنَى اللهُ لَهُ بَيْتًا فِى الْجَنَّةِ
Whoever builds a masjid, seeking Allah’s pleasure, Allah will build a house for him in paradise.