Mahmood Moolla

print page prev page

Mahmood Moolla is the honorary secretary of the Gloucestershire Islamic Trust. There is only one minaret in Gloucester. It towers above the striking green dome of Jama Al-Karim Mosque in All Saints Road. It serves an aesthetic function only. A minaret's true function, of course, is for the faithful to be called to prayer and this is how it would be used in any Muslim country.

Mahmood Moolla, the honorary secretary of the Glos Islamic Trust, values the harmonious relationship with the surrounding non-Muslim residents as a far more important goal. Councillor Hugh Goodwin, at a meeting of council planners, was quoted as saying: “If the Church of England can have midnight mass with organs blasting forth and bells being rung at all hours of the day and night, I can't see why there would be any problem with this.”

Local residents who were consulted articulated noise pollution as their chief concern. They needn't have worried. As well as the Minaret's non-use, the walls are soundproofed. Today most Muslim households purchase and own a radio receiver; calls to prayer and lecturers are broadcast to households by radio.

Mahmood arrived in England in 1968 with little more than the clothes he wore. Three generations of his family had lived in Myanmar (Burma) as entrepreneurs with scattered business interests and Mahmood presided as manager of a Shoe Factory. The Myanmar Government nationalised all industry and businesses in 1962. The resulting hardship to the family would see his wife and children relocate to India for several years. They would not be permanently reunited until 1971.

Mahmood heard the many calls for a second mosque as early as 1975, when the Gloucestershire Islamic Trust was formed. A derelict warehouse in All Saints Road, purchased for £9500, served as the Prayer Hall and a school for children. The building would be demolished in 1984 and the new mosque sporting a dome and minaret would emerge in 1985. During construction the prayer hall and school temporarily transferred to a new property on Barton Street, which formerly served as a TV Rental shop.

Construction on the building would actually stall during the two-year assembly for a simple reason: mounting inflation. Mahmood had personally accumulated £100,000 from donations in South Africa and his Trust colleagues amassed funds nationally and internationally from Canada, USA, Panama, and Barbados. A philanthropist, promising to pay full financial costing until work completion, averted the crisis. The gentleman's total contribution amounted to £370,000 and the final total for the entire project would finish at £660,000. Mahmood believes a similar project today would easily treble this figure.

The king of Saudi Arabia posted the Chief Imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Sheik Abdullah Subaiyel, for the Jama Al-Karim grand opening on Good Friday 28th March 1986. One Labour councillor would declare the polished new Jama Al-Karim Mosque as Gloucester's 'Jewel-in-the-Crown'.

Mahmood likes to cultivate learning and smiles when he says that he can count an engineer, a Doctor and a biochemist among his grandchildren. Learning is a prized commodity in Islamic society and the Madressah School tutors 150 children under the guidance of six teachers. Incredibly, no fees are charged for Islamic activities. There are occasional lectures from eminent International speakers and Mahmood believes, the way to integrate with the local community peaceably is the most prized and valuable lesson.

Left: Mahmood Moola stands next to the mimbar, on which the priest stands to call the congregation. More pics inside the mosque...