On Saturday, October 19th, at the London Muslim Centre, Whitechapel, the Council of Mosques Tower Hamlets held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the presence of many members from its 53-mosque consortium, guests, the Met Police, and various stakeholders and service providers.

The Executive Mayor of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman, Deputy Mayor Councillor Maium Miah Talukder, Councillor Mushtaq Ahmed, and Councillor Farooq Ahmed were present as chief guests. Also present were London Bangla Press Club Secretary General Taysir Mahmud, former Vice President Rahmat Ali and other members.

The event commenced with a sumptuous lunch, and the meeting was presided over by their current General Secretary, Sirajul Islam Hira. Mujibur Rahman, a member of the consortium, recited the opening verse from the Holy Quran. Then, Moulana Shamsul Hoque, the chair of the consortium, gave an inspirational welcome and support.

In his speech, Maulana Shamsul Hoque thanked all the members of the Council of Mosques for their cooperation in various ways to continue the activities of the organisation despite the financial constraints and said, “The credit for the good work done in the past years goes to all the members of the organisation. We have come this far because of unity and cooperation between each other.

“For this, I thank the Almighty Allah and urge everyone to stand with the Council of Mosques, to look at the errors and shortcomings of the past years with a forgiving eye.”

Next, the Head of Neighbourhood Policing for Tower Hamlets, Detective Superintendent Vicky Tunstall attended with a few members of her team responsible for faith and community cohesion and talked about forging closer relationships with the mosques and faith groups to better serve the residents of Tower Hamlets.

The next speaker was Sufia Alam, Chair of Tower Hamlets Interfaith Forum, who explained that the purpose of the interfaith forum was to complement and work with the Council of Mosques and the community.

In his speech, the Executive Mayor Lutfur Rahman said that the Council of Mosques, Tower Hamlets was one of the most active in the country, working with the police, and the local authority and playing a leading role in the welfare and well-being of the community of Tower Hamlets and beyond. He also added that the Council of Mosque has more work to spread important reminders to the parents that children should not be taken on holidays abroad during term time as education at that age is vital for their development and success in the future.

Mayor Lutfur Rahman said, “Education is very close to my heart and supporting lifelong learning is one of the priorities of my administration. Helping young people reach their full potential, giving young people the tools to help them reach their full potential and becoming the next generation of future leaders is vital.”

He then added: ” 4,696 pensioners in Tower Hamlets will not receive winter fuel payments from the central government due to cuts. However, they’ll be eligible for a new grant of £175 introduced by Tower Hamlets Council.”

Finally, he said; “So far, more than 2000 drug dealers have been arrested in Tower Hamlets, and at present, 2000 drug addicts are undergoing rehabilitation through treatment.

“I urge the Detective Superintendent and the police to take massive action against drugs and request the community to come forward. An extensive program has been undertaken to keep Tower Hamlets clean, and residents are sought for their cooperation in this regard.”

Before the event was brought to a close for members only to commence the remainder of their AGM, Mayor Lutfur Rahman along with key management committee members launched the new app available on Apple Store and Google Play. Also, the newly published directory of 53 mosques of Tower Hamlet and a map and website marking the location of all the mosques under the initiative of the Council of Mosques.

The Council of Mosques Tower Hamlets was established in 2001 to foster communication between mosques, the wider community and service providers. Members benefit from guidance on planning, safeguarding, and health and safety issues.

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