WE URGENTLY NEED £1.25 MILLION TO BUY AND REFURBISH THE BUILDING
We need to raise £750,000 by May 2024 to buy the property from the Christian Prayer Centre Church of God (PCCG). Completing the refurbishment will cost a further £500,000. The local community have already raised £50,000 and now we need your generous help to reach our total! Our refurbishment will lovingly restore and preserve the original features of this beautiful Italianate building, offering an exciting vision of a mosque that feels firmly rooted in London and in harmony with its surroundings.
The refurbishment will also prioritise the use of natural and sustainable materials, evoking the tranquility of nature and inspiring divine reflection and connection. The Shifa Mosque will, insha’Allah, be an oasis of contemplation in a concrete jungle.
WHO WE ARE
We are a diverse and active community of Muslims living in and around Crystal Palace, South London, and for the last five years we have been using hired spaces and our own homes to facilitate learning, support new Muslims and gather and feed people. Now we would like to establish a mosque.
There are currently no mosques in Crystal Palace/Anerley, despite a sizeable Muslim presence. Mosques in neighbouring areas are oversubscribed, and it’s not uncommon to find long queues outside on Fridays with people struggling to get in for Jum’ah. Many of these mosques also don’t have space for women.
Now, by Allah’s blessing, we have found a beautiful Victorian building just down the hill from Crystal Palace Park and only a two-minute walk from Anerley Rail Station. With F1 permission for use as a place of worship, space for 250 worshippers and split over two floors, it offers great space for the prayers and community support services
OUR VISION FOR SHIFA MOSQUE
The great Houses of Allah bring people together for guidance and good counsel; education and exchange; celebration and contemplation. They serve and strengthen the community, and this is our vision for Shifa Mosque. We want to build on the work we have already started in terms of enriching local community life. With your help, we can:
Collect and Distribute Zakat Locally
We want to we establish the Shifa Mosque as London’s first local zakat hub. During the time of the Prophet, what was collected in an area was also distributed in that same area – communities looked after themselves. We want to ensure Muslims in need our local area get the help they deserve.
Teach a Holistic Madrassa Curriculum
Support us in the creation of our exciting and holistic madrassa curriculum. Alongside Qur’an memorisation and traditional Islamic sciences, we aim to offer sunnah sports, land cultivation and a summer exchange programme with our partner institution The Great Mosque of Granada in Spain.
Establish an Islamic Free Market
With our outdoor space we intend to institute London’s first ‘free market’, inspired by traditional Muslim societies, where markets had no pitch fees or rents. Your gift can help us revive this tradition and thereby support independent businesses and local wealth creation.
Feed the
Muslim Community
The Prophet ﷺ said: “The most beloved food to Allah is that which is received by many hands”. Help us reach our goal of 1) establishing a food bank in cooperation with local food producers; 2) serving a weekly post-jumu’a lunch in the mosque; and 3) establishing an iftar soup kitchen in Ramadan.
Cultivate an Islamic Paradise Garden
We will plant a traditional Islamic garden in our courtyard space – an oasis of scent, shade and colour. Tended by our madrassa students and volunteers, the paradise garden will foster an appreciation of nature in our children and provide a place of peaceful contemplation for all members of the community.
Support New Muslims
Our community stretches back to the late 1960s, when a group of men and women from Britain became Muslim in Morocco and made it their life’s work to call people to Islam. With decades of lived experience, we are well placed to support new Muslims on their journey into Islam, not least through an active, interdependent community.
Programme a Busy Social Calendar
Whether it’s a family Eid celebration, an Away Day hike or a mosque cricket club, there are so many activities that we can engage in together outside of the five daily prayers.
YOU CAN HELP US MAKE OUR VISION FOR SHIFA MOSQUE A REALITY
Donate today and help us serve local muslims now and for generations to come, InshaAllah.
QARD HASANA
Loaning Qard-Hasana has been a powerful tool in establishing London’s Mosques, and we are also accepting money in this form. If you are able to loan money to help establish Shifa Mosque, then please get in touch, and let your savings be the foundations of a new House of Allah.
Meet the people behind Shifa Mosque
Learn more about our community events