A 230-year-old Bradford pub that will be turned into an Islamic community centre.

A two-century-old pub will be converted into an Islamic community and educational centre.  

Who is in charge of the centre? 

A founder of ‘Al-Faiz’ Trust UK, Imam Rizwi wanted to open a centre and was searching for the right place.

Imam came to the UK in 2005 and served as the Minister of Allegiance for 12 years. He studied MA in Arabic and Islamic studies back in his home country of Pakistan, and in 2016 completed his MA in Social Sciences at Bradford University.

The 47-year-old said: “Our motto is helping through education, religious teaching and work for humanity”.

Finally, after five years of searching, he found The Green Man, Otley road Bradford pub. 

Imam said: “Not only is this building is situated on the famous main road, where it holds legendary historic account, it also contains a vast land area that is 0.4 acres”.

What exactly is the centre for?

Al-Faiz Trust’s mission is to provide education and empower the younger generation to face the challenges of life with grace. The center will be providing social gatherings to integrate with various communities.

There will also be theological and philosophical discussions, and encouragement of societal integration and will also be aiming to fight homelessness, by collaborating with local food sellers and major markets to provide food for homeless people at least once a day, and later progressing into two meals a day.

Moreover, it will attempt to provide them with shelter and later offer work experience.

Imam said: “We are doing this as in the long-term these people can be re-integrated into society and become independently employe and they wouldn’t become a burden for the government”.

According to the most recent research by the Shelter, there are 320,000 homeless people in the UK.

How much money was spent for the centre?

The cost of the building was £230,000, £130,000 was Imam’s personal loan and the rest £40,000 was a bank loan.

When will the centre be opening?

Due to the unexpected circumstances of Covid-19 this year, which affected the whole world, the reconstruction was delayed.

Imam hopes that the centre will be ready in a six months time by February 2021.

Despite all the obstacles, the Al-Faiz Trust members are hoping that the centre will bring great change to the local Islamic community.