Padnell Junior School Teachers INSET visit to Al-Mahdi Centre
On Monday 18th of November, 16 members of Padnell Junior School’s teaching staff visited the Al Mahdi Centre with a view to increasing our knowledge of what it means to be a Muslim in this time. Of the group, only three had previously visited an Islamic place of worship, so for the majority of the party it was a totally new experience.
We began by meeting Sheikh Fazle Abbas Datoo, the Imam, outside the building, following which he gave us a tour around the outside explaining in detail about the key features of the building, along with the vital element of stewardship towards the locality and sustainable features that have been incorporated. We then headed inside to observe the internal features.
Sheikh Fazle Abbas began the discussion by telling us about the practices that take place here and explained, amongst other things, prayer rituals and passages from the Qu’ran. Our group found it particularly enlightening to have some of the misconceptions about Islam explained, particularly in regards to how some media outlets present Muslims.
Overall, our visit was greatly beneficial to us in order to deepen our knowledge of Islam and to gain a new experience which we can share with our pupils as Islam is a key part of our RE syllabus. Thank you for such a warm welcome and an informative afternoon. As a school, we look forward to working together again in the future!
(Report by James O’Connor)