Wessex Jamaat was invited to bring its young people to the St Nicholas Church, Wickham on 6th November 2010 to participate in "The Big Draw". The theme of the draw was "First 10 Years of the 21st Century in Wickham."
The Big Draw is an annual event launched in the year 2000 by Campaign for Drawing. It works to raise the profile of drawing and promotes it as a tool for thought, creativity, social and cultural engagement. The Campaign has created a new regard for the value of drawing to help people see, think, invent and take action.
Wessex Jamaat was invited to bring its young people to the St Nicholas Church, Wickham on 6th November 2010 to participate in “The Big Draw”. The theme of the draw was “First 10 Years of the 21st Century in Wickham.”
The Big Draw is an annual event launched in the year 2000 by Campaign for Drawing. It works to raise the profile of drawing and promotes it as a tool for thought, creativity, social and cultural engagement. The Campaign has created a new regard for the value of drawing to help people see, think, invent and take action.
Pat Fray, the local organiser in Wickham said: “It was a delight to have the young people of the Muslim community to come and share their thoughts through art as to what it means to be part of the Wickham Community. Such events enable greater understanding, more social cohesion and friendships. “
This was the first time that Wessex Jamaat had participated in this event, credit goes to Pat Fray for taking the lead in organising this. Over 20 youths of Wessex Madrasah participated with their parents. Various images of Islam were depicted.
Tahir Salim Kanani, one of the participants said: “We were invited to start off with the drawings which would then be put upon the walls of the church to remember the diversity of faiths in our area. Everybody was drawing items related to Islam and our new Al-Mahdi mosque. There were children and adults joining in as well. I saw some great pictures drawn by all ages including our present mosque, sketches of our new mosque, a colourful picture of the word Allah, and a great picture of the Ka’bah. Half way through the drawing session, we stopped for Dhuhrayn salaat. So we entered the meeting room and said our salaat in congregation. After that, we carried on with our colourful drawings.”
He concluded by saying: “It was a very fun day for the community to come together with another faith and we really enjoyed ourselves. We were glad that we had taken the first step into a good relationship with another community who were really close by to us. This was also a good opportunity to learn more about the diversity of faiths in our area and for us to try and raise awareness for our new AL MAHDI project.”
The Resident Alim Sheikh Fazle Abbas Datoo commented: “This is one of the outcomes of success from the Bridging Wickham Project. Experiences like this expand the horizons of our children. We get an insight into their understanding of our faith. I am thankful to Pat Fray for her hospitality and to the St Nicholas Church for giving us a place to pray our Dhuhrayn salaat. May the organisers be rewarded for their efforts to bring communities together. Ameen.”