By Rachel Mohamed
The Touwsriver Islamic Society has appealed to the public for financial assistance to complete the building project of the masjid. This is to ensure the extension of the building to add more rooms to accommodate the growing Muslim community in the area.
Speaking on PM Drive on Monday, Ismail Byat, chairman of the Touwsriver Islamic Society, said, “Some time ago, a small house was bought and transformed into a masjid, and renovations were done to accommodate the people on Jumu’ah for Salah times and for the musalees with visitors passing by in the Touwsriver area.”
“We are at a stage where the building renovations have improved significantly but still need to focus on the second floor in the women’s section,” he said.
He added, “The building has become too small to accommodate even the madrassah and has now put in place the revert classes as the masjid is situated on the N1 because the need has become even greater for people to use these facilities for the future of the Boland and Lainsberg community.”
Byat emphasized the need for the masjid to host functions to raise money. Furthermore, he reiterated that it has become difficult to accumulate those funds because the Muslim community is the minority in the Touwsriver area.
“But with donations from anonymous donors, the funds have helped to get the masjid this far with the project. We are at a crucial stage now to put on the roof and make dua that Allah doesn’t send heavy rains on the masjid,” he stated.
Byat said the society needed to raise at least “2 million to cover the whole building of the masjid with material and for the labour of builders,” he concluded.
The Islamic Society will be hosting a luncheon fundraiser event on the 10th of November at the Barron Estate. The public has been urged to contribute by purchasing tickets, and those who want to donate can make a direct deposit via Nedbank account to the Islamic Society. For more information, call Baseerah at 060 613 4634 or Zubeida at 084 982 3001.
Listen for the full interview below:
VOC News
Photo: Supplied
