London Central Mosque Trust & The Islamic Cultural Centre

A One-day Conference on "The First Forum of Imams in the UK" was organized by the Islamic Cultural Centre (ICC) London in cooperation with the International Masajid Organisation was held at the Conference Hall of the Centre, on Thursday, the 26th of March, 2015.



The Conference had three sessions besides the Opening session and the Closing session. The conference started with the recitation of the verses from the Holy Qur'an. Dr. Ahmed al-Dubayan, Director General of the Islamic Cultural Centre, London, welcomed the speakers, participants, imams and the audiences. Mr. Khaled Banakhar, Representative of the International Masajid Organisation, spoke about the organization; Dr. Naji Al-Arfaj, Deputy Cultural Attache of the Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau, London, spoke on the Role of Masajid in Islam. Lord Mohammed Sheikh, Peer of the House of Lords, British Parliament delivered the Opening speech at the Opening session.



Session One was chaired by Mr. Khaled Banakhar and Dr. Ahmed al-Dubayan spoke on the topic "Challenges facing mosques & Imams in the West"; Dr. Farooq Murad, Director General of the Islamic Foundation, Leicester, UK, read the paper on "Role of Imams in Combating Islamophobia"; Sir Robin Knowles, A Judge of the High Court of England and Wales, read his paper on "Legal Aspects of the Imam's Role" and Dr. Alhagi Manta Drammeh, read his paper on "Mosques and Imams in a Multicultural Society".



Session Two was chaired by Dr. Mohammad Ahdash. Dr. Muhammad Abdul Bari, former Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain and a trustee of the East London Mosque, delivered a paper on "Maximising the Effectiveness of our Mosques"; Sheikh (Dr.) Omar El-Hamdoon, President of the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), London, delivered a paper on "Qualifications of Imams"; Dr. Saeed Alghadie delivered a paper on "Developing Islamic Discourse in Islamic Associations;" and Sheikh Khalifa Ezzat, Imam of the London Central Mosque & Islamic Cultural Centre, delivered a paper on "The Role of Imams in Interfaith".