UK Muslims Turn Pub into Islamic Center

CAIRO – A pub in Derby city in south Britain has been purchased by Muslims after it was offered for sale by its owner, as community leaders promised to turn the building into a community center for Muslim families.

“We’ve only bought it because it was for sale. We’ve not precipitated anything,” secretary of Normanton’s Jamia Mosque, Nazir Hussain, told Derby Telegraph on Thursday, August 27.

The pub, which is one of the oldest in the area, was started as bakery house and later changed to a pub in 1934.

Hussain stressed that the mosque officials had no plans to demolish the building, promising to turn it into a “community building.”

The pub, or bar, is not the first to be purchased by UK Muslims.

In May 2012, British Muslims welcomed the official approval to their plans to turn a former pub in west Norfolk into an Islamic community center, saying it will help Muslims extend bridges in the community.

According to a 2011 census, Britain is home to a Muslim community of nearly 2.8 million, or 4.4% of the total population.

An ICM/Guardian poll has showed that 91 percent of British Muslims, estimated at nearly 1.8 million, are “loyal” to Britain.