Proposals for a European Study Centre  

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

MERCY HOUSE

A New Approach to Da'wah
A New Vision for Islamic Outreach in the West

Introduction

The Mercy House project as proposed in this outline relates specifically to the premises singled out for acquisition in Glasgow, but the principles which underlie the following suggestions are applicable on a much wider basis, in alternative premises in other locations and other cities, either based on the Mercy House model should it prove successful, or as an alternative pilot should it prove impossible to acquire the intended location.

The Aim of Mercy House will be to provide an integrative meeting point between muslim students, local muslims, and local non-muslims in a spiritual atmosphere conducive to open discussion and interchange of ideas, and shared activities aimed at enhancing the personal well-being of the participants and the social well-being of the community.  The Project should be self sustaining financially, showing Islam to be a positive and practical way of life, contributing to society, rather than its present image as a parasitic drain on public or charitable funds.

As the Project's approach to Da'wah is not only multi-faceted but integrated, it can be viewed in a number of different ways, and alternative structures defined depending on a personal understanding of the relative importance of its various facets.  The following breakdown loosely follows a proposed architectural layout of the premises under consideration, from the top floors down.

Student Accommodation

The Project's main source of income will be from the provision of accommodation for single muslim students, for convenience in the initial stages specifically students from Malaysia (although there is no need for this policy to be rigidly enforced, or even seen as preferable in the long term).  This policy can easily be seen to have benefits not just for ABIM and Islamic Outreach, but for the Malaysian Government, and parents and families of the students as well as the students themselves.

The first, and obvious benefit for ABIM is the financial one, namely that the project is intended to be profitable, and give a return on any capital investment committed by ABIM.  Clearly, as profit is not the prime motive for the project, the return on investment will be restrained by overall social welfare and da'wah objectives.  However, as the limited immediate value of the property is mainly due to potential buyers , seeing no practical use for the existing buildings, when the example of a profitable use can be clearly seen, the market value of the property will escalate to reflect that profitability.  Paradoxically, the success of the project will greatly increase the value of the property while at the same time diminishing ABIM's inclination to sell it.

Another benefit for ABIM is that resident students will be kept in an ongoing relationship with a practical expression of ABIM policy in action, as will nonresident Malaysian students in the UK involved as shareholders in the company, naturally drawing them into other areas of ABIM activity, both in the UK and when they return to Malaysia.

Perhaps the most obvious and likely point of involvement of such students will be in the arena of Islamic Outreach, as that will be a central activity of the Mercy House center, as well as in similar projects established in other parts of the UK.

The Malaysian Government itself also stands to benefit in a number of ways from the establishment of Mercy House.  In the first place, it must surely be seen as preferable for some of the enormous amount of currency being spent each year on the education of Malaysian students abroad to be spent on services provided by a Malaysian organization, rather than the total cost being dissipated into the economies of the foreign countries concerned (the Mercy House model can not only be used in the UK, but wherever student numbers make it practicable).

Secondly, the project will gently introduce Malaysian students to the local culture and way of life.  At present, many students completely ignore this invaluable side to their overseas education, thus wasting much of the potential for personal growth and development of inter-cultural insight which should be an essential part of their learning process.  Such cultural awareness must inevitably prove useful when assessing local market conditions, political strategies, etcetera.

Thirdly, Mercy House and its successors will act as an ideal platform for Malaysian public relations at a local and national level.  Exhibitions of Malaysian Arts and Culture, Geography and History, and Economic Development can be regularly displayed in a permanent setting which local Politicians, Businessmen, or simply potential tourists will find attractive to visit, whether for organized conferences or informal individual exploration.

Mercy House will provide benefits for the parents and families of students, by ensuring them that their children will be living in a comparatively sheltered environment, which will take care of their children's health and welfare, and their social requirements, as well as providing those facilities needed to sustain their spiritual life.  Family visitors will also be able to sample the life style of Mercy House, as some accommodation will be kept available for short-term rental.

Of course, the main benefits of Mercy House will be for the resident students themselves.  Day and night security will provide a protected environment in the midst of an alien culture.  Welfare services will ensure that they have access to clinics (medical and dental services) at one end of the scale, and laundry facilities at the other.  Travel services can also be provided within the complex.

Social and Recreational facilities will be more than adequately provided.  Group outings will be regularly arranged to visit local and country parks, as well as the further Highlands and Islands.  New students will be introduced to places of interest in the city, the Art Galleries and Museums, Theatres and Shopping Malls.  The centre will have facilities for 5-a-side football and volleyball, as well as Badminton, Table Tennis and Weight Training equipment.

Study facilities and Academic Services will not be ignored.  For those who find the atmosphere of their study bedrooms claustrophobic, there will be the open spaces of the library.  For those who need more tangible help with their studies, a central service will provide assistance with Translation, Editing & Typing, Statistical Analysis, and Computer Programming.

Last but not least, students will be provided with an atmosphere conducive to the strengthening of their Deen.  A large prayer hall will of course be constantly available, a wide-ranging library of Islamic literature will be on hand, and a Restaurant and Cafeteria serving halal food will be included in the Mercy House complex.  But perhaps the most important contribution to the Islamic environment will be the company of other muslims to provide mutual support and understanding in the face of local ignorance and prejudice, and to share special times for the Ummah, such as the Eids and Ramadhan.

Business Centre

Space will be made available for rental to small businesses, entrepreneurs, or professional community groups for use as offices, workshops, or even retail facilities.  Space will not be leased on a first come first served basis, but preference will be given to those who have something to offer the resident community in terms of either a service or training, or who are seen to be contributing to the good of the community at large.  Preference will not necessarily be given to nominal muslims.

Those renting space will of course have the benefit of economical accommodation, as well as access to the Mercy House sports and social facilities.  But integration of the world of business into the complex will not only offer the benefit of services for the resident student community, but will also engender social contact between students and business people facing real-life problems, an invaluable extension to their academic learning.  It may also prove that the students have some skills or insight to offer the entrepreneurs.

Activity Arcade

Space will be available for a range of Workshops, Clubs, Classes and other activities.  These will be open to the public.  According to demand, workshops in a variety of Arts and Crafts can be provided.  Work in Glass and Mirror (Engraving, Acid Etching & Sandblasting, Stained Glass), Fabric Arts (Weaving, Printing, Batik, Patchwork & Applique, Costume Design and Tailoring, Carpet & Rugmaking, Tapestry), Carpentry, Metalwork (Jewellery, Cloissone Enamels), Pottery, Painting & Sculpture, Printing, and Calligraphy.

Workshops in Media Arts can also be provided, such as Creative Writing, Writing for Radio & TV, Film & Animation, Video-making, Public Exhibition Layout, and Computer Software Design.  Space will be, available for Computer Gaming, Language classes in Classical Arabic, Urdu & Bengali, European Languages. and Bahasa Malaysia, while for those interested in something more physically expressive courses in Theatre Production, or Self Defense and the Martial Arts.

Rent free space will be provided for a variety of community groups actively involved in social work if their concerns are intrinsically Islamic (whether they understand that to be the case or not).  Some of the most important areas of the complex will be allocated to those working with the Homeless and Hungry, the Deaf and Disabled, the Sick and the Elderly, as well as those involved with issues such as Social justice and Environmental Concerns.

Restaurant/Cafeteria

A Restaurant/Cafeteria will service the entire complex, as well as being open to the public.  Only halal food will be served, but a range of different national dishes will be available, and part of the menu will always be as low priced as is possible while remaining economically viable.  Weather permitting, tables under umbrellas can be sited in the playground/courtyard.

Gymnasia & Sports Facilities

The complex will have two functioning gymnasia for table-tennis, badminton, wrestling and basketball, or for youth activities such as scouts.  In the playground areas outside there is ample space for a volleyball court, a young children’s play area, and a 5-a-side football pitch which will be available for public hire.

Da'wah Zone

Surrounding the Main Reception Counter will be a large Exhibition Area.  Here, there will be a permanent exhibition introducing the non-muslim visitor to Islam, with Islamic Outreach literature available as well as the reception staff to answer any questions in more detail.  Multimedia presentations, including video and computer displays will supplement the exhibition. Additional space will be used for temporary exhibitions on subjects related to the World of Islam.

A lecture room with slide and overhead projectors will cater for parties of teachers and schoolchildren, as well as being used for Islamic Outreach lectures at weekends, or seminars to be given by guest speakers.  A room will be available as a permanent creche and small-child activity centre.  Visitors will be able to purchase Islamic books, posters and souvenirs from the Mercy House bookshop.

Islamic Outreach will have a Publications Centre close to this area, in which the Outreach Newsletter will be published, as well as occasional Magazines targeted at specific markets (such as the young Asians), and Comics.  In this centre, Information Pamphlets will be prepared, as well as Education Materials on a variety of topics specific to the new Scottish 5-14's Curriculum, and available for sale to schools or individual teachers.

Teachers wishing to research Islamic topics may alternatively find what they are looking for in free handouts printed in response to commonly asked questions, but some may need guidance to relevant books in the Mercy House Library.  Such facilities are frequently requested by teachers, but at present none of the Glasgow mosques offer anything more than an incomprehensible and hostile lecture and a cursory tour of their premises.

The Da'wah Zone will also serve for Interfaith meetings should the Glasgow Interfaith dialogue group decide to avail itself of the Mercy House facilities, as seems likely when its current meeting place has to close later this year.  At present, Islamic Outreach is the only Islamic organization in Glasgow participating in any form of Interfaith dialogue.

Conference & Training Centre

The Da'wah Zone, in conjunction with other parts of the Mercy House complex, will serve as an ideal facility for large scale Muslim Conferences, such as the regular ABIM student gatherings.  Once having established links between resident students and the local cultural highlights, it will also inevitably prove ideal for Orientation Programmes aimed at Malaysian students arriving in the UK, introducing them to aspects of Western Culture.

There is also a need for smaller scale local Training Programmes, aimed at both non-muslims and muslims, There is clearly a market for courses devised to suit the needs of non-muslim professionals operating in a multi-cultural society.  Islamic Outreach is ideally placed to provide training for Educators, Health Professionals, Police, Social and Welfare Professionals.

Islamic Outreach will, of course, be running courses for New Muslims, and Mercy House will certainly prove more accessible than any of the existing premises to non-muslims interested in becoming New Muslims.  Obviously courses will also be established to train muslims in the Islamic Outreach philosophy and the Islamic Outreach approach to Da'wah in the West.

Islamic Heart

At the heart of the Mercy House complex is, of course, a large prayer room, with ample wudhu facilities for visitors.  The unmatched accessibility of the premises means that they will quickly become the mosque of choice for many students, particularly on Fridays. Unlike any other Glasgow mosque, the Friday Khutbah will be in the English Language.

Again unlike any other mosque in Glasgow, it is proposed that Mercy House gives maximum priority to establishing a well-stocked Islamic library, concentrating on obtaining as many Islamic books as possible available in the English Language. The Library will be for Reference only, but where practicable copies of books will be for sale in the Mercy House Bookshop.

Adjoining the Prayer Room will be a number of classrooms to be used for a Voluntary Islamic School for all ages, including adult, with facilities to be available at any time, and material to be newly written in a form that integrates readily with the Strathclyde Approach to the Scottish National Curriculum, with the emphasis on understanding.  In this way, the Islamic substance will be taught, using methods of study familiar to local schoolchildren from their daily lessons.  At the same time, a newly written curriculum will ensure that students will receive an unprecedentedly comprehensive and broad based education in Islam.

The Islamic Village

With its wide variety of different activities taking place in one area, Mercy House will provide the non-muslim visitor with an extraordinary cross-section of the muslim way of life.  Visitors will not be touring an empty mosque, but be looking at a living community, and welcomed in, whether to eat, or to learn, or to work, or to play.  Not a dead, empty building - but a vibrant and alive Islamic Village!