Members of Edinburgh and Fife’s Muslim community have successfully raised £25,000, the amount which will be used to construct their long-awaited new place of worship.
More than 80 members of the Kirkcaldy Central Mosque took part in the walkathon on Sunday.
Starting at 9:00 am, the group walked along Fife Coastal Path, continuing across the Forth to the finish line at Annandale Mosque in Edinburgh at 10:00 pm.
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“The walk was very challenging as the terrain along the path can be quite difficult,” said Maz Salim, a trustee on the mosque’s board, Fife Today reported.
“We lost a few people along the way due to injuries and other issues, but everyone who took part did so well and we’re very proud of them for the outstanding effort they all showed.”
Awaited Mosque
The raised funds will go towards completing the building of the new mosque in the town’s Hendry Road.
It was due to be finished in late 2019 or early 2020, but due to setbacks, including coronavirus, that date has been pushed back.
Maz said he was overjoyed with the amount raised.
“We want to thank everyone who took part, as well as our sponsors who were all very generous,” he said
“Months of planning, hard work, and dedication means that we are another step closer to finishing the new mosque. It has been very emotional for us.”
Muslims in Scotland are an ethnically diverse population. Although a majority of Muslims are of Pakistani (58%) origin, 16.8% are Africans and Middle Eastern, while 7.8% are White Europeans.
Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow, has the highest Muslim population in the northwestern European country with 5% according to the 2011 census.
Though, Pollokshields and Southside Central are the wards with the highest concentration of Muslim residents – 27.8% and 15.7% respectively.