THERE were 27 members present on a very pleasant day for the July meeting of Crediton Probus Club.

Grace was given in two forms by Brian Threlfall - first an orthodox version in English, then a second one in Arabic (our guest speaker was the Iman of Exeter mosque).

After our meal the quote was then given by David Dornom and the draw prize won by Don Nicholson.

The president, Gerald Hill, then presented Richard Adams, who stood down as President in June, with a past president’s badge.

Dr Chris Maycock was then invited to introduce our speaker, Iman Mohammed Abrar of Exeter mosque. The Iman was originally from India, but has been in Exeter since the 1970s.

Iman Abra said that Britain’s Muslim population has been building since the end of the Second World War. Early immigrants provided labour and were originally almost exclusively male; after a while, however, they were settled enough to bring their families over.

The first British mosque had been founded at the end of the 19th century, but it was only after 1945 that the Muslim population really began to build.

In 2017 it now stand at more than three million. Most Muslims live in cities, where some faith-based schools have been established.

Exeter Mosque was established in 1976. Original worshippers were mostly academics and medics (they are now a far more diverse group that includes the families of the earlier worshippers together with many others who have made Britain their home in recent years).

The original building served most of South West England west of Bristol. It was certainly not designed for large congregations, although the establishment of mosques and other Islamic facilities in Plymouth, Torbay and Taunton has reduced the pressure on Exeter mosque.

There was, however, a clear need for the original building (which this writer visited a decade ago), to be replaced by a purpose-built mosque and plans for a new building were initiated in the 1980s.

The necessary finance to start this was not simply available. The design had been completed and planning permission obtained in 2000, but without finance, work couldn’t start. They couldn’t get the necessary funds “up front”.

Eventually a builder was found who allowed them to go ahead on a “pay-as-you-build” basis, which they could just about afford and the mosque was completed over three years in 2011.

The mosque will mostly serve Exeter’s 3,000 Muslim community.

Iman Abrar went on to look at Muslim beliefs, saying that Islam, together with Christianity and Judaism comprise the great monotheistic beliefs.

Islam covers the whole of a person’s life, its main aims can be summed up as:

1 to establish a personal relationship with God.

2 to protect human life.

3 to protect human intellect.

4 to protect human property.

5 to safeguard and protect the human dignity of people.

In Islam a man must work hard and aim to fund the provision of all necessary food. He should also aim to pay for the full upkeep of his family.

Looking after parents is almost considered to be an act of worship. A Muslim has similar responsibilities for the care of neighbours.

Iman Abrar then took some questions and was finally thanked by John Marshall for his very interesting look at Islam.

KB