The East London Mosque elected new committee

London, 13 December 2019: On Saturday 2 November 2019, the East London Mosque and the London Muslim Center held its 60th General Meeting and the bi-annual (2019-21) election of the Board of Trustees. In this election, Muhammad Habibur Rahman has been re-elected as Chairman, Ayub Khan and Shafiur Rahman have been elected vice-chairmen. Dr. Abdul Hayee Murshad has been elected as Honorary Secretary and Mohammed Abdul Malik has been elected treasurer.

The General Meeting and election was held at the Maryam Centre. The members of the Mosque participated in the election by secret ballot. Mohammad Kozbar, Chairman of the Finsbury Park Mosque and Chairman of the East London Mosque Archive Steering Group Jamil Sherif, conducted the election. The elected and co-opted trustees are: Muhammad Habibur Rahman, Ayub Khan, Shafiur Rahman, Dr. Abdul Hayee Murshad, Mohammed Abdul Malik, Sirajul Islam Hira, Sirajul Islam, Aman Ali, Dr. Mahera Ruby, Rahela Chowdhury, Hussain Shefaar, Ismail Patel and Ruhana Ali.

At the General Meeting, according to the Articles of Association of the East London Mosque Trust, a 10 member Board of Trustees was elected by members’ vote. Later, at the first meeting of the Board of Trustees, they elected the Chairman, two Vice-Chairs, Honorary Secretary and Treasurer. In addition, the Board of Trustees appointed three more trustees from the general members. The total number of members of the new board of trustees is now 13.

There are currently over 30 projects based in the ELM & LMC, which one of the largest Muslim institutions in Europe. In addition to the substantial prayers facilities for men and women, services include: full-time primary and secondary schools, supplementary evening and weekend education for children, classes and circles for adults, fitness facilities for both men and women, counselling services, a funeral service, free legal advice, a marriage bureau, and much more.

In a response, the leaders of the new committee expressed optimism that the mosque would go a long way. The newly re-elected chairman, Muhammad Habibur Rahman said “It is an honour to serve the East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre and to be entrusted with the responsibility of chairman is both daunting and humbling. ELM is the hub of the community and the pride and joy of Muslims throughout the UK and beyond. Meeting everyone’s expectation is not is not easy. Alhamdulillah, we have a new Board of Trustees who are very capable and experienced, and we shall try to serve this wonderful House of Allah and Muslim Centre to the best of our abilities, with due diligence, persistence and care. We ask for everyone’s du’a and acceptance by the Almighty.”

The new Honorary Secretary, Dr Abdul Hayee Murshad, explained that trustees are servants of the House of God: “We will start working to implement our ambitious five-year strategic plan. Our priority will be to enhance services and take initiatives that can truly have a positive impact on our society, especially the needs of our youth, and the services we offer to our elderly.”