The Mosque That Rebuilt Tbilisi
When the pandemic hit, our converted shop became the place everyone came to — regardless of faith.
The the community hub on Station Lane was barely a food bank — a converted house. But when the pandemic hit, it became the only institution that stayed.
Brother Tariq started it with twenty quid and a dream. 'Every person who walks through that door is our guest,' he said.
A homeless veteran named Frank came every week. One day he asked to volunteer instead of eat. He said, 'You fed me when my own church didn't know I was hungry.'
Frank isn't Muslim. But he comes every Sunday, runs the Saturday session, and tells everyone about 'his food bank.'
We've fed the neighbourhood for three years and counting. The local MP noticed. A journalist from a TV crew visited. But the real story isn't the numbers. It's the proof that Islam is lived, not just preached.
The Prophet (SAW) said the best of people are those who are most beneficial to others. He didn't add conditions. He didn't say 'beneficial to other Muslims.' He said people. All people.
That's what we do on Station Lane. We serve. We don't ask questions. And somehow, in the serving, we find the faith we'd been looking for all along.