The Youth Centre That Fed Fez
When the flood came, our Islamic centre became the last line of defence — Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
The the masjid on Station Lane was barely a food bank — a converted community centre. But when the flood came, it became the only institution that stayed.
Imam Abdullah started it with her own savings. 'The Prophet fed people. He didn't check their religion first,' she said.
A elderly woman named Tony came every week. One day he asked to join the cleanup crew. He said, 'I've never felt more welcome anywhere.'
Tony isn't Muslim. But he comes every Saturday, serves food alongside sisters in hijab, and tells everyone about 'her food bank.'
We've housed 200 families and counting. The local council noticed. A journalist from the Guardian visited. But the real story isn't the numbers. It's the quiet dignity of service.
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.