Partially built mosque opens for Ramadan
BBCA mosque, which is still being built and has faced protests as well as online abuse, has partially opened for Ramadan.
The South Lakes Islamic Centre in Dalton-in-Furness in Cumbria is being championed by a group of Muslim doctors at Barrow's Furness General Hospital.
It is set to fully open this summer but in the meantime worshippers have been given limited access for evening prayers during the holy month.
A spokesman said without the support of the local community they would not have had the confidence to start using the site early.
Ramadan is the Islamic holy month when Muslims worldwide fast from dawn to sunset.
The spokesman said the problem people had faced in the region during Ramadan in the winter was that they broke fast earlier in the day.
This meant community centres, where they had previously held evening prayers, were usually "all booked up".
'CPR and knitting classes'
The spokesman said they were working with the community to figure out other ways the building could be used when it fully opens.
He said that ultimately the site would only be used for about 50 minutes a day for prayers. "The rest of the time the centre is available," he said.
Those behind the mosque had spoken to people about potentially holding knitting classes at the site and doing CPR training.
He said he wanted to thank the "general majority" of the local community for their backing of the project.
"If you just go by the online [comments], you know the community would be very scared but we've been assured and… [people] have generally been very supportive," he said.
"That's why we've got the confidence to actually start using the centre this Ramadan."
