A Muslim man at prayer in the mosque - women pray in their homes
In the fifth programme in the new landmark Sense of Place series for Herts and Beds, Bhagwant Sagoo, a Sikh, explores Islam through the eyes of a Muslim woman who lives in Luton with her English husband, a convert to Islam.
As a Muslim woman, Nazia Khanum does not attend the mosque but instead has a special room in her home which is dedicated to prayer, study and contemplation. Nazia allows us to visit her prayer room and speaks to us about how her faith shapes her life and how she practises it in Luton.
Nazia brought her family to Luton in the early 1980s. The town has had a Muslim community for over 40 years and Nazias involvement with the Community Relations Council led her to decide that it was important for her to live among the Muslims she was working with.
Nazia and her husband David Cheeseman have just completed their first Hajj, and we learn about the importance of this holy pilgrimage to Mecca. This is often a once-in-a-lifetime experience and you cannot decide to undertake it unless you have received the call to do so. We hear how Nazia and David decided that the time was right for them to make this special journey.
Nazia and Bhagwant speak of the mutual tolerance between the Sikh and Muslim faiths and discuss the need for a global open-mindedness towards all religions.
