Our proposal

We are looking to secure a central and primely located piece of land, which has been identified by local experts as a suitable long-term solution for the wider community of East Lothian and generations to come. The appeal is URGENT. We have very little time to source and provide the funds.

Built upon the land will be spaces associated with places of worship and community centres. We have highlighted below the scope of usage under these two categories.

Place of worship:

Education and seminars/lessons for all age groups, and prayer space for the East Lothian Muslim community.

Community Centre:

Space would be allocated for community use, with designated spaces being given for use by the local community. We would look to offer such space for local events, consultations, meeting space and community and health awareness program use. This would be vital for our own agenda as we look to create a space for the whole local community to use and learn from.

We look to create an inclusive space to help promote community diversity in line with the East Lothians Councils agenda. Having space allocated as a place of worship and community use allows the local community to also benefit and gain usage of the resources we hope to offer.

Need / Rationale

A needs assessment and feasibility intervention has been carried out by Wafa Foundation. Below is some of the data that further highlights the rationale within East Lothian Council’s area for such a resource.

Ethnic Diversity:

7.59% of Scotland’s population would be categorised as ethnic minorities. In comparison East Lothian has 3.06%. In council areas of similar size and demography East Lothian shows lower ethnic diversity e.g., Stirling 6%, East Renfrew 11.42%, Midlothian 3.3%, West Lothian 4.6%. Only Remote Council areas within Scotland have lower Ethnic Diversity figures. Within the Central Scotland Councils, East Lothian has the lowest diversity figures within its population.

Religion:

1.45% of the Scotland’s population are from the Muslim faith, and East Lothian at 0.51%. There are many council areas with lower % of Muslims within their population which have multiple Mosques and community centres catering to their community e.g., Dumfries & Galloway 0.27%, East Ayrshire 0.31%, Highland 0.3%, Perth & Kinross 0.51%, Angus to mention a few.

East Lothian Council area is the only noted Council within Scottish mainland which does not have a place of worship or community site for their Muslim residents. There is no Muslim Funeral Service, Islamic Chaplaincy Service, programs in East Lothian to promote inclusive learning and no site of representation for the Muslim community. Our proposal would help in improving the relocation and expansion of East Lothian’s ever growing housing market to more ethnic minorities and provide an essential facility for Scotland’s largest minority faith group. Such facilities have shown improvement in ethnic diversity in many other growing councils.

Final words

We humbly request you to add this investment of the hereafter onto the many others you have by donating open heartedly and requesting others to do the same.

Please pass the message on, and a request for Duas.

Jazakumullah u Khairan.

Alternative Donation Method:

Donate to our charity Bank account

Name: WAFA Foundation

Bank: HSBC

Sort code: 40-22-47

Account number: 92185504

Reference: ELLP

Further information:

For further details or to ask any questions, please contact 07912201736 or 07719638857

Please note the Land is subject to planning permission.