A Brief History of The Mosque:
The Mosque was founded back in 1989 by Messrs MeahMonirul-Alom, Abdul Aziz, Nurul Islam Mahbub, Bajloor Rashid MBE, the late Babu Miah and the late Moynur Rashid.
Like many mosques around the country, South East Kent Islamic Cultural Centre (‘SEKICC’) was originally formed by Bangladeshi restaurateurs looking to bring together the local Muslim community by establishing a dedicated place of worship to practice their faith.
As the community grew, so did its needs and in turn the scope of work carried out by SEKICC grew commensurately. Today, modern day SEKICC are engaged in educational programmes, art projects, inter-faith forums and community events.
Whilst there have been inevitable changes to the board of Trustees in the preceding 30 years, the President, MeahMonirulAlom, Secretary, Nurul Islam Mahbub and Treasurer Abdul Aziz have remained the constant, selflessly dedicating their time to help establish SEKICC as a leading example in the community. With one eye on the future and succession planning, in 2017 the Trustees bed in the next generation by tasking them with management duties. Consequently, a new sub-committee was formed comprising of members which reflect the diverse demographic of the community SEKICC serves, including a range of ages, ethnicities, and nationalities.
The sub-committee’s role was to focus on the day-to-day management of SEKICC’s core activities, namely worship and related activities at the masjid. A new mission statement was prepared, and the masjid was re-branded as ‘Folkestone Mosque’. The Folkestone Mosque committee now deal with the general administration and maintenance of the masjid as well as managing its growing online digital presence.
In bringing together people from all walks of life, SEKICC and Folkestone Mosque not only provides a much-needed place of worship to serve the growing Muslim community, but also provides a hub for the exchange of ideas, education, and tolerance.