{"id":26055,"date":"2018-02-23T14:22:55","date_gmt":"2018-02-23T14:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?p=26055"},"modified":"2018-02-23T14:22:55","modified_gmt":"2018-02-23T14:22:55","slug":"mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/","title":{"rendered":"Mosques should have welcomed visitors sooner, says Imam"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>MOSQUES in Cardiff should have done more in the past to open their doors to the wider community, an Imam said today.<br \/>\nImam Kamaal praised last weekend&#8217;s open days during which 12 mosques\u00a0across Cardiff welcomed visitors with an aim of breaking down barriers.<br \/>\n\u201cThe event shows who we [Muslims] are and what we do. This isn\u2019t the first time we have opened the mosque to the public but maybe we could have done more,&#8221; said Imam Kamaal at the Al Manar Mosque, on Glynrhondda Street, Cathays.<br \/>\n\u201cWe need to open ourselves to society. We aren\u2019t closed but we have taken this step ourselves to show people everyone is welcome.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWe made a mistake by not hosting these events before but this is also the best time as Islam is a hot topic in the media.<br \/>\n\u201cThe history of Islam shows that it is a tolerant religion and we must all get along.&#8221;<br \/>\nImam Kamaal said it was great to see so many people at the weekend with a positive attitude willing to learn.<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26057\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26057\" style=\"width: 664px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-26057\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/20180218_151406-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"664\" height=\"498\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/20180218_151406-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/20180218_151406-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/20180218_151406-770x578.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/20180218_151406-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/20180218_151406-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/20180218_151406-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/20180218_151406-293x220.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/20180218_151406-1400x1050.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 664px) 100vw, 664px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26057\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-26057\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/20180218_151406-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"664\" height=\"498\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/20180218_151406-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/20180218_151406-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/20180218_151406-770x578.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/20180218_151406-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/20180218_151406-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/20180218_151406-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/20180218_151406-293x220.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/20180218_151406-1400x1050.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 664px) 100vw, 664px\" \/><\/noscript> Imam Kalaam designing calligraphy<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\nThe event was organised by the Muslim Council of Wales and hundreds of people attended.<br \/>\nAl Manar Mosque is inviting anyone with queries about Islam visit and find out more.<br \/>\nThe Imam added: \u201cMosques are open and we want people to attend willingly. We host regular events where Muslims and non-Muslims come to eat food and meet new people.<br \/>\n\u201cYou don\u2019t have to come and learn all the time but if they do have questions, then this is the right place to ask.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThese days people feel embarrassed or scared to ask certain questions, but here you can ask us anything. Be genuine in your approach and you will find the truth.<br \/>\n\u201cAll the mosques should be open and welcoming. We want to represent Islam in the best and most peaceful way. Not everyone knows this which is why we need to educate people.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MOSQUES in Cardiff should have done more in the past to open their doors to the wider community, an Imam said today. Imam Kamaal praised last weekend&#8217;s open days during which 12 mosques\u00a0across Cardiff welcomed visitors with an aim of breaking down barriers. \u201cThe event shows who we [Muslims] are and what we do. This isn\u2019t the first time we have opened the mosque to the public but maybe we could have done more,&#8221; said Imam Kamaal at the Al [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":25784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,3,113],"tags":[5694,4007,5695],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-26055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cathays","category-news","category-uncategorised","tag-al-manar","tag-mosque","tag-mosque-open-day"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Mosques should have welcomed visitors sooner, says Imam - The Cardiffian<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mosques should have welcomed visitors sooner, says Imam - The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MOSQUES in Cardiff should have done more in the past to open their doors to the wider community, an Imam said today. Imam Kamaal praised last weekend&#8217;s open days during which 12 mosques\u00a0across Cardiff welcomed visitors with an aim of breaking down barriers. \u201cThe event shows who we [Muslims] are and what we do. This isn\u2019t the first time we have opened the mosque to the public but maybe we could have done more,&#8221; said Imam Kamaal at the Al [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-02-23T14:22:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/al-manar-feature.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"465\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Aamir Mohammed\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Aamir Mohammed\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/\",\"name\":\"Mosques should have welcomed visitors sooner, says Imam - The Cardiffian\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/al-manar-feature.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-23T14:22:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/321712ad58982d6ae67c57c87fa3d6bf\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/al-manar-feature.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/al-manar-feature.jpg\",\"width\":620,\"height\":465,\"caption\":\"Al Manar Mosque\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mosques should have welcomed visitors sooner, says Imam\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/\",\"name\":\"The Cardiffian\",\"description\":\"Just another JOMEC Sites Network site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/321712ad58982d6ae67c57c87fa3d6bf\",\"name\":\"Aamir Mohammed\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/43401c7dedd0c38db4e535f18fd85308\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6f7ce914cb1c55a3f5bd8360c85733a66e92039aa23adb33423284262bfd5021?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6f7ce914cb1c55a3f5bd8360c85733a66e92039aa23adb33423284262bfd5021?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Aamir Mohammed\"},\"description\":\"My name is Aamir Mohammed. I am a trainee journalist working for the Cardiffian. I have lived in Cardiff all my life. I have a passion for sports and local journalism.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/author\/mohammed-a\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mosques should have welcomed visitors sooner, says Imam - The Cardiffian","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mosques should have welcomed visitors sooner, says Imam - The Cardiffian","og_description":"MOSQUES in Cardiff should have done more in the past to open their doors to the wider community, an Imam said today. Imam Kamaal praised last weekend&#8217;s open days during which 12 mosques\u00a0across Cardiff welcomed visitors with an aim of breaking down barriers. \u201cThe event shows who we [Muslims] are and what we do. This isn\u2019t the first time we have opened the mosque to the public but maybe we could have done more,&#8221; said Imam Kamaal at the Al [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/","og_site_name":"The Cardiffian","article_published_time":"2018-02-23T14:22:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":620,"height":465,"url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/al-manar-feature.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Aamir Mohammed","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Aamir Mohammed","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/","name":"Mosques should have welcomed visitors sooner, says Imam - The Cardiffian","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/al-manar-feature.jpg","datePublished":"2018-02-23T14:22:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/321712ad58982d6ae67c57c87fa3d6bf"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/al-manar-feature.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/02\/al-manar-feature.jpg","width":620,"height":465,"caption":"Al Manar Mosque"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/02\/23\/mosques-welcomed-visitors-sooner-says-imam\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mosques should have welcomed visitors sooner, says Imam"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/","name":"The Cardiffian","description":"Just another JOMEC Sites Network site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/321712ad58982d6ae67c57c87fa3d6bf","name":"Aamir Mohammed","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/43401c7dedd0c38db4e535f18fd85308","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6f7ce914cb1c55a3f5bd8360c85733a66e92039aa23adb33423284262bfd5021?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6f7ce914cb1c55a3f5bd8360c85733a66e92039aa23adb33423284262bfd5021?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Aamir Mohammed"},"description":"My name is Aamir Mohammed. I am a trainee journalist working for the Cardiffian. I have lived in Cardiff all my life. I have a passion for sports and local journalism.","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/author\/mohammed-a\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26055\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26055"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=26055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}