The Story of IMWS Begins here
The Indian Muslim Welfare Society (IMWS) recently celebrated its 64th anniversary: a tremendous milestone for the charity, which was established in 1957.
The prospect of a better and brighter future encouraged the first generation of Gujarati Muslims to make the journey in the 1950s/60s.
The rationale behind the establishment of the organisation was that our forefathers had a tremendous sense of togetherness and humility and took it upon themselves to look after the welfare and wellbeing of the recent Muslim migrants in Batley.
Therefore, a collective effort to look after the Islamic needs of the growing, though still small, community was established.
The first Gujarati Muslims who came to Britain in the post-war period can be traced back to at least 1950, arriving into Tilbury dock, London, on ships. With multiple stops along the way, the voyages often lasted for weeks. Among those that arrived in the early to mid 1950s were Ahmed Fakir Patel, Moulana Ebrahim Navsarka, Haji Ebrahim Patel, Amoji Hashim Barber, Moulana Hashim Gora, Yusuf Mamoniat, Master Ladha, and Ismail Hassan Daji.
As the years went by the needs of the community started to change moving away from establishing Masjids and Madressahs to more community based activities. As a result the former Methodist Church on Taylor Street was bought for £15,000.
The centre was used for weddings, conferences, training and more up until 1997 when the building was sold to Zakariyyah Muslim Girls High School. The church was sold off as MWS was moving to a new location, Hyrstlands House on Track Road.
The move was made possible by the European Regional Development Fund, which brought in £37.5 million of investment into Batley alone.
Half a million of that went towards purchasing Hyrstlands House, now called the Al-Hikmah Centre, a beautiful Grade II listed building situated in 4.5 acres of land.
Moulana Ismail Wadee performed the dua ceremony at the 40th Annual General Meeting.
HRH The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, visited the Centre in April 1999 and gave the royal seal of approval.
Since the move, the IMWS has carried on its strong tradition of charity work, organising a number of community events and activities, and working hard to promoting interfaith harmony in the vicinity.