A new prayer group has opened its doors in Bicester and its inaugural meeting attracted up to 70 worshippers.
Bicester Muslim Society will meet every Friday for prayers at the hall at Bicester Town Football Club, off Oxford Road, from 1pm to 2pm.
The move means Muslims who live or work in Bicester will have somewhere local for worship rather than travelling to the nearest mosques in Oxford or Banbury.
Organiser Shakur Ali said it had taken 18 months to find a location for the group and he only learned about the hall after a chance conversation with the football club chairman, John Clutterbuck.
He said: “I have been looking for somewhere in Bicester for a long time.
“We had 60 to 70 people for the prayer meeting.
“I have been here 15 years — then the Muslim community was very small, now it is growing.
“The hall is temporary, we are still looking for a permanent place. I can’t buy anywhere as it costs a lot of money.”
People originally from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, the Middle East and Malaysia make up the Bicester Muslim community.
Picture: Antony Moore
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