Documentary tells story of city's Muslim community

A Gloucester filmmaker has made a documentary that details the history and experiences of the city's Muslim population.

Mohamed Husain Jaffer, who has lived in Gloucester since 1977, spent months planning, filming and editing a new documentary called Eid in Gloucester with the intention of not only capturing the atmosphere of Eid, but also the stories, history and experiences of Muslims who have made Gloucester their home.

Jaffer said he wanted to capture how the community had grown since he arrived in the city.

He says that "although Gloucester is small, it has a big heart as many communities fit in it".

Jaffer's film documents the memories from first generation Muslims to the present day. One contributor, Zuleikha Kadodia, reflects on how Eid was celebrated in Gloucester decades ago.

"In the early days there were no mosques in Gloucester," she said, having lived there since 1969.

"The first generation performed their daily prayers in small, rented properties. Imams led prayers in these spaces and Eid was celebrated quietly at home with family members reflecting the size of the community."

Director of Gloucester Feed the Hungry, Hashim Norat, described realising the importance within the community of his father - who he said was responsible for introducing the first Islamic prayer room to the city.

Norat's father was a first generation Muslim who arrived in Gloucester in the early to mid 1960s.

"As a child," Norat said, "Eid was always very special. Waking up in the morning and having agarbatti [incense stick] lit and Mashallah and kusbara going around the house, we knew it was Eid.

"Another beauty of Eid was everybody, the family, the extended family, everybody was together. The children and the grandchildren, the magic was everyone being there together."

Norat's father converted the cellar of their house into a Salah room, or Islamic prayer room - which he said was the first in the city.

On his father's death bed, there was a line of Alims [Islamic scholars] that his father had taught over the years. They were all praying quietly into his ear, one after another.

"It was at that point that I truly realised who my father was. He was the baji [father] of the community. Not many people like him have come along."

Since the days of gatherings for prayer in people's homes, the Muslim population in Gloucester grew and it was clear there was a need for a permanent site.

Through much fundraising in the community, the first purpose-built mosque was completed in 1983 in Ryecroft Street.

In the 1960s, one of the city's first Eid congregations was held in Gloucester Park and Eid celebrations still take pace there today. Jaffer's film shows drone footage of Eid celebrations earlier this year.

"While Eid is celebrated in the many mosques across Gloucester, it also comes alive in Gloucester Park," he said.

"People come together as one community, people come from all over the region to be part of the special day."

Jaffer's film, Eid in Gloucester, will be shown at Gloucester Guildhall on 19 January 2027.

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