Mosque's open day 'brought out courage in people'

The mosque said more than 200 people attended on Saturday

A mosque has said its open day brought out "the courage of people" who had preconceptions or uncertainties about Islam but wanted to talk.

Masjid Maryam in Acklam, Middlesbrough, welcomed more than 200 visitors on Saturday after it encouraged people to "ask questions with no fear of being labelled".

In July 2024, riots fuelled in part by misinformation broke out in Middlesbrough and other town and cities following the murders of three girls in Southport.

But Zak Mahmoud, head of the mosque's open day, said the community had recovered "really well" and, outside of the riots, Middlesbrough was "always tight-knit".

"Islam often gets put into the headlines with misinformation and we wanted people to come in and ask those questions," he said.

Mr Mahmoud described the day as "really positive" with "a real mix of people turning up".

"We had some people who were genuinely apprehensive of the mosque but they engaged and we walked out shaking hands.

He said some people had travelled from Whitby, while for others was their first time in a mosque.

Mr Mahmoud described Middlesbrough as a "tight-knit community"

"We also had people who have read certain things online - they had the courage to come in and ask those questions and if it was true.

"Some questions revolved around terrorism, Islamic rules and women in Islam.

"We wanted to create that safe space to invite these questions," Mr Mahmoud said.

In August, Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke said there had been a "big increase in the amount of misinformation and hate involving Middlesbrough on social media".

The mosque, which opened last year, hopes to host more such events in future.