This year’s theme 'Walk the Talk’ was chosen to mark the occasion of the first ever Inter Faith Week in England, which took place at the same time as the Islamic Awareness Week.

Bolton Council of Mosques in partnership with the Inter Faith Council and other Faith partners devised a fantastic programme of activities which gave the diverse communities of Bolton a range of activities.  Looking ‘Behind the Scenes’ at the Bolton Council of Mosques, Mosques visits to having the opportunity to taste exotic fruits mentioned in the Quran (the holy book of Muslims) with the week ending with Multi Faith prayers that took place at the Victoria Halls.

A competition was also held for primary and secondary schools to be involved, with the winning prize a laptop for the individual winner and a desktop computer for the school.  The Prizes were kindly sponsored by ESSA academy. (Below Bolton Mayor Cllr Norman Critchely and Abdul Chohan – Senior lecturer at ESSA Academy).

Bolton Mayor, Cllr Norman Critchley and the Mayoress were invited to present the prizes.  The computers were well appreciated, which were donated by Essa Academy.  The lucky winners were Khadija Mogradia aged 4 from Sunninghill School and Ondrej Pokuta, aged 14 from Ladybridge High School.

Islam Awareness Week (IAW) has been taking place across the UK in the third week of November for the last 15 years. Initially the aim was simply to provide a platform for British Muslims themselves to help remove misconceptions about Islam, which is now the UK’s second largest faith.

Islamic Awareness Week gives an opportunity for people of all faiths (and none) to come together in a spirit of understanding and co-operation. It is also about helping to build links between people, a celebration of art and culture and getting people to work together for the common good.

BCOM represents all the 21 established mosques in Bolton with approximately 20,000 Muslims, BCOM is often seen as the gateway to the Muslim Community. It is an organisation that ensures that Muslims are represented at the highest levels, locally, regionally and indeed nationally. As members of the Local Strategic Partnership we are involved in contributing to the future of service provision in Bolton for all communities, established as well as new and emerging

For more information on the activities the Bolton Council of Mosques provide - visit us at www.thebcom.org