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For Mosque at Heart of Grenfell Tragedy, a Bittersweet Anniversary

LONDON — Abdurahman Sayed doesn’t know where he got the energy. Last year during Ramadan, the busiest time of the year for Muslims, Sayed, the director of Al Manaar mosque in West London, found himself thrust into a crisis that went on for weeks.

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For Mosque at Heart of Grenfell Tragedy, a Bittersweet Anniversary
By
ANNA SCHAVERIEN
, New York Times

LONDON — Abdurahman Sayed doesn’t know where he got the energy. Last year during Ramadan, the busiest time of the year for Muslims, Sayed, the director of Al Manaar mosque in West London, found himself thrust into a crisis that went on for weeks.

Grenfell Tower, an apartment building that is 10-minute walk from the mosque, had gone up in flames, leaving more than 70 people dead. By the morning of June 14, 2017, 203 families were homeless, and most had lost nearly all of their possessions. More than half the victims were Muslims.

For the days that followed, the mosque stayed open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide food and shelter. Sayed spent every spare moment there, traveling home only to take a quick shower and change his clothes. He continued his Ramadan fast and barely slept.

“Sleeping was not really so much of a necessity in those days,” he said. “When you are handling a major crisis, things like your own welfare become less important.”

A year later, things have mostly calmed down, though many scars remain. But this is a striking moment for Muslims: Eid al-Fitr, traditionally a celebration with family and friends marking the end of the monthlong Ramadan fast, is expected to follow the day after the fire started a year ago.

That was the bittersweet juxtaposition that many Muslims in London faced Thursday. The Grenfell survivors have already gone through one Eid al-Fitr celebration. It arrived two weeks after the fire last year while many were still in shock.

“I expect this year will be another stark reminder of what they have lost in their lives,” said Madiha Raza, a communications coordinator at Muslim Aid, a charity that has raised more than $235,000 for the Grenfell survivors.

“The atmosphere will be very somber,” Raza said, with many Grenfell survivors and relatives of those who died among the worshippers at Al Manaar.

Sayed, the director, tells people to come together and try to make it through the day in a way that is as normal as possible while recognizing the survivors’ pain.

“The more they are not reminded of the tragedy, the better it is for them,” he said.

It is a far cry from the scene a year ago. Within the first few hours of the fire, when Sayed and others were distributing water and dates that had been stocked for the breaking of the fast, it became clear that the community was facing a disaster.

After the fire broke out, the mosque filled with volunteers of all faiths and nationalities, as the emergency response coincided with typical Ramadan activities. Food and clothing donations piled up in local churches, community centers and the mosque, sometimes spilling out onto the streets.

And in the weeks and months that followed, as the remains of the victims were slowly identified, Al Manaar hosted prayers for the missing, burials and funeral receptions. It became one of the locations where grievances with the authorities’ slow response were aired in heated meetings. It has provided a psychotherapist for counseling and is planning to train its imams to recognize the signs of people who may need professional help in their congregation.

Throughout Ramadan, the mosque has held interfaith iftars, the meal breaking the fast. An open iftar was held in Kensington Memorial Park near the tower as part of the commemoration events that took place Thursday.

“The community have chosen us to commemorate the one-year anniversary, and it will be an honor to do that,” said Omar Salha, the founder of the Ramadan Tent Project, an organization that hosted the event.

“It is important to be there for the survivors and to acknowledge that there is a gap missing in their lives, but that they have gained a family who are there to support them,” said Salha, who is also part of the Grenfell Muslim Response Unit, a group that provides services for all affected by Grenfell and is supported by a collection of Muslim charities.

Muna Hassan, a West London resident and a volunteer, said the Grenfell tragedy needed to be remembered.

“It’s a sad situation but it would be worse if the day was just sadness,” Hassan said. “I hope it is more a celebration of what we have achieved together.”

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