Promoting Islamic way of life, Al Zayani style

Yousif Al Zayani, a social activist and the custodian of Yousif Sami AlZayani Mosque in Hamala, has embarked on a mission to encourage Muslim foreign workers to adopt Islamic way of life, offering attractive rewards.

Al Zayani told Tribune yesterday that he organises numerous programmes to encourage the visitors of his mosque to commit to the Islamic teachings and culture, adding that 98 percent of his visitors are Asian labourers as the mosque is surrounded by hundreds of garages and workshops.

Some of the programmes include redistributing used clothes, mainly Bahrain’s traditional attire (Thobe), among the labourers.

Al Zayani explained in an interview with Tribune that he has been implementing this idea since ten years, with the aim of benefiting from citizens’ old clothes and encouraging low-income labourers to dress well while performing prayers and attending sermons at mosques.

“It has been noticed that many of the labourers come to the mosque wearing indecent clothing such as the lungi/wizar (a cloth wrapped on the waist extending to the ankles commonly worn by the people of the Indian subcontinent) or other undergarments. The mosque is the house of Allah, the almighty, and they must come here welldressed. They wouldn’t go to government authorities or formal visits in this attire. Hence, I thought that the Thobe is the best replacement as it’s the national dress of Bahrain and the Arabian Gulf, easy to wear and alter, could be donated by many citizens and is accepted by the Asian nationals,” he clarified.

Al Zayani also said, “Since it has begun almost a decade ago, the campaign received a positive reaction from citizens who usually dispose of their old Thobes. I personally gather the clothes and distribute it among the worshippers and visitors of the mosque. This has left a great impact on the donors and receivers. I have also hired a tailor to alter the Thobes and refit them for their new owners.”

Al Zayani explained that the mosque is established on top of an automobile workshop and that it’s visited by hundreds of worshippers, especially on Fridays when the weekly Friday sermons and prayers are held.