June 28, 2020 Faith Matters

Museum of London records call to prayer for Ramadan project

The Museum of London is collecting objects to reflect how the Muslim community experienced Ramadan during lockdown.

It is part of a project to reflect Londoners’ lives during the pandemic to provide a record for future generations.

One strand will be Ramadan, from earlier this year, with the museum recording calls to prayer at the Musalla an Noor mosque in Hackney, east London, and documenting the experiences of young Muslims in west London.

“We are in the process of collecting a range of items ranging from photographs, film and audio recordings and physical objects to tell the stories of these families,” Aisling Serrant, who is leading the family strand of the project, said.

“Some of the key parts of Ramadan, such as spending time with family and friends and visiting the mosque, have not been able to take place this year or had to be adapted to virtual or socially distant means.

“It was important to capture the experiences of families at this time”.

It is hoped that all items will go in an online database but there are no plans for the overall project – to reflect the lives of Londoners during the pandemic – to go on display.