Newcastle's Bahr Academy Islamic school praised for its part in helping city during lockdown

Volunteers from Newcastle's Bahr Academy Islamic school have been praised for their efforts in helping people across the city during the holy month of Ramadan.

Teams from the Bahr Academy have been delivering food parcels to paramedics, care homes, hospitals, and people in need during lockdown.

More than 600 packages have been delivered across the West End and other parts of the city after the school put out a call for donations and volunteers.

Coun Habib Rahman, the sheriff and deputy lord mayor of Newcastle, said that many of the generous people offering to help during the crisis would previously have been afraid of going to certain parts of the city.

He said: "I have seen images of these young hijabi and niqabi girls delivering food and shopping to care homes and frontline staff.

"On a normal day, these girls feel scared to be roaming certain streets or certain parts of the city because of their own safety and because they are often seen differently and negatively.

"All of a sudden, what they are wearing isn't a problem. There is an energy and an enthusiasm about them and they are not thinking about the possibility of reprisals or attacks.

"All they care about is doing their best to help someone in need, and that is one of the fundamental teachings of Islam.

"I have nothing but praise and admiration for them.

"I hope when we are on the other side of this pandemic those far right wing extreme groups and their views remain hidden away like they have been recently."

The Bahr Academy was the target of attacks by vandals last year in which racist graffiti was daubed on its walls and copies of the Koran were torn up.

Its principal, Mufti Abdulmuheet, said he had been overwhelmed by the positive response to the school's actions during the coronavirus crisis.

He added: "Knowing that people are obviously locked down and unable to go out to the shops, we decided that this is the kind of thing we are here for.

"This is what the one of the aims of our school is - to help people who are in need.

"We asked for volunteers and for people to donate what they could - not everyone is able to but the response has been really good and we wanted to get it out to the people who need it as quickly as possible.

"It has been wonderful to see how happy it has made people and for them to be so supportive and welcoming of us.

"We are going to continue doing as much as we can, especially with it being Ramadan at the moment."