Homeless, poor and vulnerable people can now get a meal, some shelter and company for a few hours each week thanks to Finsbury Park’s Meal for All project.

Around 20 people have been attending the Finsbury Park Mosque on Thursday evenings for soup and bread since the scheme started earlier this month, with the numbers expected to rise during the winter months.

Advice and support is also on hand from homelessness and drug charities.

The mosque leadership took inspiration from nearby St Thomas’ Church, which runs a similar scheme and with which the mosque has a good relationship.

It’s a sign of an institution which is increasingly part of the community after emerging from a chequered past, which has included links to radical preachers and terror attack suspects.

Since chairman Mohammed Kozbar took over in 2005 the mosque has made a concerted effort to stamp out such connections and improve its standing in the community.

His deputy, Mohamed Said, told to the Tribune: “We are part of the community. We open our mosque for everyone – we are not just a mosque but a community centre.”

The centre also holds youth clubs, attended by Muslims and non-Muslims alike, and regular open days.

Simon Matthews, from Highbury Barn, who volunteers at the mosque on Thursdays after previously helping the homeless in Westminster, said: “You really get to know a lot of the people. They’re a very nice bunch.”

Wayne Frost, 48, started attending Meal for All after losing his flat in Bethnal Green six weeks ago. He also goes to the soup kitchen at St John the Evangelist in Brownswood Park.

Mr Frost, who is now living in bed and breakfast accommodation, said of Meal for All: “Places like this are very important as I can’t afford to eat out – that could cost me £10 per day. It’s a brilliant idea. I like to come here to socialise, I’ll chat to anyone.”

• Keywords
  MOSQUES
• Geographical keyword
  ST THOMAS'S ROAD
• Persons keyword
  Finsbury Park Mosque