The seeds of the ACCC Trust were first planted in the early 1990s when a dedicated Muslim brother from Jamaica became increasingly concerned with the condition of his community and it's growing need to bring together the people to activate a change for the better. At a time, when many of the youths in his communities were lacking guidance, he felt an obligation to respond.
Brother Hajji Abdul-Samad Mustapha had a vision that would take many years to become real, but without his faith and dedication, we would not have a story to tell. He established a circle of friends that met regularly at his home in Kilburn, North London, to encourage each other to create a positive path for themselves, their families and their community. The result was Masjid At-Taqwa.
As the organization, grew so did the Masjid, and so they moved first to the nearby, Carlton Vale Centre and then to Willesden Library, in order to accommodate everyone for the Friday congregational prayers. As big as this step was, brother Abdul-Samad still was not closer to his original vision of establishing a community centre and thus moved to establishing a new group by acquiring Acton Town Hall as a new place for prayers after having recently moved to the area.
The centre moved to Bromyard Leisure Centre in order give it growing members better facilities (accessibility, car parking, etc), but was forced to move after 3 years due to a sudden change in ownership of the facility. Thankfully, the administration at the Janet Adegoke Leisure Centre in White City came to rescue and the centre was able to continue moving forward as the number for people continued to grow towards a thousand strong congregation.
It was at this time that we lost our dear brother Abdul-Samad. Our beloved brother passed away in February 2003.
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The council's decision to demolish the leisure centre, meant a move back to Acton Town Hall became necessary, but it quickly became clear that the progression of the centre had been such that the Acton Town Hall was, as grateful as we were to have their support, no longer a suitable facility. By the grace of God, in December 2005, we were able to complete the purchase of our own building close by on Church Road, just off Acton High Street. |
