AN appeal to complete almost a million pounds of funding has been launched by the Islamic organisation that says it has purchased the former Methodist Church in Stanford-le-Hope and is to base a mosque and cultural centre there.

A website and donation page have been set up by the Stanford Education and Cultural Association which describes itself as a non-profit making, charitable, democratic, neutral and non-political organisation.

The Association says its aim is to 'facilitate and organise social, educational, religious and cultural activities that would increase the understanding of Islam as a religion'.

And it adds it wishes in 'furtherance to good community relations', to 'improve human communication and develop a better understanding of Islamic - intellectual, cultural, social, scientific, economic and artistic contributions to the world, amongst youngsters, (Muslims and non-Muslims alike)'.

The cost of buying the church is reported to have been around £750,000 and an appeal has been launched for a further £250,000 for refurbishment to bring the building up to date for the benefit of the community.

The organisation which recently registered at the Charities Commission, was originally registered as a company in April 2019, as the Stanford Education & Cultural Association Ltd, its secretary being Shuaibur Rahman Choudhury and chairman Dr Muhammad Siraj Ali. Mohammed Shaista Miah is also listed as a director.

Dr Siraj (see biographical details below), who lived in Stanford-le-Hope for many years and is a man of many business interests including the popular Maharaja Restaurant at Benfleet told Thurrock Nub News the intention was for the new building and centre to serve the whole of Thurrock.

The Stanford Education & Cultural Association's registered address was 18-20 King Street, Stanford-le-Hope.

In July 2022 the company changed its name to Stanford Muslim Education and Cultural Association, though the word 'Muslim' now appears to have been dropped.

The company has been noted as a 'dormant company' at UK Companies House and its latest posted accounts, dated April last year, showed it had no net assets or reserves.

In 2018 a proposal to create an Islamic culture and education centre in the premises vacated by the former store and Post Office on Corringham Road was rejected by Thurrock Council after many objections from local residents.

The council refused the application on the grounds of access and highways issues and the loss of a retail premises. Those issues should not be relevant to the new centre plan as it is served by a large car park and is already an established place of worship.

Dr Muhammad Siraj Ali.

Dr Siraj Ali came to the UK when he was 11 years old, and worked in his teens while he was studying in school, at his older brother's restaurant, The Curry Centre, in North London.

Back then, this was the only option in terms of a career move for many Bangladeshis.

However, he wanted to move away and find an unsaturated market, and chose a small town in Essex to open his first restaurant.

He become a pioneering force behind the introduction of Indian cuisine in the Essex region and has opened eight restaurants in the county.

In his successful 48-year career, he introduced Indian food to Thurrock, and has used his success and experiences to broaden cultural understanding and raise millions of pounds for charities in Bangladesh and the UK.

His passion to build bridges between cultures and communities has seen him become an ambassador for multi-cultural integration and charity work.

Since 1995, Dr Siraj has raised more than £3 million for charity, with his charitable efforts having even seen his dishes flown to 150 UN troops in the Congo.

Dr Siraj's successful restaurant was chosen by MPs to cater for the first ever Bangladesh Festival of Food and Culture at the House of Commons in 2001.

In 2008, he won the British Bangladeshi Who's Who 'Outstanding Contribution' Award.

In 2009, he was a winner of the Channel S Awards for his long standing contribution to the British Bangladeshi Community. In 2011, Siraj received the British Bangladeshi Who's Who Award and in 2015, he was awarded by Currylife magazine for contribution to the catering and hospitality industry.

In 2018, Dr Siraj was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Essex for his distinguished career.

In Bangladesh, Dr Siraj is a director of the Metro Hotel and Conference Centre, founder and proprietor of the Crescent Hospital, Mirabazaar, now City School, a trustee, co-founder and sponsor of Balagonj Sixth Form College and the Osmani Nagar Girls College, co-founder, trustee, secretary of the Haji Soyed Ali Memorial Trust, co-ponsor of the Haji Soyed Ali Memorial Trust Anwarul Uloom Jamia Academy and Haji Soyed Ali Primary School, and Co-Founder of the Haji Soyed Ali Memorial Trust and Anwarul Uloom Jamia Hostel for orphans.

Dr Siraj Ali is also the owner and chairman of the Al Siraj Plaza, a multipurpose building in Goalabazaar Sylhet which includes the 10,000 square feet Siraj–ul-Uloom for Quran and Hadith Research Centre and Library, the 3rd centre of its kind in Bangladesh.

In Essex, he is the Founder Chairman of both the Thurrock Bangladesh Welfare Association and the Thurrock Islamic Educational Cultural Centre, former general secretary and founder member of the Essex Jamme Masjid in Southend on Sea, as well as the Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Essex Bangladesh Welfare Association (Essex) and former Vice Chairman of Bangladesh Catering (Essex region).