Cheers: The Halal Inn's owner, Azizur Rahman, left, with busness partner Muzahid Khan
Posted on 04/10/2008 7:45:31 AM PDT by yankeedame
Last updated at 13:26pm on 10th April 2008
Beer is being replaced by fruit juice and prayers in the country's first booze-free Islamic pub.
The Halal Inn has a juice bar, snooker tables and darts - along with a prayer room and a steam room.
Traditional Islamic "nasheed" songs are piped into the bar and boards for karam, a billiards-style game popular across Asia, are on hand.
Owner Azizur Rahman and business partner Muzahid Khan spotted a gap in the market and took over the building that used to be the Westwood Inn.
Mr Khan said: "It's a gathering place for people who abide by strict Islamic rulings and don't like going to places where they serve alcohol.
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Cheers: The Halal Inn's owner, Azizur Rahman, left, with busness partner Muzahid Khan
Booze-free: The Halal Inn was called The Westwood before it changed hands
"As a non-alcoholic venue it will appeal to Muslims more, but it is essentially for people from all backgrounds."
"It's a gathering place for people who abide by strict Islamic rulings and don't like going to places where they serve alcohol.
"What we've done is turn the bar into a soft drink and juice bar, with snooker tables, darts, karam boards and nasheeds (Islamic songs) in the background.
"As a non-alcoholic venue it will appeal to Muslims more, but it is essentially for people from all backgrounds."
The building, formerly the Westwood Inn in Oldham, also includes a restaurant serving daily specials, a prayer room, study room, business lounge and steam room.
The drinking hole with a difference opened its doors in December and has been growing in popularity.
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Clean-cut: Mr Khan and Mr Rahman are hoping to pull in Muslim customers
put -off regular pubs and clubs
Mr Khan added: "Halal Inn is a name which most people find intriguing.
"There was a lot of conversations in the community about the whole concept and a lot of people were wanting to know more about it.
"We got a lot of word of mouth publicity and have even had visits from people from Birmingham and London wanting information on recreating the brand.
"It's an alternative to your normal inn – a pub essentially means a place where people procure alcohol, but that's what we're trying to get away from.
"Throughout the world there has been a whole movement about the word halal and products that are branded as halal. Muslims are a major consumer group.
"Because of all this going on we thought that in Oldham we should have a brand of our own. It was easy to replace the word Westwood with Halal. It makes perfect sense."
The venue, which opens from 4.30pm to 11.30pm, will also host a monthly Islamic quiz night and has created a snooker and karam league.
So, in that death cult, it’s bad to drink alcohol, but OK to slice Jews’ heads off?
A steam room? Hmmmmm.
I don't know the margins on a bottle of fruit juice but if they are going to try and sell enough to pay the bills they better install some serious poopers.
No hookahs?
And then they cut your head off.
Your friendly meeting place to discuss jihad and plan massive murder plots!
Cheers! Ain’t life grand.
isn’t this just a Juice bar? Tea House? or even just a Coffee Bar?
utter nonsense.
No, It’s a neighborhood “watering hole”?
Do you think women visit this place? LOL
The most ironic part of this story is that The Market sees a place for such a business and the void has been filled. The Market is ALWAYS right. When will people start to understand this? Capitalism and market freedom rule even when you throw the blanket of socialism/communism/fascism/islamism over it.
but this is England.
Will they still be taxed and regulated as any other Pub with regards to hours of operation and licensing?
I'm not familiar with the taxation laws in Merry Ole England unless memorizing the lyrics to the Beatles' "Taxman" counts.
Women will not be allowed. And men better be careful when they bend over for a shot on their pool table.
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