Bishop Christopher has been shown around a new multi-purpose Islamic centre near Fareham.

Bishop Christopher and Sheikh Fazle plant a tree outside the new Islamic centre

He was given a tour of the Al Mahdi Centre on Fontley Road, engaged in interfaith discussions and said a prayer of blessing before helping to plant a tree outside.

It is the new home of the Wessex Jamaat Community, which was originally formed in 1982, and has been building their new centre since January 2011.

The new centre, whose external façade was inspired by the neighbouring 12th century Titchfield Abbey, does not include any Middle Eastern-style minarets. It has been created in a classical architectural style and is designed to be a centre for worship, learning and community social events.

Great thought has been put in by the community to construct a centre that is not only environmentally-friendly, but nestles sympathetically in the landscape. It is powered by solar panels on the roof and geo-thermal heat from a ground source provides interior heating. Outside there is a picnic area and playground for families set in a garden rich with exotic plants and orchards.

Bishop Christopher visited with the vicar of Wickham and Shedfield, the Rev Bruce Deans, the area dean of Fareham, the Rev Susan Allman, and other colleagues. He was welcomed by the imam, Sheikh Fazle Abbas Datoo, the vice-president of the executive committee, Shabbir Walji, and other members of the Wessex Shia Ithna Asheri Jamaat Community.

Sheikh Fazle Abbas said: “This is a unique opportunity for the community to receive our friends at Al Mahdi centre, which is an innovative and eco-friendly landmark in Hampshire. This visit paves further a path of amity, friendship, brotherhood and collaboration.”

Bishop Christopher said: “This is an impressive building and I was delighted to be given the chance to see it with colleagues. We are grateful for the community’s hospitality and their desire for interfaith dialogue.

“Members of the Wessex Jamaat Community have had strong links with our cathedral for several years. It was good to be able to sit around a table and think about the areas in which people of faith might work together.

“Clearly there are areas where we won’t agree. But both Christians and Muslims are committed to helping to transform society for the better and there may be places locally where we can do that together.”

The Wessex Jamaat Community was originally created in 1982 in Portsmouth by a group of Shia Muslims who came from Tanzania to study as students and settled in the area. Community functions were held in a flat in Portsmouth. The community grew and opened its first Al Mahdi centre in Wickham in 1993, using a converted bungalow for worship, education, charity work and children’s work.

But it became too small for the families who worship there and in 2006 they decided to build a new centre. The community bought their new five-acre site in 2008, obtained planning permission for the building in 2009 and the foundation stone was laid in 2011.

There was full consultation with those living nearby before and after building work took place. It includes a prayer hall, classrooms, kitchen, open space, wash facilities and ample car parking for members.