Welcome to the Halal Inn: Britain’s first alcohol-free Islamic pub

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.

“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.

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.

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