Brothers and Sisters,
Salaamun Alaikum
I am sure you will have seen by now our Jamaat (Hujjat) and Stanmore Jafferys press release in relation to the spike of Covid 19 cases in London and the decision to temporarily suspend all activities to allow the community to contain this spike.
We find ourselves in a very challenging position in relation to this weekend AAWA sportive. This event is not only to showcase our ability as a community club to bring together over 180 riders and do a sportive but also spread the true message of our faith and religion.
We are living through some unprecedented times and in situations like this, we draw our inspirations from our Ahlul Bayt (A.S) and the Grand Maraje’e and try to emulate and see how they would have dealt with the situation our community finds itself in. Ayatullah Sayyed Ali Hussein Al Sistani (May Allah prolong his life) has since the start of this pandemic cautioned everyone to take a more cautious approach when it comes to community functions. Taking heed of his advice and that of Hujjat and Stanmore Jafferys HQ, the Sportive this weekend is going to be Postponed.
I want to assure all the riders and our donor community globally, this postponed decision has not been taken lightly and we have agonised hours and hours over various options and potential solutions. All of them led us to the same place, where the risk to the community was greater at this current time.
As a collective group of riders, our prayers and thoughts are with those who are not well and inshallah we pray for their full recovery.
Second of all, Let us all work together to ensure we protect ourselves and our families during this time, and with the grace of The Almighty we will resume our activities again soon.
The Cycling Team is as disappointed as you are in this postponement. We have however already started working in the background to reschedule the event as soon as possible. I want to reaffirm the sportive is NOT cancelled and will be rescheduled as soon as it is safe to do so.
At this time it is imperative all cyclists take the necessary measures to ensure you remain safe, and free from Covid contact. I want each and everyone of you to participate in the sportive, but to do so we need to take on the responsibility of ensuring we keep ourselves and our fellow cyclists safe. So please cover up and socially distance over the next two weeks so we can all cycle and #makingadifferencetogether
I thank you for your understanding and let us keep our training up. I am sure you will all keep the fundraising momentum up as well to meet our target. This cause had the potential of touching and improving the lives of thousands and thousands of kids and adults alike!
Inshallah together we will make a difference!
Mo Ladha
SJ Cycling
