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Some opponents of the mosque point out only 0.4% of the local population would be served by it. Census data from 2021 shows, of a population of about 75,000 people across Barrow and Dalton, 333 described themselves as following the Islamic faith. Concerns over immigration were also often cited as a reason for objecting against the new centre. Figures from Westmorland and Furness Council, which replaced Barrow Council in 2023 after a local government reorganisation, show it accommodated 258 asylum seekers in the area last month across 63 houses of multiple occupation and 13 family homes. It is not known how many of those are Muslim. But Faizudin Ahmadi, who was granted refugee status last year after fleeing the Taliban, said asylum seekers were "just ordinary people". The former barrister lives with other Afghan refugees in Barrow, where he works as a garage mechanic while learning English, with a hope of resuming his legal career to help other asylum seekers. "We are not terrorists or bad people," he said. "All we want is a prayer place, we are not causing any trouble. "Other religious people have place to pray - every human has right - and this is our right."
