Highlights
- Video of men's pilates class at Bradford mosque receives nearly two million TikTok views and gains global attention.
- Classes grown from seven to 25 participants, with mosque now limiting numbers due to space constraints.
- Initiative aims to transform mosque into community hub beyond prayer, with women's sessions planned for future.
A men's pilates class at a Bradford mosque has attracted worldwide attention after a video of the sessions went viral on social media, receiving more than two million views.
Jamia Usmania Mosque on Heaton Road hosts the weekly Thursday classes aimed at men over 50, designed to improve health and wellbeing for older members of the community.
The sessions have proved so popular that organisers have been forced to limit participant numbers due to space restrictions.
Mohammed Ilyas, secretary at the mosque, told BBC that leaders were "shocked" by the global response.
"We are shocked to be honest, it's gone worldwide, we've had nearly two million views on TikTok and a lot of views on Facebook," he told BBC.
The video has generated inquiries from across the world, with people asking how to establish similar classes in their own mosques. "I personally had a lot of calls asking to hold these classes across England in a number of mosques," Ilyas added.
Community health initiative
Instructor Zara Kayani said he was passionate about delivering health improvements for older men.
"Younger men are more into bodybuilding, body image, but as the men grow older there's less opportunity for them," he explained, highlighting the classes' benefits for flexibility, mental health and spiritual wellbeing.
"It's an opportunity for men to come together, have a laugh," he said, adding that growth had been entirely through word of mouth.
"We've seen the classes grow from seven to 20 to 25, so we're having to limit some of the classes because the numbers are growing day by day."
Participants have praised the sessions' impact. Abid Khan, 62, who began attending after a heart transplant in June 2024, pointed that, "It's helped me a lot both physically and emotionally. I've met new people, and some are now my best friends."
Habib Rehman, 60, who suffers from sciatica and lower back pain, told BBC that the classes were "helping" while providing valuable social interaction.
Ilyas emphasised the mosque's ambition to become a community hub beyond prayer services. The mosque is developing a new building nearby that will enable them to expand activities, including offering women's classes.
