The Strasbourg Mosque or Great Mosque of Strasbourg (french: Grande Mosquée de Strasbourg) is a large purpose-built Islamic

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

in the French city of Strasbourg. It is located on the banks of the Ill river in the Heyritz area, south of the Grande Île. It was inaugurated in September 2012 and has a capacity of 1,200 people. The mosque is frequented by

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, mainly Moroccan origin. It hosts many conferences and seminars and has an extensive teaching programme for school-aged children. The former mosque, in use from 1982 to 2012, consisted of a converted

foie gras Foie gras (, ; ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a duck or goose. According to French law, foie gras is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by gavage (force feeding). Foie gras is a popular and well-known delica ...

factory in the Impasse de mai in the centre of Strasbourg, near the law-courts. It was not the first mosque to be established in Strasbourg. There have been mosques in the city since 1967 and there are now over twenty.

History

The mosque was designed by Paolo Portoghesi, who also designed the

Mosque of Rome The Mosque of Rome ( it, Moschea di Roma), situated in Parioli, Rome, Italy, is the largest mosque in the Western world in terms of land area. It has an area of and can accommodate more than 12,000 people. The building is located in the ''Acqu ...

. The design competition included a futuristic proposal by

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ar, زها حديد ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-British architect, artist and designer, recognised as a major figure in architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centu ...

. Construction was delayed several times, due to litigation with the main constructors and a decision by the centre-right municipal council of Fabienne Keller to prevent overseas funding. The first stone of the new mosque was laid on 29 October 2004 by the then Mayor of Strasbourg Fabienne Keller. She also revised the original building project, removing the planned study centre, auditorium and minaret and reducing the capacity of the prayer room by 50%.

References

External links

La Grande Mosquée de Strasbourg
Moroccan diaspora in France Mosques in France Islamic organizations established in 1982 1982 establishments in France Mosques completed in 2012 Mosque buildings with domes Religion in Strasbourg Buildings and structures in Strasbourg {{France-religious-struct-stub