The Grand Mosalla Mosque, officially the Grand Mosalla Mosque of Tehran (; ) and also known as the Imam Khomeini Mosalla, is a partially completed

Friday mosque A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.See: * * * * ...

(''jāmeh'') and associated community complex, located near Abbas Abad in the city of

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, in the province of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The mosque is used for hosting weekly

Friday prayer Friday prayer, or congregational prayer (), is the meeting together of Muslims for communal prayer and service at midday every Friday. In Islam, the day itself is called ''Yawm al-Jum'ah'' (shortened to ''Jum'ah''), which translated from Arabic me ...

(''jāmeh''), as well as cultural, political, educational, worship activities, including book fairs, exhibitions, and religious ceremonies. The Persian-Islamic style mosque has been under construction since the 1990s. Upon completion, the mosque will have the world's biggest

iwan An iwan (, , also as ''ivan'' or ''ivān''/''īvān'', , ) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...

. When completed, the mosque will surpass the

Masjid al-Haram Masjid al-Haram (), also known as the Sacred Mosque or the Great Mosque of Mecca, is considered to be the most significant mosque in Islam. It encloses the vicinity of the Kaaba in Mecca, in the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia. It is among the ...

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

, , the world's largest mosque.

History

The Grand Mosalla Mosque originated in a 1982 proposal to replace the

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

as the primary location for weekly Friday prayer. A large section of land in Abbas Abad, the original site for the never-materialized pre-

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

megaproject A megaproject is an extremely large-scale construction and investment project. A more general definition is "Megaprojects are temporary endeavours (i.e. projects) characterised by: large investment commitment, vast complexity (especially in org ...

Shahestan Pahlavi, was allocated for the Grand Mosalla. On 19 February 1985, a public announcement was issued, calling on talented and experienced designers to submit drafts for the mosque's design. The competition was held in 1986 with Mohammad Karim Pirnia,

Mehdi Chamran Mehdi Chamran Save'ei (; born 9 September 1941) is an Iranian architect and Iranian Principlists, conservative politician who currently holds office as the chairman of the Islamic City Council of Tehran, City Council of Tehran. Early life and e ...

, Bagher Ayatollahzadeh Shirazi, Ali Ghaffari, and Mehdi Hodjat as the jury members, and with the participation of 36 native and foreign individuals from

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, as well as legal entities. On 1990, Dr. Parviz Moayed Ahd's design was confirmed for the Mosalla. The design was based on the

Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both Secularity, secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Muslim world, Islamic world encompasse ...

of Iran,

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, which were historically part of the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...

. , more than 30 years after the design was finalized, the Grand Mosalla remained under construction, though finished sections of the building were in use. In 2017, the ''

Financial Tribune ''Financial Tribune'' was a non-governmental newspaper in Iran opened in 2014. Its purpose is to cover a variety of political, economic, technology, and social stories. It ran until 2023 when the paper's coverage and archives were purchased by a ...

'' called the condition of the project "dismal" and "unacceptable", and Governor General of Tehran Province Hussein Hashemi urged Tehran City Council to prioritize the mosque's completion. 23rd tehran international book fair 1

Use

The Grand Mosalla Mosque is used for

(''jāmeh'') and during

Eid al-Fitr Eid al-Fitr () is the first of the two main Islamic holidays, festivals in Islam, the other being Eid al-Adha. It falls on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims worldwide becaus ...

. Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has led prayers at the mosque in 2024 and 2025 and the mosque was a focal point for worship following the sudden death of

Iranian President The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran () is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the second highest-ranking official, after the supreme leader. The first election was held in 1980 and was won by Abulhassan Banisa ...

Ebrahim Raisi Ebrahim Raisolsadati (14 December 1960 – 19 May 2024), better known as Ebrahim Raisi, was an Iranian politician who served as the eighth president of Iran from 2021 until 2024 Varzaqan helicopter crash, his death in a helicopter crash in 202 ...

. The mosque complex is also used as a community center and a venue for local and national events, including the Tehran International Book Fair, International Holy Quran Exhibition, International Exhibition of Investment Opportunities in Iran's Mines and Mining Industries, International Handicrafts Exhibition, and the Tehran Game Exhibition, among other events.

Access

The Grand Mosalla Mosque is served by the Mosalla Imam Khomeini Metro Station, a

Tehran Metro Tehran Metro () is a rapid transit system serving Tehran, the capital of Iran. It is the largest metro system in the Middle East. The system is owned and operated by Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway. It consists of six operational metro lines ...

station located in the Grand Mosalla, next to the

Qasem Soleimani Expressway Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani Expressway, formerly called Resalat Expressway, is an east-west expressway in Tehran, Iran. It joins the eastern localities of Tehran metropolis, including Resalat District, to Seyed Khandan in north-centr ...

. It also has a bus rapid transit station in Line 5: Science & Tech Terminal to Argentina Square Beihaghi Terminal.

Gallery

Tehran International Book Fair - 8 May 2018 01.jpg Tehran International Book Fair 0649.jpg All Most Summer In Tehran, May 31, 2011 - panoramio (1).jpg Ali Khamenei visits 21st Tehran International Book Fair (007).jpg Worship celebration of 12000 girl students in Tehran (8).jpg Iran's International handicraft Exhibition - 2011 (3).jpg Tehran International Book Fair - 5 May 2018 14.jpg 23rd tehran international book fair 1.jpg Eid al Fitr at the Imam Khomeini Mosque (2025) (1404) 133.jpg, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei worshipping at the mosque during

in 2025

References

External links

* * {{Mosques in Iran 1989 establishments in Iran Tehran Mosalla Mosque buildings with domes in Iran Mosque buildings with minarets in Iran Mosques in Tehran Proposed buildings and structures in Iran Proposed mosques Ruhollah Khomeini

History

Use

Access

Gallery

See also

References

External links