The Strasbourg Mosque or Great Mosque of Strasbourg () is a large purpose-built Islamic

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

in the French city of

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

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

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, 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 factory in the Impasse de mai in the centre of

, 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 design competition included a futuristic proposal by Zaha Hadid. 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 in Europe Religion in Strasbourg Buildings and structures in Strasbourg {{France-religious-struct-stub