Topped with a turquoise dome and two
minarets, the Imam Ali Mosque opened its doors on Thursday in
preparation for its first Friday prayer service.
Denmark’s largest Shia Muslim mosque opened in Copenhagen on Thursday.
The Imam Ali Mosque is located on Vibevej in Copenhagen’s Nordvest
district. The 2,100 square metre mosque is topped by a turquoise dome
and two 32-metre minarets and has space for 1,500 people.
The Imam Ali mosque has been in the works since 2009, when plans for
its construction were approved by the City of Copenhagen. The new
facility has billed itself as “one mosque for all” and has promised
services in a variety of languages.
In an invitaiton to its official opening, the Imam Ali Mosque stressed that everyone was welcome.
“Imam Ali Mosque wants to start a competion between similar faith
societies to see who can be the most open to the local community.
Therefore we look forward to seeing all residents, Muslims and
non-Muslims alike. Everyone is welcome, regardless of gender, race,
ethnic origin, religion, faith, handicap, age or sexual orientation,”
the Facebook event read.
The new mosque comes just a year after a large Sunni mosque was opened
in the same district. That mosque, the Hamad Bin Khalifa Civilsation
Center, is Denmark’s largest at 6,700 square metres and was surrounded
in controversy due to its 150 million kroner in funding from Qatar.
Another mega-mosque
backed by the Islamic Society of Denmark is planned for 2017. That
mosque is being designed by Henning Larsen Architects and will not have
minarets, as it is intended to “combine Nordic architectural traditions
with Islamic ones”.
0 comMENTS:
Post a Comment