Al-Rahma Mosque, Liverpool
| Al-Rahma Mosque | |
|---|---|
Al-Rahma Mosque, Liverpool
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Toxteth, Liverpool, England |
| Geographic coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Affiliation | Sunni Islam |
| Administration | Liverpool Muslim Society |
| Website | www |
| Completed | July 1974 |
| Capacity | Accommodates between 2,000 and 2,500 people. |
| Dome(s) | 1 |
| Minaret(s) | 2 |
The Al-Rahma Mosque (Arabic: مسجد الرحمة) is a mosque located on Hatherley Street in Toxteth, Liverpool, England, which can accommodate between 2,000 and 2,500 people[1] and serves as the main place of worship and focus point for Liverpool's Muslim population, estimated at 25,000 people.[2] The Al-Rahma Mosque is currently the largest of Liverpool's three mosques, followed by the Penny Lane mosque and a proposed mosque and Muslim centre on the former Anfield Community Comprehensive School site.
Architecture and History
The first ever mosque in England was built in Liverpool; it was opened at 8 Brougham Terrace by a solicitor and Muslim convert William Abdullah Quilliam on 25 December 1889 and the mosque he constructed was maintained until 1908.[3] That mosque was refurbished by the local community beginning in 2010[3][4] and is now occupied by the Liverpool Muslim Society.
The Liverpool Muslim Society was established in 1953 by the late Al-Haj Ali Hizzam, a member of Liverpool's Muslim Community, operating out of a room in his house.[citation needed] The society was determined to build a place of worship to meet the spiritual needs of Liverpool's small Muslim population which was then about 3,000. The Muslim community had been without a mosque since 1908.[citation needed] In 1965 construction of the Al-Rahma mosque started, with the main prayer hall being completed in July 1974.[citation needed] During the Mosque's construction, on Fridays and Muslim festivals, the Pakistan Centre opposite and the car park was used as a temporary prayer space. The first small floor, the madrassah and the imam’s accommodation were added in 1979.[citation needed]
In 2007, the Al-Rahma Mosque began buying up the surrounding and nearby buildings on Hatherley Street to renovate them for Muslim families and to further extend the mosque.[5] The current version of the mosque is a three-story building topped with a traditional dome and crescent. It opened in 2008 during Liverpool's tenure as "European Capital of Culture".[citation needed]
Today
The current building is used primarily by the city's Arab and Somali populations whom constitute the vast majority of Liverpool's Muslim population, estimated at around 25,000.[6] At the mosque there are daily prayers as well as Jumu'ah on Fridays, and the mosque also provides free meals, and its services include a day centre for the elderly, children’s sporting clubs, and weekend Arabic lessons.[citation needed]
See also
- List of mosques in the United Kingdom
- Religion in the United Kingdom
- Islam in the United Kingdom
- Islam in England
- Timeline of Islamic history
- Liverpool Muslim Society
- Liverpool Muslim Institute
- Abdullah Quilliam
- Islamic architecture
- Islamic art
References
- ↑ Liverpool Muslim Society - Mosque History
- ↑ http://www.islamicfinder.org/getitWorld.php?id=20451
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://mosques.muslimsinbritain.org/show-mosque.php?id=1029
