Great Mosque of Tirana
Xhamia e Madhe e Tiranës
Great mosque during construction
Religion
AffiliationIslam
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusMosque
Location
LocationTirana, Albania
Length56x28m

The Great Mosque of Tirana (Albanian: Xhamia e Madhe e Tiranës) or Namazgah Mosque (Albanian: Xhamia e Namazgjasë; English: Mosque of Prayer) is a mosque which is currently being built in Tirana, Albania. When completed, it will be the largest mosque in the Balkans.[1]

History

After the fall of communism in Albania, in 1991, Albanian Muslims often complained about being discriminated against. While two cathedrals (Catholic and Eastern Orthodox) were built, as of 2016 Muslims in Albania still had no central mosque and had to pray in the streets. In 1992, then president, Sali Berisha, laid the first stone of a mosque to be constructed near Namazgja square, close to the parliament. Construction was delayed after the speaker of parliament, Pjetër Arbnori, contested the plans.[2]

The decision of building the mosque was taken in 2010, by then mayor of Tirana, Edi Rama.[2]

As seen from the top of the Pyramid of Tirana

The building of the mosque is considered necessary because there are only 8 mosques in the city, down from 28 in 1967. During Islamic holidays, the Skanderbeg Square is filled with Muslim worshipers, because the Ottoman-era Ethem Bey mosque, currently Tirana's principal mosque, has a capacity of only 60 persons. Rain makes Friday sermons impossible.[3]

The mosque will have four minarets, each 50 meters high, while the central dome will have a height of 30 meters. The first floor of the mosque will include a cultural center and other facilities.[4] The mosque is being constructed on a 10,000-square-meter parcel of land near Albania's parliament building and will have the capacity for up to 4,500 people to pray at one time within the mosque.[5]

The financing for the mosque's construction partly came from the main state-run Turkish Muslim organisation Diyanet.[1] In 2015, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Albania for the inauguration ceremony of the mosque.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Mosqued objectives:Turkey is sponsoring Islam abroad to extend its prestige and power". Economist. Retrieved 23 January 2016."
  2. 1 2 "New Mosque Plan Catches Albania Muslims Off Guard". 22 November 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  3. ↑ Nadia Pantel (January 2, 2015). "Balancieren in Tirana". jetzt.de – Süddeutsche Zeitung. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Namazgja mosque, Berisha: The denied right was made just". Albanian Screen TV. April 20, 2013. Archived from the original on January 4, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Turkey's mosque project in Albania on schedule, says engineer". Hurriyet. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
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