Birmingham Central Mosque, is a mosque in the Highgate area of Birmingham, England, run by the Birmingham Mosque Trust. The organization, 'Muslims in Britain’ classify the Birmingham Central Mosque as, nonsectarian.[1] The mosque has a capacity of 6,000, including women.[1] The mosque provides a Sharia Council which in 2016 handled 400 requests for divorce.[2]
Birmingham Central Mosque | |
---|---|
Religion | |
Affiliation | Islam[1] |
Location | |
Location | Highgate, Birmingham, England |
Architecture | |
Type | mosque |
Completed | 1975 |
Specifications | |
Capacity | 6,000 (including women)[1] |
Dome(s) | 1 |
Minaret(s) | 2 |
Website | |
www.centralmosque.org.uk/ |
The mosque has 21 listed trustees,[3] and its Chair is Muhammad Afzal. Its Vice Chairman is Mohammed Najib.
A golden dome was added to the top of the minaret in 1981.[4] In 1986, the mosque sought and was granted permission to call prayer within certain limits.[5] Between 1988 and 1990, Al-Hijrah School educated children in three rented rooms within the mosque before moving to Midland House in Small Heath.[6]
In 2006, the West Midlands Fire Service put out a fire in the mosque which began in an office in the building. It did not spread far, yet it caused damage to electronics and also destroyed paperwork.[7]
In December 2011 a man was arrested after making a Facebook threat to bomb the mosque.[8]
Following a protest by the English Defence League (EDL) in April 2017, the Birmingham Central Mosque held a tea party with the goal of countering those demonstrations and promoting interfaith dialogue. The tea party ended up receiving more participants than the original EDL march.[9]