Mosque al-Nour

Not to be confused with Great Mosque of al-Nuri (disambiguation).
Mosque al-Nour
Mosquée An-Nour
Artist's rendition of the prayer hall interior,
with dome, in 2011
Religion
AffiliationIslam
Ecclesiastical or organisational status
StatusActive
Location
Location178 rue d'illzach, Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, Grand Est
CountryFrance
Location of the mosque
in the Grand Est region
Interactive map of Mosque al-Nour
AdministrationAlsace Muslims Association (AMAL)
Coordinates47°45′45″N 7°21′03″E / 47.7625°N 7.3508°E / 47.7625; 7.3508
Architecture
ArchitectAMRS Architectes
TypeMosque
StyleContemporary Islamic
Funded by
Groundbreaking2010
Completed2019
Specifications
Capacity2,300 worshipers
Interior area1,700 m2 (18,000 sq ft)
Dome1
Site area11,000 m2 (120,000 sq ft)
Website
centreannour.org (in French)
[1]

The Mosque al-Nour, also known as the Mosque an-Nour, (French: Mosquée An-Nour or Centre An-Nour) is a mosque and cultural center located in Mulhouse, in the department of Haut-Rhin, in the Grand Est region of France. The construction of the mosque and cultural center commenced in 2010[2] and was completed in 2019. With capacity for 2,300 worshipers, it is reportedly the largest mosque in Europe.[3]

The main funders of the mosque's construction were the Qatar Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and Qatar Charity,[3] including Muslims living in Kuwait and Qatar, with funds administered by the Alsace Muslim Association (Association des musulmans d'Alsace).[4][5]

History

The Alsace Muslim Association (AMAL) was established in 1973. AMAL is affiliated with the Union of Islamic Organizations of France (Union des Organisations Islamiques de France, abbreviated as UOIF), an umbrella organization that includes over 250 Muslim entities on French soil with strong ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.[6]

The first AMAL facilities, including a mosque with capacity of 2,000 worshipers, plus three classrooms, a butcher's shop and a bookstore, was established at 41, rue Neppert in Mulhouse. As the Muslim community in Mulhouse grew, AMAL began to plan for a larger mosque and expanded community facilities.[5]

New mosque

Designed by AMRS Architectes, the new mosque is located at 178 rue d'illzach (also spelled as rue d’Alsace) and developed over three floors occupying an 11,000-square-metre (120,000 sq ft) site. In addition to the mosque, schools and education centers, and a funeral parlor, several businesses, including a supermarket, a hair salon, a swimming pool, and a spa with a gym, are located within the complex.[2][7] The mosque has capacity for 2,300 worshipers, with two spacious prayer rooms, one for men that is 1,358 square metres (14,620 sq ft), and one for women that is 843 square metres (9,070 sq ft).[8]

Construction works commenced in March 2010; were subsequently suspended from 2011 to 2014; recommenced in 2014 with expectations that the mosque would be completed by 2017.[7] The mosque was completed in 2019.[1][a]

Costs and funding

The cost of the project increased exponentially over the years, and although no official figure is available, several sources assess that the Mosque al-Nour and the Centre al-Nour will cost between €9–to–11 million;[7][12][13] whilst one source estimated that the mosque's construction cost was €27 million.[3]

As France is a secular state, the construction of the mosque and cultural center relied entirely on donations from the Muslim community. L’Alsace quoted Nasser El Kady, AMAL Vice-president in charge of monitoring the construction works, as declaring that the project supporters collected over €8 million since 2009.[7] Prominent supporters of the project included Yusuf al-Qaradawi.[7][14] However, L’Alsace reported that approximately €5 million was donated by wealthy benefactors from abroad, primarily from Qatar and Kuwait.[7] The Consortium Against Terrorist Finance registered that Qataris contributed about €2 million to the project through Qatar Charity, the largest non-government organisation in Qatar.[6] Among Qatar Charity's worldwide activities is "Ghaith", an initiative launched in 2015 to "serve Islamic project worldwide" under the supervision of Qatari preacher, Ahmed Al Hammadi.[3][15]

Project criticism and allegations

The Mosque al-Nour has faced criticism, mostly related to disputable profiles of its architectural plan and its cost. Some Muslim voices have condemned the "unnecessarily majestic" project which did not address the needs of the local Muslim community, in need of two or three smaller mosques integrated with the life of the local community the cost of which would not exceed €1 million.[12]

The Communauté Francophone de Confession Musulmane (Francophone Community of Islamic Faith, abbreviated as CFCM) denounced the project as a "political" operation that allowed the Muslim Brotherhood to gain political leverage and a stronghold in Mulhouse.[12] CFCM stated that the Mulhouse mayor sold AMAL the plot of land for the mosque and cultural centre for €240,000, and decided to grant the organization a subsidy of the same amount without consulting with other Muslim organizations in Mulhouse or with other organizations representing civic society.[12] CFCM questioned the unilateral decision of Mulhouse authorities to make the Mosque al-Nour and the Centre al-Nour a private property owned by AMAL and indirectly by the UOIF. CFCM claimed that the mosque and cultural centre – and by extension the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated AMAL - will benefit from taxpayers’ money, stating it was "unfair and dishonest.".[12] In an opinion piece published by L’Opinion in 2013, French journalist Nathalie Segaune voiced concerns about the public support of the project and the mosque's connections with Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a well-known mufti whose strong ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and to extremist organizations. al-Qaradawi was denied visas to the United States in 1999, the United Kingdom in 2008, and France in 2012.[14][16]

Additionally, Qatar Charity had a long track-record of controversial ties to extremist and terrorist organizations.[17][18][19] The Consortium Against Terrorist Finance (CATF) described Qatar's efforts to fund mosques and cultural institutes across Europe and worldwide as part of the Gulf country's struggle to compete with Saudi Arabia in spreading Salafism and "claiming new territory."[6]

  • Artist's rendition of the building's exterior, 2011
  • Artist's rendition of the building facade, 2011
  • Artist's rendition of a classroom, 2011
  • Artist's rendition of the swimming pool, 2011

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Although some sources in 2020 state that the mosque was "…under construction"[9] and "…near the gigantic building site";[10] while another source in 2020 states that the mosque "…is complete with…".[11]

References

  1. ^ a b "An-Nour Mosque". Mosqpedia. 2025. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Home page". Centre An-Nour. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d Bodissey, Baron, ed. (May 7, 2019). "A Mega-Mosque for Mulhouse". gatesofvienna.net. Translated by Ava Lon. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  4. ^ "Association des Musulmans d'Alsace". www.amal-mulhouse.fr (in French). Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Qui sommes-nous ?". www.amal-mulhouse.fr (in French). Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "No Petrodollar Land Grabbing for Qatar in Brussels". Consortium Against Terrorist Finance (CATF). Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Mosquée An-Nour : reprise du chantier". www.lalsace.fr (in French). April 30, 2025. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  8. ^ "Espace Cultuel". Center An-Nour (in French). Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  9. ^ "'Political Islam' has no place in France, Macron says". Radio France Internationale. February 18, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  10. ^ Nehme, Majed (February 23, 2020). "On eve of elections, Macron seeks 'Republican Reconquest' to counter 'Islamist separatism'". The Arab Weekly. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  11. ^ "Macron lays out strategy to tackle Islamist separatism in France". Modern Ghana. Radio France Internationale. February 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Islam en Alsace: L'UOIF aura bientôt son palais à Mulhouse". Culte Musulman et Islam en France (in French). August 23, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  13. ^ "Mosquées en France, l'inquiétante invasion". Valeurs actuelles (in French). Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  14. ^ a b "Comment le Qatar finance les mosquées de France". L'Opinion (in French). May 20, 2013. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  15. ^ "QC launches Ghaith initiative". www.infoqat.com. August 5, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  16. ^ "France - The 'global mufti' Sarkozy barred from entering France". France 24. March 28, 2012. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  17. ^ "Progress Since 9/11: The Effectiveness of U.S. Anti-Terrorist Financing Efforts" (PDF). Congressional Testimony of Matthew Epstein before the House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. March 11, 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 24, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  18. ^ "JEM conduct week long visit to Washington DC for US Gov meetings". www.jemsudan.org. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  19. ^ "Uncharitable Organizations". www.washingtoninstitute.org. Retrieved March 23, 2016.

Media related to Centre An Nour at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.