Gothenburg Mosque ( sv, Göteborgs moské) is a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

located at the foot of

Ramberget Ramberget (; en, "Raven Hill") is a mountain on Hisingen island in Gothenburg, Sweden. The surrounding area and park is called Keillers Park. Ramberget is a popular tourist attraction and a place for outdoor recreation for Gothenburg residents, wi ...

Hisingen Hisingen () is the fifth-largest island of Sweden (after Gotland, Öland, Södertörn and Orust), with an area of . It is a river island, formed by the split of the Göta Älv at Bohus, and is defined to the east and south by the main arm of tha ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, Sweden. The construction of the mosque was entirely funded by Saudi Arabia and is run by the Swedish Muslim Foundation (SMS). It was inaugurated 16 June 2011. The mosque cost 67 million

Swedish krona The krona (; plural: ''kronor''; sign: kr; code: SEK) is the official currency of the Kingdom of Sweden. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it ...

to build and is 2000 square meters. The construction of the mosque has been met with demonstrations from right-wing activists. The Saudi finance minister Dr. Abu Rachman al Seid said on the inauguration that "we do this out of kindness - and because we can afford it". The board members of the mosque and Saudi refused to be interviewed by reports from the Swedish investigative journalism television program

Uppdrag Granskning ''Uppdrag granskning'' (English name: ''Mission: Investigate'') is a Swedish television program focusing on investigative journalism. The program is produced by and aired on SVT and has become known for the use of concealed cameras and microphone ...

in conjunction with the inauguration. The imam Sheikh Abdul Rashid Mohamed was trained in Saudi Arabia. In a 2013 Swedish Television interview with

hidden camera A hidden camera or spy camera is a camera used to photograph or record subjects, often people, without their knowledge. The camera may be considered "hidden" because it is not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another obje ...

he stated that polygamy is allowed under certain conditions and that wives cannot refuse to have sex with their husbands unless they were ill. Chairman Ahmed Al-Mofty stated in a follow-up interview with

Göteborgs-Posten ''Göteborgs-Posten'' (lit. "The Gothenburg Post"), abbreviated GP, is a major Swedish language daily newspaper published in Gothenburg, Sweden. History and profile ''Göteborgs-Posten'' was first published in 1813, but ceased publication in 1 ...

that Rashid had advised what Islamic tradition is and that his advice was not legally binding. The building is designed by Björn Sahlqvist, who wanted to design a mosque with a Scandinavian touch with a lot of light and space. There is a silent square

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

and prayer rooms for men and women, conference rooms, offices, lecture halls, kitchen and an ablution area.

IIF

''Islamiska informationsföreningen'' (IIF) (tr: Islamic information society) was, according to Swedish Radio in 2013, using the mosque premises while receiving funding from

Gothenburg Municipality Gothenburg Municipality (''Göteborgs kommun'' or ''Göteborgs stad'') is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Gothenburg. When the first Swedish local government acts were implement ...

. In 1986 IIF started publishing the magazine named ''Salaam''. It published texts by

Muslim brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan ...

ideologues

Sayyid Qutb Sayyid 'Ibrāhīm Ḥusayn Quṭb ( or ; , ; ar, سيد قطب إبراهيم حسين ''Sayyid Quṭb''; 9 October 1906 – 29 August 1966), known popularly as Sayyid Qutb ( ar, سيد قطب), was an Egyptians, Egyptian author, educato ...

and

Muhammad Qutb Muhammad Qutb, (; ar, محمد قطب;‎ 1919 – April 4, 2014) was a Muslim author, scholar and teacher who is best known as the younger brother of the Egyptian Muslim thinker Sayyid Qutb. After his brother was executed by the Egyptian gove ...

translated into Swedish. A significant number of its texts were written by female converts to Islam. IIF was in 1995 a member association of the umbrella organisation

Muslim Council of Sweden The Muslim Council of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges muslimska råd, SMR) is an umbrella organisation of Islamic organisations in Sweden. It was founded in 1990 by representatives of the United Islamic Parishes in Sweden ( sv, Förenade islamiska församl ...

. IIF collaborated with the Saudi organisation

World Assembly of Muslim Youth The World Assembly of Muslim Youth is an international Islamic educational organization whose stated purpose is “preserve the identity of Muslim youth and help overcome the problems they face in modern society”. Reportedly the world's largest ...

(WAMY) to translate Arabic texts into Swedish and sold literature from

The Islamic Foundation The Islamic Foundation ( ur, ) is an institution based in Markfield, Leicestershire, established by Khurshid Ahmad and Khurram Murad Khurram Murad (3 November 1932 – 19 December 1996) was a Pakistani scholar of Islam. Career From 1975 ...

International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations The International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations (IIFSO) is an international student and youth federation with a membership rate of about 100 student and youth organizations in more than 60 countries. IIFSO started as a student initiat ...

(IIFSO) and WAMY.

Images

File:Inside of Gothenburg Mosque.jpg, alt=Inside of Gothenburg Mosque, Inside of Gothenburg Mosque File:Goteborg meczet.jpg, Gothenburg Mosque

References

External links

{{Mosques in Sweden Mosques in Sweden Mosques completed in 2011 2011 establishments in Sweden Hisingen Religious buildings and structures in Gothenburg 21st-century mosques

IIF

Images

See also

References

External links