Al-Quds Mosque Hamburg (Arabic: , meaning "Jerusalem", or Masjid Taiba ) was 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, ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

between 1993 and 2010 when it was shut down by German security officials. The mosque was known for preaching a radical form of

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disag ...

. Al-Quds mosque was attended by some of the September 11 attackers including

Mohamed Atta Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta ( ; ar, محمد محمد الأمير عوض السيد عطا ; September 1, 1968 – September 11, 2001) was an Egyptian hijacker and the ringleader of the September 11 attacks in 2001 in which f ...

, Marwan al-Shehhi,

Ramzi bin al-Shibh Ramzi Mohammed Abdullah bin al-Shibh ( ar, رمزي محمد عبدالله بن الشيبة; also transliterated as bin al-Shaibah; born 1 May 1972Ziad Jarrah who formed the

Hamburg cell The Hamburg cell (german: Hamburger Zelle) or Hamburg terror cell (german: Hamburger Terrorzelle) was, according to U.S. and German intelligence agencies, a group of radical Islamists based in Hamburg, Germany, that included students from d ...

History

The mosque opened in 1993 and was run by the Taiba German-Arab Cultural Association. It occupied a three-story building near the

Hamburg Hauptbahnhof Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (abbrev. ''Hamburg Hbf'') is the main railway station of the city of Hamburg, Germany. Opened in 1906 to replace four separate terminal stations, today Hamburg Hauptbahnhof is operated by DB Station&Service AG. With an aver ...

rail station in a

red-light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are partic ...

, in the St. Georg section of Hamburg. Quds-panorama

Unlike many other mosques in Hamburg which cater to the Persian and Turkish populations, al-Quds served Hamburg's smaller Arab population. Under the leadership of Iman Mohamed Fizazi ( fr), the mosque preached a radical version of Sunni Islam. Other leaders at the mosque have included Sheik Azid al Kirani. The prayer room for men was located on the first floor and was able to accommodate up to 400. There was a separate prayer room for women, which was unpainted and uncarpeted. On Fridays, the mosque usually had around 250 in attendance. By 2004, the mosque had, according to security authorities, become a meeting points for North Africans and Iraqi proponents of

jihadism Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...

. By 2009, the mosque had become a place where members of the

Salafi movement The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generat ...

traveled to meet.

2010 shut down

The mosque was shut down by German security officials in August 2010 amid suspicion that the mosque was again being used as a meeting place for Islamic extremists involved in the 2010 European terror plot."9/11 Mosque Continued To Produce Jihadis; German-Speaking Militants Came From Same Hamburg Mosque As 9/11 Hijackers,"
RICHARD ESPOSITO, RHONDA SCHWARTZ, MATTHEW COLE and ANNA SCHECTER, Sept. 29, 2010, ABC News. German authorities discovered that ten members of the mosque had traveled to the border region of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

, and Shahab D., an Iranian at the mosque, had joined the

Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU; uz, Ўзбекистон исломий ҳаракати/Oʻzbekiston islomiy harakati; russian: Исламское движение Узбекистана ) was a militant Islamist group formed in 1998 ...

References

External links

* * {{Mosques in Germany 1993 establishments in Germany 2010 disestablishments in Germany Mosques completed in 1993 Former mosques in Germany Mosques in Hamburg Buildings and structures in Hamburg-Mitte Salafi mosques Sunni Islam in Germany Islamic terrorism in Germany Hamburg cell

History

2010 shut down

See also

References

External links