The Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque, also known as the King Fahd bin Abdulaziz al-Saud Mosque or the Mosque of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, 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 Europa Point in the

British overseas territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Br ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...

, a peninsula connected to southern Spain. The mosque faces south towards the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...

and

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

several kilometres away.

Construction

The building was a gift from

King Fahd Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, فهد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Fahd ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'', ; 1920, 1921 or 1923 – 1 August 2005) was a Saudi Arabian politician who was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia fro ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

and took two years to build at a cost of around £5 million. It was officially inaugurated on 8 August 1997. It is the southernmost mosque in

continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

, and is one of the largest mosques in a non-

Muslim country The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. In ...

Description

The Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque, also known as the King Fahad Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Mosque, is one of the most often visited places in Gibraltar. It is said to be the largest mosque to exist in a non-Islamic country. First impressions of the mosque are fairly simple and bland, but the design is very complex and well thought out. Its first floor comprises six classrooms, a conference hall, a library, a kitchen, bathroom, housing for the caretaker, morgue, offices for administration purposes, and the Imam's house. The main prayer hall is located on the second floor of the building. The ceiling is made up of nine solid brass chandeliers, that cannot be missed when entering the praying area. One of the chandelier is hung from the enormous dome that is at an extreme height. The walls are imported marble stretching across the whole mosque. A women's prayer hall is located on the lower level, along with a nursery, that overlooks the main prayer hall. What makes this mosque special is the location; it is located in between many mountains that brings the beauty of the mosque to light. The Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque is used on a daily basis by Muslims living in Gibraltar and is open to the public during the day.

Complex

The mosque complex also contains a

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes co ...

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

, and

lecture hall A lecture hall (or lecture theatre) is a large room used for instruction, typically at a college or university. Unlike a traditional classroom with a capacity normally between one and fifty, the capacity of lecture halls is usually measured i ...

. It is the only purpose-built mosque in Gibraltar to serve the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s in the territory who number over 1,000: around 4% of Gibraltar's total population.

References

1997 establishments in Gibraltar Mosques completed in 1997 Mosques in Gibraltar {{Gibraltar-struct-stub