The Mahmood Mosque, () situated in Forchstrasse,

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, is the first purpose-built

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. It is owned and run by the

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

. The mosque has a

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

, the new construction of which is now banned in Switzerland by popular vote. The foundation stone was laid with a stone from the wall of the Mubarak Mosque, India by Amatul Hafeez Begum, daughter of the founder of the

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (13 February 1835 – 26 May 1908) was an Indian religious leader and the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam. He claimed to have been divinely appointed as the promised Messiah and '' Mahdī'', in fulfillment of th ...

on August 25, 1962. It was a sign of the emancipation of Muslim women, both then and now. The mosque was inaugurated on June 22, 1963, by the then President of the 17th session of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

, Sir

Muhammad Zafarullah Khan Sir Chaudhry Mohammad Zafarullah Khan (6 February 1893 – 1 September 1985) was a Pakistani diplomat and jurist who served as the first foreign minister of Pakistan. After serving as foreign minister he continued his international career and ...

, in the presence of the Mayor of Zurich, Dr. Emil Landolt. The mission in Switzerland was led by Mushtaq Ahmad Bajwa from June 1962 until January 1975.

History

In the post-war period, Islam came to Switzerland through the

in 1946. On October 13, 1946, three missionaries arrived in Zurich. The three missionaries, Sheikh Nasir Ahmad, Abdul Latif and Ghulam Ahmad Bashir, were actually appointed to open an Islamic mission in Germany, but entry opportunities to Germany were almost impossible during the first post-war years. After a while, Abdul Latif and Ghulam Ahmad Bashir travelled to the Netherlands. Sheikh Nasir Ahmad (Head of Missionary 1946 to 1962 and 1997 to 2000 in Switzerland) was commissioned to further expand the Mission Office in Switzerland, which had already been widely publicized in the press. Between 1946 and 1962, three important priority tasks were accomplished in Switzerland. The first edition of the Arabic-German edition of the Quran appeared in 1954. Second, the publication and foundation of the magazine "DER ISLAM". Third, the construction of a mosque in Switzerland.

References

External links

Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in Switzerland
{{Zürich Ahmadiyya mosques in Switzerland Buildings and structures in Zurich Mosques completed in 1963 Tourist attractions in Zurich 20th-century architecture in Switzerland

History

See also

References

External links