Madrid Central Mosque

About

The Madrid Central Mosque, known in Spanish as the Mezquita Central de Madrid, stands in the Cuatro Caminos neighbourhood of the Tetuan district in the Spanish capital. Sometimes called the Strait Mosque after its proximity to the Estrecho metro station, whose name recalls the Strait of Gibraltar, the building was designed by the architect Juan Mora and serves as the headquarters of the Union of Islamic Communities of Spain and of the Islamic Community of Madrid.

The land on which the mosque rises was dedicated as Waqf, and years of patient fundraising followed before construction could be completed. Its opening in 1988 marked the return of a public mosque to Madrid for the first time since 1085, when the long centuries of Andalusi Muslim rule on the Iberian peninsula gave way to Castilian conquest. After more than nine hundred years, the call to prayer was heard again in the city.

Spread over four floors, the building gathers far more than a prayer hall. It houses offices, a nursery, a school, a library, an auditorium, and a shop, and serves as a centre of worship, study, charity, and culture for Muslims in Madrid. A cooperation agreement with the Community of Madrid and another with the state through the Islamic Commission of Spain frame its civic role, while a partnership with Al-Azhar University in Cairo supports the training and provision of imams.

Significance

As the first mosque opened in Madrid in the modern era, the Mezquita Central holds a particular place in the story of Islam's return to the Iberian peninsula after the end of Al-Andalus. It continues to anchor Muslim community life in Spain through its educational, charitable, and pastoral work.