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.

History

The mosque rose on land dedicated as waqf, its construction carried through years of community fundraising before the doors opened in 1988. Designed by the architect Juan Mora, the building restored public Muslim worship to Madrid after more than nine centuries, since the Castilian conquest of 1085 had closed the city's last mosque. It stands today as the headquarters of the Union of Islamic Communities of Spain and of the Islamic Community of Madrid, known locally as the Abu Bakr Mosque or, for its nearness to the Estrecho metro station, the Strait Mosque.

Significance

Spread across four floors, the mosque holds far more than a prayer hall: a nursery, a school, a library, an auditorium, and a shop share the building, alongside a partnership with Al-Azhar University in Cairo for the training of imams. Each of the five daily prayers draws worshippers through its perforated concrete facade, and Salat al-Jumu'ah gathers the congregation every Friday afternoon.

Architecture

Modern mosque architecture in reinforced concrete, four floors beneath a pierced lattice facade and a single minaret