The biggest mosque in Europe: The Grand Mosque of Rome

The mosque is called “The Grand Mosque of Rome” and Italy—it’s the largest one in both Italy as well as the whole of Europe. It’s located in Parioli, Rome, Italy. This largest mosque is considered by many to be the national mosque of Italy. This mosque has been known to Italians as “Moschea di Roma”. Yet it is a great honor and pride for the Muslim Umah to have such a mosque in Rome that is even a pilgrimage site for Christians across the globe. 

The construction process

Buried in the background of this great mosque stands the history of Muslims from all over the globe who made imprudent and invaluable contributions. In late 1929, the Amiri of Afghanistan, Mohammad Hasan, together with his spouse, Razia, emigrated from their country to Italy. They were the first to mobilize themselves to construct this mosque. Then in 1974, the Saudi King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz initiated the Italian government to construct this mosque when he was on a tour in Italy. In response to the Saudi Arabian government’s request, Italy provided 20 meters of space for the construction of a mosque this year by the Roman city council.  After that, some religious groups in Italy and the locals of Rome began to object in various ways to the construction of the mosque. Due to their obstruction, the construction of the mosque was stopped for about ten years. But with the backing of the Christian leader Pope John Paul II, the construction of the Grand Mosque was again undertaken. The construction of this mosque was initiated probably in around 1984.  A new dispute arose over the height of the minaret of the mosque. The dispute was resolved by building the mosque’s minaret about a meter lower than the height of the dome of St. Peter’s, a Christian pilgrimage site just across Rome. Finally, the construction of the mosque was completed after a gap of about a decade.

Design

Famous Italian architects Vittorio Gigliotti, and Paolo Portoghesi, and Iraqi architect Sami Moussawi designed this grand mosque. Also, 40 famous architects from all over the world were engaged in this design work. This mosque is a three-storied building that has the Anglo-Indian style of architecture along with the Banian style of the Islamic structure. Among them, the 128-foot minaret attracts everyone’s attention towards it. I am talking about the mosque.

Architecture

The interior columns of the grand mosque of Rome are designed in the motif of the north African palm trees. Adequate lighting has been provided inside the mosque. In the center of this huge mosque is a large dome covered with 16 separate domes. On the first floor of the mosque, there is a large-scale prayer facility. Around 12,000 worshipers can pray here at once. About 30,000 Muslims have the opportunity to pray in the entire mosque, including the outer part of the mosque, during the two Eid prayers. The second floor of the mosque houses research rooms, the Institute of Islamic Studies, and administrative rooms. There is also a large seminar room on the third floor. In addition to offering prayers in this largest mosque in Europe, the bath and funeral of the deceased, wedding ceremonies, Walima, and various Islamic seminars are organized.

Finances

Construction of the grand mosque was completed to a total value of roughly fifty million euros. The Saudi government used to finance about 70% of the construction cost of the mosque but when the funding ceased after the Gulf War, Morocco had to do it. Furthermore, out of 57 Muslim countries around the world, one of them is Bangladesh, and 22 Muslim countries financially contributed to the construction of this mosque. At last, on 25th June 1995, ‘The Grand Mosque of Rome’ was opened to the public. When the center was inaugurated, the then-president of Italy, Sandro Pertini, Pope John Paul II, the Saudi king Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz, and the ambassadors of many countries were present. Thousands of religious devotees were also present.

Organization

At present, the famous scholars of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Morocco are responsible for managing this famous mosque. The chief imam of the mosque is the Egyptian scholar Sheikh Salah Ramadan Elsayed, an Al-Azhar University graduate and former Democratic Party member.

In addition to being a meeting place for religious activities, it provides cultural and social services, variously connecting Muslims.