New mosque for Poland Muslims
Centre of Islamic Culture - KAPS Architekci
A three-storey Islamic centre that includes a large mosque is to be built near the centre of Warsaw, the Polish capital.
According to Gazeta Wyborcza, the Centre of Islamic Culture, designed by KAPS Architekci, will be located in the close vicinity of the Blue City shopping centre, at the Zeslancow Syberyjskich roundabout just to the west of the city centre.
The building will have an 18-metre high minaret, but the call to prayer will be heard drifting over the city.
“A muezin’s call for prayer will be heard only in a prayer room, not outside,” said Samir Ismail, head of the Muslim League in Poland.
Apart from a prayer room, the centre will consist of a library with a multimedia room, art gallery, restaurant, café and shop. “We will pray there and make Poles aware that Islam is a moderate religion,” Ismail said.
The construction of the mosque will be mainly financed by a Saudi investor but the League does not want to reveal the name or the investment amount.
Around 40,000 Muslims live in Poland, a mixture of Poles, Tatars, Arabs, Turks and others. Warsaw is home to about 13,000 Muslims.
Poland has four mosques, including one in Warsaw, built in 1993.
