Al-Quds Mosque Hamburg

Al Quds Masjid Hamburg
Basic information
Location St. Georg, Hamburg, Hamburg
 Germany
Affiliation Islam
Architectural description
Architectural type Mosque
Architectural style backyard
Completed 1993
Specifications

Al-Quds Mosque Hamburg (Arabic: مسجد القدس, meaning "Jerusalem", or Masjid Taiba مسجد طيبة) was a mosque in Hamburg, Germany that preached a radical form of Sunni Islam. Al-Quds is where some of the September 11 attackers including Mohamed Atta, attended and met one another, forming the Hamburg cell.[1]

Contents

History

The mosque opened in 1993, and was run by the Taiba German-Arab Cultural Association.[2] It occupied a three-story building near the Hauptbahnhof rail station in a red-light district, in the St. Georg section of Hamburg.[3]

Unlike many other mosques in Hamburg which cater to Persians and the Turkish population, al-Quds served Hamburg's smaller Arab population.[4] Under leadership of Iman Mohammed al Fizazi, the mosque preached a radical version of Sunni Islam.[3] Other leaders at the mosque have included Sheik Azid al Kirani.[3]

The prayer room for men is carpeted, located on the first floor, and can accommodate up to 400. It is one of the Masjids with a radical interpretation of Islam and its practice, namely the way of the Salaf As-Salih.[3]. On Fridays, the mosque usually had around 250 in attendance.[5]

2010 shut down

The mosque was shut down by German security officials in August 2010 amid suspicion that the mosque was again being used as a meeting place for Islamic extremists involved in the 2010 European terror plot.[6] [7][8] German authorities discovered that 10 members of the mosque had traveled to the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Shahab D., an Iranian at the mosque, had joined the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ Grieshaber, Kirsten (2010-08-09). "German mosque used by Sept. 11 attackers shut down". Associated Press. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GERMANY_MOSQUE_CLOSED. Retrieved 2010-08-11. "Sept. 11 ringleader Mohamed Atta as well as attackers Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah had studied in Hamburg and frequented the al-Quds mosque" 
  2. ^ Moore, Tristana (2010-08-10). "Jihadi Tourism and the Closed Hamburg Mosque". Time. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2009618,00.html. Retrieved 2010-09-03. 
  3. ^ a b c d Finn, Peter (2002-09-11). "Hamburg's Cauldron of Terror". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64793-2002Sep10.html. 
  4. ^ McDermott, Terry (2005). Perfect Soldiers: The Hijackers: Who They Were, Why They Did It. HarperCollins. pp. 3. ISBN 0-06-058469-6. 
  5. ^ a b Hengst, Björn; Christoph Scheuermann (2010-08-09). "Hamburg Hate Preachers Lose Their Home". Der Spiegel. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,710952,00.html. Retrieved 2010-09-03. 
  6. ^ "9/11 Mosque Continued To Produce Jihadis; German-Speaking Militants Came From Same Hamburg Mosque As 9/11 Hijackers," RICHARD ESPOSITO, RHONDA SCHWARTZ, MATTHEW COLE and ANNA SCHECTER, Sept. 29, 2010, ABC News.
  7. ^ "Germany shuts 9/11 plotters' mosque in Hamburg". BBC. 2010-08-09. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10911542. Retrieved 2010-09-03. 
  8. ^ "Hamburg Officials Raid Alleged Islamist Recruiting Site". Der Spiegel. 2010-08-09. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,710845,00.html. Retrieved 2010-09-03. 

External links