Markazi Masjid, Dewsbury

Markazi Masjid
Religion
AffiliationSunni Islam
SectTablighi Jamaat
Location
LocationDewsbury, West Yorkshire
Markazi Masjid, Dewsbury is located in West Yorkshire
Markazi Masjid, Dewsbury
Shown within West Yorkshire
Geographic coordinates53°40′52″N 1°37′44″W / 53.68111°N 1.62889°W / 53.68111; -1.62889
Architecture
FounderHafiz Patel
Groundbreaking1978
Completed1982
Capacity4,000

The Markazi Masjid ("Central Mosque"), also known as the Dewsbury Markaz or Dar ul Ulum ("House of Knowledge"),[1] is a mosque in the Savile Town area of Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England.

With a maximum capacity of 4,000,[2] it is one of the largest mosques in Europe.[3] It is the European headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat movement,[4][5][6] and also houses one of the two main Islamic seminaries in the UK.[3][7] The mosque serves as a centre for Tablighi Jamaat's missionary activity throughout Europe.[1]

It was also the location of the Institute of Islamic Education (Arabic: جامعة تعليم الإسلام, romanized: ‘Jāmi’at Ta’līm al-Islām),[8] a private day and boarding faith school for boys aged 13–25[9] However the school formally closed in January 2023.[10]

Construction of the mosque commenced in 1978 and was completed in 1982;[11] the seminary was founded in 1980.[2] The founder of Dewsbury Markaz was Hafiz Patel, who remained its leading figurehead until his death in 2016.[11]

  1. ^ a b Rex, John (2002). "Islam in the United Kingdom". In Hunter, Shireen (ed.). Islam, Europe's second religion: the new social, cultural, and political landscape. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 51–76. ISBN 0-275-97608-4.
  2. ^ a b "Markazi Masjid". Muslims in Britain. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Markazi Masjid". Archived from the original on 8 February 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  4. ^ Michael Emerson Ethno-religious Conflict in Europe 2009 p.123 "3.1 Non-political religious groups Tablighi Jamaat Britain is the current locus of Tablighi Jamaat in the West, with the Dewsbury Central Mosque in West Yorkshire serving as its European headquarters, although the group is highly decentralised."
  5. ^ Wainright, Martin (29 May 2008). "The name's Dewsbury". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  6. ^ Fred Burton and Scott Stewart (23 January 2008). "Tablighi Jamaat: An Indirect Line to Terrorism". StartforGI. Stratfor Global Intelligence. Archived from the original on 5 September 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  7. ^ Werbner, Pnina (February 1996). "The Making of Muslim Dissent: Hybridized Discourses, Lay Preachers, and Radical Rhetoric among British Pakistanis". American Ethnologist. 23 (1): 102–122. doi:10.1525/ae.1996.23.1.02a00060. JSTOR 646256.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ofsted 2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Institute of Islamic Education". Ofsted. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  10. ^ "Institute of Islamic Education". get-information-schools.service.gov.uk.
  11. ^ a b Timol, Riyaz. "Obituary: Hafiz Patel (1926-2016)".