Mariam Al-Batool Mosque

Mariam Al-Batool Mosque
مسجد مريم البتول il-Moskea
Religion
Affiliation	Sunni Islam
Ownership	Islamic Call Society[6]
Leadership	Imam(s): Mohammed Elsadi[2][3][4] Chairman: Imam Wagdi Nashnosh (Director)[5]
Location
Location	Paola, Malta
Shown within Malta
Administration	Islamic Call Society[7][8]
Geographic coordinates	35°52′33″N 14°30′32″E / 35.875897°N 14.508822°E / 35.875897; 14.508822
Architecture
Architect(s)	Mohammed Abid el-Soukri
Type	Mosque
Style	Islamic architecture
General contractor	Gemco International Ltd. Co.[9]
Date established	1982
Construction cost	£M 900,000[10]
Specifications
Capacity	500 worshippers[11][12]
Interior area	225 m2 (2,420 sq ft)[11][9]
Dome(s)	1
Minaret(s)	1
Minaret height	31.5 m (103 ft)[9]
Materials	Limestone
Website
mariamalbatool.com (Islamic Centre)[8]

Mariam Al-Batool Mosque (Arabic: مسجد مريم البتول, lit. "The Virgin Mary Mosque",^[13][14] also known as Paola Mosque^[15] or Corradino Mosque)^[16] is a mosque located in Paola, Malta.^[17] The first stone of the mosque was laid by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 1978^[18] and its doors were open to the public in 1982, and officiated in 1984. The initial scope of the building was to serve the Muslims in Malta, at the time mainly economic migrants from Libya,^[9] and to promote Sunni Islam among the Maltese society.^[19][20]

Even though there are a number of other Muslim places of worship in Malta,^[21][22][23] the Mariam Al-Batool Mosque is the only officially recognized and mosque-designed structure in the country,^[24][25][26] so it is colloquially referred to in Maltese as simply il-Moskea (lit. "the Mosque").^[27] The building of others have been proposed.^{[28][29][30][31]}