Mosques are the most precious and safe places for the Muslim people. Throughout centuries, gorgeous mosques are being built, and many of them become architecturally important and famous for tourism. Let us have a brief discussion on some of them.

Al-Masjid al-Ḥarām

Al Haram mosque, situated in the city of Mecca, is the most holy place for Muslims. It is the largest mosque in the world, also known as Al- Haram El-Sharif. It is the destination where people go to Holy Hajj and the Qibla is in the middle of this mosque to which direction Muslims pray five times.

About 356,800 square meter area is able to hold near about 4 to 5 million of Hajj pilgrims. Every Muslim cherishes going there at least once in a life time.

Al-Masjid al-Nabawi

This is the second largest and important mosque in the Islamic world, situated in Madina. It has been established by our beloved Prophet Mohammed (P.B.U.H) himself. Also, it’s the place of Rowza (Resting place) of our Prophet (P.B.U.H). There is a green dome in the place of his tomb. Near to this mosque, Abu Bakr (RA) and Umar (RA )had been buried. This Mosque has undergone many reconstructions over the ages, done by many Islamic rulers.

Baiturrahman Mosque

Situated in the center in Banda Aceh, in Indonesia, this mosque is popular in two ways. First, it is the first mosque in the South Asia which has domes and was built by the Dutch in 1979 and rejuvenated in 1980. Second, this mosque is the proud survivor of tsunami 2004, when the rest of the Banda city was totally ruined by strong winds and power of the sea.

Dome Of The Rock (Masjid Qubbat As-Sakhrah)

This mosque is very much significant historically and a holy place for both Muslims and Jews. It was built in 691 CE by the order of Abd Al-Malik, the Umayyad caliph in Jerusalem. This mosque has the Foundation stone from which it is believed that our Prophet (P.B.U.H) ascended to heaven. This mosque performed many important roles throughout the centuries.

Al Aqsa Mosque

The third largest and important mosque placed in Jerusalem where more than 5000 Muslims can pray at once. It is said that, Prophet Mohammed (P.B.U.H) was carried from Mecca to Al Aqsa mosque and he kept praying, until Allah ordered him to go back.

Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque

A marvelous and beautiful creature of Asia which draws thousands of tourists to Brunei. Yes, situated in the Bandar Seri Begawan of the country Brunei, it is accredited as the blaze to people.

The Shah Faisal Mosque

The name suggests a mosque in Saudi Arabia but it is built by the King Faisal of Saudi Arabia in Islamabad  Pakistan. His symbol of love towards Pakistan is renowned due to its beautiful architecture and size. About 300,000 Muslims can accumulate there within the 5000 square meters of area.

Baitul Mukarram Mosque

Being enlisted among the 10 largest mosques of the world, this mosque is the national mosque of Bangladesh established in 1960 with the holding capacity of 30,000 people at a time. Architecturally resembles the Ka’abah Sharif of Mecca.

The Zahir Mosque

Another largest and structurally beautiful mosque made by Tunku Mahmud in Malaysia. This 124412 square meters aerated masjid has been built in 1912 and situated in Alor star, Kedah.

All of these are very few of a large list. Never forget to visit the spectacular architectures whenever you visit those countries.

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In United Kingdom, it is not much difficult for Muslim individuals to find a nearby Mosque for offering prayers. There are more than 1500 Mosques  in the United Kingdom. Here is a list with the details of some famous Mosques in the UK.

Suleymaniye Mosque:

This mosque is situated in London at Kingsland road. It was built by the Turkish Islamic cultural Centre and the United Kingdom. This Mosque mainly serves the Turkish Muslim community living in the United Kingdom. Construction of this mosque began in 1995 and was opened for public in year 1999 where more than 3,000 people can offer prayer at the same time. This mosque also includes a wedding hall, a conference room, a guest room and a class room.

Al-Rahma Mosque:

This Mosque is situated in Liverpool, England. More than 25, 00 people can offer prayer at the same time in this Mosque. This Mosque mainly serves the Muslim community of Liverpool. It is considered one of the largest Mosques in its area. This Mosque was established in year 1974 containing one Dome and two Minarets.

Manchester Central Mosque:

It is also known as the Islamic Cultural Centre or Victoria Park Mosque. Sometimes, it is also referred to as Jamia Mosque. It is situated close to the city of Curry Mile and in the middle of Victoria Park Manchester. It mainly serves as a religious place for Manchester Muslim community.

Didsbury Mosque:

This Mosque is also situated in Manchester on Burton Road. It was opened for public for the first time as a church in year 1883. In year 1962, the church was converted into a Mosque where more than 1000 people can offer prayer at the same time.

Bristol Jamia Mosque:

It is most famous religious place of Muslim situated in Bristol. It was the first Mosque constructed in Bristol and now it is considered one of the largest Mosques in the south west of England. Initially it was built as a church but later in year 1968 it was converted into a Mosque. It has one dome and one minaret and can take more than 1000 Muslim for prayer at the same time.

Birmingham Central Mosque:

It is one of the most famous and largest Mosques situated in Birmingham. It is run by Birmingham Mosque Trust. It is considered one of the largest Muslim community centers in Europe. This Mosque is open for both men and women. More than 4000 people can offer Friday prayer in the main hall of this Mosque.

Al Mahdi Mosque:

This mosque was established by Mirza Mansoor Ahmed and mostly serves Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. It was opened for public for the first time in year 2008. More than 2000 people can offer prayer at the same time in this Mosque. It is situated in the Rees Ways, Bradford.

East London Mosque:

This Mosque is situated between the Aldgate and White chapel. It is considered one of the largest Mosque of the United Kingdom which mainly serves the Bangladeshi Muslim community. More than 5000 people can offer prayer at the same time in this Mosque. It has one dome and three minarets.

Above listed are just few mosques, there are various Mosques in the United Kingdom that serves as an excellent place of worship for Muslim communities living in the UK.

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I am running a freelance company to provide development, designing, seo and writing services.

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The Mayor of Moscow says there are no plans to build a new mosque in the city, and says the "excessive" number of economic migrants was a "harmful thing".

"It has turned out that the praying Muslims are not at all Russian citizens and they are not Moscow residents. They are labor migrants. There are only 10 percent of Moscow residents among them and building mosques for everyone who wants it – I think this will be over the top," Sergey Sobyanin said in an interview with Moscow's Echo radio.

The top city official went on to say that "Muscovites now get irritated by people who speak a different language, have different manners, with aggressive behavior. This is not purely ethnic, but this is connected with some ethnic traits," Sobyanin said.

At the same time, the Moscow Mayor explained that there are no ethnic enclaves in the city and expressed the hope that such enclaves would never appear as closed districts like that usually have a very high crime rate.

RT, 1 March 2013

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Over at Atlas Shrugs, Pamela Geller has posted a response to the latest "Muslim patrol" video to appear on YouTube. "For years now," Geller pontificates, "Leftists and assorted 'anti-racists' have been denying the existence of these Sharia patrols...." It is of course true that we deny their existence, but that is for the simple reason that they don't really exist.

You'll see that the new video contains no actual patrolling at all. In contrast to the two previous videos the two-man, self-appointed "Muslim patrol" doesn't even approach anyone on the street, still less harass them. The video just features a lot of loud-mouthed ranting to camera, with a middle section showing an apparently drunken man nodding off on a bench, accompanied by a disapproving commentary.

As existential threats to western civilisation go, you'd have to say this one isn't particularly scary.

More significant, however, is that Geller crossposts, with evident approval, an article from another Islamophobic blog called The Muslim Issue commenting on the video. It reads in part:

If a government wants to learn how to manage growing Islamic problems, take some advice from Ottoman army officer Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Atatürk abolished Islam by putting a complete ban on Islamic materials, demolishing mosques, and removing any traces of Islam in his country to get rid of the evil. Those who tried to revolt were put in their place, or basically killed....

It is time for the UK to stop wasting their military abroad, but bring them to patrol their own streets and begin to remove Muslims. And it is vital time to plan and arrange deportation programs – and even arrange new deportation programs for practicing Muslims born in England to be deported to their parent's country of origin.

This goes way beyond anything that even the English Defence League or the British National Party would officially support. They are the sort of policies advocated by the most extreme neo-Nazi elements of the far right in the UK. Are US Republican Party organisations and mainstream media outlets going to continue providing a platform for a woman who posts material like this on her blog?

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A Mosque (Masjid) is the place where followers of Islam, Muslims, pray. They pray five times a day, and prayers are called Fajar (before dawn), Zuhr (noon), Asar (evening), Maghrib (after dusk) and Esha (night). Apart from a place for offering prayers, Mosques are used for Islamic community meetings, for the recitation of the Quran, for worshipping Allah and performing other religious activities. Quba Mosque was the first mosque ever built.

Mosques have Minartes, domes, prayer halls and a water place for ablution. They are present almost everywhere in the world, and they are beautiful and many hold significance for the tourism industry in their city. They are designed by designers and architects with extreme skill.  Muslims and non-Muslims are allowed in mosques but special care has to be taken, the non-Muslims can visit a mosque and can stay there as long as they want but should not sleep or eat there. Mosques are supposed to be kept clean, and no one is allowed to enter them with shoes on their feet. Los Angeles is the city of America where Muslims live in minorities. There are more than 15 Mosques in LA.

Mosques in LA include Masjid Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, Masjid Bilal Islamic Center, IMAN Foundation,  Masjid Al Mumin, the Islamic center of Southern California, IMAN culture center, Masjid Bilal Ibn Rabah, Dawa Center of Masjid Umar, Masjid Tawhid, Masjid Ibadallah, Masjid Abu Bakar As Saddiq, Masjid Al Salam and Masjid Al Rasul. Masjid Omar Ibn Al-Khattab is located at 1025 Exposition Boulevard; it was opened for Muslims to offer their prestigious obligations in March 1994 (Ramadan, 1414 Hijri according to Islamic calender). It took fifteen years and hundreds of volunteers to establish this Mosque. An old woman gave her land for the building of Masjid Omar in 1978 (1398 Hijri); she desired to help in the cause of Islam and after her donation, numerous donations followed.

Masjid Bilal Islamic Center has a history of over 50 years. At first, it was owned by an African American group called the International Brotherhood of the Protectorate of Elks. Muslims purchased the property and the remodeled the 40,000sq. ft, three story building into a Mosque. In the 1980s it was damaged by an earthquake and again it was rebuilt. IMAN Foundation is located at 3376 Motor Avenue and was established in 1996. Masjid Al Mumin is located at 1635 South Saint Andrews Place. Muhammad Mosque is located at 5350 Crenshaw Boulevard. The Islamic center of Southern California is located at 434 S Vermont Ave, it is beautiful mosque which from the outside looks like an office, but the interior is completely different. Masjid Bilal Ibn Rabah is located at 5450 Crenshaw Boulevard. Masjid Tawhid is located at 852 Santee Street. Masjid Ibadallah is located at 2310 W. Jefferson. All these mosques are actively serving Muslims in Los Angeles where Muslims have complete freedom to practice their religion.

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The leader of the English Defence League (EDL) in Bristol has been arrested in connection with graffiti sprayed on mosques and Sikh temples.

Mickey Bayliss, from Upton Cheyney near Bitton, was arrested on Wednesday, along with another man.

The two had their properties searched but were not charged and have been released on bail.

The arrests were made in connection with two incidents of criminal damage on mosques and a Sikh temple on Valley Road, Bedminster, and Church Road, Redfield, between September 21 and September 25. It is believed that the word "EDL" was dubbed in red graffiti on the properties on Church Road and grey graffiti on Valley Road.

Police spokeswoman Catherine Foster said: "A 47-year-old man has been arrested under suspicion of criminal damage. He has been bailed until January 22. There were three incidents of criminal damage, two on Valley Road and one on Church Road."

She added: "A 36-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the same investigation."

Bristol Post, 19 November 2012

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Nationalist organizations have criticized Moscow Chief Mufti Albir Krganov's initiative to build more mosques in Russia to accommodate the needs of the large inflow of immigrants from Muslim countries.

"This approach is not totally correct," chairman of the Russkiye movement's supervisory board Alexander Belov [pictured] told Interfax on Tuesday.

"It is necessary to decide once and for all – whether Russia will turn into an Islamic state or will remain a secular state, where foreign immigrants come, find jobs and leave after their work is over," he said.

"If immigrants live no one knows where but want to build a mosque in my yard, this approach is certainly wrong," Belov said.

Interfax, 16 October 2012

Russkiye is a coalition of various fascist and anti-migrant groups. According to a recent Friedrich Ebert Stiftung report by Alexander Verkhovsky, The Ultra-Right in Russia in 2012, the movement "combines legalistic sounding rhetoric against 'migrants', a term used to refer to all 'ethnically foreign' groups" with "undisguised neo-Nazism".

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Bulgarian xenophobic party Ataka (Attack) wants the Parliament to pass a moratorium on the construction of mosques in the country.

In a statement sent to the media, the marginal ultra-nationalist formation has reminded that Bulgaria has the highest number of mosques per capita in Europe.

"Let us follow the example of democratic Switzerland, where there is a ban on the construction of new mosques," the party says.

Referring to the "radical Islam" trial recently launched in the town of Pazardzhik, Ataka states that Islamists have been active in the country since 2008.

The party further claims that the ruling centrist-right GERB would "side with Islamism and terrorism" if it does not endorse the moratorium on mosques.

Ataka has also bashed Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov over visiting Ankara, pointing out that Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan "is an Islamist."

In May 2011, Ataka supporters shocked Bulgaria, as the party's rally protesting against the use of loudspeakers by the Banya Bashi mosque in downtown Sofia got out of hand and its activists assaulted praying Muslims in front of the mosque.

Novinite, 1 October 2012

The Swiss ban is of course on the construction of minarets, not mosques as such.

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Mosques are places where Muslims go to worship the Almighty. Mosques are also called as the house of Almighty. Not that He lives there but He is worshiped there in specific. There is 27 times more reward of praying in a mosque for a Muslim than praying at home. Mosques have great importance in a Muslim culture and state. Mosque is a place where Muslims gather five times a day to pray. Standing together shoulder to shoulder they pray for forgiveness to the Almighty. But mosques do not only serve as a place to pray but also as community centers. Community centers are the places or venues which are open for public to gather and interact with each other. When people meet, they get to know each other. This benefits the whole society because they try to get benefited from each other. In short, community centers help a person n socializing.

When Muslims gather in the mosque they get to know each other. It is a common observation that when people are used to seeing each other at regular intervals then they become so used to each other that absence of even a single person is felt. Same is with a mosque. Islam teaches the Muslims to keep an eye on each other so that no person would feel lonely when he is troubled. It has been declared shameful for a Muslim that he sleeps with a filled stomach while his neighbor did not had anything to eat. Thus, by visiting mosques regularly everyone becomes more aware about each other and also cares for each other in time of need.

From a very old time, mosques have had their importance as the community centers for Muslims where they would share their troubles with each other and where they would interact for the formation of a stronger and more closely bound society. Great architectural art is also implemented when it comes to constructing a mosque. In the Indian subcontinent the great mosques tell the story of taste for beauty in mosque’s architecture thousands of years ago. Even today it is seen that mosques all around the world are designed by the best of architects so that the mosque may become attractive in look as well as in spirituality. A mosque generally has a dome and few minarets. The basic lay out of a mosque is always the same the outer appearance is made different and appealing by various architectural techniques.

From the early history of Islam we see that mosques were treated as community centers for Muslims. At the time of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) there used to be educational lectures held in the great mosque and the Prophet (PBUH) used to encourage them. Mosques have always served the purpose of being learning institutes as well. Still now, the mosques serve as place for people to learn and teach the Holy Quran. In addition to religious knowledge, worldly scientific knowledge is also being taught at the mosques in today’s world.

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Osama

I am 20 years old from Karachi, Pakistan. I am doing graduation from Karachi University. Right now, doing freelance writing for Muslim Academy.

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BALLWIN — Muslim, Christian and Jewish religious leaders joined civil rights leaders here this morning in denouncing recent attacks against mosques around the country. They say that kind of violence represents intolerance and a hatred of Muslims, and they worry it escalates during election season.

"This is a result of an atmosphere of hate that is being created by a small group of radical Islamophobes within this country," said Faizan Syed, executive director of the St. Louis chapter of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations). Ghazala Hayat, with the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis, added: "We also see, usually the year of election, this rhetoric goes up."

At a news conference, they were joined by Barbara Jennings, with the Coalition of Catholic Sisters; Rabbi Brigitte Rosenberg, president of the Rabbinical Association; and civil rights leaders including Brenda Jones of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri and Karen Aroesty of the Anti-Defamation League.

A July 4 arson fire damaged a mosque in Joplin, Mo., and a second fire on Aug. 6 destroyed it. The second fire has been labeled suspicious. An investigation continues.

The national group CAIR is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for the attempted arson on July 4. Syed said the group had planned Wednesday to announce an increase in that reward to include the Aug. 6 fire, but he said they would wait until officials confirm that it was arson.

Syed said the St. Louis group has contacted Islamic centers in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma to warn them to beef up security measures, during Friday prayers and other times. He said what happened to the mosque outside Joplin underscored the anger sometimes directed toward such centers. He said that mosque had been targeted even before the arson attempt in July. Shotgun shells had been fired at the center's mailbox and people driving by had yelled profanities at children, he said.

Meanwhile, he said the mosque there will rebuild, thanks to a national fundraising campaign. He said about $400,000 had been raised in a short time, but that it will take close to $1.4 million to rebuild in or near Joplin. "We are really heartened by the response by non-Muslims to raise money so quickly," Hayat added.

St Louis Post-Dispatch, 15 August 2012

See also "Joplin, Mo., mosque fire called evidence of hatred", Associated Press, 15 August 2012

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Alexander Müller, a Zurich politician from the far-right Swiss People's Party has caused outrage by appearing to call for "another Kristallnacht" in a hateful anti-Islamic tweet.

The offending message, which has since been taken down from Müller's @DailyTalk account, said: "Maybe we need another Kristallnacht… this time for mosques."

The Zurich prosecutor is considering whether to launch a formal criminal investigation into Müller, who also works as a school nurse. "It is possible that the Twitter post breached the criminal provisions on racism," Corinne Bouvard, spokeswoman for the Zurich prosecutor's office, told the website.

The Young Greens have also called for Müller's immediate resignation from his position as school nurse.

Müller denies writing the post, and has alleged that someone forged it, newspaper Tages Anzeiger reported.

In other tweets, he has previously been seen to make fun of beauty contests in Saudi Arabia, voiced his opposition to integration and the "Islamization" of the country, and accused Muslims of trying to litter the country with mosques and minarets.

The Local, 26 June 2012

Via Loonwatch and Islamophobia Today

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A website dedicated to following the New York City Police Department published a document Monday detailing Islamic schools, NGOs, mosques, student associations, and persons of interest that were monitored by the NYPD in 2006 as part of its secret and legally questionable program to spy on Muslims.

The program was first exposed in an Pulitzer Prize-winning series by the Associated Press last year.

Leonard Levitt, a former Newsday police reporter who runs NYPD Confidential, writes Monday that the NYPD's own Intelligence Division document from 2006 refute claims that the police force is innocent.

According to the new document, NYPD's undercover officers or informants infiltrated places as varied as the Westchester Muslim Center mosque, an Islamic student association at Brooklyn College, and the Council on American-Islamic Affairs (CAIR).

"It doesn't suprise me at all," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for CAIR, the nation's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. "It seems every organization, leader, mosque, and cab driver was on their list... But what we're concerned about is the individual Muslims who were targeted for this spy campaign without a warrant or any evidence of wrongdoing on anyone's part."

US News & World Report‎, 4 June 2012

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A far-right party on the campaign trial in Germany's most populous state is threatening to put caricatures of Mohammed outside mosques in a string of cities.

The "Pro NRW" party in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia has already shown anti-Islamic caricatures in Essen and Gelsenkirchen, though the police prevented demonstrations taking place directly outside mosques.

Police have also banned "Pro NRW", which is campaigning on an Islamophobic platform, from using the Danish cartoons that caused massive protests in the Islamic world in 2005.

But "Pro NRW" intends to send activists to 25 mosques throughout the state in the run-up to the election on May 13, staging protests in Cologne, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Aachen, Wuppertal and Solingen. A report in Die Welt newspaper on Sunday said the far-right party intended to post around 100 what it called "Islam-critical" drawings outside the mosques.

Interior Minister in state Ralf Jäger condemned the campaign and expressed support for planned counter-demonstrations. "Pro NRW is committing spiritual arson," he told the paper. "The party is consciously taking into account that Muslims will feel provoked and upset. The authorities will exhaust all legal avenues to prevent a xenophobic hate campaign."

The federal Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich is reportedly worried about violent confrontations with the Salafists, the fundamentalist Muslims who began distributing free copies of the Koran in Germany three weeks ago. A report in Der Spiegel magazine over the weekend said his ministry had been in contact with the North Rhine-Westphalia state government in recent weeks to find a way to de-escalate the situation. The election there is on May 13.

"Pro NRW" campaign manager Lars Seidensticker says he did not understand the outrage over the campaign, and says his party would bear no responsibility for any violence.

"If the situation is so tense that you can't do a campaign like this against Islamist influences any more, then the politicians are responsible for doing away with Germany," he said, alluding to the title of a 2010 book by banker Thilo Sarrazin ("Germany Does Away with Itself"), which criticized Islamic immigrants in Germany.

"Mosques are potential centres of a new civil war that we have to prevent," said Seidensticker. "That's why we have to pull out the Islamist evil by its roots."

"Pro NRW", which boasts 250 members, is also planning to award a cash prize for the "best" anti-Islamic caricature, named after Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who was responsible for the 2005 images. Westergaard has distanced himself from the competition and is reportedly considering legal action against the party for using his name.

The Local, 30 April 2012

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