Green Lane Masjid

Green Lane Masjid

The Masjid, formerly Green Lane Public Library and Baths (Martin & Chamberlain 1893-1902)
Basic information
Location Small Heath, Birmingham, England
Geographic coordinates 52°28′23.30″N 1°51′50.90″W / 52.4731389°N 1.8641389°W / 52.4731389; -1.8641389Coordinates: 52°28′23.30″N 1°51′50.90″W / 52.4731389°N 1.8641389°W / 52.4731389; -1.8641389
Affiliation Ahle Hadith
Website www.greenlanemasjid.org
Architect(s) Martin & Chamberlain
Architectural style Gothic-Jacobean style
Completed 1893/1902, 1970s
Designated as NHL
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated 8 July 1982
Reference no. 1211476
Listed Name Small Heath Public Library and Baths[1]

Green Lane Masjid & Community Centre (GLMCC), a mosque in Birmingham.,[2] became an independent charity in 2008.

Established in the 1970s, the Masjid occupies a prominent corner site in Green Lane, Small Heath, Birmingham. One of the buildings was originally constructed as a public library and baths, designed by local architects Martin & Chamberlain and built in the redbrick and terracotta Gothic-Jacobean style between 1893 and 1902. It is a Grade II listed building.[3] The complex includes prayer halls for men and women, a community hall, madrasah, library, shop, and some accommodation. It also provides funeral services to the local Muslim community.[4]

In Birmingham, each year since 2011 there is an Eid celebration in Small Heath Park called "Eid al-Fitr". This began as "an outdoor prayer facilitated by Green Lane Masjid and Community Centre."[5] This was attended by 44,000 people in 2014, 60,000 in 2015, and 88,000 in 2016,[5][6][7] and is organised by Green Lane Masjid and five other local mosques.[5]

Controversy

It was also one of the mosques featured in Channel 4's 2007 Dispatches programme Undercover Mosque, which investigated religious extremism in British mosques including preachers advocating violence, anti-Semitism, sexism and homophobia.[8] West Midlands Police subsequently carried out an investigation into whether criminal offenses had been committed by those preaching or teaching at the mosque. While West Midlands Police believed there was a case to answer and submitted their evidence to the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service), the CPS ruled that "a realistic prosecution was unlikely." The police subsequently investigated the programme itself and submitted a report to Ofcom on the basis of "unfair editing" designed to misrepresent the subjects of the programme.[9][10] Ofcom ruled that there was no case to answer and that it was a "legitimate investigation."[11] Ofcom further failed to uphold complaints from the Kingdom and Embassy of Saudi Arabia, the Islamic Centre and the London Central Mosque. Both Channel 4 and the programme makers sued the CPS for libel, and settled for a payment of £100,000.[12]

Firefighters visited the mosque in 2009 to teach people how to escape a blazing building or road smash scene.[13] In 2007, the mosque came second behind the Sunni Madni Jamia Masjid in a national competition run by the British Islam Channel to find the country's 'Model Mosque'.[14][15][16]

According to the Green Lane masjid Muslim women should not wear trousers as they "show off the detail of their bodies", even in front of their husbands. [17][18][18]

References

  1. "List entry". Historic England. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  2. "About Us". Green Lane Masjid. Archived from the original on 2008-01-13. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  3. "Images of England: Small Heath Public Library and Baths". English Heritage. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  4. "Facilities". Green Lane Masjid. Archived from the original on 2007-12-14. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  5. 1 2 3 Cartledge, James (17 July 2015). "Pictures of Eid Small Heath Park celebrations involving estimated 60,000 people". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  6. "Watch amazing aerial footage of Eid celebrations in Birmingham". Birmingham Mail. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  7. Morris, Steven. "Celebrate Eid: 60,000 enjoy end of Ramadan at event in Birmingham". the Guardian. Retrieved 2015-10-10.
  8. Dispatches - Undercover Mosque
  9. Sears, Nigel (9 August 2007). "Police accuse Channel 4 of distorting film on radical Muslim preachers". Daily Mail. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  10. "C4 'distorted' mosque programme". BBC news. 8 August 2007. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  11. "Mosque programme claims rejected". BBC news. 19 November 2007. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  12. "Police apologise over mosque show". BBC news. 15 May 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  13. "Tips given on fire and road safety". Birmingham Mail. February 12, 2009.
  14. "Model Mosque 2007". Islam Channel. November 2007.
  15. "Madni Jamia Masjid has WON the Model Mosque 2007 competition!". ICEA - Islamic Cultural and Educational Centre. November 2007.
  16. Press Release, Re: Model Mosque Competition, 25 November 2007
  17. Burgess, Kaya (6 May 2016). "Mosques ban trousers, travel and Facebook". The Times. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  18. 1 2 Harley, Nicola (6 May 2016). "Muslim women 'banned' from Facebook". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 September 2016.

External links

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