Mega-mosque

3:15pm Thursday 1st December 2005

A NEW mosque with space for more than 10,000 worshippers is being planned for Stratford.

It will be part of a proposed Islamic centre which also includes a library, a small school and a garden.

My foremost vision is to break down the barriers - to bring the people of Newham together. If we can understand culture, and not try to change culture, we will get on together more happily.

Abdul Khalique

Speculation that the London Markaz will be able to hold a total of 40,000 people has been dismissed by project manager Abdul Khalique who said it was too early to put a precise figure on the centre's capacity.

If given the go-ahead, the Markaz will be built on a 70,000 square-metre site at Abbey Mills on the banks of the Channelsea River.

Mr Khalique said the buildings would initially provide space for 10,000 to worship, but the eventual capacity could be much higher.

It is intended to serve as a Dawat or invitation to Islam.

Proposals for the site also include housing, a gym and exhibition space.

Central to the design is an Islamic garden, intended to be a quiet space for contemplation, featuring an olive grove as a universal symbol of peace, Mr Khalique said.

He said the project's main intent was to benefit the local community.

Mr Khalique added: "My foremost vision is to break down the barriers - to bring the people of Newham together.

"If we can understand culture, and not try to change culture, we will get on together more happily."

Mr Khalique said the design of the complex embodied this inclusivity: "It is not a typical mosque from the Far East. It is Newham, it is us, it is London. It is an open door through which everyone can come and ask questions and use the building - it is for the people."

The design has been drawn up by Clapham-based architect Ali Mangera, of Mangera Yvars Architects, who say Islam has traditionally been at the forefront of technology and change.

The planned building will feature decorative calligraphy, and a roof structure which will let light in during the day, and glow in the night sky.

At the moment the site is used as a temporary place of worship by between 2,000 and 2,500, and Newham Council says the current owners are a group called Anjuman-E-Islahul Muslimeen UK.

Mr Khalique told the Guardian the organisation bought the land in 1996, and had been in consultation with the council ever since.

In October 2001, permission was given for the site to be used as a place of worship for five years. Plans for the new mosque are scheduled to be ready for submission by the time that period is over, in October 2006.

Mr Khalique says the centre could be finished in time for the 2012 Olympics.

However the games could also stand in the way of the project. A compulsory purchase order has been issued for a part of the site which links West Ham station to Greenway land.

The land had been earmarked for development as shops and housing, and would have helped pay for the rest of the Markaz.

Mr Khalique hopes to negotiate with the London Development Agency, but says that even if no agreement can be reached, part of the project will still be completed by 2012.

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