Didsbury Mosque
| Didsbury Mosque | |
|---|---|
 View from the intersection of Barlow Moor Road & Burton Road | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Salafi-Ikhwan[1] |
| District | West Didsbury |
| Leadership | Sheikh Mustafa Abdullah Graf |
| Location | |
| Location |  271 Burton Road, West Didsbury, Manchester, England[1] |
| Geographic coordinates | 53°25′22″N 2°14′49″W / 53.42278°N 2.24694°W |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Chapel |
| Completed | 1883 / 1962 |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 1,000 |
| Dome(s) | 0 |
| Minaret(s) | 1 |
| Website | |
| http://www.didsburymosque.com/ | |
The Didsbury Mosque, and the Manchester Islamic Centre,[1] are co-located on Burton Road, West Didsbury, in Manchester, England. The building was originally the "Albert Park Methodist Chapel", which opened for worship in 1883,[2] but in 1962 the chapel closed and was later converted into a mosque. It has an attendance of around 1,000 people.[3] The mosque Sheikh is Mustafa Abdullah Graf.[4]
Distinctives
The Didsbury Mosque and Manchester Islamic Centre says of itself it, "represents a wide range of the Muslim community of various origins and/or Islamic schools of thought".[5] The mosque holds open-days providing, displays, talks, Q & A sessions and guided tours.[6] The organization, 'Muslims in Britain'[7] classify the Didsbury Mosque and Manchester Islamic Centre as, "Salafi-Ikhwan".[1]
The mosque broadcasts, with radio coverage over most of South Manchester, adhan, prayers, Friday sermons, daily reminders as well as talks and lectures given in the mosque prayer hall.[8] The Manchester Islamic Centre is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission.[9]
Manchester attacks and response
The attacker of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing was identified as Salman Ramadan Abedi. He attended the mosque.[10][11][12] His father, Ramadan Abedi (also known as Abu Ismael), called the adhan at the mosque,[13][14] and his older brother, Ismail Abedi, was a tutor in the mosque's Qur'an school.[15] Both men were arrested.[16] [17]
The mosque released a statement condemning the terror attack.[17] The mosque also held a moment of silence to remember the victims of the bombing.[17]
One attendee said in 2017 that, "every other Friday khutba [sermon] at Didsbury was about how bad ISIS are" and that the bomber, "hated the mosque."[18]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "Didsbury Mosque and Islamic Centre". Muslims in Britain. 25 April 2015.
- ^ France & Woodall (1976). A New History of Didsbury. E.J. Morten, 203. ISBN 0-85972-035-7
- ^ South Manchester Reporter: News: True meaning of Islam Archived March 10, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Sheikh Mustafa Abdullah Graf". 2017.
- ^ "About Us".
- ^ "Manchester Islamic Centre and Didsbury Mosque". 3 August 2016.
- ^ "Muslims In Britain".
- ^ "Didsbury Mosque".
- ^ "327235 - The Islamic Centre (Manchester)".
- ^ "Everything we know about Salman Abedi, the Manchester suicide bomber". 25 May 2017.
- ^ "Manchester attack: Who was the suspect Salman Abedi?". BBC News. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- ^ Parveen, Ian Cobain Frances Perraudin Steven Morris Nazia (23 May 2017). "Manchester Arena attacker named by police as Salman Ramadan Abedi". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- ^ "Manchester Arena attacker named by police as Salman Ramadan Abedi". The Guardian. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- ^ "Salman Abedi & Didsbury Mosque: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". 23 May 2017.
- ^ "The face of hate': Manchester Arena attack suspect Salman Abedi's home raided, disturbing book found". 24 May 2017.
- ^ "Ismail Abedi: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". 24 May 2017.
- ^ a b c "Didsbury mosque distances itself from Manchester bomber".
- ^ "Manchester's Libyans react to killer in their midst". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 26 May 2017.