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Green Lane Masjid

Coordinates: 52°28′23.30″N 1°51′50.90″W / 52.4731389°N 1.8641389°W / 52.4731389; -1.8641389
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Green Lane Masjid
The Masjid, formerly Green Lane Public Library and Baths (Martin & Chamberlain 1893–1902)
Religion
AffiliationAhl-i Hadith[1]
Location
LocationSmall Heath, Birmingham England
Geographic coordinates52°28′23.30″N 1°51′50.90″W / 52.4731389°N 1.8641389°W / 52.4731389; -1.8641389
Architecture
Architect(s)Martin & Chamberlain
Typemosque
StyleGothic-Jacobean style
Completed1893/1902, 1970s
Capacity3,500 (including women)[1]
Designated as NHL
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated8 July 1982
Reference no.1211476
Listed NameSmall Heath Public Library and Baths[2]
Website
www.greenlanemasjid.org

Green Lane Masjid & Community Centre (GLMCC), is a mosque in Birmingham.[3] It has been a registered charity in England since 2008.[4] The Masjid occupies a prominent corner site in Green Lane, Small Heath, Birmingham.

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.[5] In a 2007 national competition to find the country's 'Model Mosque' run by the British Islam Channel,[6][7][8] the mosque came second, behind the Madni Jamia Masjid.

History

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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.[9]

Projects and Campaigns

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In Birmingham each year since 2011 there is an Eid al-Fitr celebration in Small Heath Park. This began as "an outdoor prayer facilitated by Green Lane Masjid and Community Centre."[10] This was attended by 44,000 people in 2014, 60,000 in 2015, 88,000 in 2016 and 100,000 in 2017[10][11][12][13] and is organised by Green Lane Masjid and five other local mosques.[10]

In addition, GLMCC runs and participates in various projects aimed at raising funds for charity and providing services for needy causes. Some of these include collaborating with My Foster Family, an organisation which raises awareness of foster care in the Muslim community, to distribute care packages for Ramadan throughout Birmingham "aimed at uniting non-Muslim foster carers with the Muslim children they look after are being handed out during Ramadan."[14]

The Mosque also raises money through donations from congregants, estimated to reach £1million in the month of Ramadan in 2019, which will be used towards providing meals for Syrian refugees as well as for community iftars held by the Mosque for local residents weekly throughout the month.[15]

In 2019, GLMCC made headlines for their announcement of a 'plastic-free Ramadan' in collaboration with ecobirmingham.[16][17] In efforts to combat the issue of plastic waste, the Mosque installed water fountains throughout its building, opting instead to sell reusable water bottles to congregants rather than distributing free water bottles as it had done in previous years.[16][18]

Controversy

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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.[19] 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.[20] Ofcom ruled that there was no case to answer and that it was a "legitimate investigation."[21] Both Channel 4 and the programme makers sued the CPS for libel, and settled for a payment of £100,000.[22]

In 2023, £2.2 million of government funding for a youth centre at the mosque was withheld after a clip of an imam discussing stoning women went viral on social media. The mosque claimed that the clip was "deliberately taken out of context".[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Green Lane Masjid". Muslims in Britain. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  2. ^ Historic England, "Small Heath Public Library and Baths (1211476)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 14 June 2015
  3. ^ "About Us". Green Lane Masjid. Archived from the original on 13 January 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  4. ^ "Registered charities in England and Wales, charity details: Green Lane Masjid And Community Centre". Charity Commission. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  5. ^ "Facilities". Green Lane Masjid. Archived from the original on 14 December 2007. Retrieved 8 February 2008.
  6. ^ "Model Mosque 2007". Islam Channel. November 2007. Archived from the original on 24 September 2010.
  7. ^ "Madni Jamia Masjid has WON the Model Mosque 2007 competition!". ICEA - Islamic Cultural and Educational Centre. November 2007. Archived from the original on 18 September 2010.
  8. ^ Press Release, Re: Model Mosque Competition, 25 November 2007
  9. ^ Historic England. "Small Heath Public Library and Baths (1211476)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 February 2008.
  10. ^ a b c Cartledge, James (17 July 2015). "Pictures of Eid Small Heath Park celebrations involving estimated 60,000 people". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  11. ^ "Watch amazing aerial footage of Eid celebrations in Birmingham". Birmingham Mail. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  12. ^ Morris, Steven. "Celebrate Eid: 60,000 enjoy end of Ramadan at event in Birmingham". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  13. ^ Reporters, Telegraph (25 June 2017). "Largest Eid celebration in Europe as 100,000 Muslims gather in Birmingham". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  14. ^ "Ramadan gift boxes unite foster carers with the Muslim children they care for". Metro. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  15. ^ Bentley, David (2 May 2019). "This Birmingham mosque is expecting to raise £1m in Ramadan 2019". birminghammail. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  16. ^ a b Bentley, David (6 May 2019). "This Birmingham mosque has announced a plastic ban for Ramadan 2019". birminghammail. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  17. ^ "EXC: Mosques ban plastic to promote environmentally friendly Ramadan". Metro. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  18. ^ 5Pillars (11 May 2019). "Mosques across Britain ban plastic to promote eco-friendly Ramadan". 5Pillars. Retrieved 27 May 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Dispatches - Undercover Mosque
  20. ^ "C4 'distorted' mosque programme". BBC News. 8 August 2007. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  21. ^ "Mosque programme claims rejected". BBC News. 19 November 2007. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  22. ^ "Police apologise over mosque show". BBC News. 15 May 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  23. ^ Haynes, Jane (31 August 2023). "City mosque in battle to save £2m youth centre after 'stoning' video triggers hate backlash". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
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