History
Discussions for a new mosque in the Stockholm area had been going on for over twenty years before the plans were realized in 2000. The first proposal was to use the building Borgerskapets änkhus at Norrtull. Other places that were discussed were Observatorielunden, Kristineberg, Skärholmen, Tensta and Jarlaplan. In March 1995 the city council in Stockholm decided, after first consulting Muslim leaders, to convert the old electric power station Katarinastationen ("the Katarina Station") into a mosque. The listed building, designed by the Art Nouveau architect Ferdinand Boberg and completed in 1903, was already influenced by "Moorish" Islamic architecture in its original version. Boberg had been inspired after a visit to Morocco and made the building turned to Mecca and with tall window vaults.
In 1996 the building was sold by the city of Stockholm to the Islamic Association in Stockholm for SEK 8 million. However, the building of the mosque was delayed due to protests and appeals, and construction began first in 1999. On 8 June 2000 the mosque was inaugurated. The mosque was built with financial support from the individual Muslims in Sweden and abroad. One of the largest financiers was Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, principal founder and former head of state of the United Arab Emirates, whom the mosque was named after.
Read more about this topic: Stockholm Mosque
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