Edinburgh: Mosque example of 'distinct European Muslim Identity'

Edinburgh: Mosque example of 'distinct European Muslim Identity'


A new English-language mosque that opened earlier this year in the West End has been labelled a “beautiful example of a distinct European Muslim Identity” by an Edinburgh academic.


Dr Christian Lange, of the Islamic Studies Department at the University of Edinburgh, said: “Muslim reformist thinkers like Tariq


Ramadan have been arguing for many years that a distinct European Muslim identity, which respects both the demands of religion and of loyalty to one's country of citizenship, is the way forward for Muslims living in Britain.


"The new mosque in Edinburgh's West End seems a beautiful example of this.”


In a move designed to go against the tradition of foreign religious leadership of Britain's Muslim places of worship, the imams at the Blackhall mosque are all native English speakers and Scottish citizens.


However, the Khutba—the Friday prayer—is still held in Arabic or Urdu.


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Source: The Journal