New mosque nears completion after 15 years

It is hoped the mosque will be open by spring 2025

A mosque which has taken more than 15 years to build is due to open next spring.

The new building in Fenham, Newcastle, has been funded by members of Newcastle Central Mosque and built in phases.

It will be a place of worship, community centre and also include a gym, library, and cafe, along with space which can be rented out by anyone in the community.

The new mosque replaces a Victorian building, once owned by the NHS, which was demolished in 2013.

The community has outgrown its current building, once used to store NHS files

Imam Abdul Basith Mohammed, who has been at the mosque since 2003, said: "Our community has been growing very fast and we needed more space.

"On Friday night prayers we have around 800 people here, but for the Eid prayers we have up to 7,000, made up of so many different nationalities, all connected to the mosque somehow."

The mosque will include a cafe, gym and meeting rooms for all the community

The project gets a significant financial boost each year during the month of Ramadan which begins next week.

"We are planning now for the building to be completed by the next Ramadan," Imam Basith Mohammed said.

"We want people to come and see who we really are, because negative news spreads fast and we hope when people come here they will have completely different experience."

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