Rome's Grand Mosque meeting point for faithful

(25 Nov 2016) LEAD IN: The largest mosque in Western Europe is located in Rome and features a combination of architectural styles from Europe and the Middle East. Originally built for the small Islamic community that lived in the Italian capital in the 1980s, over the years it has become a main gathering point for hundreds of thousands of Muslim worshippers in Rome. STORY-LINE: The Great Mosque of Rome lies in an affluent neighbourhood of the 'eternal' city of Rome. The idea of building a mosque in Rome, the city's first, was launched by the Saudi King Faisal during his visit to the Italian capital in 1973. At the time Muslims prayed at home with no public area in which to worship. Italian architects Paolo Portoghesi and Vittorio Gigliotti, together with their Iraqi-born colleague Sami Mousawi, were entrusted with giving life to the project and starting the building's construction. But over 20 years passed before the mosque could be inaugurated on 21 June 1995. Meanwhile the Muslim community in Rome had grown from a few hundred people to many thousands, says Omar Camilletti, the Great Mosque of Rome's spokesman. "Italy went from being a country of emigration to being a country of immigration. So this mosque, built for a few hundred diplomatic officials and businessmen, has became the point of reference for the almost 100,000 Muslims living in Rome today", Camilletti recounts. Camilletti, an Italian who converted to Islam over 20 years ago, says that today there are about 40 locations in Rome where Muslims can pray, but the Great Mosque of Rome remains the city's biggest. The building's architecture is a fusion of Islamic and European styles that has inspired the construction of mosques in other parts of Europe. The mosque can host up to 30,000 people during the main Islamic holidays and up to 3,000 worshippers on Fridays. The building is also a tourist destination and attracts thousands of people a year, Camilletti says. People come here from all over Europe and the United States and students are among the main visitors. "This is a trailblazing mosque. In Europe there's no need for an Arab-style mosque but of one that's perfectly integrated with the urban and historical structure of the city. For example Rome is a great influence here, hence the travertine marble of Imperial Rome and - as you'll see - the Michelangelo-inspired floor that reminds of the one at Rome's City Hall," says Camilletti. The building team was particularly keen to include architectural references to the centuries-old Islamic presence in Europe. The mosque's rooftop is similar to those of mosques in Istanbul and the Balkans, the row of columns is a reference to Islamic architecture in Spain while the ochre colour of the building's exterior is a reminder of the Islamic presence in Sicily, Camilletti explains. The Great Mosque's interior is dominated by the influence of Morocco and Spanish styles and features large chandeliers fashioned as oil lamps. As simple an action as preparing tea is interpreted in dozens different ways by the Muslims of this community, Camilletti says. "Tea is the quintessential beverage of the Islamic world. Ironically here we have 30 different ways to make it, 30 different types of glasses and 30 ways to pour it," the spokesman says. Faouzi Boufares is a Muslim worshipper from Tunisia who has been living in Italy for the past 30 years. "From all of Rome, from Malaysia, Indonesia, Somalia, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Palestine, Iraq, Iran. All the Arabs get together in the Great Mosque. Sheikh Salah does a speech on Ramadan in Arabic and another in Italian, because there are Muslims from Italy, from Russia, thank God, thank God," he says. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/091200241792afde04cfee9046b1980f Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork