Islamic Centre Hamburg


The Islamic Centre Hamburg is one of the oldest mosques in Germany and Europe. Established in Hamburg, in northern Germany, in the late 1950s by a group of Iranian emigrants and business people it rapidly developed into one of the leading Islamic centres in the Western world.
Many leading Iranian theologians and politicians have spent time here, have encountered and studied Western sciences and philosophy and contributed to the Western understanding of Islam.

History

During a meeting at Atlantic Hotel in 1953, a group of Iranian residents of Germany discussed the need to establish their own religious center. A letter was sent to the late Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Husayn Borujerdi asking him for help; Grand Ayatollah agreed with the plan and donated 100,000 Rials to the center. The construction began in 1960 and by 1965 it was completed. In the same year Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti was appointed to lead the center.
During the 1970s the centre played a significant role in bringing about the political rising of Iranian students in the West against the Shah and ultimately contributed to the Iranian Revolution.
In 2007, the center announced the launch of first Shia Union in Europe.

Directors