Old Al Lawzi site to become Friday mosque

TDT | Manama

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A 2,121-square-metre site in Al Lawzi with a prayer cabin and an old building is to be turned into a modern mosque for over 400 worshippers after the land was reclassified for religious use.

The plot in Block 1020 already has a temporary Mariya Al-Qibtiyya prayer cabin and an older building. The plan is to turn the site into a full mosque able to host Friday prayers.

Northern Municipal Council member Zainab Al Durazi said the land had previously been classed for Housing Ministry projects but was now designated for religious services.

The mosque will bear the name Mariya Al-Qibtiyya.

Mrs Al Durazi said its planned capacity of over 400 worshippers, along with the size of the plot, meant it would serve as a Friday mosque rather than a smaller neighbourhood prayer hall.

The land-use change followed the Sunni Waqf Directorate receiving the title deed, she said, clearing one of the steps needed before work on the mosque can begin.

‘The Mariya Al-Qibtiyya Mosque is one of the projects we have pursued over the past period because people in the new Al Lawzi area need a place of worship and other services,’ Mrs Al Durazi said.

‘We will keep working with the bodies concerned until the mosque is built and serving residents.’

Mrs Al Durazi, said she would continue working with the Sunni Waqf Directorate through the remaining stages of the project and until the mosque opens to residents of Al Lawzi and nearby areas.

The site is among 69 plots in the new Al Lawzi area, Block 1020, whose title deeds she has previously pursued as part of her work to prepare land meant for public facilities.

She said new housing should be matched by basic services, public facilities and places of worship as the area grows.

‘Getting land allocated, obtaining its deeds and fixing its classification is not the goal in itself,’ she said.

‘The aim is to turn land kept for services into real projects that people can use.’

Mrs Al Durazi thanked Justice, Islamic Affairs and Waqf Minister Nawaf bin Mohammed Al Maawda, Islamic Endowments Council vice chairman Shaikh Dr Rashid Al Hajrri and the Sunni Waqf Directorate for their help with the project.