Grand Mosalla of Tehran

Grand Mosalla of Tehran
مصلای امام خمینی تهران
The partially completed mosqueduring the 2018 International Book Fair
Religion
AffiliationIslam
Ecclesiastical or organizational status
StatusActive;(despite incomplete)
Named in honor ofRuhollah Khomeini
Location
LocationAbbas Abad, Tehran, Tehran Province
Grand Mosalla of Tehran is located in Tehran
Grand Mosalla of Tehran
Location of the incomplete mosque in Tehran
Coordinates35°44′05″N51°25′31″E / 35.7348404°N 51.425354°E / 35.7348404; 51.425354
Architecture
ArchitectParviz Moayed Ahd
TypeMosque architecture
StylePersian-Islamic
Established1982
Groundbreaking1990
CompletedUnder construction
Construction costc.IR 100 trillion(as of 2017) (c.US$3 billion)
Specifications
Interior area223,500 m2 (2,406,000 sq ft)
DomeOne
Dome height (outer)63 m (207 ft)
Dome dia. (outer)54 m (177 ft)
MinaretTwo (maybe more)
Minaret height135 m (443 ft)
Site areac. 263 ha (650 acres)
MaterialsConcrete
Elevation1,321 m (4,334 ft)
Website
musalla.ir
[1][2]

The Grand Mosalla of Tehran, officially the Imam Khomeini Mosalla of Tehran (Persian: مصلای امام خمینی تهران), is a partially completed Friday mosque (jāmeh) and associated community complex, located near Abbas Abad in the city of Tehran, in the province of Tehran, Iran. The mosque is used for hosting weekly Friday prayer (jāmeh), as well as cultural, political, educational, worship activities, including book fairs, exhibitions, and religious ceremonies.

The Persian-Islamic style mosque has been under construction since the 1990s. Upon completion, the mosque will have the world's biggest iwan.[3][4][5] When completed, the mosque will surpass the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, as of April 2025, the world's largest mosque.

History

The Grand Mosalla Mosque originated in a 1982 proposal to replace the University of Tehran as the primary location for weekly Friday prayer.[6] A large section of land in Abbas Abad, the original site for the never-materialized pre-Revolutionmegaproject Shahestan Pahlavi, was allocated for the Grand Mosalla.[7]

On 19 February 1985, a public announcement was issued, calling on talented and experienced designers to submit drafts for the mosque's design. The competition was held in 1986 with Mohammad Karim Pirnia, Mehdi Chamran, Bagher Ayatollahzadeh Shirazi, Ali Ghaffari, and Mehdi Hodjat as the jury members, and with the participation of 36 native and foreign individuals from Japan, Syria, Pakistan, and the Netherlands, as well as legal entities. On 1990, Dr. Parviz Moayed Ahd's design was confirmed for the Mosalla. The design was based on the Islamic architecture of Iran, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, which were historically part of the Achaemenid Empire.[8]

As of April 2025, more than 30 years after the design was finalized, the Grand Mosalla remained under construction, though finished sections of the building were in use.[6] In 2017, the Financial Tribune called the condition of the project "dismal" and "unacceptable", and Governor General of Tehran Province Hussein Hashemi urged Tehran City Council to prioritize the mosque's completion.[6]

Shabestan of the Grand Mosalla during the 23rd Tehran International Book Fair

Use

The Grand Mosalla Mosque is used for Friday prayer (jāmeh) and during Eid al-Fitr. Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has led prayers at the mosque in 2024 and 2025[9][10] and the mosque was a focal point for worship following the sudden death of Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi.[11]

The mosque complex is also used as a community center and a venue for local and national events, including the Tehran International Book Fair,[12][13] International Holy Quran Exhibition,[14] International Exhibition of Investment Opportunities in Iran's Mines and Mining Industries,[15] International Handicrafts Exhibition,[16] and the Tehran Game Exhibition, among other events.

Access

The Grand Mosalla Mosque is served by the Mosalla Imam Khomeini Metro Station, a Tehran Metro station located in the Grand Mosalla, next to the Qasem Soleimani Expressway.[17] It also has a bus rapid transit station in Line 5: Science & Tech Terminal to Argentina Square Beihaghi Terminal.[18][19]

See also

References

  1. ^"Grand Mosque, Tehran". CLA Urban.com. n.d. Retrieved April 25, 2025. (Some data since superseded).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  2. ^"Consulting engineering services for Imam Khomeini's Grand Mosque in Tehran". Takhsis Pars. 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2025. (Some data since superseded).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  3. ^ساخت بزرگترین ایوان بدون ستون جهان در تهران. مصلی (in Persian). July 7, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  4. ^مقدس, خبرگزاری دفاع. مصلای تهران؛ ابرپروژه‌ای که گنجایش بیش از ۶۵ هزار نمازگزار را دارد. DEFA Press.ir (in Persian). Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  5. ^پروژه مصلی امام خمینی(ره) یک بنای فاخر مذهبی در تراز پایتخت ایران اسلامی است. خبرگزاری موج (in Persian). April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  6. ^ abc"Delays in Mosalla Construction Unacceptable". Financial Tribune. August 25, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  7. ^"Annual Report and Balance Sheet". Bānk-i Markazī-i Īrān. 1972.
  8. ^"The Grand Mosalla of Tehran". Contemporary Architecture of Iran. May 1, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
  9. ^"Iran's leader leads Eid al-Fitr prayers in Tehran's Grand Mosalla". Iran Press.com. March 31, 2025. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
  10. ^"VIDEO: Iran's Supreme leader leads rare Friday prayer"(streaming video). ABC News. Australia: Australian Broadcasting Corporation. October 4, 2024. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
  11. ^Hafezi, Parisa (May 23, 2024). "Iranian President Raisi's memorial muted amid public discontent". Reuters. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
  12. ^Shariatmadari, Parto (April 2019). "Tehran's biggest annual cultural event held amid 'paper crisis'". al-monitor.
  13. ^"Over 60,000 titles published in Iran over past year". Tehran Times.
  14. ^"10 Islamic Countries Participating at Tehran's Int'l Quran Exhibition". Fars News.
  15. ^"18 countries attend Int'l Exhibition of Mining Investment Opportunities". IRNA. October 7, 2019.
  16. ^"Handicrafts on display at Tehran intl. show". Tehran Times. June 11, 2011.
  17. ^نقشه مترو. metro.tehran.ir (in Persian). Archived from the original on August 27, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  18. ^Yeongpyo. "Tehran BRT Bus Map 2017". Hostel in Tehran.
  19. ^"Tehran Bus".
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