Egypt's Islamic Cultural Center

Egypt’s Islamic Cultural Center
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Status	Active
Location
Location	New Administrative Capital, Egypt
Geographic coordinates	30°00′06″N31°45′17″E / 30.0017°N 31.7547°E / 30.0017; 31.7547
Architecture
Type	Mosque
Style	modern Islamic Egyptian style
Completed	2022
Specifications
Capacity	137,000
Dome(s)	1 (world's heaviest dome)
Minaret(s)	2

Egypt's Islamic Cultural Center, which houses Masjid Misr or the Grand Mosque, is a religious and architectural landmark located in the New Administrative Capital in Cairo Governorate, Egypt. ^[1] The center covers an area of 467000 square meters, and can accommodate 137,000 people. ^[2]

At its completion, the cultural center received three international certificates from the Guinness World Records. ^[1] They included the world's largest pulpit handcrafted from wood and standing at 16.6 meters in height, and the chandelier won two titles as the world's largest with a diameter of 22 meters, and the heaviest at a weight of 50 tons. ^[1]

History

In 2015, the concept for Egypt's purpose-built New Administrative Capital was introduced. ^[3] In 2019, the first major religious buildings serving the new city, the Al-Fattah al-Aleem Mosque and a Coptic Orthodox cathedral, were completed. ^{[4] [5]} Early in 2021, plans to build Masjid Misr, a larger mosque, were announced, and this project was finished in 2022. ^{[6] [7]} Egypt's president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi formally launched the Islamic Cultural Centre in March 2023. ^[8]

Architecture

The Grand Mosque

Situated near the Presidential Axis, Route 11, and People's Square to the north, the center is located in the Governmental District. It is situated on a plateau that is 24 meters high and has the Mohamed Bin Zayed Northern Road as its southern boundary. ^[9] The Grand Mosque, a library, an Islamic museum, a conference center, ceremonial halls, classrooms, retail stores, and a seven-story parking structure with room for 3,000 cars are all part of the complex. ^{[10] [11]}

Egypt's Grand Mosque draws influence from the scenery of the Nile Delta to combine modern design features with traditional Islamic architectural aspects. The outside design of the mosque is modeled after a lotus blossom in bloom, signifying purity and the advancement of spirituality. Inside are calligraphy, intricate geometric designs, and other elements of Islamic creative culture.^{[ citation needed ]}

The mosque is flanked by two minarets that rise 140 meters above the top courtyard and contains six halls, including the central prayer hall. ^[11] The steel center dome measures 29.5 meters in diameter. ^[12] This mosque broke three records: it features the largest chandelier in the world, measuring 22 meters in diameter, the heaviest chandelier, weighing 24,300 kg, and the tallest pulpit in the world, standing at 16.6 meters. ^[12] With 12,000 seats in the main prayer hall, 40,000 in the upper hall, and 55,000 in the basement hall, the 19,000 square meter mosque can hold 107,000 worshipers. ^[8]

The mosque has two levels, with three main entrances and a fourth for services. The first level is 20 meters high, while the second level reaches the pinnacle of the dome at 57 meters. ^[13] There are separate domes for the east and west halls as well. The mosque's secondary and upper courtyards are connected by service buildings and a commercial culture center. ^[8]

See also

• List of largest mosques
• Islamic architecture

References

1. "All you need to know about Egypt's Islamic Cultural Center". Egypti ndependent. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
2. Karim Abdullatif (24 July 2023). "Masjid Misr: Inside the Largest Mosque in Africa". Scene Home.
3. Kingsley, Patrick (16 March 2015). "A new New Cairo: Egypt plans £30bn purpose-built capital in desert". The Guardian.
4. Draper, Robert (19 October 2022). "Egypt's audacious plan to build a new capital in the desert". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023.
5. Mohammed Abdul Hadi (10 February 2019). "Factoring in security, economics in building mosques in Egypt". The Arab Weekly.
6. Nadda Osman (10 February 2021). "Egypt: New mega-mosque project for administrative capital divides opinions". Middle East Eye.
7. Taylor, Alan (30 August 2023). "Egypt's New Capital-City Megaproject". The Atlantic.
8. "Sisi joins new capital workers for Ramadan's first Sohour, inaugurates Islamic Cultural Centre". Ahram online. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
9. "Egypt's Islamic Cultural Center in the New Administrative Capital ( Misr Mosque ) | The Arab Contractors". www.arabcont.com. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
10. Amr Mohamed Kandil (23 March 2023). "What we know about Egypt's Islamic Cultural Center, Misr Mosque that holds 3 Guinness World Records". Egypt Today.
11. "Egypt's Islamic Cultural Center In The New Administrative Capital". Arabcont. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
12. "New capital's lavish mosque angers Egyptians facing poverty". BBC. 4 April 2023.
13. "Masjid Misr". Behance.