Suraya Mosque, Islamic mosque in Torreón, Mexico.
The Suraya Mosque is a place of worship in Torreón, northern Mexico, featuring a minaret and decorative elements that draw from Islamic and Moorish traditions alongside local building styles. The building stands in a residential area of the city and is easily spotted from the street.
The mosque was completed in 1989, making it the first building in Mexico constructed specifically for Islamic worship. It was built by descendants of Middle Eastern immigrants who had settled in the Torreón area over the previous decades.
The mosque takes its name from Suraya, and its worshippers are mainly Shia Muslims, descendants of families who came to the Torreón area from the Middle East in the early 20th century. The community first gathered in 1983 at the house of Hassan Zain Chamut, who later led it. The building was designed by the architect Zain Chamut to combine Islamic and Hispanic architectural traditions.
The Suraya Mosque stands at Guadalajara 1007 in the Nueva Los Ángeles neighbourhood of Torreón, Coahuila. Visitors should plan around the main prayer times, when the prayer hall is in use, and dress modestly, since the building remains an active Shia place of worship.
The 1983 meeting house was led by Hassan Zain Chamut, who later became the community's leader. When Elias Serhan Selim proposed building a dedicated mosque, he sponsored the project and brought in Zain Chamut, an architect by profession, to design it.
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