Al-Nur mosque, Islamic mosque in Neukölln, Germany
Al-Nur is a mosque in a converted office and warehouse building on Haberstraße in Neukölln. The facade has a light grey, vertically ribbed upper storey with a continuous band of dark horizontal windows, above beige concrete blocks; vertical window strips run down the centre and left, and a chamfered corner holds more windows. A thin metal fence and a green sign with a white arrow and red circle stand in front.
The Al-Nur mosque occupies a former office and warehouse building in the Haberstraße, extensively rebuilt for the Islamic Community Berlin e. V., which runs it as its main seat. The association drew public criticism in 2005, when imam Salem al Rafei was refused entry to Germany over terrorism suspicions, and again in June 2009 over a lecture by Bilal Philips. In July 2014 a Friday sermon by Abu Bilal Ismail led to investigations by Berlin and Danish prosecutors, and in February 2015 the Neukölln district assembly voted for a ban on the association.
The name Al-Nur means "the light" in Arabic, a reference to Sura 24 of the Quran. The association runs weekly lessons, annual seminars and Arabic language and writing courses, and the same building houses a library, cafeteria, hairdresser and shop; a sign states these are for members only. Imam is Nasser El-Issa, born in Lebanon; chairman is Izzeldin Hamad.
The mosque occupies a converted office and warehouse building on Haberstraße in Neukölln, its entrance marked by a green sign with a white arrow and red circle. The library, cafeteria, hairdresser and shop in the same building are open to members only, as a notice on the facade states. Non-members should check access before travelling there.
The building also houses the Jugend und Familien-Zentrum e. V., which offers tutoring, German and computer courses and internet access in the same premises as the mosque. The association's library, cafeteria, hairdresser and shop are, according to the sign on the building, open to members only.
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