New mosque breaks mould with local English-speaking imams Blackhall mosque is first in Edinburgh's West End Olivia Dobbs.

A new English-language mosque that opened earlier this year in the West End has been labelled a “beautiful example of a distinct European Muslim Identity” by an Edinburgh academic.

Dr Christian Lange, of the Islamic Studies Department at the University of Edinburgh, said: “Muslim reformist thinkers like Tariq Ramadan have been arguing for many years that a distinct European Muslim identity, which respects both the demands of religion and of loyalty to one's country of citizenship, is the way forward for Muslims living in Britain.

  "The new mosque in Edinburgh's West End seems a beautiful example of this".

In a move designed to go against the tradition of foreign religious leadership of Britain's Muslim places of worship, the imams at the Blackhall mosque are all native English speakers and Scottish citizens.

However, the Khutba—the Friday prayer—is still held in Arabic or Urdu.

Dr Lange, supporting diversity of religious expression on a local level, added: “More importantly, it is in the spirit of Islam itself.

The Prophet of Islam is believed to have said that diversity of opinions is a sign of divine mercy shown to humankind".

The idea for such an institution came from Sohail Ashfaque, 33, who is the main Imam of the Blackhall mosque.

Speaking to The Journal, Mr Ashfaque said: “The main purpose was to build an infrastructure enabling Muslims to provide many services to other English-speaking Muslims and the entire community of Edinburgh.
  
"We wanted to make a society which could fully integrate Muslims by using the official language of the country".

After graduating from the Dewsbury Islamic Institute ten years ago and returning to Scotland, Mr Ashfaque aimed to create a place for the Muslims of his community who were committed to their religion.

His goal was to make an environment for Muslims to be confident and comfortable in their faith, which includes understanding everything that they study and pray for.

Although officially opened in February, the Blackhall mosque has been undergoing various types of construction and improvements since.

The recently converted mosque also offers classes in Arabic and Qur'an study, and is equipped with a spacious prayer hall, a community hall, a kitchen and a youth common room.

In addition, a brand new Wudhu area has just been completed, which is where the Ablution—or washing of the face, arms, feet, and hair—takes place.

Dr Andrew Marsham of the Islamic Studies Department at the University of Edinburgh told The Journal that the launch of the mosque represents an important social marker, as Muslims who have been living in the UK now appear to have adopted English as their native language, even in regards to their faith.

The opening follows a survey in June conducted by the Scottish Islamic Foundation which revealed that 78 percent of respondents thought that the Khutba should be spoken in English.