![\"Cambridge\"](\"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Cambridge.jpg\")
An innovative mosque is being built in the British university town of Cambridge and Turkey has played a major role in the development and realization of the project from the very beginning.\nThe mosque meets the demand of the town\u2019s Muslim population \u2014 approximately 6,000 people \u2014 who have complained that the main mosque is too small for the burgeoning number of worshippers, forcing some to pray on the street.
\nThe construction of the \u00a315 million ($18 million) mosque commenced on Sept. 5, 2016, with a splash of holy water \u2014 or Zamzam \u2014 being mixed into the cement.
\nThe initial phase of construction, which includes laying the foundations and building an underground car park, is expected to be completed by June. The second phase will involve the construction of the building roof and shell. The mosque, which is set to host up to 1,000 worshippers with 700 men in the main hall and a smaller section for 300 women, is due to open in 2018.
\nWomen have played a major role in the development of the mosque, Abdal Hakim Murad, chair of trustees at the Cambridge Mosque Trust, told Arab News.
\n\u201cWomen have been very active in the design and fundraising. One female Cambridge student, Baraka Khan, who was diagnosed with cancer, amazingly raised over \u00a3200,000 for the mosque before she died,\u201d said Murad, who is also a lecturer in Islamic studies at Cambridge University.
\nThe mosque is set to be equipped with several spaces for women, including a soundproof mother-and-toddler area and a women\u2019s treatment room for natural therapies.
\nThe mosque is also slated to feature an Islamic funeral facility, a cafe, a Qur\u2019an school for children equipped with digital technology and an Islamic garden open to all local residents, where many of the plants and fruits mentioned in the Holy Qur\u2019an will be grown.
\nThe mosque will also provide visitors with the opportunity to witness Turkey\u2019s cultural legacy, with traditional carpets, calligraphy, ceramics and stained glass decorating the interior.
\nMurad said the mosque also plans to be environmentally friendly, with a solar-powered generator on the roof, water recycling facilities, green energy use, heat pumps and passive ventilation. According to Murad, this shows how the mosque project has internalized Islam\u2019s emphasis on avoiding waste and on humanity\u2019s duty of good custodianship of the earth and its resources.
\nMurad added that the city was in special need of a mosque due to its position as an international intellectual capital where the likes of Newton, Darwin and Wittgenstein had studied and a city which attracts the best students and future leaders from around the world.
\n\u201cAs someone who has taught Islamic studies in Cambridge for more than 20 years, I felt it was my responsibility to take the initiative and launch this project,\u201d he said.
\nEchoing the belief that \u201cthe time of cheap, purely functional mosques is now passed,\u201d Murad added that the new, educated generation wants mosques to be proud of \u2014 places of worship which represent the best of Muslim heritage and showcase Islamic art and civilization to the surrounding British population.
\nPeter Hayler, associate vicar of Great St. Mary\u2019s, the Cambridge University church, and chaplain to university staff, agreed.
\n\u201cCambridge is a center of excellence in so many ways and attracts people from all over the world, people of all faiths and none. The Muslim community makes a significant contribution to both the universities and to the city and so the new mosque will be of tremendous importance as a place of meeting and interfaith dialogue,\u201d Hayler told Arab News.
\nHayler believes the project is visionary and ambitious in its scale.
\n\u201cThe new mosque is being built in a busy part of the town where many cultures mix. It will be well placed to make a significant contribution to community cohesion and to demonstrate that Islam brings a message of peace and devotion,\u201d he added.
\nThe mosque received donations from a variety of sources, with contributions from thousands of local Muslims as well as Muslims in Indonesia, Hong Kong and the US.
\nA member of the Saudi royal family and a donor in Qatar also gave a substantial sum toward the mosque\u2019s construction. Recently, a private company in Turkey and Turkey\u2019s Directorate of Religious Affairs also provided major funding.
\n\u201cNow that construction is underway we are experiencing a boost in donations from around the world and the site is currently being visited by some high net worth individuals from the Gulf,\u201d Murad said.
\nHe said the project will contribute to the great artistic and architectural heritage of Cambridge where Muslims have been an integral part of the community for years.
\n\u201cAt a time when there is growing prejudice and misunderstanding about Islam and Muslims, we feel that a wonderfully beautiful structure like this, which uplifts and gives heart to a slightly depressed district of Cambridge, will significantly improve the public perception of Muslims,\u201d Murad said.
\nTurkish architect Vedat Tokyay, who is also the timber consultant for the mosque, said the architecture of religious buildings should develop over time and reflect the ideas of the contemporary world without neglecting spiritual philosophy.
\n\u201cThe Cambridge mosque creates ideas about how to form the spiritual space and the outer shape which affects the neighborhood,\u201d Tokyay told Arab News. \u201cThe new space is formed by tree-like timber structures with an organic atmosphere reminiscent of a forest. The outer shell is made of brick, reflecting the neighborhood\u2019s existing architecture.\u201d
\nThe mosque will fuse the traditional and the contemporary in an organic manner, he said.<\/p>\n