Mariam Al-Batool Mosque

The mosque is built at Corradino Hill, close to the Corradino Lines and the Kordin III megalithic temple. The formerly public land, circa , in 1975 which consisted of an undeveloped site. A full development application was accepted by the pertinent authorities on 16 April 1975. Construction on the mosque started in 1978 and finished in 1982 when it was opened to the public. The mosque was officially opened in 1984 by Muammar Gaddafi when Malta and Libya signed the Treaty of "Friendship and Cooperation". The mosque and Islamic centre were given diplomatic immunity by the Maltese Government. Muammar Gaddafi directly contributed to the project both by buying the land and by partly funding the construction of the mosque. The mosque is found on the side of Dom Mintoff Road (formerly Corradino Road) during the first wave of economic negotiations between Malta and Libya. The Government of Malta, under Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, has also contributed to the building of the Mosque. The Mosque and the minaret cost roughly £M 900,000. ==Complex==

to the right The Mosque is found in an Islamic complex, called the Islamic Centre in Malta. The complex also consists of a school, the Mariam Al-Batool School, the Islamic Cultural Centre (Ċentru Kulturali Islamiku), a courtyard, the Imam's house, The Malta Islamic Cemetery (Iċ-Ċimiterju Islamiku f'Malta) and the Mediterranean Garden. The latter is situated on public land, next to the mosque complex. It was originally called Gaddafi Gardens, and it became known as Libyans' Garden after the Libyan Civil War. It was officially renamed to its present name in March 2016. The Malta Islamic Cemetery is built on public land with permission granted by the Maltese government. There is a plan to build a secondary school for Muslim children at the back of the Mosque. The complex, specifically the mosque, has become symbolic of the revival of Islam in Malta, and significantly it symbolizes 'Libya's bridge to Europe' specifically after the Lockerbie bombing. The mosque and some of the buildings at the complex were built on the design of Libyan-born Architect Mohammed Abid el-Soukri. ==Governance==

The Mosque is administered by members of the Muslim community and separate from the government of Malta. The main Imam of the Mosque is Mohammed Elsadi, known as "Ix-Xih" (literally meaning "the elder"). Elsadi was born to Palestinian refugees whom came to Malta because of the Arab-Israeli war. As a consequence El Sadi has obtained Maltese citizenship. Elsadi is described as a fundamentalist by Fr René Camilleri for supporting the strict compliance to sharia, but anthropologist Ranier Fsadni believes this is not a common belief among Muslims and that the Imam is "intellectually honest". Indeed, the consumption of alcohol, by Muslims in Malta, is a common practice that goes against the fundamental teachings of Islam. The Islamic religious culture affairs is under the responsibility of Omar Ahmed Farhat. Muslims have the right to govern their religious environment issues in line with Maltese law and the government of Malta is sensitive about it. Bader Zeina, a Palestinian migrant, is a separate Muslim organizer and leader of the Islamic Community Malta (ICM). ==Architecture and customs==

The Mariam Al-Batool Mosque is the first Mosque in Malta to be built in modernity, with the most previous Mosque having been built in 1702 during the Order of St John for Turkish slaves within a prison building of which no traces remain and limited description of its construction. A street in Mdina, Triq Mesquita (Mesquita Street) and Piazza Mesquita, may have been named after a former Mosque that stood on site during the Arab period in Malta. However these were probably named after a former Governor of Mdina that was named Don Mesquita. Most Islamic-related themes have been "eradicated from the national narrative." On 21 April 1975 Libya bought a land area of in Paola. The land was acquired to build a muslim centre according to Libyan customs designed by the Libyan architect Mohammed Abid Elshukri, who was the architect of the Mosque, the Islamic Cultural Centre and a terrace overlooking the original gardens where the school and the cemetery are found today. The project was entrusted to Gebco International Ltd. Co. under the supervision of Maltese engineer Alfred Balzan. The first stone was laid by Muammar Gaddafi on 2 July 1978 in a public ceremony. The Mosque was constructed with the use of Limestone, plastered, and painted in green, yellow and pink colors. The minaret became a landmark in Paola skyline since then, being the second highest building after the parish church until day, at high. and one minaret that is a landmark in its own right by being visible from wide parts of the surroundings, and for this reason it is often used to explain directions. The minaret has been recently restored, After the restoration the green color surface of the minaret was changed from dark green while the mosque has had no recent restoration keeping the traditional colors since the inauguration by Gaddafi. Interior The interior consists mainly of the Islamic prayer hall in the form of sex segregation. Women have separate rooms next to the mosque of which entrance is from the back side, probable within the cultural centre building. but strictly speaking face covering is illegal, however an official ban on face covering for religious reasons is ambiguous. However it is guaranteed that individuals are allowed to wear as they wish at their private homes and at the Mosque. Elsadi said that the Maltese's "attitude towards Muslim women" is positive and despite cultural clashes they tolerate their dressing. Some Muslim women share the belief that it is sinful to be seen in public without veiling themselves, however they are lawfully required to remove it when needed such as for photos on identifications. The mosque also consists of a washing room for the obligatory tradition A larger than usual Koran is displayed inside the mosque. ==Public policy==

The mosque is open for the public, including non-Muslims, from 08:00 to 22:00. Traditional Friday prayers are held every Friday at 13:00. Conservative Muslim customs have to be respected, such as the removal of shoes before entering the mosque, men-only space and women-only space specifically during prayer time, and other Islamic-related customs. Wedding ceremonies are celebrated at the mosque, including interfaith ceremonies, but Muslim women are not welcomed to conduct their ceremonies at the mosque if they wed a non-Muslim, while non-Muslim women are told to raise their children as Muslims when marrying a Muslim man and advised before the ceremony takes place at the mosque. bringing some controversy in the Maltese political sphere. migrants and refugees. The Muslim community in Malta has increased from less than a hundred Muslims in 1974, to 3,000 Muslims in 2007, to 6,000 Muslims in 2011, These estimates can be discredited as there has never been a proper conducted census about the Muslim population by the National Statistics Office (NSO Malta). There are about 18,000 refugees in Malta according to The Daily Telegraph with the overwhelming majority being males and Muslims. In 2016 Ivan Vella said that there are up to 45,000 Muslims in Malta but this was also a conservative figure. With the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya over 55,000 visas were issued for Libyan citizens, generally of Muslim faith, to live in Malta, between 2011 and 2015. However, these are, for the most of them, temporary visas for medical care or other reasons. as an Islamic tradition and English to communicate to the multicultural attendants. The loudspeaker at the mosque was shortly used to call for prayers but stopped after the nearby communities complained as the adhan unconventionally was used as early as 04:00 and disturbed public peace. The mosque is a seldom place of some conflict between non-nationals but mostly peaceful. The mosque's administration communicates to the public in general through their website mariamalbatool.com. Other forms of communication is participation in media discussion, such as on radio and on television, and occasional events such as conferences. ==Mosque-state relations==

Official visits also in cause of the Mariam Al-Batool financial crisis. In 2015 the Mosque received a visit by the Qatari Ambassador for Malta Ali Alkhirgi together with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to discuss for a possible plan to build another Mosque in the north of Malta. However, according to Elsadi himself the Muslim community is a majoritarian Labour Party supporter. This is encouraged by Mario Farrugia Borg (a Muslim convert and former Nationalist Party supporter), who is a leader at the Islamic Centre and a secretariat of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. The Nationalist Party is known in recent history that for several years referred to the Muslims as "tal-habbaziz" (literally refers to Northern African selling cyperus esculentus) which is a derogatory reference when referring to an Arab; this has contributed to make the mosque complex a ghetto and associating anything Arab with pessimist remarks, such as the Arabic language. However the party has been trying to be more inclusive to the muslim community in more recent years. Indeed, a meeting that was held with the muslim community to celebrate ifṭar was called by Imam Elsadi as a "historic" event. Political pressure from the mosque administration on the government of Malta has become common in the exchange of favors such as voting during elections. ==Alternative prayer houses==

Apart from resolving the school financial crisis, most of the visits at the mosque are devoted to discuss the building of new Mosques. This is in the context that the Al-Batool Mosque is the only official Mosque in Malta, with more than fifteen other Muslims prayer houses scattered around the country such as; Birkirkara, Fgura, Ghaxaq, Hal Safi (Open Centre), St. Paul's Bay, Zurrieq, Of these at least two prayer houses have legal permission by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) to operate as informal Mosques. The building of a Mosque in Marsascala at the American University of Malta (AUM) has been shelved for now. The Maltese government has provided for an interfaith room at Mater Dei Hospital that is the main public hospital in Malta. An interfaith centre of religious service consisting of a church, a mosque and a synagogue designed by Richard England was planned to be built in Xewkija, Gozo but after receiving local opposition to the project it remained shelved. Situation Some prayer houses that have not been granted legal permission to operate as Mosques were shut down about these settlements fearing some of these places may radicalize some Muslims and recruit youth converts that may threaten national security. In response to this Bader Zeina has taken a Muslim group to pray at Sliema waterfront to demand for the "fundamental human right" of worshipping gods both in private residences without legal restrictions and on public property. Zeina said that in the case of a backlash, coming from discrimination, "violence or revenge" may be expected. The National Constitutional Court of Malta has said that even though individuals have the right to private property the use of such right has its limitations, and that there were no victims of discrimination as the law is proportional to everyone, with respect to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression, including freedom of religion. For this reason the court has noted that there was no breach of article 8 (1) of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), which is in harmony with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Following this, in January 2016 a male-only muslim group started to gather for Friday prayers in an open public place, in front of a Roman Catholic church, in Msida. These prayers were said to be considered, by organizer Bader Zeina, as also to be a form of protest for not having where to pray. The same organizer was previously involved in similar acts, such as in Sliema when it became known that gathering and location were never the issues but rather the want of another place other than Mariam Al-Batool Mosque. Faced with similar crisis from the Muslim community, the Maltese Government made temporal arrangement for Islamic prayers in Floriana. The building known as the Ospizio, a former mental health hospital that is now hosting the prayers, is ideal as it is found right behind the national police headquarters in Malta. Imam El Sadi has said that he is left uninformed about public prayers, organized by Zeina, and about any negotiations with the government. The Imam was not able to give his position about public prayers organised in Sliema and Msida as these were not his initiatives and he was neither informed of. Mario Farrugia Borg, who works at the mosque, had stated that by being appointed as a personal secretariat at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and being a Christian convert to Islam he does not observe any discrimination. The integration process of refugees within Maltese society has failed because of the large number of foreigners coming within a short period. Imam Elsadi has distanced himself from Islamic extremism but still supports fundamental principles of Islam. but does not rule out extremism sympathisers among the local Muslim community. The Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) have taken some precautions for this matter. Laiq Ahmed Atif (the President of the Aḥmadiyya Muslim community in Malta, born in Pakistan) has said that even though Islam literally means peace, the action of some are far from being peaceful, and has called for the "need to reform" Islamic culture. He also adds that adherents to Islam "have a religious duty" to live in peace in Malta. He encouraged reforming the process of refugees' integration such as by teaching the Maltese language and Maltese culture. Elsadi and Ahmed Atif have both condemned the Charlie Hebdo shooting that took place in January 2015. A protest was organised by the Muslim community right after Friday prayers in December 2015, at the Mariam Al-Batool Mosque, to distance themselves and the Islamic religion from any sort of terrorism, and was attended by around 100 Muslims. This further showed that during Friday prayers, when attendance should be at its peak, most Muslims are not attending the Al-Batool Mosque. According to Imam Elsadi, many Muslims in Malta are "ignorant" about Islam, and he argues that since many Muslims come from homogenous societies, they find it hard to accept diversity in Maltese society, even among other Muslim ethnic groups. If this materializes, the Mariam Al-Batool Mosque will no longer be the "only mosque in Malta". ==See also==