Cambridge Central Mosque, Europe's first eco-friendly mosque, built with the support of Türkiye and opened in 2019 in the English city of Cambridge, hosted what was seen as a symbolically significant day with the visit of King Charles III at a time when anti-Muslim hatred (Islamophobia) and discrimination are on the rise.
King Charles III visited Cambridge Central Mosque, described as "Europe's first eco-friendly mosque," on Monday and met with representatives of the Muslim community. During the visit, the king met the mosque's imams, trustees, and members of the Muslim community in Cambridge.
Among those attending the visit were Türkiye's Ambassador to London Osman Koray Ertas, Cambridge Mosque Trust Board members Zeynep Coskun Koc and Selim Argun, British researcher and author Abdulhakim Murad, who embraced Islam at the age of 19, as well as numerous guests.
As part of the visit, organised in support of the UK’s religious diversity initiative, King Charles toured various sections of the mosque, which was built with contributions from the Turkish Diyanet Foundation, and received information from officials.
During the visit, King Charles was presented with a glass paperweight produced by Pasabahce inspired by the dome architecture of the Selimiye Mosque, a limited-edition copy of Fuat Sezgin's work titled The Scientific Heritage of Islamic Civilization, and a book describing the construction process, architectural approach and 23 awards received by Cambridge Central Mosque.
The mosque also hosted the exhibition Science and Technology in Islam, introducing important works and studies that Islamic civilisation contributed to humanity in the fields of science and technology.
Islamic design and Cambridge art blended
Speaking to Anadolu after the visit, Cambridge Mosque Trust Board member Zeynep Coskun Koc said the visit was of historic importance both for Cambridge Central Mosque and for the public.
"For the first time, a British king paid an official visit to a mosque. Previously, his mother, Queen (Elizabeth II), paid a visit to a mosque in 2002, but there had not been a visit for 20 years, and a king had never officially visited a mosque before," she said.
Emphasising that Cambridge Central Mosque is Europe's first eco-friendly mosque, Koc said the mosque has received numerous awards and that Islamic geometry and Cambridge's local architectural elements were brought together in its architectural design.
Stating that Türkiye's support was decisive in the establishment of the mosque, Koc said: "It was the Turkish Diyanet Foundation that understood the value of building this mosque, what it would add here, and supported us. The Turkish Diyanet Foundation has been our biggest supporter from the very beginning."
Koc underlined that the driving force behind the project was Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: "Our President was personally involved in every detail of the project and closely followed the construction of the mosque. After the construction of our mosque was completed, it was inaugurated in 2019 with the participation of our President.”
She also said that during the visit, a letter written by President Erdogan and addressed to King Charles was presented, noting that in the letter, the Turkish leader said he considered the king's visit to the mosque valuable at a time when Islamophobia and racism are on the rise.
"The King was also very pleased to receive such a letter from our president. Our president also extended an invitation to him. We conveyed it as well. He was very pleased and said: 'I already very much want to visit Türkiye,'" Koc said.
