Al-Rahma Mosque

The Al-Rahma Mosque stands on Hatherley Street in Toxteth, Liverpool. It is a Sunni mosque built in 1974 to serve the city’s Muslim community. The mosque can hold between two and two and a half thousand worshippers at once. It replaced an earlier prayer room in a founder’s house, started in 1953 by Al-Haj Ali Hizzam. The Liverpool Muslim Society, founded by Hizzam, still has its office inside the mosque. Most of the worshippers today are Yemeni, Syrian and Somali families who make up the majority of Liverpool’s Muslim population.

The mosque matters because it is the main place of worship for more than twenty-five thousand Muslims counted in the 2021 census. It remains a focus for the community long after its move from a small room to a larger building. The mosque’s name means ‘Mosque of Mercy’ in Arabic, reflecting its purpose. Its simple brick exterior gives little hint of the scale inside. Yet the prayer hall inside is large enough to gather the whole congregation together.

Visitors find a calm interior with space for worship and quiet reflection. The mosque’s office sits beside the main hall, ready to welcome new arrivals. Outside, Hatherley Street runs through a residential part of Toxteth. The building itself is unadorned, letting the community’s presence speak for itself.