Islamic Centre Hamburg

The Islamic Centre Hamburg stands in Hamburg-Nord, a district of Germany’s second city. It owns the Imam Ali Mosque, also called the Blue Mosque, which is the oldest mosque in Hamburg. The building was planned in the late 1950s by Iranian emigrants and finished in the early 1960s. The centre served both as a place of worship and as a meeting place for dialogue between religions. It was long seen as linked to the Iranian government, both before and after the 1979 revolution. In July 2024 the Federal Ministry of the Interior closed the mosque and placed it under administration while legal challenges continue. The mosque’s history began in 1953 when Iranian rug traders met at the Atlantic Hotel and decided to build a Shiite centre. Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Husayn Borujerdi donated 100,000 rials and insisted no German funds be used. More money came from the Iranian Endowments Administration and the local Iranian community, though delays forced the organisers to take a bank loan. A special sugar tax in Tehran finally paid off the debt in 1964. The design by Schramm und Elingius and Iranian engineer Parviz Zargarpour blends eastern and western styles. Visitors find a protected cultural ensemble of mosque, garden, fountain and fence. The blue-tiled exterior and green spaces create a calm setting in the city. Inside, the mosque has spaces for prayer, study and dialogue. A multilingual library and youth library welcome the public, though only members may borrow books. The centre once hosted Open Mosque Day and Islam Week to share information about Islam. Despite its closure, the building remains a landmark of Hamburg’s immigrant history and architectural ambition.