Minarets rise over Britain

Up to 100 mosques are to be built in Great Britain in the next three years according to the Daily Telegraph (Feb 3): 'Unlike most of the 1,000 existing mosques that are converted warehouses, churches or community halls, the new places of worship will be of traditional Islamic design with a central dome and minarets.'

The money for the new purpose-built mosques, each of which will cost between £1m and £3m, comes from mostly modest donations from Britain's million-strong Muslim population. Some of the mosques are already under construction; the £1.2m Bilal Masjid in Leeds is nearly complete. There will eventually be 20 new mosques in London and up to four in Bradford.

All new mosques will have space for classrooms, as religious instruction of the young is viewed as a priority. Many British children, even as young as five years old, study the Qur'an for an hour a day.

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