Islamic World's first eco-friendly mosque opens in Dubai

Dubai's Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation (AMAF) on Friday opened the first environmentally friendly mosque in the entire Islamic world to worshippers.
The Khalifa Al Tajer Mosque, in Bur Saeed Street, Deira, Dubai, has the capacity for some 3,500 worshippers who today attended the first Friday sermon at the mosque given by Sheikh Salih Al Maghamsi, imam of the Quba Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia.
Located on 105,000 square feet of land, the new green mosque was designed with energy efficiency in mind and was built with environmentally friendly materials. The building which covers 45,000 square feet uses green building materials, thermal-insulation systems for lowering energy consumption and air conditioners that emit reduced greenhouse gases.
Tayeb Al Rais, Secretary-General of Awqaf and the Minor Affairs Foundation, a Dubai government body, in remarks at the opening ceremony, expressed his hopes that similar green projects will be implemented in line Dubai's vision for a sustainable future.
"Environmental awareness is a pillar in Islam", he said adding that he hopes the new mosque will serve as a reminder for people of their duty towards the environment.
"The new mosque was built to meet guidelines set out by the US Green Building Council Standards and Specifications. The mosque integrates renewable energy solutions in its design. This is illustrated in the exterior lighting poles that are fitted with solar panels, battery storage system that is powered by solar energy, and the use of solar panels instead of energy draining electric heaters for the purpose of water heating," Al Rais added.
The mosque also meets recent legislation in Dubai that requires new buildings to include green standards in the design, construction and operation of buildings, he noted.