The mosque on Brienner Strasse in Wilmersdorf is a unique place of remembrance. Construction of the domed building with its two tall minarets began in September 1924.
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The building was commissioned by the Lahore Ahmadiyya, a Muslim reform movement from the then British colony of India. It is the oldest existing mosque in Germany and is still used by the community today.
Its architecture is a testament to the self-confidence of its founders, who sought to connect with the intellectual German social circle. The mosque also became a focal point for diaspora communities of Muslim faith already living in Berlin at the time.
Between the wars, the mosque was a meeting place for a wide variety of ways of life: spirituality and “Lebensreform” (life reform), anti-colonial networks and cosmopolitan views, friendships, marriages and families. This all changed under the Nazi regime. After the war, a new beginning was made.
To mark the centenary of the mosque's founding, this exhibition commemorates its history and the story of those who built a community that soon flourished.
As labour migration from the 1960s onwards spawned new Muslim communities in Berlin, the history of the Wilmersdorf mosque was widely forgotten. The congregation's archive was recently recovered during renovation work.
Documents from the congregation's administration, missionary writings and many photographs are on display. Memorabilia from other private family archives underline the role of the mosque in the lives of many Berliners.
