page_title: Turkish community of London
section_title: Religion
hierarchical_section_title: Turkish community of London / Culture / Religion
caption_attribution_description: English: The construction of Suleymaniye mosque began in 1995 and was finally opened to the public in October 1999. With a total floor space of 8000 square meters, the total capacity of its Ottoman style mosque is 3000 people. The mosque which is decorated in a typical Turkish calligraphy is one part of the whole complex, other parts include a conference and wedding hall, Guest rooms, class rooms, and funeral service facilities as well as accomodation for the staff.
context_page_description: Turks in London or London Turks refers to Turkish people who live in London, the capital city of the United Kingdom. The Turkish community in the United Kingdom is not evenly distributed across the country. As a result, the concentration of the Turks is almost all in Greater London. The Turks have created Turkish neighbourhoods mostly in North and North-East London however there are also Turkish communities in South London and the City of Westminster.
context_section_description: The Turkish Cypriot community were one of the first Muslim communities to be established in London, even before the South Asian Muslims. During the 1950s a single converted Victorian terrace house was used as a mosque by the community. However, the main objective of the Turkish community was to improve their living conditions rather than promoting Islam. Therefore, the Cyprus Turkish Association ignored religion in its activities as it was viewed as an obstacle to adjusting and integrating in a multicultural environment. Although only a minority of Turkish Cypriots had any interest in religion, Islamic values were still deeply rooted in the majority of the community's identity. Once the community was firmly settled in London, Turks became aware that although they had maintained their ethnic identity there was a lack of attention to its religious dimension. This resulted in the foundation of the United Kingdom Turkish Islamic Association (UKTIA) in 1979. By 1983 the first Turkish mosque complex, the Azizye Mosque, was established. Turks who had once felt reluctant to attend a ‘non-Turkish’ mosque welcomed the congregation as services were provided in the Turkish language rather than in English or Arabic.
  The majority of Turks are Muslims. Turkish places of worship includes Aziziye Mosque and Validesultan Mosque in Stoke Newington;Madina Mosque and Suleymaniye Mosque in Hackney; Fatih Mosque in Wood Green; Sultan Selim Mosque in Seven Sisters; and the Edmonton Islamic Centre in Upper Edmonton.
caption: The Suleymaniye Mosque in Hackney
exif: {}