All new Dubai mosques will be eco-friendly

August 18, 2013

Dubai, Aug 18: All mosques to be built in Dubai starting next year will be environment-friendly.

Dubai’s Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation (AMAF) secretary-general Tayeb Al Rais said the first of these eco-mosques, which is also the first in the Middle East, was expected to be completed and opened in the first quarter of next year, with some 60 per cent of the work already finished.

“We do want to make all mosques built in the emirate in the future power- and water-saving, and help reduce harmful gas emissions from the air-conditioners.”

The new eco-mosques would reduce water consumption by 20 per cent and electricity by 25 per cent, he said. “All construction work at the mosque, named ‘Khalifa, the Merchant’, is being done according to the set schedule.”

Al Rais said the Dh22-million mosque’s 25-metre-long minaret was now completed with work continuing on external decoration and the internal finish. The utility buildings and power station attached to the mosque had been completed.

“The mosque, to be the biggest in the emirate, is being built in the Garhoud area...and can accommodate 3,500 worshippers.”

The eco-mosque was being constructed in a total area of 105,000 square feet, he added.

“Solar panels shall be used in heating ablution water, as well as imam accommodation and other utilities.”

The mosque was equipped with a technique for recycling and purifying ablution water, and using it for agriculture work and the toilets. “Eco materials have been used in the construction of the mosque to be in line with the renewable power resources and heat insulation system.”

The mosque was also using “advanced technology” to curb the use of harmful gases used in air-conditioning, he said.

“This strategy is aimed to enhance the performance of these buildings, curb power and water consumption, and boost public health.”

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Syrian Town erupts after Israeli forces enter Beit Jinn; heavy casualties reported

News Network

November 28,2025

Several Syrians were killed and more than two dozen others injured in Israeli strikes on the outskirts of Damascus, amid intensified incursions by the occupying regime since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad and the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rule.

Syrian state TV reported that the casualties occurred during an overnight Israeli assault involving helicopters and drones on the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside. The attack followed an Israeli military unit’s entry into the town, where they were surrounded by local residents, leading to gunfire and direct confrontations.

According to the report, “The occupation army’s helicopters and artillery shelled Beit Jinn, located at the foothills of Mount Hermon, resulting in 13 martyrs and 25 injured civilians.” The broadcaster did not specify the full extent of damage.

Al-Ikhbariyah Syria confirmed that the shelling coincided with Israeli soldiers entering Beit Jinn, while artillery pounded surrounding areas. The broadcaster stated that the escalation began after local residents clashed with an Israeli patrol that had infiltrated the southern town and “kidnapped” three young men.

Following a two-hour exchange of heavy fire, Israeli forces withdrew and repositioned on the hill of Butt al-Warda at the town’s outskirts.

Israeli media acknowledged that six soldiers were wounded in the clashes—three of them seriously—describing the confrontation as a “sudden ambush” that forced the deployment of reserve units and air support to secure an exit route. No further details were provided.

The aggression has fueled renewed displacement from Beit Jinn, with residents fleeing to nearby villages amid increasingly frequent Israeli attacks.

The raid came just a day after Israeli troops carried out another ground incursion into Umm al-Luqas village in Quneitra province. According to SANA, an Israeli unit in four vehicles entered the village, raided several homes, and later withdrew.

Syria condemned the repeated incursions as violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and UN resolutions, urging the international community to enforce compliance and pressure Israel to halt its operations and withdraw fully.

Israel has expanded its attacks across Syrian territory following the collapse of the Assad government last year. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly instructed his forces to push deeper into Syrian territory and seize strategic positions.

Meanwhile, critics say the HTS-led interim government’s inaction and growing normalization gestures toward Israel have emboldened Tel Aviv to intensify its military operations. HTS, formerly linked to al-Qaeda, seized control of Damascus last December, formally ending Assad’s rule.

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