In the heart of Doha’s Education City, designboom steps inside the Al-Mujadilah Center and Mosque for Women, a groundbreaking space designed to empower women through worship, education, and community. The project, conceived by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, and designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R), spans 4,600 square meters. It is the first mosque built specifically for women in the Muslim world. The building combines traditional elements with a forward-thinking spatial language, reflecting Islamic values of sincerity (ikhlas), service (khidma), and knowledge (ilm), while also addressing the evolving needs of women in religious, educational, and social domains.

‘To make a mosque for women was a really big challenge. It’s the first purpose-built women’s mosque anywhere, and we were very drawn to that. It’s also a hybrid building — a place for education and work,’ Elizabeth Diller, co-founder of DS+R tells designboom during our tour at the Al-Mujadilah Center and Mosque for Women. ‘Bringing those together under one roof, with classes and discourse and debate, was very important, because there was really no space for that to happen. It’s a paradigm-shifting thing that had to be translated in some form.’

DS+R completes al-mujadilah, the world's first contemporary mosque for women in dohaall images by Iwan Baan

Al-Mujadilah hosts various activities under its perforated roof
 

Al-Mujadilah is both a place of worship and a meeting point for intellectual and civic discussions. Named after a Quranic figure who engaged in dialogue, the center is led by Dr. Sohaira Siddiqui, a scholar of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. The center hosts a variety of programs, from daily prayer and study to Jadal, an annual summit where voices from around the world come together to discuss the role of Muslim women in public life. When designing the program for the Al-Mujadilah Center and Mosque for Women, the team conducted extensive surveys to understand the challenges Muslim women face and their needs in a space like this. The research revealed three primary areas of interest: capacity building, including leadership, public speaking, and well-being; religious education that fosters critical conversations, rather than just traditional instruction; and community building. In a diverse city like Doha, creating a sense of belonging is crucial. 

The building’s design by New York-based studio DS+R is both symbolic and performative. A large, flowing roof covers the space, rising to shelter the prayer hall before gently sloping down into the educational areas. ‘The roof is perforated with 5,500 small, conical openings designed to diffuse natural light throughout the space,’ Diller describes. ‘As the light shifts during the day, it softly washes the floor without allowing direct sunrays in—crucial in Qatar’s intense climate. Thermally efficient, only 5% of the roof’s surface is perforated, yet the conical shape allows 45% of the underside to glow. Structurally, the large steel span eliminates the need for interior columns, creating an open, uninterrupted space where visitors can see olive trees and feel a connection to the surrounding landscape. Support spaces are tucked along the periphery to maintain this openness.’ The mosque’s relationship to nature is intentional and layered. Two olive trees pierce through the roof, anchoring the main hall with the living symbol of peace and continuity. Landscape design draws from the regional archetype of an oasis, with wind-shaped dunes encircling a lush garden core. Materials like volcanic stone in the ablution areas and full-height glass in classrooms make the center more open and grounded in nature.