A Qatari mosque is to deliver sermons in English to cater to the needs of non-Arab worshippers, a newspaper quoted sources at the mosque as saying.

Sources at the Qatar Islamic Cultural Centre, also known as Fanar and located in the centre of the capital Doha, said it would give Friday sermons in English from its mosque.

'We will deliver sermons in English starting from Friday. An English-speaking imam will give the sermon,' an official at the Centre, who preferred not to be named, said in remarks published in the Gulf News.

'Women and children will also be welcomed and will be separated from men. Non-Muslims can also come and listen to the sermon.'

According to the report, the source said men would be accommodated on the first floor of the mosque, while women and children will be separated from men and will follow the prayers from an upper floor protected by a wooden fence.

'They will be separated, but women and children will be allowed to see the imam and hear the sermon even from the upper floor,' he said.

The move is meant to reach out to a wider audience and to provide religious assistance to a growing number of non-Arab worshippers, the source said.

The initiative was first announced by the officials of the Qatar Islamic Cultural Centre in Qatar's Arabic daily Al Sharq this week.

'The centre has completed the legal procedures and Sharia rulings set by the scholars of Qatar to deliver the Friday sermons live in English,' the official told the daily.