Masjid Malabar or Malabar Muslim Jama-Ath Mosque ( Malay: ,

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

: ), also known as Golden Dome Mosque; is

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

's only Malabar Muslim

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

. The mosque is located at the junction of Victoria Street and Jalan Sultan in the

Kampong Glam Kampong Glam ( Malay: Kampung Gelam; Jawi: کامڤوڠ ڬلم ; ; Tamil: கம்போங் கிளாம்) is a neighbourhood and ethnic enclave in Singapore. It is located north of the Singapore River, in the planning area of ...

district, in the Rochor Planning Area within the Central Area. The mosque is built on the Sultan Mosque style with traditional blue and white lapis lazuli tile facade. The mosque was nicknamed as little cousin of the Sultan Mosque, because of similar golden domes.

History

Before the building of the mosque, there was a burial ground near the site which was used until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The Indian Muslims built a mosque known as the Tittacheri Muslim Cemetery and Mosque but it fell into disrepair and was abandoned until around 1929. The Mosque was then taken over by the Malabar Muslim Jama'ath. The Jama'ath's first office was located in a shophouse on Changi Road, shifted to Bussorah Street later and finally settled on Victoria Street. A fundraising campaign launched to finance the re-construction of the mosque attracted the generous amounts of donations from the Muslim as well as nonmuslim public. Malabar Mosque was declared open by

Yang di-Pertuan Negara Yang di-Pertuan Negara (English: (he) who is Lord of the State) is a title for the head of state in certain Malay-speaking countries, and has been used as an official title at various times in Brunei and Singapore. Sabah The head of state of Sa ...

Yusof bin Ishak Yusof bin Ishak (12 August 191023 November 1970) was a Singaporean politician and journalist who served as the first president of Singapore from 1965 until his death in 1970. Prior to becoming head of state, Yusof was a well-known journalis ...

on 24 January 1963. The Mosque has a capacity of 1,000 people. As part of the

Islamic Religious Council of Singapore The Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS), also known as the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (IRCS), is a statutory board of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth of the Government of Singapore. As a majlis, its role is to look aft ...

's (Muis) Mosque Upgrading Programme, in 2018, the mosque revealed a proposed plan to construct a three-storey annex which might result in the exhumation of around 10-15 unidentified graves and affect another 15 unidentified graves in the neighbouring cemetery. The proposed annex would house a female prayer space, a heritage gallery and classrooms. The S$ 5.87 million upgrading project which encompassed the proposed annex, and conservation and repairs to the original building began on 1 September 2020. The project is funded by the public, and estimated to be completed in 2022. The mosque would also be closed for three months from 1 September 2020 to facilitate the upgrading works.

Architecture

Malabar Mosque has been built upon the conventional Islamic architectural style. A.H Sidique, an immigrant from India who also designed Sri Guru Nanak Sat Sangh Sabha

gurdwara A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...

on Wilkinson Road, designed the Malabar Mosque. The mosque is built upon a traditional architectural style; adorned with a big, central golden

onion dome An onion dome is a dome whose shape resembles an onion. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the tholobate upon which they sit, and their height usually exceeds their width. These bulbous structures taper smoothly to a point. It is a typ ...

with a crescent and a star on the center top; and a big minaret shaped like an octagonal tower capped with a smaller dome with a crescent and a star on the right of the big dome. On the left of the big dome there is another smaller dome with a crescent and a star. The ground floor courts the Koran study area, the imam's room, and a visitors' lounge. A separate double-story annex houses offices and the ablution area. The main prayer hall is situated on the first floor. It faces the direction of

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

and is surrounded by spacious verandas on its three sides. The staircase leading to the first level is also oriented towards Mecca. Mosque is a unique religious architecture in Singapore. To the rear, there is a now small, partly disused

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

known as Tittacheri Muslim Cemetery which comprises a small part of the main Jalan Kubor Cemetery. Jalan Kubor has 4,752 graves, with prominent local leaders such as late local Justice of Peace Haji Ambok Sooloh Haji Omar and Kunji Koya Tangal buried there. Conservation works to the two mentioned leader's graves began alongside the upgrading works that begin in 2020.

Transportation

The mosque is accessible from

Lavender MRT station Lavender MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the East West line in Kallang, Singapore. Located under Kallang Road, the station is close to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) Building, Golden Mile Comp ...

References

External links

Malabar Muslim Jamaath MosqueGoogleMaps StreetView of Masjid Malabar
{{Mosques in Singapore 1963 establishments in Singapore

Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...

Landmarks in Singapore Rochor Culture of Indian diaspora Indian diaspora in Singapore Kerala diaspora Mosques completed in 1963 20th-century architecture in Singapore

History

Architecture

Transportation

See also

References

External links