Masjid Al-Abrar ( Malay for Al-Abrar Mosque; Jawi:مسجد الأبرار) is a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

located along

Telok Ayer Street Telok Ayer Street (Singapore English pronunciation: or , ) is a street located in Singapore's Chinatown within the Outram district, linking Church Street to Cecil Street. Telok Ayer MRT station is located at the junction of Cross Street ...

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

within the Central Area,

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. It is one of the earliest mosques in Singapore. The building was gazetted as a national monument on 19 November 1974.

History

The early Tamil immigrants first established the Masjid Al-Abrar in 1827 with a makeshift

thatch Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, Phragmites, water reed, Cyperaceae, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), Juncus, rushes, Calluna, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away fr ...

hut A hut is a small dwelling, which may be constructed of various local materials. Huts are a type of vernacular architecture because they are built of readily available materials such as wood, snow, stone, grass, palm leaves, branches, clay, hid ...

that they used for worship until it was replaced by a brick building between 1850 and 1855. Between 1986 and 1989, major

renovation Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, o ...

s were carried out, and the capacity was expanded to allow up to 800 worshippers in the mosque. An adjacent shophouse was converted into a

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

and a prayer hall for women in 1998. Masjid Al-Abrar was designated a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

on 19 November 1974. The mosque is currently administered by the

Islamic Religious Council of Singapore Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Architecture

The design of the building is based on

Indo-Islamic architecture Indo-Islamic architecture is the architecture of the Indian subcontinent produced by and for Islamic patrons and purposes. Despite an initial Arab presence in Sindh, the development of Indo-Islamic architecture began in earnest with the establi ...

with two tall

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

s at the front. The building was built along a row of shophouses, and the frontage incorporated a

five-foot way A five-foot way ( Malay/ Indonesian: ''kaki lima'') is a roofed continuous walkway commonly found in front of shops in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia which may also be used for commercial activity. The name refers to the width of the passagewa ...

(1.524 m) that connects the walkway of the other shophouses.

Transportation

The mosque is accessible within walking distance from Telok Ayer MRT station.

References

*National Heritage Board (2002), ''Singapore's 100 Historic Places'', Archipelago Press,

External links

National Heritage Board websiteMajlis Ugama Islam Singapura, MUIS (Islamic Religious Council of Singapore)List of Mosques in Singapore managed by MUIS : Masjid Al-Abrar (Koochoo Pally)
{{Authority control Religious buildings and structures completed in 1855 Mosques completed in the 1850s

Abrar ''Abrar'' (, ''Samaritans'' in English) is a Persian-language daily newspaper published in Tehran, Iran. History and profile ''Abrar'' was first published on 8 November 1988. The printing of the paper was done using the printing facility of a ...

Tourist attractions in Singapore National monuments of Singapore Chinatown, Singapore Outram, Singapore Indian diaspora in Singapore 19th-century architecture in Singapore

History

Architecture

Transportation

See also

References

External links