Baitul Mukarram (), officially Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, is the

national mosque Lists of mosques cover mosques, places of worship for Muslims. These lists are primarily arranged by continent, with the exception of lists for the largest, tallest, and oldest mosques. Asia * List of mosques in Asia ** List of mosques in Afghani ...

of Bangladesh. It is located at the center of

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

, the capital of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. The mosque was completed in 1968.Thariani and Co: Architects and Engineers. Booklet in section under projects completed "mosques". It has a capacity of more than 42,000 worshipers.

History

The mosque complex was designed by architect,

Abdulhusein M. Thariani Abdulhusein Meheraly Thariani (3 April 1905 – 30 December 1972) was a member of the first generation of formally trained architects in Pakistan.

. On 27 April 1959, Abdul Latif Ibrahim Bawani, owner of then Bawani Jute Mills, held a meeting at his house with GA Madani, Haji Abdul Latif Bawani, MH Adamji, S Sattar, Muhammad Sadiq, AZM Rezai Karim and Major General Umrao Khan. In that meeting he proposed to Major General Khan, then military administrator of

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

, that a grand mosque be built in Dhaka. Umrao Khan agreed to help build such a mosque. The same year, a Baitul Mukarram mosque committee was established and 8.30 acres of land between new Dhaka and

Old Dhaka Old Dhaka () is a term used to refer to the historic old city of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It was founded in 1608 as Jahangirabad or Jahangirnagar (), the capital of Bengal Subah, Mughal Province of Bengal and named after the Mughal em ...

was chosen for the site. At that time, there was a large pond in the present mosque's location. It was known as Paltan pond. The pond was filled up and on 27 January 1960, then president of Pakistan

Ayub Khan Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, se ...

, commenced the work. Prayers took place for the first time on Friday, 25 January 1963. On 28 March 1975, the

Government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...

entrusted the management of the mosque to the

Islamic Foundation Bangladesh Islamic Foundation Bangladesh () is a government organization under the '' Ministry of Religious Affairs'' in Bangladesh working to disseminate values and ideals of Islam and carry out activities related to those values and ideals. The head offic ...

. The mosque complex includes shops, offices, libraries and parking areas within it. Unusually, the mosque does not have a dome. In 2008, the mosque was extended, financed by a donation from the

government of Saudi Arabia The politics of Saudi Arabia takes place in the context of a unitary absolute monarchy, along traditional Islamist lines, where the King is both the head of state and government. Decisions are, to a large extent, made on the basis of consult ...

Architecture

The mosque has several modern architectural features whilst at the same time it preserves the traditional principles of

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

architecture which has for some time been dominant in the

Indian sub-continent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakis ...

. Baitul Mukarram's large cube shape was modeled after that of the

Kaaba The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and Holiest sites in Islam, holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Sa ...

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

, making it a noticeable structure unlike any other mosque in Bangladesh.

Exterior design

The mosque is on a very high platform. The Baitul Mukarram National Mosque's building is eight storied and 99 feet high from the ground level. According to the original plan, the main entrance of the mosque was to be on the eastern side. The 'shaan' on the east is 29,000 square feet with ablution space on its south and north sides. Ablution or Wu'du Place cached an important part when the Baitul Mukarram was begun. The absence of a dome on the main building is compensated by the two superficial domed entrance porticoes, one on the south, and the other on the north. The height of these porticoes consists of three

rabbit's foot In some cultures, a rabbit's foot is carried as an amulet believed to bring good luck. This belief is held by people in a great number of places around the world, including Europe, Africa, Australia and North and South America. In variations of th ...

shaped arches, the middle of which is bigger than the rest.

Interior design

Two patios (roofless inner courtyard) ensure that enough light and air enter the prayer hall of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque. The prayer niché of the hall is rectangular instead of semi-circular. Excessive ornamentation is avoided throughout the mosque, since minimizing ornamentation is typical of modern architecture.

Garden

The garden is laid out in a style borrowed heavily from

Mughal gardens A Mughal garden is a type of garden built by the Mughal Empire, Mughals. This style was influenced by the Persian gardens particularly the Charbagh structure, which is intended to create a representation of an earthly utopia in which humans c ...

, however unlike the traditional Mughal gardens which represent the

Islamic Heaven In Islam, Jannah (, ''jannāt'', ) is the final and permanent abode of the righteous. According to one count, the word appears 147 times in the Qur'an. Belief in the afterlife is one of the six articles of faith in Sunni Islam and is a plac ...

, the garden does not have the Char-Bagh system, most likely due to not having enough room for such a garden. The future of this garden is unknown; if the

Bangladeshi government The Cabinet of Bangladesh () is the chief executive body in the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The cabinet is the collective decision-making body of the entire government normally under the Office of the Prime Minister, composed of the prime ...

extends the mosque, it will most likely have to remove the garden.

Khatibs

Gallery

Notes

References

External links

Baitul Mukarram the National Mosque of Bangladesh

Baitul Mukarram National Mosque
{{Dhakaplaces Mosques in Dhaka National symbols of Bangladesh Mosques completed in 1968 1968 establishments in East Pakistan History of East Pakistan 20th-century mosques in Bangladesh