Masjid Malabar
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Masjid Malabar or Malabar Muslim Jama-Ath Mosque ( Malay: ,
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
: ), also known as Golden Dome Mosque; is
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 ...
's only Malabar Muslim
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 ...
. The mosque is located at the junction of Victoria Street and Jalan Sultan in the
Kampong Glam Kampong Glam ( ; Malay language, Malay: Kampung Gelam; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: کامڤوڠ ڬلم ; ; Tamil language, Tamil: கம்போங் கிளாம்) is a neighbourhood and ethnic enclave in Singapore. It is located north of ...
district, in the Rochor Planning Area within the Central Area. The mosque is built on the
Sultan Mosque Masjid Sultan, also referred to as Sultan Mosque, is a widely known religious landmark in Singapore. This mosque, which can be found in the Kampong Glam district at the intersection of North Bridge Road and Muscat Street, is highly significant in ...
style with traditional blue and white
lapis lazuli Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. Originating from the Persian word for the gem, ''lāžward'', lapis lazuli is ...
tile facade. The mosque was nicknamed as little cousin of the
Sultan Mosque Masjid Sultan, also referred to as Sultan Mosque, is a widely known religious landmark in Singapore. This mosque, which can be found in the Kampong Glam district at the intersection of North Bridge Road and Muscat Street, is highly significant in ...
, because of similar golden domes.


History

Before the building of the mosque, there was a
burial ground A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many dead people are buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ) implies th ...
near the site which was used until
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. 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 Al-Haj ( ; 12 August 191023 November 1970) was a Singaporean journalist and civil servant who served as the head of state of Singapore from 1959 to 1970. He initially served as the second Yang di-Pertuan Negara of Singapore be ...
on 24 January 1963. The Mosque has a capacity of 1,000 people. As part of 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 ...
'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 or gurudwara () is a place of assembly and place of worship, worship in Sikhism, but its normal meaning is "place of guru" or "home of guru". Sikhism, Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths and rel ...
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 (drum) upon which they sit, and their height usually exceeds their width. They taper smoothly upwards to a point. It is a typical ...
with a crescent and a star on the center top; and a big
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 ...
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 Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...
'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, 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 ...
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, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...
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.


Burials

Several figures of the Malabar community are buried within the mosque's courtyard. These include Kunhi Koya Thangal, a prominent Muslim scholar of the Malabar. There are also graves for the
Bugis The Bugis people, also known as Buginese, are an Austronesian ethnic groupthe most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassarese and Torajan), in the south-western province of Sula ...
merchant Haji Omar and his wife Hajjah Boosainah.


Transportation

The mosque is accessible from
Lavender MRT station Lavender MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore), Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the East West MRT line, East West line in Kallang, Singapore. Located under Kallang Road, the station is close to the Immigration and Checkp ...
.


See also

*
Islam in Singapore Islam constitutes the third largest religion in Singapore, after Buddhism and Christianity. Muslims account for approximately 15.6% of the population, as indicated by the 2020 census. Singaporean Muslims are predominantly Sunni Islam, Sunni adh ...
*
List of mosques in Singapore There are 72 mosques in Singapore. With the exception of Masjid Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim, owned by the State of Johor, and Masjid Taha, owned by the Ahmadiyya organization, all mosques are under the purview of the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (M ...


References


External links


Malabar Muslim Jamaath MosqueGoogleMaps StreetView of Masjid Malabar
{{Mosques in Singapore 1963 establishments in Singapore Malabar Landmarks in Singapore Rochor Culture of Indian diaspora Indian diaspora in Singapore Kerala diaspora Mosques completed in 1963 20th-century architecture in Singapore