"Now and Then" Monuments Edition - Sultan mosque

SulTan MOsque

NOW THEN Monuments Edition

The most historical mosque in Singapore

Now...

How the mosque became a tourist attraction?

Then...

What is the history behind this mosque

Design and Architecture Interesting fact about the building.

THEN

What is the history behind the mosque?

In 1819, Sultan Hussein together with Temenggong Abdul Rahman signed an agreement with Sir Stamford Raffles of the British East India Company allowing the British to establish a trading post on the island. Hussein then requested that a mosque be built near his palace in Kampong Glam. The area around Kampong Glam was also allocated for Malays and other Muslims. Many of the Sultan’s and Temenggong’s followers came to Kampong Glam from the Riau Islands, Malacca and Sumatra.

Raffles then agreed and contributed $3,000 to the construction of the mosque. The Mosque was completed in 1828 where the original mosque was a single-storey building with a double-tiered roof. In 1879, the mosque received gifts of land from Tunku Alam Sultan Alauddin Alam Shah, Sultan Hussein’s grandson, and Tunku Aleem, an unknown benefactor. Tunku Alam also appointed a five-man committee to look after the mosque; this was replaced by a board of 12 trustees in 1914.

The head management of the mosque was Alauddin Shah, the Sultan's grandson, until 1879, when he passed the torch in to five community leaders. In 1914, the undertake was extended by the government for a further 999 years and a new board of trustees was appointed, with two representatives from each faction of the Muslim community.

By the early 1900s, Singapore had become a centre for Islamic economy, culture and art.

Soon after that Sultan Mosque became too small for this burgeoning community. In 1924, the year of the mosque's century, the trustees approved a plan to build a new mosque.

The trustees proposed the building of a new and larger mosque at an estimated cost of $200,000.

The old mosque had by then also fallen into a state of disrepair.

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Then

Due partly to the lack of funds where it was ongoing during construction, and in order to avoid disrupting worshippers, the new mosque was constructed in phases. In the midst of construction, North Bridge Road was extended beyond Arab Street and was forced to bend around the mosque. The mosque was completed in 1932 and still stands today.

In 1968, the mosque had to be repaired including painting and the installation of new floor tiles.

Renovation works again took place in phases as funds became available. The renovations cost amounted to S$145,000, of which almost S$108,000 was raised through donations from the Muslim community, while about S$37,000 was donated by King Faisal of Saudi Arabia.

A veteran guide who knows about the history of the mosque

In 1987, there are extensions built to the mosque.

Donations for the project included S$53,000 from the World Muslim League in Saudi Arabia.

Designed in a style similar to the mosque, the S$4.2 million Annex building was officially opened by then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong on 10 July 1993. Due to its historical and cultural significance, the mosque was gazetted as a national monument on 8 March 1975.

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nOw

nOw

How the mosque became a tourist attraction?

Masjid Sultan is now a premier mosque in Singapore and outstanding landmark in the Kampong Glam Malay Heritage District. The district is a place for most tourists to learn, understand the religion, culture and the diverse ethnic group that make up the Muslim Singaporeans today.

The mosque has a long history that goes back to 1824 and has passed through many development stages before becoming what it is today. The Mosque has a prayer hall which can accommodate up to 5000 people in mass prayer.

By deed of trust, it is under a Board of Trustees of 12 members who represent 6 ethnic groups namely Malays, Bugis, Javanese, Arabs, Tamils and Northern Indians. Later in 2005, the Mosque Management Board was given the command by Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) to manage the activities of the mosque in- charge by the Board of Trustees of the structure and land of the historical mosque.

Tourist from America visit the mosque

such as the Missionary and Islamic Learning, religious classes & Docents, Project like Ramadan, Maulid Expo, Fund –Raising and Korban during Hari Raya Haji. They are also involved in Social Development Uswah, Youth Wing, Poor & Needy, An-Nisaa, Family Development, Intellectual Discussion and Adhoc, Maintenance of the Mosque, Wakaf Committees and Refurbishment Committees. These committees are supported by Mosque Management Board’s full-time staff.

Masjid Sultan has become one of the most popular stops for the tourist especially for non- Muslims. They are a group of people who are interested in other cultures and religion. They visit the mosque to observe the prayers performed by the Muslims and also to learn the history of the mosque. The mosque is a centre for tourist where they have galleries and tour guides who will show them around and share the knowledge about the religion and the history of the mosque. This place has been preserved because it is the most precious and important place for the Muslims and tourism.

Tourist walking around the mosque.

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Design and architecture

DESIGN and

Interesting fact about the building.

Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day.

What today is known as Islamic architecture owes its origin to similar structures that exist in Roman, Byzantine and Persian lands which the Muslims from 7th and 8th centuries conquered.

The principal Islamic architectural types are the Mosque, the Tomb, the Palace and the Fort. From these four types, the vocabulary of Islamic architecture is influenced by and used for buildings of less importance such as public baths, fountains and domestic architecture.

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The Sultan Mosque is standing on a site of 4,109m2, where it is facing in the direction of Mecca instead of aligned with the urban planning grid. The compound is enclosed by a boundary wall of cast-iron railings. The amazing architecture was designed by an irish, Denis Santry of Swan & Maclaren, the architecture of the mosque is influenced by the IndoSaracenic style.

archiTecTure

Design and architecture

The most outstanding features of the mosque are its two gold onion domes above the east and west facades, each topped by pinnacles with crescent moons and stars. The base of each dome is beautify with glass bottle ends that the sultan had collected as donations from poor Muslims. He wanted contributions not only from wealthy Muslims by all Muslims. The roof parapet is edged with merlon cresting. There are minarets with staircases that lead them to calling towers with balconies at each corner of the mosque. The west facade of the mosque facing North Bridge Road is also the entrance to the mausoleum of Tunku Alam, who died in 1891 and whose remains lie in an honoured position beneath the dome. Two eight-storey minarets flank the east faรงade, where four Doric columns support the entrance foyer. The interior of the mosque have 12 octagonal columns that defines the prayer hall. The mosque is two storeys high and large enough to hold 5,000 worshippers, the central atrium of the hall is enclosed by a second-storey gallery.

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sINGAPORE nATIONAL mONUMENTS

CREDITS http://www.sultanmosque.org.sg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masjid_Sultan http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_753_2005-01-03.html