Moments in Mosques

One of the roles played by mosques is as a pit stop for travelers, fulfilling spiritual as well
as physiological needs. But then, each mosque has its own story to tell. Either the story of
the builder, the community, or the era it hails form. As such, it is possible for ‘normal’
mosques to be the destination itself. ‘Normal’ in the sense that it is not prescribed as a
holy site in Islam.

A quirky itinerary brought me travelling to six mosques in Penang, Perak and Singapore
within five days. The mosques are; Tanjung Bungah Floating Mosque in Penang, Masjid
Ubudiah in Kuala Kangsar, Bencoleen Mosque, Masjid Khadijah, Masjid Abdul Ghafoor,
and Masjid Sultan in Singapore.

Syukur & Nazar

The northern pair of Tanjung Bungah Floating Mosque and Masjid Ubudiah speaks of
gratitude although in a slightly different manner. The 2004 tsunami reached the shore of
Penang and Tanjung Bungah is one of the hardest hit areas. Miraculously, the mosque is
spared from the wrecking wave that swept the surrounding area.

The floating mosque is built not far from the original mosque as well as the
accompanying new settlement for tsunami victims beside it. The gratitude expressed is
not only for those who live on nearby but also recounting the blessings that Malaysia is
largely free from devastating disasters.

As for Masjid Ubudiah, it is a product of the nazar made by Almarhum Sultan Idris of
Perak. He vowed to build a mosque in Bukit Chandan, Kuala Kangsar once he is cured
from maladies. The construction was hampered when a pair of elephants clashed at the
construction site, ruining the imported Italian marbles. In the end, the mosque is
completed a year too late when Almarhum Sultan Idris passed away in 1916.

Islamic Identity?

Masjid Ubudiah & Masjid Sultan is an interesting study of how colonial architects shaped
‘Islamic’ architecture in both our physical and psychological landscape. By adapting
‘Moorish’ & ‘Saracen’ image, it lends to the image ‘Arabization’ of Islam in this region
rather than imbuing the traits of Malay, Chinese, and Indian Muslim community.

Masjid Sultan in Muscat St., Singapore originally sports the traditional two-tiered
pyramidal roof. The watercolor painting by John Thomson in 1846 shows that the
original mosque even incorporates Chinese influences. It is the 1925 design by Denis
Santry of Swan & MacLaren that plants a foreign design in the heart of Singapore
Muslim community.
In the case of Masjid Ubudiah, it’s a colonial team all the way. Colonel Huxley did the
early design, then perfected by a certain Mr. Hubback and it is Mr. Caulfield the Perak
State Engineer who oversaw the completion of the mosque.

Integrated

Due to space constraint, mosque in inner Singapore took a creative approach by

integrating itself among the city blocks. One of it is Bencoleen Mosque which is not far
from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Rather than having a clearly demarcated
compound, it is housed within a commercial building and has an inner courtyard.

This integrated design gives it the opportunity to engage city dwellers in a closer way. A
huge poster is put up at the walkway explaining the basic tenets of Islam. Should any
curious soul wanted to know more, the mosque entrance is just right next to it.

The mosque is also rather vibrant with a sizeable number of regular attendees that fill its
main prayer hall every time. During Zohor, Indian Muslim businessmen working nearby
took a mid-day break and attend the congregational prayer. Other mosque that took
similar approach is al-Falah Mosque and Moulana Mohd Ali Mosque. Both are located
within the Central Business District of Singapore.

Enterprising Spirit

Masjid Abdul Gafoor is erected from the enterprising scheme of Shaik Abdul Gafoor, a
chief clerk at a legal firm. From 1887 to 1903, he constructed sheds and shops around
Masjid al-Abrar to generate income which is used to fund the new mosque constructed
next to it. He even secured the future of the mosque by bestowing the mosque and all its
properties waqaf status.

If Masjid Abdul Gafoor represents the past era, Bencoleen Mosque mimics the
enterprising scheme for the new millennium. When the original mosque hailing from
1845 was demolished, it is redeveloped in 2001 to incorporate commercial centre and a
12-storey residential building. Instead of soaring minaret, the landmark of the mosque
now is the Somerset Bencoleen service apartment which income is used to sustain the
mosque.

Gracious Generosity

It is rare to have mosque named after a lady and at a glimpse one might think that
Khadijah Mosque is named after Prophet Muhammad’s wife. It turned out that a lady
named Khatija binti Mohamed has endowed a fund of $50,000 for the development and
operation of the mosque.

Four other ladies are also recorded as co-founder of the mosque namely Moona Meydin
Kandoo Marican, Amina Binte Mohamed Tamby, Mayna Soona Ahmad Nachia and
Kavena Mana Mohamed Nather. Similar to Almarhum Sultan Idris, Madam Khatija
passed away in 1916 before the completion of the mosque in 1920.