Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Centre
Encyclopedia
Haiphong Road
Haiphong Road is a road south of Kowloon Park, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. The road links Canton Road and Nathan Road. It was initially named as Elgin Street but its name changed to Haiphong, a city in Vietnam to avoid confusion with another Elgin Street on the Hong Kong Island-External links:*...
next to Kowloon Park
Kowloon Park
Kowloon Park is a large public park in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong. It is managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.-History:...
, the Mosque is currently the largest Islamic house of worship in the city. The Mosque holds prayers daily and is capable of accommodating up to approximately 2000 people.
History
The Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Centre was first established in 1896, on the site where the Tsim Sha TsuiTsim Sha Tsui
Tsim Sha Tsui , often abbreviated as TST, is an urbanized area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hung Hom Bay now east of Tsim Sha Tsui...
Police Station now stands. It was originally intended to serve the Indian
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
Muslim troops of the British army stationed at nearby Whitfield Barracks
Whitfield Barracks
Whitfield Barracks were barracks in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is now the site of Kowloon Park, where several reconverted buildings remain.It was named after Henry Wase Whitfield, the commander of British Army in Hong Kong.-History:...
, now the site of the adjacent Kowloon Park
Kowloon Park
Kowloon Park is a large public park in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong. It is managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.-History:...
. In the late 1970s, the building suffered structural defects due to the underground construction carried out for the Mass Transit Railway
MTR
Mass Transit Railway is the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong. Originally opened in 1979, the system now includes 211.6 km of rail with 155 stations, including 86 railway stations and 69 light rail stops...
. With the compensation given by Mass Transit Railway Corporation and donations from Muslims, a new Mosque was built in 1984 on the present site at 105 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, to replace the old one.
The building
The mosque, designed by architect I.M. Kadri, represents the unique identity of the Muslim community in Hong Kong. Decorated and elaborate, the traditional Muslim architecture of the mosque distinguished itself from the rational and modern architecture of the nearby commercial buildings. The most prominent features of the building are the four 11m high minaretMinaret
A minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....
s which mark the corners of the upper terrace and the extensive use of white marble on both the paving and the façade.
In addition to three prayer halls and a community hall, there is a medical clinic and a library.
The main prayer hall on the first floor can accommodate 1,000 people. A smaller, women's prayer hall is on the upper floor and is surrounded by a terrace. This upper hall is surmounted by a dome 5m in diameter and 9m in height.
Personnel
Chief Imam Hong Kong Mufti Muhammad Arshad has been serving as ImamImam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
and Khateeb
Khatib
Khatib or khateeb is an Arabic term used to describe a person who delivers the sermon , during the Friday prayer and Eid prayers....
of this Masjid since 2001. He also teaches the Arabic language course, and delivers the Friday sermons in Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, English, and Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
. He is also responsible for the issuance of fatāwā
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
and Quranic Maktab
Maktab
Maktab , also called kuttab , is an Arabic word meaning elementary schools...
s.
Maulana Qari Muhammad Tayaib Qasmi is an Islamic scholar who has lived in Hong Kong since 1989. He served as a Chief Imam and Khateeb of Kowloon Mosque and Islamic Centre, Hong Kong. He has invited many prominent Islamic scholars to Hong Kong from different part of the world, among them Makki sahib, Abdul Majeed Nadeem Shah sahib, and Imam-e-Kabba. He is currently running seven large Islamic Centres throughout Hong Kong, giving free after-school Quranic education to over 1,500 students including adult students and boys and girls, who study full time in local schools in Hong Kong.
See also
- Islamic architectureIslamic architectureIslamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture....
- Islamic artIslamic artIslamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by or ruled by culturally Islamic populations...
- List of mosques