BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:          PAGE 4

AL SALEH MOSQUE: SANAA YEMEN

The Saleh Mosque or Al Saleh Mosque is the largest and most modern mosque in Sana'a, Yeman. It lies in the southern outskirts of the city, south of the Al Sabeen Maternal Hospital. Inaugurated in November 2008 by Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, it is named in his honor. The mosque is 27,300 square metres (294,000 sq ft) in size, has a central hall which is 13,596 square metres (146,350 sq ft) with an occupancy capacity of 44,000. The building cost nearly US$60 million to construct. Open to non-Muslims, the mosque is frequented by tourists, and promotes moderate Islam. Security measures include police and bomb-sniffing dogs.

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:         

AL SALEH MOSQUE: SANAA YEMEN

The President of Yemen was criticized in 2008 for undertaking such a grand project when the country was suffering with socio-economic problems. Several accidents occurred during its construction. The minarets collapsed multiple times, resulting in some deaths. After these occurrences, the site was used to build the Islamic college and the garden next to the mosque. It is also mentioned that Hayel Said, a local businessman, was threatened with reprisals and annulment of his business licenses if he did not pay for the building of the mosque. It is also reported that because of the fluid political situation in Yemen where the Zaidi tribal elites are influential, the Saleh's palace mosque was bombed in June 2011 with the president badly injured; the bombing took place at the instigation of tribal elites who supported the youth movement which sought a national leadership change.

The Saleh Mosque appears on Yemeni currency. It is depicted on the face of the 2007 issue 250 rial note.

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:        

AL SALEH MOSQUE: SANAA YEMEN

The entrance section of the Al Saleh Mosque

The mosque was constructed using different types of stone, including black basalt stones as well as limestone in red, white and black. The building is compared in its beauty and architectural elegance with the Masjid al Haram, in Mecca. It was built in a fusion of "Yemeni architecture and Islamic styles", with many Quranic  verses inscribed on the walls. The layout is referred to as "Himyarite architecture". The building has wooden roofs and seven ornate domes. There are five domes in the main roof, the main dome measuring 27.4 metres (90 ft) in diameter with a height of 39.6 metres (130 ft) above the mosque's roof. The other four domes measure 15.6 metres (51 ft) with height of 20.35 metres (66.8 ft) above the roof level of the mosque. Windows fitted with stained glass are locally referred to as qamariyah. Of the fifteen wooden doors, ten of them are situated on the eastern and western sides, and five open south towards the Islamic college and ablution areas. The doors are 22.86 metres (75.0 ft) in height and include engraved copper patterns. Four of the six manarets are 160 metres (520 ft) in height.

The interior space is 24 metres (79 ft) from floor to ceiling. While the plush carpeting contains intricate patterns, huge chandeliers have colorful and flower-like patterns. The three-storied building which includes the Quran College, also contains libraries and over two dozen classrooms, enough space to accommodate 600 students. Three large rooms are specifically for women; a small hall can accommodate 2,000 women.

The mosque has a modern central air conditioning and sound systems, as well as full security arrangements, including bomb-sniffing dogs. The building stays lit through the night. Thorn Lighting International, through its distributor Al Zaghir, was the lighting contractor. Diah International served as the subcontractor for civil and mechanical engineering; Sodaco Engineering & Contracting also provided services in the building's construction.

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:      

AL SALEH MOSQUE: SANAA YEMEN

Beautiful Mosques.

Please post the Mosque at No.70 Village. Berbice.

Nice work asj bhai. Keep it up. Don't tek on Sagga bai. All his inanimate lamentations is nonsense given that he carries a crucifix around his neck which, along with the fake image of Jesus on it, are all inanimate objects. But prejudice is so blind that people don't even recognize that they are prejudice. Perhaps he should start a petition to rid the world of all those inanimate buildings built in Jesus' name since they are so bothersome to him.

Yuji bhai,

There are 2 other mosques built in Corriverton. One is near to the Skeldon post office and the other one is by Kingston road. I have 2 friends who attend the Kingston road one.

you should follow their example you old thief

Thanks for your advice brother. However, I am not a muslim.

Much thanks for the concern on BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:   

Yes we will try to get in as much masjids from Guyana, there are currently about 143 masjids, I know that it would not be possible to get all in but I am sure that we will get as much as possible.

Thanks once again for the kind words.

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD

Updating the Mosque for the 21st Century
By Carla Power Thursday, Apr. 02, 2009

The whole world is a mosque, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) once said. With pious intent, a faithful Muslim can conjure a mosque almost anywhere, transforming a desert sand dune, airport departure lounge or city pavement into a sacred space simply by stopping to pray. The first mosque was Muhammad's mud-brick house in Medina, where a portico of palm-tree branches provided shade for prayer and theological discussion. As the young religion spread, Arabs — and later Asians and Africans — developed their own ideas of what made a building a mosque. But that innovative spirit has slowed in recent decades, leaving most Islamic skylines dominated by the dome-and-minaret design that first appeared centuries ago.

That's now changing. A new generation of Muslim builders and designers, as well as non-Muslims designing for Muslim groups, often in Europe or North America, are updating the mosque for the 21st century, sparking not just a hugely creative period in Islamic design, but one riven by controversy. The disputes over modern mosques echo larger debates taking place in the Islamic world today about gender, power and, particularly in immigrant communities, Islam's place in Western societies. Even the simplest design decision can reflect questions that are crucial to Islam and its adherents: Should women be allowed in a mosque's main hall or confined to separate quarters? Are minarets necessary in the West, where laws on noise levels mean they are rarely used for the call to prayer? What should a mosque attended by Muslims from different parts of the world look like? The boldest of the new mosques try to answer such questions but are also powerful statements of intent. "Islam wants to proclaim itself," says Hasan-Uddin Khan, an architecture professor at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island. "These new mosques are saying, 'We are here, and we want it to be known that we are here.' "

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD: 

THE BAITUN NUR MOSQUE: CALGARY ALBERTA CANADA

THE BAITUN NUR MOSQUE: CALGARY ALBERTA CANADA

Baitun Nur (also spelled Baitunnur or Baitun Noor) (Arabic for "House of Light") is a mosque of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the Castleridge community of Calgary, Alberta. It is known for being the largest mosque in Canada. It is estimated that there are about 3,000 members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Calgary.

The cornerstone of the mosque was laid in 2005. Construction was completed in 2008 for an estimated cost of C$ 15 million, with roughly C$ 8 million of that coming from local Calgarians.

Baitun Nur had its grand opening to the public on July 5, 2008, with 5000 people in attendance, including dignitaries such as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Opposition Leader Stéphane Dion, and Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Calgary, Fred Henry, attended as well.^[8] Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the supreme head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, oversaw the opening.

While members of various faiths were invited, according to Kaufman of the Edmonton Sun, the Sunni Muslim group Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, led by Syed Soharwardy, was not invited, due to its belief that Ahmadiyya Muslims are not "real" Muslims, and did not consider Baitun Nur a “mosque.”

Praise for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community came from attendees, including Harper, who said "Calgarians, Albertans and Canadians will see the moderate, benevolent face of Islam in this mosque and the people who worship here."  According to Embassy magazine, regarding Harper's remarks, a governing party insider said "It's an important signal the prime minister is sending, not just to militant Islamists abroad, but to their sympathizers here at home, that he's perfectly prepared to ignore them and side with persecuted minorities within the faith.

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

THE ISLAMIC CENTER OF CALGARY: CALGARY CANADA

THE ISLAMIC CENTER OF CALGARY: CALGARY CANADA

One of the several Sunni Muslims Mosques in Calgary

Opened in 1976:

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

BAITUL HAFEEZ MOSQUE: SYDNEY NOVA SCOTIA

BAITUL HAFEEZ MOSQUE: SYDNEY NOVA SCOTIA

Baitul Hafeez - Sydney Nova Scotia Canada

Baitul Hafeez

Capacity: 200

Location: Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

BAITUL ISLAM MOSQUE: VAUGHAN'S AHMADIYYA: CANADA

BAITUL ISLAM MOSQUE: VAUGHAN'S AHMADIYYA: CANADA

We stand up proudly for Canada, our “home  and native land”

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

SALAHEDDIN ISLAMIC CENTRE: SCARBOROUGH CANADA

Province	Ontario, Canada
Municipality	Scarborough
Leadership	Ali Hindy
Capacity	2,500

This mosque had its bout of problems viz:

Located in Scarborough, Ontario Salaheddin Islamic Centre is a Canadian mosque noted for its outspoken Imam Aly Hindy

One of its key founders was Hassan Farhat, although he was made persona non grata by the mosque's administrators and forbidden from continuing to hold any position in the facility; although he was allowed to return for worship. A number of its worshippers have been accused of ties to terrorism, including Ahmed Khadr who ran a charity named Health and Education Project International with ties to the mosque and allegedly funneled money to Afghan training camps.

Brothers Saeed and Masoud Rasoul, whose father was a prayer leader at the mosque, later went missing in Iraq, believed to have fought for Ansar al-Islam, possibly at the urging of Farhat.

Following the 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests, it emerged that Fahim Ahmad and a number of other suspects were members of the mosque.

During the bail Hearing of Abdullah Khadr in August 2008, the Crown attacked the credibility of the mosque — although judge Trotter dismissed the suggestion, referring to testimony from RCMP officer Tarek Mokdad who agreed it was not reasonable to suggest the mosque supported terrorism.

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

MOHAMED ALI PASHA MOSQUE: CAIRO EGYPT

MOHAMED ALI PASHA MOSQUE: CAIRO EGYPT

The great Mosque of Muhammad Ali Pasha or Alabaster Mosque is a mosque situated in the Citadel of Cairo in Egypt and commissioned by Muhammad Ali Pasha between 1830 and 1848.

Situated on the summit of the citadel, this Ottoman mosque, the largest to be built in the first half of the 19th century, is, with its animated silhouette and twin minarets, the most visible mosque in Cairo. The mosque was built in memory of Tasun Pasha, Muhammad Ali's oldest son, who died in 1816.

This great mosque, along with the citadel, is one of the landmarks and tourist attractions of Cairo and is one of the first features to be seen when approaching the city from no matter which side.

The mosque was built on the site of old Mamluk buildings in Cairo's Citadel between 1830 and 1848, although not completed until the reign of Said Pasha in 1857. The architect was Yusuf Bushnak from Istanbul and its model was the Yeni Mosque in that city. The ground on which the mosque was erected was built with debris from the earlier buildings of the Citadel.

Before completion of the mosque, the alabastered panels from the upper walls were taken away and used for the palaces of Abbas 1. The stripped walls were clad with wood painted to look like marble. In 1899 the mosque showed signs of cracking and some inadequate repairs were undertaken. But the condition of the mosque became so dangerous that a complete scheme of restoration was ordered by King Faud in 1931 and was finally completed under King Farouk in 1939.

Muhammed Ali Pasha was buried in a tomb carved from Carrara marble, in the courtyard of the mosque. His body was transferred here from Hawsh al-Basha in 1857.

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

THE HALLWAY OF MOHAMED ALI PASHA MOSQUE: CAIRO EGYPT

THE HALLWAY OF MOHAMED ALI PASHA MOSQUE: CAIRO EGYPT

MUHAMMAD ALI'S CHAIR IN THE MOHAMED ALI PASHA MOSQUE: CAIRO EGYPT

MUHAMMAD ALI'S CHAIR IN THE MOHAMED ALI PASHA MOSQUE: CAIRO EGYPT

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

MOHAMED ALI PASHA MOSQUE THE INTERIOR: CAIRO EGYPT

MOHAMED ALI PASHA MOSQUE THE INTERIOR: CAIRO EGYPT

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

MOHAMED ALI PASHA MOSQUE: CAIRO EGYPT

MOHAMED ALI PASHA MOSQUE ANOTHER SECTION VIEW: CAIRO EGYPT

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

AL AZHAR MOSQUE AND UNIVERSITY: CAIRO EGYPT

AL AZHAR MOSQUE AND UNIVERSITY: CAIRO EGYPT

Al-Azhar Mosque  "mosque of the most resplendent" is a mosque in Islamic Cairo in Egypt. Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah of the of the Fatimid Caliphate commissioned its construction for the newly established capital city in 970. Its name is usually thought to allude to the Islamic prophet Muhammad's (SAW) daughter Fatimah (RA), a revered figure in Islam who was given the title az-Zahrā′ ("the shining one"). It was the first mosque established in Cairo, a city that has since gained the nickname "the city of a thousand minarets."

After its dedication in 972, and with the hiring by mosque authorities of 35 scholars in 989, the mosque slowly developed into what is today the second oldest continuously run university in the world after Al Karaouine. Al-Azhar University has long been regarded as the foremost institution in the Islamic world for the study of Sunni theology and sharia, or Islamic law. The university, integrated within the mosque as part of a mosque school since its inception, was nationalized and officially designated an independent university in 1961, following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952.

Over the course of its over a millennium-long history, the mosque has been alternately neglected and highly regarded. Because it was founded as an Ismāʿīli institution, Saladin and the Sunni Ayyubid dynasty that he founded shunned al-Azhar, removing its status as a congregational mosque and denying stipends to students and teachers at its school. These moves were reversed under the Mamluk Sultanate, under whose rule numerous expansions and renovations took place. Later rulers of Egypt showed differing degrees of deference to the mosque and provided widely varying levels of financial assistance, both to the school and to the upkeep of the mosque. Today, al-Azhar remains a deeply influential institution in Egyptian society and a symbol of Islamic Egypt.

NB Many a Shaikhs from our community studied and qualified at this institutions....those that comes to mind: Shaikh Safraz Bacchus of Al Abdin Masjid Queens NY and Shaikh Zakir Khan of Guyana 

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

AL AZHAR MOSQUE AND UNIVERSITY: CAIRO EGYPT

Marble paved interior courtyard added during the Fatimid period. Two Mamluk era minarets appear in the foreground. From left to right, the double-finial minaret of Qansah al-Ghuri and the minaret of Qaytbay. Behind the dome the top of Aqbaghawiyya minaret is visible. The minaret in the far background was built by Katkhuda

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

AQSUNQUR MOSQUE OR THE BLUE MOSQUE : CAIRO EGYPT

AQSUNQUR MOSQUE OR THE BLUE MOSQUE : CAIRO EGYPT

The Aqsunqur Mosque (also known as the Blue Mosque or the Mosque of Ibrahim Agha) is located in Cairo, Egypt and is one of several "blue mosques" in the world. It is situated in the Tabbana Quarter in Islamic Cairo, between Bab Zuweila and the Citadel of Saladin (Cairo Citadel.) The Aqsunqur Mosque also serves as a funerary complex, containing the mausoleums of its founder Shams ad-Din Aqsunqur, his sons, a number of children of the Bahri Mamluk sultan an-Nasir Muhammad and that of its principal restorer, Ibrahim Agha al-Mustahfizan.

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

AQSUNQUR MOSQUE OR THE BLUE MOSQUE : CAIRO EGYPT

The MIHRAB (left) and MINBAR (right) of the mosque

The mihrab ("prayer niche" that indicates qibla) was built in a geometric interlace style typically found in Mamluk architecture. The design is used in the mihrab's spandrels. Other features of the mihrab include the hood's relief painted carvings, fluctuating lintel panels, marble panels, carved marble registers and mosiac inlay. To the right of the mihrab is the marble minbar ("pulpit.") Decorated with light gray, salmon, green and plum-colored stone inserts, it is the oldest and one of the handful remaining marble minbars used in a Cairo mosque. The handrail is also built of marble and has a pattern of rolling leaf and grape clusters carved from the stone.

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

THE AL HACKIM MOSQUE : CAIRO EGYPT

THE AL HACKIM MOSQUE : CAIRO EGYPT

Al-Jam`e Al-Anwar, literally:The Enlightened Mosque) also Al-Hakim Mosque is a major Islamic religious site in Cairo, Egypt. It is named after Imam Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (985–1021), the sixth Fatimid caliph,16th Fatimid/Ismaili Imam and the first to be born in Egypt.

The mosque was originally built as an enclosure by the Fatimid vizier Gawhar Al-Siqilli (c. 928–992), but was incorporated into the extended fortifications built by Badr al Jamali. It consists of an irregular rectangle with four arcades surrounding the courtyard. An unusual feature is the monumental entrance with its projecting stone porch. It is located in "Islamic Cairo", on the east side of Muizz Street, just south of Bab Al Futuh (the northern gate).

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

THE AL HACKIM MOSQUE : CAIRO EGYPT

This mosque is also the tomb ofthe Shah of Iran (Mohammed Reza Pahlavi), built of green marble imported from Pakistan.

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

ABU AL ABBAS AL MURSI MOSQUE: ALEXANDRIA EGYPT

ABU AL ABBAS AL MURSI MOSQUE: ALEXANDRIA EGYPT

The Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque is the most historic and most beautiful mosque in Alexandria. It was built primarily in 1775 over the tomb of a Spanish scholar and saint, Abu El Abbas El Mursi (1219-86), and stands on Mosque Square overlooking the eastern harbor.

History

Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi (whose full name is much longer) was born to a wealthy family in the Andalusia region of Spain in 1219. In the wake of increasing Christian control of Spain, he and his family left for Tunisia in 1242. He later went on to Alexandria, a popular destination of many Muslim scholars at the time.

Abu al-Abbas lived in Alexandria for 43 years as a scholar and teacher until his death in 1286. He was buried in a small building near the eastern harbor in Alexandria.

In 1307, El Sheikh Zein El Din Ibn El Qattan, one of the richest traders of Alexandria, visited the tomb. He funded a mausoleum and dome for the tomb, along with a small mosque. The tomb of Abu al-Abbas became a place of pilgrimage for many Muslims from Egypt and Morocco who passed through Alexandria on their way to and from Mecca.

The mosque was periodically restored over the centuries by rulers who built themselves tombs next to the saint. Most of the present structure dates from 1775, when the Algerian Sheikh Abu el Hassan El Maghreby built a much larger mosque on the site. It was fully renovated in 1863, and an annual festival was established to celebrate the birth of Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi.

The mosque was again beautified in 1943 under King Farouq I (r.1937-1952), who built the Midan el Masaged, or "Mosque Square." The square covers some 43,200 square meters and includes five other mosques centered around the Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque. The mosque was renovated in the Arabian style that was popular when the saint came to Alexandria in the 13th century, at a total cost of about 140,000 LE.

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

ABU AL ABBAS AL MURSI MOSQUE: ALEXANDRIA EGYPT

ENTRANCE OF THE ABU AL ABBAS AL MURSI MOSQUE: ALEXANDRIA EGYPT

El-Mursi Abul-Abbas Mosque is a famous mosque in Alexandria, Egypt. It is dedicated to the 13th century Alexandrine Sufi saint Abu Al Abbas El Mursi whose tomb it contains.

It is located in the Anfoushi neighborhood of Alexandria, near the Citadel of Qaitbay.

The Mosque was redesigned and built in today's current form by Eugenio Valzania and Mario Rossi in the years 1929/1945.

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

ABU AL ABBAS AL MURSI MOSQUE: ALEXANDRIA EGYPT

Women's section of the Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque. The men's section is on the other side of the wooden barrier

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

THE AL RIFA'I MOSQUE: CAIRO EGYPT

THE AL RIFA'I MOSQUE: CAIRO EGYPT

Al-Rifa'i Mosque, transliterated also as Al-Rifai, Al-Refai, Al-Refa'i, and named in English the Royal Mosque, is located in Cairo, Egypt, in Midan al-Qal'a, adjacent to the Cairo Citadel. The building is located opposite the Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan, which dates from around 1361, and was architecturally conceived as a complement to the older structure. This was part of a vast campaign by the 19th century rulers of Egypt to both associate themselves with the perceived glory of earlier periods in Egypt's Islamic history and modernize the city. The mosque was constructed next to two large public squares and off of several European style boulevards constructed around the same time.

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

THE SULTAN HASSAN MOSQUE: CAIRO EGYPT 

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

THE INTERIOR OF THE SULTAN HASSAN MOSQUE: CAIRO EGYPT

THE INTERIOR OF THE SULTAN HASSAN MOSQUE: CAIRO EGYPT

The extravagant interior of the Mosque of Sultan Hassan

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

THE SIDI ARIF MOSQUE: SOHAG EGYPT

THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE SIDI ARIF MOSQUE: SOHAG EGYPT

The Sidi Arif Mosque (also known as Masjid Al-Arif Bellah ) Masjid al-Aarif) is one of the largest mosque in Sohog Goverorate. It was built for the first time in the 14th century and was reconstructed several times; the last one was in 1968 and being renewed in 1998 for the last time. At the corners of the facade are two minarets, and the roof is crowned by a dome. Inside the five-naves mosque the bases of the piers and the walls were lined with red granite. The ceiling is painted ornamentally; in its middle is an elongated light dome. The southeastern half is lit by chandeliers. At the end there are the prayer niche (mihrab) with simple ornaments and to the right of it the wooden pulpit (minbar). A Mamluk prince's cemetery is situated inside the mosque next to the cemetery of the famous Murad Bey, who fled from Cairo after the Cairo Citadel genocide in the beginning of Muhammad Ali of Egypt era to settle down in Mamluk-controlled area of Jirja (now Sohog). The real name of the Arif Bellah who the mosque was named after him is still mysterious to know because the term Arifwas used by Sufi authors like Abu Abd al–Rahman al–Sulami (d. 1021) to mean "a gnostic, mystic; a seeker of marifa (spiritual knowledge)", similar in meaning to the terms salik, zahid, faqir, etc. The mosque is situated in the southern side of the city of Sohag near the main railway station and it is in the entrance of the famous old market(Soug) of Sohag, The Souk El-Qisareya.

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

THE INSIDE OF THE SIDI ARIF MOSQUE: SOHAG EGYPT

THE INSIDE OF THE SIDI ARIF MOSQUE: SOHAG EGYPT

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

THE INSIDE OF THE SIDI ARIF MOSQUE: SOHAG EGYPT

THE MIHRAB AND THE MINBAR OF THE SIDI ARIF MOSQUE, Sohag, Egypt

BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF THE WORLD:

MOSQUE OVER LOOKING THE AL AZHAR IN CAIRO EGYPT