Malabar Mosque, Singapore (26 July 2017)
Malabar Mosque (GPS: 1.30521, 103.85968), or
Masjid Malabar, officially
Malabar Muslim Jama-Ath Mosque, is the only Malabar Muslim mosque in
Singapore. It is located at the junction of
Victoria Street and
Jalan Sultan in the
Kampong Glam district, in the
Rochor Planning Area within the Central Area,
Singapore's Central Business District.
In 1927, the Malabar Muslims who originate from the southern state of Kerala in India, formed Malabar Muslim Jama'ath, an association to look after the matters of their community, made up of mostly textile and jewellery merchants. On 10 April 1956, the foundation stone of Malabar Mosque was laid. On 24 January 1963, Malabar Mosque was declared open by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara, Yusof Ishak.
The main prayer hall of Malabar Mosque is elevated by one storey. The prayer hall and the steps leading to it are oriented towards Mecca. Surrounding the main prayer hall are two-storey open-air galleries. Outside, there is an area for functions and this includes a table for laying out and washing the dead. At the rear is a now small, partly disused cemetery, dated circa 1819, which is for the Malabar Indians.
Malabar Mosque was designed by A.H. Siddique, the same architect for Sri Guru Nanak Sat Sangh Sabha, the gurdware in Wilkinson Road. Siddique became responsible for both the construction and design of many buildings in Singapore. It is said that he would never take a design fee for a religious building of any denomination.
Malabar Mosque (8 July 2006)