Baitul
Mukarram
Located at the center of Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, the mosque
was completed in 1968.The mosque has a facility of 30,000, giving it the well
thought-of position of being the 10th biggest mosque in the world. However the
mosque is constantly getting overcrowded. This especially occurs during the
Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which has resulted in the Bangladeshi government
having to add extensions to the mosque, thus ever-increasing the capacity to at
least 40,000.
Architecture
The mosque
has several modern architectural features whilst at the same time it preserves
the long-established principles of Mughal architecture which has for some time
been foremost in the Indian sub-continant. Baitul Mukarram's large cube shape
was modeled to that of the Ka'abah at Mecca making it a noticeable structure
being unlike any other mosque in Bangladesh.
Exterior design
The mosque is on a very high platform. The Baitul Mukarram Mosque’s building
is eight storied and 99 feet high from the ground level. According to the
original plan, the main entrance of the mosque was to be on the eastern side.
The 'shaan' on the east is 29,000 square feet with ablution space on its south
and north sides. Ablution or Wu’du Place cached an important part when the
Baitul Mukarram was begun. The absence of a dome on the main building is
compensated by the two superficial domed entrance porticoes, one on the south,
and the other on the north. The height of these porticoes consists of three
rabbit's foot shaped arches, the middle of which is bigger than the rest.
Interior design
Two patios (roofless inner courtyard) ensure that enough light and air enter
the prayer hall of Baitul Mukarram Mosque. The mehrab of the hall is
rectangular instead of semi-circular. Excessive ornamentation is avoided
throughout the mosque, since minimizing ornamentation is typical of modern
architecture.
Garden
The garden is laid out in a style borrowed heavily from Mughal gardens,
however unlike the traditional Mughal gardens which represent the Islamic
Heaven, the garden does not have the Char-Bagh system most likely due to not
having enough room for such a garden. The future of this garden is unknown, if
the Bangladeshi government extends the mosque, it will most likely have to
remove the garden.
History
The mosque complex was designed by architect, T Abdul Hussain Thariani. The
construction of Baitul Mukarram Masjid began on 27 January 1960, and has been
going on in periods. At first Abdul Latif Ibrahim Bawany came about with the
proposal of building a grand mosque with a large capacity. The plan included
shops, offices, libraries and parking areas within the complex. Though there
has been a tradition of dome mosque for Muslim, this building did not maintain
the rule of traditional mosque in that time. A Mosque without a dome over the
roof of its main prayer hall must have been a unique experiment. The mosque was
built when the country was the Part of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
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