‘Landmark’ mosque plans for Dubai revealed

12 years ago | Posted in: Culture/Art | 817 Views

DUBAI // Plans for a 1,400-square-metre mosque intended to provide Downtown Dubai with a “modern-day cultural landmark” have been unveiled.
Construction of the Sheikh Zayed bin Mansour Al Nahyan Mosque – named after the son of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, the Deputy Prime Minister – is already under way, although an opening date is yet to be determined.

The mosque, designed in a traditional architectural style, will be situated behind the Qamardeen Hotel near the Burj Khalifa and the Old Town development in grounds encompassing an area of more than 3,700 sq m.

With a dedicated prayer hall for more than 85 women and a Quran study room, the mosque will be able to accommodate about 800 people at a time.

It will be the fourth mosque in the country to open its doors to non-Muslims.

Saba Usman, 31, from Pakistan, who has lived in the area for two years, said she was looking forward to its opening.

She believes it will be a “nice addition” to the other facilities in the neighbourhood.

“I love living here because I’m within walking distance of everything, and the mosque is kind of like that final piece of the puzzle,” Ms Usman said.

The developer, Emaar Properties, said the mosque would be easily accessible and would offer plenty of parking for both worshippers and visitors.

Ahmad Al Matrooshi, the developer’s managing director, said the building was designed to reflect the nation’s “rich traditional architectural heritage while serving as a haven of peace and serenity”.

He added: “We are thankful to His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan for the opportunity to host this mosque in Downtown Dubai.”

Mr Al Matrooshi said the mosque was “set to become a modern-day cultural landmark for Dubai”.

Emaar said the mosque would “add to the convenience of residents and visitors of central Dubai, Downtown Dubai and Business Bay”.

Downtown Dubai will also soon house the Dubai Modern Art Museum and the Opera House District.

The mosque will join the ranks of Dubai’s long-established places of worship, which include the Jumeirah Mosque, the Grand Mosque Dubai, Bastakiya Mosque and Grand Rashidiya Mosque.

It will be the fourth mosque in the country to open its doors to non-Muslims after Al Farooq Omar Ibn Al Khattab Mosque opened in Dubai a year ago.

The only other UAE mosques to allow non-Muslim visitors are the Jumeirah Mosque and the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.

The Grand Mosque, the biggest in the country, opened to worshippers in 2007 after 11 years of construction.

The site, which covers approximately 22,412 sq m, has a maximum capacity of almost 41,000 people and is the size of five football fields.

 

 

 

ref: http://www.thenational.ae

Tags: , , , ,

Share it.

Leave a Reply

Related Posts