SULTAN MOSQUE SINGAPORE

The Sultan Mosque one of the most prominent mosques in Singapore is situated in the district of Kampong Glam in the Rocher Planning area, near the North Bridge road and Muscat Street. The domes and the prayer room are the two distinctive features of the Sultan Mosque's building. The MUIS or the Majlis Ulema Islam Singapore owns the Sultan Mosque. The Sultan Mosque was officially declared a national monument on 14th March, 1975


HISTORY OF SULTAN MOSQUE

When Singapore was ceded to the British in 1819, Temenggong Abdul Rahman, the island's chief, and Sultan Hussain Shah of Johore, under whose jurisdiction Singapore fell, acquired small fortunes in exchange for their power. Sir Stamford Raffles also granted the Temenggong and the Sultan an annual stipend and the use of Kampong Glam for their residence.

The area around Kampong Glam was also allocated for Malays and other Muslims. Hussain built a palace there and brought his family and a complete entourage from the Riau islands. Many of the Sultan's and Temenggong's followers came to Kampong Glam from the Riau Islands, Malacca and Sumatra.

Sultan Hussain then decided to build a mosque befitting his status. He constructed a mosque next to his palace from 1824 to 1826 with funds solicited from the East India Company. With a two-tieredpyramidal roof, it was of a typical design. The original building was replaced with a new mosque.

The management of the mosque was headed by Alauddin Shah, the Sultan's grandson, until 1879, when he passed the torch in to five community leaders. In 1914, the lease was extended by the government for a further 999 years and a new board of trustees was appointed, with two representatives from each faction of the Muslim community.

By the early 1900s, Singapore had become a centre for Islamic commerce, culture and art. Sultan Mosque soon became too small for this burgeoning community. In 1924, the year of the mosque'scentenary, the trustees approved a plan to erect a new mosque. The old mosque had by then also fallen into a state of disrepair.

Architect Denis Santry of Swan and Maclaren adopted a Saracenic style, incorporating minarets and balustrades. The mosque was completed after four years in 1928.

Architecture of the Sultan Mosque Architects Maclaren and Denis Santry of Swan followed the Saracenic style of architecture by integrating balustrades and minarets. The construction work of the mosque was over by 1928. The mosque did not undergo any major renovation since it's construction. In the 1960s there were some repair works in the central hall and in 1993 an annex was added.

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Sultan Mosque has stayed essentially unchanged since it was built, with only repairs carried out to the main hall in the 1960s and an annex added in 1993. It was gazetted as a national monument on 14 March 1975.

Today the mosque is owned by Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS)