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By Thulaja, Naidu Ratnala written on 2003-04-14
National Library Board Singapore

Comments on article: InfopediaTalk

Abdul Gaffoor Mosque, named after Shaik Abdul Gaffoor bin Shaik Hyder, was built in replacement of the nearby Al-Abrar Mosque. Construction of the mosque, a classical architectural piece, began around 1907. Located in Dunlop Street, it is a part of the Little India Conservation District. 

History 
The Kampong Kapor area was an active business hub for Indian merchants and for those who worked at the old Race Course at Farrer Park. Kampong Kapor thus became a natural enclave for South Indian Muslim merchants and Bawanese syces and horse trainers. To serve the religious needs of the Kampong Kapor community, the first mosque was built at a site near the present Abdul Gaffoor Mosque in 1846. This mosque, named Masjid Al-Abrar or Al-Abrar Mosque, was a simple wooden structure with a tiled roof. In 1881, the Dunlop Street Mosque wakaf, an endowment fund established the same year, placed two men as trustees over the mosque; Ismail Mansor and Shaik Abdul Gaffoor. In doing so, it was hoped that the dilapidated building would be renewed and its used revived. 

Shaik Abdul Gaffoor, a Muslim Tamil, was a Chief Clerk with a firm of advocates and solicitors. As a mosque trustee, Shaik Abdul Gaffoor obtained a permit to construct shophouses around the mosque. Eight shophouses and nine sheds were constructed in 1887 and another set of shophouses came about in 1903. Some of these shophouses and terraces on Dunlop Street and Mayo Street remain standing today as properties of the mosque. As income from these shophouses accumulated, the construction of a new mosque to replace the nearby wooden Al-Abrar Mosque began in 1907. With part of the new mosque was completed in 1910, Abdul Gaffoor saw little need for the old mosque building and had the Al-Abrar Mosque demolished. By 1918, Shaik Abdul Gaffoor remained the only surviving trustee of the mosque and its properties. 

Unfortunately Abdul Gaffoor died in 1919 before the construction of the new mosque was completed. In his will, he left resources for the completion of the mosque's construction as well as for some rituals to be conducted in the mosque in honour of the Prophet Mohamed. The mosque, probably completed around 1927, was named in honour of him. 

Shaik Abdul Gaffoor's will listed the wakaf's properties as the mosque, the nearby shophouses, a muslim burial ground and a house at Race Course Road. Unfortunately Abdul Gaffoor's son's mismanaged the properties, resulting in a large part of the attendant properties being taken over by the Mohamedan and Hindu Endowments Board in 1927. The mosque, currently owned by Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, was gazetted a national monument in 1979. 

Description

The mosque's unusual symmetry, layout and incorporation of Moorish details sets its apart from other mosques. Architecturally it is modelled after Saracenic and Roman designs. Apart from Islamic details, many Western classical motifs are also used in the architectural decoration of the mosque. The prayer hall is raised above ground level, with its interior design boasting of fine Arabic calligraphy and fine stained glass. stands above the ground level and is surrounded by verandahs and balustrades on all sides.  The balustrades are carved with circular and lancet-shaped openings at the base and are roofed with cinquefoil arches with elaborate designs. The main entrance to the prayer hall is flanked on either side by a pair of graduated cinquefoil arched openings.  The entrance structure is decorated with elaborate carvings. Just above the entrance, there is a panel with calligraphic inscriptions; above that is a sundial flanked by miniature Corinthian columns, which emits 25 sun rays decorated in Arabic calligraphy; and right on top of  that is an onion-shaped dome, accompanied at either side by a square minaret and a series of miniature columns and arches.  

At the centre of the prayer hall is a cupola; a hexagonal shaped tower which protrudes from the roof deck. The cupola has three levels: at the base are coloured glass window panes; at the next level, capitals and balustrades with bottleneck-shaped carvings, and at the top is a large, onion-shaped dome with a star and crescent moon at the pinnacle, accompanied by minarets at  the corners.  The cupola sits on the rooftop directly above the prayer hall.  A staircase located at the back of the building leads to the rooftop, which is a flat deck encircled by a parapet with at least 22 mini-minarets continuing the pattern of onion domes, crescent moon and star. Inside the prayer hall, a panel with a passage from the Koran inscribed on it hangs above the mihrab.  Next to the mihrab is a three-step, wooden mihrah.
 

The building is supported by clusters of large Corinthian columns at the four corners of the building.  In addition to these, a number of pilasters and columns of Doric and Corinthian designs can be found at both the interior and exterior parts of the building. Another feature of the building is the single-leaf window which resides in some of the arched openings along the verandah. A pool near the mosque was replaced by a modern ablution area. The full mosque stands on a total area of 2,449 sq m. 

A fund raising campaign, headed by A. G. Mohamed Mustapha, launched in 1994 saw $2.5 million raised to restore the unique mosque. At least $1.9 million was used to convert the associated shophouses into the Miftahul Ulum madrasah. Restoration work on the main prayer hall commenced in 2000. The work included converting the basement to support an air-conditioned prayer hall, reinstating four minarets with mini-domes at the four corners of the flat roof, and a new coat of paint in bright yellow and green. The four minarets were part of the original drawings but had somehow been lost through time. Restoration works cost at least $5.5 million and was officially reopened on 16 May 2003. It can now accommodate 4,000 worshippers which today, mainly consists of Tamil-speaking Indian Muslims. 

Variant names

Abdul Gafoor Mosque, Abdul Gafor Mosque, Abdul Gaffor Mosque, Abdul Gaphore Mosque, Abdul Gapore Mosque, Dunlop Street Mosque and Indian Mosque.

Abdul Gaffoor Mosque 41 Dunlop Street, S209369.

Completed: 1910.   

Architect: Unknown.       
Restoration architect: Siti Habibah Siraj, SZ Architects.

Owner: Majilis Ugama Islam Singapura.

Status: Gazetted as a national monument on 13 July 1979.

Author
Naidu Ratnala Thulaja 

References 

Edwards, N. & Keys, P. (1988). Singapore: A guide to buildings, streets, places (pp. 129-130). Singapore: Times Books International.
(Call no.: R SING 915.957 EDW) 

Lee, E. (1990). Historic buildings of Singapore (p. 75). Singapore: Preservation of Monuments Board.
(Call no.: R SING 720.95957 LEE) 

Lee, G. B.  (2002). The religious monuments of Singapore: Faiths of our forefathers (pp. 90-93). Singapore: Landmark Books and Preservation of Monuments Board.

(Call no.: SING 726.095957 LEE) 

Liu, G. (1996). In granite and chunam: The national monuments of Singapore (pp. 100 - 105). Singapore: Landmark Books and Preservation of Monuments Board.
(Call no.: R 725.94095957 LIU) 

Samuel, D. (1991). Singapore's heritage: Through places of historical interest (p. 201). Singapore: Elixir Consultancy Service.

(Call no.: R SING 959.57 SAM) 

Savage, V. R. and Yeoh, B. S.A. (2003). Toponyomics: A study of Singapore street names (p. 31). Singapore: Eastern Universities Press.
(Call no.: 915.9570014 SAV) 

Uma D. G., et al. (2002). Singapore's 100 historic places (p. 14). Singapore: Archipelago Press.
(Call no.: SING 959.57 SIN) 

Urban Redevelopment Authority and Preservation of Monuments Board. (1991). Abdul Gaffoor Mosque preservation guidelines (pp. 4-5, 10-11). Singapore: Author.
(Call no.: R SING 363.69095957 ABD) 

Bachtiar, I. (1994, September 11). Help wanted: Funds to restore a little mosque. The Straits Times, Sunday Plus, p. 24. 

Quek, T. (2003, May 15). Mosque gets new look just like in the old times. The Straits Times. 

$700,000 needed for mosque restoration. (2002, May 6).The Straits Times, Singapore. 

Work to restore mosque begins. (2000, November 19). The Straits Times, Home, p. 41. 

Zuzanita Z. (1998, November 26). Breathing new life into an old mosque. The Straits Times. 


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