The First Mosque in Hong Kong, Jamia Masjid

The Jamia Mosque is the very first official place of worship for the Muslims in Hong Kong. Built in 1890, it signifies the beginning of Islam in Hong Kong. Also known as Jamia Masjid, the name of the mosque means the “mosque of congregation” in Arabic. In the early colonial times during the mid to late 19th century, the Muslims that came to Hong Kong were sailors and merchants of South Asian origins. By the 1850s, the British government had recognized the community of Muslims in the new colony. These early Muslims established the first Islamic organization, the Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund, which remains a dominant representative organization for the Muslims in Hong Kong today. In 1850, the government allocated a piece of land to the Trustees on Shelley Street, and this would become the site of the Jamia Mosque. By 1890, the original mosque was completed, and then it was enlarged in 1905. Eventually, the old mosque was pulled down and a new mosque was built. The foundation stone of the rebuilt Jamia Mosque was laid in 1915, with funds contributed by Indian businessman H.M.H Essack Elias of Bombay. This development had enabled the Indian Muslims to worship and enjoy a community life in Hong Kong. The Jamia Mosque can host 400 prayers at a time. In its earliest beginning, the mosque called for prayers five times a day, and it was crowded on Fridays, traditionally the day of prayers for Muslims. The elegance of the architecture of the Jamia Mosque lies in the very simplicity of its features. The Jamia Mosque is a rectangular building themed in the color green with white as the color for decorative lining. Although the color green has specific meaning in Islam, namely the color associated with heavens, the mosque had not always been green throughout its history. A small minaret stands above the prayer hall to project the call to prayers. In Islamic architecture, the dome is a symbol for paradise, as the vault of heaven. To Muslims, it represents oneness with God. On top of the minaret, there is a rounded, small finial pointing to heaven, with a star and a crescent as the highest point of the mosque. Even amongst the various mosques in Hong Kong, the existence of a minaret is one of its kind. #jamiamosque #shelleystreet #hongkong #islam #muslims #central #religion