Kaohsiung Mosque

Kaohsiung Mosque
高雄清真寺
Religion
AffiliationIslam
Branch/traditionSunni
Location
LocationNo. 11, Jianjun Road, Lingya,[1] Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Kaohsiung Mosque is located in Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung Mosque
Taiwan
Geographic coordinates22°37′40.8″N 120°20′30.9″E / 22.628000°N 120.341917°E / 22.628000; 120.341917
Architecture
Typemosque
CompletedJanuary 1949 (original building)
1951 (second building)[citation needed]
April 1992 (current building)
Construction costUS$1,900,000
Website
Official website (in Chinese)

The Kaohsiung Mosque (Chinese: 高雄清真寺; pinyin: Gāoxióng Qīngzhēnsì) is a mosque in Lingya District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.[2] It is the second mosque to be built in Taiwan after Taipei Grand Mosque in Taipei.

History

First building

Kaohsiung Mosque first building

Kaohsiung Mosque was built in 1949 in Taiwan by Muslim nationalists after their defeat against the communists in the Chinese civil war.[3] In the beginning, Muslim public officers worked with the Kuomintang government to suggest the construction of a new mosque in Taiwan and started to raise funds from January 1949. Initially, they rented a 270 square meters of space at 117 Wufu 4th (五福四) Road in Yancheng District as a temporary location.[4]

Second building

Due to the limited space available at 117 Wufu 4th Road, they moved to a 460 square meters Japanese wooden style building at 196 Linsen 1st (林森一) Road in Sinsing District in 1951. The main prayer hall area was 135 square meter.[citation needed] With the growing number of Muslim worshipers, they started to raise funds for the new mosque. In October 1988, the land of the old mosque were sold and the money they received was used to finance the construction of the new mosque. 196 Linsen 1st Road now houses FarEasTone customer care service center.[5][6]

Current building

Kaohsiung Mosque prayer hall

In February 1990, they finally moved the mosque to the current bigger site and better equipped building to accommodate their growing numbers of Muslims located at 11 Jianjun (建軍) Road in Lingya District. Construction started on 17 December 1990, completed in late December 1991 and it was opened in April 1992.[7] It costed US$1,900,000.[8]

Architecture

Friday prayer at Kaohsiung Mosque

Kaohsiung Mosque is a three-story building that features a large Middle Eastern vault.[9][10] The design of the prayer hall, nooks, corners and components of the buildings are based on traditional mosques in the Middle East. The building covers an area of 2,657 square meters.[8]

The first floor is the male and female dormitories, female prayer room and female activity center. The second floor is the main prayer hall, study center for Arabic language and Islamic culture display room. The third floor is the guest room, youth activity center, office and kitchen. The mosque also features the imam office, administration office, library and ablution area.[11]

Beside the mosque there are some Halal restaurants owned by Muslim people.[10]

Transportation

Kaohsiung Mosque is accessible within walking distance North from Weiwuying Station of the Kaohsiung MRT.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Weiwuying station, Lingya District, Taiwan - Google Maps". Google Maps. 10 January 1970. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  2. ^ Quartly, Jules (22 January 2021). "Night Markets Find Ways to Get with the Times". AmCham Taiwan. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  3. ^ "The Kaohsiung Mosque". Kaohsiung Travel. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  4. ^ No. 117, Wufu 4th Rd, Yancheng District (1 January 1970). "117, Wufu 4th Rd - Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 21 April 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "Service Locations". Fetnet.net. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  6. ^ No. 196, Linsen 1st Rd, Xinxing District (1 January 1970). "196 Línsēn 1st Road, Xinxing District, Taiwan - Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 21 April 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "KAOHSIUNG MOSQUE". Taiwan, the Heart of Asia (in Malay). 14 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Building Faith". Taiwan Today. 1 May 1992. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  9. ^ Dewi, Karlina Sintia (16 May 2019). "Melihat Perkembangan Islam di Negeri Formosa Taiwan" [Witnessing the Development of Islam in the State of Formosa Taiwan]. Liputan6 (in Indonesian). Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Students visit Kaohsiung Mosque to learn about Islamic culture". National Sun Yat-sen University. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  11. ^ "Taiwan 2012 - Kaohsiung Mosque | Flickr - Photo Sharing!". Flickr. 16 December 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  12. ^ Thomas, John (26 June 2017). "Taiwan – The Halal Traveler's Ultimate Destination". Arabian Gazette. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
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