Plans for sheikha's mosque released

Construction of the Ras al Khaimah house of worship, donated by Sheikha Hind of Dubai, is expected to finish by 2009.

An artist's rendering shows the new mosque being built for Ras al Khaimah's Al Maardh neighbourhood.

Ras al Khaimah // A new Dh3 million (US$8.2m) mosque in the Al Maardh area will accommodate 750 worshippers and cover more than 6,000 square feet. The mosque is a gift from Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum, the wife of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

It will be built by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation as part of Sheikha Hind's continuing efforts to provide new mosques and religious institutions in the UAE and around the world. The mosque will bear her name and will accommodate 600 men and 150 women, almost the entire population of Al Maardh. It will be built behind the Hilton Beach Club on the Corniche Road in Al Maardh, across 181,110 square feet of land. The mosque itself will cover 6,098 square feet, while the imam's residence will be 1,614 square feet.

Sheikh Omar bin Abdul Aziz, the chairman of the Islamic Affairs Department in RAK, said the mosque would be the biggest in the Al Maardh and Mamoura areas. It is also being built in an area of historical significance, where two other mosques have stood before it. "The first mosque was built by Sheikh Ismail Jakar and when it was on the verge of collapse, Sheikha Hessah al Sabah of Kuwait removed it and built a new one," Sheikh Omar said.

That mosque had become too old and would be removed to make way for Sheikha Hind's mosque, he said. Abu Abdul Aziz al Jakar, who is the grandson of the first person to build a mosque in the area, said he was grateful that his family's legacy would continue. "All the family people received the good news of Sheikha Hind with a lot of welcome to build a mosque and rejuvenate the mosque of our grandfather," he said.

Construction on the mosque began in May and is 30 per cent finished. It is hoped that construction would be completed before the end of the year, said Rashid Jassim al Abduli, the project engineer from the International Engineering Center. One worshipper, who identified himself only as Ahmad, said because of high inflation and poverty in the area, residents would not have been able to build a mosque themselves.

"Before, we had a prayer room and could converge there especially for Taraweh prayers," he said. "But we failed to maintain the place and the owner increased the rent indirectly to tell us to leave." Ahmad al Matroud, another resident, said he was grateful for a new mosque where his growing daughters could pray. Other worshippers were also delighted at the news. "We have heard so many promises before of a mosque, but all have been empty air," said one.

"If true, this is good." @Email:[e-mail]