Ammar Mosque and Osman Ramju Sadick Islamic Centre

The Ammar Mosque and Osman Ramju Sadick Islamic Centre (Chinese: 愛群清真寺林士德伊斯蘭中心) or Wan Chai Mosque is a mosque and Islamic centre in Wan Chai, Hong Kong.[2][3] It is the third mosque built in Hong Kong.[4]

Ammar Mosque and Osman Ramju Sadick Islamic Centre
愛群清真寺林士德伊斯蘭中心
Religion
AffiliationSunni Islam
Location
Location40 Oi Kwan Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Shown within Hong Kong
Geographic coordinates22°16′39″N 114°10′44″E
Architecture
Architect(s)Ramju Sadick[1]
TypeMosque
Completed1967 (original building)[1]
14 September 1981 (current building)
Construction costHK$ 2.5 million
Capacity700 people[2]

History

First building

The original building of this mosque can be traced back to the first Muslim cemetery in Hong Kong located at 7 Seymore Street where there were only five or six burials took place. By that time, the Ammar Mosque was just a small mosque built adjacent to the cemetery which was used primarily to offer funeral prayer. However, once the Muslim population increased, Muslims living nearby the mosque began to use it for daily prayers as well. The earliest grave can be traced back to the year of 1864. The site is now used for Jewish synagogue and the Muslim cemetery was moved to Happy Valley Muslim Cemetery.

Second building

After World War II, the new Ammar Mosque was constructed. In December 1978, the land in which the mosque was built was requisitioned by the British Hong Kong government for the construction of the Aberdeen Tunnel. The government offered them a new plot of land in the current location of Ammar Mosque at the Oi Kwan Road in Wan Chai and paid $2.5 million towards the re-provisioning for the new mosque.

Current building

The construction of the current mosque building started in September 1979 with funds from the Islamic Union of Hong Kong and was formally opened on 14 September 1981. In 2012, the mosque underwent major renovation which the cost of HK$ 14 million which lasted for 6 months. This includes the installation of new central air conditioning system, CCTV, new outer painting colour, replacement of toilet and ablution areas, new study rooms etc.[5]

Architecture

The mosque was designed by a Chinese Muslim, Ramju Sadick. The centre of the mosque is an eight-storey complex with multi-purpose facilities, such as ablution halls for men and women on the first floor, mosque male prayer hall on the second floor, mosque female prayer hall on the third floor and Chinese restaurant,[6] Halal bakery, medical services, classrooms, library, offices for Imam and Quran teachers, conference and seminar rooms on the fourth until eighth floor .

Activities

Ammar mosque houses the headquarters of Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Islamic Youth Association. The mosque regularly holds Islamic workshops every weekends. It also holds classes for newly converts to Islam and proper Quran reading. Occasionally, the mosque hosts tour visits by school or university students on organised field trips.

Transportation

The building is accessible East from Wan Chai Station and also West from Causeway Bay Station.

See also

References
  1. https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/16773/ISIM_10_Contested_Mosques_in_Hong_Kong.pdf?sequence=1
  2. "Masjids / Islamic Centres in Hong Kong". Islam.org.hk. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  3. "Mosques in Hong Kong". Islam.org.hk. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  4. Ho, Wai-Yip (7 June 2013). Islam and China's Hong Kong: Ethnic Identity, Muslim Networks and the New ... – Wai-Yip Ho – Google Buku. ISBN 978-1134098071. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  5. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Hong Kong halal food: Islamic Centre Canteen". CNN.
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