Taipei Grand Mosque

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Taipei Grand Mosque

The Taipei Grand Mosque (Chinese: 臺北清真大寺; Hanyu Pinyin: Táiběi Qīngzhēn Dàsì) is the largest and most famous mosque in Taiwan with a total area of 2,747 square meters. Located in the Daan district of Taipei City, it is Taiwan's most important Islamic structure and was registered as a historic landmark on June 26, 1999 by the Taipei City Government^[1].

1 Islam in Taiwan
2 History of Taipei Grand Mosque
3 Information
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Islam in Taiwan

Main article: Islam in Taiwan

Islam is a religion that is growing slowly in Taiwan with around 100 converts annually though there has been an influx of Muslims from overseas in recent years, especially from Indonesia. It is believed that Islam first reached Taiwan in the 17th century when Muslim families from the southern Chinese coastal province of Fujian accompanied Koxinga on his invasion to oust the Dutch from Taiwan. However, there was no spread of Islam on the island and their decendants are thought to have assimilated into local Taiwanese society, adopting the local customs and religions. Historical traces are still visible in Lugang (Lukang) and Danshuei (Tamsui). It is interesting to note that some families descended from Muslims, though no longer Muslims themselves, still maintain practices that are remnants of Islam such as forbidding the consumption of pork and forbidding its use as offering to ancestors; passing down the Holy Qur'an (written in Arabic) which they cannot read but honor it as it was held sacred by their ancestors.

The second wave of Muslim migrants occurred during the Chinese Civil War when around 20,000 Muslim families fled mainland China with the Kuomintang to Taiwan in 1949. Many of them were soldiers and government employees at the time. During the 1950s, contact between Muslims and Han Chinese were limited due to differences in custom. The Muslims were largely dependant on each other through the ummah (Islamic community) that met regularly in a house on Lishui Street (麗水街) in Taipei. However, by the 1960s when Muslims realized that returning to mainland China would be unlikely and out of professional need, contact with Han Chinese became more frequent though there was still a considerable degree of interdependence within the ummah. Since the 1980s, thousands of Muslims from Myanmar and Thailand have migrated to Taiwan in search of a better life. They are descendants of nationalist soldiers that fled Yunnan when the communists took over mainland China.^[2]

The majority of Taiwanese Muslims today are relatively recent converts, mostly women, who have married mainlander Muslims. Today there are some 53,000 Taiwanese Muslims and a further 80,000 Indonesian workers making the current total just over 140,000 Muslims living in Taiwan.

[edit] History of Taipei Grand Mosque

In the latter part of the 1950s, Director General of the Chinese Muslim Association Bai Chongxi and Minister of Foreign Affairs George Yeh (葉公超) proposed the construction of an Islamic-style mosque which was designed by the famous architect Yang Chuo-cheng (楊卓成) who also designed the National Theater (國家戲劇院) [1]^[3]. The mosque was constructed by the Continental Engineering Corporation (大陸工程公司) and completed on April 13, 1960. The cost of the construction was covered by the Chinese Muslim Association with funding of $150,000 from the Shah of Iran and King of Jordan and $100,000 loaned by the Kuomintang government. It is the largest mosque in Taiwan with a total area of 2,747 square meters and an expansive prayer hall with a height and width of 15 meters^[4]. Facilities include a reception hall, prayer hall, offices, a library, ablution hall. Muslims both foreign and local gather at the mosque on Fridays between 1:00-3:00 PM. Jumu'ah (Friday Prayer) is held between 12:30-1:40 PM. The Imam at the mosque is Ma Shiao-chi (馬孝棋) [2].

The mosque has strong ties to Saudi Arabia which continues to provide financial support to the mosque. Visiting Saudi Imams come to preach at the mosque during Ramadan. In 1971 the mosque was visited by King Faisal^[5].