Binat Bibi Mosque is the first mosque to be built in Dhaka (in 1454) by Bakht Binat, the daughter of Marhamat, during the rule of Sultan Mahmud Shah I.[1] Binat Bibi's mosque is located in Narinda, Dhaka.
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The mosque is a square, single domed mosque measuring 12 feet (3.7 m) square internally with a single hemispherical dome atop the square room. Entrances are from east, north and south. Pre-Mughal features included the curved cornices and battlements, corner octagonal turrets, and arches on the south, north and eastern sides. The ornamentation is modest and the building is coated with plaster.[2]
The 600-year old mosque, one of the oldest buildings in the city, is being demolished as part of a renovation plan which includes building a 70-foot (21 m) high minaret, and the extension of the current building from three stories to seven.[2]
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BINAT BIBI MOSQUE
Overview:
Binat bibi mosque is the 1st mosque to be built in Dhaka in 1454 by Bakht Binat, daughter of Marhamat, during the rule of Sultan Mahmud Shah I. Binat Bibi Mosque is located in Narinda. It is 600 years old mosque, one of the oldest building of Dhaka. It is the precious piece in the history of the city.
Architectural Significance:
Single hemispherical dome atop a square room, arches on south, north and eastern sides, octagonal turret, modest ornamentation, plaster coating and curved cornices are the original features of the mosque. The mosque is a square, single domed mosque measuring 12 feet (3.7 m) square internally with a single hemispherical dome atop the square room. Entrances are from east, north and south. Pre-Mughal features included the curved comics and battlement, corner octagonal turrets, and arches on the south, north and eastern sides. The ornamentation is modest and the building is coated with plaster.
Present Condition:
Just a year ago the mosque was visible from three sides but now only its two domes and lately built front veranda can be seen from the street. The sight is almost obstructed by a boundary wall and the new building.In March last year when the mosque committee was hell-bent on building a minaret with piling within a few feet of the old mosque, a group of conservation architects intervened to save the rickety structure. But the move went in vain for lack of state support and funds constraint.Although law forbids any new structure within 500 feet of a protected site nothing could be done to stop the work as the mosque remains exempted from the list of the Department of Architecture.
Dr Abu Sayeed M Ahmed, a conservation architect with expertise on mosque architecture said last year they presented the mosque committee a design for the minaret while saving the old mosque. “We made a proposal for restoring the old mosque in order to manifest its beauty and making an open plaza surrounding it on our own," said Dr Sayeed, a member of the group."We designed seven models of the extension of the mosque to save the old structure and tried to convince the mosque committee. At first they agreed to accept one. We did the measurement of the ground. Then they stopped the work citing Ramadan but later it did not resume due to lack of funds since last September," he said. “The piling was too close to the original mosque while the extension building generated too much pressure on the soil threatening every possibility of cracks in the original structure,” he added.
Muslimuddin, president of the mosque committee, said that they have a plan to make the building 8-storey high so that it can accommodate more people during the Jumma prayers.About the fate of the original structure he said he would keep it as it is as long as he is alive but he does not know what the next generation would do with it. “I will be happy if the government takes care of the mosque,” he said.He said the mosque committee has a plan to extend the building over the original dome using the pillars on the four sides of it in case they needed more space in future. In that case the dome will be visible only from the veranda on the first floor of the mosque.About the intervention of the architects last year he said the move did not succeed due to lack of funds.The mosque has seen four extensions to date. During the first extension around 80 years ago, a dome was built atop a room. Around 20 years ago a 2-storey building was built beside the mosque. During third extension it was turned into a 4-storey building. Finally, the 4-storey building is being extended with another 3-storey structure, besides a high minaret, with the ground floor abutting the original mosque. About the mosque committee's plan to build a minaret Dr Sayeed said historically there were no minarets in the Mughal and pre-Mughal structures. “Minaret is not a part of the traditional mosque architecture in this country. It is a new feature in the last 70 years. Adding a minaret to this ancient mosque is a kind of distortion,” he said.Acknowledging the role of media reports in saving the 600-year old structure Dr Shafiqul Alam, director, DoA, said that the DoA is going to take steps and send a proposal to the ministry to protect the mosque.
Reference:
Muntasir mamun sir book of DHAKA:Smriti Bismritir Nogori
Daily star