Madina Mosque
Coordinates: 24°11′15″N 88°16′06″E / 24.187444°N 88.268269°E
The Madina Mosque is a mosque in the Nizamat Imambara, an Imamabara in Murshidabad, West Bengal. It was built by Nawab Feradun Jah in 1847 after the destruction of the old Imamabara.
History
The original Nizamat Imambara was constructed by Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah during the 18th century. Built with soil from Mecca in its foundation, it provided an opportunity for poorer members of the local Muslim community to experience the pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Constructed primarily of wood, the Imambara was damaged by fire in 1842 before being completely destroyed, save the mosque, by a second fire in 1846.[1]
The small, single-domed mosque still stands in the grounds of the Hazarduari Palace. A new Imambara was constructed by Nawab Nazim Mansoor Ali Khan Feradun Jah in 1847, under the supervision of Sadeq Ali Khan.[2][3] This larger structure contains a second mosque, the "New Madina".
The New Medina is built on a raised platform decorated with ornamental china tiles, and the foundation contains soil from Karbala. In the past, fountains stood between the Memberdalan and the Madina Mosque, encircling the Shrine of Madina. The arches and the walls of the mosque are ornamented with texts from the Quran.
During the reign of the Nawab, hundreds of men were employed to work on the structure during the annual festival of Muharram, an important festival for the Muslim community in Murshidabad. The second storey was decorated with screens, on which the workmen painted designs of flowers, people, and beasts, with many cressets behind them.
Location
Both the Old and New Madina lie parallel to the Hazarduari Palace's north aspect. The old one lies a little south of the newer one, which in turn lies inside the Nizamat Imambara, west of the clock tower and the resting place of the Bacchawali Tope. Both are just a few feet away from the river's shore, and are considered part of the Nizamat Fort Campus.
Maps
 A partial map of the Nizamat Fort Campus, showing the Nizamat Imambara in yellow and the buildings inside it, including the New Madina, Nowbat Khana, and Memberdalan |
 A larger map of the Nizamat Fort Campus, showing the Nizamat Imambara in yellow and other buildings surrounding it, including the old Madina Mosque, the Hazarduari Palace, Chawk Masjid, Bacchawali Tope, the clock tower, the Shia Complex, and the Zurud Mosque |
References
- ↑ "Nizamat Imambara". Online Highways LLC. 29 September 2005. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
- ↑ "Heritage Murshidabad » Imambara". Government of West Bengal. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
- ↑ "The History of Murshidabad". District Magistrate, Murshidabad, Government of West Bengal. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
External links
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