Macau Mosque and Cemetery

Coordinates: 22°12′10″N 113°33′15.50″E / 22.20278°N 113.5543056°E

Macau Mosque and Cemetery
澳門伊斯蘭清真寺及墳場
Mesquita e Cemitério de Macau

Macau Mosque and Cemetery Entrance Gate
Basic information
Location 4 Ramal Dos Moros, Our Lady of Fatima Parish
 Macau
Affiliation Sunni Islam
Architectural description
Architectural type Mosque
Completed 1980s[1]
Macau Mosque
Macau Muslim Cemetery

The Macau Mosque and Cemetery (Traditional Chinese: 澳門伊斯蘭清真寺及墳場; Portuguese: Mesquita e Cemitério de Macau) is the only mosque and Muslim cemetery in Macau, China.[2]

History

It is believed that Macau Mosque was built by Muslims who arrived with the Portuguese army. Originally, these Muslims were recruited from South Asia by the army. Within the complex area, there are also Muslim cemetery with some of the tombs dated back for hundreds of years, indicating that Islam had arrived in Macau since hundreds of years ago.[3]

In the late months of 2007, Macau Mosque underwent renovation. The mosque is planned to be doubled in size to be a more modern mosque for Macau with a total area of 1,250 m2 and can accommodate up to 600 worshipers.[4][5]

Architecture

The Macau Mosque and Cemetery area consists of Macau Mosque, extended area of the mosque, Macau Muslim cemetery, headquarters of the Islamic Association of Macau, ablution place, badminton court and playground. The size of Macau Mosque is around 6.5 meter x 12 meter.[6] The Macau Mosque and Cemetery entrance gate was donated by Halima binti Sheik on 27 June 1973 in the memory of Adam Sheik.

Activities

Islamic Association of Macau headquarter

Macau Mosque houses the headquarters of the Islamic Association of Macau (IAM; Chinese: 澳門伊斯蘭會; Portuguese: Associação Islâmica de Macau), which manages the daily operation of the mosque.[7] The association was founded in 1935 in Portuguese Macau.[5]

More people visit the mosque on Sunday during their off days due to their tight working schedule in the weekdays or during big Islamic festivities, such as Eid al-Adha. Most of them do the Quran reading activities.[6][8][9] During Eid al-Adha, the Muslims sacrifice cows and slaughter them at the Macau Slaughter House.[10]

Transportation

In the future, Macau Mosque and Cemetery will be served from Zona do Nordeste Station of the Macau LRT.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Macau Mosque and Cemetery.

References

External links