Momin Mosque of historical Mathbaria

The Dhaka Times Desk good morning Friday, 14th February 2020 AD, 1 Falgun 1426 BENGABD, 19 Jamadius Sani 1441 Hijri. Good morning everyone from The Dhaka Times. Happy birthday to all those whose birthday is today - happy birthday.

The view of the mosque you are seeing is Momin Masjid of historic Mathbaria in Pirojpur district. Among the most beautiful mosques in the world, the hundred-year-old Mathbaria Momin Mosque is ranked 23rd.

This Mathbaria mosque is a wood-crafted Momin mosque in the Akan house of Burirchar village, north of Mathbaria in Pirojpur district. It is one of the architectural landmarks. Among the world's most beautiful mosques, the hundred-year-old Momin Mosque in Mathbaria is ranked 23rd and is considered to be the only wooden Muslim architecture in South Asia.

In 1913 Maulvi Momin Uddin Akon started the construction of this mosque in his house with the help of 21 artisans brought from Swarupkathi in the then Barisal district. Momin Masjid was built using natural colors on scarce ironwood and Burma teak wood. Islamic culture, calligraphy, various flowers, leaves and fruits are beautifully carved on the wooden walls of the mosque. After about 7 years of tireless work, the construction of Momin Masjid, made of a mixture of Indo-Persian and European architecture, was completed in 1920.

This Momin Masjid is 24 feet long and 18 feet wide with tin shed chauchala. The fence around the mosque is divided into 3 parts. The mosque has 2 windows in north-south and 4 windows in east-west for a total of 12 windows. Most interesting is the elaborate calligraphy on the mosque's entrance and arches. On the upper left side of the entrance, the names of the four Caliphs of Islam and the name of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) are emblazoned in Arabic letters. One of the characteristics of this mosque is that no iron or star was used during its construction. Mohammad Shahidullah, the grandson of Momin Akan also wrote a book titled “Momin Masjid: Smriti Bismriti Khata” on the archaeological significance of Momin Masjid and the need for maintenance. That is why the mosque has been declared as a protected antiquities in 2003. In 2008, under the Department of Archeology of Bangladesh Government, some changes were made to the original design of the mosque by using iron in the renovation of the mosque. Many visitors from far and wide visit this mosque for its interesting geometric designs and Arabic calligraphy. The main road of Udaitara Burirchar village is also named after this Momin Masjid.

Info: Courtesy of https://vromonguide.com.