PLACE OF PRAYER
TSIM SHA TSUI | HONG KONG - In recent days the Kowloon Mosque is being discussed and reported a lot in Hong Kong. And, unmitigated, even the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam, as the highest leader of the Hong Kong Government, came to visit the biggest mosque in the country of concrete!
The reason was, on last Sunday (20/10/2019), there was a massive anti-government mass action in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST). Because of this, the Kowloon Mosque was closed that day. Only opened during the five daily prayers. As the police combed the protesters, there was a group of people in front of the mosque fence that the police suspected were demonstrators. The police sprayed them with a blue water cannon.
Blue liquid soaked the front gate and stairs of the mosque. Police have said the spray of blue liquid accidentally hit the mosque. They emphasized that there was no intention to target these Muslim places of worship in the dispersal of the demonstrators.
The police statement was not enough, Carrie Lam, as the top person in charge of the Hong Kong Government, on Monday (21/10/2019) visited the Kowloon Mosque. Lam, wearing a scarf, visited to apologize because the mosque was hit by a blast of water cannon when the authorities tried to disperse the protesters the day before.
During his visit Lam was accompanied by Hong Kong Police Chief Stephen Lo. During their 20-minute visit, they met Mufti Muhammad Arshad, the imam and head of the Kowloon Mosque board. According to Imam Arshad, the mosque management and congregation have forgave the incident.
The Largest Mosque in Hong Kong
The mosque, whose full name is Masjid Jami 'and the Kowloon Islamic Center (Al-Masjidul-Jami' wal-Markazul-Islami Kowloon) is currently the largest mosque in Hong Kong. The location, 105 Nathan Road, is right next to Kowloon Park, a park where thousands of Hong Kong PMI spend their time off, especially on Sundays.
The mosque, which was first built in 1896 and was completely renovated in 1984, has prayer rooms for men and women. During the Friday prayer or Hari Raya prayer, the Kowloon Mosque can accommodate up to 3.500 worshipers.
Every day, the women's prayer room is filled with Indonesian migrant workers (PMI). Usually, after the midday prayer they hold a recitation. Meanwhile, in the morning, they held yasinan and tahlilan together. The Cordofa asatidz Dompet Dhuafa Hong Kong (DDHK) were invited almost every day, asked to give tausiyah at the recitation.
For the male congregation, to go to the prayer room, you have to climb the stairs to the left of the entrance to the mosque, up two floors. Meanwhile, the women's prayer room only goes up one floor of the stairs to the right of the entrance to the mosque.
The Kowloon Mosque also has a large hall on the first floor that can accommodate up to a thousand worshipers. This room, almost every Sunday, is used by PMI's taklim assemblies to hold grand recitations and other religious and organizational activities.
It is recorded that hundreds of habaib, kiai, and asatidz have given tausiyah and led dizkirs in this hall. Kowloon Mosque has become a place of worship for PMI Hong Kong, as well as a place for them to study religion. This mosque is also a place for PMI to knit together on their holidays.
DDHK General Managers, from generation to generation, often attended the invitation for recitation or the inauguration of the majelis taklim board in the hall. In addition to the mosque's office and library, on the right side of the hall there is a special room which is usually used by the majelis taklim board who hold events to hold meals with the ustadz that they bring as tausiyah providers.
Its location which is right next to Exit A of the TST MTR train station makes the Kowloon Mosque very easy to reach. From Exit A, just turn right. Walk a few steps, Sahabat Muslim has entered the gate of the mosque. [DDHKNews]
