RM100m Masjid 'a top tourist draw soon'

Ox Street Masjid, Beijing. In Chinese Architecture

KUALA LUMPUR: A Masjid featuring Chinese architecture which will be built here has the potential of becoming a tourist attraction.

Wife of the prime minister Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor said the estimated RM100 million masjid and an Islamic Cultural Complex at Jalan Davis would portray the uniqueness of Islam.

"I believe the mosque will not only stand as a landmark but also show that Islam is for all.

"It will be able to attract tourists from all over because of its element of artistry through Chinese architecture," she said at the presentation of awards and certificates to winners of the Masjid Macma Architecture Competition here yesterday.

The masjid project will be undertaken by the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association. It will be the first in Kuala Lumpur to sport a Chinese design.

Rosmah said the masjid and complex would apply fresh ideas derived from Islamic historical information and narration, beginning with the voyage of Admiral Cheng Ho to the Malay archipelago.

She said among the many mosques in the country that had tourism potential were the National Masjid, the Federal Territory Masjid, the Putra Masjid in Putrajaya, the floating Tengku Tengah Zaharah Masjid and Crystal Masjid, both in Terengganu.

Also present were Datin Nafesah Raja Nong Chik, wife of the Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Minister, and Macma President Datuk Dr Mustapha Ma.

Of the 58 entries received in the competition, 11 were shortlisted and two companies, Zon Design Rekabina Sdn Bhd and Ang Wen Hsia and Ang Boo Chung, were selected to receive the outstanding design awards.

Mustapha said the competition was aimed at designing mosques that promote cultural and religious understanding by using traditional Chinese art and architecture, and Islamic values and art as the theme of the masjid.

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