subject: Sultan Mosque, A Building With A Rich Heritage [print this page] The history of the Sultan Mosque, one of Singapores most magnificent buildings stretches back to the early 1800s. As the East India Company wished to gain control of Singapore, it compensated the rulers of the city in currency, including the prominent prince Sultan Hussein Shah. Sir Stamford Raffles also allocated the area of Kampong Glam to the Sultan and resident Muslims. Sultan Hussein decided to use the funds to build a palace and a mosque for his supporters and the Muslim community in general. Affluent local Muslims also contributed towards the construction of the mosque, but it was a member of the Sultans family who had administrative responsibility.
During the early part of the twentieth century the mosque trustees and prominent local Muslims decided to construct a new mosque on the premises as the old building was falling into disrepair. A campaign was commenced to obtain the approximate $200,000 needed to construct the new mosque, and this was duly accomplished.
Construction of the mosque which stands today was commenced in 1925 and concluded by the latter part of 1928. Interestingly it was a British architect who was chosen to envisage the form of the new building, which was created in arabesque Saracenic manner incorporating minarets, domes and balustrades. When the construction of the new mosque was ongoing, a portion of the old building was utilized for prayers.
The golden hued dome stands on a structure composed solely of glass bottles. The story goes that while the rich donated gold towards the building of the mosque, the poorer people raised money by collecting and vending leftover glass bottles.
The Sultans Palace still stands in Kampong Glam, and the descendants of the Sultan to the present day receive a pension courtesy of the Singapore Parliament. In the vicinity of the mosque may be seen the tomb of Sultan Ali, grandson of Sultan Hussein.
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