CAIRO, April 26, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Construction work on a more than 1,000-year-old mosque in the heart of the Muslim-dominated Niujie area of Beijing is now underway, according to a Chinese daily Tuesday, April 26.
The Niujie Mosque, built in 996 during the Liao Dynasty (907-1125), is the oldest and largest Islamic place of worship in Beijing, the China Daily said.
The renovation project, with an investment of nearly 20 million yuan (US$2.4 million), includes repairs not only on the current 5,000-square-meter mosque, but also on two nearby buildings.
The paper said that these were originally part of the mosque, but were later occupied by other work units.
The organizations that took over the two buildings, including a primary school and several other institutions and businesses, have found new homes and have moved out.
The vice-director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Cultural Heritage, Yu Ping, told the paper that the two buildings, covering more than 4,000 square metres, will be given back to the mosque after renovation work that is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.
Ping added one of the buildings would resume its original function as a site for female Muslims, while the second building might be turned into the office of the Islam Association of Xuanwu District.
The Niujie mosque has undergone three renovations since 1949 -in 1955, 1979 and 1996. The municipal government has also repaired many other mosques in recent years, such as Tongzhou Mosque and Dongsi Mosque, according to the paper.
A beautiful mosque with a huge complex of typical Chinese architecture combined with Islamic architecture, it has a vast collection of old Qur’anic handwritten and print samples and Islamic articrafts.
Almost everyone who visits Beijing pays a visit to this famous mosque, the Islamicity.com Web site said.
It is open for daily prayers and more than 700 people attend Friday prayers and thousands attend the Eid prayers and festivities, it added.
More than 20,000 Muslims live in the vicinity of this Mosque, which serves community needs such as family teaching, hajj classes, conducts marriages, offers family counselling, etc.
It also has a school for children teaching Qur’an and Islamic studies for ages 3 to 15 years.
This Masjid, mosque, like others has a sprawling complex with Musalla, school facility, offices, meeting halls, and a social hall.
Happy
Lu Chaoliang, a 71-year-old Muslim who has lived in the Niujie area all his life, told the China Daily that he is very happy to hear of the renovation project.
“The mosque is the spiritual center for the 10,000-plus Muslims living in the vicinity. I’m glad to know it will be expanded and returned to its original layout.
“The mosque’s size will almost double with the completion of the renovation and female Muslims will have their own place of worship,” said Lu.
“I hope workers will follow Islam’s rules during the work,” he added.
Wei Chunjie, deputy head of the administrative office of the mosque, told the paper the renovation work would not only include repairs to ancient buildings, such as the Prayer Hall and the Watching Moon Tower, but also cover water, electricity and heating supply systems.
Temporary Home
Since the mosque could not be used for religious services during the renovation period, the district’s Islam association has chosen a building 200 metres away as a temporary home, Wei said.
“It is very convenient for me to go to the new place and pray every day. Otherwise, I would have to walk a long distance to other mosques in the city.
“The building is also owned by local Muslims and was returned to us recently. I am grateful for the government's religious policy,” said Lu.
Islam was introduced into China in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). At present, there are about 250,000 Muslims in Beijing, according to official statistics, most of them live in the Niujie quarter in the capital.