Alkaff Kampung Melayu Mosque

Background

Alkaff Kampung Melayu Mosque, previously known as Alkaff Mosque, was originally located at Jalan Abdul Manan. It officially opened at its present location, 200 Bedok Reservoir Road, on 29 July 1995.¹

History
The Alkaff Kampung Melayu Mosque was originally located at Jalan Abdul Manan, about 1 km away from its present location. Then known as Alkaff Mosque, it was one of two mosques built by the Alkaff family in 1932 to cater to the large Muslim community living in the area.²

The mosque was renamed Alkaff Kampung Melayu Mosque in November 1989.³ The Masjid Alkaff Kampung Melayu Building Committee was subsequently formed on 30 December 1989.⁴

To make way for housing and other public infrastructure projects, Alkaff Kampung Melayu Mosque moved to a new location.⁵ The ground-breaking ceremony for the new site was held on 4 January 1992.⁶ Built at a cost of S$5.6 million, the Alkaff Kampung Melayu Mosque was the last mosque to be built under Phase II of the Mosque Building Fund. Initiated by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, the Mosque Building Fund was introduced in 1975 to raise funds for building mosques in Singapore.⁷

Completed on 30 December 1994, the new Alkaff Kampung Melayu Mosque held its first Friday prayers the following day.⁸

Key features
The Alkaff Kampung Melayu Mosque at Bedok Reservoir Road occupies a land area of about 3,000 sq m. It is a three-storey building that can accommodate around 3,000 worshippers (jemaah).⁹

Besides being a place of worship, the mosque also serves as a centre for education and provides assistance to the Muslim community in the area.¹⁰ It is one of the few mosques in Singapore that offers religious classes for the hearing-impaired and disabled.¹¹

Located on the mosque’s first floor are the main administration office, main prayer hall and a multipurpose hall. The main prayer hall has plush carpeting and a high-domed ceiling. The multipurpose hall is used for conducting religious programmes and to accommodate large congregations.¹²

The second floor usually serves as a place for female worshippers (muslimah), except during occasions when the main prayer hall is unable to accommodate large numbers of male worshippers (muslimin), such as Friday prayers, Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji. There are also classrooms for conducting religious classes on the second floor. The third floor houses another office and a conference room.¹³



Author
Heirwin Mohd Nasir



References
1. “New Masjid Alkaff Mosque completed,” Straits Times, 30 July 1995, 3. (From NewspaperSG); Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, Annual Report (Singapore: Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, 1995), 12. (Call no. RCLOS 297.65095957 MUISAR-[AR])
2. “New Masjid Alkaff Mosque completed”; “Mosque to Come Up in Bedok to Replace Alkaff,” Straits Times, 5 March 1982, 10; Lim Yi Han, “Mosque Added to Monument List,” Straits Times, 19 December 2014, 10. (From NewspaperSG); G. Uma Devi, et al., Singapore’s 100 Historic Places (Singapore: National Heritage Board, 2002), 102. (Call no. RSING 959.57 SIN-[HIS])
3. Uma Devi, Singapore’s 100 Historic Places, 102.
4. Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, Annual Report (Singapore: Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, 1989), 7. (Call no. RCLOS 297.65095957 MUISAR-[AR])
5. “New Masjid Alkaff Mosque completed”; “Mosque to Come Up in Bedok to Replace Alkaff”; Lim, “Mosque Added to Monument List.”
6. Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, Annual Report (Singapore: Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, 1992), 6. (Call no. RCLOS 297.65095957 MUISAR-[AR])
7. “New Masjid Alkaff Mosque completed”; “About: Background: History of the Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund,” Majlis Ugaam Islam Singapura, accessed 28 February 2017.
8. Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, Annual Report (Singapore: Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, 1994), 8. (Call no. RCLOS 297.65095957 MUISAR-[AR]); Uma Devi, Singapore’s 100 Historic Places, 102.
9. Uma Devi, Singapore’s 100 Historic Places, 102; Tuminah Sapawi, Mosques Guide 2000 (Singapore: Islamic Religious Council, 2000), 30. (Call no. RSING 297.35095957 TUM); New Masjid Alkaff Mosque completed.”
10. “Alkaff Mosque Packs Them In,” Straits Times, 9 August 1998, 24 (From NewspaperSG); “New Masjid Alkaff Mosque Completed.”
11. Uma Devi, Singapore’s 100 Historic Places, 102; Sapawi, Mosques Guide 2000, 30.
12. “New Masjid Alkaff Mosque Completed”; “Our History,” Masjid Kampung Alkaff Melayu, accessed 17 April 2018.}
13. “New Masjid Alkaff Mosque Completed.”



Further resource
National Archives of Singapore, Geylang Serai: Down Memory Lane (Singapore: Heinemann Asia, 1986), 52. (Call no. RSING 779.995957 GEY)



The information in this article is valid as at Apr 2018 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.