Jamae Mosque is located at 218 South Bridge Road, on the corner with Mosque Road in the historic Chinatown area. One of several mosques built by Tamil Muslim migrants from south India, the present mosque was built between 1830 and 1835. Jamae Mosque was designated a national monument in 1974.
History
As early as 1827, south Indian Tamil Muslim migrants led by Anser Saib built a mosque on the site where the Jamae Mosque now stands. Prior to the 1830s, the site already had a makam (Malay for grave, tomb or shrine) of a local religious leader, Muhammad Salih Valinvah. The garden was laid out to accommodate other tombs on his death.
Also known as Masjid Chulia or Chulia Mosque, the building that stands today was not completed in its present form until between 1830 and 1835. Mosques at the time were constructed by individuals or committees on land donated by them and placed in trust for the Muslim community, a practice known as wakaf (Malay for benefaction or donation for a religious purpose). The founders also placed rental properties under wakaf and revenues collected went towards mosque maintenance. Trusteeship passed from generation to generation in the same family or community.
By the late 1800s, most of these early benefactors had died or left the country. In 1881, a lease was granted to five trustees, Mohamed Syed, K. Nainah Muhamed, Meydin Suleiman, K. Peer Sahib and K. Mohamed Eusof, to manage Jamae Mosque. New trustees were named in 1894, namely M. Mohamed, V. Hameed, S. Saboo Ghany, K. Mohamed Ismail and T. Chinny Tamby, who were also appointed to manage the Nagore Durgha Shrine. In 1910, Jamae Mosque, Al-Abrar Mosque and Nagore Durgha Shrine all came under the same trustees, namely K. Mohamed Eusope, Thambyappa Rarooter, S. Kanisah Maricayar, V. M. Kader Bux and J. Sultan Abdul Kader. Subsequently, complaints about the mismanagement of religious trusts led the British colonial government to establish the Mohammedan and Hindu Endowments Board in 1906. Jamae Mosque came under the board in 1917, and has been under the care of the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) since 1968.
Considered one of the oldest mosques in Singapore, Jamae Mosque, together with Nagore Durgha Shrine and Al-Abrar Mosque, is one of several Muslim religious monuments built by the Tamil Muslim Chulias. The mosque features prominently in many illustrations, photographs and postcards of early South Bridge Road. Sri Mariamman Temple, a historic Hindu temple that is also a national monument, is located along the same road, reflecting the religious and cultural mix of early Singapore. It is believed that adjacent Mosque Street was named for Jamae Mosque.
Plans to rebuild the mosque were drawn up in 1897 and 1911 but, for unknown reasons, were never carried out. In 1986, plans to add a second storey above the toilets were rejected. In 1996, the mosque underwent repair and repainting works.
The mosque was gazetted as a national monument on 19 November 1974. On 24 November 1981, the land lease was renewed for 999 years.
Features
Jamae Mosque stands on a land area of 4,809 square metres. While the gate and compound follow the urban planning grid, the buildings within the compound are oriented to face Mecca. The exterior of the building does not have the street façades and walkways characteristic of buildings of later years.
Similar to the Nagore Durgha Shrine but simpler in design, the building architecture exhibits the influences of both East and West. The distinctive front gate is of South Indian design, framed by a pair of stepped minarets topped with onion-shaped domes. Above the gate and between the minarets is a decorative miniature palace façade of four levels. The entrance foyer leads into the ancillary prayer room, featuring rows of Tuscan columns as well as large windows with Chinese green-glazed tiles at the base that provide good ventilation. Double-leaf timber doors lead into the main prayer hall, which has a series of Doric columns. The ablution area is located in a courtyard to the side of the prayer halls.
Author
Vernon Cornelius-Takahama and Joanna Tan
References
Archives and Oral History Department. (1983). Chinatown: An album of a Singapore community. Singapore: Times Books International.
(Call no.: SING 779.995957 CHI)
Beamish, J. (1985). A history of Singapore architecture: The making of a city (pp. 56, 58). Singapore: G. Brash.
(Call no.: SING 722.4095957 BEA)
Edwards, N., & Keys, P. (1996). Singapore: A guide to buildings, streets, places (pp. 405, 437, 439). Singapore: Times Books International.
(Call no.: SING 915.957 EDW)
Four mosques in CBD won't be affected by urban renewal. (1981, March 27). The Straits Times, p. 15. Retrieved on August 23, 2010, from NewspaperSG.
Goh, G. (1998, June 3). Take me to the Great Horse Way. The Straits Times, p. 3. Retrieved on August 23, 2010, from NewspaperSG.
Hooi, C. (1982). National monuments of Singapore (pp. 16-17). Singapore: National Museum.
(Call no.: SING 722.4095957 NAT)
Keys, P. (1982, January 10). Classic in design, rich in history. The Straits Times, p. 10. Retrieved on August 20, 2010, from NewspaperSG.
Lee, G. B. (2002). The religious monuments of Singapore: Faiths of our forefathers (pp. 82-83). Singapore: Landmark Books and Preservation of Monuments Board.
(Call no.: SING 726.095957 LEE)
Liu, G. (1996). In granite and chunam: The national monuments of Singapore (pp. 82-85). Singapore: Landmark Books.
(Call no.: SING 725.94095957 LIU)
Tyers, Ray K. (1993). Ray Tyers' Singapore: Then & now (p. 182). Singapore: Landmark Books.
(Call no.: SING 959.57 TYE)
Urban Redevelopment Authority, Preservation of Monuments Board. (1991). Jamae Mosque preservation guidelines. Singapore: Author.
(Call no.: RSING 363.96095957 JAM)
Further readings
Jamae Mosque. (2010). Retrieved November 4, 2010, from Preservation of Monuments Board website: http://www.pmb.sg/
Lee, E. (1990). Historic buildings of Singapore (pp. 64,93). Singapore: Preservation of Monuments Board.
(Call no.: SING 720.95957 LEE)
Liu, G. (1999). Singapore: A pictorial history 1819-2000 (pp. 64-65). Singapore: Archipelago Press.
(Call no.: SING 959.57 LIU -[HIS])
Lloyd, R. I. (1984). Chinatown: A personal portfolio (pp. 152-153). Singapore: MPH Bookstores.
(Call no.: SING 779.995957 LLO)
Samuel, D. S. (1991). Singapore's heritage: Through places of historical interest (p. 39). Singapore: Elixir Consultancy Service.
(Call no.: SING 959.57 SAM)
The information in this article is valid as at 2010 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.
