India 7th century mosque to be restored to original form

The seventh century Cheraman Juma Masjid, the first Indian mosque believed to be
built during the lifetime of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), will soon be restored to its
original form with a new underground prayer hall.

The seventh century Cheraman Juma Masjid, the first Indian mosque believed to be
built during the lifetime of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), will soon be restored to its
original form with a new underground prayer hall.
The administrators of the mosque, which is part of the southern state�s heritage
tourism circuit, say this could perhaps be the first mosque in India to have an
underground prayer hall with a capacity to accommodate 4,000 faithfuls at a time.

The mosque is located at Kodungallur town in the central Kerala, which was the
buzzing ancient port city of Muziris that attracted Greek, Roman, Chinese and Arab
traders seeking the black gold.

The mosque was built by Cheraman Peumal, ruler of the tiny kingdom who embraced
Islam after witnessing splitting of the moon, a miracle performed by the Prophet
(PBUH).

The plan is to discard the changes made during the course of time to accommodate
more faithfuls, especially for the congregational jumah prayers and restore its
heritage value of the mosque built in the traditional Kerala architecture style.

�We were hard pressed to accommodate more people after the mosque became a tourist
attraction. Since there was little chance for going in for a vertical growth
upwards, we decided to build an underground hall that would cater to the needs of
the local population at least for the next 50 years,� said Mohammed Saeed,
president of the Masjid Committee.

In recent times, the authorities decided to expand the structure in 1974 to

accommodate the increasingly growing population of the faithfuls attending the
Friday prayers.

There was another addition to the existing building in 1995 as they found it
difficult to accommodate all those who come for Friday prayers.

In 2004, it again required reconstruction with three more additions with a capacity
to accommodate 375 people.

The adult Muslim population of the locality has grown to 2,500 and the authorities
find it difficult to retain the mosque�s heritage value while accommodating all the
faithfuls coming for the congregational prayer. �It�s impossible for the mosque to
grow vertically upwards as the structure does not allow that.�