MASJID SULTAN 3 Muscat Street, Singapore 198833 Space Used: Annex Building
		Sultan Mosque
		Exhibition Hours: 10am - 6pm daily Tuesdays 1pm - 6pm Note: Jennifer Wen Ma's work will be closed on 23rd & 24th October Admission Fee: Complimentary
		Transportation • Nearest MRT Station: Bugis • Bus Services: 7, 32, 51, 61, 63, 80, 145, 197 • FREE Shuttle Service
		Quick Guide Download (with Map) (pdf: 68kb)

	Artists exhibiting at this site:
	Ebtisam Abdul Aziz, Jennifer Wen Ma, Imran Qureshi

The Sultan Mosque takes its name from Sultan Hussein whom Raffles installed as Sultan of Singapore. The Sultan Mosque holds a special place among Singapore Muslims. Not only is it a principal place of worship and a symbol of the unity and solidarity of the Muslim community, it is also closely associated with Kampong Glam, the historic area set aside by Sir Stamford Raffles for Sultan Hussain Shah, the ruler of Singapore, and his followers.

Before Raffles landed in January of 1819, Singapore was a sleepy island with an estimated 1,000 inhabitants, including a Malay-ruled Orang Laut village on the Singapore River. Kampong Glam was already in existence at the time Raffles arrived, but only took on significance after it became a royal precinct. The area got its name its name from the Gelam Tree which once grew in abundance in the area.

At the end of 1819, Sultan Hussein built his official residence in that area and asked that a mosque be built near his Istana (palace). Sir Stamford Raffles of East India Company pledged donations towards its construction. The original Sultan Mosque was single storey building with a double-tiered roof, completed in 1826.

In 1840's Sultan Hussein's son, Tunku Ali, had the Istana rebuilt into a two-storey bungalow with a compound surrounded by a boundary wall. The Malay Heritage Foundation is now housed there.

In 1925, with grants form the Royal family and substantial contributions from the Muslims community living in the area, Dennis Santry of Swan & Maclaren was commissioned to design the present structure. Dennis Santry adopted designs from the Taj mahal, Dome of the Rock and a contribution of Persian, Moorish, Turkish and classical themes to form a recognizable Islamic Saracenic style. Many of its features also incorporate symbolism which explains some of the Islamic ideals and teachings. Upon completion of this mosque a constituition was drafted where henceforth the trustees of this mosque shall comprise of Malay, Javanese, Bugis, Arabs, Tamils and Northern Indian Muslims - a true representation of the original cosmopolitan nature of its Muslim community.

In 1987 plans for an extension to the mosque were approved and in 1993, with the same spirit of unity and co-operation amongst the Muslims, an Annex building was added faithfully following the original architecture. Thus although today there are over 70 mosques in various parts of Singapore, the Masjid Sultan still remains as the principal mosque and symbolizes the unity and solidarity of the cosmopolitan urban Muslim community in Singapore.

When Sultan Mosque was gazetted a preserved historical building by the Preservation of Monuments Board Act in 1975, it was acknowledged by most as the "National Mosque" of Singapore. Sultan Mosque is still the focal point of Kampong Glam, now also a gazetted conservation district. The mosque is currently owned by Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS).