ID :
43144
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 17:53
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/43144
The shortlink copeid
M'SIAN MINISTER PRAYS AT WORLD'S THIRD LARGEST MOSQUE
CASABLANCA (Morocco), Jan 29 (Bernama) -- Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek took time from his busy schedule to perform the Magrib prayers at the Hassan II Mosque, the biggest mosque in the world outside of Saudi Arabia.
The mosque, which can comfortably accommodate about 105,000 worshippers --
25,000 indoors and another 80,000 outdoors, was built over six years between
1987 and 1993, and is smaller than the two mosques in Mecca and Medina.
"I am told that the number of people coming to pray will swell to about
250,000 every night for the terawih prayers beginning from the Night of Lailatul
Qadar, which is 10 days before the end of Ramadan.
"The tranquility and the enormity of this magnificent mosque was a very
humbling experience for me when I performed my prayers," said Ahmad Shabery, who
was also given the honour to sign the Visitors' Book.
The minister had come from Rabat, about one-and-a-half hour's drive from
here, after the conclusion of the three-day Islamic Conference of Information
Ministers.
Costing US$600 million to build, it was mostly funded by public donations
and all the construction materials used were sourced locally except for the
chandeliers which came from Italy.
Designed by French architect Michel Pinseau, it was built to commemorate the
60th birthday of the late King Hassan II in 1989. The king died in July 1999
when he was 70.
Its construction was undertaken by about 5,000 craftsmen and 30,000 workers,
all locals.
Today the mosque is one of the important landmarks in Morocco, especially
with its 210-metre minaret, the tallest in the world, which has a laser light
beamed towards Mecca every night.
Earlier in Rabat, Ahmad Shabery held a bilateral meeting with Moroccan
information minister Khalid Naciri, who agreed to Malaysia's proposal of holding
an Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) film festival.
Naciri also said that Morocco would assist Malaysia's efforts in celebrating
the 40th anniversary of the OIC later this year since Malaysia's first prime
minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Alhaj was also the first Secretary-General of
the OIC and Rabat hosted the inaugural meeting of the OIC.
-- BERNAMA
The mosque, which can comfortably accommodate about 105,000 worshippers --
25,000 indoors and another 80,000 outdoors, was built over six years between
1987 and 1993, and is smaller than the two mosques in Mecca and Medina.
"I am told that the number of people coming to pray will swell to about
250,000 every night for the terawih prayers beginning from the Night of Lailatul
Qadar, which is 10 days before the end of Ramadan.
"The tranquility and the enormity of this magnificent mosque was a very
humbling experience for me when I performed my prayers," said Ahmad Shabery, who
was also given the honour to sign the Visitors' Book.
The minister had come from Rabat, about one-and-a-half hour's drive from
here, after the conclusion of the three-day Islamic Conference of Information
Ministers.
Costing US$600 million to build, it was mostly funded by public donations
and all the construction materials used were sourced locally except for the
chandeliers which came from Italy.
Designed by French architect Michel Pinseau, it was built to commemorate the
60th birthday of the late King Hassan II in 1989. The king died in July 1999
when he was 70.
Its construction was undertaken by about 5,000 craftsmen and 30,000 workers,
all locals.
Today the mosque is one of the important landmarks in Morocco, especially
with its 210-metre minaret, the tallest in the world, which has a laser light
beamed towards Mecca every night.
Earlier in Rabat, Ahmad Shabery held a bilateral meeting with Moroccan
information minister Khalid Naciri, who agreed to Malaysia's proposal of holding
an Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) film festival.
Naciri also said that Morocco would assist Malaysia's efforts in celebrating
the 40th anniversary of the OIC later this year since Malaysia's first prime
minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Alhaj was also the first Secretary-General of
the OIC and Rabat hosted the inaugural meeting of the OIC.
-- BERNAMA
