Magnificent Jamia Mosque of Rawalpindi By Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro
Published in Weekly Pulse Islamabad November 25, 2011
There are many historical mosques in every old mohallah of Rawalpindi. However, the most prominent is Jamia mosque which is noted for the beautiful fresco paintings not found in all others mosques in Rawalpindi. The mosque is built in rectangular plan and superimposed with three domes and flanked by two minarets. “When the Soojan Singh, then notable of Rawalpindi built the splendid Gurdwara at Bagh Saradarn, in order to tone down the influence of the Sikhs, the Muslims also decided to build mosque. Two famous saints Pir Mehar Ali Shah Golrvi and Khawaja Ahmed Mervi of Mera sharif in Pindi Gheb laid the foundation of the mosque”, said Ghulam Ali Qamar a Khatif of mosque. “Moreover, the masons were brought from Chakwal who built and painted the mosque. One of the painters whose name was, perhaps, Din Muhammad was accomplished painter. Sikh wood carvers engraved the doors of the mosques because at that time the Sikhs were skilled carvers. Apart from the wooden doors of the mosque, the Sikh artists also made wooden balconies of the Waris Shah Mohallah. There were also a few Muslim buildings on Nehru road (now called Ghazni road) that reflected the opulence of the Muslim. Now most of these have either been renovated or rebuilt thus playing havoc with original beauty of the structures” said Khatif of mosque “During the British period, there were two large mohallas of Muslims which included Waris Shah mohallah and Pir
Harra Mohallah (the grave of the pir exists in the mohallah). Although there were also many small settlements of the Muslims namely Dhoke Illahi etc. in Rawalpindi but people of these two mohllahs contributed in the construction of the mosque” said Hafiz Muhammad Sultan. There are nine archways which lead to ante-chamber of the mosque which is decorated with paintings. “The paintings of the ante chamber lost their original beauty and hence these were repainted in 2006”, said Khatib of mosque. The main prayer hall has the original paintings. The floral, vegetal and geometric designs cover the every space of the main prayer hall.
The Jamia mosque is the great specimen of Muslim architecture of twentieth century. Nowhere in Potohar is such a grand and beautiful mosque. Although there are many three domed mosques in different towns and villages of the Potohar but Jamia mosque has no parallel in terms of architecture in whole of Potohar. However, it seems that the inspiration has been taken from Mai Qamro mosque which is the second oldest mosque after Giri in Taxila. Mai Qamro mosque is three-domed structure situated in Bagh Joghian village in Islamabad. The village lies 15 km north of airport chowk. Three domed mosques were popular from Mughal times. They built mosques in many villages of Potohar, prominent among these are Wah mosque and Kuri mosque. The Kuri mosque is believed to have been built by Akbar. Recently it has been renovated by the local people. The monumental gate of Jamia mosque of Rawalpindi resembles with the mosque at Kot Fateh Khan in Fateh Jang tehsil which is believed to have been built by the Fateh Khan, the landlord of the village. On the contrary, colour schemes of Jamia mosque are similar to a Mughal period three domed mosque at Wah. This mosque lies very close to the Wah garden.
“One of the minarets of the Jamia mosque collapsed before partition. It was rebuilt with efforts of then caretaker of mosque captain Abdul Haque”. Said Hafiz Muhammad Sultan. The Jamia mosque still stands with its past grandeur. The painted halls of the mosque remind the visitor its past glory,the taste and aesthetic of the builder. The conecerd authorities should document the paintings before these are lost for good.
The writer is a Research Anthropologist at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) in Islamabad. He may be contacted at
[email protected]
