Unparalleled achievement: Zardari inaugurates Pakistan’s largest mosque
Flanked by Bahria Town Chairman Malik Riaz Hussain, renowned religious scholars, and government officials, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman inaugurated the grand mosque.
Addressing the ceremony, Zardari said the mosque is a priceless gift for the nation.
Talking about his inspiration for the mosque, Malik Riaz said he had offered Eid prayers in Malaysia at the Mahathir Mohamad Mosque in 2006 and decided then to build a similar mosque in Pakistan. He also vowed to construct a big mosque in Karachi.
The mosque, which is constructed at a cost of over Rs4 billion, has an outdoor capacity of 70,000 and an indoor capacity of 25,000 people, making it the largest mosque in Pakistan.
It represents a fusion of traditional Islamic and Pakistani architecture.
With custom-made carpets from Turkey and over 50 luminous chandeliers imported from Iran, the mosque has a vibrant Islamic ambiance.
The structure comprises four minarets, each 165ft tall, and a grand dome, which is surrounded by 20 smaller domes. The most fascinating feature is the exterior, which consists of 4 million, handmade Multani tiles.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 15th, 2014.
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@Cynic: Do you really think his sins would be washed away just like that ??
I'm amazed that we would even talk about something like this - when there are countless other basic needs screaming to be addressed, most of which would get you double brownie points, why do we continue to highlight failures to get our priority list straight?
Happy to see Pakistan has it's priorities right.
If some trolls do research, the mosque was made by Malik Riaz who is the largest philanthropist inside Pakistan. He has donated houses and billions to those in need and is probably the most generous man in the country when it comes to helping the needful. This mosque is another great gift by Malik Riaz and is a good architectural marvel too. It's something to be appreciated. Knowing Malik Riaz, he never stops, and indeed great hospitals and universities will be coming too. There's no need to be cynical
It would have been great if a college was built along with the mosque which could impart both real islamic teaching along with arts and sciences. Most colleges of great repute in the west started for teaching of religion as part of curriculum which is no longer mandatory.
4 billion of the taxpayers' money squandered by Zardari returned to the public in the form of a mosque "gifted?" to the nation. What a sham.
@Ayaz.
Mosques do not spread hate, people do. If mosques existed in a manner they were intended for, they would serve as a prime source of justice dispensation across the board, be it Muslim or non Muslim.
Pakistan is an exporter of carpets. I fail to understand as to why the local industry was not patronized.
What good mosque can do, apart from bring miseries to minorities.
People would never appreciate any good thing, always looking for small hit points. Well executed project!
Pakistan doesn't need mosques and madrisas instead it needs school collages universities and research institutions .. 4 billions? Are you kidding me? This is insanely pathetic
Oh i thought they have inaugurated world's 7th largest University.
A similar mosque in Karachi? Read: more land grab. Whether we need more mosques or not, we certainly don't need more of Malik Riaz's brilliant construction ideas.
Well @zaki..he actually helps feed many facilities free of cost..just get some info right before posting
we got so many mosques in this country, what the point? he could have helped feed a thousand facilities with that much money
Would have been great if you could have shared photos of the mosque instead of the picture of Zardari.
And btw, there is no mosque in Malaysia by the name of "Mahathir Mohamad Mosque".
The cost of washing away your sins: Rs. 4 billion!
Sad to see they import from other countries. How nice if everything including rugs were sourced from local industry. We would rather spend abroad!