Name (English): Jamia Mosque
Name (Chinese): 回教清真禮拜堂
Category: Religion & Belief
Phone Number: +852 2523 7743
Address (English): 30 Shelly Street, Central, Hong Kong
Address (Chinese): 香港島中環些利街30號
Address Google Map Link: https://goo.gl/maps/6ShWx1phGWF87PR97
Address longitude and latitude: 22.280179575835948, 114.15178923995806
Nearest MTR Station: Central Station Exit D1
Nearest MTR Station Google Map Link: https://goo.gl/maps/5EBVZL143gooAmqf7
Nearest MTR Station longitude and latitude: 22.281876795469604, 114.15741316424186
How far from the nearest MTR Station: 16-minute walk from Central MTR Exit D1
Opening Hours:
MON 10:00 – 21:00
TUE 10:00 – 21:00
WED 10:00 – 21:00
THU 10:00 – 21:00
FRI 10:00 – 21:00
SAT 10:00 – 21:00
SUN 10:00 – 21:00
Recommended Time to Visit: Any opening hours. May avoid prayer times, visit their website to learn more
Accessibility Note: Easy access
Reminder: Dress code requirements applied according to Muslim rules, visit their website to learn more
Dwarfed by skyscrapers in Mid-levels, the Jamia Mosque in the mesmerizing mint-green shade is standing proudly on the vegetated slope. The oldest mosque in town built in 1849 indeed serves as an oasis for Muslim Hong Kongers as well as a historical remnant of Muslim Indians that first arrived in the colonial land. Although the building might seem distant and unnoticeable to many locals, the worshippers are welcoming enough to tour you around briefly. So, travel your way up on the Central-Mid-Levels escalator and venture into the hidden compound that tells more than a mosque.
A sense of tranquility rushes in once you enter through the painted gate. Appeared as just a small tenement house initially, the mosque was later expanded gradually to the current form full of beautiful Islamic architectural features: rectangular structure, arched entrance and windows, and the iconic minaret. Its alternative name – Lascar Temple also speaks for itself. “Lascar”, a term used by the British back in the days, refers to the Indian sailors and servants engaged with the Royal Army. It is no surprise that the Muslim Indians would ask to build a mosque for prayers when they docked in Hong Kong.
The compound is also home to an unexpected community of squatters. The tenements adjacent to the mosque, which were originally built for travelers but later used as shelters for the world war refugees, now house around 50 families coming from India and Pakistan in the 1950s rent-free. Controversy over their rights to occupy the space did stir up. There is no scripture that guarantees long stay but the authorities cannot force them to move out given no legal basis and that the squatters do keep up with the mosque’s maintenance chores.
More than an unusual place in an area of affluence residence, the Jamia Mosque reveals the history and culture, as well as the untold but significant social-political aspect of colonial Hong Kong.
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