Malabar Mosque

About this place

The Malabar Mosque, also called the Blue Mosque, is a historic mosque at the junction of Victoria Street and Jalan Sultan in Kampong Glam. South Indian Muslim immigrants built it in 1963, and the Malabar Muslim Jama'ath manages it. Its blue exterior and golden dome make it easy to spot. The Malabar Muslim Jama'ath was founded in 1927 by immigrants from the Kerala coast of India, who soon felt the need for a mosque of their own. In the 1950s a plot on Victoria Street was chosen, on the site of an old Indian Muslim burial ground. The architect A.H. Siddique designed it in a style mixing Mughal and Indo-Saracenic elements. Small blue tiles in geometric patterns, added in 1995, cover the facade, topped by a large golden dome, smaller domes and a minaret. A wide stair with pink columns leads up to the prayer hall on the upper floor, with a decorated mihrab, a minbar and clocks showing prayer times. One of the best angles for pictures is from across the street. It is 400 m in a straight line from Masjid Sultan and the Hajjah Fatimah Mosque, and 500 m from Haji Lane, so it fits a Kampong Glam walk. This is an active place of worship, so avoid prayer times and Fridays, dress modestly and remove your shoes, and women should cover their hair. Ask before taking pictures inside, and do not photograph people praying.