One of the larget mosque in the world....
The
Shah Faisal Masjid in
Islamabad,
Pakistan, is one of the largest mosques in
Asia. It is a state
National Mosque. It is a well-known masjid in the Islamic world and is renowned for both its immense size and its architecture. It holds the title for being the largest mosque in the world, interms of area.
The impetus for the mosque began in
1966 when the late
King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz of
Saudi Arabia suggested it during a visit to Islamabad. In
1969, an international competition was held in which architects from 17 countries submitted 43 proposals. After four days of deliberation,
Turkish architect
Vedat Dalokay's design was chosen. Construction of the mosque began in
1976 by
National Construction of Pakistan, led by Azim Khan, and was funded by the government of
Saudi Arabia, at a cost of over 130 million Saudi riyals (approximately $120 million USD today).
King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz was instrumental in the funding, and both the mosque and the road leading to it were named after him after his assassination in
1975. The mosque was completed in
1986, and used to house the
International Islamic University. The mausoleum of General
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, whose
1988 funeral at the site was the largest in the
history of Pakistan, is located adjacent to the mosque. Many conservative Muslims criticised the design at first for its non-conventional design and lack of the traditional dome structure, but virtually all criticism was eventually silenced by the mosque's scale, form, and setting against the
Margalla Hills upon completion.