Al Fateh Mosque
Encyclopedia
The Al-Fateh Mosque ' onMouseout='HidePop("51540")' href="/topics/Arabic_transliteration">transliterated
: Masjid al-Fatih) is one of the largest mosque
s in the world, with the capacity to accommodate over 7,000 worshippers at a time.
The mosque is the largest place of worship in Bahrain
. It is located next to the King Faisal Highway in Juffair
, which is a town located in the capital city of Manama
. The huge dome
built on top of the Al-Fatih Mosque is made of pure fiberglass
. Weighting over 60 t (60,000 kg), the dome is currently the worlds largest fibreglass dome. Al-Fateh now includes the new National Library which opened to the public in 2006. The mosque was built by the late Sheikh Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifa
in 1987. It is named after Ahmed Al Fateh
, the conqueror of Bahrain.
Arabic transliteration
Different approaches and methods for the romanization of Arabic exist. They vary in the way that they address the inherent problems of rendering written and spoken Arabic in the Latin alphabet; they also use different symbols for Arabic phonemes that do not exist in English or other European...
: Masjid al-Fatih) is one of the largest mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s in the world, with the capacity to accommodate over 7,000 worshippers at a time.
The mosque is the largest place of worship in Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
. It is located next to the King Faisal Highway in Juffair
Juffair
Juffair is a suburban neighborhood of Manama, Bahrain. It was originally a separate village inhabited by Bahrainis, but it has been absorbed by the suburban expansion of Manama, and also includes large parts of land reclaimed from the sea....
, which is a town located in the capital city of Manama
Manama
Manama is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 155,000 people.Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very diverse population...
. The huge dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
built on top of the Al-Fatih Mosque is made of pure fiberglass
Fiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
. Weighting over 60 t (60,000 kg), the dome is currently the worlds largest fibreglass dome. Al-Fateh now includes the new National Library which opened to the public in 2006. The mosque was built by the late Sheikh Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifa
Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifah
Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, GCB, GCMG was the monarch or emir of Bahrain from 1961 until his death. Born in the town of Jasra, he became emir upon the death of his father, Salman ibn Hamad. On May 8, 1949, he married his only wife, Shaikha Hessa bint Salman Al Khalifa .Isa's reign saw Bahrain gain...
in 1987. It is named after Ahmed Al Fateh
Ahmed Al Fateh
Ahmed ibn Muhammad ibn Khalifa , was the progenitor of the ruling Al Khalifa family of Bahrain and the first monarch or hakim of Bahrain. All of the Al Khalifa monarchs of Bahrain are descendants of Ahmed ibn Muhammad ibn Khalifa. He is commonly referred to as Ahmed al-Fateh for conquering...
, the conqueror of Bahrain.