Abdul Gaffoor Mosque, Singapore

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Abdul Gaffoor Mosque is an Indian Muslim mosque located off Jalan Besar in Little India. The name of this mosque is also variously written as Masjid Abdul Gaffoor, Abdul Gafoor Mosque, Abdul Gafor Mosque, Abdul Gaffor Mosque, Abdul Gaphore Mosque, Abdul Gapore Mosque, Mosque and Indian Mosque - hmm, quite a mouthful, isn't it? The architecture is distinctly Indian Muslim, reminiscent of mosque structures in India and similar to the Nagore Durgha Shrine in Singapore. The mosque is painted white with outlines in cream and green, which makes the whole building look very striking. The pediment is highly decorated in stucco, with the design of a sun in the middle. It radiates 25 beams of rays, each representing a chosen prophet.

Abdul Gaffoor Mosque (10 July 2006)
© Timothy Tye

Abdul Gaffoor Mosque is located in Kampong Kapor, an area with a high concentration of Indian Muslim merchants. Previously, there was another mosque on that site, called Masjid Al-Abrar, built of timber in 1846 to serve the religious needs of the South Indian Muslim merchants and Baweanese syces and horse trainers residing in Kampog Kapor.

In 1881, a deed of assignment created the Mosque Endowment, or wakaf, for the purpose of building a mosque for the Muslim community there. Also placed in trust are several other properties including a Muslim burial ground and a house in Race Course Road. The burial ground was closed in 1921.

The shophouses around the mosque was built in 1903. The person who spearheaded the construction was Shaik Abdul Gaffoor. Rental collected generated the income that was used to build the new mosque. Construction started in 1907 but the actual completion date is not certain. In 1910, the old mosque was demolished when the new mosque was still partially completed. When Shaik Gaffoor died in 1919, the mosque was apparently still not completed. After his death, his son took over the management of the mosque and the wakaf properties. When the Endowment was taken over by the Muslim and Hindu Endowments Board in 1927, the building was presumably completed.

Today, the mosque stands facing a row of shophouses that are used for Qur'an classes and other subjects, as well as for communal activities. A major restoration of the building was carried out in 2003.

Masjid Abdul Gaffoor was gazetted as a Singapore Ntional Monument on 13 July 1979.

Address

Masjid Abdul Gaffoor
41 Dunlop Street Singapore 209369
Tel (65) 6295 4209

Getting there

Take the MRT North East Line to the Little India Station (NE7). From there, walk along Buffalo Road until Serangoon Road. Cross Serangoon Road, and then continue along Dunlop Street until you reach the Abdul Gaffoor Mosque on your right.

Sights in Little India

Shopping in Little India

The following are places where you can do a bit of shopping. These include places where the locals shop for their local items, but it provides an interesting glimpse of life in Singapore.