Khamis Mosque a living monument?

By MOHAMMED AL A'ALI,  Posted on » Sunday, February 07, 2010

A CALL has gone out to turn Bahrain's first mosque into a living monument, by reopening it for prayers and visitors. The Khamis Mosque (Masjid Al Khamis) has been neglected, with no renovation or remodelling work carried out for years, says area councillor Sayed Ahmed Al Alawi. "The only thing that people can really enjoy about this monument is seeing it as they drive along Shaikh Salman Highway," said Mr Al Alawi. He said it was thought the mosque was built during the era of the Umayyad Caliph Umar II (who ruled from 717 to 720 AD), though this is uncertain. Renovate "To be honest, searching about the history of the place, there are differences over who built it and when, but what's agreed on by all without a shadow of doubt is that it was the first mosque in the country," he said. Mr Al Alawi, who is also the Northern Municipal Council technical committee chairman, said the Culture and Information Ministry should have spent money repairing the mosque for real, rather than producing a computerised image. "Everyone recalls the prayers segment broadcast on Bahrain TV during Ramadan, in which a computerised image of the mosque was shown," he said. "I thought it was a brilliant work by the artist, but money should have gone to remodel and renovate the mosque. "It would be nice to open the mosque for prayers and visitors, but that's of course when the ministry wakes up from its sleep and considers this place important in reality, not just in graphics." Mr Al Alawi said that a campaign to rescue the mosque was being planned by the council. "We are planning to meet residents of Khamis and neighbouring villages to listen to them, as we come up with a plan to help raise awareness about the mosque through the media," he said. "I will also contact the ministry to allow councillors inside the mosque, as we assess what can be done to restore the place back to its prime." Ministry acting heritage and archaeology director Salman Al Mahari told the GDN that studies on how to restore the mosque were currently being prepared. "We have already hired a consultant to present us with solutions on how to properly protect the mosque," he said. "One of the options is to turn part of it into a worship area, but it's not that popular, considering that we would be destroying the identity of the place by constructing a proper prayer room and installing air-conditioners, amongst other technological requirements. "The issue is not with the budget, it is with us trying to protect what's left of the mosque and at the moment I think that the only thing left is the two pillars (minarets)." He said that the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (Unesco) was also interested in preserving the place. "They are presenting us with ideas and we are looking into them, but we as everyone else are keen on protecting the place and ensuring that it stays the monument it is," Mr Al Mahari. He said that the mosque was open to visitors during the mornings on week days and mornings and evenings during weekends. alaali@gdn.com.bh