Hidden Shia Mosques in Asia: Bangkok, Yangon and Singapore Muslim Heritage, Part Two
Reposted from the web
Summary: This second part continues the author’s visits to Shia mosques, jamatkhanas, and Muslim heritage sites in Thailand, Myanmar, and Singapore, with names and historical details kept intact.
Goowatil Islam Mosque in Bangkok
After the Toek Khaw (white brick) mosque was built in 1856, some Dawoodi Bohra Shia merchants from Surat, Gujarat, India, rented a piece of royal warehouse land a few hundred meters upstream. At that time, some Malay Sunni goldsmiths from Sai Buri District in Pattani Province, southern Thailand, also lived nearby. They were skilled at making an alloy of gold, silver, and copper called Nak in Thai.
In 1859, these two groups built a new mosque together. Because the nearby warehouses were built of red brick, it was called Toek Daeng (red brick) mosque, and later renamed Goowatil Islam Mosque.
Among the Indian Shia merchants in the Goowatil Islam Mosque community, Ali Asmail Nana was the most famous. He served as a translator for the Siamese Western Trade Department and earned the title Phra Phichet Sanphanit. He married and had children in Bangkok, and his family later succeeded in real estate development.
After the 20th century, Indian Shia merchants began moving their shops from the old royal warehouses to the busier Song Wat Road area in Bangkok's Chinatown. They started working in more promising professions like commission agents, bankers, insurance brokers, auctioneers, and real estate developers. With the changing times, you can no longer find those Indian Shia merchants at Goowatil Islam Mosque today.
Myanmar
Mughal Shia Mosque in Yangon
The Mughal Shia Mosque in Yangon, Myanmar, is the largest Shia mosque in Southeast Asia. It was founded in 1854 by Persian-Indian merchants who were the first to settle in Yangon.
The British East India Company opened a factory in Yangon starting in the 1790s, after which Persian and Indian Shia merchants began arriving in Yangon. These Shia friends (dosti) and others from Iran, Afghanistan, India, and elsewhere were collectively called Mughals by the Burmese people. After the 19th century, the Mughals often served as intermediaries and translators for exchanges between the British and the Burmese, becoming an important part of Yangon's foreign trade.
In 1852, the British officially occupied Yangon and made it the capital of British Burma. They hired army engineers to design and plan the grid-like city of Yangon, and the Shia community in Yangon officially established the Mughal Shia Mosque. The Mughal Shia Mosque was originally a teak wood building. Between 1914 and 1918, mosque board members from Isfahan, Shiraz, Khorasan, and Kabul in Iran and Afghanistan raised funds to rebuild it in its current Hyderabad style. The Shia faith developed on the Deccan Plateau in southern India during the 14th to 16th centuries. The Qutb Shahi dynasty declared Shia the state religion in 1518. Its capital, Hyderabad, was built in 1591 with the participation of Shia scholar and scientist Mir Muhammad Momin, and Hyderabad later became a center of Shia culture in India.
S Afsheen, a descendant of a board member of the Yangon Mughal Shia Mosque, wrote in his autobiography that his ancestors were originally court advisors to the Mughal Empire. In the 19th century, his great-grandfather's father, Hasan Ali Khorasanee, came to Yangon to do business, received favorable trade terms, and then developed a powerful trading company. Hasan Ali Khorasanee's son bought many properties in Yangon and operated leather and other trading businesses, which made the Khorasanee family one of the board members of the Mughal Shia Mosque.
The Mughal Shia Mosque is located on Shwe Bon Thar Road in Yangon's Indian quarter. This place was originally called Mughal Street and was the area where Indian shops in Yangon were most concentrated. The mosque consists of the street-facing Mughal Hall, the main prayer hall, and two tall minarets. The shops in the Mughal Hall facing the street are rented out.
The layout of the main hall at the Mughal Shia mosque in Yangon differs from Sunni mosques. The hall is split into separate areas for men and women, both covered with prayer rugs and featuring a mihrab to indicate the direction of prayer. The center area is used for the khutbah sermon and for mourning ceremonies held every year during the first month of the Islamic calendar.
Distinctive calligraphy art at the Mughal Shia mosque in Yangon. The main gate is carved with the Shia version of the Shahada, which includes one extra phrase compared to the Sunni version: 'Ali-un-Waliullah,' meaning Ali is the friend (wali) of Allah.
Hazarat Abbas (A. S) Astana Alamdar-e-Husayn in Yangon.
Located on 32nd Street next to the Sule Pagoda in the heart of Yangon's old town, there is a Shia ritual hall called Hazarat Abbas (A. S) Astana Alamdar-e-Husayn. Built in 1856, it is an important ritual center for the Shia community in Yangon. Unlike a standard mosque (masjid), this place is used by the Shia community for memorial ceremonies during the first and second months of the Islamic calendar and during Ramadan. It is an important way for the Shia community to build unity.
The hall has two floors. On the first floor, the words 'Live like Ali, die like Husayn' are written in English. On the second floor, the center displays a Punja, which symbolizes the severed hand of Imam Husayn’s standard-bearer, Abbas, during the Battle of Karbala. On both sides are tombs symbolizing those of Imam Husayn and the standard-bearer Abbas, who were martyred in the battle. An elder at the mosque showed me a book in Burmese about the standard-bearer Abbas.
In the Shia tradition, the standard-bearer Abbas is seen as the ultimate example of courage, love, sincerity, and self-sacrifice. Many Shia people take oaths in his name or give out food in his honor. The death of Abbas is the oldest passion play in the Shia tradition, and verses about him often appear in the decoration of Shia buildings.
Punja Mosque in Yangon.
Located on 38th Street on the east side of Yangon's old town, Punja Mosque was built in 1877 and is another Shia ritual center in Yangon. The Shia Shahada can also be seen on the mosque gate, with the extra phrase 'Ali is the friend of Allah' added at the end. The main hall is divided into two parts: the right side is a hall for mourning Imam Husayn, and the left side is a prayer hall. In the center of the right hall sits a tomb symbolizing Imam Husayn. To the left is a minbar pulpit for the Imam to deliver the khutbah, and on the right is a Punja, symbolizing the severed hand of Imam Husayn’s standard-bearer Abbas from the Battle of Karbala, which is how the mosque got its name.
Dawoodi Bohra Saifee Mosque in Yangon.
Besides the Twelver Shia, there are two other Shia minority ritual centers on Mughal Street in Yangon. Unfortunately, because there are so few members left, both have stopped operating.
Dawoodi Bohra Saifee Mosque is located on the west side of Mughal Street and was built by the Dawoodi Bohra sect in 1898. Starting in the 19th century, members of the Dawoodi Bohra sect from Gujarat, India, began traveling across the Indian Ocean to trade. Many became wealthy merchants and industrialists, and some settled in Yangon, which had a large Indian population.
His Highness The Agakhan Building Myanmar Ismaili Khoja Jamatkhana in Yangon.
Located on the east side of Mughal Street, His Highness The Agakhan Building Myanmar Ismaili Khoja Jamatkhana was built in 1949 by the Khoja people, who follow the Nizari Ismaili branch of Shia Islam. They belong to the same small branch as the Tajik people in China. The name Khoja comes from a term used by the 14th-century Ismaili scholar Pir Sadardin for his followers. Sadr al-Din was born in Persia and spent a long time preaching in South Asia. He promoted tolerance and integration between Islam and Hinduism, which led many merchants from the Lohana caste in Gujarat to convert.
The Khoja began trading in Mumbai, India, in the 18th century. Later, they settled in places across South Asia, Oman, East Africa, and Madagascar, and some also settled in Yangon. The Khoja community center is called Jamatkhana, or 'Friday prayer hall,' where they hold congregational prayers, wedding banquets, and various commemorative events.
Singapore
Al-Burhani Mosque
Al-Burhani Mosque is located on Hill Street, a main road in Singapore. It is the only Dawoodi Bohra Shia mosque in Singapore.
Starting in the 19th century, members of the Dawoodi Bohras from Gujarat, India, traveled along the Indian Ocean to trade. They began trading dry goods and spices in Singapore in 1875. After the 1920s, more Dawoodi Bohra merchants came from Gujarat to Singapore to do business, and the Dawoodi Bohra community in Singapore was officially formed.
Al-Burhani Mosque was first built in 1895 and was originally small. The high-rise building seen today is how it looked after being rebuilt in 1997. Unfortunately, there was no one inside the mosque when we visited, so we could not talk to anyone.
Indian Heritage Centre in Singapore
The Indian Heritage Centre in Little India, Singapore, uses a timeline in its main exhibition hall to tell the rich history and culture of Singapore's Indian community. It is divided into five parts: early contact, origins and migration, early Indian descendants in Singapore and Malaya, the social and political awakening of Indian descendants in Singapore and Malaya, and the contributions of Indian descendants to Singapore. Of course, this includes Indian Shia culture.
A Khoja turban worn by the Ismaili Shia Khoja people of Gujarat.
A procession of Indian Shia Muslims during the Ashura festival in the 19th century. On the right is a Ta'ziya, a model of the tombs of Imam Hussein and Hassan, and you can also see Alam flags.
An Alam flagpole carried by South Indian Shia Muslims during an Ashura procession in the 19th century.
Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore
A porcelain plate for export ordered by Indian Shia Muslims in 1844-45, featuring Persian verses related to the martyrdom of Imam Hussein. The teardrop pattern used here is known as the 'boteh' motif in Persian.
A scroll painting of a Shia Ashura procession in southern India (possibly Chennai) from the 1830s to 1840s. The entire scroll is nearly 6 meters long. You can see a Ta'ziya (a model of the tombs of Imam Hussein and Hassan), Buraq (the mount of the Prophet Muhammad during his Night Journey), Alam flags, the Hand of Abbas, a Sipar shield, and a reenactment of the Battle of Karbala. You can also see the Chennai native infantry, people dressed as animals, and even elements of the Hindu Charak festival, which reflects India's multiculturalism.
A 'Hand of Abbas' from the late 19th to early 20th century.
Summary: This second part continues the author’s visits to Shia mosques, jamatkhanas, and Muslim heritage sites in Thailand, Myanmar, and Singapore, with names and historical details kept intact.
Goowatil Islam Mosque in Bangkok
After the Toek Khaw (white brick) mosque was built in 1856, some Dawoodi Bohra Shia merchants from Surat, Gujarat, India, rented a piece of royal warehouse land a few hundred meters upstream. At that time, some Malay Sunni goldsmiths from Sai Buri District in Pattani Province, southern Thailand, also lived nearby. They were skilled at making an alloy of gold, silver, and copper called Nak in Thai.
In 1859, these two groups built a new mosque together. Because the nearby warehouses were built of red brick, it was called Toek Daeng (red brick) mosque, and later renamed Goowatil Islam Mosque.
Among the Indian Shia merchants in the Goowatil Islam Mosque community, Ali Asmail Nana was the most famous. He served as a translator for the Siamese Western Trade Department and earned the title Phra Phichet Sanphanit. He married and had children in Bangkok, and his family later succeeded in real estate development.
After the 20th century, Indian Shia merchants began moving their shops from the old royal warehouses to the busier Song Wat Road area in Bangkok's Chinatown. They started working in more promising professions like commission agents, bankers, insurance brokers, auctioneers, and real estate developers. With the changing times, you can no longer find those Indian Shia merchants at Goowatil Islam Mosque today.
Myanmar
Mughal Shia Mosque in Yangon
The Mughal Shia Mosque in Yangon, Myanmar, is the largest Shia mosque in Southeast Asia. It was founded in 1854 by Persian-Indian merchants who were the first to settle in Yangon.
The British East India Company opened a factory in Yangon starting in the 1790s, after which Persian and Indian Shia merchants began arriving in Yangon. These Shia friends (dosti) and others from Iran, Afghanistan, India, and elsewhere were collectively called Mughals by the Burmese people. After the 19th century, the Mughals often served as intermediaries and translators for exchanges between the British and the Burmese, becoming an important part of Yangon's foreign trade.
In 1852, the British officially occupied Yangon and made it the capital of British Burma. They hired army engineers to design and plan the grid-like city of Yangon, and the Shia community in Yangon officially established the Mughal Shia Mosque. The Mughal Shia Mosque was originally a teak wood building. Between 1914 and 1918, mosque board members from Isfahan, Shiraz, Khorasan, and Kabul in Iran and Afghanistan raised funds to rebuild it in its current Hyderabad style. The Shia faith developed on the Deccan Plateau in southern India during the 14th to 16th centuries. The Qutb Shahi dynasty declared Shia the state religion in 1518. Its capital, Hyderabad, was built in 1591 with the participation of Shia scholar and scientist Mir Muhammad Momin, and Hyderabad later became a center of Shia culture in India.
S Afsheen, a descendant of a board member of the Yangon Mughal Shia Mosque, wrote in his autobiography that his ancestors were originally court advisors to the Mughal Empire. In the 19th century, his great-grandfather's father, Hasan Ali Khorasanee, came to Yangon to do business, received favorable trade terms, and then developed a powerful trading company. Hasan Ali Khorasanee's son bought many properties in Yangon and operated leather and other trading businesses, which made the Khorasanee family one of the board members of the Mughal Shia Mosque.
The Mughal Shia Mosque is located on Shwe Bon Thar Road in Yangon's Indian quarter. This place was originally called Mughal Street and was the area where Indian shops in Yangon were most concentrated. The mosque consists of the street-facing Mughal Hall, the main prayer hall, and two tall minarets. The shops in the Mughal Hall facing the street are rented out.
The layout of the main hall at the Mughal Shia mosque in Yangon differs from Sunni mosques. The hall is split into separate areas for men and women, both covered with prayer rugs and featuring a mihrab to indicate the direction of prayer. The center area is used for the khutbah sermon and for mourning ceremonies held every year during the first month of the Islamic calendar.
Distinctive calligraphy art at the Mughal Shia mosque in Yangon. The main gate is carved with the Shia version of the Shahada, which includes one extra phrase compared to the Sunni version: 'Ali-un-Waliullah,' meaning Ali is the friend (wali) of Allah.
Hazarat Abbas (A. S) Astana Alamdar-e-Husayn in Yangon.
Located on 32nd Street next to the Sule Pagoda in the heart of Yangon's old town, there is a Shia ritual hall called Hazarat Abbas (A. S) Astana Alamdar-e-Husayn. Built in 1856, it is an important ritual center for the Shia community in Yangon. Unlike a standard mosque (masjid), this place is used by the Shia community for memorial ceremonies during the first and second months of the Islamic calendar and during Ramadan. It is an important way for the Shia community to build unity.
The hall has two floors. On the first floor, the words 'Live like Ali, die like Husayn' are written in English. On the second floor, the center displays a Punja, which symbolizes the severed hand of Imam Husayn’s standard-bearer, Abbas, during the Battle of Karbala. On both sides are tombs symbolizing those of Imam Husayn and the standard-bearer Abbas, who were martyred in the battle. An elder at the mosque showed me a book in Burmese about the standard-bearer Abbas.
In the Shia tradition, the standard-bearer Abbas is seen as the ultimate example of courage, love, sincerity, and self-sacrifice. Many Shia people take oaths in his name or give out food in his honor. The death of Abbas is the oldest passion play in the Shia tradition, and verses about him often appear in the decoration of Shia buildings.
Punja Mosque in Yangon.
Located on 38th Street on the east side of Yangon's old town, Punja Mosque was built in 1877 and is another Shia ritual center in Yangon. The Shia Shahada can also be seen on the mosque gate, with the extra phrase 'Ali is the friend of Allah' added at the end. The main hall is divided into two parts: the right side is a hall for mourning Imam Husayn, and the left side is a prayer hall. In the center of the right hall sits a tomb symbolizing Imam Husayn. To the left is a minbar pulpit for the Imam to deliver the khutbah, and on the right is a Punja, symbolizing the severed hand of Imam Husayn’s standard-bearer Abbas from the Battle of Karbala, which is how the mosque got its name.
Dawoodi Bohra Saifee Mosque in Yangon.
Besides the Twelver Shia, there are two other Shia minority ritual centers on Mughal Street in Yangon. Unfortunately, because there are so few members left, both have stopped operating.
Dawoodi Bohra Saifee Mosque is located on the west side of Mughal Street and was built by the Dawoodi Bohra sect in 1898. Starting in the 19th century, members of the Dawoodi Bohra sect from Gujarat, India, began traveling across the Indian Ocean to trade. Many became wealthy merchants and industrialists, and some settled in Yangon, which had a large Indian population.
His Highness The Agakhan Building Myanmar Ismaili Khoja Jamatkhana in Yangon.
Located on the east side of Mughal Street, His Highness The Agakhan Building Myanmar Ismaili Khoja Jamatkhana was built in 1949 by the Khoja people, who follow the Nizari Ismaili branch of Shia Islam. They belong to the same small branch as the Tajik people in China. The name Khoja comes from a term used by the 14th-century Ismaili scholar Pir Sadardin for his followers. Sadr al-Din was born in Persia and spent a long time preaching in South Asia. He promoted tolerance and integration between Islam and Hinduism, which led many merchants from the Lohana caste in Gujarat to convert.
The Khoja began trading in Mumbai, India, in the 18th century. Later, they settled in places across South Asia, Oman, East Africa, and Madagascar, and some also settled in Yangon. The Khoja community center is called Jamatkhana, or 'Friday prayer hall,' where they hold congregational prayers, wedding banquets, and various commemorative events.
Singapore
Al-Burhani Mosque
Al-Burhani Mosque is located on Hill Street, a main road in Singapore. It is the only Dawoodi Bohra Shia mosque in Singapore.
Starting in the 19th century, members of the Dawoodi Bohras from Gujarat, India, traveled along the Indian Ocean to trade. They began trading dry goods and spices in Singapore in 1875. After the 1920s, more Dawoodi Bohra merchants came from Gujarat to Singapore to do business, and the Dawoodi Bohra community in Singapore was officially formed.
Al-Burhani Mosque was first built in 1895 and was originally small. The high-rise building seen today is how it looked after being rebuilt in 1997. Unfortunately, there was no one inside the mosque when we visited, so we could not talk to anyone.
Indian Heritage Centre in Singapore
The Indian Heritage Centre in Little India, Singapore, uses a timeline in its main exhibition hall to tell the rich history and culture of Singapore's Indian community. It is divided into five parts: early contact, origins and migration, early Indian descendants in Singapore and Malaya, the social and political awakening of Indian descendants in Singapore and Malaya, and the contributions of Indian descendants to Singapore. Of course, this includes Indian Shia culture.
A Khoja turban worn by the Ismaili Shia Khoja people of Gujarat.
A procession of Indian Shia Muslims during the Ashura festival in the 19th century. On the right is a Ta'ziya, a model of the tombs of Imam Hussein and Hassan, and you can also see Alam flags.
An Alam flagpole carried by South Indian Shia Muslims during an Ashura procession in the 19th century.
Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore
A porcelain plate for export ordered by Indian Shia Muslims in 1844-45, featuring Persian verses related to the martyrdom of Imam Hussein. The teardrop pattern used here is known as the 'boteh' motif in Persian.
A scroll painting of a Shia Ashura procession in southern India (possibly Chennai) from the 1830s to 1840s. The entire scroll is nearly 6 meters long. You can see a Ta'ziya (a model of the tombs of Imam Hussein and Hassan), Buraq (the mount of the Prophet Muhammad during his Night Journey), Alam flags, the Hand of Abbas, a Sipar shield, and a reenactment of the Battle of Karbala. You can also see the Chennai native infantry, people dressed as animals, and even elements of the Hindu Charak festival, which reflects India's multiculturalism.
A 'Hand of Abbas' from the late 19th to early 20th century.
