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The Shah Faisal Masjid (in Urdu)
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. |
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History
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.
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