Gongawela Jummah Mosque, Matale

Gongawela Jummah Mosque (Sinhala: ගොන්ගාවෙල ජුම්මා මුස්ලිම් පල්ලිය, මාතලේ) is a Muslim religious place located in Matale town, Sri Lanka. It is said to be the oldest mosque in Matale town (Abeyawardana, 2004).

History

The first mosque of Gongawela is said to had been located to the north of the present mosque building. It was abandoned by the Muslims due to the spread of an epidemic (Abeyawardana, 2004). The second mosque was built in the 1970s with the help of Malay residents. However, due to the limited space it had, a new mosque was constructed with donations received from the Muslim gem traders (Abeyawardana, 2004).

A tomb which is believed to be belonged to a Muslim saint named Zain Ul Abdeen is found in the premises of the mosque. He is considered as a royal personality who was expelled from Malaysia or Java in the 18th century (Abeyawardana, 2004).

Attribution

1) Front view of our great grand mosque. by Matalegrand is licensed under CC BY SA 3.0
2) Zirath of ashaq zainool abdeen seenath raja awliya...matale by Matalegrand is licensed under CC BY SA 3.0

References

1) Abeyawardana, H.A.P., 2004. Heritage of Kandurata: Major natural, cultural and historic sites. Colombo: The Central Bank of Sri Lanka. p.146.

Location Map

This page was last updated on 9 June 2022
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