Malé Friday Mosque

Malé Friday Mosque
Malé Friday Mosque (Dhivehi: މާލެ ހުކުރު މިސްކިތް) (also known as Malé Hukuru Miskiy ) is an old mosque in the city of Male, Kaafu Atoll, Maldives. It remains in UNESCO's Tentative World Heritage List since 2008. History The mosque was built in 1658 during the reign of Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar I (1648-1687 A.D.), replacing an old mosque that was reportedly constructed by Sultan Mohamed Bin Abdullah (the first Muslim Sultan of Maldives) upon his conversion to Islam in 1153  (Fewkes, 2019; Jameel, 2018). Although there is not much information about that original mosque, some details about this mosque can be extracted from the notes of the Moroccan traveller Ibn Batuta in 1343. This mosque is said to have been renovated by Sultan Ahmed Shihabuddeen in 1338.  The construction works of the new mosque over the old were commenced in 1656 and finished in 1658 under the patronage of Ibrahim Iskandar I. After his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1668, Ibrahim Iskandar I ordered to add a minaret ( Munnaaru ) a…