4th XPDC

this time, we went to 6 masjids in the North East cluster. the weather turned dark at around zuhor. alhamdulillah it only drizzled when we were at our last masjid for the day. if it had been a downpour, we might just have to abort the expedition half way. ^^;

1. Al Mawaddah... located at Compassvale Bow has a rather open concept. most masjids have some sort of fencing/wall boundary but this masjid doesn't really have one (or maybe we just didn't notice it). it has ramps and a lift, making it wheelchair-friendly. there's also a sick bay and a pelamin. when we were there, there was a camera crew from Saudi taking video shots of the masjid. imagine a masjid in Singapore being featured in Saudi. WOW!

2. Al Istiqamah... located at Serangoon North Ave 2 was bustling with activities when we were there. a class was being held at the main prayer hall, there were madrasah kids around and there's a stall area selling snacks, food, drinks and even baju kurung/jubah and tudung.

3. Masjid Haji Yusoff... located at Hillside Drive is a cosy masjid built in 1921. i love the intricate carving on the wooden door and all the wooden beams. gives it a kampung feel. madrasah classes are conducted in the basement (with airconditioning comfort).

4. En Naeem... located at Tampines Road is a friendly masjid (especially the makciks at En Mart Corner. they are very happy people). the unique thing about this masjid is that it has posters of Islamic Thinkers.

5. Darul Ghufran... located at Tampines Ave 5 is located near Tampines Swimming Complex/Stadium. they just finished packing up for the soup kitchen project when we arrived. if we had arrived earlier, maybe we could have taken pictures of them in action. anyway, the masjid has three levels of prayer hall, a multi-purpose hall and classrooms for their a.l.i.v.e classes. there's also free wireless access for jemaah (just check the notice board for the password).

6. Al Istighfar... located at Pasir Ris Walk has a prominent blue dome that you just can't miss. the NorthEast Mosque Cluster office is located here. they have a reading corner that jemaah can borrow books or just sit there to read. there's also a small hydroponics garden. sooo coool!

Calling all designers!

as posted in our FB page, we are looking for suggestions of how our logo should be. if you have a creative flair, we welcome you to come up with a logo design(s) which we'll put up for voting. read more at http://www.facebook.com/notes/sgmasjid/logo-design/107095279320850.

hope to see your designs/suggestions!!!

btw, we're having our next round of photoshoot on this coming saturday, 3 April 2010. so look forward to more photos of our beautiful masjids in sunny island Singapore!

In the news...

those of you who listened or read the news would already have known about this. for those who did not... there are plans to build new masjids in Punggol, Jurong West and Woodlands. here's the write up taken from Straits Times Interactive (11 mar 2010):

"TWO new mosques will rise in Woodlands and Jurong West where the Muslim population has grown significantly.

These will be built on land the Government will reserve, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim announced this in Parliament on Thursday.

Both housing estates have one mosque each but with their expanded population in the past 20 years, the situation is especially acute during Friday prayers. That's when Muslim workers from the nearby industrial estates and tertiary institutions crowd the mosques.

Said Dr Yaacob, who is Minister for the Environment and Water Resources: 'There are no other mosques nearby to cope with the spill-over demand. Even after upgrading the existing mosques to increase capacity, there would still be a shortage of space.'

Dr Yaacob did not disclose when the two new mosques will be ready or the site where they will be built.

Also in the pipeline is a new mosque in Punggol which will be built in 2013."

3rd XPDC

we managed to take photos of 5 masjids for the third expedition. here they are:

1. Al Firdaus... located at Jalan Ibadat (that's near keat hong camp. p.s. the name of the road is really apt, don't you think?) is a small, cosy masjid. we had a chat with Ustaz Fadlon and he told us a little of the masjid's background. he even showed us pictures of the masjid before it was refurbished (it was made of wooden planks). it was really cool! for a masjid that seems to be far from housing estates, we saw quite a good number of people sending their children for madrasah classes there.

2. Masjid Pusara Aman... located at Lim Chu Kang Road, Muslim Cemetery. it has a nice landscape garden and a pond with fishes and terrapins. there's a small cart with some food in plastic containers. i assume they're for sale but there wasn't anyone manning it.

3. Assyakirin... located at Yung An Road was a buzz with activities. it has a lift, library and islamic civilization corner. really interesting stuffz! i love the way they utilized space to cater the their kindergarten students. they made their own snakes&ladders board game (big enough for a child to become the 'counters') out of the floor tiles. ;D

4. Al Mukminin... located at Jurong East St 21 has a rather unique architecture. it has kind of a rooftop playground and an air-con student study centre. it also has a reading area for jemaah. when we were there, they were having a blood donation drive. cool eh?

5. Masjid Hasanah... located at Teban Gardens Road has a rather tall minaret (compared to other masjids we've been to so far). my 2nd cuzin loves the narrow 'corridors' in the masjid. there's also a poster on one of the pillars that caught our eyes. printed in 2001 was a map of Singapore with all the masjids and their locations. i wonder if they have an updated map.

2nd XPDC

our 2nd expedition went on today as planned. however, since we each have other personal commitments, we could only cover 4 masjids. here they are:

1. An Nur... located at Admiralty Road, was bustling with people. lots of people! almost gave us cold feet. they were sitting on rows and rows of seat. i assume that they are parents waiting for their children to finish madrasah classes.

2. Al Iman... located at Bukit Panjang Ring Road, has a rather 'open' concept. it si a community friendly masjid with amenities like a lift. there's even a wedding dias (aka pelamin) at the side of the main prayer hall. while taking photos, we were approached by Bro Jaleel and had a short yet insightful conversation about masjids in singapore. did you know that masjid are now grouped into clusters? well...now you know! ;)

3. Al Khair... located at Teck Whye Crescent. i love the big dome of the masjid. gives it a traditional look. a lot of masjids now have a more 'modern' architecture without the dome. some don't even have the crescent and star.

4. Ar Raudhah... located at Bukit Batok East Ave 2, is like modern art. there's lots of islamic geometric motifs in the architectural design on the masjid. there's even an islamic library. how cool is that?! Xtremely cool, if you asked me. ;) however, it can be quite confusing looking for the ladies' prayer hall coz of the various passage ways.

it's rather quick but our next expedition will be held NEXT WEEK! 6th of March 2010! woohoo! so stay tuned for more pictures and short write-up about each masjid in sg. =)

In rememberance...

our 2nd trip will be coming soon... it's this saturday, 27th feb 2010. so excited! we plan to cover woodlands and move up to the west.

anyway, in the meantime... lots of mjd are having maulidur rasul at the moment. i went to Masjid Abdul Hamid Kampung Pasiran today and saw this poster:

They are having a syarahan on this saturday (yes! same day as our 2nd trip). drop by if you can. =)

anyway, it's a really nice mjd. can't wait to go there 'officially'. i like this part of the mjd (the purple looks so nice):

the abulation area for ladies is also nice. kinda homely. ;)

if you have the means...

i happen to go to mjd kampung holland on thursday & i saw this banner:

if you have the means to donate, please go down to the mjd to make a donation. may Allah bless your good deeds.