Masjid Bencoolen
Mosque located along Bencoolen Street in Singapore
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Masjid Bencoolen (Jawi: مسجد بنکولين, Tamil: பென்கூலன் பள்ளிவாசல், romanized: Peṉkūlaṉ Paḷḷivācal; also known as Masjid Bengkali, or Bengkali Mosque) is a historic mosque located along Bencoolen Street in Singapore. It was originally built in 1824 by Indian Muslim immigrants from Bengkulu. The present-day mosque is a 2004 reconstruction and is integrated with the Somerset Bencoolen hotel that is owned by Ascott International, a subsidiary of CapitaLand.[1][2]
| Masjid Bencoolen பென்கூலன் பள்ளிவாசல் مسجد بنکولين | |
|---|---|
 | |
.svg)  Location in Singapore | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Sunni Islam |
| Location | |
| Location | 51 Bencoolen Street, Singapore 189630 |
| Country | Singapore |
| Coordinates | 1.2993160°N 103.8505059°E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Mosque |
| Style | Modern architecture |
| Established | 1825 |
| Completed | 1845 2004 (Reconstruction) |
| Dome | 1 |
History
The original mosque was an attap structure built between 1825 to 1828 by Indian Muslim settlers from Bengkulu, known as Bencoolen during its time as a British protectorate and colonial settlement in the western coast of Sumatra.[1][3] In 1845, the attap structure was razed to the ground and the mosque was rebuilt as a new brick structure by prominent Arab merchant Syed Omar bin Ali Aljunied.[3][4] To fit in with the urban redevelopments along Bencoolen Street, plans were drawn in 1987 to upgrade the mosque into a modernized structure.[5] The Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) also discussed the possibilities of the new mosque being integrated into a hotel complex; with the hotel helping to directly fund the mosque and related programmes.[6][7] The mosque was closed down in 2001 for the reconstruction after all plans for the mosque had been confirmed and approved by the MUIS.[8][9] It reopened in 2004 as one of three rebuilt mosques in the country. It was now integrated with a new hotel and apartment complex, known as Somerset Bencoolen, that was a property of the mosque.[10][11] After 2018, Somerset Bencoolen was acquired by CapitaLand subsidiary Ascott International as part of a management agreement deal to preserve the site for ten years, although the residential complex is still considered part of the awqaf (endowed) land of the mosque.[12][13]
The mosque was closed down in 2020 for an extensive renovation and upgrading project.[14] Coincidentally, all other mosques in the country were also closed down during 2020–2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Masjid Bencoolen, which was not affected by the pandemic due to its closure,[15] was reopened in 2024 when the reconstructions were complete.[16][17][18]
Masjid Bencoolen is a Hanafi mosque and is one of three mosques in the country that which follow the doctrine, alongside Masjid Abdul Gaffoor and Masjid Angullia.[19][20] This is due to the fact that the Hanafi doctrine is prominent amongst Indian Muslims.[21]
Transportation
The mosque is directly accessible from the Bencoolen MRT station on the Downtown Line.[2][22]
