The interiors of the Dawoodi Bohra Masjid, behind Science City. Picture by Aranya Sen

One of the largest mosques in the world for the Dawoodi Bohra community is ready to open doors in the city. Metro gets the first look.

What: Dawoodi Bohra Masjid, a classically designed mosque.

“The existing mosque at 21 Pollock Street is struggling to accommodate the growing number of members of the Dawoodi Bohra community (about 5,000). So we wanted to build a bigger mosque with a larger prayer hall and other facilities,” said Mustaali Bhaisaheb, the assistant priest of the community.

Address: 16F East Topsia Road, behind Science City.

Built by: Anjuman-E-Burhani, the local organisation that represents and looks after the matters of the community. Work started in 2005.

Size: The fifth largest among the community’s mosques across the world. Surat, Mumbai and Dubai have larger mosques.

The new 90,000sq ft structure is part of a complex spread over two acres.

Design: Mumbai-based architect Ismail Neemuchwala helped shape the mosque.

The architecture is based largely on the traditional designs of the Fatimi Imams in Cairo, Egypt. The architecture is defined by gold embossed lettering, stained glass windows and majestic chandeliers.

The marble stairs inside the central dome leads to the vast prayer hall that rises to a height of 50 feet. About 15,000 can be accommodated in the hall. There are elevated enclosures for women within the hall.

The qiblah at one end of the hall with floral motifs etched out on white marble as well as the minarets with sandstone exteriors are modelled on those at the 800-year-old Al Anwar mosque in Cairo.

A stunning 500kg crystal chandelier, sourced from the Czech Republic, hangs from the ceiling.

Facilities: The central building is connected to the different wings. The dining chambers have a seating capacity of more than 2,500. There’s a VIP dining room for special guests. The kitchen on the ground floor is linked to the two-storey dining area through elevators.

The complex comprises a garden, a residential facility for the spiritual head and local head priest.

A 13-storey residential building for members of the community is nearing completion. A higher secondary school for Dawoodi Bohra children is expected to come up in the next few months.

Uniqueness: Images from closed circuit cameras are fed into a central monitor. There are two giant screens that scroll down from the ceiling in the main hall and 50 small screens across the complex to beam sermons or writings.

Opening: The spiritual head will arrive in the city from Mumbai on Thursday evening for the inauguration of the mosque this weekend.