A mosque that 'united the world'

The year 1996 was a busy one for the UAE. The country joined the World Trade Organisation, in March former US president George Bush visited the country, and in June, Emirates airline took delivery of its first Boeing 777.

But 1996 was noteworthy for another major reason: construction started on Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

The site was also symbolic, close to the Maqta Bridge, the location of the first crossing between Abu Dhabi Island and the mainland. The mosque was built on a slight incline, and it dominates its surroundings – anyone entering or leaving the city cannot help but to be struck by its beauty.

“It took 11 years to construct this magnificent building,” says Ishaq Mohammed Almushairi, senior specialist of cultural guidance at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

“The idea was that this could be a place to spread a vision of tolerance, co-existence and peace. For that reason, they wanted the mosque to be built in a white colour.”

While ideas for the mosque had been circulating since the 1980s, construction finally started on November 5, 1996.
The original architect was Yusef Abdelki from Syria, but during the 11-year journey it would involve other engineers, architects, designers, artists, construction companies and contractors.

About 33,000 tonnes of steel were used in the construction, and it sits on 6,500 foundation piles.

The first phase to be completed was the concrete body. The building process was complex – take the main dome, for example. It was built over what would become the main prayer hall and has a diameter of 32.6 metres. It is composed of dozens of pre-cast concrete segments.

Once these were put in place, the dome was capped with another piece of concrete. This piece of concrete was reinforced with steel to allow for the huge chandelier that would eventually hang from its underside. This chandelier is the mosque’s principal one, and weighs 10 tonnes. The dome and its two smaller ones on either side are free-standing to prevent damage in the case of an earthquake.

The building’s exterior was finished within a few years of construction starting. Then, thoughts turned to phase two. It was in this phase that the exterior and elements such as the white marble cladding, chandeliers, carpet and lighting would be completed to give the mosque its identity.

At some point between 2003 and 2004, work started to complete the interior and exterior - work which would continue until its opening in 2007. Keith Bradshaw, principal at lighting company Speirs and Major, remembers the discussions.

“In 2003 a number of interior designers were asked to come up with how it would be finished,” he says.

“At the same time – they started talking to lighting designers about what they could do on the outside. The conversation was that this was a national symbol – a symbol of religion and the state working together.”

A battalion of 3,000 workers built the mosque, with 38 contractors involved at various stages. Artisans, craftsmen and materials from around the world were employed, including from Italy, Germany, Morocco, Macedonia, India, Turkey, China, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Greece and the UAE. Natural materials were chosen, including marble, stone, gold, semi-precious stones, crystals and ceramics. According to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre, its design and construction "united the world".

Every evening, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque takes on a new life. From bright white to blue, the mosque is illuminated in light that reflects the phases of the Moon as it waxes and wanes. This was the brainchild of UK lighting experts Speirs and Major. The UK company was also responsible for the main lighting on the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai, and for an additional layer of celebratory lighting on the Burj Khalifa.
But the mosque project stands apart.

“It couldn’t have been a simple floodlighting scheme. It wouldn’t have looked right,” says Keith Bradshaw, of Speirs and Major.

What the lighting company devised was to link the lunar calendar and the Islamic religious calendar.

“But how to do this without projecting pictures of moon craters on to the building? It could have looked too Disney-fied,” Bradshaw says.

What they did was project white light on to the mosque for the full moon and dark blue as the Moon wanes, with 14 shades of blue and white in between.

Around the exterior of the mosque are 600 individual lights – some as big as refrigerators. “The bigger ones on the roof are enormous. They are big, air-conditioned super units. What we wanted to do was achievable with theatrical lighting – but nobody had been crazy enough to put it into an air-conditioned, Abu Dhabi-proof, enclosure before. It’s extreme. That never happened before.”

With temperatures reaching more than 40C in August, that means every lighting fixture has to be able to withstand temperatures of 60C. One light was placed on top of a Las Vegas building and run for nine months because there is comparable air temperature. “Another was put in the far north of Denmark for cold. One was submerged for a week to see how it performed with the light on under water. Testing to see what they could withstand, extreme stuff that Abu Dhabi demanded of it.”

Speirs and Major also came up with another lighting idea to project clouds drifting across the building, as if across the Moon. They drift from the prayer wall on the west side across to the east, as if the clouds are moving across the building from Makkah.

“We obviously did not want to project a white fluffy cloud. When a cloud moves it’s not linear, it evolves and develops and dissolves and is almost rotating back on itself as it’s going forward. To create that in light is actually quite tricky, to make that believable. If you did it now, you’d probably use huge-scale video projectors where you literally project an image of a cloud on it.

"Not only did we not have that technology, it’s almost too literal, so we projected light through a rotating lens but it then goes through another lens in the opposite direction so the light is being distorted and reverse distorted. As it’s moving, it feels like it’s falling back on itself.”

Three on-site trials were conducted, while large scale projections were done on an enormous wall in Edinburgh. The company also enlisted lighting experts and roadies with a rock and roll stadium background, people who were involved in shows by bands such as Pink Floyd and U2.

“It’s not a conventional stage set,” says Mr Bradshaw of the mosque. “What looks great from looking at the prayer wall, may not look so great from courtyard. So we had these guys from a rock and roll band constantly making sure – as if it was a big stadium show – making sure it looked great.”

Jonathan Speirs passed away in 2012 and for Bradshaw, the mosque project stands apart in scale and importance.

“We [Jonathan and I] had some great moments celebrating its success. It was hard work. It was once in a lifetime kind of job. Really incredible.

“Nothing was as ambitious as that and extraordinary. We were right on the edge of lighting innovation at that time.”

I meet Mr Almushairi in the library of the north-east minaret: outside the sun is about to set and the call to prayer can be faintly heard through the windows.

About five million people come to the mosque every year – and 2.2 million of these are here to pray.

More than one muezzin recites the call to prayer, and it’s always live. The prayer is broadcast to many of the other mosques in the capital.

There are two main imams at the mosque, Idris Abkar and Yahya Ishan. “Across the whole city from each mosque you will hear the same voice,” says Mr Almushairi.

For Friday prayers, the mosque is closed off to tourists until 4.30pm. The main prayer hall is opened; it can accommodate 8,000 worshippers. “Every Friday it is usually full,” says Mr Almushairi, but on a daily basis it is less than that.

Friday is a very important day for Muslims and the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Thousands of men and women visit to listen to the sermon and pray. The imam delivers the sermon from the minbar, or pulpit – which is made of carved cedar and inlaid with mother of pearl, white gold and glass mosaics.

It sits next to the mihrab, which faces Makkah and is where the imam leads worshippers in prayer. The sermon usually relates to social and religious themes and they can even be downloaded from the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments (Awqaf) website in Arabic, English or Urdu.

The UAE decided to unify the Friday sermon about seven years ago, meaning that no matter what mosque worshippers attend across the country, they will hear the same sermon.

“There is one topic and there is a committee of scholars and imams that pick the lectures from research in the Quran,” says Mr Almushairi. “Then they send the lecture to each mosque. This helps to have one message of unity and it avoids extremism. Every Emirati thanks the Government for that because they are not afraid to send their children to any mosque as the message is one and clear.”

Ramadan is also a very special time. Multiple iftar tents are built where people can break their fast, while teams at the mosque provide water and dates for worshippers. An ambulance and medical clinic is provided for worshippers, while large air-conditioning units are pushed into the main courtyard. This is especially welcome over the past few years as Ramadan fell during the searing heat of summer.

A cannon signals the end of that day’s fast and about 35,000 iftar meals are provided for people who break their fast at the mosque. During this year’s Ramadan, cooking for this Herculean feat was done at the adjacent Armed Forces and Officers Club, where 350 chefs and staff worked around the clock to provide the meals.

About 30,000 meals are made every day. A report from The National during this year’s Ramadan revealed more than 12 tonnes of chicken and six tonnes of lamb were used every day, along with 7,000 kilograms of rice, 1,600kg of mixed vegetables, 600kg of tomatoes and 400kg of onions.

“It’s good teamwork and staff divided into shifts around the clock. We feel proud to work hard to deliver on time for such a grand iftar,” said Karsten Gottschalk, executive chef at the Armed Forces Officers Club and Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
“Five years ago only 10,000 to 14,000 iftar meals were cooked and now that’s jumped up to 35,000 meals on weekends.”

The mosque is built to accommodate more than 40,000 worshippers but can reach a remarkable 55,000 on the 27th day of Ramadan, when it is believed that the first verses of the Quran were revealed to Prophet Mohammed.

For the 10th anniversary, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque has delivered a special exhibition. Hajj: Memories of a Journey traces the spiritual paths taken to Makkah by Muslim pilgrims through the ages. The exhibition explores the history of Makkah, the rituals of Hajj – one of the five pillars of Islam – and the experiences of Emirati pilgrims.

Some of the pieces are being shown for the first time, including friezes and panels excavated from a seventh-century Christian monastery on Sir Bani Yas island. The exhibition also includes rare footage of the Hajj made by Sheikh Zayed in 1979.

“Astonishing,” writes one. “Amazing,” says another. “The most beautiful building in the world, and “grand is an understatement”, go a few more.

These are a sample of TripAdvisor reviews from people who have visited Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. About 2.8 million people come every year.

It came, therefore, as little surprise when Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque was voted by travellers as the world’s second-favourite landmark in this year's TripAdvisor’s “Top 25 Landmarks — World Category”. Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia, took the top spot and it was the second year in a row that the mosque came second.

“Achieving second place, two years in a row, as one of most significant architectural monuments in the world, culminates the tremendous efforts and exceptional services the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque offers to visitors from all walks of life,” said Ahmed Al Za’abi, deputy minister for presidential affairs and chairman of the board of trustees of the mosque.

It is the burial place of the late President Sheikh Zayed. His tomb is situated on the right hand-side as you enter the mosque grounds. Visitors are welcome to pay their respects but photography is not allowed. Prayers are recited 24 hours a day by the tomb.

The mosque was attracting visitors even before it opened to the public. In 2007, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall toured the site in February that year. In 2010, Queen Elizabeth visited and she paid her respects at the tomb of Sheikh Zayed. In 2016, Prince Charles would visit again to see the now-completed building.

Down through the 10 years it has been open, the mosque has also been visited by its share of celebrities. Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner visited in 2014, Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton wore a kandura for his visit in 2015, while a controversial visit by the singer Rihanna in 2013 resulted in her being asked to leave for taking inappropriate pictures.

But aside from these, millions of people from around the world have visited the mosque and cannot help but be awestruck by the building and sanctity of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

To keep the building in such pristine condition, there is a regimented cleaning programme for each part of the building. The marble is cleaned daily, the carpets four times a year where they are washed and hoovered, while every two months the main domes are cleaned manually by a person who hangs from the top.

“It’s not some inward-looking building that isn’t welcoming. It’s a huge tourist attraction that’s been very strong for Abu Dhabi,” says Mr Bradshaw of Speirs and Major.

“All these other attractions were popping up in Dubai, but Abu Dhabi chose to do it with a mosque and I think it was hugely inclusive that they did that.”

Mr Almushairi is one of the many tour guides at the mosque. He tells me he originally wanted to be a TV presenter, but when he came to the mosque, something changed. “I touched something different. It was now about how I can be a part of the nation, delivering information about Islamic art, architecture and our traditions.”

Ten years on, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is a place where people curious to know more about the country can interact with Emiratis and learn about the culture and traditions of the country. A visitor's centre is under construction, while a coffee and souvenir shop at the north entrance are already open for tourists.

“I’m always wondering why we receive so many visitors, although no entertainment is offered,” says Mr Almushairi.

“We get questions such as ‘why are your kanduras so white’ so I believe that people visiting the UAE are thirsty to know more about this fast-growing country and maybe this is the right place to know. To take this role, it makes me happy. I’m an ambassador for my country.”