Al Fateh Grand Mosque

The Al-Fateh Mosque, also known as the Al-Fateh Islamic Center and as the Al Fateh Grand Mosque, (Arabic: مسجد الفاتح, romanized: Masjid al-Fatih) is a large mosque, located in Manama, Bahrain. Encompassing 6,500 square metres (70,000 sq ft), with the capacity to accommodate over 7,000 worshippers at a time, it was one of the largest mosques in the world.^[2] The mosque was built by the late Sheikh Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa in 1987 and was named in honour of Ahmed Al Fateh. In 2006, Al-Fateh became the site of the National Library of Bahrain.

Al-Fateh Grand Mosque
Religion
Affiliation	Sunni Islam
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Mosque
Leadership	Sheikh Ali Salah Omar (imam) Sheikh Adnan bin Abdullah al Qattan (khateeb)
Status	Active
Location
Location	Manama
Country	Bahrain
Location of the mosque in Bahrain
Geographic coordinates	26°13′08″N 50°35′53″E
Architecture
Type	Mosque architecture
Style	Islamic
Completed	1988
Specifications
Direction of façade	Southeast
Capacity	7,000 worshippers
Length	100 m (330 ft)
Width	75 m (246 ft)
Interior area	6,500 m2 (70,000 sq ft)
Dome(s)	Four
Dome dia. (outer)	24 m (79 ft)
Minaret(s)	Two
Materials	Concrete; fiberglass; marble; teak
[1]

Overview

The mosque was the largest place of worship in Bahrain. It is located next to the Al Fateh Highway in Juffair, which is a suburban neighborhood of Manama. The huge 54-tonne (60-short-ton) dome, built on top of the Al-Fateh Mosque, was constructed entirely of fibreglass and was the world's largest fiberglass dome. The flooring is Italian marble and the chandelier was from Austria. The doors were made of teak from India.^[3] There is Kufic calligraphy throughout the mosque.

Library

The library of Ahmed Al-Fateh Islamic Center has approximately 7,000 books, some as old as 100 years or more. These include copies of the books of the teachings of Muhammad or what is referred to as the books of Hadith, the Global Arabic Encyclopedia, the Encyclopedia of Islamic Jurisprudence, Al-Azhar journals which have been printed more than a hundred years ago, as well as numerous periodicals and magazines.^[4]

Tourism

Besides being a place of worship, the mosque is one of the premier tourist attractions in Bahrain. It is open from 9am to 4pm and tours are conducted in a variety of languages including English, French, Filipino, Russian and many other languages, special arrangements are encouraged for smooth sailing. The mosque is open to visitors and tourists on all Fridays.

Gallery

• 
  Main Prayer Hall from a decent height
• 
  Main Prayer Hall
• 
  Entering thru Main Gate, Open Area of the mosque
• 
  Main Gate to enter the Mosque
• 
  Main Prayer Hall standing at the Mehrab Side
• 
  Interior of the mosque

See also

• Islam portal
• Bahrain portal

• Islam in Bahrain
• List of mosques in Bahrain