THE MOSQUE

Jamia Rais Ghazi Muhammad
Aga Khan Award for

“My father Rais Ghazi Muhammad made one of the most beautiful Mosque in the world which won the Aga Khan Architectural International Award in 1986.

 Most of the tourists came from all over the world to see the artwork of this Mosque and appreciate the quality, & excellence”.
Rais Wazir Ahmed

The completion of the large mosque, whose building commenced in 1932, in this town of 5000 in south-eastern Punjab concluded the Complex in 1982. Rais Ghazi Muhammad, client, designer, patron and landlord conceived, directed and funded theentire building program. Over 50 years of its evolution, the Complex has generated jobs and trained up to 1000 workers and craftsmen in indigenous crafts. Its development included the growth of infrastructures, including a market, roads and installation of electricity and running water, irrigation and bus service. Until the development of secular education in the 1960s, the mosque was the principal regional center for education.

Formally, the mosque reflects the traditional regional style with its three ribbed domes and eight minarets accenting the corners and entrance. In addition, Rais Ghazi borrowed syllogistic elements from monuments in Lahore, Iran, Spain & Turkey. He mixed these with the western colonical elements of the 1940s, which appear in the guesthouses and market. Decorative materials and techniques used are also electric,through the extensive ornamentation is standard. The structural system combines brick masonry and cement mortar with brick and stone arches and reinforced concrete. Brick domes are set as independent units on top of reinforced concrete roofs.

Material and crafts range from the traditional (teak, ivory, marble, glass, onyx, glazed tile work, fresco, mirror work, gilded tracery, ceramics, calligraphic work and inlay) to the modern and synthetic (marbleized industrial tile, artificial stone facing, terrazzo, colored cement tile and wrought iron).

Specialists were gathered from all over Pakistan and India; master masons and craftsmen from Rajhistan, India; from Multan for the glazed tiles, mosaic, woodwork and painting; and from Karachi for painting and calligraphy. Craftsmen for the artificial stonework and most of the unskilled laborers were from Bhong. Workshops were setup to train craftsmen in skills that had heretofore been passed down from father to son. At the peak of construction, the project employed 1000 workers and trained up to 200 craftsmen. The workshop helped to revive and preserve these indigenous crafts and has contributed to the Government’s conservation efforts.