Goyghor Mosque

Goyghor Masjid, (Bengali: গয়ঘর খোজার মসজিদ, Arabic: مسجد الخواجه‎), also known as the Goyghor Historical Khwaja's Mosque, is an ancient mosque located in the village of Goyghor in Mostafapur Union, Moulvibazar District, Bangladesh. It was built and established on top of a small hill during the reign of the Sultan of Bengal, Shamsuddin Yusuf Shah in 1476 and is named after Afghan chieftain Khwaja Usman.[2]

Goyghor Khwaja's Mosque
গয়ঘর খোজার মসজিদ
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Branch/tradition	Sunni
Leadership	Arob Ali[1]
Year consecrated	1476
Status	active
Location
Location	Moulvibazar, Bangladesh
Architecture
Architect(s)	Musa ibn Haji Amir and Majlis Alam
Type	Mosque
Style	Islamic architecture
Date established	1476
Completed	1476
Specifications
Capacity	700
Dome height (outer)	18 feet
Materials	Brick

History

According to local villagers, when the mosque was being constructed, the area was covered in dense forest and inhabited by tigers. To this day, three marks of a tiger's paw remains on the eastern pillar inside the mosque. During the reign of Shamsuddin Yusuf Shah, Musa ibn Haji Amir and his son, the Minister of Sylhet, Majlis Alam, built the mosque in 1476.[3] Majlis Alam is also known for building Shah Jalal's mosque in Sylhet.[1]

In 1593, an Afghan chief by the name of Khwaja Usman, one of the Baro-Bhuyans of Bengal and the last Afghan ruler in Bengal, took shelter in this mosque after the Afghan rebellion against the Subahdar of Mughal Bengal, Man Singh I.[4]

In the late 1930s, a scholar by the name of Azam Shah is said to have settled near the mosque. In 1940, the original dome fell apart and Azam Shah raised money for the building of a new dome in which he successfully built alongside Ismail Mistri of Baniachong. In 1960, the mosque was again refurbished. After the depart of Azam Shah, it fell apart again and was held with branches and seedlings.[5]

Architecture

The dome is white-tiled and 18 feet tall. There are 3 large doors as well as 6 smaller doors. On the eastern pillar of the interior of the building, there is a mark of a tiger's paw. Near the ceiling, there is an Arabic inscription with a flowery design. There is a rock inscription on the western wall which is protected by an iron cage to avoid thieves. The brick masonry of the walls is very thick.[6]

References

1. Khan, Mahmud H. পাঁচশতাধিক বছরের ঐতিহাসিক ‘খোজার মসজিদ’. Banglanews24.com (in Bengali).
2. মৌলভীবাজারের ঐতিহাসিক গয়ঘর খোজার মসজিদ. The Dhaka Times (in Bengali). Moulvibazar. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
3. বাংলাদেশের কয়েকটি প্রাচীন মসজিদ. Daily Inqilab. 25 August 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015.
4. "Khwaja Usman". Banglapedia. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
5. "Archived copy" মৌলভীবাজারের ঐতিহাসিক গয়ঘর খোজার মসজিদ. Beanibazar Barta 24 (in Bengali). Moulvibazar. 3 December 2018. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. Hussain, Akmal (16 December 2014). গয়ঘর খোজার মসজিদ. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Moulvibazar. Retrieved 23 February 2019.