Baitul Aman Mosque

Guthia Mosque
বাইতুল আমান জামে মসজিদ
Guthia Mosque; বাইতুল আমান জামে মসজিদ
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Branch/tradition	Hanafi
Location
Location	Wazirpur, Barisal
	Shown within Bangladesh
Geographic coordinates	22°49′09″N 90°15′01″E / 22.819293°N 90.250270°E
Architecture
Type	Mosque
Style	Islamic
Date established	December 16, 2003
Construction cost	200 million BDT
Specifications
Capacity	Approximately 20,000
Dome(s)	20
Minaret(s)	1
Minaret height	58 m (190 ft)
Materials	Marble Stone

The Baitul Aman Jame Masjid Complex (Bengali: বাইতুল আমান জামে মসজিদ, Arabic: بيت الأمان جامع مسجد), commonly known as Guthia Mosque (Bengali: গুঠিয়া মসজিদ) of Barisal, is a mosque complex of Bangladesh having a land area of 14 acres, comparing to the 8.30 acres land area of the national mosque Baitul Mukarram of the country.^[1]^[2] The Baitul Aman Jame Masjid Complex consists of a mosque, a large eidgah, a graveyard, three lakes, a madrasa and an orphanage.^[2] Established on December 16, 2003, Guthia Mosque is also a tourist spot in Bangladesh.^[3]

Construction

Construction of the mosque complex began on December 16, 2003, under the supervision of SAS Foundation. A small mosque already existed. ^[4] The complex is a private initiative by Sharifuddin Ahmed Santu, a local politician and businessman who lived abroad.^[3] The mosque took four years and one month to be completed. The complex was designed by architect M. Ameenul Haque.

The cost of the construction in those times was 200 million BDT. The complex was inaugurated on October 20, 2006, with three great lakes, a mosque, an orphanage, a madrasa, an Eidgah and 58 meters high minaret constructed of white marble.^[5]

Architecture

The mosque's architecture is inspired by Islamic architecture from various parts of middle east. Architect M. Ameenul Haque went on a trip to the middle east with the founder to research the architecture and design of some of the most beautiful mosques in the world. He adopted the domical style for Baitul Aman mosque.

The mosque complex stands on 14 acres. The mosque itself consists of 20 domes. The three lakes surrounding the mosque are situated so that they reflect the whole mosque from different angles. Gardens are placed around the lakes and the mosque. A number of calligraphies of Ayatul Kursi are found around the mosque and the inner part of dome of the mosque also has the Ayatul Kursi carved on it. The inner wall of the mosque has the Surat ar-Rahman written on it. The inner part of the mosque has a capacity of 1,400 people, while the outer has a capacity of 5,000 people. Several thousand people can pray in the Eidgah adjacent to the mosque at a time. The 58 meters high minaret of the mosque is the tallest in the country. A graveyard stands on the south-eastern part of the complex.^[2]