The Oregon daily journal., December 10, 1905, SECTION THREE, Image 36

THE OREGOjp. i SUNDA JOUR DCtc; tg ,1905
;V ""JJCIS 1 rp
VQS' r--:MZZP-m,u ;Z ixXmstanttnopU. ;NotloBi since fo'tUited tke 81wK of Pen! at v',; jvj .'V. ,1'" -' 'Vv -' L'' '::""f .'r'h-r j fVX ,
" m Zy.;'"" ', -..af .- - . . ."T'liVo! oy."tfr-;Vicny"'nd-.lidbefore him the plans and deeigne... i-:.' "'':vt : r j,; ',L' -'v J,1- '''.'' I j -'X; O-'' '
' """'"V ' " 'r''"'r ' there at' certain monarch not only gave his approval but prom-; i"'1---'' !r! 1 . .." ? 1 ' : ' A T.; :
''Constantinople. . ; " Not long since he visited the Shah of PeTsia at
ff0t only are " Vichy and laid-before him the plans and designs.
' there at ' certain That monarch not only gave his approval,' but prom
limeJ of the year ' - substantial support, while the members of his
, , ' suite at once subscribed over $5000, to aid the pre;
. ' liminarywork.
islam jaunjm in - . These desiims were nreosred bv Mr. Chambers.
C trriHERE is but one "Allah, and Md- the English metropolis, but Mohammedanism ft weii-known London architect, under commission
Hi - a i - - '
1
'.hammed is his prophet:
This call of the muezzin will
soon ring out to the faithful Moslems of Lon
don from the' stately minarets of one of the :
most beautiful structures in the world, located
in the heart of thai city,: ; j ' V J 'I .:
Plans have been drawn for the erection in
London of a Mohammedan molque. : It will
cost $1,000,000, and be exceeded in .mar-
nificence of architecture and-adornment only promised $250,000
, fyh 4he':famous:, mosque 'of ' St. ' Sophia? in '';fund-: 1 tTJ
has recently been taken up i'l mrf o;r- j i 0 ir.,Suhrawardy. , Another architect, whose
'ligious fad in Great Britain, and many con- business extends to Egypt and brings him in contact
verts tq the faith of . the, Prophet have been' with many wealthy and prominent Mohammedans,
announced. " In Liverpool alone, not long -. has also prepared plana,; and baa promises of large
since! 'over one hundred Persons ' embraced 'on from several. Pashas f the Land of
'Mohammedanism.
- fOne of the, 'warmest- supporters of, the
plan to erect a splendid mosque Jn' London is
the Shah of Persia. An Egyptian pasha has:
toward the building
w
' 1IILE many hundred Moslems have their
permanent home in London, nd many
others visit that city each -year," it is
not probable tbst a temple of 4 such"
costliness would have been planned were it not for
the tolerance; even admiration, for the Islam faith
that has been manifested recently. , ,v
i This is probably more or less of a fad, just as
certain circles have taken up the mystio cults and '
religious teachings of the Far East during recent
years.- -i v,. ,-, .
While it lasts, however, the wUy'Monsmmedan
proposes to lake advantage of the prominence of
his religious belief. At any rate. J-is people here-
after will have an enduring and beautiful place of
worship in the Engluh capital V - - ' " .
Already thera.ii one Moslem temple of prayer
hammedanism a position in England which seema '
to justify the ambitious plan of a million-dollar
mosque. ' :." ' -' -v rt :
J . This friendly feeling," it is said, is due to a bet
ter acquaintance with the higher-class followers of
" theProphct. :" s :r '.:'.'---:-----'" J'V
"Indian princes, with, their retinues, and other1
' distinguished subjects of King Edward have been
visiting London with frequency of' late. ,
, Many of these have come in an official capacity,
, and have been received in official and social circles.
: . ' Including men of -wealth and culture, these dep
utations have succeeded in changing the general
opinion regarding Mohammedanism, which change
'has gone so far as to make an admiration of the
j-faith somewhat fashionable. - --- r v -
Eecent wholesale conversions in LiverooOL-
the Nile., i '.. ,V. .-"'J
v t Having been adopted by the Pan-Islamic Soci
ety, however, the Chambers plan is now official It
is also by .far the more ambitious of the two. It is
for the carrying out of this plan that the Egyptian'
Pasha'has subscribed" $250,000. - V ' ,1 V '1
'Mr! Chambers knows something about mosques',
for he' designed the charming little Islam building
at Woking. During the visit of the' Shahzada In
1895 he visited' this structure during the (preateli
. proceeding to the grand estrade leading into. the
interior of the mosque. ; . " ' " ; :. r -.
- Striking ornamentation' will be a feature of
' this Islam house of. prayer, v Green and. white car
. rara marble-will be used, and it will be given a semir
grace so that the London smoke will not affect it. -
Qreen is the color of Islam, and the architects"
' are makimr every effort to be sruaranteed a suddIt
gious festival of Bairam, and was so delighted with 0f carrara having a peculiarly soft, blue-green tint.
x rom ne rpoi . corners wiu apring ,iwo gor-
it that he gave $2500 toward its maintenance.
This mosque at Woking was attended regularly
by the Oriental servants of "Queen Victoria ; but
owing to its distance from London, is not largely .
aitcnuuu sow,.., . . . , i
' If Mr. Chambers' design ia carried out in its
J entirety which is the present intention the new.
mosque will be on a scale of magnificence only sur
passed by. that of St. Sophia.
geous minarets, from which the muezzin will call
the faithful to prayer. ' The cupola of each will be '
250 feet from the ground, and will form-strikingly I
.prominent objects outlined against the prosaic Lon-
don skyline of gables and chimneys. '.. : '
. It is 'estimaied that the cost of .the structure,
alone will be $500,000, while as much more will be
expended upon the lavish scheme of decorations! ''i
Oold mosaic will line the interior and costly .
and praise In England the $ban7ehaiTMosque, at however, it is said, have not been due TO' any "soci
Woking, in Surrey. ' , ' S ' - . ety craM-" hut to the earnest missionary work of
' This was built in 1877 and, except the rather ' e"1.1e1 Moslems and their early converta.
Revision made for Mohammedan st th
St. Petersburg and Moscow, was the only One in how founder and secretary, Abdullah al-Mamun
Europe outside4 of T key. , . ' . Suhrawardy, has been particularly. acUve on the
Arutocrati nd oXScial cirokftluTt giwu ork . . , .
There will.be a' grand entrance, called Slhe
Gate of Islam," It will lead into an outer court Indian tiles Will cover the floor, while the windows
yard, while' on either side will' be ablution and in- will be dreams of tinted loveliness. r
struction rooms. -v . . - -. , JLll-the drspings and hangings and the oma-
; No unbeliever must ever enter' the inner court, - mentation of the holy places will be upon the most
in the centra of which will be the mosque itself. :i superb scale of Oriental extravagance. r y
' This inner court will have twelve sides, in the While the designs have been accepted and a
centre of each being a gate dedicated to one of the "large part of the money subscribed, the site of the
twelve Moslem countries of the world. ., . :". mosque has not been determined, although it will
Each gate will be built in the style of the coun- be one of two places upon which options hare been
try represented, yet forming one continuous aroade. secured, ' " V, . . - . . . c. ... ,'
Within this court will be the fountain and tank
ia whicb irorslaDori muat-batho their feci bciore
. ' One of these is upon the banks of the Thames
fit Westminster, abutting upon the pullio gardens,
which adjoin the Tlouse of Parliament 4 , ' .
' The other is on the opposite side ofthe river
near J the ', St ; Thomas HospitaL Few more con
spicuous locations could have beenchosen, ' - , 4
4 For centuries the famous mosque of St. SophiaV
at Constantinople, has been one of the architectural
'' marvels of the East, and "the most splendid place of
'.Moslem worship in the world, ' . - - .
Ten thousand workmen are said to have been
: employed; in building it, the work requiring seven
years. .;. .. V:-" ,". . r-V- -
- Materials were supplied from every part of the
, empire, including columns and marbles from pagan
monuments.' The whole of the interior. was richly,
decorated with marbles and mosaics.' ; ' ' ' . .
: ; Untold sums were lavished upon jts decoration
and the sacred furniture with which it was adorned.
. This .building is regarded as the masterpiece of
; Byzantine architecture and one of 'the epoch-making
structures .of the world. ; .' '. ' , -.
Built by the Emperor Justinian as a Christian
.church, it was consecrated- in 537. ' When the city
, wss occupied by the Turks in 1453 it was appro
priated as an Islam mosque. .'''.';.''..
-'. All the purely Christian fittings and interior
, arrangementa were torn away and the splendid
: mosaic pictures were covered with plaster. ,. .
;; j - When the " Sultan Abdul 'Medj id ordered '
. restoration of . the building, these mosaics were acct-
dentally brought to view and accurate copies wer
made of them. Late they were covered Sfiun. '