Malik Alam's Mosque

Malik Alam's Mosque, also known as Peer Kamaal's Mosque,^[1] is a medieval mosque in the Shah Alam area of Ahmedabad, India.

Mosque in 1855

Malik Alam's Mosque
Malik Alam's Mosque, 1866
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Status	Active
Location
Location	Shah Alam area, Ahmedabad
Municipality	Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation
State	Gujarat
Location in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India Show map of Ahmedabad Malik Alam's Mosque (Gujarat) Show map of Gujarat
Geographic coordinates	23.0008954°N 72.5869734°E / 23.0008954; 72.5869734
Architecture
Type	Mosque and tomb
Style	Indo-Islamic architecture
Funded by	Malik Alam bin Kabir
Completed	1422
Specifications
Dome(s)	5
Minaret(s)	2 (fallen)

History and architecture

Malik Alam's Mosque was built in 1422 by one of Sultan Ahmed Shah I's sons-in-law, Malik Alam bin Kabir, styled Vazir-ul-Mamalik. Compared with the earlier buildings in the Ahmedabad, it shows greater skill in fitting the niche and ornament of Hindu spires to the base of the Islamic minaret.^[2][3]

James Burgess wrote in 1900, in the Archaeological Survey of Western India, VII:

It will be seen that [the mosque] has five domes and the roof is supported by 72 pillars (counting those in the open sections of the façade on each side) together with 44 pilasters. The interior dimensions are 112 feet 7 inches by 31 feet 8 inches, and the end and back walls are 3 feet 3 inches thick, that in front being 5 feet 11 inches...the central dome is considerably the higher, but there is in the façade only one large pointed arch in the middle, on each side of the minarets. In the back wall were five marble mihrabs, two in each end, facing the open colonnades, and the central one facing the great arch...The minarets above the level of the façade had been shaken when the upper portions were thrown down, and together with a small canopy on four pillars that stood between the turrets, they were taken down by the Public Works Department about 1882.^[4]

Both minarets were damaged in the 1819 Rann of Kutch earthquake. The mosque is threatened by encroachment and illegal construction.^[1]

References

1. "PEARLS OF PAST: Need Some Elbow Room". The Times of India. 25 November 2011. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
2. Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency: Ahmedabad. Government Central Press. 1879. pp. 285–286. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
3. T. V. Rama Rao; G. D. Binani (1954). India at a glance: a comprehensive reference book on India. Orient Longmans. p. 754.
4. James Burgess (1900). Archaeological Survey of Western India. Vol. VII. Government Central Press.