Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan launched the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. He died in 2004 and was buried in its courtyard. The Syrian architect Youssef Abdelke led the design, and the mosque was inaugurated in December 2007. The article names influences including the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, whose dome layout and plan it follows, and Persian, Mughal and Indo-Islamic architecture.
The complex measures about 950 by 1,380 feet (290 by 420 m). It has 82 domes in seven sizes, and the main dome is 279 feet (85 m) high. Four minarets stand at the courtyard corners, more than 340 feet (104 m) tall. White marble covers the interior and exterior, with 96 columns inlaid with mother of pearl in the main prayer hall. The mosque holds over 40,100 worshippers.
The carpet, considered by many the world's largest, covers 5,627 square meters and weighs 35 tons.
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