The Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque stands on a hilltop in Johor Bahru overlooking the Straits of Johor. It was built between 1892 and 1900 and is named for Sultan Abu Bakar, though his son Sultan Ibrahim ordered its construction. Tuan Haji Mohamed Arif bin Punak was the architect, supervised by the Johor government engineer Dato' Yahya bin Awalluddin.
The style is Victorian with Moorish elements and minor Malay influence. Its four minarets take the form of nineteenth-century British clocktowers, a choice that reflected the Anglophile tastes of Sultan Ibrahim. Several other Johor government and palace buildings of the period show similar British influence.
The mosque holds up to 2,000 worshippers at once. It is the state mosque of Johor and a Sunni place of worship.
Comments