A splendid monument called Spanish Mosque

Secunderabad: Passing by the busy Begumpet road, one would easily mistake the mosque for a church with its turrets so typical of churches but the Jama Masjid Iqbal-ud-Dowla, popularly known as Spanish Mosque, is actually influenced by African and Moroccan architecture.

It is unique in several ways. Unlike other mosques, the absence of an ablution tank, courtyard and inscriptions in Turkish make it one-of-its-kind. The mosque which was originally a part of the seven palaces of Begumpet also had an imposing arch and wooden gate. Each palace had its own style of architecture. Some of them had European influence, Gothic, Roman, Moghul and Deccani. The palace in which the present US Consulate is located is one of them.

During his visit to Europe in 1882, Sir Vicarul Umra was the personal guest of Queen Victoria and other European royalty. Inspired by the beautiful architecture, on his return, he decided to take a mega ambitious project – a palace more beautiful and almost a fairy tale palace, Hyderabad has never seen before - Falaknuma. He was also impressed by the beautiful Moorish influence in Spain and decided to build the Spanish mosque. - M A Faiz Khan, treasurer of the mosque

M A Faiz Khan, treasurer of the mosque says, “The first time I visited the mosque when I was just three years old. One could see the minarets from the Parade Grounds and a little distance away flowed the Kallaveri stream emptying into the picturesque Hussainsagar.

The mosque got its unique style, thanks to the visit to Europe by Sir Vikhar-ul-Umra Iqbal-ud-Dowla, a Paigah noble, in 1906. Fascinated by the architecture during the European tour between 1882-87, he commissioned the mosque inspired by the mosques in Spain, thus the Spanish-Moorish influence.

The Moors, Muslims from North Africa who ruled Spain for a long time, built several mosques and the Paigah noble wanted to replicate one in Secunderabad. Faiz Khan attributes the architecture of the mosque to Seljuk, northwest African Islamic apart from Hispanic-Islamic architecture with influences from Anatolia and Turkey.

Mufeed Shakeel Ahmed Rahmani, the imam who just completed 20 years of service at the historic mosque says, “On Friday, close to 3,000 devotees come to pray and people believe what they wish for comes true.

There is something special about the mosque. Once a person comes, he becomes a regular.” Rahim, a resident of Rasoolpura recalls that the mosque used to be white but of late it is painted in pastel green. He adds, “Recently, a cousin from Lucknow visited us and was pleasantly surprised by the different elements of the mosque. The absence of the domes and the ablution tank intrigued him.”

A profound African influence, reflected with a medley of Hispanic, Tunis and Moroccan architecture, makes the mosque unique in Secunderabad. The mosque has withstood the vagaries of nature though developed cracks due to construction work. Timely intervention and repairs have once again restored its beauty.

By T P Venu