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| Source: Awqaf. A mosque in Al Ain. |
Abdul Aziz al Ghaithi, Director of the Awqaf branch at Al Ain, said that in its strategic plan for building mosques, Awqaf focused on constructing the mosques on highways, in remote areas and in the city centre. There was a substantial improvement in mosques' design and construction criteria in terms of the structure, furniture, maintenance, he said.
"Awqaf ensured adoption of high standards in building the mosques in the industrial area, Hili Industrial Area and areas with high population density. The aim is to provide spacious comfortable mosques to replace the haphazard and caravan (temporary) mosques, which were razed as they were neither licensed by municipality nor by Awqaf, failing to meet basic safety standards, and thereby putting the lives of worshippers themselves in danger. Some of those were replaced by new mosques based on the need of each area," al Ghaithi noted.
The new mosques can accommodate for 1,500 to 2,000 worshipers, he said. The new mosques are, in general, consistent with the UAE heritage and include attachments and halls for Quran memorisation, lessons for males and females and women's musalla (Editor's note: prayer area). Unlike the old mosques, the new ones do not have columns, can accommodate more worshipers, and include more water closets and ablution corners, al Ghaithi said.
The new mosques, he added, feature all the sustainability standards in terms of energy and water saving and are compliant with the requirements of Abu Dhabi Council for Urban Planning as well as the standards defined for those with special needs. He said that Awqaf's strategy for future mosque construction is compliant with the requirements of the Abu Dhabi Council for Urban Planning and those of Al Ain's Municipality city planning.
Al Ghaithi further shared that the replacement building for Sheikh Hazza Mosque in the Al Mutaredh area is expected to be completed within two months.