Mosques around the World — Page 33
Bait-ur-Rahman Mosque Construction Report. Manzoor Rahman. Scheme of Five Centers in the United States. Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IVaba launched a scheme to build five mosques and mission houses in the. United States in December of 1982. . Purchase of Property and Laying of the Foundation. An 8. 75 acre parcel of land was purchased in Montgomery. County, Maryland (about 15 miles north of Washington D. C. ). . . An additional one acre adjoining plot was acquired in 1988. . Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVaba laid the foundation stone of the mosque on October 9, 1987. . Site Development. The first step in site development was soil investigation in a topographic and land survey. This was contracted to Kiddie. Consultants in 1988. . Three Phases of Construction. Phase One: Prayer halls for men and women, office on the lower level, a kitchen beside the site development, storm water management pond, pavements, utilities, and the two houses for the missionaries. . Phase Two: Multipurpose Hall & Additional Office Space. Phase Three: Additional structures for the Jama'at as needed. . Design and Cost Estimation. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVaba approved the concept design of the mosque in November of 1989. The Mosque Committee laid down the design parameters for the architect. Following competitive bidding, Bass Architect was selected as the. Project architect. Detailed drawings and documents were completed by March of 1991. Construction documents were completed in 1992. . Bidding Process and Contract Award. Six qualified bidders were asked to present their proposal. . After a lengthy process of evaluation, Tompkins Builders was selected as the most suitable and qualified builder for the job. . A guaranteed maximum price contract was signed in June, 1993. A building permit was obtained on August 2, 1993 and. Tompkins was notified to proceed with the project. . Ground-Breaking Ceremony, Construction Begins. A formal ground-breaking ceremony was held at the mosque site on September 11, 1993. Sahibzada Mirza Muzaffar. Ahmad, the Amir of the U. S. A. Jama'at, presided over the occasion. Over 500 Jama'at members from the Washington. D. C. and Baltimore areas attended. In addition, members of the National Majlis-e-Amla, and local government and public officials participated. Construction of the project started promptly thereafter. hmadiyya Muslim Association USA: 1994 Souvenir. Building Structure, Capacity and Features. The exterior of the mosque is of exposed precast concrete panels with olive green stone bands at the top. The dome is twenty-four feet in diameter and sits over the precast concrete drum, twenty five feet above roof level, and has stainless steel cladding. The minaret is also made of precast concrete and is about ninety feet above grade level, with a stainless steel top. The mosque is attractively located close to the junction of two roads. The pathways around the building are well-planned, respecting the needs of women and men. The site around the mosque is beautifully landscaped. Site lights illuminate the building exterior, the dome and the minaret at night. The building has three floors. . The ground level includes the men's prayer hall, a spacious corridor, and an office, along with three display cases, a stair hall, an elevator hall and bathrooms. The prayer hall opens into the large 24-ft. diameter dome through the upper floor and has a capacity for about 700 worshippers. . The upper floor is exclusively for ladies. It has a beautiful glass window through which the dome and Mahrab areas are visible. The natural light also comes through the dome windows. There is a separate room within the hall with glass windows where ladies with young children and infants can sit and still participate with others. The ladies' hall has a capacity for about 600 worshippers. There is also a nursery for small children, a kitchenette, two offices beside a spacious hallway, a stair hall, an elevator hall and bathrooms. . The bottom level of the mosque has the National. Headquarters office space, with a multi-purpose open space in the middle. Along with a fully equipped kitchen, the bottom floor has an audio/video control room and translation rooms. . The open space in the middle of the bottom floor has a capacity for about 250 persons. A new four-bedroom house has been built on the site for the missionary and his family. . The existing two-bedroom house has been fully renovated. . National Mosque Committee. Chairman: Sahibzada Mirza Muzaffar Ahmad, Amir, USA. Members: Manzoor Rahman, Daud Ahmad, Mir Mubarik. Ahmad, Suleman Mohammad, Tariq Amjad, Rashid. Chowdhry, Raja A. Khalik, Buland M. Akhter, Nasir A. . Chughtai, Ather Malik, Saeed Malik, Masood A. Malik, and. Mubarak A. Malik. . We are grateful to Allah, the Merciful, for His immense blessings. We are thankful to our beloved Imam, Hazrat. Mirza Tahir Ahmadaba, for his guidance and his special prayers for this massive project. ■Manzoor Rahman, Secretary Mosque Committee 33