New Mosque Has a List of Unique Features

The close to $1 miilion fully air conditioned Masjid Hanifa mosque is named after his late mother.

The many unique features of the new Masjid Hanifa mosque include its built and colour. “We have deviated from using the normal green and white colour. If you go around the world you will see different mosque colours and structures,” financier and founder Bobby Khan said.

“In Malaysia there is a mosque and it is blue, they call it the Blue Mosque,” he said.

“In Dubai there are different sizes and this one is something similar to the ones you would see in Dubai.”

The fully air conditioned mosque according to Mr Khan is built with comfort to encourage people to go to the mosque to pray together. It also has a special prayer room which can accommodate 50 women.

Meanwhile like his younger brother Irish, the new stateof-the art Sonaisali mosque located in Nadi has special significance to Mr Khan. The close to $1 million fully air conditioned mosque is named after his late mother. “I had always wanted to build a mosque under my mother’s name Hanifa Begum. She passed away 24 years ago in 1997,” Mr Khan said.

“I had this chance to build a mosque and now that it has been built, it is a pleasure to name it after her,” he said. “I feel much better because I have built a mosque in Fiji; and so much pleasure that I

have given something back to the country, to the people after returning from New Zealand after 24 years. “I have brought back a lot of expertise from New Zealand. A lot have said that it is a state-of-the-art mosque

which I totally agree with. “The location of this mosque is very convenient to travellers. A lot of Muslims are travelling on the road. This mosque is located along the Queens Highway and you will never miss it.”

It is designed by Mr Khan and his wife Azreena and then given to Zubed Ali from Ali Designs to finalise the plans.

Mrs Khan was instrumental in the design of the interior.

It was built by Mr Khan’s company, Western Homes Limited (WHL) and it took almost a year to construct.

Photo: Charles Chambers The family behind Masjid Hanifa, front Jazib Khan. Back from left, Irish Khan, Mohammed Yasin Isaak, Azreena Khan and Bobby Khan.