108-year-old Masjid Jamek renamed

The iconic Masjid Jamek, the oldest mosque here, is now called Masjid Jamek Sultan Abdul Samad in an effort towards preserving it as a national heritage.

The late Sultan Abdul Samad was the fourth Sultan of Selangor who reigned from 1857 to 1898.

The move to rename the mosque is part of a bigger project — River of Life project — to transform the Klang and Gombak rivers into vibrant waterfronts with full completion expected in 2020.

Masjid Jamek, a popular tourist attraction, is situated where the rivers meet.

Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah officiated the renaming of the mosque yesterday.

Sultan Sharafuddin, who performed Friday prayers at the mosque, was accompanied by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

The sultan expressed hope that the mosque would continue to be a focal point for Muslims.

Sultan Sharafuddin said he hoped that the mosque would be well taken care of, so that it would continue to be a unique tourist attraction.

The 108-year-old mosque was given a facelift in 2012.

Prayer spaces were enlarged by 371 sq m.

The mosque can accommodate more than 1,000 people at a time.

Giant canopies similar to those at Al-Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, Saudi Arabia, were also added to enhance comfort.

Meanwhile, Najib expressed hope that Muslims would take the opportunity of the festive season to forgive one another, and foster peace and unity as prescribed by Prophet Muhammad.

He cautioned that relations between Muslims and non-Muslims in Malaysia would worsen if Muslims were negligent and practised politics of hate.

“Victory for Muslims begins only when they forgive each other for the sake of unity, and it is also encouraged that the spirit of forgiveness be practised among humans, irrespective of their beliefs and ideologies,” he said in a post on his blog, www.najibrazak.com.

Najib said Muslims should choose the path of understanding and not one of contradiction as they were supposed to be bighearted.

Only those with big hearts could forgive, he added.

Najib said Islam had always advocated peace and unity as the best solution to conflict resolution.