User:Gvsoltero/Jama Masjid, Delhi

User: Gvsoltero / Jama Masjid, Delhi Article Draft
The Masjid-i Jehan Numa (lit. the 'World-reflecting Mosque' or "Mosque of the Celestial Sphere"), commonly known as the Jama Masjid of Delhi, is one of the largest mosques in India.

It was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan between 1650 and 1656 at a cost of one million rupees, and was inaugurated by Imam Syed Abdul Ghafoor Shah Bukhari from Bukhara. The mosque was completed in 1656 AD with three great gates and two 40 metres high minarets constructed with strips of red sandstone and white marble. The courtyard can accommodate more than 25000 people. There are three domes on the terrace which are surrounded by the two minarets. On the floor, a total of 899 black borders are marked for worshippers. The architectural plan of Badshahi Masjid, built by Shah Jahan's son Aurangzeb at Lahore is similar to the Jama Masjid.

This massive mosque that visually reigns over Old Delhi, remains as the token of Mughal design as it was Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's last structural creation. The more commonly used name, “Jama Masjid” is speculated to have been derived from the word 'Jummah', which alludes to the congregational gathering of prayer that Muslims partake in on Fridays. Because of its sheer size this monument towers over the Chawri Bazar in Delhi, and is the largest mosque in India. Every year, on Eid al-Fitr (the celebration denoting the completion of Ramadan), large numbers of devout Muslims crowd the mosque to participate in Eid Namaz (a special prayer designated for the most special festivals of the year). The mosque is mutually kept maintained by the Delhi Wakf Board and the Jama Masjid advisory group, as the mandates from the Shahi Imam dictate.

History
Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan built the Jama Masjid between 1650 and 1657. It was constructed by more than 5000 workers. It was originally called 'Masjid e Jahan Numa', meaning 'mosque commanding the view of the world'. The construction was done under the supervision of Saadullah Khan, wazir (or prime minister) during Shah Jahan's reign. The cost of the construction at the time was one million Rupees. Shah Jahan also built the Taj Mahal, at Agra and the Red Fort in Old Delhi, which stands opposite the Jama Masjid.

Mughal period
Subsequent to the passing of his wife, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan chose to move his capital from Agra to Delhi. Here he then established the walled city of Shahjahanabad, a portion of the greater city of Delhi in 1639. It proceeded to continue being the capital of the Mughals and resulted in the evolution of what we currently know as Old Delhi. The Jama Masjid was designed by architect Ustad Khalil under the management of Wazir Saadullah Khan, and under this supervision the mosque was developed and built by over 5000 people. Because of the technical aspects of the design and the sheer size of the mosque, the Jama Masjid required 6 years to be completed. Once completed, the mosque was then consecrated by a mullah from Uzbekistan, which was at that time known as Bukhara, named Sayed Abdul Ghafoor Shah BukhariI on the 23rd of July in 1656. The mosque was inaugurated by Imam Syed Abdul Ghafoor Shah Bukhari, from Bukhara, Uzbekistan, on 23 July 1656, on the invitation from Shah Jahan. About 25,000 people can pray in the courtyard at a time. The mosque is commonly called "Jama" which means Friday. The iconic mosque is one of the last monuments built under Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. After the construction of the monument in 1656, it remained the royal mosque of the emperors until the end of the Mughal period.

The Uprising of 1857
The mosque also became a point of convergence for societal gatherings amongst the Indian people following the attack of Delhi in the 1857 Uprising. On the walls of the Jama Masjid signs and banners could be found, placed there by the powers that had the intention of continuing to force a common split between the people of India. After the British victory in the Revolt of 1857, they confiscated the mosque and stationed their soldiers there. They also wanted to destroy the mosque as an act of punishment to the city. But due to opposition faced, the demolition was not done. After this uprising, the Muslim populace was explicitly the target of English malice as they saw this uprising of 1857 as a 'Muslim conspiricy” that was entirely against them, sparking further problems. Subsequently to this, various mosques in the city of Delhi were then destroyed. After this destruction there was virtually no residue that exhibited their previous existence at all. When it came to the discussion of the Jama Masjid, different routes of what the English should do were discussed within higher groups of authority. The extent of which the Jama Masjid would be able to exist was threatened. The multiple plans regarding what to do with the Jama Masjid accosted the authorities who were given the task to make the final decision. These plans included changing it into an area for general congregation, changing it into a 'secular' college, or its full destruction. Ultimately, It was decided that the Sikh Officers from Punjab would utilize it as barracks. However, after five years, on November 28, 1862, the Jama Masjid was returned to the public to be used as a mosque once again. This occurred following multitudinous petitions by Muslims, and a board of trustees was created consisting of ten Muslims for administrative purposes.

Post Colonial Era
The Mosque remained as a symbol of political freedom and independence, and became the host for multiple political activist exploits during the 1940's. As The Partition of India began commencing, the demographics of India began changing, and societal pressures became extreme. The Mosque throughout this movement of the division of British India into two independent dominion states however, remained a site of significance. During 1948, the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Asaf Jah VII was asked for a donation of ₹75,000 to repair one-fourth of the mosque floor. The Nizam instead sanctioned ₹3 lakh, stating that the remaining three-fourths of the mosque should not look old. The site remained a place of political activism throughout the 1980's and specifically through the Babri Masjid dispute. The Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid at the time, Abdullah Bukhari, chose the Jama Masjid to be the location of several infamous political speeches he made in 1986 regarding this dispute.

2006 Jama Masjid explosions
On the 14th of April in 2006, there were two explosions which came soon after Friday prayers and occurred in swift succession. However it was unclear, how the blasts occurred. Among the casualties, one was in serious condition, whereas other eight people sustained minor injuries. The then imam, Bukhari commented "here is anger among our people but I am appealing to them to maintain calm". The mosque itself did not experience any damage, and due to the mosque being near empty with only 100-150 people inside, this bombing did not create extremely damaging issues or repercussions, and Delhi granted a portion of money to go to the victims. This was noted as the first attack to occur on a mosque of this importance in modern times, and police believe that this attack was related to an attack that took place on the same day in Srinagar. No clear motive has been released to the public, however it is speculated that this attack could be related to terrorist activity. Another speculation is that this attack was the work of people who maintain positions of authority in regards to the mosque, and the attack was due to an internal rivalry that had been brewing.

2010 Jama Masjid attack
On the 15th of September in 2010, two Taiwanese tourists were injured after gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on a bus parked near gate number three of the mosque. After the attack, the police detained 30 people to question and the area was turned into a fortress because policemen were heavily deployed.

In November 2011, the Delhi Police arrested six members of the Indian Mujahideen who were believed to be behind the Jama Masjid blast along with the Pune German bakery blast. Sources said that the "'main man' Imran" allegedly planted the bomb in a car outside the mosque. In September 2013 it was reported that Yasin Bhatkal, a leader of the group, along with Assadullah Akhtar, were arrested the month before and they admitted that they carried out the attack with the on-the-run Pakistani national Waqas. Yasin said that he was ordered by Karachi-based IM head Riyaz Bhatkal to do the task as the Imam allowed "semi-naked" foreigners inside it. As this attack took place on the second anniversary of the Batla House encounter on 19 September 2008, this attack attracted significance. During the Batla House encounter on 19 September 2008, a man named Atif Amin was killed, he was a suspected member of the Indian Mujahideen, an islamic terrorist group. because of this correlation it is suspected that the reasoning for this attack was in vengeance of Atif Amin, by the Indian Mujahideen in response to his death.

Architecture
The mosque and Red Fort were planned to be a larger planned city named Shahjahanabad. The mosque is considered as the best among all mosques built during the Mughal Empire as it has the best mixture of marble and limestone. The mosque resembles the classic nature of Mughal designed mosque, and the features are consistant with those you'd see that conform to this architecture style, such as the facade and the courtyard. Most scholars denote the architecture style to be Indo-Islamic, a style that has influenced architecture within India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and can be seen on other influential sites such as the Taj Mahal. The mosque is built on a red sandstone porch, which is about 30 ft from ground level and spreads over 1200 square metres. The many facets of this mosque make it one of the most beautiful and renowned mosques to have been built globally.

Entryways
The mosque has three great gates, four towers and two 40-metre tall minarets constructed of strips of red sandstone and smooth white marble. The northern gate has 39 steps and the southern side has 33 steps. The cabinet located in the north gate has a collection of relics of Muhammad – the Quran written on deerskin, a red beard-hair of the prophet, his sandals and his footprints embedded in a marble block. The eastern gate was the royal entrance and has 35 steps. Out of all these gateways, the eastern one, which was used by the emperors, remains closed during weekdays.

Minarets
Used by the muezzin to call muslims to prayer, the dome of the Jama Masjid is situated in the middle of two large minarets which are 130 ft high and consists of 130 steps, longitudinally striped with marble and red sandstone. The minarets consist of five storeys, each with a protruding balcony. The adjoining edifices are filled with calligraphy. The first three storeys of the minarets are made of red sandstone, the fourth of marble and the fifth of sandstone.

Courtyard
The courtyard can accommodate 25,000 worshippers and occupies 408 square feet. The mosque is about 261 ft long and 90 ft wide. Within the center of the courtyard, one is able to see the marble ablution tank. This tank measures 15 m in width and 17 m in length. Cloisters surround the courtyard and bring a welcoming community presence to the mosque, as through these arches one is able to see the mosques surrounding, which is currently incredible urbanized. There are four Chhatris which mark each corner of the space, which have a height significantly taller than these cloisters.

Prayer Hall
The prayer hall measures 61 metres in length and 27.5 metres in breadth. It is made up of high cusped arches and marble domes. Three marble arches ascend from its rooftop, highlighting brilliant finials. The prayer halls veneer includes what is known as a "grand pishtaq" in the middle, and on wither side the pishtaq is encompassed by five more modest, cusped high archways. Calligraphic pieces can be seen placed just above each archway, these Quranic inscriptions utilized as embellishments. Seen within the halls are seven mihrabs or "prayer nooks" on the western qibla divider, relating to the seven narrow areas into which the hall is separated. Within the center if the hall there is a focal mihrab, this mihrab is adorned in marble, and has a marble minbar placed on its righthand side. The floor of the hall is ornamented with white and dark marble, this decoration implemented to reference a Muslim prayer mat.

Floor Plan
The floor plan of the mosque is similar to that of the Jama Masjid of Agra. It is covered with white and black ornamented marble to look like a Muslim prayer mat. Beside it, a thin black border measuring 3 ft long and 1.5 ft wide is marked for the Muslim worshippers. There are 899 total such boxes. The architecture and plan of Badshahi Masjid, which was built by Shah Jahan's son Aurangzeb in Lahore, is closely related to that of the mosque. Before the Revolt of 1857 there was a madrasa near the southern end of the mosque, which was destroyed during the revolt.

Attempts at Modern Refurbishments
Throughout the mosques history, the Jama Masjid has faced a multitude of uses, and has inevitably experienced damages due to this. This has subsequently triggered discussions of refurbishments that the mosque should undergo as maintenance to one of the most significant sites in India. In 2004 specifically, there became an incentive for these advanced as the mosques degradation was reported intensely in a in a public interest litigation (PIL). However, the ability for the society of India, specifically the muslim populace, to get these refurbishments has proven to be near impossible, and the repeated attempts have mainly run into issues preventing any further development.

2006
In 2006, it was reported that the mosque was in urgent need of repair and then the Saudi Arabian king, Abdullah, offered to pay for it. The Imam said that he had received the offer directly from the Saudi authorities, but requested them to approach the Indian government. However, the Delhi High Court said that this matter had no "legal sanctity" giving no "special equities" to the Imam.

2010
The Delhi Urban Arts Commission and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi five years prior to 2010 had signed off on allowing significant beautification to the area surrounding the mosque, as the upkeep was in desperate need of improvement. However this was not enough effort as there seemingly became an issue with a "lack of funds", and the project became stalled. An architect who was working directly with the officially titled "Rs.150-crore project" stated quote “The DUAC cleared the project in June 2009 and the MCD Standing Committee also gave its go-ahead in September 2009. It was decided thereafter that a detailed project report would be prepared and work would begin by the year end, but nothing has moved since then as the MCD is yet to take the initiative. The project is of significance and needs to be pushed through.” Although the Dehli government approved of the redevelopment, the project remained stalled.

2019
In 2019 there were reports that the project of redevelopment of the mosque had been put on a "fast track". The main reason for this new redevelopment was mainly focused on the juxtaposition of the mosque in comparison to the urban setting that has developed around it, and how archetects were going to work on making these two entities cohesive. The project also proposed new ways of getting the community more involved with the mosque, outside of religious celebrations, in an attempt to transform the mosque into a building with two functions, religious and non religious.

2021
The finalization of the 2019 project did not last long, as in 2020 the project had seemed to slow down in production, until finally in 2021 the main consultant for the project quit. While architects and the community seems to want to expedite the project, the government and other officials in India don't share the same desire, leaving the project once again at a standstill in 2021.