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The Pakistani Mosque
An article that was written for Issue number 28 of Ipoh Valley of Dreams, Ian Anderson wrote,
The youngest of Ipoh's heritage mosques and carrying the simplest design of the four is the Pakistani Mosque. It was opened on 15 December 1930 on a piece of land alongside the Ipoh District Police Headquarters compound. Today it is accessed via Jalan Koo Chong Kong.
The history of the mosque stems from the early days of the British Administration in Perak as they brought in many people to the State to assist in its growth. One particular group of these immigrants were Pathans and Punjabi Muslims from Northern India, and many of these joined the Police force to assist in keeping the peace and order between the vast numbers of Chinese immigrants arriving daily. Many also fought against the Japanese invaders in 1941/42. With so many of these in the Police force, a mosque was necessary to allow them to fulfill their religious obligations and so the "Police Mosque" came into being. Incidentally just adjacent to the mosque there was also a Gurdwara for the Sikh Policemen. As the number of Punjabi policemen grew smaller the mosque was opened to the public in 1949 and renamed the "Pakistani Mosque".
The design of this mosque is very simple with the prayer hall underneath a peaked roof and surrounded by a colonnade. There is no dome nor minarets, the congregation being called to prayers by loudspeakers at the peak of the roof. Again, in simple fashion there is no beautifully carved ceiling or Minbar (pulpit), the Imam (leader) simply preaching from behind a lectern at ground level. Nonetheless the mosque is still in regular use both for prayers and as a meeting place for Pakistani and Punjabi Muslims and their families. Unusually, there are no really old photographs of this mosque available but the one depicted here is still quite different from the view today with an enlarged compound and double gateway. How times change!