Citizens and residents are being encouraged to rediscover the Ahmed Al Fateh Islamic Centre (Grand Mosque) as the landmark looks to welcome more visitors after a challenging few months amid the Iranian aggression.
The mosque in Juffair, one of the largest in the region, used to welcome nearly 100 visitors a day, with numbers reaching around 200 on Saturdays. However, since February 28, daily visits have fallen to between 20 and 30 – a drop of around 70 per cent, according to the mosque’s visitor section head Farahat Al Kindy.
The Grand Mosque is located within the Islamic Centre complex.
“These numbers in recent months are very low for us and we have seen a big decrease in visitors here,” he told the GDN. “However, numbers can fluctuate depending on events taking place in the kingdom, with the mosque welcoming up to 100 people on some Saturdays.”
The decline has been particularly noticeable following the loss of cruise ship visitors and tourists, who
previously accounted for thousands of visits to the mosque.
“When cruise ships previously docked on Mondays, we would see up to 2,000 mosque visitors a day from countries including China, Russia, Italy, Germany and Poland, among many others,” Mr Al Kindy said.
“Now, since we do not have the ships anymore, the mosque has hardly seen any visitors. Around the beginning of the conflict, we had zero visitors as the mosque was closed for safety reasons.”
However, there have been some signs of recovery, with Mr Al Kindy noting an increase in Chinese tourists this week.
“This is very encouraging for us,” he said. “Last year, we had more than 100,000 visitors, and we expect to reach around 60,000 this year if things go well.”
With the mosque now reopened, the centre is using the quieter period to rebuild its visitor operations, improve its facilities and prepare for the return of tourists.
“We reopened around April or May after employees and volunteers had been instructed to work from home during the height of the conflict,” Mr Al Kindy said.
Since then, staff have been working to train more volunteers and replenish books and other inventory for visitors.
“We want to look ahead to next year and use this time to prepare for future years,” he said.
While the centre continues to work towards restoring international visitor numbers, it is also looking closer to home by strengthening its engagement with residents and citizens.
Partnerships with hotels, tour companies and airlines carrying transit passengers are also being explored. The mosque is also planning to revive activities for the local community.
Mr Al Kindy said the centre had previously organised activities for residents during Eid, giving visitors an opportunity to learn about the occasion while experiencing traditional Bahraini hospitality.
“When the cruise ships started arriving in Bahrain, we shifted our focus away from residents and citizens, but we plan to start it again,” he said.
“We want to set up more Eid events next year for the local community, where we would have tea, coffee, traditional bites and game corners to explain Islam’s teachings.”
The centre hopes such initiatives will encourage more residents to visit the mosque and experience its role as a place of cultural exchange.
For Mr Al Kindy, who moved to Bahrain from Oman more than 35 years ago, the mosque also provides an opportunity for people to learn about Islam while experiencing the kingdom’s multicultural society.
“It has been my home now for decades, and the kingdom is a leading role model for coexistence, where people of all religions can live together peacefully,” he said.
“This is the goal. People should be able to have different backgrounds but still respect each other and have common ground.”
Built in 1987 by the HH late Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Al Fateh Grand Mosque was named after Ahmed Al Fateh, regarded as the first ruler of Bahrain. The mosque covers around 6,500sqm and can accommodate more than 7,000 worshippers at a time.
Among its most distinctive features is its 60-tonne dome, which the centre describes as the world’s largest fibreglass dome. Its doors are made from teak wood from India.
The centre’s library houses around 7,000 books, including some believed to be more than 100 years old.
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