Mosque of Shaikh M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen

The Mosque of Shaikh M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen is located at the rear of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship house. It was inaugurated on May 27, 1984, after beginning construction in December 1983, and was the first purpose-built mosque in Pennsylvania. It is trapezoidal in plan, with two levels, and a large stained glass dome above the prayer hall. Originally there were a series of 5 small green domes along the front roofline of the mosque, but at some point in the 2010s those domes were removed. The mosque is faced in marble, with three panels on the front facade each inscribed in gold leaf Arabic calligraphy with verses of the Quran, the names of God, and the major prophets in the Islamic tradition.The ground level entrance leads to a classroom and wudu (ablution) areas for men and women, and stairs to the prayer hall on the second floor. The women's section is separated by a lace curtain, with the dome above it. A border around the upper edge of the room has Quranic verses written in Arabic calligraphy. 48 windows are set into the octagonal drum of the dome, inscribed with the 99 names of God on their panes. A marble mihrab and wooden minbar are along the qibla wall.Sources:Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship. "Mosque of Shaikh M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen." Accessed April 9, 2015. http://www.bmf.org/m/mosque/index.html."Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Mosque and Fellowship," YouTube video, posted by "ZUI991," February 27, 2012. Accessed April 9, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-332rGhtWTY.Hammer, Juliane, and Omid Safi. The Cambridge companion to American Islam, 201-202. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013."Mosque of Shaikh M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen." Wikipedia. Last edited February 24, 2014, accessed April 9, 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosque_of_Shaikh_M._R._Bawa_Muhaiyaddeen."Mosque of Shaikh M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA," YouTube video, posted by "Lou Wilson," February 19, 2010. Accessed April 9, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i1BUcLjWFg&list=PL4C515D72805B8EBB&index=24.