Al Salamu 'Alaykum.
The legendary king Tipu Sultan was not only famous for his bravery, but also for his care and respect for every religion.
This very humble attitude of his is reflected in several monuments he constructed, including the religious one.
The Jama Masjid or Sultan-e-Jama Masjid located at Chikpet area of the city, was constructed by Tipu, is a fine example for his nature of respecting other religions.
The Mosque built by Tipu Sultan has a happy mixture of Indo-Saracen architecture. According to historians, Tipu tried to blend Hindu-Muslim architecture in his several monuments. It is commonly believed that in Indian architecture, doors and windows are constructed in square, triangle or rectangular form, while in Saracen or Arabic architecture, they are more curved or circled.
Tipu Sultan used the combination of both styles in delicate yet explicit manner to ensure that it does not hurt the sentiment of any religion especially while constructing religious monuments.
Explaining about the history of the mosque, Moinuddin, one of the committee members of Masjid, said that after taking over Chitradurga (which was earlier called as Chittaldurg), Tipu Sultan met a sufi saint Hazarat Ahmedsha Wali Chisti here, who asked Tipu to construct a masjid.
“ The construction was started approximately in 1785, but took over half a century to complete, owing to the death of Tipu in 1799”, he said.
The record available here reveals that Tipu had renowned architects of Algeria, Morocco and France who were designing the structures.
Senior historian Venkannachar said that Tipu has several local architects also who gave Indian touch to Saracen style.
The enchanting mosque has two tall minarets. It has got 13 rows inside and in each row, atleast 50 people can offer Namaz. In later years, more areas were added into mosque as it fell short to accommodate many people. “Now, over 1,500 people can offer Namaz in the mosque”, said Mr. Moinuddin.
The mosque, which was under Muzarai department, was handed over to Waqf Board in 1962. The mosque also runs a madarsa where over 50 students are taking religious training beside computer education.
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