Urgent appeal to save the Sheung Shui Masjid Project

The United Muslim Association of Hong Kong (UMAH) is appealing to all Brothers and Sisters in Islam, locally and internationally to help and financially support the construction of the ONLY Mosque and Islamic Centre in the New Territories, Hong Kong.

The Prophet Mohammad (saws) said

"Whoever built the Mosque, with the intention of seeking Allah's pleasure, Allah (swt) would build for him similar in paradise."

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The History

With the blessing of Almighty Allah and the untiring work of the late Haji Ali Din, UMAH succeeded in acquiring a piece of land in the New Territories in Year 2006. The sole purpose is build the first and only Mosque and Islamic Centre for the large and growing Muslim Community. While there are 2-3 Madrasahs (housed inside tiny flats) 4-20 kilometres away, the closest Masjid (Kowloon Masjid) is at least 34 kilometers away, leaving Muslims and youth with no place to worship nearby.

With an estimated 300,000+ Muslims in Hong Kong (consisting of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Territories), there are only 5 Masjids in Hong Kong. 4 Masjids are strewn unevenly across Hong Kong Island and 1 located across the harbour in Kowloon. However with the largest proportion of Muslims reportedly living in the New Territories (N.T), there isn’t a single Masjid located in N.T., a status quo that needs to change urgently.

UMAH’s vision therefore is to act as a catalyst for this project and build a Mosque and Islamic Centre for Muslim residents in the New Territories, and the first Masjid to be constructed in over 20 years or since the 1997 British handover to China.

Details

After a prolonged decade that included many forms of atypical struggles such as government-related hurdles as well as conceding to wide ranging demands of nearby residents to pacify their objections including altering the design of the Masjid Minaret, the internal audio system, etc., the grant and lease for this piece of land was approved on 23rd April 2006 under a number of primary conditions. One other condition demanded by the Lands Deparrment is to build a single long-term permanent structure rather than a small, temporary scalable structure. Another is to construct an elderly care home to serve local community needs.

Area involved: 2,046 square metres

Lease Term: 50 years from the date of Agreement

Premium: HK$9.35 Million - bulk paid by Qatar Endowment Fund and local Islamic organizations such as IUHK (Islamic Union of Hong Kong) and BOT (The Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong).

Construction cost: HK$360 Million

Project: Islamic Centre and a 200-bed elderly care home.

How You Can Help

Given the urgency of this project and the acute needs of the Muslim community in Hong Kong, UMAH in March 2018 launched a local and international fundraising in stages to safeguard the amanah of the Hong Kong Muslim community. Concurrently, meetings are being held with government officials and various government departments to push forward with an inclusive youth-oriented approach to Masjid and elderly home-building programme. 

On the first Jumuah held at the open space on the site, over HK$220,000 was raised on the day itself.

Contact Us

Email us at masjid@umah.hk or call/WhatsApp at +852 51162640 for further details and fresh updates.

Note

Since our target sum is quite large, we have decided to heed advice and raise funds in multiple stages. Each time we complete a stage, we will increase the goal slight. Our original plan remains the same, and we will continue to post updates on our Project Facebook Page. Please support.