Longgang_Mosque
Longgang Mosque
Mosque in Zhongi, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
The Longgang Mosque or Lungkang Mosque (traditional Chinese: 龍岡清真寺; simplified Chinese: 龙冈清真寺; pinyin: Lónggāng Qīngzhēnsì) is a mosque in Zhongli District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan. It is the fifth mosque to be built in Taiwan. As of September 2008, the imam was Abdullah Liu (Chinese: 柳根榮; pinyin: Liǔ Gēnróng).[2]
| Longgang Mosque | |
|---|---|
龍岡清真寺 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Islam |
| Branch/tradition | Sunni |
| Location | |
| Location | No. 216, Long Dong Road, Zhongli,[1] Taoyuan City, Taiwan 320 |
| Geographic coordinates | 24°55′47.16″N 121°15′13.55″E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | mosque |
| Completed | 1967 (original building) 1989 (current building) |
| Construction cost | US$712,000 |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 150 worshipers |
| Site area | 1,300 m2 |
In 1953, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the Taipei government for its actions and guerilla warfare inside Burma.[3] Finally, an agreement was reached between Taipei, Rangoon, and Bangkok for evacuation of all Kuomintang Irregular forces under command of General Li Mi to Taiwan. Civil Air Transport transported 5,583 Kuomintang soldiers and 1,040 dependents to Taiwan.[4] The majority of these guerrilla forces were Muslim and had no place to worship in their new Taiwan home and so they started to raise funds to construct a mosque in 1964.[5]
First building
The original building of Longgang Mosque was built in 1967 by a group of 30 Muslims.[6] Built over an area of 1,289 square meters, at first the mosque was very small. But after joining the Chinese Muslim Association, they were able to raise money in the early 1980s, including funds from Saudi Arabia, to build a larger mosque.
Current building
To make a bigger mosque, they purchased a plot of land at Longdong Road (Chinese: 龍東路) in Zhongli. At this US$312,000 initial development stage, only the main prayer hall and basement area of the mosque were built. The mosque building occupies an area of 1,300 square meters and the mosque's main worship area can hold 150 worshippers.[7]
At the US$400,000 second development stage, the mosque's minarets, a kitchen, dormitory and shower room were added to the main building.[6]
Over time, due to the poor materials used to construct the building because of lack of funds, the mosque quickly deteriorated. After some discussion, a plan to reconstruct the mosque was finally put in place. With financial assistance from inside and outside Taiwan, the first reconstruction project for the mosque began in March 1988 and was completed in January 1989.[7][8] And in 1995, the second reconstruction was completed again resulting in the mosque in use today.
On 15 November 2021, the opening ceremony of the new extension building of the mosque was held. The event was attended by Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan. The building was built with an Islamic-style of architecture.[9]
By 2008, the population of Muslim faithful in Zhongli had reached 2,000. On weekends, and during winter and summer vacations, the mosque holds basic courses on Arabic and the Islamic faith to educate children about Islam.[10]
The Longgang mosque is a green structure which has one prayer hall that can accommodate more than 150 people simultaneously.[7] The other features of the mosque includes the imam office, staff office, reception room, children chanting room etc.[5]
Longgang Mosque is accessible South East from Zhongli Station of the Taiwan Railways. In the future, the mosque will be closer served from Longgang Station of the Taoyuan Metro.
- No. 320, Longdong Rd, Zhongli City (1 January 1970). "Longdong Road, 320 Zhongli City - Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Loa, Iok-si (6 September 2008). "FEATURE: Muslims learn to deal with hurdles living in Taiwan". Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- "Practicing Islam in Taiwan - AmCham | American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei | 美國商會". AmCham. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- Taylor, Jay. The Generalissimo's Son: Chiang Ching-Kuo and the Revolutions in China and Taiwan. ISBN 0-674-00287-3.
- "(Tourist Attraction) Longgang Mosque — The One and Only Islamic Religious Centre in Taoyuan". Tranews.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- "Building Faith". Taiwan Today. 1 May 1992. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- "Longgang Mosque(龍岡清真寺)". Taoyuan, First Stop in Taiwan. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- Hsu, Cho-hsun; Chan, Jonathan (10 January 2019). "Pork restaurant to change billboard for mosque goers". Taipei Times. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- "The new building of Longgang Mosque, a new highlight of Taiwan's Islamic culture, was completed". Taoyuan City Government. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
- Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Chungli Mosque children 2. YouTube.
