The rebirth of the iconic ‘red-brick’ Sobhanbag Mosque
With room for at least 4,000 worshippers, the mosque blends modern efficiency with spiritual tradition
The Sobhanbagh Jame Mosque, standing tall in the heart of Dhaka, has always been more than a place of worship. It is a landmark, a witness to history and a refuge for thousands who seek solace in its walls.
After years of planning and construction, it has emerged anew — a striking 10-storey structure designed to meet the growing needs of the community.
For decades, worshippers struggled with space. On Fridays and special occasions, hundreds spilled onto the streets, praying under the open sky, braving rain and heat. There was another problem as well: The road beside the mosque needed urgent expansion.
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The new mosque solves both problems, to a degree.
"The primary challenge was to ensure that the soul of the place remains unchanged. Keeping the family graveyard of Maulana Mohammad Abdus Sobhan intact, and seamlessly integrating it into the new structure, and at the same time leaving ample space for the streets."
With room for at least 4,000 worshippers, it blends modern efficiency with spiritual tradition. Mohammad Alauddin, the superintendent of the mosque and the madrasa, said that approximately 600 to 700 worshippers could pray inside the mosque before the reconstruction.
"Now each floor can house around 350 worshippers at once, and thus, roughly a total of 3,500 people can pray at once inside the nine floors of the mosque."
Nine? Is the mosque not a 10-storey building? The top floor is not used for prayers, rather it is the place for cooking, and a living space consisting of a few board-partitioned rooms for the mosque staff. "On Fridays, up to a thousand additional devotees pray on the adjacent road, laying down mats," Alauddin added. "This brings the total number of worshippers to over 4,000."
Tracing the legacy
First built in 1937 by Maulana Abdus Sobhan, the mosque has undergone many changes since.
In the mid-1980s, the mosque underwent a significant rebuilding process, accompanied by some minor renovations every once in a while. According to Alauddin, it was in 1992 that the mosque acquired its distinctive three-storey structure, built atop a five-storey foundation. Over the following three decades, the mosque remained largely unchanged, eventually earning its reputation as the iconic red-brick mosque of Sobhanbag.
Over time, as the city's population grew, so did the demand for expanded infrastructure, particularly the need for more roads and highways to accommodate the increasing number of vehicles.
In 2016, the government of Bangladesh sent a letter to the mosque committee proposing the vertical expansion of the mosque, asking to leave some space for the road in exchange.The committee approved the proposal, initiating the formal process of rebuilding the mosque. A few years later, in the second half of 2021, the old structure was demolished, and a temporary mosque with a steel framework was built.
The new building was supposed to be inaugurated by the end of 2022, but it was delayed until 8 November 2024.
The structure
Designed by prominent architect Iqbal Habib, the mosque is a statement of contemporary Islamic architecture.
"The mosque was already ingrained in people's minds as the iconic red-brick structure. With that in mind, we designed a 60-by-60-feet white cubic form as the main framework, envisioning vertical expansion on that," said the architect.
Although the initial plan was an eight-storey establishment, it was changed to 10 later.
The 10-storey cube is in the middle and has an extended wrap of mesh-like red brick up to the third floor, which resembles its iconic long-familiar red-brick design.
Iqbal Habib said that they could not raise the expanded portion due to some construction rules set by the Rajuk authorities. To adhere to the westward orientation required for mosque prayer, and given the plot's subtle angularity, surplus spaces were generated along the building's lateral sides. These spaces were of course, optimised.
Both the south and the north sides house two separate staircases, and in the west, there are three separate lifts, capable of carrying around 40 people at once. The west side also houses the toilets and the wudu (ritual ablution) area on each floor. The outer side of where the staircases are located are decorated with red bricks, which gives it a unique look.
"The primary challenge was to ensure that the soul of the place remains unchanged. Keeping the family graveyard of Maulana Mohammad Abdus Sobhan intact, and seamlessly integrating it into the new structure, and at the same time leaving ample space for the streets," said Habib.
Exterior, interior, and more
From a distance, you will see a white establishment standing tall. But as you come closer, you will notice a white, somewhat irregular pattern.
It might feel like some sort of cryptography — but those who know how to read a bit of Arabic, will easily recognise that the pattern is nothing but the first Kalima (the formal declaration of faith) of the Muslims — the Kalima Tayyib.
As passersby approach from a distance and read the Kalima, they immediately recognise it as a mosque amidst the surrounding high-rises, making it easier for strangers to find a place for prayer. As there are no domes or minars visible from the front side, the calligraphic texts do the job of symbolising the structure as a mosque.
The outer skin of the building, consisting of the same repeated calligraphic texts, is made of marble. Architect Iqbal Habib explained that this layer helps diffuse sunlight and soften airflow, creating a more comfortable environment.
"Thus a lot of light and air enter inside, which is of course not directly from the sun, and not direct air — a comfortable environment that every devotee seeks," he said.
The interior's serene simplicity reflects the architect's deep inspiration from the Quranic concept of 'Sirat al-Mustaqeem,' the straight path, a guiding principle in their design philosophy for the interior.
Each floor of the main prayer area is an open, column-free space. The front (western) walls on every level are adorned with intricate burnished wooden calligraphic texts and motifs, adding a touch of elegance and spirituality.
The first four floors are made of marble, and the rest are covered with tiles.
Other facilities
The newly built mosque is not just larger but smarter — it features an underground water reservoir, solar panels, a state-of-the-art cooling system, and a fire safety network. Thoughtful design elements ensure both comfort and sustainability.
Besides the natural cooling system and electric fans, the first six floors have air-conditioning as well. The second floor houses the combined office for the mosque and the madrasa and the third floor has a dedicated space for a library and a small outdoor garden.
The first floor is dedicated for the women worshippers, maintaining proper privacy and facilities — which of course, include a separate entry and exit way. Approximately 300 to 350 women say their prayers on Jumma and Tarawih, according to Alauddin.
On the seventh and eighth floors, around 90 to 95 students study Hifz (the memorisation of the Quran), which is also their living space when they are not studying. During the time of prayers, these two floors are used for praying.
