The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, a symbol of Islam that embodies the message of peace, tolerance and diversity, welcomed 4,480,000 visitors from 249 nationalities in the first half the Year of Tolerance, according to the half-yearly statistics released by the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre, SZGMC.

According to the statistics, there were 967,150 worshippers among the visitors.

The report noted that Asia topped the visitors list with over one million, followed by Europe with more than 623,000, North America with 95,000, Africa with more than 53,000, South America with 49,000 plus, and Australia with 25,000 while 2,178 visitors were from Antarctica.

Nationality-wise, the statistics indicated that India led the list of the ten countries with a tally of 392,246, followed by China with 335,530, Russia with 116,467, Germany with 102,285, France with 74,606, the United Kingdom, UK, with 63,676, the United States, US, with 60,209, Pakistan with 57,185, Italy with 44,787 and the Philippines with 43,229.

According to the figures, March registered the highest footprint, with 511,227 visitors.

“From January to June, 82 percent of the mosque visitors were tourists and 18 per cent were residents,” the statistical report added.

Women were the most frequent visitors to the mosque, accounting for 53 per cent of the total tally.

Most visitors came from the age group of 46 years and above, constituting 31 percent of all visitors.

During the Holy Month of Ramadan, more than 890,000 Muslims broke their iftar in the mosque’s air-conditioned tents.

Over the first six months of the year, the SZGMC conducted 1,726 free-guided cultural tours. Tours are led by official SZGMC Guides who take visitors and other members of the public around the mosque explaining various elements of the architecture and Islamic culture.

The e-guide which informs visitors about the iconic landmark in 11 languages was used by 17,329 visitors.

The outstanding Islamic architecture of the mosque has attracted many prominent local and international media outlets. The SZGMC has received over 76 requests for coverage from the UAE, the US (CNN and ABC TV channels), Channel 7 Australia, Belgium TV, Armenia TV, Egypt TV , Daily youm7 of Egypt and the UK’s University of Oxford.

The SZGMC, an affiliate to the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, enjoys the support and the follow up of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs. It was established to represent a cultural and intellectual platform formed on the combined basis of cultural and national values. It serves as an Iconic masterpiece reflecting the concepts and values of the late founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, deeply rooted in the sentiment of the nation, and constitutes an extension of the doctrines of the tolerant Islamic religion, and the core values that form UAEs national identity.

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is one the world’s largest mosques and a massive architectural work of art that intentionally blends different Islamic architectural schools. It features 82 domes, more than 1,000 columns, 24-carat-gold gilded chandeliers and the world’s largest hand-knotted carpet. The main prayer hall is dominated by one of the world’s largest chandeliers.

The late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan built this mosque to convey historic consequence and to embody the Islamic message of peace, tolerance and diversity. He intended that the Grand Mosque be a living reference of modern Islamic architecture that links the past with the present and creates a place of Islamic science and learning that would reflect genuine Islamic values.  

Perhaps the most noticeable element of the mosque is the collection of 82 domes, the largest of which is located in the centre of the main prayer hall. The domes feature pure white marble cladding, onion shaped ‘crowns’, and crescent-shaped finials decorated with gold-glass mosaic.

WAM