Jumeirah Mosque

Jumeirah is a coastal residential area in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) consisting mainly of small private residential buildings and beaches. It has both large, expensive individual properties and smaller townhouses built in different architectural styles. The area is very popular with expatriate workers in the emirate and very familiar to tourists visiting Dubai.

Jumeirah has a famous mosque, the Jumeirah Mosque, which is open to non-Muslim visitors.

The Jumeirah Mosque is the most important mosque in Dubai for two reasons: for its impressive architecture and for being the only mosque accessible to non-Muslims.

Without a doubt, lovers of art, photography and architecture will be amazed by this majestic Muslim building, but that’s not all, as they will also be able to enter and experience its spectacular interior. Thus, the Jumeirah Mosque is characterized as the only one in all of the United Arab Emirates that can be entered by people who practice any other type of religion or even non-believers.

The Jumeirah Mosque is a temple of worship with space to accommodate 1200 worshippers, has a facade created entirely of white stone that reflects the ancient medieval Fatimid tradition of North Africa and the Middle East, which gives it an admirable beauty, which during sunsets is illuminated highlighting the art that represents its structure, which in the central dome is framed by twin minarets that provide an impressive and admirable height.

The huge dome of the mosque is surrounded by four other smaller domes in which there are small stones carved as ornaments. Inside, the temple is serenely decorated with soft shades of apricot, cream, and light blue. It has several brass lanterns that illuminate the central prayer hall and other surrounding corners.

Inside the Jumeirah Mosque, visitors can discover the importance of the Qiblah, a semi-circular niche that hangs on the wall and points towards the Kaaba, which is the same as the Cube of Mecca. It is here that the Imam leads daily prayers in the company of more than a thousand worshippers.

The Shekh Mohammed Center is the entity in charge of making it possible to visit the Jumeirah Mosque, which offers tourists the opportunity to observe the religious life in the emirate for about 75 minutes, detailing the important festivals, rituals, Islamic customs and traditions, as well as its cuisine and the fasting days of Ramadan.

The tour begins with the Majlis, a traditional rest area within the Emirati houses, where the registration process takes place at least 30 minutes before the visit, while enjoying local refreshments such as coffee, Arabic tea, among others. Afterwards, you will be explained what Wudu is in the ablution area, a purification ritual performed before prayer, and then you will be able to enter the main prayer room.

History of Jumeirah Mosque

The temple is located on Jumeirah Beach Road in the prestigious and luxurious district of Jumeirah. Its construction dates from 1979 and was made of white stone with fortress shaped battlements and carved arches, with a balcony over one of its minarets, from which the muezzin calls for prayer during the day. It was inaugurated in 1979 as the Great Mosque of Jumeirah by the late Sheikh Rashidbin Saeed Al Maktoum, who ruled the city at the time and is the father of the current ruler of Dubai, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

It is not a Muslim temple like any other, but the most important one in the whole metropolis. Already from the outside, the Jumeirah Mosque invites us to savor its beauty, with an imposing façade that shows not only a great taste for architectural details but also that it is a formidable work of art.

Tips for visiting

Because it is a religious place and not only a tourist place, the mosque has rules of dress that must be respected, these are for women and men. The clothes they must wear must not reveal the skin of the shoulders or knees, it is recommended to cover these areas of the body with a loose fabric that is not transparent or very thin.

Ladies must cover their heads with a scarf to be able to enter, in case they do not have one, the mosque has traditional clothing for tourists.

The tour allows people to take pictures, unlike other religious or government sites where photography is not allowed, this policy is linked to the “Open Mind, Open Door” program that also gave the Jumeirah Mosque the opportunity to be the most photographed mosque in the city.

The night scenery outside the temple is one of the best images you can fly with your camera. The sunset gives a luminous and magical aura to the white stone façade of the mosque, which takes on a reddish color at sunset with soft golden tones. At dusk, the temple lights come on and illuminate the carved stone walls from below, highlighting their elaborate details.

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Opening hours of the Jumeirah Mosque

Visits inside the mosque are guided and last 1 hour and 15 minutes.

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Jumeirah Beach Road, Jumeirah 1, Dubai

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