About Rangooniha Mosque
Rangooniha mosque built in Abadan close to Arvand River. This beautiful mosque is also in front of Abadan Oil Refinery. The style of Rangooniha Mosque is Indian subcontinent architecture style with elegant and outstanding moldings and unique cement symbols. These days it has changed to the museum of historical documents and manuscripts. In this article of Chiyakotravel, we are going to introduce the most important features of this masterpiece for you.
Who built Rangooniha Mosque?
Abadan Refinery began its activities in 1912 as the first oil refining unit in Iran. In this way Abadan is becoming famous as one of the industrial cities. So thousands of English, Indian and Pakistani citizens migrated to this city. And One of the first groups that migrated to Abadan included employees of Rangoon Refinery from current Myanmar country (previously Burma). The majority of Rangoons were Muslims.
They decided to establish a place for praying on the lands of Oil Company. Finally by the consent of this company, Pakistani employees of Abadan Refinery started to build the mosque in 1921. In other words, Rangooniha mosque dates back to the late Qajar period and early Pahlavi era.
Getting to know Rangooniha Mosque more deeply
Throw away everything you have in mind from a mosque! In the most beautiful mosque in the south of the country, there is no mention of high ceilings, beautiful tiles, decorated domes, tall verandas, and other Iranian ornamentation. Instead, at the Rangoon Mosque or Rangooniha mosque in the beautiful city of Abadan, your eyes will be lit up by an Indian-style mosque. A mosque that is quite distinct from other city buildings because of its particular architectural style. Chiyakotravel plans to travel to the south and one of its most important cities, Abadan.
When we hear the name of Abadan, unconsciously it reminds the oil industry and its famous oil refinery. Economy, culture and tourist attractions of this city are somehow related to oil! Even the attraction we are trying to introduce today linked to the oil industry and Abadan refinery. The mosque of Rangooniha in Abadan is not like any other mosques in our country! In fact, before viewing this mosque, you must completely clear your mind of an Iranian mosque. But what is the story of Abadan mosque of Rangoon? What does an Indian-style mosque do in a city in Khuzestan province?
Abadan Rangoon Mosque, also known as Rangooniha Mosque, is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Khuzestan province. In Abadan, the mosque will shown you by anyone who you ask. The mosque dates back to the late Qajar era. Located in the border areas of Iran, the Rangooniha Mosque has become widely known in the southern parts of our country for its magnificent Indian architecture. We will tell you the story of the construction of this mosque in more details.
Construction of Rangooniha Mosque story
The history of our south tied up with oil. The construction of Abadan Rangooniha Mosque also directly related to this black gold. When the British proved its value in the southern cities of our country, including MasjedSuleiman and Abadan, they thought of extracting oil from these cities. In order to extract oil from the city of Abadan, they first had to build a large refinery in the city. Finally, the British brought a large number of Burmese engineers and workers (now Myanmar) who had extensive experience in refinery construction. Burmese engineers have selected the Arvand River’s riverbank to build a refinery to build a dock for oil exports.
After the refinery built in Abadan, many Indians and Pakistanis went there for work and commerce. The first group that migrated to Iran were Burmese workers at the same oil refinery. Many of these people were Muslims, but among them were other religions. Refinery’s Indian, Burmese and Pakistani Muslim workers needed a mosque adjacent to it to be able to hold their prayers without wasting time.
At the end, Pakistani and Indian workers and architects constructed Rangooniha Mosque in Abadan in the vicinity of Karun River. The construction began in year 1291SH and ended completely in year 1299SH.
The architecture of Rangooniha Mosque
The oil refinery workers built the mosque by their own expense to make it legitimate and Halal for them to pray. The maintenance of the mosque was also in responsibility of oil company. The mosque of Rangoon in Abadan quickly opened its doors in the heart of the city. In addition to the daily prayers, there were also various religious prayers, including Eid al-Fitr, Friday prayers and other religious ceremonies and celebrations. Rangooniha Mosque was also very prosperous during the first Pahlavi period, where congregational prayer held. After the Islamic Revolution and the beginning of the eight years of imposed war, the mosque heavily damaged by the mosque’s border with Iraq and almost shut down. As the war ended, damaged parts of the mosque demolished and changes made to the main building.
At that time, due to the overpopulation, some people decided to destruct this historical mosque, but with the persistent efforts of Cultural Heritage Organization, this heritage restored and today recognized as one of Iran’s national monuments. Today the Museum of Historical and Linear Documents of Abadan also open in this mosque.
Rangooniha mosque, a symbol of Shiite and Sunni friendship
The workers of Rangooniha mosque (Myanmar) in Abadan Oil Refinery were Sunni. As we know, Sunnis do not use seals, but the interesting thing about this mosque is that they have built places for the Shiites in the corners of the mosque. Inside this historic mosque, both Shiite and Sunni people prayed and worshiped. These factors have made everyone in the mosque a symbol of friendship between different religions.
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Access road to Abadan Rangoon Mosque
Today, the mosque has become one of the tourist attractions of Abadan. In order to watch this monument, you have to travel to Khuzestan province and Abadan city. The mosque located on Imam Shahr Street.
Address: Facing Oil Refinery Warehouse, Imam Street, Abadan
Chiyakotravel suggests you to travel to the south of the country and Khuzestan province in the cold seasons (autumn and winter) to watch this monument.
