Al-Qalam 
By Al-Qalam Correspondent
Mohammed Mayet, a Johannesburg based architect known for his unique Mosque designs was awarded the Abdullatif Alfozan Award for Mosque Architecture during a special event held at the National Museum in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia recently.
The prestigious award was given under the patronage of Prince Faisal bin Bandar (Prince of Riyadh) and in the presence of Prince Sultan bin Salman, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Award.
Mayet was one of five recipients selected for the global award. He was honoured for his outstanding architectural design of the Abu Bakr Mosque in Lichinga, Mozambique.
The other awards were for the design of the Mosque of Islamic Center at Ljubljana (Slovenia), Dogramacizade Ali Pasa Mosque at Ankara (Turkey), Topalla Mosque (Serbia) and the Australian Islamic Center Mosque (Australia).
The five awarded projects were selected for their unique architectural concepts.
In the audience were Sheikh Abdullatif Alfozan (award founder), Abdullah Alfozan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alfozan.
According to the judges, the design approach of the Abu Bakr Mosque by Mayet “showed competence with the traditional heritage values of mosque design. The mosque reiterated traditional mosque typology in a simple basic manner. This reflected in the opening and the supporting beams of the roof structure. The overall silhouette showcases the minaret in a coherent articulated growth from the base”.
The five mosques were selected out of a shortlist of 22 mosques. In all, 200 mosque designs from around the world were submitted.
The award was for three categories: the category of central mosques with influence and presence at the national level in each country, the category of mosques where Friday prayers are held and the category of neighbourhood mosques.
The judges were Saudi/Jordanian architect Rasem Badran, the Turkish architect Emre Arolat, the Bangladeshi architect Kashef Mahboub, the British artist Ahmad Mostafa and the French sociologist Sari Hanafi
The secretary-general of the award, Dr. Mashary Al Naim said the aim of the award was to draw attention to mosque architecture from around the world including building global knowledge about mosque architecture and its related arts.
The Abdullatif Alfozan Award for Mosque Architecture has published its 4th edition documentary book titled “Universal Acquaintance”. This book illustrates all shortlisted mosques, as well as the awarded mosques with detailed descriptions.
For further information please visit: www.alfozanaward.org
