Mosque Name: Great Mosque of Guangzhou
Country: China
City: Guangzhou
Year of construction (AH): 6 AH
Year of construction (AD): 627
GPS: 23° 7’33.65”N 113°15’13.21”E
ArchNet: http://archnet.org/sites/3970
Gibson Classification: unknown *currently faces Between)
Rebuilt facing Mecca: Never
For a Link to the Qibla Tool Click Here
Description:
The Great Mosque of Guangzhou is also known also as Huaisheng Mosque (Memorial of the Holy Prophet) or the Guangta Mosque (Light Tower Mosque). It is thought to be the earliest surviving mosque in China, and has the earliest freestanding minaret in China. Chinese manuscripts from 1206 CE claim that the mosque was originally built by an uncle of the Prophet, Abu Waqqas, on the first Muslim mission to China in the 630’s, during Muhammad’s lifetime For more Information on the first Muslims in China, click here.
The mosque was rebuilt in 1350 during the Yuan dynasty under the rule of Zhizheng (1341-1368), and rebuilt again in 1695 under Emperor Kangzi of the Qing dynasty after it suffered fire damage. The Huaisheng Light Tower, the mosque’s unique namesake minaret, was built in the earliest period. Like its contemporaries at Quanzhou, Hangzhou and Yangzhou, the Great Mosque of Guangzhou is notable for its integration of the local Han building tradition with imported Arab styles.
Dan Gibson examined this mosque in 2008, with a special interest to determine if the later builders rebuilt on the original foundations. He did not see any evidence that the mosque had been reoriented, so in the 2016 documentary film he classified this mosque as a Petra facing mosque.
However, since the current mosque faces 12 degrees north of where the Mecca qibla should be, it actually faces a Between position. Because of its great distance from Arabia, local Muslims feel that it is close enough to Mecca.
Several Western scholars have also challenged the Abu Waqqas / China story but Gibson found this story well known in parts of China. Please see the video: The Qibla Story: The China Factor However, despite the Chinese accounts there is little that can be used to convince skeptics.
Because of the indefinite conclusions, Dan Gibson has chosen to classify this mosque as Unknown, since the foundation date cannot be clearly identified without an excavation.
The front of the mosque building.
Gibson originally classified this mosque as a Petra mosque, but has reclassified it as Unknown. (see explanation above)
Dan Gibson stands in front of the Light Tower that acted as a minaret.
The author Dan Gibson at the door in front of the mosque complex.
The main gate into the mosque complex. The tower is to the left and the mosque farther back inside.
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