Baitul Mukarram, also spelled as Baytul Mukarrom (, ; ), is the National Mosque of Bangladesh. Located at the center of Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, the mosque was completed in 1968. It has a capacity of 42,000+. History The mosque complex was designed by architect, Abdulhusein M. Thariani. In a meeting held at his house on 27 April 1959, owner of then Bawani Jute Mills, Abdul Latif Ibrahim Bawani invited GA Madani, Haji Abdul Latif Bawani, MH Adamji, S Sattar, Muhammad Sadiq, AZN Rezai Karim and Major Umrao Khan. In that meeting he proposed to Major General Umrao Khan, then military administrator of East Pakistan, of building a grande mosque in Dhaka. Umrao Khan agreed to help on building such mosque. Same year, 'Baitul Mukarram mosque committee' had been established and 8.30 acre of land between new Dhaka and old Dhaka had been chosen. At that time, there was a large pond in present mosque's location. It was known as 'Paltan pond. The pond was filled up and on 27 January 1960 then president of Pakistan Ayub Khan commenced the work. Pray for first time took place on Friday, 25 January 1963. On 28 March 1975, the Government of Bangladesh entrusted the management of the mosque to the Islamic Foundation Bangladesh. The plan included shops, offices, libraries and parking areas within the complex. Though there has been a tradition of dome mosque for Muslim, this building did not maintain the rule of traditional mosque in that time. A Mosque without a dome over the roof of its main prayer hall must have been a unique experiment. The mosque was built when the country was the Part of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. in 2008 the mosque was extended, financed by a donation from the Saudi government. Architecture The mosque has several modern architectural features whilst at the same time it preserves the traditional principles of Mughal architecture which has for some time been dominant in the Indian sub-continent. Baitul Mukarram's large cube shape was modeled after that of the Ka'abah at Mecca making it a noticeable structure unlike any other mosque in Bangladesh. Exterior design The mosque is on a very high platform. The Baitul Mukarram National Mosque's building is eight storied and 99 feet high from the ground level. According to the original plan, the main entrance of the mosque was to be on the eastern side. The 'shaan'