The Mandailings in Peninsular Malaysia

The Papan Mosque

The Papan mosque shaded by a Manggis (Mangosteen) tree

The Papan Mosque was built in the pioneer days of the mining town of Papan by Raja Bilah to establish Friday prayers and to cater for the growing Muslim community. The mosque is also called the Masjid Raja Bilah after the man who built it in 1888. It is the oldest surviving Mandailing mosque in Malaysia. Raja Bilah became the leader of the Mandailing community in 19th century Peninsular Malaysia when his foster Raja Asal passed away in 1878. He became a British appointed penghulu (headman) of the tin-rich district of Papan.

Raja Bilah also provided the land for the construction of the mosque. Mandailing carpenters had erected the mosque in the character of the mosques in Tapanuli. It was a large timber hall raised on piles, with a full bay for a mihrab, and a double-tier hipped roof capped by a finial. Prayers were announced by beating the drum (tabuk) followed by the Bilal calling out the azan (call to prayer).

For many years, the Masjid Papan was the only mosque in the vicinity of Papan and Muslims came from miles around to do the daily and Friday prayers. It was abandoned during the Japanese Occupation with the demise of Raja Ya'cob, the eldest son of Raja Bilah, who was the last "patron" of the Mandailing community in 'British Malaya'.

The Papan Mosque still stands today. The Architecture Department, University Technology Malaysia (UTM), did a measure drawing of the mosque in 1996. In 1999, the National Museum rebuilt the mosque in a restoration training exercise for its staff.

The bedok (drum) and stand

The carved mihrab and mimbar

The carved frame of the doorway leading in from the serambi to the main prayer hall

The mosque interior, with Victorian lamps

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