KUCHING: The newly-completed Al-Ghazali Mosque will hold its inaugural prayer session today.
The mosque serves as a monumental reminder of the family of six who perished in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines’ MH17 on 17 July 2014 while flying over eastern Ukraine, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board.
The six were Ariza Ghazalee, 46, her husband Tambi Jiee, 49, and their four children, Muhammad Afif,19, Muhammad Afzal,17, Marsha Azmeena,15, and Muhammad Afruz, 13.
Sumardi Ghazalee, the younger brother of the late Ariza, said the idea of building the mosque came when the family intended to use the compensation money from Ariza’s demise in the tragedy. The family decided to use the money to help with the mosque’s construction.
“The tragedy left a deep impact on the family and as a remembrance of the loss, the family unanimously agreed that the compensation be used to build a mosque,” he said when met at the mosque yesterday while the cleaning was in progress.
He added that the family members had planned the project since 2015 including the naming of the mosque after Imam Ghazali.
Surmardi said the RM3.5 million used in the construction of the mosque was raised from Ariza’s compensation, public donations and grant from the state government.
Construction was completed in two years and it now can accommodate about 1,000 worshippers at any one time.
