The construction of the mosque named after Mohamed Abdulhalik Gargash has been completed in Dubai. It was one of the first designed by a female architect in the UAE.

Gerry O’Leary

Dabbagh Architects Studio, led by Sumaya Dabbagh, has completed the construction of the Mohamed Abdulhalik Gargash Mosque, a modern place of worship that masterfully uses form and natural light to evoke a sense of calm and spiritual connection.

Gerry O’Leary

Gerry O’Leary

Sumaya is one of the few female architects in the UAE who have their own studio. She is known as the author of many culturally significant buildings, and was also awarded the Architecture MasterPrize in 2020 and nominated for the Aga Khan Award in 2018.

Gerry O’Leary

Gargash’s family hired her to create a mosque in memory of the businessman who passed away in 2016. The mosque was conceived as a gift to the community and a place that will keep the memory of a person and become an oasis of tranquility in this noisy world.

Gerry O’Leary

The place chosen for construction is located in a quiet area of Al-Qos in the south of Dubai. Because both the customers and the architect wanted the building to be in the most suitable place for prayers, away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Gerry O’Leary

Sumaya has built a series of spaces inside the building that serve as a kind of atmospheric gateways: a person passing through them gradually sinks into silence and feels a growing sense of closeness with the sacred.

Gerry O’Leary

“Because of the distractions in our busy modern life, it can be difficult to calm the mind and find inner peace that allows you to fully immerse yourself in prayer,” says Sumaya. “Thanks to the design, a series of spaces are created that allow the believer to escape from the hustle and bustle of the outside world and prepare for an inner experience””

Gerry O’Leary

The journey begins at the entrance: the parishioners cross the threshold and find themselves in the courtyard, closed by a perforated canopy. It leads to a place of ablution, which helps to purify the mind and prepare for prayer. Then the route continues to the lobby, where the final deliverance from the material world takes place – the removal of shoes.

Gerry O’Leary

Once inside the prayer hall, the visitor then moves into an enclosed space. All this time, the light changes to enhance the sensations. Finally, when a parishioner enters the main hall, he is as ready as possible for prayer.

Gerry O’Leary

The architect, striving to support local industry and adhering to an environmentally sound approach to design, used only local materials: stone from Oman and concrete, aluminum, cladding, joinery and ceramics from the UAE.

Gerry O’Leary