Masjid Hassanal Bolkiah, Tutong

I have always been a bit peeved that during the aerial bombing by Allied Forces in the Second World War, our town mosque then known as Masjid Pekan Brunei or Masjid Marbut Pak Tunggal was bombed to smitherens. By the end of the War, Brunei's capital did not have a mosque and only a temporary Masjid Kajang was built until SOAS Mosque was completed in 1958.

The aerial bombing by the Allied Forces not just destroyed Pekan Brunei's mosque but also the mosque in Tutong. The Tutong mosque then was built along the banks of the Tutong River. This Tutong Mosque was in fact the third mosque built for Tutong Town. This particular mosque was built in 1928.

Two earlier mosques were built in Tutong. The first was in 1922 said to be located at the site of shops no 3 and 4 of the Tutong's first shophouses block. But that was soon abandoned and a second mosque was built right in front of the river (now the site is used for taxi and bus stand). The third was of course the one that was bombed by the Allied Forces.

A fourth mosque was built in 1950 (photo), much larger than all the other 3 mosques before. But by the 1960s even this was too small and a much bigger mosque was finally built and completed in April 1965. The present Masjid Hassanal Bolkiah of Tutong was built costing only $700,000 and was opened by His Majesty when he was the Crown Prince in August 1966 and hence the name Masjid Hassanal Bolkiah. The site of the mosque was wakaf from Abd Latif bin Khatab and Mohd Daud bin Bujang.