The original Mosque known as Shaik Abdul Gapore Mosque was a wooden structure built by Shaik Abdul Gafoor Shaik Hyder in 1859 on a land originally belonged to the Parsi Curjetsee Framroj. Abdul Gafoor was then the Chief Tamil clerk with the legal firm of Khory and Bridys.
By 1884 the old Mosque had already become a land mark in early Singapore.
In 1887 as Trustee of the Mosque, Abdul Gafoor applied to the government to erect a new Mosque. He raised the necessary funds from the rentals for the shophouses and sheds he had built nearby.
The present Mosque was completed in 1907. It is of brick with beautiful coloured glass cupola which are supported by pillars of the Roman/Saracenstyle. Its elaborate ornamental touches are not found in modern Mosques of Singapore which lack the old world charm of Abdul Gafoor Mosque.
The Mosque and the burial ground at Race Course Road also belonged to Shaik Abdul Gafoor; the burial ground was closed by the Municipality on 31 March 1921.
The Abdul Gafoor Mosque reminds Singaporeans of the early Indians especially the Tamils in Serangoon Road. Hindu Temples are close by and so is the Roman Catholic Church, Lady of Lourdes at Ophir Road which catered for the spiritual needs of the South Indian (Tamil) Catholics, Chinese, Malays, Indonesians, Eurasians and Indians still live in peace and harmony in Serangoon and Jalan Besar as they did in the early years in Singapore.
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