City - New Delhi State - NEW DELHI Country - India
About
Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque (Might of Islam) (also known as the Qutb Mosque or the Great Mosque of Delhi) was built by Qutb-ud-din Aybak, founder of the Mamluk or Slave dynasty. It was the first mosque built in Delhi after the Islamic conquest of India and the oldest surviving example of Ghurids architecture in Indian subcontinent. The construction of this Jami Masjid (Friday Mosque), started in the in 1193 CE, when Aibak was the commander of Muhammad Ghori's garrison occupied Delhi. The Qutub Minar, built simultaneously with the mosque, though appears to be a stand alone structure, was built as the 'Minar of Jami Masjid', for the muezzin to perform adhan, call for prayer, and also as a qutb, an Axis or Pole of Islam. It is reminiscent in style and design of the Arhai-din-ka Jhompra or Ajmer mosque at Ajmer, Rajasthan, also built by Aibak during the same time, also constructed by demolishing earlier temples and a Sanskrit school, at the site.