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The needed to have an Islamic Centre at the Universiti Putra Malaysia
Serdang campus was first mooted in 1973. The idea was forwarded to the
government and was approved under the Third Malaysia Plan (1976-1980). However, it could not be carried out due to certain reasons such as site and
budget.The efforts to re-start the project were carried out in 1979.
Consultants were appointed to obtain a proper site from the Selangor state government and also to relocate the squatters at the proposed site. Whilst these efforts were carried out, the federal government decided to freeze all university development projects due to economic turndown at that time. However, the need for an Islamic Centre was so great that the Federal
Government approved the project in 1986 and construction began in early 1987.
The site for the centre is deemed suitable as it is at the entrance of the University, and it is also close to the Serdang community. The location
makes it easier for both the UPM and Serdang community to perform Friday
prayers together.
The History of UPM Mosque
The Serdang Agriculture Complex was officially opened in 1922 by the
government. Since then, a community existed and yet there was not even a Surau then. This went on until after World War II. The Muslim residents of Serdang had to go to Sg. Besi for Friday prayers. A mosque could not be built as the number of muslims is small, and there was no one to assist the residents in seeking for a surau or mosque. In 1948, when Mr. C.W.Hartley was assigned to Serdang, he supported the idea to build a surau. Later the surau became a temporary mosque with the permission of the Selangor
Religious Department. Tuan Hj Mukhti bin Ahmad Jamil was appointed
as Imam and Khatib and given credentials by the Selangor Religious Department.
In the First Five Year of the development plan, the Federal government set
aside RM 25,000.00 while the residents themselves collected RM 13,000.00
to build a mosque. With this money, the Serdang Parish Mosque was officially opened in 1964 by HRH Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Ibni
Almarhum Sultan Hisamudin Alam Shah Alhaj, The Sultan Selangor Darul Ehsan.
After the May 13 1969 incident, themosque was overloaded with people thus forcing the Serdang Mosque Committee to build extensions to the mosque. The money to build the extensions was collected from the residents and also assistance from UPM. The increase in the number of users forced the committee to ask for a new mosque; however, they
failed to get one. UPM took its own initiative to build a new mosque via UPM
development plan under the Malaysian Plan.The effort was led by UPM’s
first Vice Chancellor Y.Bhg. Prof Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Mohd Rashdan Bin Hj Baba and Y.Bhg Prof. Dato’ Mohd Noor Ismail who was his deputy then. The effort was continued by the next Vice Chancellor, Y.Bhg Prof.Tan Sri
Dato’ Dr Nayan Bin Ariffin, and it was during his time that the mosque was built. It started in 1987 and was completed in 1989. The UPM Mosque is in a 9 hectre area and is a part of UPM Serdang campus area. The administration of the mosque is under the administration of the University Islamic Centre which was established on October 1 1988. The permission to govern the mosque is specially obtained from the Selangor Islamic
Council. The mosque consists of a two-storey building where the ground floor is meant for male users and the first floor is for female users. The mosque can host 9,500 users at any time.
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