Jamia Mosque (Shelley Mosque)

Jamia Mosque is one of the most historically important Muslim landmarks in Hong Kong. The original mosque on Shelley Street dates back to 1849, serving Muslims from the Indian subcontinent who came to Hong Kong as merchants, sailors, soldiers, policemen, and prison guards. The present building was constructed between 1915 and 1916 with funding from Bombay merchant Haji Mohamed Essack Elias, replacing the earlier mosque on the same site. Its location in Mid-Levels also shaped the names of nearby streets, including Mosque Street and Mosque Junction, giving the building a visible place in the older urban fabric of Central.

The mosque is distinctive for both age and architecture. Built in concrete and brick, it follows an elongated rectangular plan with a minaret, arched entrance, coloured glazed windows, a central octagonal dome, a mihrab on the qibla wall, and calligraphic wall details. Its setting near the Central–Mid-Levels escalator places it among slopes, residential buildings, heritage streets, and dense city movement, yet the mosque itself retains a quiet courtyard character. Declared a monument in 2022, Jamia Mosque remains a working place of worship and a rare surviving link to Hong Kong’s early Muslim community.