Tanzinul Haque Rumon, Tangail
Among the traditional and popular landmarks of Bangladesh, Atiya Jame Mosque in Tangail is a well-known one that is easy to identify and made Tangail famous all over the country.
In the 1980s, during the time of Governor Khorshed Ahmed, the mosque became a national asset as it was printed on the 10-Taka note by the Government, which made it well-known to mass people. Therefore, the mosque has become not only a symbol of heritage but also a spectacular historical destination.
The mosque is located to the South-West of Tangail on the banks of Lohjang river about 7 km away from the town. Although it was built some 400 years ago, the mosque still attracts visitors as an example of unique art form of ancient architecture.
The mosque was built during the reign of Musa Khan, son of the great Zamindar Isa Khan, one of the renowned Baro Bhuiyans. In order to facilitate the administration affairs, Isa Khan created a pargana in Atiya of Delduar upazila at Tangail. At that time, the ruling of the Atiya pargana was entrusted to Musa Khan.
The area of the old mosque is 20.09 meters in length and 16.13 meters in width. The surrounding wall of the mosque is 2.72 meters by high. There are four huge octagonal pillars with beautiful small domes on top at the four corners of the mosque. The main room and porch of the mosque are divided into two sections.
There are 3 doors on the east, north and south walls of the mosque. On the west wall there are 3 beautiful arches. Each wall of the main room has two stone pillars. The main room is square and each wall has a length of 7.57 meters on the inside.
Above the main room, there is a large decorative dome. There are three entrances to the east wall of the porch. There is a Persian inscription on the lower part of the northern side of the middle entrance. The original inscription was destroyed, and then the current inscription was placed during renovation. It is mentioned in the inscription that the Mosque was built in 1018 Hijri.
Saeed Khan Panni, the son of Bayezid Khan Panni built the mosque in 1609. Bayzid Khan Panni was the grand figure of the famous Panni Zamindar Family of Korotia in Tangail. The mosque was renovated twice in 1837 and in 1909. However, the ancient heritage site needs renovation again, as the paint on the walls of the mosque has been largely destroyed.
