Masjid Bencoolen (Jawi: , ; also known as Masjid Bengkali, or Bengkali Mosque) is a historic mosque located along Bencoolen Street in Singapore. It was originally built in 1824 by Indian Muslim immigrants from Bengkulu. The present-day mosque is a 2004 reconstruction and is integrated with the Somerset Bencoolen hotel that is owned by Ascott International, a subsidiary of CapitaLand.
The original mosque was an attap structure built between 1825 to 1828 by Indian Muslim settlers from Bengkulu, known as Bencoolen during its time as a British protectorate and colonial settlement in the western coast of Sumatra. In 1845, the attap structure was razed to the ground and the mosque was rebuilt as a new brick structure by prominent Arab merchant Syed Omar bin Ali Aljunied. To fit in with the urban redevelopments along Bencoolen Street, plans were drawn in 1987 to upgrade the mosque into a modernized structure. The Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) also discussed the possibilities of the new mosque being integrated into a hotel complex; with the hotel helping to directly fund the mosque and related programmes. The mosque was closed down in 2001 for the reconstruction after all plans for the mosque had been confirmed and approved by the MUIS. It reopened in 2004 as one of three rebuilt mosques in the country. It was now integrated with a new hotel and apartment complex, known as Somerset Bencoolen, that was a property of the mosque. After 2018, Somerset Bencoolen was acquired by CapitaLand subsidiary Ascott International as part of a management agreement deal to preserve the site for ten years, although the residential complex is still considered part of the awqaf (endowed) land of the mosque.
The mosque was closed down in 2020 for an extensive renovation and upgrading project. Coincidentally, all other mosques in the country were also closed down during 2020âÂÂ2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Masjid Bencoolen, which was not affected by the pandemic due to its closure, was reopened in 2024 when the reconstructions were complete.
Masjid Bencoolen is a Hanafi mosque and is one of three mosques in the country that which follow the doctrine, alongside Masjid Abdul Gaffoor and Masjid Angullia. This is due to the fact that the Hanafi doctrine is prominent amongst Indian Muslims.
The mosque is directly accessible from the Bencoolen MRT station on the Downtown Line.