The Moti Masjid used to be an important landmark of Bhopal and was built in 1860 by Sikandar Jehan Begum, Qudisa Begum’s daughter. The mosque has a marble-white façade with two small cupolas atop it and it has two huge black minarets on either side of it. It is a harmonious blend of traditional architecture with the modern. Built out of white marble, its beauty is a tribute to the artisans who crafted it.
Sikandar Begum was fairly unconventional compared to Muslim women of her time – she usually dressed like a man and went out riding without a veil, often with a dagger tucked under her belt. Bhopal came to be known as the domain of the relatively liberated, even progressive women, and it was Sikandar Begum who set the trend. The Begum was an enthusiastic reformer, open to modern ideas. She abolished slavery and built roads, bridges and beautiful monuments like the Moti Masjid.
A lot of tourists and historians come here to view the spectacular sculpture with miniature works and paintings that adorn its minarets and white surface. The Moti Masjid is renowned more so because of its affinity with its creator. Such pieces of architecture have been famous for being a symbol of liberalization in an era where the Islamic world still used to be etched in darkness. Sikander Begum defied this norm and built a splendid structure like the Moti Masjid to stand as testimony to the changing era. More than two centuries old, the Moti Masjid still manages to captivate the viewers, and tourists with its beautiful design and glorious tradition.
