Prayer time at the Taj Mahal Mosque. Each year millions of people visit the Taj Mahal – a mausoleum dedicated to Mumtaz Mahal, the beloved wife of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.
It is easy to forget that the site is also home to this richly decorated and comparatively under visited mosque where local Muslims come to pray. Islam grew in prominence in India during the Muslim rule of the Mughals.
The Mughals emerged in 1526 in what is today’s Uzbekistan and swept south, conquering much of the subcontinent and creating an enormous empire.
By the 17th century, the Mughal economy was the largest in the world producing about a quarter of the world’s economic and industrial output. Its enormous wealth allowed for the construction of the eye-wateringly expensive Taj Mahal and its complex, where this mosque can be found.