Abu Dhabi: The Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque received around 4,685,000 visitors and worshippers in 2012.
Statistics show that during the Holy Month of Ramadan the average number of worshippers for the evening Taraweeh prayers was 267,000 and there were 686,000 participants in the Iftar Programme, which is an annual initiative managed by the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre throughout the month of Ramadan for the soul of the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
The month of August, which coincided with the Holy Month of Ramadan, recorded the highest percentage of visitors and worshippers compared to the rest of the year, with about 512,000 visitors and 497,000 worshippers.
The Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre (SZGMC) provides a range of services to facilitate the visitor experience, to ensure a comfortable and memorable cultural experience for both visitors and worshippers alike. The centre also offers complimentary guided tours by UAE National professional guides, who lead tours daily, offering insights into the construction of the architecture, its founder, the Late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and the Islamic culture of the building.
A significant number of worshippers visit the mosque to perform prayers, particularly on Fridays, during the evening Ramadan Taraweeh prayers and other large gatherings such as Eid prayers. In addition, the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque receives official state visits, leisure tourist groups, conference delegates, academics and students from educational institutes all over the world.
During 2012, the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque received a number of important official visits including Queen Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, of the Netherlands, her son Prince Willem Alexander and his wife Princess Maxima; Atifete Jahjaga, the President of Kosovo, and Turkish President Abdullah Gul and his wife.
Other notable visits were made by political leaders including Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations; Mohammad Basendwah Yemeni Prime Minister; Mikhail Masnekovic, Prime Minister of Belarus; Akil Akilov Prime Minister of Tajikistan, and a number of other political personalities.
The SZGMC was established to be the centre of the cultural and intellectual movement focused around the Mosque under the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, and is supported and supervised by Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs. Its vision and mission was created from the cultural and national values preserved and nurtured by the late Shaikh Zayed.
