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ABU DHABI / WAM
Over 6.6 million worshippers, tourists and residents visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque during the ‘Year of Tolerance’ last year.
According to figures released by the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre (SZGMC), the total number of individuals visiting the iconic mosque reached 6,656,818 in 2019.
The SZGMC said that it had intensified its efforts to boost the mosque’s standing as a global intellectual platform for tolerance and a leading cultural destination.
Of the total number of visitors, the majority group were tourists visiting the site that totalled to 4,132,309. The centre tallied worshippers at 1,562,149 individuals, fasting guests at 891,860 and recipients of weekly meals at 70,500.
The centre noted that visitors from India lead the top ten countries visiting the mosque, with a total of 879,049, followed by China (704,680), Russia (234,849), Germany (193,234), and France (155,223).
In 2019, the mosque’s guests ranged between tourists (81 percent) and UAE residents (19 percent). Men were the most frequent visitors to the mosque, accounting for 53 percent of the total tally, whereas women accounted for 47 percent. Most visitors came from the age group between 25 and 35 years of various nationalities, constituting 30 percent of all visitors.
The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre operates under the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, is sponsored and monitored by His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.
The Centre was established to be a cultural and intellectual hub focused around the cultural and national values of the Emirati community, as well as enhance cross-cultural communication between people from all across the world.