FIFTY-cent deductions from the monthly pay packet of Muslims helped build the Muhajirin Mosque along Braddell Road in 1977.

On Friday, the transformed mosque which sits on its original Toa Payoh site was officially opened ahead of Friday prayers, after 2 1/2 years of redevelopment.

Also unveiled was a Mosque Building Fund (MBF) gallery, in the foyer of the mosque, which traces the history of these deductions that have built 23 mosques all over the island.

The gallery also lists old mosques that made way for development and shows how mosques are built.

It is fittingly located in Toa Payoh, where the impetus for the fund began 32 years ago. A group of Muslim residents tried to raise funds door-to-door in the new estate over five years.

Progress was sluggish, while the price of land and materials kept rising.

So at a meeting of Muslim leaders in 1974, then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew suggested a voluntary fund that would use the Central Provident Fund mechanism to deduct small amounts from the salaries of Muslims.

At the mosque on Friday, Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) president Alami Musa said the 35-year-old fund demonstrated the value of self-reliance and gotong royong, or mutual help. The fund is also an emblem of cooperation between the Muslim community and the Government, he noted.

'We hope the gallery will inspire the younger generation to strengthen our community's spirit of self-reliance, cooperation and excellence,' he added.

The MBF was started in 1975, and was recently expanded to allow funds to be used for upgrading mosques as well as financing Islamic religious education. Muslims now contribute between $1 and $10.75 to the fund each month, based on their income.

Read the full report in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.