Indo Islamic Heritage
Marafari Masjid is a neighbourhood mosque located in the Marafari area of Bokaro Steel City, in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand. It serves as a focal place of Islamic worship for the local Muslim community, facilitating the five daily prayers (Salat), the weekly Friday (Jumu’ah) congregational prayer, and community gatherings during major Islamic festivals such as Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr, and Eid-ul-Adha. Although it is not listed among India’s officially recognised historical monuments, it is a well-used local institution within the city’s religious landscape.
Marafari Masjid is a local community mosque situated in the Marafari locality of Bokaro Steel City in Jharkhand, India, a planned urban centre established around the Bokaro Steel Plant from the mid-20th century and today one of the state’s largest cities. Bokaro is known for its industrial heritage and multicultural environment, and within this setting, neighbourhood mosques like Marafari Masjid play a key role in meeting the everyday spiritual needs of residents.  The mosque’s official address — denoted by the digital mapping code M37R+9W7 — places it in Marafari, within the 827001 postal zone of Bokaro Steel City. Geographically, the mosque is located at approximately 23.6634043° N latitude and 86.0923075° E longitude, situating it within the urban fabric of the Marafari neighbourhood and accessible via surrounding residential streets and local transport networks. The Marafari area is one of several residential and mixed-use localities in Bokaro, contributing to the city’s dense and diverse urban landscape.  Like many community-driven mosques across Indian cities, Marafari Masjid does not have a widely documented year of construction or founding noted in authoritative public sources, such as formal heritage registries or historical texts. This is common for many local places of worship that arise through community initiative to serve the spiritual needs of residents, rather than as formally commissioned historical monuments with archived construction records. Functionally, Marafari Masjid provides a centre for the five daily prayers (Salat), uniting worshippers from the neighbourhood at prescribed times throughout the day. The mosque’s activity typically peaks on Fridays, when the Jumu’ah congregational prayer brings larger numbers of residents together for combined prayer and the khutbah (sermon). During the holy month of Ramadan, the mosque often hosts extended evening (Tarawih) prayers and communal iftars (breaking of the fast), fostering both devotion and social cohesion among worshippers. Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha are also significant occasions for expanded congregation and festive prayer services.  Architecturally, the mosque reflects the practical and functional design typical of neighbourhood mosques in India — a main prayer hall oriented toward the Qibla (direction of Mecca), facilities for ablution (wudu), and open areas to accommodate worshippers during peak attendance times. While it may not feature formal historical or artistic documentation, its ongoing role as a living place of worship and community gathering underscores its importance in the everyday religious life of Bokaro Steel City residents.
Year of Built: NA
Address: M37R+9W7, Marafari, Bokaro Steel City, Jharkhand 827001
Country: India
State: Jharkhand
District: Bokaro
Pincode: 827001
Longitude: 86.0923075°E
Latitude: 23.6634043° N