THE TURKISH ENGINEER WHO HELPED TRANSFORM THE SOUND SYSTEM OF MASJID AN-NABAWI
A problem noticed during an Umrah journey in 1997 eventually turned into a remarkable 10-year engineering mission at two of Islam’s most sacred places.
Turkish audio engineer Ahmad Tekin Topuzdag visited Madinah for Umrah in the late 1990s. As an audio professional, he quickly noticed something unusual inside Masjid an-Nabawi (the Prophet’s Mosque): the sound was difficult to understand because of excessive echo, reverberation and feedback.
Instead of simply accepting the problem, he asked whether something could be done.
From an Umrah Visit to a Major Engineering Project
Topuzdag discussed the issue with mosque officials and was eventually given an opportunity to demonstrate his approach in one section of the mosque.
The improvement was significant. According to an account of his work, the mosque had severe acoustic problems, with sound reverberating for several seconds in some areas. This could make it difficult for worshippers to clearly follow the Imam and sermons.
The successful test led to a much larger responsibility: helping improve the audio system throughout the mosque.
Why Is Mosque Audio So Difficult?
Large mosques present unique acoustic challenges.
Unlike a small room, a huge mosque contains large open spaces, hard surfaces, domes, marble and other materials that can reflect sound. When sound waves bounce repeatedly around a building, they can create reverberation. If the reflected sound is too strong or lasts too long, individual words can become difficult to distinguish.
Another major problem is feedback. This happens when sound from a loudspeaker is picked up again by a microphone, creating a loop that can produce an unpleasant ringing or squealing sound.
For a mosque such as Masjid an-Nabawi, where thousands of worshippers may need to hear the Imam, Quran recitation, sermons and the Adhan clearly, achieving intelligible sound across a huge area requires much more than simply installing powerful speakers.
Every Voice Needed Its Own Treatment
One of Topuzdag's important discoveries was that the voices of different Imams and muezzins could not simply be treated with one identical audio setting.
The mosque had multiple Imams and muezzins, each with different vocal characteristics. Topuzdag studied their voices and created individual equalization settings to help achieve clearer sound.
He also used acoustic measurements to identify problematic frequencies within different sections of the mosque. In some areas, particular frequencies were strongly resonating, making Arabic speech even harder to understand.
Instead of simply increasing the volume, the solution involved carefully controlling frequencies and adjusting the system to work with the building's acoustic characteristics.
A Clever Solution for Every Part of the Prayer
One particularly interesting improvement involved the Imam's microphone positions.
Previously, microphones were positioned for certain parts of the prayer, such as standing and bowing. However, there was a problem during sujood (prostration): the Imam's voice could become much less audible because of his position.
Topuzdag introduced an additional microphone position so the Imam could remain clearly audible during that part of the prayer as well.
This demonstrates an important principle in professional sound engineering: clarity is not achieved simply by making sound louder. The system must be designed around how people actually use the space.
A Decade of Work at the Two Holy Mosques
Topuzdag's involvement extended beyond Madinah. He also worked on the audio systems of Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, becoming closely associated with the audio and acoustic systems of both Holy Mosques.
Over the years, his work involved microphones, cables, mixing consoles, signal processing, loudspeakers and acoustic optimization.
His later work at the Prophet's Mosque also included major loudspeaker upgrades for the enormous outdoor piazza. HARMAN's documentation states that the system was designed to provide clear and consistent coverage across the vast worship area. More than 200 JBL CBT-series column loudspeakers were used in that particular upgrade, together with Crown amplification and BSS signal processing.
The design was especially important because the large umbrellas installed to protect worshippers from the sun and heat had affected the way sound traveled through the outdoor area.
More Than Technology: Training the Next Generation
Perhaps one of the most valuable parts of Topuzdag's work was not a microphone, speaker or mixing console.
Before leaving Saudi Arabia after his long period of work there, he trained Saudi audio engineers and technicians in the specialized field of mosque acoustics. According to the account of his work, some of those engineers later went on to manage audio systems in mosques around the Kingdom.
This meant that his contribution continued beyond the equipment he personally installed.
The Science Behind Hearing Clearly in a Huge Mosque
The story also provides a useful lesson in acoustics.
A good sound system in a massive worship space must balance several factors:
- Speech intelligibility – worshippers need to understand every word clearly.
- Reverberation control – excessive reflections can make speech sound blurred.
- Feedback prevention – microphones and speakers must be carefully positioned and processed.
- Frequency management – problematic frequencies need to be controlled without damaging natural vocal quality.
- Even coverage – people close to a speaker and people far away should both hear comfortably.
- Microphone positioning – the system must account for different positions of the Imam and muezzin.
- System zoning – large spaces can require different audio treatment for different areas.
Modern loudspeaker systems can also use controlled dispersion to provide more consistent sound levels over large distances rather than simply increasing volume. This approach was used in later upgrades at the Prophet's Mosque piazza.
A Remarkable Journey That Began With One Observation
What makes Ahmad Tekin Topuzdag's story particularly interesting is how unexpectedly it began.
He did not travel to Madinah in 1997 expecting to spend years working on the audio systems of the Holy Mosques. He simply noticed a technical problem during Umrah and asked whether it could be improved.
That observation eventually led to more than a decade of specialized work involving acoustics, audio engineering, system design and training.
It is a powerful reminder that sometimes a simple observation—and the willingness to find a solution—can grow into work that benefits millions of people.
From one section of Masjid an-Nabawi to the wider audio systems of the two Holy Mosques, Ahmad Tekin Topuzdag's journey is an extraordinary example of how engineering and service can come together in one of the world's most important places of worship.
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