Musjids of the World Series 8

The Musjid serves as the focal point of any Muslim community and is the most important structure to Muslims.

Musjid of Uqba, Tunisia. Built by the Sahaabi Uqba ibn Nafi radhiallahu anhu in 670 CE. Covers 900 m² and is a model for Musjids in the western Islamic world. It’s university was a centre of Islamic and secular education and one of the world’s earliest. The Musjid has been reconstructed several times. It resembles a fortress with 1.9 m thick stones used for its walls. The mimbar, dates to the 9th century, the oldest in the Islamic world. The prayer hall has more than 400 columns. The minaret is 31.5 m high.


Great Musjid of Gaza, Palestine. Largest and one of the oldest Musjids in Gaza Strip. Originally a church destroyed by the Persians. Transformed into a Musjid after the Muslim capture of Gaza. In 1149, the Crusaders built a cathedral. In 1187, Muslims under Salaahudin recaptured Gaza and destroyed the cathedral, and it was reconstructed as a Musjid in 1344. Musjid damaged by Allied forces in World War I, and restored by the Supreme Muslim Council in 1926. Covers 4,100 m².


Kobe Musjid, founded in 1935 and is Japan's first Musjid. Confiscated by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1943. The Musjid was built in the traditional Turkish style by a Czech architect.





Jummah Musjid, Mauritius. The country's second Musjid. Built in 1853 and extended and rebuilt in 1895. It is the focus of Islamic cultural and religious life in Mauritius.