Mosque Construction in Africa Africa is a continent where Islam took root more than a thousand years ago. Today, mosques that amaze the imagination are being built across its lands: from mud structures in Mali to glass giants in Nigeria. Mosque construction in Africa is not just the construction of sacred buildings. It is an economic engine, a social elevator, and a political statement. In this article, we will explore how, why, and why mosques are being built in Africa, and what this says about the continent. History: from mud mosques to skyscrapers The first mosques in Africa appeared in the 7th century when Islam came to Egypt. The Mosque of Amr ibn al-As in Cairo (642 AD) became the first on the continent. But the real flourishing of Islamic architecture occurred in West Africa, in the empires of Mali, Songhay, and Ghana. There, they built mosques of adobe brick and wood, which still stand. The famous Mosque of Djenné in Mali (13th century) is the largest mud building in the world. It is rebuilt every few years because the mud is destroyed by the rains. This is not a flaw, but a tradition: the entire community participates in the repair, strengthening social ties. In the 19th-20th centuries, during the colonial period, mosques were built from imported materials: concrete, metal, glass. European architects brought their own styles, mixing them with local ones. After gaining independence, African countries began to build mosques as symbols of national pride. The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca (1993) is one of the tallest in the world (210 meters) and was built with money raised from all over Morocco. Today, Africa is a field for architectural experiments. Modern mega-projects: Nigeria, Egypt, Senegal Nigeria, with the largest Muslim population in Africa (about 90 million), is building mosques on a grand scale. The National Mosque in Abuja, opened in 1984, can accommodate 25,000 people. But in 2026, the construction of an even more magnificent mosque in ... Read more