List of the oldest mosques in the world

The designation of the oldest mosque in the world requires careful use of definitions, and must be divided into two parts, the oldest in the sense of oldest surviving building, and the oldest in the sense of oldest mosque congregation. Even here, there is the distinction between old mosque buildings that have been in continuous use as mosques, and those that have been converted to other purposes; and between buildings that have been in continuous use as mosques and those that were shuttered for many decades. In terms of congregations, they are distinguished between early established congregations that have been in continuous existence, and early congregations that ceased to exist.

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Contents

Oldest mosques

Building Image Location Country First Built Denomination Notes
Quba Mosque Medina Saudi Arabia 622 Sunni Oldest mosque site, but building largely rebuilt in 20th century
Al-Masjid al-Nabawi Medina Saudi Arabia 622 Islam Site of pilgrimage. Contains Muhammad's tomb. Largely rebuilt.
Masjid al-Qiblatain Medina Saudi Arabia 623 Sunni Mosque of the two Qiblas
Jawatha Mosque Al-Kilabiyah Saudi Arabia 629 n/a (defunct)
Masjid al-Haram Mecca Saudi Arabia 638 Islam Site of pilgrimage, rebuilt in 1571
Great Mosque of Kufa Kufa Iraq 639 Shia
Mosque of Uqba Kairouan Tunisia 670 Sunni rebuilt in 800s
Cheraman Juma Masjid Kodungallur India Sunni Locally considered to be the first mosque of India; reliability of sources unclear
Imam Hussain Mosque Karbala Iraq 680 Shia reconstructed several times, including in 1016
Al-Aqsa Mosque Jerusalem 705 Sunni
Al-Zaytuna Mosque Tunis Tunisia 709 Sunni
Umayyad Mosque Damascus Syria 715 Shia, Sunni National Mosque
Great Mosque of Xi'an Xi'an, Shaanxi China 742[1] Although remains date mostly from the 18th century,[2] the Mosque was founded in 742[3]

By country and territories

Afghanistan

Australia

Bangladesh

Canada

China

Egypt

France

Germany

India

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Jerusalem

Malaysia

Netherlands

Oman

Pakistan

Saudi Arabia

Singapore

Somalia

Syria

Thailand

Tunisia

Turkey

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

United States

Yemen

See also

External links and references